Somewhere between week 12 and week 15 (current) I discovered Pinterest and started pinning my online clippings. I like pinterest. But I discovered, as I started looking through the accumulated pile of magazines last week, I can't pin everything, and those magazine photos are still an issue. One can upload one's own work to pinterest, but I don't believe that I quite have the rights to a photo from a magazine as I would to a photo I took myself. I could probably pin a link to my own blog post once I reviewed why I was interested in said photo. I shall consider.
I also realized that I will quickly overwhelm the master board I have created and I shall have to break it up, but I've not yet sussed out the connections that will be most useful to me in that regard. Cell division will occur, but at which point I cannot yet predict. A pattern must emerge and along with it a plan. In the meantime, this is a catch-up post, with some things I pinned in those heady first weeks, with a few notes, and one previously unpinned item.
Take this Cushnie et Ochs dress. It is simple and classic and yet not at all boring. I love it. When I saw it I fretted over it for a week, fretted and mourned in a self-pittying way as I thought I would have no need for such a dress in a life that seemed to revolve around chinos and jeans. But of course there are opportunities, and we make our own opportunities if we so desire. I still love the dress and undoubtedly will continue to do so. The cross-draping on the bodice reminds me of a Donna Karan look from the 80s and a Vogue pattern I made at that time. I still have that pattern waiting to be unpacked, and variations on the look recur every few years.
Then I was thinking about spring coats and light-weight coats that can be used for climates with those long transitional seasons, neither hot nor cold but where something is needed. All my coats strike me as being too somber, too black.
I found this gorgeous coat by Burberry. It is linen. It will wrinkle. That doesn't really lessen the appeal for me as I like linen, but it does sharply increase the maintenance in a coat, which one would probably prefer to look a little crisp. I naturally tend toward rumpled anyway so it seems best to avoid things that will hasten the downward slide. Doesn't make me love it less. Imagination is free. Inspiration is priceless.
Other finds were more random. This little Tori Burch jacket would be great with jeans or chinos but also with a skirt or dress. And I love the trim detail. But I have lots of pretty tweeds and boucles sitting upstairs waiting to be unpacked. Trims too. I'd rather wait and make something all mine. But I admit the shades of blue and the multicolor trim are very pretty: all grown up and yet still retaining a bit of a sense of fun.
A few things have taken me by surprise. In this season filled with many pretty soft full skirts shown with casual sandals, oxfords and brogues, I am focused on pencil skirts. Who would have thought? I've been wearing full and pleated skirts for years, when pencil skirts were everywhere I wanted pleats. Now that I see skirts that are so perfectly my (former?) style, all I want is the straight and narrow, preferably brightly colored. The bold bright colors on this skirt by Lela Rose makes me smile.
Although the more subtle colors on this pretty paisley skirt by Jil Sander also make me very happy. Besides it is paisley. How can one not love paisley? No don't tell me.
Somehow I suspect that haven written that all I want is pencil skirts I will turn around and fall in love with some softly pleated number. I see the pictures, and I love the look, but when I wear last years pleated skirt I am not happy. It could be the drape of the fabric, or the style, or the way I put it together. I only know that what usually happens is that as soon as I say no, something shifts in my brain and it becomes a resounding "Yes. Now. Please".
But I promised something not in that pinterest file. This tunic by Vionnet fits the bill. I saved this to my computer from Moda Operandi before I made the mental link to pinterest and since the sale was closed, I couldn't find a link. I would wear it as it is shown on the model, with narrow pants, but I suspect it could be more versatile if the cut were good, perhaps working with a narrow skirt (see I can't escape it) and either layered or worn with a short jacket or shrug. It struck me as something to play with, idea wise, when I get my sewing room set up. I don't suppose I will duplicate Vionnet's cut, but I am not really trying. Although I would indeed wear this if it happened to land at my front door, I saved it because it inspires me to play with fabric. Now that is a good thing indeed.
