Old Thing

This is what I wore today:

Before I realized that it would rain.

And this is why I love this dress, which I also accidentally wore to the sweetest wedding on Friday, then to Work, on Monday with black blazer, cardi, stockings, and shoes and today with a

High Line

Blue dress

A post by, perhaps, my favorite blog(ger),OneSleeplessNight, who was in turn inspired by Ines de la Fressange's Parisian Chic, is the perfect backdrop for the following list. Said list was actually inspired by an article from Vogue Nov 2007 title "On Having Enough". This is what I am wishing, right now, to make of my wardrobe:

1. A handful of tailored blazers in dark colors, one or two in a bright primary color and in beige. 

3. Dresses. dresses. dresses. 

2. Six or seven pairs of trousers, from navy to beige, and two or three really fun pairs, tailored but very comfortable to travel, walk, and run for the train. 

3. About five skirts, some with volume and some fitted. 

4. A pile of cashmere sweaters and cardigans in blacks, browns, navy, and various fun colors. 

5. Some bags: brown patent Cole Haan that looks gorgeous, fits my laptop and anything necessary for a weekend away, flushed Arcadia tote, and a bunch of fabric totes to carry purchased goods. 

6. Men's shoes, flats of various kinds, some eccentric sneakers, and boots. 

7. A small pile of hats in brown and black. 

8. Jewelry: vintage, faux, and real. My absolute favorite ring is probably not real and I wear it almost daily.

Equanimity

"Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important." -Janet Lane

Today's Outfit

This dress exemplifies a rather unusual behavioral pattern pour moi; an impulsive luxury. This dress may very well be my only impulsively chosen luxury item. It is an example of subconscious changes leading to behavioral changes. It was acquired along with a very couture leopard silk cropped jacket. The jacket went back to the store in one day. I still wonder if I should have kept the jacket. The dress has stayed in the closet. In the store it was just the best thing, absolutely perfect. In my wardrobe, it never seemed appropriate for any occasion.

Last night I needed the hanger and, absentmindedly, put it on a hanger over a white shirt that was already on it. Place the giant, vintage, men's cardigan that I was given when I volunteered for a local fund-raiser this weekend, and voila!
I can see the dress twinkle knowingly, in a pretty accent, "You see? I can go many places."

Additive 30X30, 21-Day Challenge, One-Year Wardrobe Reformation: Month 1 - Week 3 - Wear a dress or skirt

Understanding what we find cheerful may be a big part of how we approach a closet reformation project. Yes, it is important to create a set of items to work together well. For this, we might use a methodical approach. But this methodical approach, at its core, can be driven by our feelings. Do we want to feel powerful? Cheerful? Noble?

Today's pick is this cheerful little yellow silk dress! This might be my favorite this summer. Regardless of how methodical my process might be, there will need to be something cheerful and soft, if this reformation project is going to work at all. Maybe you will find that you gravitate toward an item like a compass points north. It could be because of how it makes you feel, whether it's one emotion or a balance of them. So, what's your north?

-La Copine

Additive 30X30, 21-Day Challenge, One-Year Wardrobe Reformation: Month 1 - Week 3 - Mix fancy and casual

Additive 30X30, 21-Day Challenge, One-Year Wardrobe Reformation: Month 1 - Week 3 - Remix an Item

Remixes

Additive 30X30, 21-Day Challenge, One-Year Wardrobe Reformation: Month 1 - Week 3 - Closet Orphan

 This is la première runway dress que je purchased with my own self earned money. Although in consignment shop, it was still too steep for my high-school budget. OK, fine, that was after all the leisure funds were spent on some Ferragamo cashmere, a Via Spiga trench, and a fancy suitcase that was way too heavy. But I digress.  

Additive 30X30, 21-Day Challenge, One-Year Wardrobe Reformation: Month 1 - Week 3 - Wear something in an unexpected way

Perhaps it is not obvious, but I tend to stay away from tying items of clothing. It turns out, with this cardigan, that the buttons were not the best part of the cardigan. A buttonoctomy took place.

Additive 30X30, 21-Day Challenge, One-Year Wardrobe Reformation: Month 1 - Week 2 - Wear something on your head

(Black sunglasses, acetate, Burberry; Striped white navy ribbon, silk, thrifted; Green scarf, not sure; Gray blazer, wool, Ann Taylor; Pink chino pants, cotton, J.Crew; Blue top, silk, Diane Von Fursternberg; Silver shoes, leather, Miss Me.)

Additive 30X30, 21-Day Challenge, One-Year Wardrobe Reformation: Month 1 - Week 2 - Sunday: Copy-Cat

  

Today's challenge is "Copycat!". To re-create an outfit that I really like from a blog, magazine, etc. I chose to recreate the "Lazy Sunday" outfit by northwestisbest. I love her DIYs and her weekender outfits. Her pop of red with the tights is so fun! Like party-kind-of-fuuuun! But, I can't pull off bright colored tights. Also, I would not wear them to work. I go to work almost every day. Thus, I have no bright colored tights. But it is raining all day today and I have red duck shoes!

Wined, Cheesed, Partied; 7 Easy Pieces: Finale!!!

I bought this top last December and it’s the only thing i think for which I have, gladly, paid full price. It sold out so quickly that one week later i was glad i had snatched it. An old trick that grandma showed me is to wear a cardigan backwards. In this case, it is a sequined sweater shell and i think it makes the sequins more special because they are hidden when i put on a jacket.

This challenge has been so eye opening. Amidst all the stuff that our consumerist culture encourages, I realized that that a girl does not really need that much. Of course is nice to get nice things. I love things! But there is much more to fashion and styling than “stuff”. It is a great unifying attitude and a sensibility that we all can have regardless of where we are from, what we are and what we have.

Este desafío me ha abierto los ojos bien. En medio de las cosas que acumulamos las aficionadas de la moda, animadas por la cultura consumerista, me doy cuenta de que una no necesita muchas cosas. Por supuesto que es agradable tener y comprar cosas bonitas. ¡Amo las cosas preciosas! Quien no? Pero hay más en la moda y el estilo que la simple “materia”. La moda y el estilo son una actitud y una sensibilidad que unen a todos porque todos podemos tenerlos sin importar de donde somos, donde vivimos ni lo que poseemos.