It’s actually kind of amazing—given the amount of time I’ve spent in close proximity to people with extremely good style—how deeply clueless I manage to look so much of the time. You’d laugh if you saw me yesterday: my outfit started out with a pair of shorts quite similar to these:
…and things proceeded quite rapidly downhill from there. In some ways, I can’t bring myself to care: if there’s any time of year to try and get away with throwing on whatever’s nearest and cleanest, it’s now. Especially given that my current daytime dress code is more about putting together ensembles that work for a wifi cafe/dog run-circuit life than a sleekified office-to-evening work-function-type of situation.
Lately, however, I’ve been having a number of grown-up-style lunches and meetings, and I have felt the need—even the desire—to step things up. I’ve got plenty of nice dresses from when I worked in an office, but none of them feel right anymore. To me, certain articles of clothing are as evocative of a time and a place as some songs or scents can be. And when I put these dresses on, all I can think of are consumer marketing meetings, lunches at my desk, midtown traffic and a life I no longer lead.
I’m hoping I’ll get over it eventually, because a few of those dresses are really nice. Meanwhile, I have a very simple dream. I want a I lighter-than-anything dark dress in a classic—but interestingly cut—shape. Like this silk shirtdress, perhaps. Shirtdresses are often too preppy for me, but this one has such an excellent slouchiness about it.
Or something like this graceful little tank dress. Or perhaps this somewhat similar, less expensive version.
And then I want to take that classic-but-interestingly-cut dress and throw on a belt on it, the way women have been throwing belts on dresses for decades, but I never have. This is kind of a headline for me, the whole belting dresses thing. Somehow the time feels right.
I like the idea of this Aztec print belt with the shirtdress. Nice and tactile, and a playful contrast to the whole preppy menswear-ish thing.
And this big old classic J Crew belt feels like it would be just the thing if I were ever going to attempt one of those soft/hard looks and pair it with a pretty floral dress or something.
I can’t bear to wear skinny belts: they always make me feel so thick. Something like this makes me feel all feminine and wispy. And it’s not too wide, which is a whole different kind of bummer.
Good Morning,
I wanted to point you to APC in the neighborhood (West 4th), they have just had an amazing ‘you’ dress. Red silk with navy print and white collar and cuffs, with or without belt, i prefer without. Its part of the Vanessa Seward collaboration, and see the silk blouse too! Wow.
The stuff they have in the window looks so cute! It has been nothing but trouble since APC moved to the neighborhood.
I want to belt my dresses but every time I try to I get weird pouches of fabric. It happens no matter the width of the belt.
Belts are so tricky. I only wear them to keep my jeans in place. So they are totally functional for me. No superfluous belting going on here.
It took me a moment to realize that was Sandra Bernhard with Madonna. The galpal days. I do remember although I wisely avoided the cowboy bootie with the white socks. It is looking kind of Comme des Garcons with time though, non? Not the shorts.
Anywho, here in France, women are the champions of the “just add a belt” look. So finally, now that I can only afford to buy maxi dresses from Monoprix, yes, the supermarket, I have given in and joined them. Am not sure if it makes me anymore chic or not, but as I wear them low, they provide a nice little pouf that covers my cheese belly.
I LOVED Monoprix.
I love that silk shirtdress. So pretty!
I love the shirt dress. I want one, but with sleeves — my arms are just not as fabulous as Michelle Obama’s are. I read somewhere that Iris Apfel said that she wanted to open a store on Mad Ave called “Sleeves”
When I read this, I just kept seeing the old SNL “Gap Girls”
in my head…”Cinch it!”…I say it a lot at work– Problem is, everyone I work with is too young to know what I’m talking about…
http://www.hulu.com/watch/3525
The Loomstate multiwear dress works with or without belt. It hangs so well, there’s not all that bunchiness or belt size issue to worry about. I Really love that dress.