Style Resolutions for 2014 part two

This is the resolution that might be hardest for more of us to implement - purge what doesn't work in our wardrobes, no matter how much we paid for it and how wonderful it is or was when we bought it.  I decided on a few simple criteria that each and every item has to meet in order for it to continue to live in my closet.

1.  Is it a neutral or does it play well with neutrals?
2.  Can it be worn for different occasions and in different ways?
3.  Is it in perfect condition and does it fit me perfectly?
4.  Do I love it?

Applying these rules made it fairly easy for me to part with a great many things.  For example, this beautiful silk Madewell blouse.  It meets criteria 1, 2 and 4, but alas the fit is off.  I've tried denying that for several years and worn it anyway.  I realize that it doesn't flatter me. 

 

Several J. Crew wool skirts were cut.  The ivory double serge wool pencil skirt, and the sapphire tweed wool pencil skirt are both in the consign bag.  Again, fit is the issue.  I've worn both skirts numerous times and finally came to the realization that all I do is fuss with them when I have them on. I'm never comfortable, and both have been tailored in attempt to obtain better fit.  Other J. Crew skirts survived, such as the mixed media, the interoffice and the pony skirt.

 

 

 

Price paid was not a factor in this decision making process.  A number of Diane Von Furstenberg dresses are out, including the red cotton Meeson dress and the black Phyllis suiting dress.  Once again, these are garments that I do not feel entirely comfortable in.  I am pulling on them or adjusting them all day long.

 

Shoes are harder for me to cull since I long ago got rid of anything that pinches, rubs or hurts in any way.  Every pair I own now fits, and each meet criteria 1, 2 and 3.  A few pairs that did not inspire love have found the bottom of the donate bag.  An example is the Via Spiga pumps pictured below. There is nothing wrong with them, they fit well, they're comfortable and they coordinate with many items in my wardrobe.  I simply do not reach for them. I don't love them.

 

 

 

After a long afternoon, the final tally of items purged is:

 

     5 dresses

     5 skirts

     4 pairs of pants

     3 jackets

     8 tops/shirts

     17 belts

     6 pairs of shoes

     9 piece of assorted jewelry

 

There may be more. 

 

Are you purging too?

 

 

 







Style Resolutions for 2014 part one

First resolution:  dress like a French woman. One wonders if they're all put together perfection when they step out their doors. The ones who get photographed certainly are.  What is the magic? Why do they always look exactly right?

To help us decode the method, let's take a look at a few of the oft-mentioned French style icons.

Ines de la Fressange is a former Chanel muse. She is rarely seen wearing dresses or skirts, is almost always in flats, and her outfits typically contain a mix of neutrals.

The darling of Paris street style, Garance Dore, doesn't stray too far from this formula. While occasionally pictured in skirts or heels, she stays true to neutrals and relaxed silhouettes.

 

 

My personal favorite Carine Roitfeld, might seem at first glance to be a very different animal.  She's quite a bit more fashion forward and is the most "dressed up" of the bunch. Look a bit more closely though, you'll see the same devotion to neutrals, the same attention to details.  While she is almost always in skirts and heels, as opposed to trousers and flats, she has that nonchalance that makes it seem she threw something on and went about her day.

 

 

Last but not least, the woman who might be considered the queen bee of French style, Emmanuelle Alt. She is the editor of French Vogue after all.  She has developed a uniform that seldom differs even from season to season.  She favors pants, skinny ones, heels that vary from kitten to sky high, unfussy tees and shirts, and jackets to finish the look.

 

 



What else do you notice about all these women?  Minimal make up, unfussy hair and few well chosen accessories. 

Is this a style we can emulate?  We're not fashion editors, after all.  Pick out the parts that appeal to you and apply them to your wardrobe. In my case that means sticking with lots of neutral basics that can be punctuated with color if I like, and a focus on accessories such as belts and scarves.  How much easier is it to get dressed in the morning when everything in your closet goes with everything else?  Perhaps French women have discovered that they can spend their time on other things when deciding what to wear for the day is a snap.

Style resolutions part two will be editing the closet. We can't dress like French women until we get the wardrobe monster under control! 

Random Goodness

There are some things you come across that you use and fall in love with.  Here are a few of my recent finds.

On the recommendation of Dani, I tried the Diptyque Feu de Bois candle.  She was right. It smells exactly like you are burning a fire in your fireplace.  It fills the house with scent shortly after you light it.  I have no fireplace, and miss having one.  The candle is so convincing that visitors to my house thought I did.  I can't wait to try some of their other scents.

I came across this sweater on the Forever 21 website and was reminded of Vince, Helmut Lang and Theory.  It's definitely inspired by all those designers.  Unlike many garments from Forever 21, there's no polyester and no acrylic.  It has a very thin and soft hand and drapes beautifully.  For a desert dweller who has chilly days but no real cold, it's the ideal weight. 

 

 

The reviews on this speak for themselves, there's nothing much I can add other than my recommendation.  My skin looks better than it ever has.

 

 



I am mad in love with these Proenza Schouler pumps.  I resisted the sales very well, despite the deluge of emails and catalogues.  I had a list of things I was hoping to find on sale and most of them didn't get marked down, or weren't marked down enough for my budget.  These ended up at 70% off after a second mark down and thankfully were still available in my size.  These may well be the most comfortable pumps I've ever put on my feet.  The matte leather is unique, as is the shape of the heel. Speaking of the heel, it's low enough to actually walk in while having enough height to make your legs look terrific, which is the job of a pump after all. 

Last but not least, an item that came to me after literally years of looking.  Two years to be exact.  I first spotted the J. Crew pony skirt on their site in 2011. It was too rich for my blood and once it hit sale it sold out almost immediately.  I had a personal shopper look for it, I stalked eBay, to no avail. Not imagining that I would have any luck, I posted in the Looking To Find weekly post of the J. Crew Aficionada blog. My prayers were answered by the lovely Tiffany.  After all the searching I worried that I might receive it and it wouldn't be as fabulous as I had built it up in my mind. Thankfully, it was.  Two panels of soft shiny pony bisect the wool knit body of the skirt. It pulls on, flatters the hip and narrows at the bottom.  The panels can be worn front/back, or on the sides, giving the skirt different looks.   

 Any random goodness to report?

Did you forget to send Christmas cards?

I don't know if it's because Thanksgiving was so late this year or I'm just looking for an excuse for my neglect. Whatever the reason, I did not send Christmas cards.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  It is a tradition, something I've been doing for years. Not because I'm a big Christmas person but because for many of my old friends - and even some family - it's the one time a year that I contact them. 

I suppose it's not too late.  I could run out to the drugstore and get a few boxes. If I posted them next week, most would arrive before Christmas.  Do I need that kind of pressure?  Spending a whole weekend rushing through signing cards and writing messages in each?  Certainly not. I've got to devote that time to eating the baked goods that are abundant this time of year.

But seriously, I do want to send the annual missive that reminds people I'm still among the living and thinking of them.  Then it occurred to me, why not new year's cards?  Long after the Christmas cards have all been delivered and spent their time on the mantel, my new year's card will arrive in the mail boxes of my loved ones as a welcome surprise. 

Having convinced myself that this is an excellent plan, one that will allow me to procrastinate for at least 2 more weeks, I set out to find the cards.  I googled, and found that although there are some commercially prepared cards on the market, the biggest selection was the handmade cards on Etsy.

I love the clean aesthetic of these:

You can personalize these cards with your name, and different colors are available if pink isn't your thing.  Pink is not my thing.

How about these beautiful reproductions of a hand drawn design?

 

 

I'm not sure yet which of these I'll be sending.  I only hope that I make a decision soon and don't end up sending Easter cards instead.



 

 

Distinguishing a want from a need

I suppose strictly speaking I don't need anything.  I have more than enough clothing to satisfy my basic needs. My wardrobe extends beyond that, I have enough for special occasions, vacations, hiking trips, you name it.  I need nothing, plain and simple. 

I could stretch the meaning of need to the point it nearly snaps and tell you that I need black booties.  They are the thing this fall, everyone is wearing black booties.  With cropped trousers, with denim, with midi skirts, with dresses, you name it.  The ankle bootie seems to be the LBD of footwear, appropriate in every situation.

Having determined that I don't need anything, see above, I should not have been looking for black ankle booties.  And yet I found them.

I stumbled across the perfect pair, Jimmy Choo Amore.  I may be drawn to them because of the sensible heel, the perfect calf leather and the just above the ankle height.  Or I may be drawn to them because I have the knee high version, the Alma.

 

The bad news is the price.  Although I think I'd wear these for years and get my money's worth out of them, I will either have to wait for sale or bid these adieu. 

 

Perhaps a fitting substitute is this much more reasonably priced pair, the Loeffler Randall Reese. 

 

 

Same toe shape, same sensible heel, similar silhouette.  The differences are interesting suede details, and a shorter shaft that goes not quite as far up the ankle.  Still, all in all, in pretty good option.  At a more reasonable price and offered by so many retailers that finding them on sale will not be difficult, they are the more likely candidate for my closet.

 

No needs here, just a few wants.  Okay, more than a few, but that's a post for another day.



Here's what I didn't buy . . . and why.

It's a tough time of year to be a reformed binge shopper.  The stores are filled to the brim with new fall goods. Every retailer and their neighbor is having some version of a friends and family sale. Each and every morning my inbox is full of 20% off this and new in that. 

I have a fair amount of self discipline and most of the emails and catalogues end up in their respective trash bins.  Still, the temptations abound and I can't say I haven't thought about making some purchases.  Here's a sampling of what I put in my virtual cart and ultimately decided against.

First up, J. Crew.  Their October roll out actually held my interest, which hasn't happened for quite a while with them.  I was ruffled and sequined out a long time ago.  Their "style guide" catalogue arrived in the mail and I immediately spotted three things to pique my interest.

The wrap skirt, available in red, black, and Bristol blue - a dark teal.  Similar enough to the Tibi wrap skirt I lost out on, and with colors that would coordinate well with my collection of tops and sweaters. 

The great price of $148.00 combined with a 25% off code almost had me.  Checking out the details I noticed polyester with polyester lining.  It wouldn't feel good and it wouldn't sound good.  Pass.

It doesn't get much more office appropriate than a grey dress, and naturally the pocket dress in stretch wool caught my eye. 

 



It's a gorgeous dress, stylish and fitted.  Yet I passed yet again.  I already have 2 grey dresses. 

On to the shoes and the siren call of red suede in a pointy toe stiletto.  What's not to like?

I must admit, these babies almost had me.  I don't have red shoes.  My love of the pointy toe single sole pump is well known.  I adore the color and the texture.  Check out that ankle strap though.  Long enough to go around the ankle a few times, and not removable thanks to those adorable tassels. Would I actually wear them with that thin piece wrapped around my leg?  Not likely.  Another pass.

So there you have it.  A little window shopping that could have hit the credit card to the tune of $650.00 and I hit the delete button.  I think it's safe to say the Crewlade has lost it's hold on me.

There's an app for that

I love scarves. I have a big plastic container full of them.  I try hard to wear them and I manage to pull one out two or three times a month.  I hate to think of them languishing in the closet, as beautiful as many of them are. I have an excuse for the neglect. I am woefully inept when it comes to using them creatively.  I think I know one method of tying.  One.  Scarves can be outfit makers, tame unruly hair and even be worn as garments.  That is, if you know what to do with them. 

Google "scarf tying" and you'll find oodles of You Tube videos instructing you on every kind of tying for any size scarf you could possibly have.  Many of them are professional level and look like they had the backing of a full film crew.  Others are grainy and wobbly, and not in the charming 8mm way.  Sometimes a girl wants some one-stop shopping, without having to search.  Enter the iPad and iPhone version of the Hermes how-to app, Silk Knots. 

 

A collection of pictures and videos demonstrating various methods for using all those scarves gathering dust in your bureau drawer, not just those from the venerable house of Hermes.

 

 

The app is free in the App Store.