Dragonfly Chic
You guys know it’s a rare day when I purchase an item of clothing at a retail store, so I will leave you to imagine how quickly and deeply I fell in love with this BlankNYC (faux) leather moto jacket at Nordstrom Rack. I saw and marched it straight to the check-out in less than 5 minutes. When you know, you know. There are tiny metal dragonfly studs all over it; it would have been even better if they’d been bees, but I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I love this jacket so damn much.
I’ve been waiting for a few weeks (which felt like months) to wear it, and a spell of warm weather last weekend finally made it possible. I feel like this is the kind of jacket I could wear with pretty much anything, but my first try was a very “Adina 2019” outfit. Black, layers, studded boots. Lots of texture. I added some colour with this recently thrifted Line cashmere sweater. The cropped length worked well with the longer Eileen Fisher tunic.
Transitional Layers
Another casual outfit? Yep. I’ve been repeating older pieces at work for my “Florals in March” theme, but I don’t want to bore you with repeats here. Instead, please take in my homage to Joan Watson. Now, I adore Joan (as I mentioned in my last post) but her style does not really align with mine; for one thing, she wears a ton of short skirts, and I am more of a midi fan. Sometimes, though, stepping outside one’s comfort zone is a nice change of pace. I layered a newly thrifted Robert Rodriguez silk jacket over a silk Pringle mini sack dress (paired with ankle boots – a very Joan touch), and added a wool blazer as outerwear. In all fairness, that’s more of a Sherlock thing. Oh well. Moving on the finishing touch, Joan favours fairly classic, neutral coloured bags and I debated using one of my old Marc Jacobs purses; in the end, I decided to go for a slight hint of whimsy with this Anthro fabric and leather bag. The print is a nice contrast to the dress fabric, and the teal strap adds a sliver of colour.
Ruffles Encore
Ruffles are tricky when Twee is your style enemy, but paired with interesting lines and angles, they can be just the ticket. Because this Gap skirt is quite high-waisted, it’s a great match for this cropped Sleeping on Snow coatigan. The boiled wool material of the coatigan gives it a nice, tailored shape and really lets those ruffles take the (architectural) spotlight.
Speaking of architectural, how amazing are these earrings from Warren Steven Scott? They are my favourite new accessory, and are such a gorgeous statement piece – wearable art, really. I love discovering new home-grown talent like Scott, and I can’t wait to see what he creates next.
This has absolutely nothing to do with your amazing dragonfly jacket, but I read an article yesterday about sashiko-inspired visible mending, and thought of your super cool needlepoint work, distressed clothes, and love for thrifting, so I HAD to share it. I’ll post a link in my website field; hopefully it comes through.
Please post any photos if you try it!
I have read about it and find it so fascinating, but I’ve been too intimidated to try it myself. But it’s something I would love to be able to do, because it fits so well with my other passions. Thank you for the link!
Can you share the link?
https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/the-goods/2019/3/25/18274743/visible-mending-sashiko-mending-fast-fashion-movement
Those earrings are a great pairing with that applique blazer! It totally never occurred to me until I saw that outfit, but wearing asymmetrical earrings with an asymmetrical dress or top is a great way to balance the look.
I never really thought about it that way, but I think you’re on to something.