Head Case

Was it all the excitement over the Royal Wedding? Was it the HBO hit Boardwalk Empire? Is it the continuing influence of the legacy of Alexander McQueen on the world of fashion? A depressed economic climate creating increased uncertainty and making us long for simpler times, setting off a retro craze? Any or all of the above could be responsible, but there's no doubting the fact that ladies (and mens) hats, headwear, fascinators, etc. are having their biggest moment since the 1950s right now.

The essential function of a hat is to protect the head from the sun or the cold, and to shade the eyes from the sun. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was customary for men and women to wear hats. Women in particular wore elaborately ornamental hats decorated with feathers, flowers, ribbons and other strictly artistic adornments that did not enhance the function of the hat.  Changes in transportation, hygiene, and hair all contributed to the decline of hat wearing beginning in the 1960s. As most people spent less time outdoors and with the advent of public transportation, hats were no longer needed for protection on a daily basis. As sunglasses became widely available and were no longer exclusively the province of vision-impaired individuals, wearing hats to shield ones eyes from the sun became unnecessary. In the 1950's, hair washes were weekly instead of the daily ones that we do today, and a hat was necessary to keep the dust and dirt away. Finally, the hair fashions of the 1960's and 70's meant that even men cared more about their hair and how it looked. In the golden age of hats, men typically had trimmed hair in order to ensure that extraneous strands of hair over their forehead would not stick out from underneath their hat. As men started to care more for how their hair looked and both men and women began to wear their hair longer and fluffier, the less reason there was to wear a hat that might crush or mess up their 'do. It is interesting to note that back when men wore hats, it was considered subversive to not wear hats. Now, it's the people that wear hats that give the impression that they're going against the grain.

With certain exceptions (like church hats and the Kentucky Derby), Americans had mostly forgotten the concept of occasion headwear until very recently. This brings me back to the recent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the ensuing mania over the hats worn by the wedding guests, most notably Princess Beatrice's bizarre Philip Treacy chapeau. Now hats and headwear are officially back.

I've always been a fan of covering my head in as many different ways as possible- hair accessories, caps, scarves, and all sorts of toppers ranging functional to purely decorative. Fedora, Pillbox, Beret, Fascinator, scarf, scarf + hat, wig hat, hair piece, you name it I've worn it on my head. From time to time I like to wrap a scarf over my hair, top it with a fedora and finish it off with some sunglasses. If everything is black this gives you an air of celebrity. People sneak glances and whisper, thinking you must be 'someone'. I saw a lady wearing a very nice straw fedora over a scarf and some sunglasses recently- on a very hot day, no less. But have you ever been to an outdoor concert and thrown a towel over your head? I have, and sometimes covering up can actually keep you cooler. She certainly looked cool. Recently I attended the Psychobilly Luau at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Virtually every female in attendance was sporting an elaborate flower hair clip like the ones designed by the event organizer Laura Rebel Angel for her line Dollsville NYC. If a hair accessory is large and elaborate enough it can be considered a fascinator. A head piece can make an outfit. Take a simple black dress, add a 1920s style sequined headband with a feather or two and some great shoes and you've got your New Year's Eve outfit. I'm getting married at the end of this year, and one thing I'm not worried about is my outfit - or outfits, rather. I know a great hat will pull everything together. I'm thinking that for the wedding banquet I need something like this piece by Alberto Friere to compliment the ubiquitous Mandarin dress.
You can really get creative and turn anything into hair ornaments. One afternoon last summer the cutest girl I had seen all day passed before my eyes, one of the inspirations for creating this blog. The young lady had a lovely puff of curls gathered up on top of her head and pinned all over the front of her hairdo were fabric flowers in a riot of colors and shapes and sizes. You can be your own inspiration - just pick up a pack of bobby pins, grab a scissor, and see what you can put on your head!

Show Some Skin

Summertime- love it or hate it, it's the season to show skin, and to deal with the beauty and fashion challenges that go along with it.
The first challenge is comfort- how much of your skin are your comfortable bearing on the city streets?
For me the answer to that question is 'as little as possible'.
Since tights and leggings are impossible once the mercury starts to climb, in my Bizarro world shorter skirts are part of the fall and winter wardrobe, NOT summer. Longer hemlines are trendy now, but I'd be wearing them regardless. Maxi skirts look best with feet as close to bare as possible - super flat, delicate sandals with only enough straps to keep them on your feet. A pencil skirt that hits right at the knee or a swingier skirt that hits a tad lower are both great showcases for adorable platform sandals, of which I'm building quite a collection. With this skirt length you are showing some bare skin, and I know I'm not alone in my love of gradual self tanners. These products rule, and my new favorite is this mousse. Here is some good advice on self tanning at home from a salon that I recommend if you're going to spring for a professional spray tan. For under those swingy skirts, some pretty lace panties in cotton or silk will make you want to stand over a subway vent and wait for a breeze so you can pose a la Marilyn. Thong panties? Do you really want to get caught in a draft unexpectedly and give everyone on the street a show? There are children out there, ya know. Save those for tighter skirts. For those of us with chubby thighs, these Summer Spanx are a godsend. They are comfy and cool, and actually look cute with contrasting panties underneath. My fave reality show Mob Wives recently had a cat fight where one of the 'ladies' ended up on the floor with her skirt over her head. Fortunately for her (and everyone watching) she was wearing her Spanx! Yes, I'm a proud member of Team Spanx! But not everyone has to be as modest as I am.
Last summer I went to a great show at Cha Cha's on the boardwalk in Coney Island. The headlining band was Labretta Suede and the Motel 6. Labretta is the lead singer and if I looked like her I'd run (and jump and dance) around in panties, fishnets and bandleader jacket also. To keep things equal between the sexes, the bass player was also showing lots of skin, wearing only a teeny pair of vintage bathing shorts, white patent leather Hush Puppies and sunglasses.
But let's face it, for those without an ounce of extra padding it doesn't take much nerve to bare it all (although this is pure speculation on my part). At that show there was a plump little man watching from behind his Foster Grants, dressed in a super tight tshirt cut into a tank top and a bathing suit bottom that covered as little as possible and could only be described as a 'banana hammock'. On his feet he wore silvery rubber clogs of some kind, and the only other thing he wore was hot pink lip gloss. Oh, and plenty of some kind of hair dressing to slick his thinning locks into a skinny, shiny ponytail. I didn't see him on the beach (what a shame) where I'm sure he shed the 'cover up' of his tiny tshirt (God only knows what other parts of his body were glossed and/or oiled). He was shakin' it, but not breakin' it, and the comfort he obviously felt in his own skin was righteous to behold. He made me smile, and although Labretta was certainly the cutest girl I saw that day, he was something special.
But it's a fine line between chubby and proud, and flabby and awkward. I find myself cringing with embarrassment at the sight of large, middle aged women (of which I am one, but the resemblance ends there) walking around in shorts that were obviously not designed to be flattering to anyone and are riding up between their legs as their thighs rub together, agitating their lumpy flesh like the roiling sea. Is this supposed to be 'comfortable'? Sorry, in my world comfort doesn't involve garments that make your ass look like the side of a bus. To make things even worse, they're usually worn with shapeless tshirts that make the shoulders look droopy; shirts that are baggy, but still tucked into said offensive shorts and (worse case scenario) finished off with a fanny pack around the waist. I don't even have to mention shoes- if you're parading around in these monstrosities you're not wearing anything cute on your feet. These horrible garments are sold at the type of store catering to large size women where my feet will never cross the threshold. I'd rather wear a garbage bag than shop at a store called 'Dress Barn'. The people who design these things should be jailed. As a zaftig woman I find the whole thing offensive and it reeks of conspiracy. These things are easy and cheap to make, and they brainwash women into believing that pretty, fitted and flattering clothes are not for you if you're bigger than a size 12. If I ruled the world I would create a 'reorientation' program for these women. As it stands, I am constantly tempted to throw Spanx at them.
But it's all so unnecessary - there a couple of simple adjustments to the shorts and top outfit would make it much more flattering and comfortable. Replace those baggy tshirts with a surplice top, which is loose and airy yet still maintains a feminine shape. Shorts that hit maybe a few inches above the knee in a fabric with some stretch will hold you in, stay put and save your poor thighs from chafing. Here is an example, or you can just cut or hem a comfortable pair of jeans. Although I prefer skirts, I will occasionally wear this type of shorts and top outfit and accessorize it with shoes like Melissa flats (or a new style of summer sandal that I love - so much better than those hideous sandal booties that were in all the stores last year), and a fab Tokidoki crossbody bag. Unless you are old (or young) enough to be wearing a diaper, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR ELASTIC WAISTS!
I don't hate the young and the svelte. I was young once but never skinny, which is part of the reason I've avoided sun damage. I've never worn a pair of short-shorts in my life, but my appreciation for fashion doesn't exclude clothing or styles that I wouldn't wear myself. Last year I was very fond of the Sable Starr/Jodi Foster in Taxi Driver look - an outfit based around short-shorts, a big floppy hat, platform sandals and huge sunglasses. This year, there's a trendy summer uniform that the cute young things in New York are sporting consisting of short-shorts (cut off jeans for a rock n roll look, white cotton twill shorts for a more polished look), summer boots (I define summer boots as suede, semi-slouchy, possibly laced, a light or bright color, and mid-calf or lower), a fedora or newsboy cap, and to top it off either a loosely tailored button down shirt or a fitted sleeveless tshirt (possibly worn with suspenders). I would and should be run out of town if I ever dared to leave the house dressed like this, but that doesn't stop me from finding the look adorable. Every summer the fashion mags post slideshows of girls at Glastonbury and Coachella. Some of these girls look really cute, some look ridiculous, and most of them are a little bit different than the NYC rock chick look.
I love the pin up look- the retro-style shorts that flatter curvier gals (a little higher in the waist and shorter on the outside hem) make fuller shapely legs look very sexy. Build an outfit around these with a belt, a cute little cap sleeve blouse, a fascinator or hair flower, cat eye sunglasses, and ankle strap sandles or pumps. When it comes to vintage looks, shorts can be a great way to modernize things. I love this picture of Mia Farrow in The Great Gatsby. The Marcel waves in her hair and all the flowers on her blouse, which buttons up very high and has those adorable peekaboo cap sleeves - a pair of short-shorts and some platform sandals would balance the buttoned-up top and bring the look up to date.
For this post I'm including an extra illustration, because summer cuteness comes in all shapes and sizes.

Endless Vacation

Has it really been almost a month since I've posted? Damn! I've been feeling unmotivated and depressed. Maybe it's the hot weather. Summer makes us more aware of where we are vs. where we would like to be, and the difference is rarely pleasing. You'd like to be on a beach in a long dress, barefoot with a glass of champagne in your hand. Instead your makeup is sliding down your face in the odorous steam bath that is the public transportation system. Why do summer vacations end along with our school days? Who's the asshole who thought of this?

Most of the time the worst thing a person can do is think about them self too much. Particularly when you start thinking of what you once dreamed your life would be and start comparing it to where your life has ended up. The more talented and original the person is, the more disappointments, rejections, unfair breaks and missed opportunities they are likely to have experienced; and the understandable result is often a battle against bitterness and resentment. When real tragedy rears its head in our lives we forget about these more subtle, chronic pains; but in the course of uneventful day-to-day existence (which is really the 'good times', such as they are) these disappointments are always in the back of the mind. We need to be distracted and redirected by beauty, drama, color, and sensation. These things inspire us and hopefully provide the spark that reignites what makes us unique, creative, and expressive. Where there's life there's hope. Once the expression starts, the mind's eye is trained on what's in front of it, and those nagging bitter neurotic feelings of self pity are shoved back into the basement where they belong.

When feeling uninspired, uninterested, or otherwise 'un', it's helpful to focus on little things. Creating the life you want for yourself is a big, messy, time consuming project with all kinds of conflicting factors- many of which are beyond your control. It takes time and a great deal of tenacity as well as luck. But creating an outfit/look that expresses your vision of that life is completely within your control and can be done in minutes, every morning. When you get dressed you are taking an action. It's up to you how you want to direct that action. Most of the time comfort is everything, but there are many ways to comfort ones self. There's physical ease, of course, but there's also emotional well-being, aesthetic sustenance, and creative exhilaration. Let's say you want to spend the afternoon writing poetry while sipping espresso in a Mediterranean seaside cafe, and perhaps taking a leisurely stroll on the golden sands. Chances are you won't be able to pull that off today. But you CAN dress for it!  A pair of darling strappy metallic sandals, a breezy bohemian summer frock, an artistic-looking summer chapeau, a piece or two of interesting conversation jewelry like this mermaid necklace, and of course a fine moleskin journal to write down your lyrical musings (and a crafty summer satchel to carry it in - along with a baguette and a bottle of wine to sustain you on your idyllic wanderings) - at least some of these things are very likely in your possession already.

One of the earliest things we learn is to process visual information, extracting ideas and emotions from things we see. Visual cues have a constant subliminal effect on the mind, even when your thoughts are occupied elsewhere. You've no doubt read that colors can make us feel happy, sentimental, hungry, etc. Clothing that evokes positive feelings and thoughts makes you feel positive and feel more kindly towards yourself, and this in turn points you in a more constructive direction. At the very least it's fun. If you want to take it further you will get even more results. Pack your lunch in a picnic basket, drink seltzer water from a champagne glass, brush your teeth with exotic foreign toothpaste (there's a website where you can create customized kits of travel size beauty products) - these are all things you have to do anyway (eat, drink, groom), so you may as well use them to enhance your inner vacation. You get the picture. I'd love to hear more ideas on how to transform mundane daily activities into part of your creative life.

I've seen a lot of cute girls lately who seem ready to hop a train for the land of summer fun any minute (even though it's the middle of the work week and lunch alfresco is probably the most exotic port of call on the agenda). You can do leisurely beach fun in long dresses with almost-bare feet and flowers in the hair; wild rock n roll fun in cut off short shorts with summer boots, stacks of arm candy, feathers in the hair and shredded-looking or animal print tops; country club fun in tennis skirts and Lacoste cardigans (you can go on an adventure just by learning how to knot a silk scarf like a blue-blooded lady). Right now, we would probably all feel better wearing resort wear. Here are some of my favorites from the resort collections.

Now I'm out of my slump, and it's about time. I'm going to get a super cute pedicure and visit my collection of gorgeous platform wedge sandals, which is about to grow by one when I acquire these! Grab your most glamorous shades and let's meet for a mojito, and we shall be the cutest girls anyone has seen all day!

On Our Toes

Recently while riding the subway with a friend, I noticed a woman sitting across from me- a youngish Asian woman with very fair skin. My eyes traveled enviously to her feet, which were delicate, perfectly proportioned, smooth and as milky white and unblemished as her pretty face. Her feet looked like she never had so much as a blister her entire life, in spite of the fact that she wore four inch platform sandals with a multitude of very thin, black patent leather straps held together by a gold ring in the center of her foot. Her toenails were polished a glossy black, and a pedicure artist had painstakingly rendered cherry blossoms on each toenail. I pictured the person who created this artistry wearing a face mask to filter the acetone fumes and a jeweler's magnifying loupe head visor to focus on this delicate handiwork. When she got off the train, my friend commented on her 'porcelain complexion' and I said 'yeah, and did you see her toes?'

She was probably the cutest girl I had seen all day, and she definitely had the cutest feet.
In contrast to this, I remembered a woman I had seen not long before, whose giant hooves made my size tens look petite in comparison. In spite of the fact that the skin on her feet was as deeply grooved as a 3D map of Afghanistan, she sported metallic gold strappy platform sandals not dissimilar in style to the ones adorning the delicate paws of the young lady described above. Her toes would not be stifled by petty notions of straightness or order, splaying and criss crossing over one another every which way, corns bubbling up as if her feet were formed from volcanic mud. Some hearty soul had been given the odious task of painting this woman's long, serrated toenails with blinding neon orange polish, and finishing it all off with french tips embellished with tiny rhinestones. The effect was not unlike a Vegas stage production of 'Alien vs. Predator'. I could not help admire this woman's dedication to the fancy and the feminine, and could only imagine what she saw in her own mind when she looked down at her feet.
I have known people who insisted on hiding their feet, even at the beach. This quite often happens to dancers, who end up with sublimely sculpted bodies ironically ending in mangled twisted toes. Likewise, someone who has rarely gotten off the couch and resembles Jabba the Hut could very likely possess baby soft, unsullied underpinnings.
We make every attempt to change our figures with exercise and diet; our hair with dying, cutting, wigs and extensions; our faces with makeup and facials; and we can embellish and groom our feet as well. But pretty feet, like everything else, are a genetic blessing, and attractive feet, like all other physical charms, can fade considerably as we age. While not as common as facelifts and lipo, there is such a thing as a 'foot facelift'. They actually held a contest to find the woman with the ugliest feet in America (FYI, the feet shown in this video are not even as ugly as the ones I just described, just a lot more unkempt). Years of pounding the pavement in paper-thin ballet flats have damaged my own tootsies somewhat, leaving me with a common and painful condition called plantar fasciitis (fortunately this has been alieviated by better footwear choices) and slightly splayed-looking toes. Thankfully, I don't have the ugliest feet, and they are as fastidiously groomed as the rest of me, but I also don't have the prettiest. Not nearly ugly enough to hide, although I wouldn't rule out the possibility of one day covering my feet with pretty tattoos if they end up riddled with spider veins. For now, in lieu of more extreme measures, I simply choose my summer footwear with an eye to the most flattering style.
Flat sandals with minimal straps are the string bikini of footwear, you really need narrow, elegant feet with thin, perfectly straight toes and delicate ankles to wear them without looking like a duck with a weight problem. Mules (you gotta love the classic 'Polly' shoe sported by Deborah Harry on the cover of Blondie's 'Parallel Lines') can lengthen the look of stubby legs and make stick legs look shaplier (Jayne Mansfield swore by this trick). Platform wedges are the most comfortable type of high heeled shoe, but heavy platform shoes are not at their best on women with short, chunky legs (someone tell Jessica Simpson to pick another style from her awesome shoe line). The fashion press declares the flatform all the rage, but as comfortable as this style is, you need *some* front to back differentiation in height to avoid looking like Frankenstein. Some people just hate bearing their toes, for no particular reason. For these folks, Balenciaga trotted out shoes for spring that look like high end versions of the creepers we used to wear as teenage punk rockers. My favorites are the Dolce & Gabanna  - I'm in absolute love with the entire Spring 2011 collection.
Sometimes the feet don't age along with the rest of the body. I've seen older women with man faces who still have feminine, pretty feet (I wonder what Marianne Faithful's feet look like - maybe she still has angel toes, unchanged since 1969?). There's no doubt the feet are an errogenous zone, and foot-beautifying measures can have a similar effect on a lady's self-esteem as a push up bra. After meeting a friend's mom for the first time, I commented on her cute polka-dotted pedicure and she proudly told me "I just had my toes straightened and I'm showing them off." I love seeing a person whose ONLY attractive feature is their feet, somehow it speaks of a merciful universe that decided not to pass over this poor troll completely when they doled out superficial charms. And this brings me to the important thing. Of course your feet are at their most beautiful when they feel good, whether you wear a size 6 or 11, when your toes are curling in pleasure or wiggling in the sand of a tropical beach. When someone loves you enough to hold your foot in their hand and kiss it like a baby's - how much more beautiful can you feel?

Low Rider

It freaks me out a little, but every now and then a particular fashion trend makes me feel like a crabby old lady when I catch myself muttering under my breath ("goddamn kids look rigoddamndiculous...grumble, grumble"). I think it takes a lot, because I believe that I do a pretty good job at keeping an open mind. As I said in my last post, I try to maintain the philosophy that even a style/article of clothing that I absolutely HATE looks good on SOMEBODY, somewhere. Last week this philosophy was demonstrated live, before my very eyes, right in my neighborhood subway station. Walking up the stairs in front of me (downtown Lexington line at Brooklyn Bridge station) was a young male ass clad in boxer briefs, the legs below it swimming inside a pair of very baggy jeans, with the belt somewhere around mid thigh. And you thought this trend peaked with the smash hit 'Pants on the Ground'! As absolutely ASS-inine as this trend is (sorry, couldn't resist), you have to admit that when a trend inspires legislation it really has hit a new level of pop culture sensation. But really, I thought this had END-ed (OK, you can virtually slap me now). At this point I was not so much grumbling to myself as cackling under my breath at the comedy show inside my mind (moving from 'crabby old lady' to 'crazy old lady', which is actually a better fit for me). Up the stairs I went, watching this dubious example of the next generation hobble towards the J train platform (interesting...it's not often you see men’s fashion trends that hinder the mobility of the wearer - that's usually the province of women’s fashion), when along came a young woman, sporting her own interpretation of the same low-jeans fashion trend! Again, I thought the plumber butt/muffin top/low rider thing was pretty much over. The fashion rags and certain unfortunately-styled celebrities would have you believe that high-waisted mom jeans are the current thing. But there she was, wearing a pair of those super low jeans with the 3 inch zipper that were so hot a few years back, her rainbow striped underwear rising a few inches above the elaborately stitched back pockets. The rest of the outfit was utterly unique. She wore a cheetah print hooded capelet that ended above the waist, neon-framed 80s sunglasses (at night, in the subway), and bright green pumps with gold heels and gold trim that reminded me of these by Irregular Choice. The ensemble was completed by a stackful of brightly colored retro plastic bangles, and slung over her shoulder was the Harajuku Lovers Gwen tote. Her hands weren't even touching her gigantic bag - a permanent 'fashion slouch' was sufficiently holding it onto her shoulder. This was an example of a truly intriguing person - when the combination and styling of the clothing items and accessories is so unique that my mind takes a snapshot and I have to wonder who she is, where she's going, what she does for work. The cutest girl I'd seen all day, that I encountered so briefly, is no doubt an up and coming stylist and/or designer, indie rock musician, party promoter, or something of that ilk. I probably couldn't stand the bars she goes to or the music she listens to. I'll never know, and that's what makes it even more fun and special. I'd been planning on buying one of those new awesome digital cameras like this panasonic with a leica lens that are supposedly so great that even a monkey locked in a closet can take perfectly lit, crisply focused shots. I thought I would photograph the stylish people I encounter, give them my card and tell about my blog. But there are already blogs out there doing that, and they are not that interesting. I think I'm going to stick with the camera in my mind, running off to jot out a crude sketch as quickly as possible to keep the memory fresh (which I did that day, right in the train station). So while once again, I will never know who that young woman is or what she does, I'm fairly certain in the knowledge that she wouldn't give the time of day to the first idiot I saw going up the stairs.

Test Pattern

As I mentioned in my very first blog post, I have days where I feel fat, old, ugly, disgusting, stupid, useless and ridiculous. But never frumpy. Saturday was kinda one of those days! Completely sleep deprived after bedding down at 4:30 am and having to wake up to make a 10:00 am appointment that my spouse and I *had* to keep, we somehow forgot to set the alarm- maybe it was the fattie we smoked at 3:45, but I woke up with a start at 9:35 and we had to throw on clothes and run out the door. After a night of standing on my feet deejaying at a smelly bar until 4:30 am I wasn't exactly feeling fresh as a daisy. I felt more like a stale, discarded fortune cookie lying on a slimy Chinatown sidewalk. No time for proper makeup or any hair style other than 'bed head', I turned to my closet for deliverance. I needed clothes that would wake me from my bleary-eyed state and express my mood of the day (which, despite my grogginess, was happy - I was going to spend the day with my honey). I decided instantly to MIX PATTERNS! It was a warm, rather sticky day, and I was in a hurry, so I threw on a dress. A black and white tiki-esque floral linen number - crisp and easy - that I scored for a pittance at K&G discount. Over that I layered a very light, pink and white seersucker jacket from one of my favorite local designers, Sohung Designs, the traditionally wasp-y fabric given a fresh treatment with an asymmetrical hem and inside-out pockets. My favorite large, very black sunglasses (Oakley Ravishing), Vivienne Westwood for Melissa flats and a Harajuku Lovers cut out cuties tote bag (both bag and shoes in the same blushy-pink color family as the stripes in the jacket, with their own prints going on). I threw some Rhotto eye drops, makeup, and a hairbrush into the bag, hoping I would have a chance to use them later, and out the door we ran. No jewelry today aside from my Bulgari corona engagement ring. We made it to where we were going on time and, thanks to my cute outfit, I was able to wake up a bit and really enjoy my day. 

Mixing patterns is huge right now, and the magazines all have stories on the 'rules' for doing it. For spring, you want to mix stripes and florals - large florals with small stripes, or small florals with large or graduated stripes. I favor Polynesian style florals and shun the Lily Pulitzer-type tiny prints, but I have some Liberty of London pieces that I love. Along with balancing the size of the prints (the stripes in my jacket and the textured print on my shoes were both small, the floral on the dress large and the print on my bag medium), a unifying color scheme will bring all the different prints together. Today mine was pink and white and black, but I really love kelly green and navy together. Neutrals like khaki and grey are always good for accessories and to generally pull everything together if you're afraid of looking like you got dressed in the dark. The fact that I had no time to think too much about my choices worked to my advantage today.

Pattern mixing is nothing new, of course. Pinstripes and tartan is a classic fall/winter look, and some of my earliest style efforts involved not only mixing patterns, but daytime clothes and sleep wear (nightgowns worn as dresses over pants in elementary school, my dad's plaid bathrobe worn as a trench coat over green bondage pants in high school).

It usually turns out that when a particular clothing item or look inspires me, it evokes memories of something I wore or saw being worn in my youth, which brings up more memories (not clothing-related) along with a comforting sense of continuity. 

On the weekends, when I usually stay local (Lower East Side/East Village), the amount of inspiring style on the street can be surprisingly disappointing. In fact, I usually encounter a plethora of BAD dressing. I try to keep an open mind about styles and trends, believing that even a style I hate (rompers, ew) has the potential to look good on SOMEBODY out there. But all too often what I see is looks that I rather like (sheer) done so BADLY that it drives me back into my apartment and sweet isolation. But I did see one woman last week who was sporting a very cute outfit with mixed prints and with great accessories. She was taking pictures of architectural details of buidings and rocking a very artistic look to go along with this activity- a slouchy sweater with graduated stripes in shades of orange, a multi-layered miniskirt with a light blue small floral print, a really hot bag that reminded me of the Gucci Race bag, and cute open toe booties similar to these. She was for sure the cutest girl I'd seen all day- and probably in all the days since then.

Check out these looks with mixed patterns for spring!!

A Very Wet Spring

My coworker wears plastic rain boots (fake rubber wellies) in all kinds of patterns and bright colors and, since we've been having a wet spring, she's been wearing them every day. She tucks her pants into them and changes into sneakers when she gets to work. It depresses the hell out of me. I am so sick of those things. Bright colored rubber wellies had their appeal for me at one time, about 6 years ago when they first showed up on the scene. That was when everyone went apeshit over that photo of Kate Moss wearing a pair of regular brown wellies with shorts at some muddy UK rock festival. I had a hot pink pair that I bought during a rainy, grey holiday season when I was struggling to make ends meet selling my small hand made leather goods at a little vending kiosk in an indoor marketplace in Soho. They were about $50 or $60 then (this was before they started selling the plastic knockoffs at Ricky's and Payless). I enjoyed sloshing around in them, and they went very well with the items I had to sport every day from my very junior-market accessories line. And, of course, with my trench coat. There's always a trench coat.
Trench coats are something I could never, ever get sick of. I love coats and jackets in general- they offer protection and style at the same time. You can hide under them while showing off your style to the world. Trench coats are my special favorites, having so many cool connotations- from film noir private eyes to sex offenders to punk rock. These days there are so many variations on the basic trench coat, in color and in construction. I own bright colorful patterned ones, some that I wear as dresses (including one that was actually meant to be a dress), cropped sleeved ones, military styled ones, hooded ones, long ones, short ones, belted ones, double breasted, ruffled (but not too many ruffles), swing skirted (but not bubble hemmed)...and I want to keep getting more but must control myself! New York women seem to agree that the more trenchcoats you have the better. We are having a love affair with trenchcoats and I have seen them thrown on over long formal dresses (which is kind of a rich bag lady look and happens to be very fashionable at the moment), with shorts for that flasher look, with scarves or pieces of rope standing in for the belt, in hot pink, bright blue, traffic yellow, pool table green, fire engine red- and of course the ubiquitous khaki and black. Check out some of these trench coats for spring!

Fortunately, another thing all of us New York women seem to be in agreement on these days is the loathesomeness of wellies - be they fake plastic ones from Target or $400 Chanel or Burberry versions. They are in the same league as crocs at this point - even the Doc Martens ones with the rose-printed laminated canvas tops that I wanted to buy a couple of years ago but didn't because someone gave me the heads up that they were very uncomfortable. In fact, I cannot help but notice that many New York women have been sporting anything but practical wet weather foot wear with their trench coats- flat sandals with toe loops, skimpy ballet flats, mules, fancy bejeweled flip flops, open toe pumps...its as if there's a rebellion going on, all those perfectly polished toes being sprinkled with grubby New York puddle splash. Yesterday I saw a woman wearing what looked like a Carolina Herrara raincoat with a boat neck collar and a wide scarf standing in for the belt, standing in the middle of 42nd street in the rain texting with a pair of ankle-strap peep toe platform sandals on her feet, her eyeglasses charmingly sliding down her pert nose. She may have been the cutest girl I'd seen all day. I have to hand it to these gals, clammy city rain between my toes is something that, as yet, I've not been willing to suffer for the sake of fashion rebellion.
When it comes to the ideal wet weather footwear match to all those cute, sexy and serious trench coats, its hard to beat Melissa shoes. These candy-scented PVC shoes are a cult item (my good friend Amber turned me onto them, she owns at least half a dozen pair). This Brazillian company has their own art gallery and magazine, and collaborate with designers like Vivienne Westwood. They come in a multitude of styles (flats, booties, pumps, wedges, oxfords, sandals and more) and textures (shiny, clear,flocked). I own a pair of shiny black PVC booties that I love to wear with all of my trench coats, and I just ordered a pair of blush pink textured PVC Vivienne Westwood ballet flats. So, ladies, we can toss the wellies in the garbage and still keep our toes clean!