Camel Coded Carine

Sandro moto jacket // J.Crew brushed mohair boyfriend sweater // Le Chateau skirt // Aldo sandals // Salvatore Ferragamo sunglasses // Gucci bag // Hermès Kelly bracelet

Did you ever notice that Carine Roitfeld wears a hell of a lot of pencil skirts? I did. This outfit was inspired by her for two reasons. 1. She’s stylish. 2. My legs are beginning to landslide. What is the landslide, you ask? Well, just read my little exposé on C.Z. Guest and you’ll be sorry you asked. (It’s basically when the skin above your knees begins to droop downwards causing these ugly little wrinkles that give the appearance of a landslide).

I think that’s the main reason Carine wears pencil skirts so much. It’s not really becoming of a woman “of a certain age” to wear anything higher than knee length. Not because her promiscuous days are over, but because that little patch of skin sliding down her knees is really quite unsightly. I mean, I can’t even look at it without cringing a bit. My real question here is: Can you get a knee tuck? (I’m thinking like a tummy tuck minus the feeding tube). Judging by the wrinkles on my knees at only 29 years of age, I’m going to be hiding behind floor length skirts by the time I reach Carine’s age.

Which, wouldn’t be all that bad considering my cankles are here to stay.

Another bonus? The pencil skirt also does wonders for the hip and pooch area. You know qu’est-ce que c’est le pooch? It’s the area underneath your tummy and above your loosey goose. (Wow today is euphemism central over here). The pencil skirt – or at least it does this for Carine – helps to minimize the look of anything less than pleasant around the mid-section. It sits nice and high, creating a perfect waistline, lending itself beautifully to a tucked-in shirt.

Last but not least, you must colour code like Carine. Seriously, I can’t pick my own outfits anymore without drawing on at least 10 references from Pinterest. Now you know. De-coding Carine Roitfeld always results in a monochromatic colour palette. I went for shades of camel with a few black highlights, here, but could have easily subbed in the black for white, comme il faut.

But really – would you ever consider dressing differently as you get older? I read this thought-provoking article in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar that brings up tons of issues with “dressing your age.”  Read it if you have time, I’d love to know your thoughts! Tweet me and let’s talk about the landslide: @justineiaboni

Justine Iaboni