Tag Archive for "style" - Then Roxanne Says

Posts Tagged ‘style’

checks and balances

according to cathy horyn, opening ceremony is a “low-end” label that “can be good” when it comes to fit and quality, but “you’re usually better off saving your money,” presumably to buy something even more expensive. how the other half lives, indeed—over here in my neck of the woods, opening ceremony is strictly window shopping/online browsing material. occasionally, i’ll go to the store and try a few things on, hoping to override my better judgment and go for something i’ve had my eye on, but i’ve always managed to thwart my own masochistic attempts on my wallet. that said, if i happen to find myself with a hundred and eighty-five dollars to burn this season, me and these schooner shorts are about to get real familiar.

[images: opening ceremony]

a little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul

“it’s like someone leapt into my mind and said, ‘i’m going to make a collection that speaks to your very essence, roxanne—you’re welcome,’” i told a friend upon seeing olympia le-tan’s spring offerings for the first time.

hyperbolic statements aside, it’s pretty impressive how closely these clothes mirror my wardrobe. at any given moment, i’m usually found in high-waisted bottoms of a certain silhouette (that i lovingly refer to as ladypants), an abbreviated top to show them off, and flat shoes—a pre-mod ’60s vibe that i’ve grown attached to over the past year. unfortunately, ladypants are somewhat tough to come by. a number of vintage shop owners have told me that they don’t sell well—ergo, they don’t stock them—and i find that contemporary cuts are often made to hug my curves rather than skim them. my hard-won assortment thus far is the result of far-flung flea market scores and thrift finds plus several trips to my local tailor, so this collection feels like a godsend, albeit a hella expensive one. at least i’ve got a few months to save up.

[images: garance doré, style.com, the olympia press, nymag, fashionising]

oh so smart or oh so pleasant

last week, i decided to sort through the hundreds of links i’ve acquired over the past two years in my bookmarks folder. as expected, many of those great etsy finds were sold to another lucky browser long ago, articles announcing upcoming events were hopelessly outdated, and a number of interesting sites turned up broken. still, i managed to salvage a few bookmarks that i’ll be frequenting much more often in coming days.

my favorite (re)discovery so far: harvey faircloth, a clothing line by katie hatch, an attorney turned magazine editor turned designer who creates “spirited, off-kilter classics for modern women” with “a certain plucky, pioneering spirit.” all clean lines and simplicity, it’s easy to see how hatch’s collections both sprang from and blend perfectly with her sources of inspiration—wooded retreats, mid-century beach scenes, brightly painted vintage toys—found on the harvey faircloth tumblr. the fact that the spring/summer offerings feature a breton shirt that appears to meet all my specifications is just a bonus.

[images: harvey faircloth, harvey faircloth's tumblr]

missed connections

at one point during the tom ford episode of visionaries, i caught myself nodding vigorously in agreement as the designer shared an early childhood memory much like several of my own. “i was staring down at these brand new shoes, and there was just… the bump of the toe was off by—you know, i didn’t know what a millimeter was then—but it was just…just wasn’t quite the right shape,” he said. “when i got home, i took those shoes off and i just wouldn’t put them on again. they were wrong. they were just wrong.”

i definitely know what he means. i’ve always been incredibly picky about what makes its way into my wardrobe (see: selectorus neuroticus), but in the interest of maintaining my sanity, i’ve learned to make certain sartorial compromises. example: i’m partial to all things high-waisted, but i once caved and purchased a pair of levi’s with a low-slung waistline because i couldn’t find another cut in an equally brilliant cornflower blue. solution: it’s since been worn exclusively with oversize button-downs.

unfortunately, i’ve yet to discover any quick fixes to remedy a perceived footwear imperfection—this sole is slightly too thick, that pointed toe reads a bit too witchy—and so shopping for them is an endlessly arduous process. i’m drawn to styles spanning the ’40s through ’60s, but it’s no small feat to build a collection of wearable mid-century footwear with rarity, high prices, and the daunting prospect of upkeep all working against me. that’s why on the rare occasion that i find a contemporary shoe that i like, i acquire them without hesitation, sometimes in multiples.

these ankle-strap flats beckoned to me from a pixie market newsletter as i sifted through my inbox late last night. i clicked the link immediately, and…nothing. thirty minutes and a phone call to time warner cable later, i learned that an all-night service outage was to blame for intercepting fate, and of course, they were completely out of stock by morning. this isn’t over.

update: after hunting these things down like elmer fudd—that is, to no avail—i put my name on a wait list and scored them three weeks later. victory.

[images: pixie market]

for bounce and zoom in every step

september 18, 2009: “…i did buy my third — i repeat, third — pair of crappy white canvas sneakers. i’m not sure why i haven’t just bitten the bullet and gotten some damn keds already. these are going to be falling apart in about two weeks, but whatever.”

it was another four months before i finally got those keds. stranded in san francisco with another pair of worn-through imitations of the urban outfitters variety, i bought a pair of white champion originals at the now-shuttered shotwell boutique and wore them out of the store. it was a purchase borne of necessity, but since then, i’ve become such a devotee that i now keep three or four pairs in rotation at all times. with their timeless design and my preference for buying them brand new and bright white, it never really occurred to me to look for vintage keds, but when i discovered the pointer, a champion sneaker with a “’60s-inspired” pointed toe, i began to realize what i was missing out on.

anticipating a slew of dingy champion cast-offs from the ’90s, i did a bit of google searching and forum browsing to narrow my search and discovered kedettes. launched in 1938 and billed as “the washable casuals,” the ladies’ line offered wedges, loafers, oxfords, slingbacks, mary janes and the like, rendered in raffia and denim as well as their signature canvas and rubber. unfortunately, only a few pairs are available online, and i’ve yet to find any in my size. there are, however, a number of great kedettes ads floating around the internet that have been tiding me over while i keep looking. ranging from stunning to hilarious, i’ve been filing my favorites away for entertainment and research purposes.

(more…)

grown on the edge of the ocean

now that i’ve come clean about the fact that i’m a maximizer, i can go ahead and admit that practically every piece of furniture and decor that’s made its way into my apartment over the past five or six months has been the result of a painstaking decision-making process. although i ended up choosing a different rug in the end, sophie aschauer’s serpentsea mats made from sailing rope were a serious contender. and by “serious contender,” i mean “something i liked a lot but knew i couldn’t possibly drop two hundred fifty dollars on.”

[via grey area]

must be a kind of blind love

there are so many valid reasons why i should steer clear of this clutch:

1 i rarely carry bags.
2 when i do carry one, it’s usually because i need to haul a fair share of stuff, requiring considerably more space than what this has to offer.
3 i can’t quite justify spending upwards of two hundred dollars on something that i’ll only use occasionally at best.

and yet, the urge to throw caution to the wind and purchase it in a flurry of ill-advised clicks remains. funny how these things work.

[images by way of kate spade bags online]

selectorus neuroticus: la marinière

flipping through psychology today tends to leave me with a sense of smug vindication. there’s nothing quite like a piece on “how to spot a narcissist” or a concise “field guide to the social climber” to validate my armchair diagnoses, the ones i keep filed away on all the lowlives and nogoodniks i’ve had the misfortune of knowing over the years. still, i always knew i’d spot myself—my nasty procrastination habit, my antisocial tendencies—in one of those damning personality profiles one day, and i got what was coming to me in an article titled “field guide to the maximizer.”

latin name: selectorus neuroticus
notable characteristics: feels compelled to examine all the options before making a decision. restlessly searches for a better job, a nicer apartment, a finer mate, or a bigger bargain—or just a more interesting radio program elsewhere on the dial. frequently beset with regret and self-blame about the road not taken.
songs & calls: “let’s see what else is on right now.” “it never hurts to look.” “i won’t settle for second best.”

i’d been pegged in under a hundred words. “maximizers aren’t content with good [choices]; they want only the best, and they’re willing to go through an exhaustive (and exhausting) search to get it,” the write-up continued. if there’s a ceiling on high standards, it seemed i’d crashed through it a long time ago. of course, i’m no stranger to impulse buys, but i can’t deny my tendency to tackle certain purchases with the well-researched vigor of a lengthy term paper, practicality be damned. i decided to own it.

jean seberg.

case in point: i suppose i’ve always been sort of on the lookout for a proper breton tee, what with the constant reminders about how “timeless” and “chic” they are, courtesy of every single fashion magazine ever. then last summer i picked up a book called éloge de la marinière: sur une idée d’armor-lux, featuring photos of everyone from maurice chevalier to marion cotillard wearing the stripes to perfection, and it was like the mission had suddenly been kicked off in earnest. since i’m only in the market for a white/navy or natural/navy stripe pattern, i had to eliminate some great cuts with the wrong color right off the bat, but after a whole lot of looking, here are the frontrunners:

1 the original breton shirt company // original breton shirt // about $47 // >>
i can’t stand being caught between a slightly too boxy men’s cut and a way too fitted women’s cut. this particular top is from the original breton shirt company’s ladies line, but “made to a relaxed square cut fit,” which is a major selling point for me.

2 saint james // guildo r a// $95 // >>
according to saint james, the guildo is a “new version of the ouessant. really similar.” fair enough, but i can’t really figure out what the difference is between the two, if any. the ouessant is unisex, which is encouraging in terms of fit, but what i love most is the neckline. there are way too many “boat necks” out there that are really nothing more than middling, elongated crew necks. this appears to have a crisp, more-horizontal-than-not neck that feels right (couldn’t find an image of my ideal colorway, but it’s in stock, at least).

roger vadim, 1956.

3 brittany boutique // minquiers fine cotton breton sailor shirt // $42.24 // >>
first things first: the brittany boutique website is a real blast from the past, but their merchandise more than makes up for it. i’m pretty sure this is a saint james top, but there’s not much information to go on other than this hilariously retro imagery. that said, i do like what i see, namely the slouchy shoulder seam and sleeve.

4 chance // boatneck // $68 // >>
it’s difficult to tell just by looking at the picture, but it seems like the stripes on this one are a bit slim for my taste. i could be willing to make that sacrifice, though, because everything else about this top — and all of chance’s offerings, for that matter—scream “wardrobe staple” to me and i want in.

françoise sagan, april 1955.

5 j.crew // saint james unisex meridien II nautical tee // $85 // >>
unisex? check. neckline? a bit round for my taste, but maybe sizing up would prove an overall remedy.

6 lands’ end // women’s regular 3/4 sleeve boatneck sailor tee // $30 // >>
it’s mostly the quarter-length sleeves that are drawing me in here, but i think i’m seeing a bit of that dreaded figure-skimming fit, unfortunately.

verdict: pending.

i’ll probably need to try a bunch of these on in person before i can make any sort of final decision, although i’m leaning towards the saint james guildo (2) at the moment.

on another note, the best thing to come out of this quest for la marinière so far has been a tumblr of the same name that popped up on one of my google searches — scrolled straight through to the end on the first visit and have been checking back in ever since.