I am not much of an aggregator but this short film from Nowness about senior citizens with extraordinary personal style is inspiring and simply too good to miss. It features one of my style heroes, the impossibly chic Iris Apfel. Her outsized glasses and effortless mix of ethnic jewelry with couture reflects a one-of-a-kind eye for color, texture and pattern.
Apfel's unique style inspired a 2005 exhibit of her wardrobe -Rare Bird of Fashion- at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum. If you missed the show don't miss the inspiration to be found in the book from the show.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I hate the whole concept of comfort," he says. "It's like when people say, 'Well, we're not really in love, but we're in a comfortable relationship.' You're abandoning a lot of ideas when you are too into comfort. 'Comfy' - that's one of the worst words! I just picture a woman feeling bad, with a big bottle of alcohol, really puffy." - Christian Louboutin
When I read that a sploofy UES shoe service will paint the soles of any shoes Louboutin red - that finished it for me.
Chanel once said "a woman should wear ropes and ropes of pearls". Agreed. But right now it's the impact of the single strand that's caught my eye. I noticed them at Thom Browne for spring (left) and then a few weeks ago at Donna Karan for Fall 2011.
Maybe it's a trendlet and maybe not. But unadorned gray pearls sans any mashup of chains, gems and bows look great. Their creamy, nacreous sisters are beautiful but I am pulling out my long strand of grays to wear everyday with white tee shirts, menswear jackets and with bright colors. There are few things sexier than a single strand of pearls tucked into the V-neck of a white tee or sweater. While I don't recommend running for the train in the knee length Mr. Browne used to accessorize his schoolboy blazer, I like the exaggeration of an opera length (48 to 120 inches long) worn casually. Donna Karan's marble-sized princess length looks elegant and unapologetically faux. And fake knocks the potential for stuffy out of the equation.
Just for a minute, let's forget words like indispensable, timeless or classic when we think about a crisp white button down shirt. There may be nothing truly new under the sun in fashion but spring's new proportions make the white shirt look, well, new for spring.
At Celine( far left) Phoebe Philo's riff on the white shirt is all menswear slouch with a bib front and relaxed fit. Dries van Noten ( second and third from left) built his spring collection around the notion of shirt dressing and gave the white shirt a new look entirely with blown-up volume and paired with sophisticated, just-louche-enough satin jammy pants. And at Jil Sander, Raf Simon's juxtaposition of white button downs (and white tees) with couture-inspired long skirts looked very hip. Fashion loved the look but naturally, red carpet pundits pilloried Tilda Swinton for her Jil Sander ensemble at the Golden Globes. I love her iconoclastic eye and for not playing the red carpet game.
Why the new spin on white shirts right now? Is it that fashion is searching for anything women will buy? Definitely. Jones New York has devoted their spring campaign to white shirts and the new power dressing. Is it that the mix of masculine with feminine is forever appealing? That too. But the straight forward chic of the white shirt also speaks directly to what is next in fashion: a rejection of noisy, excessively blingy design in favor of a more stripped-down aesthetic. And in a season of brights nothing tempers a vivid colored bottom or jacket like a white shirt.
Freshen-up your own wardrobe with a new button down that's a little oversized (think classic shirt fit from the 80's). It looks newer whether you tuck it in or leave it out than something very fitted. Choose a traditional shirt collar ( have a look at Dries above). Longer collar points (versus a spread collar) combined with the three or four open buttons creates the all important neck-elongating line.
As for price, personally I never spend a fortune on white shirts. But I don't buy fast fashion cheap either. Flimsy cotton doesn't achieve the crisp look that's versatile enough to wear high and low, day and night. And watch out for more than just a touch of elastin in those no-iron styles. Too much and the cotton won't drape nicely.
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