Despite wide variations in the way Business Casual is interpreted across the city, I think we can all agree that strapless tops are verboten . . . . unless you wear something over them or under them. If you wear a jacket over your strapless top, it’s no longer a strapless top, is it? … Read moreA Navy Suit with a White Blouse
You may remember my enthusiasm for Marni? The volume, the pattern-mixing, the extraneous flaps? While this trick (belting to add definition) usually works best with fluid or light-weight fabric, I think this Marni jacket looks great belted, even though it’s made of a stiff cotton. Belting causes the jacket to bell out from the … Read moreFrankenstein’s Jacket
In some of my favorite comfort reading (books by Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Georgette Heyer) the female characters extend the lives of their clothes (and hats) by remaking them periodically. I’ve always found this concept charming (although for most of these fictitous practitioners, it was a measure of harsh economy) and at the … Read moreSmall Changes, Big Difference
I often dress in one color, or shades of one color, from head to toe. I like to think this is slimming. But monochromatic dressing, if it doesn’t involve contrast in texture (combining, for instance, silk georgette and wool boucle or satin and linen), can present a somewhat lifeless effect. Witness: Perhaps you are … Read moreAdding Definition with Color
I am a huge fan of the First Lady, patron saint of sedentary children and fledgling fashion designers, and it was from her example that I learned how transformative a belt can be (for an outfit, not a person). Consider this charming blouse with many fine attributes: small Peter Pan collar, fabric covered … Read moreAdding Definition with Shape
