I bought a cotton jacket last winter (off-season) and shared a picture of it with you in December. N.B.: We are having a little trouble with our email function, which is why you haven’t been getting email notifications from The Directrice lately. We will fix it sooner or later. Jacket: Pianurastudio from YOOX (still … Read more
Finding a dress with sleeves is easier said than done. Which means . . . when you find a dress with sleeves that looks good on you, you really should buy it because who knows when you’ll find another. Brooks Brothers is having a sale — ends today (May 16) — that includes several … Read more
My clothes veer toward a dark palette for the winter months, but I don’t like to wear dark things everyday. There is a reason why bright colors are used to paint exteriors in the far northern climates like Greenland and Newfoundland. But what do you wear a bright colored sweater with on a … Read more
I have written previously about the many virtues of large scarves (in what I believe to be one of my funniest posts), but I am equally enthusiastic about small scarves measuring 18-24″ square. We can all agree that a scarf — the right scarf — adds a certain chic to the day. Why … Read more
A few years ago, I participated in a panel discussion on careers in litigation at my alma mater. One of the other panelists, reflecting on how awesomely his life had turned out, told the assembled students, “You have to be in the right place at the right time.” The despair of these soon-to-be graduates … Read more
I am a huge fan of patent leather for both shoes and bags. Why this penchant? (1) Patent leather asserts itself at the edges of an outfit and thereby gives you definition — like a dark outline or a terminal punctuation mark: Outfit within! This outfit ends here! (2) Black patent leather has a … Read more
In searching for white dresses for you, I found a new white dress for myself and therefore decided to do one last Woman in White post as summer winds down. For those of you who are leery of white dresses, I hear your concerns: sunscreen, coffee, tiny jam and ketchup handprints. This dress comes … Read more
When I go on vacation, I try to avoid overpacking. Shoes, for many people, are where the wheels come off — figuratively, if not literally. So my rule is: WEAR a pair of stylish sneakers, PACK two pairs of proper shoes (a pair of black flats and either my leopard Mary-Janes or black penny … Read more
I promised a hagiographic post about YOOX a couple of months ago, and here it is. Over the last few years, I have purchased a significant, and growing, percentage of my clothes from YOOX. What is this YOOX that has inspired such loyalty and affection? In the words of YOOX itself, “Shopping on yoox.com … Read more
Several weeks ago we caucused to discuss stripes and their virtues. The topic was so vast and complex that I could only cover horizontal stripes in that initial post. Now we praise vertical stripes. They say that vertical stripes are thinning, or lengthening, or elongating, but I don’t really think that’s true. They are, … Read more