Orange Pumps - Dressing for the Season

Don't look at Nicole Kidman's puffy, shiny face, or her fried, bleached hair. What she did to both is a crime against humanity. Amnesty Intl. should get on it right away. Look instead at her awesome dress and the fantastic way her stylist took an outfit to a whole different place with the choice of shoes.

Orange pumps are a truly creative choice here.

Red would be out of the question (what idiot would match red to red?); pink would be too matchy as well. Black would be too dressy, too heavy, and un-seasonal (see under: Anne Hathaway). The dress by Peter Pilotto from his Fall 2014 is not, in itself, a warm weather look. BUT, by staying within the family of colors but opting for orange, NK's stylist managed to balance out the look, shifting it from fall to spring and creating a fun overall effect.

Major.

Seasonally Appropriate?

Yesterday Anne Hathaway was on Good Morning America to promote her new film, Rio2.

Yet again, I have no beef whatsoever with the item itself - it is a rather lovely take on that 50s classic Dior "New Look" - demure sleeve, full skirt - but updated for the 21st century:

The dress is by Mary Katrantzou, the current queen of the most fantastic digital prints and as such this dress is rather sedate for her. These are from her breakout 2011 collection, just to give you an idea of her design aesthetic:

Why am I posting this, ye may ask?

Well, again, its all about the styling. First of all this is most definitely NOT a spring look on its own. It is from the designer's 2014 Fall collection, and obviously so - the fabric weight, the color scheme - all scream fall/winter. Secondly, the way this look was put together - with the heavy black opaque tights - further accentuates the wintery qualities inherent in the garment. If she wore it with naked legs, at least, it would not read so terribly out of season. And now, when spring has finally sprung in the Northeast, this outfit was just plain wrong. Finally, given that Hathaway needs to battle a popularity fight with audiences that were fed up with her following her grating Oscar speech and overexposed ubiquity, this was not the look to make audiences feel warmth towards her.

Too bad - fantastic dress, an actress with a great figure, and such a failure of a look.

Seasonal Needs & Wants: Trench Coat

The trench ranks up there with the most iconic looks of all time, and one of the least susceptible to changing times and fashions:

Personally, I prefer the trench's more utilitarian cousin - the anorak. With its hood and full-on water resistance, I feel it serves my needs better. But I am fully on board with the desire for the classic trench. It is the ultimate uptown look and it beckons.

I've organized  my finds in three categories by price, in a descending order: Dream, Want, Have. Ladies, we are all on some kind of a budget. That does not mean you can't dress well. I firmly believe that craftiness and solid research will make even the tightest budget work. 

Classic Tan Trench:

1) Dream, by Barneys:

Or Burberry, the classic­est trench there is:

2) Want,(still up there), from APC:

3) Have, from Bluefly (an online store that is great for discounted coats, if they got your size!), by Cole Haan:

Classic Black Trench:

An otion I would strongly suggest for those who travel. Black is a much more forgiving color.

1) Dream, by Burberry:

2) Want, by Mackage:

3) Have, by DKNY (again from Bluefly):

Not-so-Classic Trench:

Sometimes, even a classic can be punched up.

Rick Owens, the master of edgy anddark:

Leather sleeves, by Mackage:

Adorably prim:

демисезонное пальто or: The Demi-Season Coat

When I was a kid, in Moscow, the capital  of scarcity and central economy, my mother and grandmother would have lengthy, often anxious discussions about an item not always easy to come by - демисезонное пальто - or a coat fit for when the seasons change, for fall and spring.  I would imagine that both of them would approve for that particular sartorial mission of the kind of coats that Scandal's Olivia Pope tends to wear, in white or pale gray.

In Israel, where winter is for all intents and purposes a fall there was no need for sturdier outerwear  (although I have heard stories of the old German-born ladies arriving at concert halls in balmy Tel Aviv wearing their furs) and it wasn’t until I decided to decamp to Boston that I have come to appreciate the variations in warmth, length, and purpose that radically changeable weather dictates. So now I have many a coat for many a day – yet somehow I always feel a coat short.

My current obsession has to do with lifestyle as much as it does with climate. Since joining the ranks of the picking-up-moms (quite a change from my old life when teachers would never recognize me and school principles would glance disapprovingly as I occasionally appeared on premises) I have realized that my working wool coats are too much for my new role: too long, too black, too everything.  One, black and military inspired that I’ve worn in Amsterdam on that lovely trip with A & A three years ago, is too cumbersome to drive and hop in and out of a car with. The other – well, it is no longer in great shape but wearing a Diane Von Furstenberg coat that ma-in-law got for me when I was pregnant with Yoyo seems a terrible waste.

Here’s what I need in a perfect demi-season, mom-no-longer-as-much-on- a-run coat:

Length: thigh high (otherwise known as a car coat length, appropriately enough)

Necessary Features: Hood

Warmth: medium. For the 40s and low 50s

Color: not black

I’ve found what I’m looking for at Zara, but sadly it is out of stock. Nonetheless check it out:

Oh well, there is always Ebay!