Finally, Dries

The stalking, it finally paid off. I’m talking about eBay and my obsession with hunting down a Dries Van Noten creation to call my own. This dress is a dream. I wanted a patterned piece because patterns are what makes DVN clothes special, and this one does not disappoint. That aside, the silhouette checks off a lot of boxes for me. It has sleeves, but not bulky ones that would prevent layering. The cut is body-skimming without being tight or super form-fitting. [Read: it’s comfortable AF.] It has a high neckline, and a midi hem – but, and this is key, the bottom foot of material is actually a double-layer of sheer silk in a gorgeous contrast floral. I love that detail because it adds a bit of flirtiness – similar to my beloved blue Phillip Lim dress.

I didn’t do anything fancy with this inaugural wear except slap on a belt. While I like the fluid, elongated silhouette of the unbelted dress, I appreciate that it also looks great when the waist is emphasized. I can’t wait to wear it again soon.

Little Lord Fauntleroy

I got these Ett Twa mustard trousers at Anthropologie (clearance rack) last year because I love this paperbag waist style. [Technically, they were a gift from my husband.] The waist tie is attached, and there is a side zipper; all in all, these feel like fancy pyjamas. Fancy pyjamas that are office-appropriate. Score! Also, mustard – or let’s say marigold because it sounds nicer. I love this shade of yellow, especially if not worn too close to my face.

Pairing these pants with my beloved ruffly AllSaints blouse might have been a tad much but … we like a little excess here, from time to time. The simple Lida Baday cropped blazer is a nice, unobtrusive third piece; it fits like a cardigan, but has the dress-up look of a blazer, which helps to keep the overall vibe from being too child-like. Speaking of the blouse, here are a few other ways I’ve worn it; it’s a favourite for a reason, it really helps to make every outfit a little more special.

Christmas, Part Deux

I wore this to (Orthodox) Christmas dinner with my in-laws. I wanted to be festive, but also wear my newly thrifted faux-leather cropped top – and, voila, an outfit was born. Someone on IG commented on my apparent commitment to wearing (p)leather for Christmas which was an astute observation, though I think it was coincidence more than intention on my part. I have been slowly assembling a whole line-up of (p)leather pieces, and I love to mix them in with both work and casual outfits. This was a particularly successful deployment, if I do say so myself.

In The Pink

This pink coat continues to be one of the biggest compliment-getters in my entire wardrobe. I wore it two weekends ago with my Line sweater dress (above), and last weekend with this amazing new sweater coat I thrifted (below), and it looked smashing both times.

Let’s talk about that sweater coat for a moment, because it deserves it. Can you believe it was priced at $5 at Value Village? For all their gross up-pricing, sometimes VV still manages to (pleasantly) surprise me. Online reviews on the Anthro website complained of itchiness, which – duh, it’s a wool coat. Personally, I layer a thin cotton top (usually long sleeved) under most of my knits to avoid any problems of that sort as well as for extra warmth, so I did not find this coat bothersome at all; on the contrary, it was nice and cozy, and a great statement piece to boot. So I’m very grateful to its previous owner for passing it on.

I should start calling this series “I Made A Thing” because, let’s face, it’s mostly an excuse for me to show you my most recent craft projects. With that warning in mind, let’s proceed, shall we.

After finishing a slew of Xmas crafts for friends and family, I felt re-energized to tackle some personal projects. First up was a project I had been wanting to do for some time: a portrait/cartoon of Frida Kahlo.

I love Frida’s use of colour and abstract imagery in her art, and recently ordered a biography by Hayden Herrera to read up on her life. There are lots of examples of Frida-inspired embroidery online, and after much deliberation, I chose these two pictures as my inspiration:

I made a quick sketch that incorporated elements from both, and once I was happy with it, I traced it again with a Sharpie then copied it onto my muslin canvas.

I ended up incorporating a few touches of my own into my project; I decided to use scraps from an old thrifted skirt for Frida’s blouse, and a vintage earring (with the original clip back removed) as a brooch. I also bought some metallic gold-tone thread for the earrings, and used beads as accents there and on the flower crown. The eyes and hair were made from felt. The most nerve-wracking part was the eyebrows; it’s tricky to get them to be more or less symmetrical, and this was a pretty iconic pair of eyebrows to begin with. Still, they turned out ok.

As I was working on the piece, I came to be quite fond of the back/reverse side – still recognizably Frida, but in a cool, abstract way:

And here is the final result – it’s one of my favourite pieces, and one of the most fun to make.

I feel like I’m a roll with this portrait thing — and I tend to go through phases with my embroidery – so I’m currently looking for my next subject. Possible contenders include Anne of Green Gables or maybe Elizabeth I (can you tell I’m dying to work on a redhead?); another option is a portrait in the style of Tamara de Lempicka. If you’ve got suggestions, let me know in the comments.

If you read my previous post about my NYE outfit deliberations, then you probably won’t be surprised to read that I didn’t make my final decision until, literally, 2 hours before I had to leave for the party, and after trying on ALL of my special occasion dresses … some of the more than once. Luckily, I had my BFF there to help me. As it happens, my final choice was completely serendipitous, and it wouldn’t have happened had she not been there.

But I am getting ahead of myself a bit.

Per my previous post, the obvious front-runners for NYE were a sparkly Armani Collezione dress and a slinky Tadashi Shoji sheath dress. Both of these dresses were new (to me) and sufficiently fancy for the occasion; but for the various reasons I already touched on, neither stood out as the clear winner. By the time December 31st rolled around, I was almost decided on another dress – a Nicole Miller black and white red carpet-worthy number which I last wore at my previous firm’s 2016 Christmas party. It had a lot of advantages; it’s elegant and extremely figure-flattering, but also shockingly comfortable (no Spanx required). Food is a prominent feature of our NYE party, so the latter consideration was important. Still, I wasn’t 100% feeling the Nicole Miller dress.

At my BFF’s instigation, I started to try on every other possible option in my closet. I am talking Every. Single. Cocktail. Dress. I. Own. It was a fun exercise, but nothing jumped out as a better choice than the Nicole Miller. At some point, I walked into my bathroom to have a better look at an outfit in the mirror there (the lighting being brighter than in the bedroom) and my eyes fell on the bundle of clothes I had thrifted on Boxing Day and was in the process of cleaning.

“Jenni,” I said, “you gotta see this vintage Le Chateau dress I just found.”

We had been talking just the day before about aspirational brands of our youth – Le Chateau being one of them, back in the days when spending more than $20 on a dress was a real stretch, budget-wise.

“Yeah, ok,” she replied.

And that, my friends, is how it all started.

I put on the dress – or, more accurately, poured myself into it – and my BFF immediately loved it. “Serving some real 90s Versace glam” is what we eventually landed on, as far as the overall vibe of the dress. Looking into the mirror, I had to admit that it was definitely a very flattering (though not comfortable) dress. I had not thought of it as a possible option for NYE when I bought it because it struck me as being somewhat on the casual side (more for a date night than a dressed-up occasion) but I began to see the potential. I added a couple of gold-toned, blinged out necklaces as a further tribute to the Versace inspiration, and the Manolo Blahnik shoes I had planned to wear all along. The overall effect was undeniably good. I quickly steamed then (at home) dry-cleaned the dress, and I was set – with minutes to spare.

The only obvious drawback was the (unavoidable) need for Spanx, which made me hesitate for a moment. I hate Spanx with the fire of a thousand suns, especially when I’m planning to enjoy an evening of extensive dining. I tried to substitute some control-top nylons instead, but hated the way they looked with the peep-toe shoes. Beauty is pain, they say. So, I bit the bullet and wore the Spanx. By midnight, I felt like I was just about ready to turn back into a pumpkin, but it was worth it.

Here’s a closer look at my necklaces:

From inauspicious beginnings, this NYE story had a very happy ending, and an outfit that will no doubt be a favourite in years to come. I don’t know if and when I’ll be able to wear this dress again, but it was $12 well spent for the memories alone.