Appropriated Edge

I couldn't help but notice that Angie's Power Suit ensemble included a cape. While many supers agree that a cape is indispensable for ceremonial purposes, (such as the AGM, as Angie suggested) there has been some controversy as to whether they should be withdrawn because of safety issues. 

As creator of the most innovative super suits of the era and a global authority on skin-tight safety wear, renowned designer Edna Mode puts forward a convincing argument as to why the cape should be removed from the Standardised Superhero Uniform (as agreed at the 2125 Marvel Universe convention).

Remember, all you moonlighting superheroes and crime-fighting vigilantes, luck favours the prepared!

This is very long, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to get off my chest for a while. I stepped out of the forum for a few weeks, partly because I’ve been wearing a lot of baggy clothing lately. To put it mildly, this is not the most popular choice around here and I completely understand why. I’m not judging anyone else for their choices and I hope you'll do me the same courtesy. Life’s too short to have the whole of YLF look at me sideways.

If you have the patience, please read on.

I have a definite preference for the oversized. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for me. It hangs well on my big boned, zaftig frame. It gives me the freedom to eschew figure flattery and focus on colour, texture and proportion. It sidesteps all the problems I have with fit on my broad shoulders, short waist and large bosom. It makes me feel good and it’s comfortable.

I’m quite sure I look more impressive in mannish tailoring and more conventionally attractive in a fitted dress. But right now, a looser fit feels very authentic in relation to my lifestyle. Why should I dress up and perform when all I’m doing is working alone, running errands and meeting friends? Why not enjoy the freedom and mobility of an unconstricted silhouette? These shapes are having a moment and I’m taking advantage of that.

There’s been a lot of talk lately on the forum, confusion even, about how we should respond to this, in particular a very thought-provoking thread started by Gaylene a little while back. I really enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on this, but to my eternal shame I only made the most pitiful contribution myself. To be honest, I’ve been disinclined until now to wade in when it’s clear that a lot of people here seem to have the poison eye for a style that’s so close to my heart and anyway, I’m the first to admit there’s a problem. It may feel to me like a gift from the gods to see this filter down at last, but in reality the building blocks are very hard to assemble. In my opinion, high volume stands or falls on design, materials and fabrication, but I’ll come to that.

Anyway.

"Conceptual Fashion uses the body as a site for communication. Postmodern philosophers like Foucault maintain that the body is inscribed with cultural and gender meanings and becomes a text that tells the story of the social context that the body is constructed in. This process not only shapes the body but in many cases disciplines it as well, for example, what bodies are considered to be objects of beauty. Some conceptual designers have understood this and use fashion and clothes to disrupt dominant discourses and narratives about the female body."

Gaylene posted this quote from the Accidental Icon and all I said was Yes. Gaylene, my humble apologies. I wished afterwards I’d given you a more nuanced answer, so here’s one now.

I’m a professional creative living in the centre of an international city. (sounds glamorous, but in fact it’s a life as full of misery, challenges, ennui and joy as any other.) No doubt if things had turned out another way I’d be dressing differently, but this is who I am now and I like looking the part. Fashion is important to me and I strive to engage with it on the level of ideas and contexts as well as using it to look appealing, or correct, or whatever. On some levels (not all) it’s definitely an art form, and like any art it doesn’t always have to be beautiful, it can be used conceptually as well. And quite frankly, there are times when I can do without the demands of performative femininity and I’m more than happy to stand in opposition to it rather than simply ignore it.

So yes, I see this partly as a subversive statement about womanhood, ageing and social expectations. But ultimately, I agreed with a lot of what was said in that thread. Aesthetically this is very challenging, at odds with just about everything we’ve come to expect from womenswear. It’s been a huge disappointment to see this executed so poorly by retailers. Something’s been lost in the translation from high fashion to high street.

We all seem to agree, however, that they do layers very well in Japan and I think that’s a clue as to why this isn’t working. Japanese fashion to my eye is more concerned with forms and fabrics and far less about the body underneath. The lagenlook has relevance here in Europe for more or less the same reasons. But in both locations the designers and brands who have been working with it for a long time prioritise quality in material and fabrication.

COS don’t seem to be able to pull this off. I look in there from time to time, I can see what they’re aiming for and I want them to succeed at it but there’s something about their cuts and materials which just doesn’t work out. Uniqlo have done better at it (just look at this lady) perhaps because they’re Japanese and it’s part of their DNA. They just sold me a very nice boxy sweatshirt and I’m liking their wide legged gaucho pants at the moment. But even so, a quick straw poll of my wardrobe indicates that for me, it’s either high end pieces with exemplary cuts or my own creations where I’ve used top notch fabrics. It doesn’t work well in inexpensive materials.

I find since my trip to Japan last year I’m moving more and more in this direction. I’ve been looking back at pictures from the last couple of years and I can see that even though many of them hit the conventional flattery spot, they look to me as if I’m trying too hard. By contrast, the looks I’ve been wearing lately, the loose fitting tops, the baggy pants, the chunky shoes, all seem to express something that’s fundamentally me. It puts me in mind of Gaylene’s observation on seeing the model’s faces more clearly in these clothes. Maybe I don’t look as conventionally beautiful in these outfits, but I can see very clearly who I am.

We've been talking lately about how our passions come through in our style, and it got me thinking.

I'm pretty passionate about bicycles. If you ask me, the bike is up there with libraries, antibiotics and sanitation as just about the best thing the human race has come up with. It keeps you fit, it's non-polluting and it's fun. Of all the things I love about living in the Netherlands, and there are many, bike culture is right there at the top of my list. My Dutch friends sometimes take for granted the freedom we have to ride around on two wheels, but I will never loose my sense of wonder and gratitude for the traffic infrastructure that privileges this modest form of transport. There's no better way to get around in my opinion.

Like everyone else around here, my trusty steed is a heavy weight single speed omafiets or granny bike and I use it every day to get around town. I don't need to dress specifically for this (although I draw the line at pencil skirts and wide legged pants) so bike style isn't much of a thing in my every day life. I am, however, the proud owner of a very stylish bike friendly waterproof (props again to my good friend Mel for designing the thing).

This spring, I'm kitting myself out to start sports cycling again. I took the plunge on the bike this month and I've been putting together a little capsule to match. And being me, I have to do it in style. 

Back in my mountain biking days, bike gear was all about garish lycra, so I was relieved to discover that things have changed since then. There's still a lot of shiny spandex about, but there's also a growing trend for a more low key old school classic style. Think plain striped merino jerseys, peaked caps and crochet gloves.

Leading the field are British brand Rapha, who are making some truly fabulous gear. The design is superb and the quality exquisite. They carry a price tag to match, but I was so impressed with their bib shorts (bike ladies will know what I'm talking about when I say it's all about the chamois) that I splurged on a discounted bundle to get the matching jersey. Luckily, I made some savings on the rest of the kit, completing the look with a plain black windproof from Primal and pair of very cute crochet mitts. 

There's some seriously good cycling fashion out there these days and I'm sorely tempted to slip a few pieces into my day to day wardrobe. Particularly the classic cycling jerseys at Jura, which look far too good to break a sweat in.

Control yourself girl. Resist, resist.

UPDATE! and what a glorious morning that was! 

Just christened the whole kit and caboodle on a 60k turn around the polders. Too warm for leggings, so on a whim I reached for a pair of striped thigh highs, which to my astonishment worked really well (warm, wicking, breathable) and added a whole load of roller derby attitude. I am going to have to buy more of these before American Apparel go out of business.

And of course, the most vital equipment of all. Protect your brains, kids. Wear a helmet!

My fashion neurosis is now in overdrive. I'm leaving for Japan on Friday and after weeks (yes weeks!) of deliberation, I think I've finally figured out what's coming with me.

Usually on a trip like this, I would be very practical and pack what I needed for sightseeing and hiking, and maybe dress it up a bit around the edges. But when I’m heading for world's finest fashion nation (sorry skylurker, even better than France!) I have to bring my A-game.

It starts and ends with the shoes. They need to be comfortable. They need to come off easily indoors. They need to be as smart and formal as possible. I’m packing three pairs.

1. Hiking boots - for outdoors and acting basic.
We're planning a few days hiking between city visits, so they need to come with me. The big challenge is always to work gear into my holiday wardrobe and make them worth their weight without sacrificing style.

I've had these boots for over twenty years and they’re still going strong after walking the Inca Trail and the West Highland Way. The classic leather style (hard to find these days) makes them slightly easier to style. Not easy to take off indoors but I like to think they look pretty smart with bright skater laces, and for this trip I've chosen acid yellow/green (inspired by Angie's genius combination of cognac and citron.)

To go along with these, I am packing:

• Arcteryx hiking pants - Not bad for gear. Nice material, nice cut.
• Two button down shirts one Uniqlo +J, one Paul Smith (not pictured.) A good way to smarten up the hiking pants and boots.
• Mamut Gore-Tex anorak (not pictured) Honestly, I’d rather not take this at all. Velcro! The horror! I can’t be without it on the side of a hill in a rainstorm though, so in it goes.
• Uniqlo compact down jacket - Their best product ever. Incredibly useful and actually rather cute.
• Three stripy long sleeved tees. They can make anything look stylish.

2. George Cox creepers - for urban cool.
These are a cult item in Japan apparently. They tick all the boxes, being smart, comfortable and easily slipped on and off.

These look brilliant with:

• MMM x H&M oversized pants. Wide pants are trending in Tokyo at the moment, according to my sources. Not as impractical as they look. Fab with a stripy tee and...
• Convertible bomber jacket, made by me. A great team player and a good counterpoint to the hiking boots.
• Crash pants ByBrown - My favourite trousers, can wear them cropped or full length. Good with all tops and play nicely with the hiking boots when paired with…
• Leather and wool jumper, made by me. Completes the olive/cognac/citron combo.

3. Trippen Dream booties - for dressing up.
I need something dressier than the creepers and these really up the ante. Not so easy to slip on and off, but not so difficult either. Improbably comfortable, these wear like sneakers even with the platform.

These open up more dressy possibilities such as:

• White shirt dress, made by me after an avant-garde classic by Issey Miyake. Has to come along. Boho-lite with hiking pants and boots, minimal urban cool with all black.
• White plisse midi skirt, vintage. Another item trending in Tokyo. Chic and ladylike with the Trippens and Breton shirt, downtown cool with creepers and leather jumper and surprisingly workable Harajuku style with the Issey shirt, convertible bomber and hiking boots, if I can work up the nerve.
• Multicolour short sleeve knit from Cos. Great with the skirt, in case I want to make like a gangsta and flash some ink.
• Taffeta bomber by Back. Not a duplicate, more of a complement. White needs black and this is dressier than the compact down jacket. Lightweight, packs tiny. I may swap this out for my pagoda shoulder blazer, space permitting.
• Black silk blouse ByBrown, not pictured. Perfect with black pants in case I need to get really fancy.

———
And that’s it. I think I’ve covered all bases, things mix and match fairly well and it should all fit in a small suitcase, along with underwear, socks, swimwear, one or two tees and a couple of scarves and hats. Weather forecast says highs of around 20C/68F, so I'm thinking I'll be warm enough with layering.

Breaks down like this:

• 3 pairs of shoes
• 3 pairs pants
• 3 jackets
• 1 skirt
• 2 mid-layers
• 3 long sleeved tees
• 2 button down shirts
• 1 silk blouse
• 1 shirt dress
• 1 fancy knit

If you’ve even read this far, (thank you for your patience with my overthinking!) I’d really value your opinion. This is a pair of shoes and several garments more than I’d normally pack, but I don’t usually go from very casual to very dressy in a single capsule.

What do you think? Am I being over-ambitious with the dressy choices? Can you spot any gaps? Should I try to make room for the blazer instead of the second bomber?

Thanks for taking the time!

Angie’s insightful comment on my post about a coat I made got me thinking.

…the current silhouette is hard to wear on most body types: very bulky fur bodice, no collar, short sleeves, absent structure, black = unflattering. I know you're not after a flattering silhouette…

Taking off my aspiring designers hat for a moment and considering my own personal style, my first thought about this was: true enough. For me, style is far more about creating a visual impression than it is about showing off physical attributes to best advantage. Most of the time the idea is to look dramatic, interesting and a little bit different, and to be honest, looking attractive as a woman is not always very high on my list of priorities.

On reflection though, I realised that this is not the case at all. Whatever the style, be it bold or understated, nobody wants to get it wrong and I need to know what works and doesn’t work for me as much as the next woman. This brings me to what I discovered a little while ago about Kibbe types.

Now, I have a real love-hate relationship with this system. Most of what I've read about it is nonsense, and don’t even get me started on the styling efforts I see around the Internet. But when I first encountered it (via this very forum) a penny dropped for me, I could see exactly where it came from aesthetically and I realised that a lot of what I like to wear is very much in line with that way thinking.

Put simply, the raw material of my physical appearance (dramatic/natural) gives me access to bold, rectangular shapes and oversized, unstructured silhouettes. They happen to look good on me, often a lot better than, say, skinny jeans with classic tailoring, or those fit and flare dresses that are very popular right now, which don’t look good on me at all. In that respect, I could speculate that my aesthetic preferences have been shaped by something I like to wear simply because it suits me.

So my question is, do we think of these shapes as unflattering because they really are unflattering (i.e. not many people can pull them off) or because they don't define the human (female) body in the same way as, say, a tailored jacket or a form-fitting dress? To what extent are our ideas about flattery shaped by contemporary standards of beauty and conventions around getting dressed?

All of this is not to argue with Angie that the coat doesn’t need tweaking (it does) but more to consider what we think of as flattering.  Are there things that look great on you that no-one else can wear? Or is there something universally considered flattering that doesn’t suit you at all? Do you ever put an effect you want to create above flattering, or are you always going for JFE?

Ladies, what does flattering mean to you?

Thanks to another thread I got wrapped up trying to understand seasonal colour analysis. I’ve looked into this before, but been disheartened by the reports of analysts getting it so wrong. But there’s merit in trying to understand what colours work when dissecting your style, so I gave it another go.

I started out with contrast, something that doesn’t get talked about much in SCA. I found some very useful posts on the menswear blogs:
http://effortlessgent.com/cont.....binations/
http://philippeperzi.com/compl.....of-colour/
http://www.wellbuiltstyle.com/.....-contrast/

From this I determined that my colouring is medium to high contrast.

Then I found out about how the 12 sub-seasons relate to one another on a continuum of warm and cool, dark and light, soft and clear, shown here as a wheel:
http://diaryofacolouraddict.bl.....hoice.html

I learned from 12 blueprints that your season is decided by The Most Important Thing, which will be one of the parameters of SCA that correspond to the three basic colour components:
http://www.12blueprints.com/12.....hing-tmit/

• Hue - warm or cool
• Value - light or deep
• Saturation - soft or clear

All of this makes some kind of sense from a colour theory perspective. I decided it was easier to do this by figuring out what I’m not as well as what I am.

• I’m neither light nor dark. My natural hair colour is dark ash, my eyes dark blue green with flecks of gold. I have very fair, almost translucent skin with a pink undertone. 
• I skew cool. My veins are blue. I look better in hot pink than I do in orange. That means I’m somewhere in Winter or Summer.
• But there’s warmth. I have freckles. I usually wear silver jewellery but gold looks OK too. After years of experimenting, I’ve decided my best hair colour is red. This rules out True Winter or True Summer. 
• I've come to think I look quite striking in black, which would make me a Winter. I’m unlikely to be Dark Winter, although I can’t rule it out. That leaves Bright Winter, which would mean my Most Important Thing is contrast and saturation.

If this is correct, it explains a lot about my preferences. Black works best accented with optic white or brights, which is why the Bad Boyfriend is such a roaring success. Softer colours can work but they need a lot of help to keep them from falling flat. Warm brights can also work in moderation. Most of my current wardrobe falls within in the Winter palette, with a few brights from Bright Spring, some darks from Deep Autumn and some cools from Summer.

I feel like I’ve just discovered a superpower, which I can use for good or evil. Bright Winter seems like my natural home but it scares me too, because while colour and contrast make me feel like my best self, they can also make me look quite intense. Intimidating even. Perhaps that’s how I’m supposed to look.

All in all, this is an incredibly useful piece of information. Moving forward, I’m going to test the hypothesis and challenge myself to dress more like Bright Winter. I’m also going to update my glasses. But I’m not going to ditch colours outside the palette. Instead, I’m going to use it to learn how to colour outside the lines more effectively. Soft colours in support of cool brights, warm brights by cool deep neutrals. It might just work.

What about you? Have you self-diagnosed your colour season? Are you happy with it? How do you extend outside it?

Thanks to threads by caro in oz, Gigi and links posted by Suz, I got sucked into researching the Kibbe archetypes and I wanted to record my thoughts here. Apologies if this retreads ground already covered in the other threads, as this is as much for my benefit as anything else. :)

I found basic idea and the archetypes themselves very useful. From an aesthetic perspective, it makes perfect sense to accentuate your physical proportions and attributes with whatever you're wearing, which is what I've been trying to do all these years, so it's interesting to read how these have been interpreted by stylists.

I did the quiz and downloaded the spreadsheet. I reached the conclusion that I'm somewhere on a continuum between Soft Dramatic and Flamboyant Natural with a touch of the Dramatic. This made a lot of sense, considering my preference for loose pants, sharp shoulders, graphic patterns and oversized pieces. So far, so good.

Where it all collapsed a bit was in the style inspiration I found on the Internet. This is terribly subjective and there are interpretations out there which read to me as extreme and/or wide of the mark, not to mention a load of things I wouldn't be seen dead in. :P It's not really helped by Kibbe's own instructions, which in spite of their wisdom are by now terribly dated, as others have pointed out. 

However, I did find a few things which resonated. 

First, this graphic, via Pinterest, which struck me as a very good representation in contemporary styling of how I understood the type definitions. I can see immediately from here the outfits which would suit me best. I could easily wear SD or FN as they are, and D would also work with a little tweaking.

I found some interesting commentary on Style Syntax, who approaches the system critically, albeit from her own FG/SD perspective. Being a huge nerd and a visualisation specialist, I really like this diagram. Yin-yang is on the x-axis, blend-contrast is on the y-axis. I can see exactly where I fit in here. 

I had a little breakthrough on reading Suz's post on style evolution. 

I've never been able to describe my style with much clarity. I tend all over the map in terms of presentation, a result of buying and wearing things I like rather than trying to get this or that look. What I realised today was that my style is in fact a result of what I aim for in my shopping and wardrobe management strategies, so I should just find five adjectives to describe those. 

So here are five words that apply to my philosophy:

Timeless
Simple, classic execution in garments. When in doubt, I default to quality, craftsmanship, artistry. This goes for buying both new and vintage. There is also a retrospective element to this, insofar as I've held on to pieces for years that fulfil these criteria. 

Individual
Unique pieces, distinctive styling, originality in design and personal authenticity. I like wearing things I won't see on anyone else in a way nobody else would wear them.

Eclectic
Diversity in looks, silhouettes, combinations and personae. Varied sources and cultural reference points. 

Androgynous
An androgynous interpretation of womenswear. Anything from menswear head to toe to assertively ladylike but never girly. A more accurate way of describe this might be gender-bending.

Practical
No fuss. Simple execution, functional details. Weather appropriate!

Where is this heading next? I've seen others using these descriptors as a means to move forward. What are yours, and how do you use them?

I loved Angie's recent post about orphans, which prompted me to have a good look at a few things that I don't think are getting enough wear.

To be honest, although I moan about struggling to style the contents of my diverse and eclectic wardrobe, there isn't really much dead wood in there, and luckily I haven't made too many mistakes in the last few years.

For the most part, the orphans at the moment are either things that were in circulation and have dropped out of favour, or things that have some practical pitfalls that I didn't identify before I started wearing them. There are also one or two very nice things that for some reason look wrong every time I put them on.

For instance, in the first category right now are three pairs of shoes and a leather jacket in various shades of brown which I used to wear with grey, green, navy or purple. I don't quite know what to make of this, except that I'm not wearing this colour combination very much any more and I should probably hang onto them until I find another palette to make them work.

The second category are mainly statement pieces in refined materials that I worry about ruining - velvet, silk etc, or things that would get a lot more wear if I were less panicked about wearing them on the bike.

The third is almost impossible to pin down. I have two jackets that I like very much but something about the styling is just plain weird. I wish I could be more specific. Perhaps I should post pictures so you can all tell me.

What about you ladies? What orphans your orphans? 

Beth-Ann kindly suggested I post a few more looks and tried to explain my style objectives clearly. I'm not at all sure of my objectives, so perhaps it helps to explain my current practices and how they've resulted in my closet being a grab bag of avant garde retro classics that I love to wear but struggle to style.

Disclaimer: this is long and involves advanced wardrobe diagnostics. If you can't be bothered to read, scroll down to the eye-candy and shoot on my outfits.

-----

Here's how I roll:

- I try to practise slow fashion. I don't like rapid turnover and I prefer to keep things for as long as I can. 

- My budget is not unlimited and I like to buy the best quality I can afford, which means lots of thrifting, vintage and designer outlet bargains.

- I tend not to have a "shopping list" and my strategy is quite reactive. I'm more likely to spot something and know that it will work than go looking for something in particular (because when I do, I almost never find it).

- I buy things based on quality, fit, colour palette and wearability rather than any notion of a particuar "look" or persona. 

- I don't work in a formal office with a well-defined role that I have to dress for.

- I love experimenting with new styles and I'm really attracted to the unusual and original. 

- I try to future-proof my wardrobe because I don't want to look dated, so I try to steer clear of obvious trends.

- I sew a lot, which means I often make the things I want to make rather than to fill a particular need.

So I've ended up with lots of things I like, mostly nice quality and a few real trophy pieces. This becomes a problem when garments become part of an expressive collection rather than a working wardrobe, but I'm working on that.

Here are five looks from late October/early November when I was on an arty/eclectic kick. These are essentially smart-casual weekday looks I'd wear to work with close colleagues, meet with friends and maybe go out in the evening. I'd wear some of these in the classroom but not to meet business clients. I do have a load more business approriate looks, which tend to favour classically masculine tailoring: blazers, pant suits, brogues etc. There's also the more sporty/hipster/urban strand, which overlaps with what you see here.

1. Vintage silk shibori haori with Uniqlo HeatTech shirt, skinny pants from Marks & Spencer, Underground creepers. 

The haori was a HEWI which I hunted high and low through many, many kimono dealers before finding it. It's not hard to wear but it's more of a summer piece than winter. Worn over a couple of essentials: black turtle neck and slim black pants.

2. Striped Pirate cardigan by All Saints, waxed cotton dropped crotch pants BYBROWN, boots by Maison Martin Margiela. 

A FFB. These pants are the best. I have another pair in gold. The All Saints cardigan is ancient but still going strong. The boots look a bit beat up in the picture, but they've just come back from the cobblers Looking Like New.

3. Self-made skirt with short sleeved jumper from COS, layered over grey marl t-shirt.

I am loving this skirt, which I made very recently. A surprisingly fun layering piece under an oversized winter coat. Definitely a weekender.

4. Vintage '80's Kenzo jacket, jeans by Isabel Marant Homme pour H&M, hat by Uniqlo, creepers as in 1.

This is probably the most controversial of these looks, but also the one I like wearing the most at the moment. The silhouette of the fitted cropped jacket and men's jeans feels just so, and both pieces fit like they were made for me. But it's definitely advanced pattern matching and not exactly trendy. That's my default hat.

5. Self made top and skirt, boots by Maison Martin Margiela again.

This is becoming a go-to day-to-evening choice in the colder weather. I love the complimentary colours. The top is an absolute winter workhorse. 

So, where's the problem?

I'm trying to strike a balance between a lot of contradictory patterns. I like to keep things I love for as long as possible but I also like the challenge of unusual statement pieces. I want to future-proof things but I keep getting distracted by new trends. I want to make sensible purchases but my shopping strategy requires me to know what's right when I see it and make quick decisions. I want to look authentic, not eccentric. I want to distinguish myself but not stick out like a sore thumb. I want to wear my clothes and not the other way around. 

The biggest problem right now is styling. I need a better feel for what works together, and how I can work the things I love into looks that feel contemporary. I'm trying to find a way through this that will lead me to silhouettes and colour palettes that really work for me, figure out which are the key pieces that are pulling their weight, and build more sensible strategies from there. I'd like to develop something that resembles a philosophy or signature look, but I don't know if that's at all realistic given the diversity of content.

If you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me. I'd love to read comments from people who recognise the problem of accumulating things that really work over a number of years but still keeping it fresh. I'm feeling very uninspired by what I see in high fashion right now, so I'd prefer to develop my own personae using the materials to hand. Angie's wisdom has helped me a lot in the past, but right now I need to take stock of what I have and try and make sense of it. I think this may take a couple of years.