I had many years to amass a worky wardrobe while at my firm. Admittedly, that wardrobe became increasingly eccentric over the years — but when I left, I still had a solid collection of dresses that were clearly work-wear suitable for meetings, presentations, and conferences.
Beautiful clothes in excellent condition! But too dressy to wear for weekend socializing, too worky to wear to a party.
Arguably, too stuffy for my new non-profit office.
Unless . . . unless . . . one could find a way to loosen some of it up.
I know! I know! Pick me! Pick me!
Directrice, what if you accessorized these dresses with irreverent belts and sneaker-like shoes?
I don’t know what you mean by “irreverent belt.” Is that a thing?
Virgil Abloh’s genius Off-White industrial webbing “belts” — remember his liberal use of quotation marks — spawned imitations and variations on the theme.
This one, by Heron Preston, tickled my fancy. It has everything you might be looking for in a belt: urgent looking messages in Cyrillic lettering, a heavy buckle made for street fighting, a pull-tab.
Come closer and take a look.
Come as close as you need to. We’re in this together.
Finishing things off, the latest oxfords from Cole Haan.
Some of you may look at these and say, Directrice don’t you already have a pair of silver Cole Haan brogues? To that I say: Good memory! And also: Don’t I get to buy a new pair of shoes every 8 years? Plus, I like these better because they have a substantial platform, which is making me very tall.
In digging through posts for previous discussions of Virgil Abloh, I found this funny post.
Dress: 3.1 Phillip Lim last seen here; Belt: Heron Preston Tapebelt; Shoes: Cole Haan Original Grand Wingtip Platform Oxford
I’m retiring from the practice of law soon and ditching my work clothes, but I’m going for more of a retired art teacher kind of vibe (lots of flowy linen garments and quirky accessories). But you’re inspiring me to go in an even more eccentric direction.
Congratulations, Missannethrope! Are you retiring from all work, or going into a new kind of work? Jewelry-making? I still wear and love the pendant you made for me. I hope you’ll let me know if you come to DC for a visit.
I couldn’t resist! It said “Pull”!
It did say “pull”—fair is fair! It’s always fun to see what surprise combos and clever techniques you come up with, no matter the challenge. Love the lines and colors in this one. Also, the new silver brogues are different enough from the old ones to justify having both (and are tempting me to shop).
Just an edge of sass. That’s my jam.