Coco 2010

Everyone adores a Chanel jacket. You know, the soft tweed, the boxy cut, the braid or the chains, the patch pockets. Everyone adores them, they're the index garment for so many fashionistas ("Someday I'll have a Chanel jacket,"), they've inspired countless imitations and untold envy. Except in me. I find them boxy & frumpy and for me they cannot shake the dowager-having-a-tea-party image, no matter how they are worn. I know some folks swear it's the most versatile garment ever created, blah blah justifytheexpenditureonastatussymbol fishcakes blah. Pair it with jeans to dress it down, whatever. ::yawn::



As I have pointed out before, if you can make Penelope Cruz look dumpy, you've really accomplished something. (Not something you should be proud of, but something nonetheless.)

So. While those jackets are a complete turnoff to me (and no, you're not going to convince me, so don't even bother), I do love that quintessential Chanel vibe that harks back more to the work she did in the 20's and 30's than her late-career resurgence. I love the easy, slouchy knits she pioneered, and it's hard to go wrong with her favored black & white color scheme. I just like to mess it up a little.




Here's me from this weekend doing my version of Coco. It's my black bandage skirt worn with tights and some real-thing motorcycle boots that I bought oooooooh, let's see now, I honestly cannot remember how long ago. Maybe 15 years? (Motorcycle boots are cool. They just are. They always have been, they always will be, and believe me, if I drop a bottle of wine on my foot while I'm in these things I'm not even going to feel it. They? Are sturdy.) The t-shirt, which, yes, is a bit of self-conscious irony of which I do not usually approve in clothing, but I'm being ironic about my obsession with Paris, so I'll give myself a pass. 'Cause I love Paris. What really makes this look gel for me, though, is the cardigan. It's a tipped cashmere cardigan in exactly the right shape and length. Chanel loved a cardigan and goodness knows so do I, but it's very easy to slip into mumsy with them. Keeping it long & lean prevents the mumsy.

I was so happy in my tipped cardigan that I wanted to share the love, so I hit the Series of Tubes to find you some.

Black and white! Cleverly detailed! Fabulous!

Sometimes a little color does a body good.

Kinda perfect.

Sweet but not twee. A fine line to straddle.

Stripes! Gives it a more collegiate air, but livens things up.

Here's the gray one in a great pink.





Marni. Worth the investment, as is all Marni.

More stripes.

MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA LONG V_NECK CARDIGAN

This is why we love Margiela (click on the text for the link). They can take the most basic of garments and make it completely desirable with the smallest twist. Yes, the hemline is asymmetrical and yes, it's meant to be. I adore this.

You'd wear it for the rest of your life.

A teensy bit cutesy, but I'll let it slide.

Delicious blue, so perfect for spring.

Speaking of perfect... Wow. I really, really love this -- it's Exactly The Thing.

And here is Exactly The Thing in pink and gray, another classic color combination.

So that's my fashion "tip" (oh, I'm so sorry but you really didn't think you were going to escape it, did you?) for today. Now go forth and layer!

Photos: Style Spy, Fabsugar

Wherein Style Spy Has Recourse to Merriam-Webster

Ya know, my English is pretty good. So I don't care what the nice people at Shopbop try to tell me -- these are some really, really cute tops. Every one of them would be adorable over some capris, or nice bermudas, or some skinny jeans.

But they are most decidedly not "dresses." Good googly-moogly...

A Most Sincere Thank You

First of all, a most heartfelt and humble thank you to everyone who has had such kind and supportive things to say to me in the last few days. I'm sure I don't deserve it, but I'm very happy to accept it. Please let me assure everyone that nothing horrible or evil or dramatic is going on with me (although the torn shoulder tendon, I have to admit, has caused a fair bit of unladylike language), I'm just busy and a little flaky.

As a thank you, I went looking for something beautiful to show you. So now I'm grateful to you all and I'm also a little bit chagrined, because I found something beautiful and unfortunately I think I'm going to be obsessed with it.

Ann Demeulemeester bird print satin dress. Oh. My. Goodness. Click on the photo so you can check out the back and close-up of this dress -- it's too beautiful. All the Ann Demeulemeester on Luisa Via Roma right now is crazy-making for me. I'm still really hung up on what I think of as that Parisian silhouette, long & lean & slightly slouchy, though still a bit body conscious. The cut of this dress is pretty much my ideal. I would wear the HELL out of that dress.

More useful though, would be the vest version of the print:

The last couple of seasons we have seen the Return of the Separates, which is good. I think this is a direct response to the economic climate -- people are more comfortable spending money on a garment they can wear in multiple ways. Vests are a brilliant way to get at least double- if not triple-duty out of a top. If I went with the vest, I would pair it with a nice, simple pair of lean black trousers, comme ça:

But not those shoes. THESE shoes:

Because as everyone who hangs out here knows I cannot resist a shot of color when everything else is black & white. Weirdly, I thought these were red when I saw them at first (this is what happens when I write before I've had my coffee), and that was what I loved, but now I'm attached to them and don't care that they're not. It took me a while to get on board with the peep-toe bootie thing, and I'm not sure I need any myself, but these are just so beautifully proportioned and strike me as, believe it or not, really useful (great with jeans, great with skirts, great with trousers). So big thumbs up.


Lastly, my finishing touch:

This is from Rick Owens and I made a hungry dog noise when I saw it. My love of the cuff is well-documented. My love of Rick Owens grows over time. This is marvelous.

So. That's what I'd be wearing this weekend if I had my druthers. What do you think? And how about you? What's your fantasy weekend wardrobe right now?



Also and unrelatedly, be sure to check out this. It will make you laugh and laugh and laugh.