One of my favorite fashion routines is collecting CHANEL RTW. Every season I peruse the runway pictures as they hit Style.com or spy pics from various sources and make a wish list. Trunk shows roll around, editorials show up in print and electronic publications, and I begin whittling my list down to a very short list. At these price points, it becomes more and more necessary to build a tight collection–I want to buy well with pieces that complement my wardrobe and splurge once in a while on a very special “dream” item. In the end, it has to be quality over quantity.
One of the reasons I have focused so much on this label is because, season after season, I am able to find something timeless yet modern. Yes, the problem with that is that, as a friend told me, things get boring if you don’t expand your fashion horizon. One tweed jacket eventually looks like the next, especially since this brand has such a distinctive look about it. But what’s kept me in the game is that every collection comes with a twist. A quirk. A cool button here, a beautiful trim there. And ultimately, the fabric doesn’t stop getting better. The day the fabric stops captivating me is the day I leave a label.
Anyway, that’s just a roundabout intro to our next FIMTSO episode: the tweed jacket, which I know you all have one (or more) somewhere in your closet. It’s a challenge to make one look not so dowdy or…well, preppy. In my head I want to dress like a rockstar, but my closet is a shrine to Coco. Let’s see if I can build 3 looks with one of my dowdiest (plaid + tweed–can it get any worse?
) jackets. I love me some of that tweed fringe though. Sigh.Test Item: 04P silk blend tweed jacket
Look 1: this is my casual look with the dirty rinse skinny jeans and some wedge espadrilles (both from Target!). The beaded tank is by Tory Burch. Based on these photos, I’m thinking I should never buy jeans in this rinse again and just stick to my dark denims.
Look 2: a versatile jacket should also work with a skirt or dress, right? So here it is paired with a Chanel denim dress and same shoes. I usually wear a tiny cardi over this dress.
Look 3: this is actually my favorite way to wear this jacket, over a white Gap tank and theory linen pants. I complete the look with a pair of sneakers. I call it my Gatsby look–shouldn’t I be playing croquet or lawn tennis or something?
Tags: Chanel, FITMSO, Target, Tory Burch
The last couple of looks have been about the pants, so today I’m trying to see how many ways I can rework a black skirt on the road.
Summer 2010 Trip: Look 3 The skirt is a 2009 Prada crinkly skirt that I think will look cute with the heels I featured in Look 1 or any regular pair of black flip flops, depending on the occasion. Here I have it with a Tory Burch tank (she makes the BEST tanks to me) and Mossimo flip flops…
but if I have to run to a nice meeting or dinner, I can throw on the Chanel cardigan and heels instead:
Now, those tanks can also work with the pants I featured in yesterday’s Look 2–the second one is a black Libertine for Target skull tank…
and of course today’s skirt will be just as cute with an embellished JCrew tshirt:
I like embellished tops for the road because then I don’t have to wear jewelry, which I seem to have a horrible habit of misplacing. Then you remember how it goes in my head, right? I start to suspect the hotel staff, some random kid, mail carrier, FedEx guy….
No, I promise this is not another entry about the stray cat. I’m talking about my fixation with the other Coco, the one who’s long gone but lives on through Karl Lagerfeld. When (little) Larkie met Coco through the editorial pages of Vogue about twenty-five years ago, I knew one day my closet would be peppered with Chanel goodies. I just never knew it would become a full-blown drug addiction. But hey, it’s still better than meth or vodka, right? Anyway, I will bring a little bit of Coco with me on this trip.
Though to tell the truth, my head is not quite in the packing yet because i haven’t figured out which bags will travel with me this time, and usually all of my packing revolves around the bags as they set the color scheme for the traveling wardrobe. I know, it’s a nutty way to pack but I also cannot eat bumpy food (like octopus tentacles…gross)–but that’s just how it goes in my head.
Anyway, then I build on top of the color depending on the activities and climate of the destinations. Finally I throw in some great pieces for the photo shots I already have in my mind’s eye for the cities I will visit. Of course, these photo ops don’t always work out because things generally unfold differently on the road (like inclement weather or lost luggage), and I’ve learned, the hard way, that control freaks are no fun to take around the world, so I leave that inner freak at home and just hope that I get some good photos regardless of what goes wrong. And honestly, after a few weeks of living out of suitcases, it’s really hard to break out of the jeans and tshirt mode…you just want fashion to take a vacation.
So far, I’m thinking I’d like to pack a few of the Cruise and Spring cardigans shown here to throw over nautical shirts. Or maybe add these funky McQueen racer-back tanks that might be fun without the sweaters when it’s really warm…
…and speaking of warm, these Tory Burch, Sonia and Chanel tanks are good staples in my suitcase:
So far that’s all I’ve pulled for now, which I hope won’t be all because I’ve got no bottoms…yet. But I do know I’d like to use that gray Panama fedora hat in the first pic, which may hint at which color bag I have in mind…but it’s not really matching the red cardigan with navy trims, which I’d really like to wear on this trip. So I guess that means yet another hat. Grrr.
I’m also packing this Eugenia Kim for Target straw cloche. I think it’s only like ten bucks so if I accidentally lose it I can replace it when I get home without crying. I’ve lost a couple of Prada cardigans on the last few trips and those were not as easy to replace!
So without giving away too much about where I’m headed, as you can see I’m anticipating meeting some cool weather even though I hinted a few days ago that there will be lots of sun as well. It’s no wonder I can’t seem to wrap my brain around the wardrobe yet. I feel schizo, and until I can nail down the bags, the only sure thing I have in my suitcase right now is my toothbrush.
Here’s hoping in the next entry I’ll have more clarity . Happy Independence Day everyone!
Tags: Coco Chanel, Eugenia Kim, Karl Lagerfeld, McQueen, Panama hat, Sonia, Tory Burch
A reader suggested that I FIMTSO something green, and I thought hmmm, that’s a random color. Then I peeked inside my closet, and lo and behold, I actually have a whole green section in there! From shirts (mostly courtesy of Etro)…
to shoes….
to outerwear to handbags…oops, I forgot to take the tissue paper out of the bag for this photo, but I have to stuff these pythons like that while storing them.
In fact, I seem to have a prolific green safari/army bunch going in the outerwear section of my closet, but I rarely ever, almost never, wear green. I think, like most people, I just like looking at the color green but can’t quite make it work with my skin tone. Yet her request intrigued me…then it dawned on me. Why not wear green as an accessory instead of an item of clothing? We should be able to FIMTSO accessories, too, right?!
Test Item: pear green python Desmo hobo bag. I am almost certain I bought this bag because it weighs less than air.
Look 1: The easiest trick in the world to wear an unusual color is to pair it with black. So here is the green bag with a theory stretch linen strapless sundress and the Chanel Aloha sandals. I said it before but I will live in these sandals this summer!
Look 2: The second easiest trick in the world to wear an unusual color is to pair it with white. I think you see where I’m going with my tone-on-tone palettes! This time the bag is paired with white denims, white Chanel tank, and a GAP dark rinse denim jacket. I know I seem to have Chanel separates up the wazoo, but if you look closely, they are usually very basic pieces that will not go out of style. Ever. And even if they did, I would still wear them until I can amortize them to death!
Look 3: But where is the creativity if I can’t get outside of my comfort zone of black and white? So here is the bag with J Crew light taupe linen pants and Tory Burch brown print lawn cotton shirt. I love wearing sneakers with linen pants so I’m throwing into this mix a pair of dark chocolate leather Converse. I think all I’m missing are a Panama hat and a mint julep.
All right, readers. Who’s got another challenge for me?
Remember the Belgian churro I had at the Christmas market in Bruges? It was more like a sweet snack. In Spain, however, the churro is a bland pastry to be dunked in your breakfast hot chocolate, like what he’s doing here…you might say it’s a Spanish dunkin’ donut.
On my first full morning in Madrid I have to go find a train ticket for the next day’s side trip. The weather has soured from sunny/cold to bone-chilling rain. So much for my decision to go to Madrid for its milder winter! Anyway, on the way to the Atocha train station, which btw seems to have a rain forest growing in the middle of its courtyard,
I spy tons of locals darting into their neighborhood cafes for a quick bite and drink–and by quick I mean they are all standing around the bar area for a hit of that expresso, white wine (why not!), or zumo (orange juice) and a small piece of toast or pastry before blowing out of there to go to work. I decide on a large pastelería with a busy bar in the back. I elbow my way to a small spot at the bar and am tempted by the goodies…
but when in Spain…
The fresh-squeezed OJ is quite wonderful actually. BTW that’s my favorite Chanel 05A cardigan over a Tory Burch shirt. I always wish for the four seasons in LA so I could wear winter clothes but the truth is, when it’s below freezing outside I can sortof understand why so many snuggies have been sold. OK I don’t, but I could use one right now. It’s hard to look cute in sleet. But where were we? Oh yes, the place is packed so I also rush out of there like those who hurried before me. It’s raining harder now and I really want to get to the train station, but I have to pop into this church for a looksie–plus it’s warm inside:
It’s now well past 11 am and there’s no train station in sight. But I do get to make another pit stop at the Panteón de Hombres Ilustres, a Neo-Byzantine style building
with some of the most amazing marble sculptures I’ve ever seen. They commemorate the lives and deaths of Spanish political powerhouses, most of whom were assassinated for their beliefs.
As I leave this beautiful pantheon it is snowing! Definitely a rarity for Madrid. It’s not quite cold enough for the snow to stick to the ground but the flakes are huge. Flurries give way to pouring rain by the time I reach the train station. My soaked map now looks like this but at least I have the train ticket I wanted:
From Atocha I wander toward the Reina Sofia Museum, which I plan on visiting later...but I definitely have to stop for a shot of the huge Lichtenstein in the courtyard:
I mean it is HUGE:
It’s probably 2pm by the time I reach this gate,
and I no longer care for the four seasons. Sunny LA sounds pretty good right about now, but this very moment is the best time to be in Spain. Because the mediodía (after 1 and till 4ish) means it’s time to eat! The mid-day meal is typically the biggest of the day for the Spanish, followed by a more haphazard, lighter dinner (tapas hopping, for instance). Everywhere you go you can find a solid 3-course meal for around 10 euros. Madrid is also full of wonderful, upscale restaurants should you wish to splurge on your taste buds. I just want to find a place to dry out right now and this restaurant is right across from the gate which I can’t identify for the moment. My waiter doesn’t speak English but he’s patient enough with my Spanish to sort out an all seafood meal for me, including seafood soup, gambas paella, and a local fish dish as my entree–he offers a tart as dessert but I only want the clementines to cleanse my palate:
I think I’ve eaten enough for five people but I’m going to need the calories for the day I’ve yet to finish on my feet. Tags: Atocha train station, Chanel, churro, Lichtenstein, Madrid, paella, Panteón de Hombres Ilustres, Reina Sofia Museum, Spain, Tory Burch, zumo
