That's pants

This year when I was looking through magazines and at fashion shows, one of the looks I was really drawn to was high waisted, somewhat bell-shaped trousers. I've seen that silhouette in skirts and dresses for a few seasons, but the pants were something new. A bit more relaxed, modern, more something...So I was really excited to see that my friend Jane had some great ones at her sample sale.

But what I noticed as I was getting dressed for work one morning this week is that the proportions are so different from what I've been wearing recently, I had to rethink what to wear on top. For skinny pants (esp really skinny ones), loose and long is my way to go, but that doesn't work if the narrow waist is the only thing that prevents you from looking fat. Don't want to cover that up! And for the paper bag waist pants, anything with much detail just looked too busy and fussy. I might get more adventurous as I work my way through my closet and I've seen some great looks in magazines that might influence me. But for real life, for me now, I am keeping things simple. White shirt, long cardigan and sparkly necklace (and heels), so i don't look too much like Madonna in the "Who's that girl" era.

For me, this cut of pants works best if I keep it feminine (keep the waist uncluttered and wear heels). Otherwise, it's Charlie Chaplin, or just a dumpy pantsuit. The volume around the hips does make them tricky - but they're super-comfortable, and if you get it right, there's a very careless "now" vibe that reads as slouchy , not schlumpy. Well, the trousers in the middle photo are not slouchy at all, but they're a play on that bell shape so the proportions are similar.

But it's not just new trousers that I'm excited about. I've been going on about tights and I really like the contrast of a military style jacket and short skirt. And I still think short skirts and dresses look so great with short swingy coats - or a cape. Capes are really comfortable over jackets, actually, as there's a bit more room in the arm, but I find that the fabric gets a bit caught up if you're wearing a purse with a shorter strap. So I like the longer, cross the body kind of strap. I like that anyway, especially as, no matter how many times I try to unload non-essentials from my purse, it still seems to weigh a ton.



Btw, I bet it is not hard for you to guess which photos are from right after my haircut! :) Still amateur photography, but at least my hair looks good! Thanks Ellen!

Extremities

I think that the best way to deal with temptation is to give in just a little bit. If you don't have a pressure valve to let off steam, then it will keep building until it explodes. But just a little bit of giving into temptation isn't really giving in, it's just keeping things healthy.

At the moment, I am very tempted to go shopping for cold weather clothes. But I am trying not to buy any fall stuff until my friend Jane's sale. Her sale is second only to Christmas in the thrill and anticipation that I feel when I walk into her showroom. And it's twice a year!! And coming up soon!!! (btw, let me know if you want to go.) And I don't want to feel constrained by having bought full priced clothes which have already cut into my budget.

So, I opened my pressure valve a teeny bit and about $40 escaped (I meant it to be about $10, but my pressure valve isn't very subtle). And for that $40, I got 5 new bottles of nail polish in new colors - purple, mauve, brown-ish, matte brown/gray, and sparkly blue. (more '90s!! remember Hard Candy? And yet, here I am doing it again...but I like it!)

I like all of them, actually, and am really inspired right now to play around with color, pattern and texture in tights, nail polish - and maybe soon gloves and hats, which I find myself more interested in this year. I think it's because designers are producing more creative ideas for extremities (legs, fingers, hands, well, ok, your head is not an extremity) because these accessories are cheap(er) ways of getting a new look. Nail polish definitely is, anyway.

So, there you go. All bought yesterday, so available in stores, in case you like any of them.

Btw, the other best way to deal with temptation is to give in and fully enjoy it.

Last Emperor Strikes Back

The first day there's a bit of chill in the air, my heart rate picks up a beat and I get this back to school feeling of wanting to step up my energy level, get into a new routine (take lessons in something, exercise more)... I finally get to wear my new boots, my skinny jeans, and to play around with colored and patterned tights and scarves that are too hot and too much bother in the summertime...
(photos - how I make a summer wool suit work for fall, and one of my Copenhagen purchases - two-toned tights from Sneaky Fox worn with summer wool black dress).


And then my stomach drops like I just hit a dip in the road that I hadn't expected and I realize.. gulp.. time for the seasonal closet rehaul. I know it sounds like nothing, but there's something a bit accusatory when your doorman tells you there's too much dry cleaning for you to take up in the elevator with you in 6 trips. All those clothes - my clothes - hidden away for the season have now come back home, reminding me that.. yep.. there are a lot of them. And it's a feat of engineering and some sacrifice to fit them back into my closet. It's hard to face. The big bill doesn't help, either.. Gulp.

Despite all my gulping as I paid that bill this evening, I still was hungry, so I made dinner and watched Valentino, the Last Emperor, a movie I'd missed in theaters because I was having too much fun at happy hour with Michelle to make it. It's one of those great movies where you laugh at the outsized personalities and "out of touch-ness" of prima donnas (or primo huomos?). (Example: hating an entire museum because of one stair rail that reminds him of Macy's).. But it pulled me away from feeling a little self destructive guilt (self destructive because I'm not going to change the behavior that leads to the guilt because the rest of the time that behavior makes me really happy). And the movie reminded me again of why I have all those clothes in the first place. Because it's my creative outlet and because they're beautiful (or at least, I think they are) and if I have a choice, I want my life to be beautiful too. There may be more important things in life, but not THAT many, really. Aesthetics are far too underrated.

So, as a tribute to the reminder that Valentino gave me, I am accepting the fact that I have a whole lot of purses hanging in my foyer and am now considering that my decor (and I added a tiny little Valentino clutch). Rationalization is another of my creative outlets...