lucilleduquette:

i was not lying when i said i was excited about my thom browne shirt. i’ve worn it twice this week. in today’s instance, i was feeling rushed and lazy, and the shirt happened to be strewn over a chair in my bedroom, so on it went, and out i went, and my outfit is pretty boring.

i had only a minute for the indecision of tucking in vs. not tucking in. looking at these photos, i think i made the wrong choice. but when i tuck fitted things into a skirt, i think it accentuates the fact that i don’t have a real waistline. such a conundrum!

since this outfit is so blah, i won’t go on and on about it. however, it got me thinking that i haven’t been doing nearly the number of white-on-white outfits that i used to do. so i figured i’d finish this post by showing some of my oldie but goody all white outfits from the past few years.

from 2 years ago- so ruffly and fluffly! last weekend i sewed some of my grandma’s old buttons onto this jacket so i should be showing it here again soon. 

same jacket again, with the ruffled bib (arguably a ‘dickie’) that i made a couple years ago.

clearly i really like wearing vintage table runners around my waist! this is from last year.

finally, my creepster vintage wedding dress. best dress i own.

a few inspiration photos from the 2011 runway shows from elle.

today’s outfit: thom browne shirt, vintage skirt, ann demeulemeester boots, balenciaga bag

first off, i want to say thanks to all of you who have checked out or started following my new site this week! if you haven’t been there yet, i followed through with one of my goals for it, and posted an extra outfit there. so take a looksie!

since i’m going to try posting outfits a bit more often, that means i’m going to have to spend less time taking and processing the photos. so today’s pictures were taken in 5 minutes on my roof before i headed off to work for the day.

this struck me as a very new-york-ish outfit (maybe more specific to the financial district where noel and i work): dark colors, simple silhouette, subtle details.

in fact, thanks to my quickie photo shoot, the details may be too subtle for these pictures. you can see that the skirt has built-in ruching (i believe last time i showed it on the blog, i vowed to never wear it again). the sweater also has some crazy ruching and ribbing, and the sleeves are slightly rounded around the wrists. i will have to re-wear it soon and take a nicer photo, because i think it is a very special sweater.

anyhow, i chose to wear what i thought were some nyc-esque pieces, because i am headed off to LA for a long weekend with my lady friend mimi! i hear it is going to be 80 degrees there, so i’m super psyched. if you have any suggestions for places we must see around west hollywood, it would be much appreciated.

uniqlo wool coat, marc by marc jacobs sweater, vintage nicole miller skirt, ann demeulemeester boots, balenciaga bag

today i present to you an outfit of many layers from the past weekend. i had a rough week last week- i found out my little dog Harper has diabetes! it is all under control now, but dealing with the many vet visits and blood tests to figure out what was wrong, and then learning to give her shots cost me a lot of worry. this was what i put on when i finally calmed down and had a day to relax.

the outfit was inspired by a series of books i devoured over the past couple weeks called “the hunger games”. yes, these books are meant for children. don’t judge. while i turn up my nose at a lot of grown-up bestselling books, i like to read all of the ones meant for kids- the series of unfortunate events, harry potter, and yes, even twilight.

anyway, ‘the hunger games’ takes place in a post-apocalyptic united states, and features a 17-year-old girl who eventually (i will not say why so as not to give it away) wears a costume based on a genetically-altered bird called a mockingjay. the costume is described as involving tall black lace-up boots, and sleeves that resemble wings. when reading about it, i immediately thought of my ann d boots and this jacket i found in a vintage store in my neighborhood. the jacket has no label, but the pleats remind me of issey miyake.

one layer beneath the jacket i have my beaded vest. i end up saving this for special occasions, because i’m not sure how fragile it is. i wish i could wear it more.

i worry that if one string snaps, the whole thing will come apart. i’m sure that isn’t true, but i love this thing so much i don’t want to take chances.

the way the beads are strung reminded me of bird feathers a little, so i thought it went along with my theme.

and finally, the last layer- an antique blouse i got during my visit to ohio. it made a crinkly noise when i tried it on, and when i got home, i saw that it was due to some armpit pads someone had sewn in!!!! in my head, the crinkling noise related to someone’s antique dried sweat. yuck. however, i can sympathize with wanting to avoid sweating in a delicate silk blouse and think it was an interesting idea.

here’s a close look at the blouse’s scallop pattern. and my ‘belt’. i needed it because my pants gap a little at the waist, and the shirt wouldn’t stay tucked in. but i’ll come clean and let you know that the belt is actually a bandea bra from american apparel. a very multi-functional undergarment.

so there you have it- my mockingjay warrior outfit. 

while taking these photos, i realized that i don’t have any of this bag- a balenciaga aviator helmet bag from… i think 2002? 2003? i never EVER carry this bag because the shoulder strap causes the bag to lie in a very awkward way on the shoulder. but just recently i rescued it from the back of my closet, and noticed how well it matches my boots; so, i’ve been giving it another chance.

all of its zippers, and the hanging mirror are so pretty. and the other side of the bag has a ring for hanging a balenciaga zipper pod. i’d love to find one of those some day.

vintage jacket, gryphon bead vest, antique blouse, vince pants, ann demeulemeester boots, balenciaga aviator helmet bag

until recently my wardrobe has been sadly lacking in a versatile spring jacket. it’s important to have that extra layer to keep you warm when restaurants crank up the AC too high, or to shield your shoulders from the sun at the park; to throw on over a button-down at work, or over a baggy tee on the weekends. ideally, the perfect spring jacket is something you can ball up and throw in your bag without fear of it coming out looking, well, as if it had been balled up and thrown in your bag. 

at last, I think i have found The One in this ripstop military jacket from LOFT. i’ve already gotten a lot of mileage out of it, so I wanted to show you some of the ways I’ve been styling it.

Look 1: Date Night. this outfit is quite typical of my style- a floaty dress in a pale color, anchored with some heavier accessories. i especially loved the way this wrap-around belt, worn as a bracelet, complimented the style of my lace-up boots. and the fact that my new jacket toned down the sweetness of the dress, and coordinated so well with my beloved pistachio bag was just the icing on the cake.

Look 2: Art Exhibit i don’t mean ‘art exhibit’ in an annoying ‘i am SUCH an ARTIST’ way. what i mean is, i wore this to see a photography exhibit. but actually, i think this outfit is appropriate for most of the things i do day-to-day. i’m all about long skirts lately (no need for shaved legs!), and this one especially because of the sheerness and ruffles. 

all the layers in this outfit give me maximum body temperature control. First the jacket, then my new favorite layering piece- the racerback vest. you’ll be seeing a lot more of this on the blog! And beneath that, a basic slouchy tank (this one comes with a really cool detachable fabric necklace, which i’ll show you later). I also threw on a vintage necklace and gold bangle, and my pyramid cuff.

Look 3: A Walk in the Park. since i’m showing quite a lot of leg in my short-shorts, i like to keep my upper body well covered up. so i layered an older patterned shirt under my jacket. i was quite fond of the way the yellow bag looked with the green jacket.

look 4: Workin It! unfortunately not all of life can be date nights, art exhibit visits, and walks in the park. all too much of the time, i am dressing for a day at work. what I love about this jacket is that i can even wear it around the office- it adds bit of ‘i’m not a wall street drone’ flare to an otherwise dull blouse and pencil skirt combo. then on the way out of the work, i can un-tuck my shirt, throw on the jacket, and not feel embarrassed to meet friends for dinner without going home to change.

so there you have it! at the rate i am going, many more looks with this jacket will be showing up on the blog soon.

look 1: LOFT ripstop military jacket and wrap belt (both courtesy of LOFT), ny&co dress, ann demeulemeester boots, pistachio balenciaga city bag

look 2: LOFT ripstop military jacket, racer back vest, tank top, and pyramid stud cuff (all courtesty of LOFT), vintage skirt, necklace, and bracelet, loeffler randall sandals

look 3: LOFT ripstop military jacket and pyramid stud cuff (both courtesy of LOFT), free people shirt, old navy shorts, prada shoes, zac posen bag

look 4: LOFT ripstop military jacket (courtesy of LOFT), elizabeth & james blouse, uniqlo skirt, marni shoes, balenciaga day bag

ps, remember you can follow noel and i on Live.Love.LOFT this month!