the hooded parka

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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the stocking cap

Not only is it cold enough for sweaters, it’s cold enough for hats and gloves and wool socks and the works.

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Conventional wisdom says not to pair heavy eye makeup with a bold lip but hey, yolo. Do what you want. Conventional wisdom is often suspect.

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This is NARS velvet matte lip pencil in Train Bleu, a really dark mulberry shade, with a little red Japonesque laquer in the center. Sort of the reverse of the black ombre lip I did the other day but friendlier as putting a pink/red shade in the center provides a natural transition to that inner portion of your lip that won’t take color.

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I’ve been wanting to wear more eye makeup since Halloween, which was just so much makeup that anything else seems moderate in comparison. I was washing it off for days. Liner under the eyes I find so tricky, though. Not tricky to do, but tricky to like. It’s dramatic, sure, but also tends to emphasize circles under my eyes,* make me look especially pale, make me look older often? Tired? I wonder the extent to which it just reads as ‘she has a lot of makeup on’ rather than as ‘cool eyes’ or some more appealing effect. Not that I really have any control over that. [Ever notice how thinking hardly ever gets you anywhere?]

*I don’t like concealer under the eyes—it is too conspicuous up close, too tell-tale— and am basically never wearing it, so they just look however they look. They are eyes, in sockets, etc.

I guess you just have to go for it, like anything else, and take the bad with the good.

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Kenneth Cole coat (thrifted), J Crew Italian brushed scarf (this is gigantic, really satisfyingly massive), Free People slouchy vegan leather tote, H&M beanie, Express jeans, TOMS desert suede wedges. Hm. Seems they don’t have this color anymore, shame. Their new booties are pretty cute, though. I need some booties! I don’t know why I’m having such a hard time finding a suitable pair of ankle booties (something that goes a bit higher up the ankle than these do, which gives quite a different look. Quite, quite different, you know).

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Zoning out.

Later let’s talk about how great it can be to wear too much blush.

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