It Item

The Bale: Loro Piana’s New Bag

Loro Piana’s Bale Bag is aces. Hand-stitched, a removable inner pouch, and it’s available in two sizes and a wide range of colors. The adjustable shoulder strap that wraps all the way around is a nice design detail. This is a forever bag.

Kummel, beige, navy, white.

It Item

Spring Staple: Marfa Stance

Writer Camille Freestone is spot-on when she says in her Coveteur story on transitional dressing ‘(i)t’s that time of year when the weather in a single day can effectively span all four seasons.” Yes, indeed. Last September I wrote about the trench and liner I bought from Marfa Stance, the line of multi-functional and seasonless pieces designed to work together. These pieces are meant to be layered and thus ideal for transitional dressing. I wore the trench with and without the liner multiple times, but wasn’t wearing the liner solo — it was way too boxy. So, I took it to my beloved tailor and she put elastic in the back to give it some shape. Now I wear it all the time. And the best part? It’s reversible, a true win-win.

It Items

Items I’m Eyeing

This Valentino duchesse-satin A-line midi skirt is so simple and elegant. Weirdly, it could be dressed up or down — The Row sandals and a white T-shirt for a summer evening, perhaps. And, I’ve been eyeing the Bottega Veneta woven leather pumps since I spotted them on the runway last fall — not sure how they’ll look on, I’ll let you know.

Skirt. Pumps.

On the hunt for

A Tan Poplin Shirt

I’m on the hunt for a tan/light khaki poplin shirt (sans flap pockets).  I love the color of this one by Ferragamo, and Rag & Bone has a nice one at a much kinder price point.

Le Goût de M

‘Éternels Atours’

Photography by Robin Galiegue

These images are from of a 20-page fashion story in Le Monde‘s weekend supplement, Le Goût de M.  Suzanne Koller’s styling is sublime and Rianne Van Rompaey looks more beautiful than ever. As the story title says, these are forever pieces — the classics we love never looked so good.

Continue…

On My Mind

Red Hot

Red ruled the FW23 runways — it was the color. The bright primary hue looked spectacular amid a sea of neutrals. A few years ago I toyed with adding a red Gucci 1955 Horsebit bag to my collection, then it went out of production. With the house’s move away from fashion theatrics and its embrace of classic archival designs, the reissuance of the red 1955 Horsebit bag is timely. And, there’s no denying that the red coat in The Row’s FW23 collection was a showstopper and will undoubtedly be seen out and about this fall.

NET-A-PORTER

Saint Laurent: The Best Brown

Brown looks better than ever and this season and Saint Laurent got it right. The peacoat is particularly good-looking — an absolute forever piece. Coat, blouse, bag.

On My Mind

Last Winter Weekend – Whoop Whoop!

This Monday is the first day of spring and, even though it snowed here last Tuesday, the temps are hovering in the 50s and spring feels imminent. To celebrate, I’m swapping my dark polish for a pale shade, taking stock of my spring shoes (like my beloved Dior pumps above) and any that need a little TLC will go to Leather Spa, and starting a new book, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano — all the reviewers raved.

Happy weekend, everyone!

On My Mind

Everything Old Is New Again: Gloves, Hosiery, & Socks

Fashion is cyclical, now more than ever. Elbow-length gloves were big on many of the 2020 runways — I posted on the ones in the Valentino FW20 collection. Sadly, soon after they were shown we went into lockdown and they flew under the radar. Now, short and long leather gloves are a staple in The Row’s SS23 and FW23 collections. Mrs. Prada put socks back on the catwalk and sparked a grey socks frenzy when she paired them with slingbacks, sandals, loafers, and sneakers in her SS22 Miu Miu show. The Row then showed them with flats in their Summer 2023 collection  and Dior styled almost every look with socks in the FW23 collection shown in Paris week before last. And, Mrs. Prada may very well have made sheer and nude hosiery cool again with her recent FW23 Miu Miu collection. If  she says nude tights are chic, I’ll go there.

It Items

Three Easy Pieces

My head is in that liminal space between seasons — I’m tired of winterwear, yet not ready to make spring purchases. However, emails packed with spring items are coming in fast and furious and I’ve been identifying some good pieces — you never know if they’ll still be available when it’s time to wear them. If I didn’t have a Khaite midi-length denim skirt from last year, I would buy this one by Altuzarra — it’s pretty perfect. The Saint Laurent pouch is smaller — which is better for me — than the one I had my eye on. And, I have a panoply of sandals in this style and these by The Row come in brown and black.