The 4-5 piece French wardrobe #7

[Jinadaze]

^ I think Monki is a sub-brand of Weekday, is that correct? I have their white tee from this summer and the sizing is huge, so you definitely want to get size down for at least a size. My T-shirt in XS looks like M or so.

 

[eizhowa]

^They are owned by H&M. My favorite rust shirt (now deceased) was from monki. They use a lot of viscose, which I think is a very comfortable material. A lot of their stuff is oversized, so the sizing is a bit weird, thats true.

Trenchcoat: It is a very feminine polka dot shirt. The ruffles, and the very small dots makes very feminine I think. Is that what you would prefere? Finding the correct print can take ages... I would add that this blouse might be difficult to layer under a sweater for winter, but if you are not planning to layer it then that is not an issue of course Is it viscose or cotton?

 

[Trenchcoat]

^They are owned by H&M. My favorite rust shirt (now deceased) was from monki. They use a lot of viscose, which I think is a very comfortable material. A lot of their stuff is oversized, so the sizing is a bit weird, thats true.

Trenchcoat: It is a very feminine polka dot shirt. The ruffles, and the very small dots makes very feminine I think. Is that what you would prefere? Finding the correct print can take ages... I would add that this blouse might be difficult to layer under a sweater for winter, but if you are not planning to layer it then that is not an issue of course Is it viscose or cotton?

it's 100% viscose

 

[Melisande]

Melisande: Betina sometimes writes posts (on her blog) about items she has resisted, instead of bought, and I really like those kind of posts! I definitly don't mind hearing of items you loved, but ended up not getting for some reason. It is all part of the process, the way I see it

Trenchcoat: Thank you! That color was everywhere around 2011/2012. I miss those days... For now, I will be looking for vintage pieces in rust colors on Etsy and Ebay. There are lots of items from the 1970s in that color The pumps pictured are from Gianni and Jimmy Choo (There is one of each, actually).

Aww, Eizhowa, that is so sweet of you to say. BTW I love the idea of a corduroy suit in that color! I have a picture of it stuck in my mind with cognac leather high-heeled boots and a feminine silky cream blouse

In that case, I will say, since it is a sort of feminine polkadot blouse and may be similar to what Trenchcoat is looking for as well; I tried on these shirts from Mango, and rather liked them, provided I will change the buttons to something more discreet and elegant. The sizing was a bit weird (S was good on me for the white, whereas M seemed small in black ), so I may try them on again in a different size or with different underpinnings. It is a lovely silk-cotton mix and dryclean ONLY...I usually wash my silk items by hand...

http://shop.mango.com/FR/p0/femme/v...sas&ident=0__0_1411257354219&ts=1411257354219

 

[eizhowa]

This is the Chloe suit I have been swooning over:

lindsstuff.blog

It looks more orange in sunlight.

It popped up on vestairecollective for about 200 euros, but the previous owner had chopped 6 or so inches of the trousers, so they were too short. Even for me, which is really saying something

It would look completely wrong in the city I live in though. I'd need to move to London to wear it. Overall, a very expensive suit

 

[Nymphaea]

^That pic reminded me right away of something similar I spotted some years ago, The Row Pre-Fall 2012 suit, love this one and also love yours eizhowa.

style

 

[lynette]

vogue.it


I think this looks pretty 'french' to me, gotta love the new androgyny of Jil Sander '15

 

[Caramel]

Thanks for the feedback on the dress, everyone.

@Betinapple, you've given me lots of great ideas for styling!

@Melisande, I often think I should just give up on dresses altogether and focus on separates, but I kind of prefer the unbroken lines of a dress. I also have a hard time finding tops that I like. That Zara dress is very much like what I've been looking for, except I need a waist seam for that kind of dress to fit me properly (and to tailor it more easily). It's also a little more red than I'd prefer, I'm looking for something with a slightly more pink/purple tinge.

I think I may end up ordering the navy dress, I can always return it if it doesn't feel right. And then perhaps I'll have time to sew a dress some time over Christmas.

@Betinapple, I also say go for the plaid sweater! Even though plaid is very hot right now it looks more classic than super trendy to me.

@eizhowa, that Chloe suit is pretty awsome! I can see how it would feel odd to wear it here in Norway, though.

 

[Caramel]

So while waiting for the shoes and dress I decided to go through my box of out-of-rotation clothes to see if there was anything that could be revived. I found a couple of pencil skirts (one light beige and one black) that I think could work as evening wear with the right accessories. Also a white drape/faux-wrap silk top which I used to think did not suit me, as I usually prefer more structure. I really liked it now, though. It worked both with the pencil skirts and with skinny jeans. My closet could definitely use some dressy tops, so yay!

Another issue though...as much as I like a narrow silhouette, pencil skirts and the like, with being curvy it's very...va-va-voom...not exactly like my understated everyday look! Even though I see that it looks good on me, I don't know if I pull it off well. Perhaps it just takes some getting used to...or I suppose the times I wonder if it's too much, I can just look at the Kim Kardashian thread and be reassured that I will never have that much curves!

 

[Fewormany]

I love how you describe it as 'very va-va-voom'

It sounds like a great look, just different from what you're used to wear. Give it some time and it will probably work out great. It sounds like you're conscious about what you're wearing in a positive way, if it would be inappropriate you would probably notice.
Plus everyone needs a little va-va-voom every now and then..

 

[Caramel]

Yeah, I think it's mostly feelings that are left over from when I was younger. Even as a scrawny teenager I still had hips and a butt, and dressing was all about concealing that and avoid drawing attention. Dressing to enhance curves feels counter-intuitive to me, but I realize it's mostly in my head, and that a little attention won't kill me.

 

[Melisande]

OMG Fewormany and Caramel, you have no idea how much I relate. (I wrote about this a while back explaining why I started wearing so much black, basically to avoid the va-va-voom phenomenon... ) I do the same as you, look at Kim K and reassure myself...I bet we're not the only ones either, it's kind of hilarious when you think about it...

Last sunday I went out to brunch in a tight and low-cut peach pink dress, convinced that I looked completely naked, but in fact nobody so much as looked as me strangely, much less...even looked at me! In fact I swear I got fewer looks than when wearing my usual head to toe black. (They may actually have been averting their eyes from the pink dress, but I wouldn't know ) So much for that fear! So yes, you may be right, it's mostly in our heads, especially us being demure by nature.

Actually, I've recently started being drawn to the soft-blouse-and-pencil-skirt silhouette too. That silky top sounds lovely.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Embrace the Jessica Rabbit within

 

[Melisande]

Embrace the Jessica Rabbit within

oooh, love it!

Hmmm...by the sound of it however, you're the real Jessica Rabbit around here, Ms. curvy beautiful redhead!!

 

[Caramel]

Embrace the Jessica Rabbit within

 

[fashionista-ta]

^^ Aww, thank you! Sadly my hair is not nearly as red as it used to be ... it keeps getting darker as I get older. My father was a blond baby but almost-black brunet as an adult, so I suspect it's his fault!

 

[Melisande]

^^ Aww, thank you! Sadly my hair is not nearly as red as it used to be ... it keeps getting darker as I get older. My father was a blond baby but almost-black brunet as an adult, so I suspect it's his fault!

Dark red/auburn sounds beautiful too!
I also had curly light brown hair and hazel eyes (even says so on my passport) as a child and now I have almost-black hair and eyes.

I haven't done any major shopping yet but got a leotard, skirt and tights for my ballet class. Doing the housework in full ballet gear is the best thing ever! Super-fast, easy to move, and efficient. Plus you feel like Kate Bush.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I'm picturing you doing Swan Lake with a feather duster

 

[Melisande]

^ I'm picturing you doing Swan Lake with a feather duster

Aww I swear though, it's great! You can get at hard-to-reach places high and low and whirl around in ways that you couldn't in normal clothes, lol! Getting addicted.

@Eizhowa: my idol Stephen Fry tweeted this photo of himself recently; thought of you

 

[eizhowa]

Hehe, before I read the text, I saw the picture and thought "OMG YES!". I love burnt orange, I love velvet blazers and I looooove Stephen Fry He is just all kinds of wonderfull He wears corduroy all the time as well Screensaver!