A minor slip up

Sometimes the perfect wow outfit that looked great in the store turns out to be a bit too much for my real life. Plunge necklines, sheer dresses, wide-cut armholes, etc. look amazing, but how are you supposed to wear them in public if you're planning to lean forward or raise an arm at any point? Wrapping myself in double-sided tape is a pretty unappealing thought...

And you can be surprised by even the most innocent looking clothes.. A knee-length floaty lined dress - how sweet and demure is that? Oh very, until it's steadily crept up your legs while you're walking and gathered itself around your waist like a bunchy shirt. A nice look for afternoon in midtown! I speak from recent experience. Thankfully in my case, I was wearing a wrap coat that I could hold closed until I could rearrange. So while I may have looked like a flasher, at least I didn't look like something worse..

All of these sartorial challenges can be addressed, however, with a bit of layering. The solutions are out there, though it's surprising how hard they are to find, given how designers have sent out season after season of sheer clothing. Everyone seems to want to sell you Spanx or some "shapewear" item. Do they think women are only walking around in tight fitting jersey? Somewhere there's a designer/lingerie company disconnect because that's not how women I know dress... But anyway, I have managed to find some layering pieces that have worked for me.

The floaty dress (by Hache) was tamed with a plain half slip (Commando) that is essentially a fashion band-aid (a guy friend of mine called it "insurance").. not particularly lovely - but it works! I'm wearing it here with the coat that preserved my modesty (also Hache).


The plunge neckline (Matthew Ames jumpsuit) was made admittedly less dramatic (but modest enough for me to be more comfortable) with an American Apparel body suit. (American Apparel is great for layering pieces.) The shoes are Acne.

And I'm wearing this Hache sheer double-layer dress over a tank top, and under a Ter et Bantine tuxedo jacket. The boots are the Chloe buckle ones I wrote about last summer. And yes, I have definitely gotten a lot of wear out of them - and they've held up beautifully!





Now, I don't want to talk people out of being daring - I saw a girl on Saturday night wearing a tank top with wide-cut arm holes over a black bra. It looked cool (though my friends thought she looked like she was trying too hard). Maybe. It all depends on your comfort level. I'm a bit klutzy and tend to move my arms around a lot while I'm talking, so I want to feel like I have a full range of motion without having to worry about revealing a bit too much of myself to strangers (or friends). If you're more composed, or more daring, good for you! But if not, those are a few layering pieces that work for me.

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?