monday manifesto: a day late and a dollar short

well, friday turned into the weekend turned into today. but, as promised, i shall venture boldly into the world of menswear, shoulders back, brow firm, opinion strong.

just to reassure you, i was entirely raring to go on friday. even my clothing for both day and evening was menswear-inspired; for day, i wore my gray wool tapered trousers with a gray, fuschia and cranberry argyle sweater, and for night i wore high-waist, front-seamed wide leg trouser jeans (7forallmankind, on wicked sale now, natch) and a navy pinstriped vest from a three-piece suit i have (the back is entirely sheer black lace - it was stockbroker meets stripper, but in the classiest possible way). but my favorite live band was playing at my favorite bar, and somehow the blog entry got a bit waylaid.

i am here to talk about dress shirts and patterns. listen up, menfolk; i'm so very proud of you for embracing something beyond crisp white, crisp blue, and the occasional crisp butter-yellow, skin tone permitting, and i want to nurture and encourage this instinct. but there are some things that should never have happened, and for those, i must issue y'all a cease and desist.

thomas pink is a high-end retailer of men's dress shirts, and this is your basic no-brainer. his store windows are deliciously colorful like so much penny candy, and the fabrics and patterns are as gorgeous as they are varied. i'd be hard-pressed to find a failure here, as thomas pink follows all of my men's dress shirt creeds: 1. real men wear pink; 2. even more real men wear lilac; and 3. pattern in the lining of a cuff or collar is never wrong.

.



this gorgeous windowpane check shirt (windowpane checks = closet MUST) carries two of my favorite femme-y colors to see on a man, and the pattern is soft and small enough to be paired with a paisley tie (my absolute favorite accessory, and for this shirt, loving this one from the tie bar) with similar colors. additionally, it's a french cuff, and there ain't nothin' wrong with some white gold and rose quartz cufflinks.

that being said, there are ways to go oh-so-wrong:

i call this "the guido frat boy":

.

boys, don't. don't make me explain, don't argue, just don't.

and i call this "the 80's wall street yuppie prepster":

.

unless you want to pick up the women who liked this trend in the 80s (translation: elderly), don't do it. it looks like your arms have toilet paper rolls on the ends.

overall, you can't go wrong if you pick a crisp pale or neutral color with a busily patterned tie, or layer a soft pattern (windowpane check is my favorite, but a textured or embroidered twill-like fabric or gradient-stripes in pale tones are also great choices) with a sharper patterned tie. if you go all-out with the shirt pattern, keep the tie simple, but be wary of wildly patterned shirts; they're very, very difficult to pull off if you aren't joseph gordon-levitt.

i must close with one bit of eye candy for the ladies. for some reason i'm completely obsessed with this gorgeous nanette lepore sweatercoat. why $398?!?! WHY?!?!

thirsty thursday: when our cups runneth over

let me state up-front that this is an exceptionally girly blog entry, and that yes, i do plan on doing more features on menswear very soon (likely tomorrow), so please bear with me while i take a little time for a self-indulgent rant. thank you.

so, much has been said lately about the resurgence of cleavage in the haute couture world. apparently breasts are making a comeback, and i, for one, could not be happier.

photograph by patrick demarchelier

i am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a small person, in any conceivable way. i have a large, sturdy frame, broad shoulders, large... features, long limbs, and stand at a respectable 5'8 1/2". while this can make it difficult for me to wear some of the more delicate trends for slender frames, i am blessed in that my proportions are on-target and slim-hipped, and if the garment actually comes in my size (anywhere between a 10 and a 14, depending), it's likely to work the way it would on someone simply smaller.

that being said, the girls get in the way.

until recently, i'd scoffed at other breastfully-blessed women who claimed to be woefully at a loss to find acceptable undergarments. i'd always found bras that i'd loved and fit well at victoria's secret. but lately i've been craving something... more. or maybe what i really mean is something less.

last season, victoria's secret came out with a "push up without padding," lacy, ribbony corset-style bra that everyone. flipping. LOVED. it sold out quickly, and i only managed to snap up two fairly boring colors. i had hoped to jump on the holiday stock this year, assuming that they would be sure to re-run a line that seemed so successful, but i was disappointed to find this wasn't the case. and so the quest for the perfect unlined balconet began.

turns out, homegirls were right. it has been more than difficult. in fact, i've yet to find it, despite offering up hours of my time to the online shopping gods. to vent my frustration, i submit a handy list of the pros/cons of being large-busted:

.

i think this deserves a disclaimer: i am in no way asserting that this rather tongue-in-cheek list is actually gospel, nor am i knocking anyone's knockers. large, small, in-between, square, polka-dot or purple, breasts. are. AWESOME. i don't care who you are or what you like, there's just plain nothing wrong with a pair of tits of any size. now let's find some gorgeous things in which to carry 'em around.

wordless wednesday: oh, LOUIS.

this is one of the first advertisements in the november vogue. i literally plotzed. this picture doesn't do it justice; go take a look for yourselves.

tuesday shoeday: daniblack indira

frye dannikas were gorgeous--no, BEYOND gorgeous--but my big fat foot didn't fit. that particular style runs narrow, and, well, i do not.

sigh.

time for a rebound affair. though with legs like that, daniblack's indira might have what it takes to woo me long-term.

monday manifesto: i love vintage

for halloween, i was vintage.

.

...and then i bought vintage.

.

almost fully recovered...the jewelry is helping.

freaky friday: because i never write on fridays

i realize that i have not written this week. without being too gross, this was due to a massive kidney infection complete with kidney stones that landed me in the ER and on the couch for much of the week. i am recovering nicely and hope to be back in top form very soon (i have a rathe unforgiving, slit-to-the-waist sequined gown i plan to wear for the entirety of halloween weekend, and a swollen midsection just won't do). in the meantime, my apologies for my extended absence, and i leave you with this exceptionally delicious selection from DETAILS magainze's pictorial on the double-breasted jacket (photographed by stephen shore, styled by paul stura):

.

which i recommend you accompany with this admittedly hilarious and unfortunately all too true assessment on the progession of the style identity of the modern male, penned by the accomplished and clever mary hk choi, and brought to my attention by my good friend michael.

p.s. i have not been entirely unproductive with my time. during my sick leave, i found the most perfect leather miniskirt (with pockets!!!!!) from the loft, marked down from $128 to $39.99, a vintage cross-body leather purse (brahmin!!!!!) at the local thrift shop, and three designer bras for less than $20 apiece from my new favorite online haunt, asos (seriously decadent, easily addictive, and wallet-friendly--deadly combination).

thirsty thursday: "the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."

below please find the object of my temptation:

(so, i apologize in advance, but this is going to be a very brief thirsty thursday, as i've been feeling pretty under the weather all day and hope to be asleep in the very near future.)

my beautiful, talented, and amazing colleague anna walsh ordered a necklace online from alex and ani, a trendy retailer for fashion jewelry specializing in really unique, eco-friendly stuff. it's not the kind of thing i'd probably ever come across on my own or notice in a store, but the pendant anna ordered is just the right size, shape and length for someone of my (gargantuan) stature, and a bit too large and gaudy for someone of her much more delicate frame. being the friendly fashionista that i am, i asked to try on the pendant and see if i liked it enough to just pay for it and save her the extra return shipping cost; being the even friendlier fashionista she is, she offered to sell it to me at a discounted price. so, the question becomes, do i yield to the temptation of a bird in hand (which we all know is worth two in the bush, see below)?