Packing for Special Occasions: Brown and Black

Dress – Oro Pagoda, Scarf – India Flint, Gloves – Buscarlet, Bag – I Santi, Coat – Violante, 

Pumps – Stuart Weitzman

Printed top – Burberry Prorsum, Corduroy pants – Patagonia, Cardigan – Eric Bompard, Watch – Rotary,  Loafers – Cole Haan, Carry-on bag – Tumi 

Polo sweater – Eric Bompard, Black jeans – MaisonScotch, Scarf – Barbour Gold, Black cardigan –Barbour, Skirt – Patagonia,  Striped tee shirt – Wolf and Badger, Boots – Isabel Marant 

I really would love to respond to your comments...

But Google has something very BAD going on, and when I try to respond to comments, I get transferred to a page for RIPT;;, whatever the heck that is.

To clarify the sponsorship thing - it's through Nordstrom -I'm going to be posting a lot of my usual links which will route to the product on Nordstrom's site; I will use their site as my starting point for finding items to include in my ensembles.  Any purchases will then generate a wee bit of revenue for me.  I'm not going to the south of France on these proceeds, but I might be able to pay for my own dry cleaning and shoe repairs...  But rest assured that I'm not going to compromise my aesthetic standards just to find something on a fee-generating site - I will go wherever it takes to find the perfect scarf, or shoe, or tee shirt, to make my blog posts as beautiful as possible.

I love you all - thanks so much for your patience as Google jerks us all around and gets on our last nerve...

The ABC's of Chic Sightings: Joyous, Kinetic, Legible

It's not lost on me that life can be hard, times can be tough, and that you can't walk around with a witless grin on your face 24/7.  But you can try to be pleasant - at least demonstrate a reasonable amount of joy in being alive. Enthusiasm. Spark. Zest. All those kinds of things...

Sluggish is not going to do it.  Get in motion! Energy, enthusiasm, a spark...  (I'm sensing a theme here...)

Too much clutter, too many details, too many conflicting visual signals - I find that hard to process, and it doesn't feel chic to me.  People around you should be able to "read" you reasonably easily, so that they have a sense of you.  Your appearance communicates who you are to the rest of the world;  try to speak as clearly and simply as possible when you're communicating.

Signature: Anne Selby pleated silk scarf

These scarves are sufficiently beautiful that they would make a compelling focus for one's wardrobe.  Even if you didn't wear the scarf every day, using the colors in it as a unifying theme for your purchases could  be a brilliant idea...

Ruffled silk scarf – Anne Selby

Olive coat – Jil Sander,  olive sweater- Ralph Lauren, Earrings – Georg Jensen,  Silk top – Jil Sander, Grey cardigan – Tsumori Chisato,  Taupe cotton velvet jeans –Brunello Cucinelli, Taupe sweater – Nina Ricci,  Suede skirt – Jitrois, Bracelet – Gag and Lou,  Bag – TSM The Swedish Model, Loafers –Geox, Pumps – RSVP,  Grey jeans – BLK DNM

Project 333 continues, with 3 substitutions

Now that I'm home during the day, I've found that I don't need to dress like a serious business executive all of the time, and I'm able to indulge my fondness for ballet-ish garments, and a lot of dark neutral colors.  Maybe because I'm pouring all my creative juices into trying to write a book, I find that being able to have a simple, monochromatic wardrobe makes sense for me...

This month's additions: the most excellent Preloved tee shirt that I bought in Toronto, a charcoal tank top from Eileen Fisher, and a pair of black skirted leggings.  You either LOVE, or HATE, skirted leggings.  I've found that I love them - they're comfortable, flattering, and just unusual enough that they make me happy.

This was what I was using for Project 333.  I found that I just NEVER reached for the pink and turquoise tee shirts - they're just too bright for me right now.  Substituting black print and solid grey made me really happy...  And my black silk skirt finally broke down - sort of a simultaneous failure of multiple seams.  I wore it, until it wore out. That was a source of great satisfaction...

This is how I'm situated right now for summer clothes.  I couldn't be happier.

 

This is the skirted leggings.  I understand that many of you are going go detest these, and that's quite all right - but in the interest of complete honesty, I'm showing them to you anyway.  If you click on this picture and buy them -I WILL get compensated.  This is a first.  I have never before had any post for which  I could be paid...

And this is a better view of the tank top.  I could wear these every day in the summer.  And this picture, also, is a compensated link.  I'm positively giddy at having finally figured out how to get a sponsor....

Is anybody else in the process of Project 333, or something similar, that limits your wardrobe choices?  More information about Project 33 is available here.

Packing for Special Occasions: A Floral Coat, and Flower Colors

Sometimes, you have to travel for a special event to a place where the days are warm, but the evenings can be quite cool.  This is a perfect opportunity to invest in an astonishingly beautiful coat, which gives you lots of colorful options around which to build a travel capsule wardrobe.

UPDATE:  In their infinite wisdom, Google has made it impossible for me to respond to comments... But the question about the handbag color?  I personally would always opt for a metallic when I'm not sure of what color.  Not a blindingly shiny gaudy metallic - something more subtle and muted, in the same general color range as the Poupee Couture clutch.  I find that metallic are a lot easier to blend in with a variety of colors than anything else that I see.

Labradorite earrings- Nan Fusco, Clutch bag – Poupee Couture, Green dress – Tibi, Coat – Gucci, Gold pumps- Something Bleu 

Tee shirt – Burberry Brit, White jeans – Citizens of Humanity, Cardigan – Windsmoor, Watch- Movado, Loafers – Charles Philip, Bag- American Tourister 

Sweater- Oska, Capris – Raxevsky, Necklace – Balenciaga, Scarf – Gucci, Dress – Allsaints, Silk skirt –Cynthia Rowley, Silk tee shirts- AllSaints, Bracelet- Maiyet 

Wee gizmos that make my life easier and better

First thing in the morning, chez nous, is coffee. Not negotiable, and certainly not optional.  But in the super-hot weather, heating water for the French press can bring added heat to the wee apartment that is NOT necessary.  But we discovered the idea of the electric kettle when we lived in Ireland - furnished apartments included the kettle!  And it heats up a full pot of water in about a minute, AND you can adjust the temperature for the nuances of optimizing black tea, green tea, French press coffee etc. It doesn't leave behind a hot stove burner, and it uses electricity for only a very short period of time.  Through the day, when I want to drink tea, I turn it on repeatedly...

electric kettle - Breville

Our very lovely little apartment has one ENTIRE wall of windows.  Most of the time this is a source of beauty and delight, but sometimes, it makes sleep more difficult.  I could never wear sleep masks because the pressure on my eyelids made me feel claustrophobic.  One of belovedest's closest friends bought us a couple of these nifty masks  - they're molded foam, shaped so that you can OPEN YOUR EYES while you're wearing them.  It takes about 2 minutes to get used to wearing them - they're feather-light - and they transform sleep during the "long daylight" parts of the year.  And on an airplane, they're amazing.  The flickering from other people's movies and activities is completely blocked out.  When coupled with good earplugs or headphones, sleep is almost possible, even in coach class!

eye mask - Bucky

Extremely inexpensive, lightweight, folds down into most handbags, and essential when power surges hit - I would be a very unhappy girl without my hand fans.  Muji carries them from time to time, with aluminum frames - if you ever see those, grab a couple. 

hand fan - Luna Bazaar

I have a problematic relationship with nail polish; while I'm certainly not immune to the appeal of shiny toes during sandal season, I'm not really willing to get involved in spending the money, the time, the chemicals, nor the non-recyclable little bottles and brushes. It's maddening to me to get my nails done, knowing full well that it's only the most temporary of gestures, due to start looking worn and chippy in just a short time.  Even the "chip-proof" gel polishes will grow out...

 But I DO like nice-looking hands, so I've started buffing my nails.  These little blocks cover all of the necessary steps, take up no space, and last for months...

nail buffer - Sephora

As with all things, your mileage may vary!