Posts Tagged ‘prints’

Print of the week

First of all, can we take a moment to appreciate the work of feminine wonder that is the shirtwaist dress? An A-line is maybe the world’s only uniformly flattering skirt cut, and the waist cinches at exactly the spot where most of us are smallest. It’s styled a little prim here, but this is actually exactly the kind of easy dress a woman with a woman’s body can feel pretty all day in.

And the print! Mermaids!

Print of the week

There are florals, and then there are florals. And then there are those so stunningly wrought that they’re like wearing a little fairy tale.

Print of the week

Set aside, for a moment, that this dress is Marni and costs a squillion dollars and just riddle me this:

What species of woodland creature have we here? Bear? Bird? Raccoon? Please share your best guesses.

Getting lippy

Lip prints are the red-headed stepchild of the print world—like stars or hearts, they’re always  happening somewhere on the fashion landscape, but usually only in a minor key. Once in a while, something will break out big, like in Prada’s Spring 2000 collection (revisited in 2010, as you can see  here). And there are certain designers who return to it repeatedly—like Diane Von Furstenberg, who can be counted upon to scatter them everywhere from iPhone cases to earbuds  to cosmetic bags, depending on the year.

I prefer a nice strong single lip as opposed to a print, and for that lip to be more punk-pout Rocky Horror in mood than kissed-a-napkin sweet. I love this outfit—slightly mad though it may be—and the way the sparkly Markus Lupfer tee pokes out from under the jacket instead of hogging all the attention.  It would come off great styled more subdued as well—with jeans and maybe a simple moto jacket or blazer, for instance. (Also: here’s a super-duper bargain-priced Forever 21 version of the tee.)

There are two things I like about this necklace. One: it’s on a ball chain, which is so fun and contrasty. And two:  it reminds me of this splurge-tastic ring by Solange Azagury-Partridge, but is the merest fraction of its price.

If these Marc by Marc Jacobs studs were anything other than quite petite, they’d be way too look! I’m kooky! But as it is, they’re fun and winkingly chic.

And finally: be the greenest art girl on the block with this Marilyn Minter water bottle.

 

 

 

Print of the week

There is no corner of my home that cries out for this Christian Lacroix silk cushion. But oh, how my soul does.

The actual real thing

Did you ever have your heart broken by a man who went on to date somebody new almost immediately? Causing you to spiral into endless, obsessive speculation on how beautiful, sexy and probably just all around superior to you she must be? And then maybe one night you ran into them together at a party, and she was pretty but no knockout, and you definitely had nicer legs—and suddenly you were cured? That’s not entirely unlike* how I felt upon visiting the new Iro store the other day.

I’ve probably coveted more Iro jackets than any other brand’s over the last year or so. They come in perfect dress-me-up, dress-me-down silhouettes—from close-cropped to slouchy, but elegant no matter what the shape. And their prints manage to fuse ethnic with something decidedly more grown-up and Chanel-informed. I think it’s safe to say that many of you know my taste well enough by now to recognize how up my alley this is.

This nubby moto-inspired number would go straight into serious rotation in my wardrobe as well. But unfortunately, everything Iro costs more than it should, thanks in large part to the fact that Iro is French and the exchange rate is crap. I was pretty sure a visit to their new boutique wouldn’t offer up much more than a nice generous helping of frustration. And so it did, but for another reason entirely. The store, in a move that seems increasingly common and that I am not at all down with, displayed on its racks precisely one of each item they carried—fine if you’re a jewelry or shoe store, but somewhat off-putting if what you’re pushing is apparel. Worse—and as if to scream I defy you to shop here—almost everything on those racks was a size 0 (their equivalent of a 2) with a few size 1 pieces (an Iro 4) thrown in for good measure. Apparently Iro plans to extend their US presence in short order to 20 US stores. New Yorkers may put up with that brand of snotty, but I can’t see the rest of the country doing it.

I could have asked for a few things in my size, but I resented having to. So I did the only thing that felt right—walked to Zara.  Where I found this lightweight moto jacket that rang in at a mere $99 and is very Frenchy/ethnic, and so comfortable you could positively nap in it.

 

 

*This analogy seems increasingly imperfect the longer I consider it. But I’ve also grown fond of it, so it stays.

Zig to the zag

You can’t beat black and white chevron: it fuses ethnic and sophisticated so nicely, and is witty in a way that falls well short of zany.  These Nicholas Kirkwood pumps, for instance, actually look pretty classic when you try them on—so much so that you could make an argument for wearing them with any number of outfits. I came crazy close to buying them, but had to resist: pumps this fabulous would find themselves quite  lonely in my current lifestyle, never going out to meet other fabulous pumps at the office and whatnot.

Nothing says spring like a jacket with three quarter-length sleeves and a print that says Hello, sunshine.

This smart little tote is perfect for those of us who are always on the lookout for laptop bags that aren’t “laptop bags.”

 

From the department of Never Say Never:

A leopard print wrap skirt that’s just exactly perfectly cut and A-line enough to make a person forget that she once swore off wrap skirts forever.

Bright and ethnic, yet again

I know. But the dregs of this bleary New York winter-without-end are really bearing down on me, and all I want to look at are bold and happy tribal-style things. So here’s a little roundup to finish off the week, and then it’s on to the next. How about a Mexican beaded bowl for all your little whatnots?

It’s  styled quite casually here, but this embroidered jacket actually has very nice lines and could be part of a much more sophisticated outfit. In fact, it’s exactly the kind of piece the old crew at my former job used to love to dress up on shoots and make look  way more fabulously expensive than it is.

I do not understand Anthropologie. It occupies a completely different headspace than my own, and whenever I go there, I feel as though I neither speak the language nor understand the customs. But I do like some of their home items, and find this duvet with orange stitching quite winning. And nicely subtle, for those who’ve stuck with white comforter covers their entire adult lives and aren’t entirely sure they’re up for the switch.

I am a fan of neither patterns on shoes nor ballet flats. But this red bordered chevron print by Ella Moss can not be denied.

Of course, I’m a sucker for red and black in many iterations. And am mad with desire for this embroidered tote from crazy-great bag line Want Les Essentiels de la Vie.

And yet again more: Kenyan beaded dog collars.

Le chic! C’est cheap!

 

Zara really knows how throw together a solid ethnic bag: all three of these are structured, so as not to come off too hippie girl, and have super-graphic prints, which always feel more grown up. Aside from being a perfect lazy girl’s styling tool, this clutch feels like it might improve your mood just by carrying it.

Half French girl, half Mexican Riviera, total perfection.

Beading can be so damn tricky, but it’s so clever how they kept it all near the bottom here, nice and neat.