doudoune

Hello little french puffy jacket, come to mama.

Oh, you're reversible?  Get into my closet now.

The details...

vince

It was about a year ago that I posted those surreal sweaterscapes I'm so partial to and extolled the virtues of Vince knitwear.  Season after season they manage to just keep churning out high quality knits in totally covetable designs.  (And they last!  All of my Vince sweaters look impeccable even after years of constant use.)  But as much as I loved them, I was kind of convinced that was all they did and never paid much attention to the rest of their goods.  Until now.  So many good things on hand, like pony hair sneakers and oversized military coats:

And also t-shirts, leather jackets, silk shirts, and yes, of course, knits...

moto love

Whoa.  Excuse me, Mr. Wang, did you just make a double layered leather motorcycle jacket?  Holy crap.  I have always loved you but now you have sealed the deal.  For a layer-loving onion like me, for someone who cannot walk past a gorgeous motorcycle jacket without drooling, this is almost too much.  I feel like I'm overdosing on sartorial perfection.  I just might die.

More amazingness...

you must create (again)

So sweet and so simple, this may just be a perfect white dress.  It's from british label YMC, short for You Must Create.  I talked about them ages ago but I am revisiting them now because their minimal designs and simple lines are just what I'm craving.   In their own words:

       "Where others are increasingly concerned with the fleeting, the transient and the contingent, YMC follow the Corbusian precept that form follows function. The results, free from fads and fripperies, are as close to timeless as clothing gets."

More timeless goods...

tweedie

This is my new tweed clutch.  I made it myself.  From a pair of pants.  Seriously.

I'm not kidding.  Check it out... 

da bomb

What the what? This insanely intricate, decadent, shiny and gorgeous bomber from Zara stopped me in my tracks.  Practical?  Possibly not.  But I seem to care less and less about that lately.  It also reminds me of a black and hot pink satin bomber I had when I was a kid, embroidered with sunglass-wearing cherubs and the word "Angelinos".  Yeah, I was that kind of a kid.

It also got me thinking about bombers in general, the new incarnations we're seeing (again, obviously), and then when I saw  this neoprene one from T by Alexander Wang I was convinced this issue needed further investigation.
Most folks online are showing it mini and shrunken, which is very cute, but I'm more inclined to wear it like the lovely Ivania does, oversized and cozy, like a big neoprene hug.  (If you're not familiar with her blog check it out, she is a brave minimalist if ever there was one.)

More bombers...

motobreakertrenchy

Lately I feel like 3.1 Phillip Lim just keeps getting it right.  And while he's always done leather jackets ridiculously well (I still think about, and pine over, this motorcycle jacket from Fall 2010, I honestly just can't get it out of my head), this new lightweight hybrid thing is pretty cool too.  Part motorcycle jacket, part windbreaker, part trench coat, it's a little strange, but I could see getting tons of joyful wear out of it.

Check it out...

dear santa

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

Sometimes shopping for others leads to certain, ahem, distractions.  So in the process of putting together my gift guides and getting my christmas shopping done, I've come up with a little wishlist for myself.  These are the things, great and small, that would make me extremely happy to find under the proverbial tree this year.  Hope Santa reads my blog. 

The details...

blazer perfection

I feel like I've been looking for the perfect black blazer for half my life.  I also have been a huge fan of The Kooples for years.  Recently the stars aligned, everything came together in a serendipitous shopping moment, and I purchased not only my first Kooples piece, but also the most perfect black blazer ever created by man.

It's wool, so it hardly creases or wrinkles at all, and is so beautifully tailored I just had to share all the little details with you.  It fits like a dream, and best of all it has this gorgeous royal blue lining to show off when you roll up the sleeves.

More great pieces from The Kooples...

tassels and fringe

Back in Spring 2012 Ann Demeulemeester went a little tassel crazy.  While I honestly have no desire to look like a lampshade or drapery (Carol Burnett's Went With The Wind anyone?), I do think that this distilled version of it is totally beautiful and absolutely wearable.

Granted, it's sold out everywhere but here, so obviously I'm a little late on this one.  But doesn't it seem like we could just loop a beautiful long tassel through a buttonhole somewhere?  Doesn't that seem like a wonderful idea?

Barneys layered the blazer over some more tassels, and even though that's a lot of fringe, I actually think that works beautifully too.  What do you think, will you add a tassel to your life?

smythe

I recently tried on and fell in love with this tailored wool riding jacket from Smythe.   This happens to me often with outerwear from this amazing Canadian label.  (I swear, it's just a coincidence, it's not like I'm Canada-crazy or anything.)  They do other things too, but in my mind it's the jackets and the coats that are really stellar, and I am smitten pretty much every season.  This season's no different.

Just look at that oversized jacket with tails.  Insane, right?  How can something be so cozy and tough and elegant and tailored and effortless all at the same time?  Check out more perfect outerwear from their fall 2012 collection...

yes please

What, Vicki B?  Did you really come up with this stunningly beautiful coat?  I'm sorry my prejudice sometimes makes me doubt you as a designer.  You have done a lovely job.  Now just send one over, k?

Look at this detail at the waist:

Damn good.

acne

The kind you want.

suede biker jacket

Rocking the blue right now.  In all the right ways.

chambray blazer, crepe blouse

Acne is pretty much rocking everything right now actually.  See more on my fantasy wishlist after the jump...

hood rat

I know what you're thinking: How could I possibly need another hoodie?!  Well, I do.  At least, Rick Owens says I do.

And I believe him.  I totally need this leather-sleeved hoodie.  I mean, who doesn't?

from net-a-porter

marnimania

So we all know what today was: the day the Marni for H&M collection dropped.  10 am, doors opened around the world on one of the most exciting hi-low collaborations in a long time.  I'm not gonna lie, I had it marked down on my calendar.  But then I realized, it's thursday, I have ballet.  I love me some Marni, and I love it even more when it's actually affordable, but apparently I love my morning ballet class even more.  Go figure.

Class was done at 11:30, and I will admit to sneaking out a little early (who needs those big jumps anyway?) to run up to the Gran Via H&M stores.  I got there before noon, less than two hours after the doors opened, and there was nothing.  No.  Thing.  Not one shirt, not one bauble, not one shoe.  At least, not in the women's section.  There were however a few things left in the men's department, and a few hungry-looking women pawing through it all.  Me, of course, being one of them.

I caved.  I bought this coat.

In my defense, it's a beautiful coat, simple but impeccably designed, lightweight like a trench in the body with thick durable knit sleeves.  On the other hand, who am I kidding?  It's a men's coat and it's a too big on me.  I know, I was desperate, I got carried away by the excitement of the moment.  I probably will return it next week.  On the other hand, it does fit Husband pretty damn perfectly...

images from how do shop, toronto life

december outnet picks

I know, I know, christmas shopping.  For others.  What can I say, I get distracted!  I mean, isn't this burberry jacket, at 60% off, distracting?

And look at these metallic raffia shoes, such a cool twist on the ubiquitous oxfords.

See more of what distracted me at the outnet after the jump...

hello moto

3.1 Phillip Lim, making moto jackets like no one else.

 If I had an extra $1,500 lying around, for which I had no real practical use, I think I'd pick up one of these two jackets.

Gorgeous as these they are, I have to admit I still dream about this one from way back when.

blanco

The problem with living in the center of town is that there's always some shop or other I just have to duck into on my way home.  Because they're all on my way home.  Today it was Blanco, another member of the great Inditex empire.  I picked up this button-down shirt in white:

I love it because if feels crisp and sort of formal, but at the same time reminds me of pajamas.  Best of both worlds.

After the jump, a few other items I considered ringing up as well...

kooples couples

 The Kooples, one of my favorite french lines, is having a "private sale", though I honestly have no idea what that means.  What I do know is that the discounts are pretty decent, and it's only through Nov. 30, so there's a sense of urgency here folks.  But before we get to that, take a look at these great shots from their lookbook.  I almost like their men's line better, but they're both so good.  Their coats in particular are amazing in person, the heft of the fabrics and the tailoring are impeccable.

See some of the individual pieces, on sale of course, after the jump...

the big event

Just methodically going through all the major sales; got to be efficient in my mindless fantasy shopping, you know.  Shopbop is having what they call The Big Event right now, where you get bigger discounts the more you spend.  Of course there's too much good stuff for me to post, but I edited my favorite pieces down into two outfits.  If you get everything on my list you'd get a whopping $1250 off.  Let's not talk about how much you'd have to spend to get there though.  Here's my first imaginary cozy fall outfit:

Helmut Lang blazer, Funktional sweater, J Brand jeans, Jeffrey Campbell booties

see another after the jump...