Sometimes for me, Visibility comes in risking being more dressed up than our island lifestyle dictates. Given that I previously wore this dress to the opera, I did wonder if I could wear it to a New Year’s Day brunch a girlfriend was hosting on the island. But how many dress-up occasions are there in life? And aren’t the holiday celebrations over too quickly and we’re back to workaday wear?
So I wore this extravagantly-printed dress anyway — its cut and its wonderfully comfortable knit fabric are casual enough. And it tones down a wee bit under my leather jacket.
Heels would have been too much, so I stuck with the Repetto tap heels I picked up this spring. Always good to wear a little Paris, right?
Recap then: Dress, Simon Chang; leather jacket, Mackage; shoes, Repetto . . . couldn’t be easier, really!
I’ve been working all day on preparing this week’s classes, thinking about the new term ahead (and, um, maybe tweeting a little — I’m loving Twitter these days!), and so I haven’t yet checked out what Patti’s got happening over at Visible Monday. But I know it will be a fun collection of looks to get this leap year going. I’m heading over there now . . . follow me?
Yes, Frances, that dress needs to be seen – it is a beauty. And I do like it with the leather jacket and Repettos — terrific outfit! Thanks so much for linking up to Visible Monday. Oh, and I adore your curly hair today : >
I like the way you paired the dress with the more casual jacket and the repettos, extending the holiday festivity with a generous nod to the more casual locale. That was lays a struggle for me though perhaps no longer
What a gorgeous outfit – and you look so lovely. I think it's a perfect way to start the new year. And good luck getting back into the swing of things tomorrow…
Definitely well served by the leather jacket. You look very sexy, very French.
I'm enjoy the unexpected pairing of this dress with the leather jacket. I definitely approve this as NY brunch attire.
The leather jacket works perfectly with the dress…such a lovely juxtaposition.
I applaud your decision to dress up. I wish that I did that more often — for some reason, I have an irrational fear of overdressing. (Even though I never, EVER, come close!) So good for you! You look terrific.
The leather jacket adds that casual vibe and I must say that you do look great.
It's really a bonus when a dress can do double duty.
I try to think about where I will wear things before I buy them.
New Year, new term and looking forward to keeping in touch.
Happy New Year mater,
Hostess
XO
This is perfect for the brunch. I still have two weeks of vacation…before classes begin. Must link up to Visible Monday.
This is such a good look – I'm thinking Helen Mirren-style! – the extravagantly-printed dress is very flattering. And yes, always good to wear a little Paris.
Happy New Year!
Patti: Thanks! The hair is within its first hour of having dried, just freshly picked for volume, no chance yet for the ambient humidity to turn it into a ball of wool — you know the chronology, I'm sure!
Mardel: It is tricky! But straddling these worlds, as I do, and with a temptation always to buy a few dressier pieces, I have to find ways to work them closer to everyday life or they simply languish.
K: Thanks! You too — we really should be ladies of leisure so we could be unleisured in our own way, right?
Lisa: Thank you! That's the kind of compliment I love!
Raquelita: Ooh, that would be fun — a bloggers' meet-up brunch in NYC!
Tamera: Thanks! Nice to meet you through Visible Monday.
Anne: I think that for me, and for many women, there's a fear of inviting a look, a fear of being rejected by that gaze, that we absorb from our earliest years. To claim visibility in any way feels like a terrifyingly bold move, especially if, like me, one feels far from the ideal model that we learn to aim at. I'm working hard to ignore the sneers and sniggers I imagine, every single time I do this WIW thing. Dressing up can tap into some of the same emotions, fears.
Lesley: Yes, it's good to be sensible before buying, but sometimes our hearts overrule our minds, right?! Luckily, there's not too much that a good leather jacket can't cover up! 😉
Happy New Year to you too!
Terri: Oh, how wonderful! Two weeks? You'll really be able to pace your prep that way. I'm assuming you must then go much further than we do into the spring.
TNMA: Wow, Helen Mirren-style — that's a compliment! Of course that woman's middle is quite differently sculpted than mine, but still, if I've captured something of her style here, I'm happy! Thank you.
Dressing up for girlfriends is just as important as the opera! I'll bet you had a wonderful time, and your verve would only add to the merriment.
Duchesse: I agree, absolutely! I did feel that if she had pulled together a New Year's Day Brunch for 20, I could at least dress up. And there were yummy bubbles in stemmed glasses — an occasion, surely, for dressing up!
I am a big fan of glam, as long as it does not involve anything too draped. I have just caught up with your very harmonious Christmas, compared to the car crash of a Christmas my mother had with the rest of my family it looks a joy. I think the secret is to have a small child to play with and plus the doodle thing is inspired. My mother treats Christmas as an 'event' to be dressed up for, and should really just let people relax and give them something to do. I will defiantly use the doodle idea for Easter though.
I have to also say I LOVE that grey and black stripe tunic, very jealous of that.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!