blustery sunday

So, this outfit is pretty much the furthest thing ever from my typical Sunday morning coffee-run fare.  Or any day, any time, any outing, for that matter.  I am not a regular dress-upper nor am I a frequent high heel wearer, mostly out of sheer laziness but also because in London I walk quite a lot and don't want to destroy my shoes (whereas in Texas I have no good excuse).  That hasn't stopped me loving and buying tall shoes, though, and so now I'm working on wearing them more frequently (and out of the house).  I'm starting out with this slightly-less-high-though-deceptively-not-so-low-as-they-look-pair that I scored at the Selfridge's sale last week.  I should probably mention that since it's been years since I wore heels on a regular basis I'm a bit out of practice with them, and am having to reacquaint myself with the world from on high.  The learning curve is significantly more steep than I remembered.

(Paul Smith jacket, Target shirt, old Ferragamo belt, J. Crew skirt, Miu Miu shoes, Frank Gehry for Tiffany necklace and earrings, Movado watch and Navajo bracelet)

c for coffee

 I'm settling in for what will hopefully be a major writing binge today and have already gone on what may turn out to be my only outing all day.  Obviously this outfit is all about the details since it basically boils down to jeans and a t-shirt.    

 The stamped Navajo barrette kills two birds with one stone as both jewelry and hair-wrangler.

The green scarf is a really great lightweight cotton-linen that looks best rumpled, and I can't get over the color.

P has had a pair of these shoes for a few years and pretty much wears them non-stop through the summer, so I when I found these on sale I decided to see what all his fuss was about.  Aside from being lightweight and comfortable, this pair has a black denim body which is unlike any of my other sneakers.

So there you have it.  Thus concludes my excuse not to work.

(Blogging is SO important!)

(Target Scarf, Paul Smith trench, Current/Elliott The Skinny jeans, Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 shoes, Coach purse & Navajo barrette)

There were some good things about the 90s.  Grunge finally killed off hair bands, the internet transformed the world, and Martin Scorsese made Goodfellas.  The same decade also had its failings.  Vanilla Ice tried to sample Queen, the internet transformed the world, and Kevin Costner made any number of crap movies that should forever reside in the "Steal Me!" bins at Blockbuster.  A far more tragic phenomenon, in my eyes at least, was the complete takeover of the workplace and casual trouser market by Dockers.  I know they had a Levi's pedigree, and that led many people to believe that they were cool -- a way to flout the stuffy dress code without wearing 501s to work.  And since their introduction in 1986, can anyone name an item of clothing whose brand name has become synonymous with the item itself?  I must tip my hat to the folks who managed that ad campaign.  "They're not just pants.  They're Dockers."  Having said that, if you happened to be a male who wasn't a little pudgy, the fit of the Dockers themselves left something to be desired.  Those damn pleats.   How could anyone think that those looked good?  When I had to conform to the workplace casual attire of my old office, I instead opted for tropic-weight, flat-front wool trousers and a button-down oxford shirt.  You can't imagine what a tempest in a teacup this started.  I was actually accused of being a snobby dresser.  "How could anyone not like Dockers?"  I was asked.  But I made money, and was right more often than my co-workers about fluctuations in oil prices, so I was left to my own sartorial eccentricity -- although people often wondered how I could possibly be comfortable wearing "those clothes."  The chino therefore has always been a gap in my wardrobe that I never thought I would fill.  Then I found these.  Seven For All Mankind has cotton twill trousers that fit similar to their jeans and provide a happy medium between jeans and dressier trousers in my closet.  They still have a style similar to jeans that might make them inappropriate for your place of work, but what genius in HR decided that Dockers somehow ARE appropriate?

Target shirt, Paul Smith tie, Seven jeans, Adidas shoes, Gap belt, RayBan Wayfarers

proof of life

Ok, seriously, that last post was kind of really whiny, right? Oh poor me, I have nothing to wear! Wah wah wah, I don't have any new clothes. Even I don't want to read about it and I'm actually pretty annoyed with myself that I wrote it. Definitely deserved the stern talking-to I gave myself in the shower, from whence this outfit came. Here's what happened:

Yesterday, during my grump-tastic afternoon, I conned P into letting me pick up a few hair products from the Boots 3-for-2 shelf.

Because of this, I needed to make a good faith effort to do my hair.

At the point where I'm going to bother with my hair, I may as well go the whole hog so as not to waste a good hair day.

In accordance with Newton's 1st Law, I hacked the legs off my most beat up jeans so that I would have something new and different to wear.

And voilà! Closet QED.

(It helped that I'm obsessed with the detailed tailoring of this shirt and was happy to have an excuse to wear it in a dressed-down capacity.)

(Paul Smith shirt, Joe's Jeans cut-offs, Cole Haan flats, James Avery earrings and charm bracelet, Movado watch, Mom's old sunglasses)

I find ostentatious, posed shots on fashion blogs annoying. Nothing will make me click an escape faster than a pastel-clad "model" that is casually leaping into the air. This doesn't happen in my neighborhood. This isn't the Mary Tyler Moore show. None of us would have been fodder for Herb Ritz's lens and I don't want to give the impression that these pictures are anything more than what they appear to be. This is a simple shot of me snapped in transit to the British Library. I am not about to do a soft-shoe routine. London is a great place to experiment with different looks because no matter how you choose to dress, you won't draw disparaging looks from passers-by. Today I am wearing a dark-wash pair of seven jeans, a cool tie that I found at the paul smith sample sale and my well-traveled onitsuka tiger sneakers and wayfarers. It's a very simple style. The tie jazzes up the oufit, and if you look at the detail shots you will see why. Not bad for a piece that was less than $20.

Zoom on this picture and check out the detailing. Notice the phases of the moon in the pink ring surrounding the moon and stars in night sky.

If you haven't been to London, one of the nice things about this city is the ubiquity of public parks. They make the grime and air pollution almost bearable.

(Banana Republic shirt, Seven Floyd jeans, Paul Smith British Collection tie, Gap belt, Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 sneakers, RayBan Wayfarers)

ain't no sunshine

The weather today was not so nice as it has been, but the cooler temperature gave me an excuse to layer up plaid and stripes so I can't complain.

This jacket is another piece from the Paul Smith sample sale that I am really excited about.  I loved the style so much (tails! epaulets! a mandarin collar!) that I snagged a heavier one in navy~they were the only two in the whole place and so well cut that I couldn't resist.  This blast of cold weather has only served to confirm that decision. 

P and I keep trying to figure out if we think it's a hybrid military-equestrian cut or what, but so far none of my google searches has turned up any promising cavalry uniforms.  We'll keep looking though (we're both pretty nerdy like that).

These shoes were a bit of a trip as I haven't worn heels since maybe October.  It definitely took a little while for me to adjust to being tall.  Also walking in wet grass.  Hopefully I'll do better next time.  

(Paul Smith jacket, Vince cardigan, Target tee, Current/Elliott jeans, Sam Edelman shoes & Coach bag, heirloom jewelry)

a new look

I made an actual effort to get dressed the other day, helped along by this pinstriped trench I picked up at the Paul Smith sample sale. 

I wasn't very familiar with Paul Smith before we came to London, but his corporate headquarters is on my walk to school, and there's no ignoring an hour-long line along the sidewalk when it's 35°F outside at 7.00 am.  After two rounds, I'm a little obsessed.

The clothes have beautiful, classic tailoring and wonderful attention to detail ~ check out the purple piping and the floral print upper lining!  It's a bit cheeky and irreverent too: water-resistant pinstripes?  Menswear-inspired, but it makes me want to dress in a very lady-like manner.

I also found this V&A edition of The Little Dictionary of Fashion by Christian Dior in the secondhand section of the bookstore.  His advice is timeless and very good:

"Simplicity, good taste and grooming are the three fundamentals of good dressing and these do not cost money.  First you must study yourself.  Learn to know what suits you and what does not.  And study your own needs.  Find the colours that flatter you and emphasise your looks."  (from the Introduction)

(Paul Smith Black trench, Target scarf, Cole Haan flats, Coach wristlet, vintage pearl and chain necklaces)