There are two style rules of thumb that I stick to for winter: wear colour instead of black and mix prints like Viviana Volpicella. This outfit embodies both. One caveat to the rule: black is always a welcomed accent colour. On trench coat, on booties, on Donner and Blitzen.
I have a confession (what else is new) to make. I’m seriously going through a style famine these days. As Andre Leon Talley says, “It’s a famine of beauty.”
[embedplusvideo height=”400″ width=”700″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1llG6r8″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/fonXvPCdoz0?fs=1&hd=1″ vars=”ytid=fonXvPCdoz0&width=700&height=400&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep5530″ /]Looking at the stripes and florals is like a breathing in the confectionary air on the second floor of Holt Renfrew. A promise of hope amidst the Missoni and Marni. Looking at beautiful clothes I can’t quite afford only reaffirms that there is still so much about my aesthetic that needs fine-tuning. Everything is either beautiful or ugly all at once. One day’s inspiration to mix vertical and horizontal stripes can be followed by weeks devoid of ideas. Does anyone else stress out about their outfits as much as I do?
One thing I love to do when I get the fashion blues is turn to literature – well, light reads in this case. Victoria Beckham’s That Extra Half an Inch, which I go on about relentlessly, really helps to navigate the sort of scenario when faced with 42 different kinds of basic white t-shirts from Wang, Lang, Stella, Everlane and so on. Obviously, as Victoria points out, the answer is Rick Owens.
This usually prompts a re-reading of Madame Dariaux’s A Guide to Elegance, which no self-respecting woman should be without. They should hand copies out at birth. Albeit, it’s a bit dated and won’t someone write a modern version that swaps out the tweed suit for jeggings? Nonetheless, Madame Dariaux, couturier-cum-author, is my fairy godmother. I won’t wear a wristwatch after 5pm because of her. Absolutely. There is no grey area when it comes to elegance – it is absolute. And that’s what I want to become of my aesthetic, no wiggle room but stringent adherence to basic principles. Am I becoming an extremist or just rebelling against an eclecticism that haunts me day and night?
Jetset Outfit: Ralph Lauren striped shirt; Forever 21 striped knit (on sale for $18 right now!!!); Zara jeans; Soles ankle boots from Sauvage; Sentaler alpaca wool trench coat; Zara scarf; Salvatore Ferragamo sunglasses; Happy Socks from Socking Behaviour; Joseph Nogucci bracelets.
Photography by Alexander Liang.
