Wednesday, June 24, 2009

technical problems - sorry for all the emails!!!

These are a few of my favorite things (clothing-wise, anyway)

With apologies to Julie Andrews, Rogers and Hammerstein....

When the alarm sounds, when the time's short, when I'm feeling sad(ly confused about what to wear), I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad(ly dressed)...

Big belts: my go-to solution to pull an outfit together.. Literally. I have a few big belts now: a couple obi styled ones (Kaj Ani, who was waaayy ahead of Marc Jacobs' obis for Louis Vuitton, and another suede one I picked up in the young designer's market on Elizabeth St.. Plus a great big black one from Ter et Bantine that is made out of quite thick, stiff leather, so I wear that one when I'm feeling thin and want good posture. I have another black one, but elastic, from Hache (when I'm feeling not as thin, or have more layers to deal with). I saw some black elastic belts at American Apparel, if you want to get one at a low cost. I talked my friend Maria into getting one in Miami. (Hope you like it, Maria!) And I added a dove gray one this year from Hache that looks really good with springier floaty layers. I wear them with everything - over cardigans with jeans so I don't look too much like I'm dressed for doing laundry, and to give blousy, volume-y dresses a slimmer silhouette, or to convert a dress into a tunic by hiking it up and draping it around the belt. Even my ski jacket has a belt. When I like something, I like something.. what can I say? Plus, it makes your waist look smaller. Or maybe it just stops you from eating much. But that also makes your waist look smaller..


High heels: pretty self explanatory this one, so will leave it short except to state the obvious: high heels make pretty much every outfit look better. As a side benefit, I also think that they are better for you than flats. I am currently working on my theory that high heels provide essential health benefits, along with hot peppers and alcohol. The experiments are going well, but inconclusive so far, so I will need to continue this study. Volunteers are welcome to join. I'm getting a little tired of big platforms, though. I like a little heft to some shoes - and a bit of platform does further distance your feet from city sidewalks, but the row of $800 stripper shoes (SALE PRICE!!) that I saw at Bergdorf Goodman and Saks just leaves me cold. Then again, maybe my eye/brain connection is a little bit off. I walked by a bakery this evening and saw that one of the giant cookies on display had I. O. U. in icing. Strange sentiment for a cookie, but one never knows nowadays... (it was I *heart* U, I realized later).


Jumpsuits: I don't agree with the "rule" that you shouldn't wear a style if you wore if the first time. Okay, some trends should never return, and I'm not going to wear pre-teen clothes again, but I felt incredibly cool and fashion forward when I wore my jumpsuit the first time around and I am enjoying their return. My friend Ann wrote about her experience with harem pants in New York and Paris (she stayed with me in NY and looked super cute and stylish in them!) and I think jumpsuits can be a bit similar. Some are definitely easier to wear than others. They are a strong statement - the look is very different from the low-rise skinny jeans that are still the current uniform - and fit is key. I have three now - I've worn the Sue Elen one a few times, it's easy as it's sort of a "cool girl casual" skinny cut. I just wore the long sleeved blouse/shorts jumpsuit, but haven't yet gone out in the harem-pants/plunge neckline yet (the last two both Ter et Bantine). But I'm looking forward to it!!


Structure: I guess this is sort of related to big belts, in terms of pulling things together. On hot summer days, especially on the beach, I do definitely like floaty and loose, but most of the time for work or going out, I prefer looking like I'm not an amorphous blob. And the nice thing about structured clothes is that you can hide some amorphous blobbiness if you wear something that's cut well. And I just think those clothes are beautiful. I'm not going to lie and say they're the most comfortable, but they do look good. And just think of the beautiful relief you'll feel when you're out of them! (same goes for heels, really, and big belts!) This dress is my Bottega Veneta sale find, by the way. Think it's appropriate for a wedding? It's not a good photo, but maybe you can see how it's constructed...?


I have more wardrobe favorites: boots, scarves, cardigans, the right jacket, shirtdresses, and layered necklaces, but I'll leave those for another time... How about you, stylish readers?

Monday, June 15, 2009

Souk-a-Matic


Sometimes I think of things to write when something strikes me and sometimes I just take the ideas that you all give me (like Lederhosen for women - thanks Janice!). My friend Aina asked me if I would write something on on-line shopping. This topic required some creative thinking about what angle I'd take since I don't really shop on-line, having got a little burned with some purchases in the past. (cue flashback...)

A few years ago, I fell for a metal belt by Valentino in the shape of a snake. I think I had this great idea of a waist-cinching belt that was a little Greek goddess, a little Goth, and a little Art Nouveau and that would pull in blousy tops over jeans and be both tough and pretty. Sadly, as with most things, the reality was a bit different from the fantasy and it didn't fit well (cast metal isn't flexible), was droopy (cast metal is heavy), and just didn't work with anything I owned (cast metal is weird). Luckily, they took it back.

After that, online clothing shopping lost a bit of its appeal for me.. The only things I have bought in the past year are a basic black cotton turtleneck (yawn), iTunes and Amazon downloads, some nice laundry products (double yawn), a suitcase, a PS2 game for my nephew, and food from freshdirect for a friend's baby shower party.. That's about it.

But it's not just once bitten, twice shy.. I like walking to a store, talking to people there, trying things on, getting a good sense of how something feels, fits, and works with what I have... Maybe that's why it always seems so appealing to shop when I'm traveling. The object I buy comes with a story and the interactive social experience of talking to salespeople and other shoppers and picking that thing (or things) out of everything else in the shop. Yes, there's a risk that I'm getting ripped off. I know I overpaid for my rugs and the "saffron" my sister and I bought in the souk in Morocco, but it was fun, we drank a lot of mint tea, and came back with some new stories to tell when we got home. And I didn't even have to carry the heavy rugs I bought as the chivalrous gentlemen who sold us our rugs made Megan carry mine as well as hers, as I had a broken wrist. Sorry Megan!

And if I'm not traveling, but am wandering around home in New York (aka shopper's paradise), I feel like I want a barrier to stop me from going into all the amazing boutiques rather than another means of access!!

A number of my friends have had much more luck than I have. My friend Annabel in London got a gorgeous dress from Net-a-porter and Ann (who wrote a comment on this blog about her experience with harem pants this spring) finds great stuff - and great deals through on-line shops. I have other friends who have a great eye (and success) on eBay, too.

I read in this week's FT "How to Spend It" magazine about on-line vintage shopping and thought this could be something I'd like. Like fishermen, many of us have our "great catch" stories of what we found in little hole in the wall vintage shops. (Mine are a 1970's Diane von Fuersternberg jersey dress and 1980's Ungaro blouse, both for peanuts.) But, to be honest, I didn't enjoy breathing in all that dust (those shops always felt a little dirty to me) and always felt like I needed to sanitize anything I bought.

Vintage now seems to have gone upscale with all the editing (and hopefully cleaning) already done for you. It's like looking at the Met's Costume Gallery - only it's all for sale! But, as I learned, if it looks like a collector piece, it's priced like a collector piece. The sites mentioned in the FT article had some amazing 100+ year old clothes. And, if one of them had actual online shopping and not just teaser photos with a London phone number, a gorgeous slinky 1940's cocktail dress would be mine. But then, for a different reason, another dress caught my eye: a 1970's floral dress from Montaldo's, an old school, and quite expensive shop that used to be in Winston-Salem, NC (and some other mid-sized US cities in the south and southwest). The dress was sweet, but what really grabbed my attention was the price - GBP 475, or $760. Maybe I'm missing something, but that's for used clothes, right? And this isn't exactly vintage Lanvin. That can't be right! I bet it had been donated to the Jr League Rummage Sale! Anyhow, it killed my desire to buy the 1940's dress online. Maybe, when I'm next in London, I'll stop by and check out the shop in person. Even though you'd think there would be more information and more transparency in on-line shopping, I feel about as easy a mark as I did in Marrakech.



























Nothing in this photo was bought online, but my dress is the vintage DVF and the carpet is one of the two that Megan generously carried for me through the souk.

And Megan, I owe you again because I'm pretty sure the souk photo (main photo) I used is one you took.
As you can see from the photo directly above, I'm not a photographer (or a model).

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Ephemeral, Dangerous, and Unfair

One of the things that I like best about writing this blog is that you all will often write back what you think. And often you'll write me first! Since this blog is sort of loosely structured around style, I'll throw some discussions into the mix of stories, photos, and designs that catch my eye. I really do love getting your comments - so let me know what you're thinking about!

My friend Doreen recently sent me a link to a website and short film, "the story of stuff" , which highlights the downside of a consumer-driven society. As you might guess, I'm conflicted on this one. I love fashion, and fashion is ephemeral, dangerous, and unfair (one of my favorite Karl Lagerfeld quotes) so to be fashionable would seem to require constant purchases to try to keep up with a fleeting moment. But that can put you on a crazy treadmill where you are constantly upgrading and updating and feel that you look shabby if you don't have the most recent designer everything. That's a way to empty your wallet very quickly! At the same time, I personally think buying cheap is an even worse thing to do as you're adding even more "stuff" - and (I know I'm generalizing, but...) typically, it's badly made of shoddy materials, based on a knocked off design and probably made in a sweat shop somewhere. For me, right now, I'm trying not to buy anything at all rather than to buy crap. My closets are so full, there's no reason for me to buy crap - or good stuff, for that matter. Then again, what role does reason have in aesthetics? I think it might be a cameo role; I'm pretty sure it's not the lead.

I did have one little victory in my effort not to buy stuff. I had seen a pair of Christian Louboutin nude heels in Vogue and immediately decided I wanted them and would head off to the Meatpacking store and buy them. They looked great and would go really well with so many things I have. But then I thought for a minute and realized: spending $900 on a pair of shoes I'd wear to work (to work!!!) was not going to get me to my goal of building up cash and keeping down credit card debt. I took a look in my own closet and found a pair of shoes (Manolo's, so really not too shabby) that are somewhat similar in style and color and that I'd worn a couple of times and (embarrassingly) forgotten I had. They're not exactly the same as what I was excited about buying, but hey - that's $900 in my bank and a box-shaped amount of space not taken up in my closet! And they're great shoes!

I think the desire to acquire stuff is largely psychological. As another friend pointed out to me (quite correctly), I buy a lot of the stuff I do partly because of my job. I'm not talking about investing in professional-looking clothes, I'm covered on that front. I'm talking about shopping to make myself feel better. It's not that I feel unhappy, but if I'm spending most of my waking hours at a job, no matter how pleasant and engaging it may be, shopping becomes appealing as a creative outlet, a stress valve, and a distraction. And I think it does make a difference in my mood and general happiness up to a point, but after that, it's just surplus.

I'm not advocating not buying anything and I'm definitely not "anti stuff" (you all would justifiably laugh in my face if I tried to claim that!). Industries and jobs and a rising standard of living depend on consumption and I also happen to think that aesthetics are very important. I want to look good - and I want other people to look good too, as there are zillions of people in New York and it's much more pleasant when the crowds are good looking.. The goal for me is trying to avoid that "surplus" buying, beyond what I'm excited about. I'm also trying to shop strategically, using my purchases to support designers and stores I like. I hope this doesn't come across as preachy - it's a subject that I'm really trying to think through for myself and thought I'd share it here, in case any of you were also interested.

On a different topic, I'm trying to use my own photos more, but seem to have maxed out the photo editing capabilities of Picasa. I guess it takes a lot to make my amateur photos look good! I've got a couple more clothing themed blogs written and waiting for me to get the pictures right. So please bear with me as I try to figure that all out!