Greetings, Directorate, and accept my best wishes for the New Year. May 2022 be nothing like 2021 or 2020!
Before we launch into clothes, I wanted to address the plans of Directrice Global Industries Ltd. and our parent company, DGI Holding, Inc., for Q1 2022.
Some of you may have noticed some incompatibility between this website and your operating system or security settings. Others may not be aware that these posts are formatted with photos of varying size and placement — which I labor over like a scrapbooker loaded with Adderall to get everything just so— and accompanying text floating attractively in columns next to the photos. Instead you see margin-to-margin text occasionally broken up by large photos. Something a raccoon with a laptop could have done.
There is a reason for these problems. Apparently I have been neglecting various WordPress upgrades, and just like a house where maintenance has been deferred for decades and everyone just adjusts to the minor problems (a missing drawer pull here, a defunct outlet there), the site/house has become less and less functional until — to carry the house metaphor to its logical end — you (and your guests) are entering through a bulkhead door into the basement because the front door is stuck and the side door doorknob fell off.
I’ve swatted away the minor inconveniences for years, but shortly before Thanksgiving, the “Directrice” banner at the top of the site disappeared and this broke my mind. So, it’s time for me to engage a consultant in some diagnostics and see if the current site can be fixed or if this enterprise needs to be moved to another platform.
All of this is to say: I will be posting irregularly over the next two months while the site is sorted out. Stay tuned! Now clothes.
They’re as toasty as shearling lined slippers because that’s essentially what they are. But with a lug sole and shiny black calfskin uppers, they are totally suitable for work.
Every year, I buy one special Christmas present for myself. It’s part reward for good behavior, part trail marker to help me look back in future years.
This year’s gift was this plaid Comme des Garcons jacket.
Here I am wearing it over a column of black: a black crewneck sweater-vest over a black dotted swiss blouse over a black camisole. And black action slacks.
This jacket looks workier (somewhat workier) with cropped grey wool trousers and a grey sweater.
I purchased this vintage piece on The RealReal.
I always get a chuckle when I review the Comme des Garcons women’s clothing selection — for two reasons.
First, every weeks a few a group of vintage items in pristine condition will appear. These items are usually among the most avant garde designs. I assume when I see this that a collector has died and that someone — an executor, heir, friend — has gone through her belongings and is trying to find the right destination for everything. I also assume this person is not into clothes and that his or her first pass through the collection was in a state of bewilderment or disbelief.
Second, I love the descriptions that The RealReal attach to the most advanced, conceptual pieces. Like when a breast plate of shredded plastic held in place with luggage straps is labeled “Jacket.”
I think these sleeves are dolman+.
According to a 30-second Google search, dolman sleeves were inspired by Turkish robes of the Middle Ages.
Here I am, at full bear-repelling width.
Do you think my wingspan equals my height?
One last shot and then we will move on to other Weejuns.
Do you remember what I told you about red shoes?
Every closet needs a pair. Or, every closet can justify a pair. They are a classic that often gets left off the classic lists.
This year, they had many to choose from. In addition to the shearling and ombre versions shown in this post, they had a zebra print pair and a pair decorated with charms — all with lug soles.
Here I am dressed for another day at the home office. Same sweater vest and pants as shown above, but with a white dotted swiss blouse and this wonderful cropped cardigan.
I bought this cardigan on impulse when staying in Portland, Oregon for a deposition in 2008. The deposition did not go well. It wasn’t a disaster, but I learned some things about my witness during the deposition that I would have preferred to know in advance. The purchases I made during my free time after the deposition, however, were all solid gold.
You saw this cardigan in one of my earliest entries.
Odd, the memories that stay sharp. I suffered through the longest, most boring — yet bitterly contentious — conference call I can remember during that trip and then came down with a cold. I spent three days in Portland for a day’s work because of flight schedules.
Hope you are staying warm — unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere (hello Katie and Justine!) in which case I hope you are staying cool.
Check back periodically to see when the site is restored to its former glory. Until then, don’t hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment asking a question (I can rouse myself to answer questions), offering a tip, or just saying hello.
In addition to G.H. Bass, you can find Weejun loafers at Nordstrom, Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters!
D, I didn’t even notice the missing title until you pointed it out! I have similar issues with my own website, and working with WordPress makes me nuts. It is such a time sink! I miss the days of Typepad, quite honestly. The whole point of WordPress seems to be to upsell the average user on every little thing. They know very well that they are selling a product that the average blogger can’t readily use. Ditto for the custom theme, you have to be an expert on GeneratePress to figure out how to use it! Something breaks with every upgrade.
Let me know if you find competent assistance with this matter. I have not been able to find any at a price I’m willing to pay. I have a WP blog right now that I can’t even figure out how to use…
Christine — Is your WordPress usage connected to a hobby blog or a professional undertaking? Would you like to tell the Directorate about it? Feel free to supply a link if you want visitors!
I love your red Weejums! Yes, everyone should have a pair of red shoes. Are those considered ombre? Or degradé? Looks like just the toes are darker. I wouldn’t think Portland (Ore?) is a particularly good place for clothes shopping. Unless you’re looking for strategically placed cutouts to show off your tattoos.
Hooray, you’re back! And what a treasure trove this post is. Absolutely love the jacket. Today I’ll be obsessing about whether my closet can absorb any more red shoes… And as for the blog issues, I think we all need to watch “Terminator 2” again and either form the resistance *right now* or resign ourselves to unending servitude. Hope you had warm and wonderful holidays, very happy to see you here again!
Those are Dolman+. It’s essentially nothing but two sleeves bolted together. Disregarding the seaming, the red stripe near the center fronts, wraps around to be horizontal along the back edge. (In that way it’s similar to the rib band on your sweater.) The lapping that forms the neck cutout is cool. There’s also some gathering, I guess for elbows, down the back of sleeve seam, but they also hang like a poof when arms are down. Great find.
I agree on red shoes. I think they work as a neutral in a lot of outfits, like a brown. I know when I pass on a red shoe, it will haunt me. I think the first time may have been before school age and a Sears.
I’m not unfamiliar with the concept of self gifts — in fact my favorite Christmas presents are self gifts.
So happy to see you back, even if it’s just to say hi amid the chaos. The house analogies are frighteningly relatable on so many levels. As for the jacket, it’s as if someone Scottish repurposed pantaloons as a jacket, which is exactly why I like it. The shearling Weejums are cozy perfection, and red ombre is always the right thing to do. You’re not the first person I know who’s been cursing WordPress lately. What’s up with that? Hang in there, Directrice. We, your fans, will do the same. You can count on it.
The plaid jacket is delightful – I’ve been thinking about it all day, so I tuned back in tonight to see if others had commented on it……..Wendyloch’s comment – ‘someone Scottish repurposed pantaloons as a jacket’ – made me chuckle!!! Perhaps my genealogy has crept into my style ‘likes’ Welcome Back, Directrice!
GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK, DIRECTRICE! In addition to working in bed, at home, or in the office, the first outfit would also be suitable for working amongst the sheep in the Scottish countryside! Love the cozy and whimsical shoes and “veste”, as les garçons would say.
Like Cookie — I’ve come back to read the clever comments on the jacket — “repurposed pantaloons” is delightful. As is the jacket itself. If it sat in my closet it would quick become a favorite! Glad to have you back Directrice.
Welcome back, dear Directrice! I was so glad to see your latest post. I don’t think I can outdo “repurposed pantaloons”, but Wendy, perhaps you have a future writing copy for The Real Real? But I do have to ask about Weejums. As a longtime fan of the style, I thought they were Weejuns. Is Weejums a regional thing? I remember saving up to buy my first pair of Weejuns in university, and then adding shearling insoles to get me through a Toronto winter. If only they’d made your cosy pair back then!
Same. Always said Weejuns. I had a pair on early college that I completely wore through. Now I want them again.
You are right and I was wrong, Amy. See response to Shopgrrrl.
Weejums v. Weejuns is not a regional thing (like sherbert v. sherbet). Weejums is also not a Directricism (like perhapsleberry). It simply is a straight-up Directrice error! I can’t even blame the unpaid interns because we returned them to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino at the start of the pandemic. Not sure why I got it wrong — perhaps because I do both my blogging and shopping late at night? — but it is fixed now. Thank, you, Shopgrrrl.
I like every one of the outfits in this blog and I like the shoes.You look terrific. But, I have to tell you I am still laughing and will continue to do so because of the commentary regarding the neglected house. Love it!
Question… is that jacket on upside down? Or perhapsleberry it COULD be worn that way too?
I totally dig your aesthetic and have missed you dearly. Hello dear Directrice! Thank you for sticking with technology regardless.
Just saying hello, miss you and hope you’re well. Always love your style. I’d love to incorporate Weejun loafers into my wardrobe but fear I wouldn’t do them justice – although maybe they can elevate my looks all on their own.
Can you wear the jacket upside down? It looks like you could.