Creature of Habits

 
It’s February! Time to settle back into my rut.
 

 
 
 
You know what that means.
 
Religious habits!
By “habits” I don’t mean “patterns of behavior”

But I do look saintly
 
 
 
How fun, this sweater?
 
It’s 100% cotton, which isn’t my favored fiber. I prefer wool, for it’s resilience and superior heating/cooling properties.
 
Wool is to temperature what lettuce is to digestion.
 
For the mathematicians, [Wool:temperature::lettuce:digestion].

 
 
Speaking of fun, do you think the phenomenon of Hamilton has opened the door for a multi-media reappraisal of Cotton Mather?
 
Isn’t he deserving of his own rap-backed biopic? Hard 2 Say.
 
But for those who have been reserving judgment on Hamilton, who aren’t ready to jump on the NYT/Rolling Stone/Tony/Pulitzer bandwagon and are waiting for The Directrice’s review . . . it is coming.
I think I have the final say on what’s fun and what’s not fun here

Enormous cowl; remember that term?
 
 
 
This sweater, in addition to having an enormous white cowl, has deep vents at the sides.
 
On the model, the sweater was shown with the front tucked into a miniskirt. The back was left out . . . and nearly covered the skirt. She looked great, but it was not the look for me.

 
 
 
 
Taking inspiration from a colleague who has turned more than one garment into a Caped Garment using a belt, I decided to partial cinch here.
 
I think it works well.
Belt is under the back of the sweater

Does this make sense? Belt has insinuated itself into view
 
 
 
 
One of my indispensable striped tee shirts, showing me once again why it is indispensable.

For contrast, here are a couple of photos showing the sweater unbelted.
 
Sans belt
You make your own judgments
Why do I look so worried? Do I regret taking the photos without the belt?

 
Ellie posed a question under Monday’s post, Eiffel Duck: What’s the word on wearing necklaces and brooches at the same time? I shared my thoughts in response to her post (look back here), but I’d like to hear your views. What do you think?
 
Sweater: RedValentino; Belt: Fausto Puglisi; Pants: JCrew; Shoes: Coach; Bag: Bolt Bag from Sophie Hulme

11 thoughts on “Creature of Habits”

  1. This entire outfit is very clever and I love it. I will sometimes wear a small brooch with a small pendant, or a large and interesting brooch with my string of pearls if I’m going for a maximalist look, but it’s easy for it to be unbalanced.

    I hope you enjoy Hamilton! I loved it, and what it did for inclusion and originality in musical theater.

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  2. I see the resemblance to a habit, but the first thing I thought of was a Pilgrim! I think this is adorable and cheeky and the striped shirt underneath peeking out is a perfect touch.

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  3. This sweater reminds me of a dress I had in the 1980s. It was a black sheath with a wide white collar that flapped over my shoulders. I was just thinking of it the other day, and that I wore it to dinner at a fancy restaurant in Boston with my then-boyfriend. We felt very grown-up (I was 20), and we were surrounded by older folk. One of them choked on a piece of meat and a waiter Heimlicked her. She survived, and so did my memory of that meal.

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  4. I cannot imagine a rap backed biopic of Cotton Mather being anything other than hysterically funny or should that be historically funny?

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  5. I hear you on the merits of wool.

    I’m very charmed by the long zipper tongue on your bag, and how nicely the holes in the bag’s strap reference the grommets on the belt.

    I prefer the sweater belted. The serious belt lends a gravitas to the flighty white ruffled cowl, which the black under ruffle totally failed to do. Then the belts pulls a disappearing act in the back! Striped tee is a chuckle on the side. I should have so much fun with clothes.

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  6. With regards to wearing both necklaces and brooch, I think find the following two options work for me:
    – I wear a few complementary long necklaces and clasp a brooch (that relates in theme) onto the necklaces themselves so the brooch “holds” the necklaces together. I tend to place the brooch on the upper left side so it’s nearer my face. I would do this when I am wearing a fairly plain dress/longer top.
    – I wear a couple of complementary (usually fairly simple)necklaces with my long top/dress then wear a shorter jacket with my brooch pinned on my jacket- again, nearer to my face. The necklaces peaking out from under the jacket don’t compete with the brooch but make the look more interesting than just a brooch alone.

    Absolutely loved the Eiffel Duck!

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  7. I feel overdone even when I wear necklaces with earrings (except for the tiniest, plainest stud earrings), so wearing a necklace and a brooch at the same time sounds unimaginable to me, unless we are talking about Iris Apfel. Aesthetic considerations aside, I’d also worry that the necklace could snag on the brooch, although I guess that can be avoided by carefully considering length and placement. Maybe it would work if you wear the brooch on the lapel of a blazer or jacket, separated from the necklace by a layer of clothing? Just wondering.

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