lucilleduquette:

i mentioned last week that i had a 2nd purchase from the uniqlo +j line (other than the skirt in the post here), and that i needed some opinions on it. so here we have it- what i deem the “sister wife dress”- doesn’t it seem like something nicki would wear on ‘big love’? i was feeling a little iffy about it, since it is somewhat loose, and hits at mid-calf. i decided to try styling the dress a few different ways to see how versatile it would be, and here are the results!

this first look is the most obvious to me- simple summer shirtdress with strappy sandals and my favorite necklace to give the waist a little extra definition.

i wanted to see if i could make the dress wearable in the current in-between season, so i added some darker layers to tone down all the white. i think this look is the most ‘me’. (ps i will post a better photo of these shoes soon- just got them in the mail over the weekend on The Best Shoe Day Ever!).

as i went to put the dress back in the closet, i spotted my fur tank top, and thought it would be another option for layering. so, out it came. on the way to put it on, i saw my beaded vest hanging on my dressform, and threw that on too. i think the layering gives the dress a whole different feel, and it pretty much convinced me that it was a dress worth keeping.

what do you think? versatile dress, or too sister-wife-y? (and if so, which sister wife? i’m pretty okay with being Barb..) and one last question- how do you typically decide whether to keep a new purchase?

outfit 1: uniqlo  +j dress, brook and lyn body necklace, steve madden nataliaa sandals, chloe sunglasses, balenciaga pistachio city

outfit 2: uniqlo +j dress, uniqlo vest, rachel leigh necklace, won hundred wedges, proenza schouler ps1 bag

outfit 3: uniqlo +j dress, vintage fur tank top, gryphon beaded vest, christian louboutin miss tack boots, coach kristin sunglasses (c/o coach), zac posen 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!

anyone with even the most minute knowledge of my fashion sense can attest to the fact that i like to decorate things. my style is not simple, or minimalist, or effortless. rather than wearing 1 ring, i wear about 8 on any given day (sometimes several on the same finger). i pile on bangles. i add ribbons and bows and brooches to my jackets. i replace plain buttons with sparkly ones. i always have a lace slip peeking out from under a skirt.

but i have never decorated my shoes. it just never occurred to me! that is, until last week when i received some shoes clips from absolutely audrey. 

i mean, what an idea! how is it that i never felt the gaping void in my wardrobe where shoe clips needed to be?! and clearly, these clips are the gift that keeps on giving- now that i have them i’m brainstorming all the various ways in which to make my boots and shoes better (because better = bedazzled). 

for brunch on saturday, i spruced up an otherwise dull ‘weekend ballerina’ look by clipping these beauties to my loeffler randall boots, and stringing a rhinestone necklace around the ankle.

for a dinner party, i donned an accidentally kinda sorta gothic lolita esque ensemble (note to self: white lace + white petticoat + white skirt + baby pink shoes may not be the best mix). i verrry seldom wear these thrifted givenchy heels- they’re pretty hard to walk in. the heel is very high, and they’re about a full size too big (which might actually be a good thing, since i can fill them with pads). so they have sat in my closet forgotten for quite some time.

but imagining how cute the shoes would look with a little extra sparkle gave me the extra push i needed to limp around in them for a night. and i’m glad i did- i’m getting more accustomed to them. i really like the combination of the overly pointy toe with the hoof-like heel.

now this might be one negative aspect of the fabulous shoe clips: on self-proclaimed ‘casual thursday’ last week, i hastily threw on ripped jeans and some old dirty converse, BUT felt like i was looking all cute and dressy because i rhinestone-ified the sneakers.

nothing sloppy about this outfit, right?? 

anyway, i’m very thankful to absolutely audrey for this wonderfly glittery gift, which is making me feel like all my old shoes are new. and if you’re interested, these clips are the “wish” design on the site. i now have my eyes set on the “katerina” and the “eva”- i’m imagining the possibilities of wearing not one but SEVERAL clips on each shoe. i’m realizing that a girl can never have too much shoe bling.

outfit 1: h&m sweater, dress (worn as a skirt) and tights, loeffler randall emmy boots, absolutely audrey shoe clips, vintage rhinestone necklace, marni bag

outfit 2: free people lace shirt, hanii y skirt, black halo petticoat, givenchy shoes, absolutely audrey shoe clips

outfit 3: ka sweater, rag & bone jacket, genetic denim jeans, converse sneakers, absolutely audrey shoe clips, balenciaga pistachio city bag

i mentioned earlier this week how i have always liked the philip lim rosette dresses, and sometimes tried to copy them. i couldn’t come close to being able to afford one when they were new, so i assumed i’d never be able to own one. BUT…

last weekend i had a perfect afternoon- i met up with friends at the Met to see a preview of the exhibit ‘american stories- paintings for everyday life’. then we had afternoon tea in the museum (LOVE). then we explored some of the fancy consignment shops uptown around the museum.

we weren’t having much luck in any of the shops- they were all seriously overpriced. but just as we were leaving the last one, i spotted some white fabric peeking out of a clearance rack, and pulled out this dress! it had been marked down many times and was an extra 40% off… it ended up being quite affordable. why knows why it took so long to sell? could it be the fact that it’s basically an enormous flour sack with some flowers on the bottom? i don’t know. but i’m glad it is mine.

since i was wearing a special new-to-me dress, i wanted to wear other special things too. these boots were my birthday gift from the boyfriend. he did GOOD, huh? since the ann d single lace boots don’t seem to be in the cards for me, i think these are a nice replacement.

this year it seems like NYC went straight from summer to winter. it’s already too cold to wear fall jackets, so i’m trying to get in every last bit of wear i possibly can from my gryphon fringe jacket before i have to pack it away till next year.

in the end, i had to throw another jacket over the gryphon, which i was not happy about. i only look happy here because noel was making me laugh, telling me i look like a linebacker. or was it frankenstein? i can’t recall.

to make myself a little less unhappy about wearing a boring old peacoat, i spent the morning at work making these little pinwheel designs on the lapels with safety pins. i may try to decorate the whole jacket. as you can see, the jacket is also ‘decorated’ with some white furs.

meet the culprits: my cavalier king charles spaniel girls, harper and millie. they climbed all over the coat as i was trying to take a photo. they’re always helping me with my DIY projects in this way, so i thought i should finally introduce them.

one last thing- my favorite of the painting from the Met exhibit. ‘a reading’ by thomas wilmore dewing.

3.1 philip lim rosette dress, gryphon fringe jacket, fiorentini & baker boots, banana republic pea coat with safety pins, balenciaga pistachio city bag

after all this past weekend’s events, we are finally catching up on a few outfit photos. we were finally able to get one of the two of us together- thanks Greta!

i am wearing a black lace elizabeth & james ‘dress’ (i think it is a dress meant for someone of a height around 4’10 rather than 5’8… oops). i piled on some vintage owl pendants to distract the eye from the fact that it is showing waaaay too much of my thighs.

noel is wearing a dress she MADE ALL BY HERSELF. i love this dress and am always impressed by her sewing skills.

joelle: okay, so noel had her eyes closed in this one (either that or she’s embarrassed to be seen in the photo with me), but i had to post it in order to show this ‘dress’s’ tremendous fleetwood mac sleeves.

noel: the dress was from a built by wendy pattern, that was so incredibly easy that i wanted to make one in every color.  if you’re looking for easy patterns, her selection is really good.  when making dresses/tops, the set-in sleeve is probably the trickiest part to get right, so choose a pattern like this one where the sleeves and dress top are gathered and sewn to a yoke collar, and you avoid a set-in sleeve. gathering is really simple to do, and it’s always easier to make something gather than it is to make it lie flat.

this is my ‘i am too tired to get out of bed so i want to wear something that feels like pajamas’ outfit. the dress is a huge silky sack with sheer poet sleeves, and the furry vest has not left my body for the past several weeks, and i don’t think it will till next summer.

my pistachio city bag is back in action, along with my bright gold loeffler randall flats and classy drugstore trouser socks (i added a brooch to  make them classy).

noel:  so, you may have seen this outfit recently, but red is my absolute favorite color and sometimes i can’t deny it when it wants me to wear it.  and, like this red bike, it wanted to be in the picture and i couldn’t say no.

joelle: outfit 1: elizabeth & james lace dress, vintage slip, marc by marc jacobs shoes, zac posen bag, vintage owl pendants

outfit 2: vintage furry vest, crispin & basilio dress, balenciaga bag, drugstore trouser socks, h&m brooch, loeffler randall shoes, etsy cicada ring

noel: outfit 1: built by wendy dress (built by me), vintage booties, aldo necklace, fred flare sunglasses, UO bracelets

outfit 2: vintage plaid skirt (modified by me), uniqlo tank, vintage heels, vintage clutch, h&m belt, dkny tights, bike unknown