If the first principle of being well-dressed is selecting clothes that are beautiful and flatter your figure, surely the second principle is putting those carefully selected clothes to work in numerous outfits.
As The Directrice passes its one year anniversary, we will be cycling through the seasons for a second time. This means you will be seeing some old clothes, worn in new combinations.
But why should you wait a year to see if I can figure out more than one way to wear a garment? Here are some quick snaps of things you’ve seen quite recently, styled differently.
First, my arresting, singular white blouse by Y-3.
As we discussed, and I believe we came to a consensus view, I had the back of this blouse shortened by 2 inches.
I showed it originally with a thick, almost sculptural, neckwarmer made from ivory yarn. But it’s been so cold here that I decided to wear it to work with a black wrap.
Next up: My action skirt, which you really liked.
I showed it before with a grey sweater vest and black lycra yoga pants, but here it is with a black sweater vest and grey cotton yoga pants.
Between you and me, this ridiculous skirt may be the best thing I bought in 2015. I wear it all weekend. I wore it to the movies last weekend (first matinee screening, not at night). For this particular outing, I attempted to dress it up by wearing a necklace, which represents either a new high or a new low for me.
In case you are looking for some fun sneakers, I bought a new pair recently to wear for light recreation and around the house: grey with black graphic accents that bring to mind saddle shoes. The neon pink is an inspired touch: garish and delightful, like Hawaiian Punch infused with a little radioactive waste.
And lastly, we have my knit, wrap miniskirt . . . which was not a crowd-pleaser. I showed it before with a white blouse and grey, cropped trousers underneath. Here it is on Casual Friday.
Do you notice anything unusual about this picture? Take all the time you need.
Time’s up! I am wearing a necklace with a collared blouse. Until now, I have only worn necklaces with round-neck dresses, tops, and sweaters. A few weeks ago I was traveling and had this necklace with me; rather than leave it in the safe in my room I decided to wear it with various ensembles and decided that it actually looked good with this blouse and sweater vest.
One last thing! The Directrice ties a scarf:
I look and sound a little like a zombie in this video and my scarf-tying techniques are very simplistic . . . but you asked for it. Two pieces of advice about wearing scarves as shown in this video. First, wear a sweater or jacket with a fitted, round neckline; your sweater or jacket will keep the scarf in place. Second, pick a silk twill scarf; silk twill has more structure than silk chiffon and will hold a shape better. I hope this is helpful.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Thank you for the video. Now, I think you are even MORE adorable,especially the little improvised twirl around to show the back of the scarf.
You should rock necklaces with collared blouses more! I wear statement necklaces often and under a collar, they can work. I keep the blouse simple, though.
Any suggestions on quality, white t-shirts? I need new ones but find the cheaper ones I buy don’t last that long and look grungy pretty fast.
Hi Elena — I buy my t-shirts at JCrew, but I wait for special offers that make them 25% off (which seem to come at least every other month). I am a big fan of the JCrew “perfect” tee (long-sleeved and short-sleeved). You may want to try Talbots and Lands End. I like Michael Stars, too, but those are more expensive. Some people swear by James Perse, but those are very expensive. It’s hard to keep white t-shirts sparkling white, but I find that pre-treating them with Oxyclean powder helps prolong their lives significantly. Good luck.
Love the dramatic white shirt with the black wrap! It looks like something the blogger at Accidental Icon would wear, if you’re familiar with her. And I like the knit wrap miniskirt outfit too – cheeky in a subtle way.
One tip on video — next time hold the phone horizontally, so the image occupies the whole screen & we don’t get those black bars on the side.
Thank you for the tip, AK! The Photographer and I were wondering how to fix it after the fact, and then I decreed that we should not spend one more minute on it. The video is in post-production (and post-publication) editing with my fantastic website designer, Dina Kuhar, right now and a slicker version (with titles) will be posted tomorrow or Monday.
I love the Accidental Icon!
I like the grey knit mini a titch more 🙂
Happy anniversary!! And I like the knit, wrap miniskirt. Ignore the haters.
Well, I wouldn’t say that the skirt engendered hate. It just wasn’t a crowd favorite. But it’s getting a little love this time around.
Our first try at video! I am The Photographer (also The Husband.) Yes, I filmed this vertically and shouldn’t have, though I was using my Sony a6000, not an iPhone. I also stepped back at one point and you can hear the thump – that mike’s really sensitive. We hope to try more video in future posts, and I will climb the learning curve of video lighting/editing/posting. And yes, that twirl is adorable! I get to see it a lot as Husband and I never tire of it.
Ahhhh…Tori, your video was enchanting!!
Since we can give our opinions and you actually listen, here goes:
1-the white blouse—I’m so glad you didn’t shorten it too much—it’s so interesting!!
2-Your action skirt which I wasn’t a fan of—but I might be swayed if you wore it with leggings? Will you try that?
3-Knit mini skirt–I can’t remember my initial reaction to this, but I will say I love it with the grey on top!
4-Love the addition of the necklaces—now we just need to get you a couple bigger, statement ones!!!
love you darling!! jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Jodie — You are so sweet! I will try the sport skirt with leggings. I think I have a pair somewhere . . . And I have some ideas about necklaces. Thanks so much for offering your opinions; I really appreciate them.
The miniskirt is amazing – love it with the grey sweater vest!
That Y3 shirt is so wonderful – I’m crushed that it’s sold out in my size. 🙁 I’ve recently decided I need some quirky structured blouses (preferably tunic-ish like this one) in my life and am having such rotten luck finding one (that doesn’t cost more than my car). The quest is on!
The first outfit here, with the black wrap, is just absolutely perfect.
Hi Katy — You should try ASOS. They have lots of interesting white blouses at a range of price points. And the shipping (I think) is free, including returns. May mighty forces come to your aid in this quest!
Great post! Love the lines: “Statement blouse, trimmed just a hair, drama still there” and “Wrap, turn, Rotisserie Directrice.” 🙂
I have been enjoying your blog for about 6 months now and love your quirky, fun take on fashion. Thanks for the scarf-tying video. Would love to see more videos in future.
Yay! Scarf-tying video! Thank you for making this. So silk twill is the secret, eh? Off to find a good one to buy and practice with . . . (Love all of the above outfits, by the way. Did your spaceman miniskirt reflect light in the matinee?)
A belated thank you for the little video on the little scarves! It looks so easy… But first I need to figure out what silk twill is!
Tory, congratulations! Your definite, humorous, creative take on the clothes
is such a pleasure to see/read.
You could pile on the jewelry more, by me, but more important is to
stick with your very personal taste.
The blog is the kind of thing most of us think of, but don’t do – you have
done it!
Blaikie
Blaikie — You spoil me — I am delighted to know that you enjoy the blog, particularly since you are so chic yourself. You know I envy your hairstyle tremendously! Thank you for reading and commenting.
I enjoyed seeing some of your alternate outfits, but was most thrilled to watch your scarf tying video. I believe I’ve memorised it, but will undoubtably be back for further viewing when I realise I haven’t. I don’t have any silk twill scarves, so will be trying with other fabrics, which will likely be close enough for my purposes. Thanks for acceding to our wishes and posting the video.
Cathi — I am so please you liked it. My website designer actually polished it up (by formatting it so that I could add subtitling and captions), but I keep forgetting to re-post it.