Wrapped, Tucked, And Cozy

When I spied the image above right in a collage on Uniform, it reminded me that Jil Sander’s 1997 F/W collection was an all-time favorite. Wrapped, tucked, and cozy are appealing to me right now. I suspect that both Gauchere and Phoebe Philo were inspired by this collection.

Paris Dispatch

As I wrote last year: Paris in January is great — no crowds and the city feels intimate and relaxed. It was frigidly cold, but no more so than NYC. I took the Max Mara Cube vest and parka, both pack down to nothing and were toasty. This was a long overdue mother-daughter trip. We stayed at Chateau Voltaire, roamed the quiet city, and found the Chanel Ballet Flats in her size. I couldn’t resist the camellia embossed denim slingbacks, they’ll be great with jeans come spring. Artist Léon Comerre’s 1903 painting of his daughter Géo hangs in the Petit Palais. Her blouse and skirt are timeless and I would happily wear them today. Jeanne Damas’s new book La Vie En Rouje was released this morning in France, however, I got back to New York last night. It will be available here March 1. Guerlain’s newly launched fragrance Aqua Allegoria in Nerolia Vetiver smells divine and I appreciate that the beautiful bottles are refillable. Finally, Louis Vuitton will open its first branded hotel on the Champs-Elyseés, and while under construction the building is wrapped as an LV trunk. It is something to behold.

Lighten Up!

Snow is heading our way, first of the season, and it got me thinking about white, off-white, cream, and ivory. The above four items jumped out at me from a recent Net-a-Porter preview email. The Toteme hooded leather jacket and Peter Petrov satin shirt dress are like a siren’s song, dangerously leading me to thoughts of warmer days ahead.

Toteme ribbed cotton-jersey top and Caravana cotton-gauze pareo

New Newsletter: Uniform by Ali Pew

The stylist and former Goop fashion director, Ali Pew, recently launched a newsletter, Uniform. Ali has great taste so I’m going to give her a follow. Thank you Lauren Indvik, the FT’s fashion editor, for the heads up on Uniform. Lauren is one of my favorite sources for industry news and she, also, has a must-follow newsletter.

Reader Poll: What Was Your Favorite Purchase of 2023?

In a comment on the previous post, Laura asked “Preston, do you ever poll your readers and ask them what their favorite purchase of the past year was?” Great question and I hope everyone will weigh in. I, obviously, failed the buy-only-five-new-items-in-2023 challenge, but I was mindful of my purchases and there were things I took a pass on with the challenge in mind. Above are my six favorite purchases and I posted on each of them, except for the navy Comme des Garçons dress. I suspected that you would think I was off my nut for buying a dress with smocking and a Peter Pan collar — which were indeed not me — so it just hung on a rail. Once the collar was removed, I wore said dress to numerous events and received a shocking number of compliments. It’s great with both the Celine boots and The Row pumps. The Saint Laurent bucket bag is hands-down an all-time favorite purchase, not just from 2023. And, the Gauchere and Phoebe Philo wrap skirts are comfy and cozy — a win-win for sure.

Your turn.

Looking Forward To Spring

At the risk of sounding scrooge-y, I am happy that the holidays are in the rearview. Having the girls home — this year included a fiancé — and getting together with friends, are always wonderful. However, the onslaught of holiday gift guide emails that inundated my inbox was overwhelming. A funny aside: as a child we never used the word “gift” in lieu of “present”, a gift was a talent or aptitude or even, divine. Scented candles and cashmere socks did not fall into the gift category… Don’t get me wrong, I love finding the perfect present, but now that my girls are grown it’s harder — they buy whatever they need and rarely have a list for me. Instead, my younger daughter is meeting me in Paris next week and we will roam the city, and a ski trip with my older daughter is in the works. While I’m with each of them, I hope to find a few things that they wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves.

And, this brings me to spring. Now that we are post winter solstice, the day-to-night ratio will start to shift and the daylight hours will microscopically get longer. Just knowing that one day soon I will not wake in total darkness and that the sun won’t seemingly set moments after lunch, gives me hope. An upcoming trip to Los Angeles to see family is also fueling this spring fantasy. New sandals and a crossbody bag are on my spring wishlist, and I’m going to try these at Soeur next week.

Happy New Year!

Let’s talk about resolutions. I stopped making them — the very same two, year after year — when I could never hold fast. Run more and eat less sugar would rollover from resolution list to resolution list. Now I make intentions —  more like hopes, less like goals. Last year’s were to read even more and start pilates. I’ve benefitted tremendously from both and will happily keep doing them ad infinitum. Because I want the most from pilates, I eat less sweets, and with increased reading/listening, I run more often — the unexpected and happy byproducts of effortless intentions. On the drive to Boston yesterday, my daughter and I struggled to come up with personal hopes and dreams for the new year. It’s early days yet.

Happy New Year!

Last evening we watched the Boston Common fireworks from the roof of my daughter’s building.

Want vs. Need

Quite simply, I need black, low-heeled, knee-high boots. The Celine pair is everything I’d wanted, just not ideal for long-haul walking. While searching, I was reminded of these Khaite pumps and how much I’d loved them in a Khaite Resort collection post last June. Do I need them? Absolutely not. I’m staying on task (for now).

“The understanding that there is so much more to life than looking good, but also understanding that looking good is a worthwhile pursuit.” -Karen

The title of this post is from a comment that resonated with me — Karen articulated perfectly a sentiment that I hold dear. The theme of Bay Garnett’s new book, Style and Substance: Why What We Wear Matters, dovetails nicely with Karen’s words and the two warranted a post. In WWD ‘s review, writer Samantha Conti noted “… Garnett says she was “amazed by how deep people were when they talked about fashion. That was a revelation to me. They opened up their wardrobes, and their thoughts, and their hearts around the way that clothes make them feel. It reinforced my own love of clothes, and it kind of made me care more about what I wear as well.” After Ms. Garnett had interviewed a number of  style-setters for this book, she told WWD that she was surprised by “… how “un-superficial” fashion is.” 

Thank you, Karen, for your thoughtful comment —  I am in total agreement that there is more to life than looking good, yet, making an effort and considering what we wear are important, too.

‘Tis The Season To Say Thank You

The liminal period between the holidays and the new year is a welcome week of calm before we ramp up again. The shopping pressure is off, returns have been sent, and now it’s time to settle in and write thank you notes. Thank yous to the hostesses for holiday lunches and parties, for the presents from family and friends, and a virtual thank you for all of the kic comments. I’ve chosen a comment that resonated and will post on it tomorrow.

Smythson Correspondence Cards in Blue and Nile Blue