PS, I Love You

 Thakoon lipstick print trench, Junya Watanabe Comme des Garcons top, Rag & Bone pants, Rochas shoes, Proenza Schouler briefcase clutch

I'm a fan of most things ridiculous.  So when I saw this mother of a clutch at the Proenza sample sale (the gift that keeps on giving), I could hardly say no.  In truth, I said no a few times while I was perusing the racks, but I just couldn't get away.  It looks like a briefcase!  You can fit a laptop in it!  It has lots of metal and holes!  And a lock without a key!  But seriously guys, you actually can fit a laptop in here, and it's not as hard to carry around as one might think a gigantic bag without a strap would be! It even looks, as Nietzsche might say, uber professional.  You can't say that about many (if any?) clutches.  I scoured the web for other examples of a work-appropriate clutch, and besides the rote oversized envelope clutch, there don't seem to be many?  WHY?  Some of us would like to look just a tad bit flippant and fashionably privileged while being uber serious career ladies.  I mean, for uber serious.  

In any event, this Proenza bag means that we can and must keep the idea of the workplace clutch alive people, it DOES EXIST.

City Slicker

Proenza Schouler jacket, Brooks Brothers shirt, Thakoon pants, Ferragamo shoes

It is a rare occasion when I actually wish for rain (ok, unprecedented), but after a stop at the Proenza Schouler sample sale last week, I was dying for some moisture to get a chance to try out this sample jacket I picked up (of course, cooler weather could have produced the same opportunity, but we all know that ain't gonna happen).  Although I didn't get all Ted from How I Met Your Mother, I was more than a little happy to see the forecast today.  UNFORTUNATELY, the rain only lasted a few moments and the "feels like" temperature only got muggier.  But it was enough for me to at least throw on the jacket for the damp walk to work in the morning.  I'm only disappointed that I didn't get a chance to test out its potential windbreaker quick-dry abilities.  I REALLY hope it's not like, oh, about 95% of other designer trenches that end up being combustible upon contact with water.  I cannot count the times I've been enamored with a pretty, seemingly plastic-coated trench only to be horribly crushed by various salespersons when I dare ask whether the coat is functional.  Not that I don't have jackets that don't really serve any purpose.  Anyways, the real point is: the Proenza sample sale was amazing.  I couldn't go the first day so I ended up getting an extra 25% off the next day for my (work-forced) patience.  So I got some stuff.  And you will be seeing a lot of that stuff.  And I've been practicing my PS puns.  You've been warned.

It's Business Time

Proenza Schouler top and shoes, Brooks Brothers skirt

No, not that kind of business time.  I mean the kind of business time where you have to leave the confines of your air-conditioned office and those well-worn bookmarked blogs behind and *gasp* actually meet and talk to real people in real life!  I had to get some very important documents signed by a client the other day, and I was faced with the conundrum of what to wear?  It's definitely still far too hot to put a whole suit together, especially since I would be walking there.  Yet, I felt I had to dress a bit more conservatively than is my wont.  Thankfully, a shirt I had been wavering on at the Proenza Schouler sample sale last week (more on that later) earned its keep, and while all I'm wearing is an all-business suit skirt and white button down, I love that the windbreaker-esque back and sporty elasticized heels still solidly convey that I'd rather be at the beach than slogging through the hot humid streets of midtown. ;-)

WG in Wonderland

Ralph Lauren Blue Label shirt, Chloe skirt, Stuart Weitzman shoes

 Lovely eyelet detail in the skirt

Poof!

This week definitely had me feeling like I had fallen down the rabbit hole.  Everything and everyone seemed upside down and turned around.  Out of all that came (unconsciously) a very Alice outfit, with it's blue-and-white composition and play on proportions.  If I've said anything about having fun with outfits at work, it's proportion, proportion, proportion.  Nothing else will take a look from downtrodden worker bee to queen of the work hive faster.  This skirt in particular is one of my favorites that I regret not wearing more. The rather stiff cotton that the skirt is made of is really the only thing that gives it its malleable shape--no other tricks!  Love that such a simple choice of fabrication made such a difference.  And speaking of Alice, is anyone else as obsessed with that Annie Leibovitz-Vogue editorial with Natalia Vodianova as Alice?  Ever since it came out in 2003, it has been one of my favorites (if not the favorite).  The entire spread is here (if you haven't seen it, it's totally worth the clicks to see Galliano as the Queen of Hearts, Gaultier as the Cheshire Cat, and Marc Jacobs as the Caterpillar), but these two are my favorite of the bunch:

I can't decide if it's the frothy frills, the pithy and well-chosen quotes, or Natalia's perfectly petulant gaze in both, but whichever it is, I can't help but absolutely love these pics!

Octagenerian Rules

Prada shirt/jacket, J. Crew tank, Marc Jacobs skirt, Rochas sandals

 

 What grandma/fisherman wouldn't want a piece of these?

Everyone loves a grandma right?  They are sweet. And wise.  And give you money on your birthday.   So why not pay homage to those old dears who love to talk your ear off  every family holiday and dress like a grandma every once in a while?  Have you ever seen a grandma who is not completely comfortable in her clothes?  Who is afraid of colors? And prints? Didn't think so.  Not to say you should be parading around in your finest housecoat (or maybe...?) and slippers. Think more chic Palm Beach grandma who still enjoys the finer things in life, albeit with a more limited circumference of movement.  And you know who else loves grandmas? Marc Jacobs! and Prada!  And Dolce & Gabbana (well, at least Italian grandmas that don't wear pants)!  So when you're feeling like you need a little love, give your outfits a quirky I'm old-and-I-don't-give-a-crap-about-anything-anyone-thinks-anymore grandma twist and it will surely put a little pep in your step.  And you know they say anyways, the apple doesn't fall from the tree...

Old Habits

 J. Crew top, BCBG skirt, Banana Republic belt, Ferragamo shoes

Can't say I would have thought of neon tassels myself...

On a particularly oppressive day at work last week, I found myself at the Rockefeller Plaza J. Crew perusing the goods for some sanity and personal edification (NOT for shopping, as my recent shoe spree has seriously confined my purchasing capabilities for the next bit).  While I was generally nonplussed by the mishmash of a collection out on the floor, I was pleasantly surprised by the sale section, which held quite a few gems (most notably due to quite low LOW prices).  I was intrigued by the multiple racks of the shirt above and its apparent Morrocan-Wasp-Boho inspiration (which I have to admit, I don't quite "get").  Usually, that kind of cognitive dissonance isn't enough to persuade me to shell out the cash.  But the $6.99 price tag made it hard to pass up (and to my surprise, it's still inexplicably being sold on Net-a-Porter for more than the J. Crew retail price).  The pants in the previous post were also an exception to my self-imposed shopping moratorium  ($11.99 for pants?  Amazing), as was a perfectly fitting tee.  Figured I could make some room in the budget, seeing as they weren't much more than a midtown lunch.  While I can't say I'm totally back with the[J.] Crew,  at least their sales continue to deliver!

Style Note:  I sized up a couple of sizes on this shirt to make it more versatile and work-wearable--it still looks great with little shorts and flat sandals on the weekend, but the added length and width allows you to give it some structure with a belt  for work as well. 

New is the New

In advance, please forgive the indulgence of posting so many of the following pictures (right, like a blog isn't completely self-indulgent in the first place?!), but I have made *some* progress with the camera and am going to subject all of you to the fruits of such (muahahahaha).  Hopefully you will end up as enamored of the Miu Miu shoes as I!

Miu Miu shirt, J. Crew pants, Miu Miu studded mary janes

 This is what I look like after work

The back looks like a front.  Ideas...

Shoe porn

Photodump

Since I am in the throes of figuring out my new camera (read: making little progress), I thought I would partake in the proverbial photo dump to get some of the older pics out of the cache to make room for the new (and also for sake of future consistency).

Rag & Bone pants, Brooks Brothers shirt, Uniqlo jacket, Ferragamo shoes

 Thakoon skirt, J. Crew shirt, Nine West jacket, Ferragamo shoes

 H&M dress, Rag & Boneshoes

 Polka dots!

Although I would rather be wearing those polka dots here....

School Ties

Alexander Wang top, DKNY skirt, Hermes twilly scarf, Rochas shoes

Although I thought I would regret spending so much on so little a piece of silk while a financially constrained college student, this Hermes twilly is still one of my fave accessories

For some reason (probably that I was a weird kid), I always envied schools that had uniforms.  While I now appreciate the freedom I had not having had uniforms my entire academic career, my love of the buttoned-up school-girl look has not waned in the least.  I'm not talking Lolita territory here.  Just some good old fashioned propern-ess with a healthy dose of subversiveness.  As you can probably see very clearly, this proper/subversive dichotomy is basically my M.O. for work dressing, so whenever the school-uniform inspired trends come around, I am a very happy camper.  Most recently, Proenza Schouler did a fabulous take on it by putting a '90s tough-girl spin on things.  Pretty excited about that collection.  And if you're in NYC next week, Proenza Schouler will be having a sample sale July 21-22 on Spring and Resort collections (which were also great)!  

In other news, I've been meaning to get a new camera for a while, and it's finally here (well here tomorrow)!  Get ready for a major upgrade if I can figure out how to use it!

Proenza Schouler A/W 2010

                                                                                     (via style.com)

La Vie en Rose

Marc by Marc Jacobs dress and shoes

Is anyone else as excited about Mad Men starting up again?  While I loved the '50s outfits the last 3 seasons, I'm really excited to see them moving towards '60s silhouettes.  I feel there going to head somewhere in the direction of this dress.  And I can't wait!  This dress also makes me think of the recent Dior haute couture show that had a wonderfully joyous floral theme (right down to the bulb-like hair).  I cannot expound enough on the virtues of haute couture and how important I think it is to the survival of fashion as an art form.  No one will dispute that clothing must serve a utilitarian purpose.  And there is no doubt haute couture is unattainable for the vast majority of the world's population.  But these points only matter if haute couture is to be categorized as something less that art.  I think this does it a massive disservice.  While it may be true that in its history haute couture may have been a vestige of elitism, the fact that it is so removed from even the lives of the very rich today makes it even more artistic exercise than ever before.  Perhaps it is unprofitable, perhaps it is unattainable, but so what?  It is also the most exhilarating permutation of fashion that exists.  The craft that must be developed to bring such exquisite creations into existence is enough to inspire even the most isolated of beings.  Haute couture is now largely art for art's sake, and that notion shouldn't be looked down upon, or even worse, ignored. It should  be celebrated more than ever. Just because there is or once was a practical reason for its existence shouldn't mean that it must be its only and primary reason for existence.  There is nothing that necessitates haute couture be practical or profitable, except those large investment funds that go about buying what they have no business to be buying.  When art must produce first and foremost some measured, quantifiable effect, it is an anathema to creativity and to the existence of the art itself.  This is even more true because I think it is the unspoken and unspeakable aspects of art that contribute most to society, both on an individual and communal level.  And I think that's something worth "losing" money for.

Christian Dior Couture Fall 2010

                                                                                        (via style.com)