Let's get this straight.
I have never in my life worn anything tight. Ever.
Everything either skims or is loose. The looser the better I feel. I dont do tight. If in doubt, I always go up a size, never down.
Having gained some weight of late, some pieces are getting tighter & perhaps even tight.
Panic city. But not enough to exercise or change the diet in any material way & fight nature. Fighting nature is an uphill battle.
The only issue with weight gain for me isnt how I look or even the health side (bad, I know, some of my health nut readers will shake their heads). Its that I cant fit into my clothes. The beautiful clothes that I love & I buy to have forever. That's the tragedy.
Case in point: My Sonia Rykiel striped sweater.
The sweater
Sonia has been doing rainbow stripes on everything from accessories to clothes for a gazillion years. The shades vary & most of the time she alternates with with black to white/cream. Its her trademark.
Here are some examples...
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| Love this tee from her main line |
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| A scarf from her diffusion range, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel - her main line would never offer such simple stripes. Her diffusion is always watered down (cheaper) in styling/fabric compared to the main line & that's what makes it cheaper. |
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| Her Enfant range |
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| A collaboration with H&M a few years ago |
I have found that most of her rainbows are warm toned so I tended to stay away...you know, lots of mustards, yellows, oranges, corals, turquoises, bright orangey reds etc. Hospital colours. I'm more into the burgendies, fuschias, cobalts and forest greens.
Then one day many years ago I did a David Jones pre-sell (where they show you the imports in a private viewing & you can buy away from the public space) and this sweater popped up.
It had mostly cool colours. My colours. Magic.
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| She puts a marker on her main line peices, sometimes a diamante, sometimes a plate, sometimes a ball. |
& the more magic part was there was a matching scarf. Double magic.
I had to buy. Simply had to.
A week later I was in Hong Kong & the same collection which had only just arrived in Sydney, had been on the floor for a couple of months & was reduced by 50%. I was at the SR boutique in the Landmark building on the island. It was like XMAS. They didnt have the sweater in my size but I did score the scarf and saved about $600, $500 in reduction & $100 in exchange rate.
I was in HK for a week, punding the pavement & I only bought two things (& a stack of runway mags). The scarf was one of those things.
Back in David Jones, I returned the scarf, received a refund & all was good as I had still paid a bomb for the sweater anyway.
Sweater worn again & again & again.
It was a fine wool with 10% cashmere and would work under suits & with jeans.
Scarf worn about half that time, but as I am a scarf girl, it was a terrific "in the coffin" purchase.
Well fast forward about 5 years & this thing called weight gain set in & it felt too tight for my liking. So I stalked ebay & found the next size up (French 42) & bought it for about $120. I sold the original for about $70 (crazy, huh?).
SHOP TIP: If you're patient, most things come around again on ebay. If you're not patient, then dont even think about it.
Fast forward another few years & I have grown out of the 42.
I couldnt be bothered looking for another one - frankly the longer the time from the original garment, the more chance there will be issues with the item (critter holes, stains, etc) - while that isnt a full proof reason not to look, its a contributing factor.
STYLE TIP: The label says Dry Clean Only. For an unstructured knit in wool/cashmere, no way will I heed this instruction. Out comes the wool wash (or the shampoo), a few dips & swirls, gently squeeze out the water but dont wring, roll in a towel to take out the excess moisture & lay flat to dry.
Recently I was looking at some photos of shirts under sweaters & the lightbulb moment hit.
The shirt
My What I Wore posts wouldn't be complete without a Coles mix item.
I grabbed a black cotton/elastene poplin shirt from last season & wore it under the sweater.
I wrote about these shirts when I found them....
http://styleintoaction.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/the-coles-mix-2012-gold-medal-find.html
These shirts were serious gold in quality & price.
Sweater sleeves pulled up.
Shirt tails hanging out, front & back & front bottom two buttons open.
Collar popped (you look taller with a popped collar).
The shirt smoothed over the lumps & bumps so the sweater wasnt hugging them, but merely sitting over them.
It worked.
I was happy to walk out of the house with this look.
The rings
Alexander McQueen skull enamel ring in stainless (& made in China).
Bottega intercaccio ring, I love thee more than life itself.
The jeans
A washed grey Not Your Daughters Jeans straight leg.
Any denim would have done the job here as it is the stripes that pop the outfit.
The shoes
A Tod's grey pump - a perfect work shoe.
Originally I bought the black, realised what a great shape they were for me & found another neutral to invest in.
As usual, love the pointy but round toe & the stacked heel.
It would have been alot easier to just grab a loafer, but since I was in an outfit that I had not worn in this way before, I wanted everything else to say "confident". For me, heels do this all the time.
Have I forgotten anything?
Oh yes,
The scarf
An identical knit colour to the sweater but a slightly different weave so when the scarf hangs next to it, they look identical. Everything is thought through with brands like Rykiel and frankly that's one of the things you pay for.
So we are talking matchy matchy but in a perfect meant to be kind of way.
Its so wonderful having colours that like your face near your face.
I also love the way the sides are finished with a knit that looks like a fine hem...
I have taken the large Sonia Rykiel tag off the scarf. However the bronze "SR" plate remains. It is sewn on & is intended to stay on.
STYLE TIP: Take all tags off your scarves when you wear them. They look so much better without those tags which are styled with the brand's logo in mind, but dont work in harmony with individual pieces made by the brand.
Probably the only exception to this is Hermes scarves - I'd suggest to leave the tags on & tuck them in via the folding. Better resale value and the scarf which is a premium item, remains original.
The dilemma -
Scarf hanging? or Scarf wrapped around neck?
My fashion goals in life (Yes, I AM making this up as I go along) are (in no particular order):
1. Comfy
2. Wear only what I love
3. Exceptional fit
4. Quality fabric
5. Quality making
6. Flatter my complexion
7. Flatter my shape
8. Make me look taller (I love height).
Based on these criteria, which scarf placement did I choose?
Hanging?
or wrapped?
based on my goals - Hanging? or Wrapped?
& why?
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