fur – The Seventh Sphinx

December 22, 2014December 22, 2014

the winter skirt

I love the contrast of a short skirt in winter. If otherwise well bundled on a not-too-cold day, it doesn’t have to be woefully impractical. Some tights. Some boots. Legwarmers, maybe. It’s all about that unexpected near-bareness of leg, all the better if there is a bit of thigh on show, too. And near-bareness is key, as true bareness is a) too cold and b) sort of uncomfortable to see, you feel for the sufferer.

Ankle boots maximize the leg-visibility here, though I really like this kind of look with bulky knee-high winter boots as well. Either way.

Another great hood. Another winter cape. The arm holes on this one aren’t quite where I want them (meant for a smaller-armed person?), but of course I can’t get enough of this camel color.

It helps that I’m always selecting the same kinds of colors over and over again, across fashion [and other life] categories, but there is such effortless color harmony here. Effortless in the sense that I did not try to make things match, exactly, I just selected what I wanted and it came together naturally because I so often want the same kind of thing.

Wool blend cape (thrifted, been a while since I wore it last), pleated corduroy skirt (thrifted), Guess ankle boots, Zara scarf, Free People tote. On the lips: MAC lip pencil in Beet and MAC lipstick in Damn Glamorous (LE), a dark pinky red. NARS Exhibit A blush, which never disappoints me. These fur-lined mittens are awesome, so warm. Where are they from again? They are linked in a past post somewhere.

These are actually not tights but thigh-high stockings. Secretly kind of sexy, which is in many cases the best kind of sexy, I think, subtle and indirect. Perhaps technically invisible but shining through, somehow, nevertheless.

November 24, 2014November 23, 2014

the hooded parka

Surely winter could not come and go without at least the consideration of a new coat. Surely.

And wouldn’t you know it, I found one! An olive green parka with a fur lined hood, like I’ve been hoping to find for ages. Ages I tell you. Cotton, not down, but still quite heavy and warm, and not $600. Not inexpensive, either, but that’s a coat for you.

It’s getting to be that time where the fashion element of the site consists of various outerwear and protective gear. I do love coats, but still. It’s going to be a lot of coats. A lot of a few coats. One does want to look just as stylish with or without a coat, true. I’ll be mostly wearing thermal shirts and sweaters underneath them so will probably look a good deal more put together with the coat on, but one does long for the days of bare arms and wearing whatever one wants.

Two scarves!

Zara parka, Express Jeans, Jeffrey Campbell France Strapped boots (I do like olive and rust together). On the lips: MAC lipstick in Hang Up, a deep raspberry bordeaux, which liking very much. I need to do another bordeaux lip round up, I think. Have found several I like since the first one.

I can’t get enough of dramatic hoods and collars, and dramatic necklines in general. Fur is an easy way to achieve this kind of massive sculptural volume around the shoulders and/or throat, and I’m always lamenting that some of the old school strategies have gone out of style, i.e. ruffs and vertiginously high collars. A generous hood can be such a pleasing frame for the head and shoulders when down (think the massively hooded cloaks the women are wearing throughout the Danish film Babette’s Feast – excellent film btw), it’s almost a shame to put it up. Then, though, up it is a completely different kind of pleasing frame.