Chic Sightings: Red Shoes (and Belts)

 One very striking dress, and one utterly simple and classic dress:

earrings - inSync, dress - Wallis Fashion, sandals - Jeffrey Campbell, red belt - Loft,  denim dress- Rag and Bone, red sandals - Munro

 

A great printed tee shirt with exquisitely well-matched shorts, and very fun zippy red moccasins. And a shirt covered with tiny red hearts, accented with red leather accessories, and white capris.

tee shirt - Kenzo, blue shorts- Topshop, red moccasins - Minnetonka, heart dot shirt - Madewell, red belt - Reiss, white capris - Mango, red flats - Naya

All shirts have sleeves rolled up, this time of year...

shift - Comme Des Garcons, jeans - Colette, canvas shoes - Superga, white shirt - Topshop,   red belt - Arric and Barn,  khaki shorts -L.L.Bean, red moccasins - Clarks

Transition from Summer to Fall: Pink & Navy Accessories

 Accessories are an important part of shifting your wardrobe from summer to autumn.  While you can get by indefinitely without any jewelry or scarves, at a minimum, you're going to need a pair of shoes...

floral silk bag - Uroco, pearl necklace - Orchira, navy flats - Tods, scarf - milleneufcentqquatrevingtquatre, pink cord bracelet - Lilla Balas, scarf- Alex Suh, woven earrings - Ayako Kanari, wedge pumps - Softspots

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

all garments - L.L.Bean

Transition: Whatever's Clean in Navy and Pink

Ah, we're all pretty interested in how to shift from warm weather to cool.  Even if it's not yet time to actually WEAR cool-weather clothes, it's nice to have a plan in which we can do a bit of shopping and look forward.  So starting in August, we have this wardrobe:

all garments - L.L.Bean

Sleeveless and shorts seem like natural items to phase out (although that sleeveless navy top, with the navy cardigan, really is 12 month...).  So these would be the garments that would be slowing down:

all garments - L.L.Bean

Add in some jeans, a striped jersey, and a long-sleeved pink shirt in a pretty floral...

all garments - L.L.Bean

By October, you've got to say goodbye to the white pants, and it might be time to look for something to take the place of your white tee shirt, and your beige linen skirt (remember, you can replace these garments in any order you want - you might have been more than ready to say goodbye to white linen pants by Labor Day)

all garments - L.L.Bean

A white shirt,a denim skirt,and some navy corduroy pants give this wardrobe a very autumn feel.

all garments - L.L.Bean

By the time November rolls around, you're more than ready to say au revoir to your pink 3/4 sleeve shirt, pink tee shirt, and white tunic...

all garments - L.L.Bean

A touch of cashmere, a long-sleeved tee, and a thermal top in pretty pastels set you up for cooler weather:

all garments - L.L.Bean

But of course, you could hang onto the 9 garments that were more "summery", and still use them for layering...

all garments - L.L.Bean

We Have a Winner! in the Impressionism, Fashion & Modernity drawing

Yesterday evening, I tallied up the last of the entries, and found that I had 135 people entered into my drawing for the catalog for the Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago.  This is how I chose a winner.

 This is a particularly cool outcome, because Emma is only 10 years old, and is a BIG fan of Impressionism.  I'm sure everyone joins me in congratulating her on her good luck, and wishes her great joy in this lovely book.

This is the EXACT dress that appears in the painting In The Conservatory by Albert Bartholeme

In The Conservatory, by Albert Bartholeme

Another dress from the exhibition - a very near match to a dress in one of the exhibit paintings.

The exhibit was amazing - very hard for me to digest in just one visit.  As one might expect, it was tremendously crowded (not "Mona Lisa room in the Louvre" crowded, but more like "on the staircase near the Winged Victory" crowded).  The harmony between the fashions on display and the wonderful paintings was easy to follow, but I wasn't able to really pull  in the thread of Modernity as well as I wanted to. I think I'm going to walk back over and take another look, so I can fully understand the complete message of the exhibit.

What luxury...

The ABC's of Chic Sightings: Modest, Non-Smoking, Original

Our world is full of blatant displays of... appalling immodesty.  Really outrageous. I don't find it attractive, and I'm certainly not going to honor that kind of bad taste and bad judgment with the title of Chic Sighting.

People who smoke can be chic. I'm sure it's possible.  But I've never seen anybody ACTUALLY IN THE ACT of smoking who felt chic to me.  A cigarette hasn't been a chic accessory for at least 40 years...

You have to look like yourself.  You have to have something about your person that represents you, and you alone. Buying an entire outfit, from earrings to shoes, from a store or catalog, and turning yourself into a carbon copy of someone else is not chic, to me.

Project 333 for a new season - shifting white tops

Another gradual change for my Project 333 wardrobe - the white tee shirt will give way to a simple white blouse.  If you haven't had luck purchasing a button-front shirt, I can't encourage you enough to continue to try them on from time to time.  Companies continue to tweak their cuts, and it's very possible that you will be able to find one that fits you perfectly.  When I did my gig working in the bakery last year, I had to wear a white shirt EVERY DAY, and I found that Lands' End made petite styles that fit me as if made to measure.  Now that I own FIVE of them, they are definitely going to get rotated into my fall and winter wardrobe.

And they're ideal for wearing scarves...

blouse - Eileen Fisher,  tee shirt - Eileen Fisher

Transition: Whatever's Clean shifts from Summer to Autumn, in Beige and Green

Hypothesis:  You've had a lot of success with a small "Whatever's Clean" wardrobe, and you'd like to be able to make a seamless transition to cooler weather.

all clothes - L.L.Bean

First off, shorts and sleeveless tops just feel wrong when school starts and the calendar rolls over to September.  So these would be the first three items to phase out.

all clothes - L.L.Bean

So a couple of longer-sleeved tops, and a pair of pants in the same color as your shorts will ease you into cool weather.

all clothes - L.L.Bean

In October, it might be time to give up linen pants and your simple white tee shirt.

all clothes - L.L.Bean

Replacing a white tee shirt with a white buttoned shirt is an easy switch -if you haven't tried on a button-front shirt for a while, don't give up.  After 20 years of NEVER wearing a shirt with buttons, I finally found that Lands' End petite shirts fit me beautifully...  And October is the perfect time to get a pair of corduroy pants, and a pair of knit pants in your favorite beige.

all clothes - L.L.Bean

For November, these three are ready for a break:

all clothes - L.L.Bean

A warm tweed skirt, a classic cotton sweater, and a striped jersey, and you're set for Thanksgiving!

all clothes - L.L.Bean

But of course you don't HAVE to put the nine replaced garments away - they'll still work well for layering.  Except the shorts - accept that most of us can only wear shorts in November in the comfort of our home. But these 22 garments give you a lot of options!

all clothes - L.L.Bean