The Utilitarian Dress

My sister and I have become obsessed with the concept of the shift dress recently. We made moodboards on both a physical cork board and Pinterest for the shift dress of our dreams, which is a vague prototype of a 1997 Liz Claiborne sleeveless dress that my sister wore until puberty and that my mom wears to this day. Though a crew neck shift dress would make the ideal weekday uniform, I've seen a another style of sixties dress on the Spring 2015 runways with a practical cut that I could definitely get behind. I'm not sure what the exact term is called, but it resembles a men's henley in t-shirt dress form with a military and utilitarian vibe. It's the half button-down tomboyish front that gets me, and I'll take with or without collar. It reminds me of the shirt that Jude Law wears in Cold Mountain, ya know? 

Derek Lam Spring 2015, image via Style.com

Marc Jacobs Spring 2015, image via Style.com

Image via Pinterest

On Gauchos and Culottes

Even though I'm not the least bit a part of it--though I did spend this past Saturday shuffling samples to and from a showroom in Chelsea and the Bowery Hotel (that was fun and glamorous, totally jk)--fashion week in New York always excites me. I feel like the city comes alive with the promise of new clothes and fresh trends. I probably wouldn't feel so closely entwined in the happenings on and off the runway if it weren't for Style.com, which I've been going to every hour for the past week to see what's coming down the runways and who's wearing what on the street.

One of the trends I'm most looking forward to is the culotte and its close relative, the gaucho. Denim, khaki, suede, whatever. The material is negligible as long as the wide-legged pant is present. Worth pointing out that my roommates and I were LITERALLY just talking about how jersey gauchos were an offensive trend (made extra worse by VPLs) that we all fell victim to sometime between 2005 and 2007. I'm also 97% sure my one of my roommates kept her tween gauchos and now wears them as pajama pants. Please verify, Ellen.

My roommate's choice of pant in 2014 aside, I wonder if the gaucho/culotte trend can acceptably look good when worn with flats or sneakers, or do they have to be worn with heels? Granted, they look really fricken cool when worn with heels, but do realistic young millennials comme moi really have the lifestyle of a heels and gaucho-wearing laday? Yeah...no. Luckily I have until spring to figure it out, although I can always wear them with my CLOGS!

Images from Style.com: J.Crew, MM6 Maison Martin Margiela, Delpozo (to be honest, totally cannot tell if this last one is a pant or a skirt, but I guess that's the allure of a wide-legged pant.)

#NYFW: T by Alexander Wang and Ralph Lauren

 My bootleg coverage of #NYFW continues today with a couple of brief notes.

• The T by Alexander Wang collection includes most of my favorite trends: puff outerwear, trendy sweatpants, leather leggings, exposed underwear (an unintentional favorite), cable knit sweaters, and what appears to be tweed coats, but I wouldn't know because I didn't see it in the flesh. Though some of the looks also prove that when one wears all of their favorite things at once, the result is a sight for sore eyes.

• One of my shallow and non-urgent goals in life is to live a lifestyle that absolutely requires me to wear Ralph Lauren gowns to dinner. This would be easy if my father were Lord Grantham, but he's not. Clearly I've over-consumed Masterpiece Classics by associating Downton Abbey with Ralph Lauren. And Laura Linney. Anyway, Ralph Lauren collections always kind of look the same, but I still like them for being so effing elegant. Also, I do love winter white and good beret (#seeyousoonParis). 

All photos via Style.com

#NYFW: All the Pretty Dresses

My sister in both life and blogging asked me yesterday (over gchat) what type of clothing I would design if I were a fashion designer. I figured her response would be sweaters given that she's spent her post-work hours of late blogging about knitted tops. My response was dresses for the simple reason that some dresses are just. so. pretty. Like a silver fox, sometimes I just can't stop staring at a pretty dress. 

Here are some dresses from #NYFW thus far that answer the ultimate question that goes through my mind sometimes/rarely/never: If I were going to the Academy Awards, what would I wear? 

Delpozo via Style.com

Reem Acra via Style.com

Badgley Mischka via Style.com

Dennis Basso via Style.com

Lela Rose via Style.com

#NYFW: Belted Coats

Okay, my fashion week coverage has been pretty minimal thus far as all I've done is complain about the insanity that has become street style. So, let's talk about da clothes. I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago about the jacket plus belt phenomenon, but if the runway shows are any indication of future trends (which, duh, they are) fall/winter is leaning towards the belted jacket rather than the jacket plus belt (there's a sub-tle difference, you guys). Either way, I do love the way a belt cinches an otherwise concealed waist on an oversize coat.

Altuzarra via Style.com

The Row via Style.com

Delpozo via Style.com

10 Crosby Derek Lam via Style.com

Tilda

Sometimes I'm supremely wow'd by Tilda Swinton, and a picture of her at the Chanel haute couture show yesterday led me to one of those instances. The look is culled from the Chanel pre-fall show. Aren't you just blooowwn away?

A few thoughts:

• Do you think she dyed her hair to match the rest of the outfit? I'd do the same if I were that pale.
• I'm usually vehemently against patterned tops because of their inability to be worn multiple times and in multiple ways, but astral ones are an exception because there's something about stars, like their patriotic partner stripes, that allow them to be worn with almost anything. Versatility, ya know?
• WHITE TIGHTS! I've been waiting to bring back white tights since I last wore them at an easter egg hunt in 1998, and if Tilda is doing it, so am I. Also they're ribbed, so there's that.
• I've been wearing a blanket-as-skirt similar to Tilda's around my house for the past month, and it looks like it's finally time to wear it outside. Mine is tartan wool, but I can probably get a fair isle version at Home Goods. 

Sonia Rykiel Pre-Fall 2014

I have a soft spot for Sonia Rykiel because her flagship store was across the street from the school where I studied in Paris. It served as a meeting spot for the minimal rendez-vous I had during my nine month stay, and I was always too scared to go inside because no matter how hard I tried, I could never shake the uncool "American girl studying abroad" vibe that was inherent in everything I said and did.

Whenever I got out of class, I would have to mumble an awkward pardonnez-moi to the chicly dressed-in-black employees mingling on the sidewalk for one of their seemingly on-the-hour-every-hour smoke breaks. Sonia Rykiel became synonymous with the left bank French attitude that surrounded me at school and which I admittedly tried so hard to achieve.

When I started a babysitting job that gave me 60 euros of spending cash every week, I tried to save up my money to buy a quilted backpack from Sonia Rykiel, a pack that was going to be my version of Bianca's Prada backpack in 10 Things I Hate About You (ya know?). I never got to buy my backpack because my hard-earned money would disappear like clockwork two days after I received it, or after I walked past a Zara (whichever came first).

Anywhooze, Sonia Rykiel's Pre-Fall 2014 collection is below. It features heavy knits, overwhelming scarves, baggy trousers, and boxy oversize coats. Mmhhhmm, sign me up.

All pictures are from Style.com

Pre-Fall?

One of the concepts I can't quite grasp in #fashion is that of pre-fall and its more pretentious cousin, resort/cruise (pre-spring). The timing of fashion seasons is somewhat counterintuitive--the two main seasons are fall and spring, which show in February and September, respectively. Resort collections are traditionally targeted at wealthy consumers who need warm-weather clothes for their tropical vacations, while pre-fall collections are targeted at equally wealthy consumers (but aren't all collections?) who just, well, want to buy more clothes. Seriously--interseasonal collections just reduce the wait for new clothes. The timeline for pre-fall isn't as well defined as the regular fall season, but between November and January of each year, designers unveil their pre-fall collections.

A recent blast into my Twitter feed from the handle @TrendCouncil revealed the saturation of pre-fall collections that have come out over the past couple of weeks. As such, I spent a considerate amount of time on Style.com today and chose some of the best (my blog, my opinion) pre-fall looks. When can we buy these gems? And by buy, I mean snag them for 90% off at Barney's online sale? (Have you guys seen those ads, or am I a victim of targeted advertising?)

All photos in the slideshow are from Style.com. Click on each photo to see its accompanying collection on Style.com.

Blake Lively and Patterned Pants

I saw the below picture of Blake Lively the other day, and my first thought was how well-styled she looked. Turns out she's wearing a look straight from the Emanuel Ungaro spring 2014 runway show, a discovery that led me down two Pinteresting paths: Fausto Puglisi's show for Emanuel Ungaro in one direction and patterned pants in the other. 

Image via WhoWhatWear

First, the runway. As Serena van der Woodsen/Mrs. Ryan Reynold's outfit would suggest, Emanuel Ungaro's spring 2014 collection featured enough polka dots to send Elle Woods into a tizzy and enough chiffon to please Andre from Project Runway season two (that's an obscure reference, please tell me someone got it). Puglisi paired a few of his sweet sixteen-y bottoms with plain white tees, which is good news for budgetistas who can buy identical ones from the men's section of the Gap. Blake Lively seems to have scored one of the only looks worth imitating though, which is why I spent a good chunk of my extra daylight savings time today scouring Pinterest for patterned pants.

The thing with patterned pants is that the more eccentric their print, the less times you can wear them without being deemed a crazy pant lady. I bought a pair from Mara Hoffman in June whose sheer frivolity is one of the main reasons I started working 9 to 5 a month earlier than planned. ("Well, I suppose I'm not doing anything but spending money on patterned pants," I almost told HR when they asked to push up my start date.) The other thing with patterned pants is that they're addictive. Here's a materialistic thought that will send my mother to her grave: you can never own enough pairs of patterned pants because no two patterns are the same. Something to think about while you take a gander at the patterned pants below and on my Pinterest (!)

(Whoever said Pinterest was useless was seriously disturbed.)

Image via Vogue

Image via Vogue.nl

Image via Stockholm Street Style

Winter White

One of my favorite things about the colder months leading up to winter, and well, winter itself, is the novelty of winter white. Physically speaking, winter white is the same exact thing as summer-fall-spring white. Wearing white pants in the middle of June doesn't really evoke anything special, but summoning the same pair of pants in the loooonnggg daaarrk days that stretch between now and February creates an outfit that screams equal parts riskiness ("OMG, white pants after Labor Day? So bold.") and chicness--and such a look can only be appropriately termed as winter white.

Images via Harper's Bazaar

In crafting a winter white outfit, I looked to the paper baggy trousers in Céline's 2014 resort collection for inspiration. The key to a monochromatic outfit is mixing and matching different shades and textures of white. Phoebe Philo's draping skills have steered me in the direction of wide-legged trousers rather than a simple white jean, which when paired with a loose Fisherman's sweater would lead to a wh-outfit meriting a spot in one's outfit rotation. As for the oh-my-god shoes, I'd opt for my off-white Converses because I don't take myself seriously enough to wear heels, but a pair of beige booties would keep the color scheme consistent.

J.Crew Collection trousers 
L.L. Bean Fisherman's Sweater
Aquazzura Peep Toe Booties
H&M Coat 

Thinking About Tartan

I've been thinking about tartan recently--among other, more substantial things. A lot of Brooks Brothers Black Fleece ads have been popping up in my daily reading outlets, often accompanied by a coupon offering $25 off a purchase of $100 or more, which would be a drop-everything-and-go-shopping deal at the Gap, but doesn't really amount to much chez Black Fleece.

Images via Google 

Anywhooze, I just consulted some street style shots from Paris Fashion Week, and this just in: tartan is cool. Thank the lamb, or whatever the Brooks Brothers logo is (pig? hog?). It seems like the tartan trend is a natural progression from the plaid shirts of the grunge hype, but it looks more put together and wool-y. I suspected tartan's rise since the Chanel Métiers d'Art show in Edinburgh last winter, and I couldn't be happier because in the deep dark days of February I'm more often than not inclined to leave my house wearing the wool blanket that's been in my family room since 1995--if I have to leave the house at all. (JK, not a hermit).

For your viewing pleasure (readers, are you there? it's me, a blogger), heeeerree's #tartan.

First three images via The Styleograph, last one from Style.com

Review: Mara Hoffman Spring 2014

Rainbow, tribal, neon all describe Mara Hoffman's Spring 2014 collection. Every look that came down the runway was so happy--embroidered caftans, third-eye patterned cutout dresses, psychedelic printed pants, and tie-dye bathing suits. The models wore braided hair extensions that made each one resemble either a neon-wearing rastafarian or a graphic-printed avatar. The whole collection would be the perfect wardrobe for someone living in Bermuda, but a few statement pieces would do just fine to liven up a New Yorker's wardrobe (namely, mine).

Worth mentioning that I spotted Mara's dad before the show (I overheard him telling the security guard that he was Mara's dad, no I do not stalk her), and she brought her toddler (son or daughter, I couldn't tell from the #nosebleeds) on stage at the end of the show, so it was an overall heartwarming family affair. YGG, Mara.

Now I'm going to start saving up for an eccentric maxi dress that I'll only be able to wear once.

Images via style.com

Review: Jill Stuart Spring 2014

I'm no fashion veteran, and I did semi-sneak myself into the shows, but I found myself a little, if not a lot, bored at the Jill Stuart show on Saturday. The colors were bland--yes, yes I know that monochromatic is in, and I did just buy a pair of white jeans post-Labor Day, but Jill Stuart's whites made for washed out looks. Her collection was the albino cousin of Mara Hoffman's--lots of cut out pieces and embroidered dresses, but in patternless prints (is that a thing?) and less vibrant colors.

I was more fixated on the models' hair and makeup than their clothes. I walked away from the show inspired to snip my hair into the choppy lobs that a few models were sporting, wishing that my hair wasn't naturally curly so I could try out bangs. The heavy eye makeup sent me straight to Duane Reade to stock up five dolla eyeliner.

Images from style.com

You Guys, Hedi Slimane

I just finished reading most of my September issues, as well as a recent piece in The New York Times' Thursday Styles section about the September issues, and one thing stands out: Hedi Slimane and Saint Laurent.

I remember being a little confused about the whole YSL rebranding. I was studying in Paris and coveting the Muse bag, when all of a sudden, it changed. Where was the YSL insignia, what was this whole Saint Laurent thing? Did I want the new bag? Did it even matter to me, who couldn't afford either version? A few magazine articles and blog posts later, I finally got it. I've always felt some sort of weird kinship to YSL--when I was in 8th grade, I dressed up as Yves Saint Laurent for my French class and tried to take them back to 1960s Paris as I explained the concept of le smoking. I wore a kimono and tortoise shell glasses. I still feel uncomfortable thinking about it.

Hedi Slimane is so cool. I like the California grunge collection overall--some looks are better than others, and I probably won't be sporting fishnets this year, but I'm into it. At first glance, some pieces look a little eh and I have to wonder if they only look appealing because they're Saint Laurent (or YSL?). Nonetheless, his collection has institutionalized the grunge trend for the better. Flannels have slowly been making their way back into mainstream over the past couple of years, and there were traces of grunge last fall with urbanites wearing beanies, shirts around the waist, and moto boots, but thank god to Slimane for finally putting it all together on the runway. And on that note, I need a duffle coat even more than I did last fall.

Images via style.com

Hedi Slimane image via The Guardian

Patterns on Patterns: Sea

Maybe it's because I live near a Steven Alan store or because I spend my Summer Friday's walking through Barney's New York like it's a museum, but I am currently obsessed with everything from New York based label, Sea.

Images via sea-ny.com