Style Inspiration: DC Celine and the Fashion Week Runways

I've been a bit silent lately. Reasons? Some of the usual, but also, well, let's just say that I've had my first taste of daily posting. If you remember, I started writing for Glass magazine a while back. Well, Glass News does regular fashion week coverage, and as one of the contributing writers, I was a part of that, covering New York, Milan, and Paris (Glass is based partially in London, so there was loads of coverage already).

Marc by Marc Jacobs, via Style.com

I'm thrilled to have had this opportunity - can't tell you how much - and all it's taught me already. I've always been a fashion geek, but there's a lot I don't know. So in researching and writing the show reviews, I've learned about Vichy prints (in Olivier Rousteing's Balmain show), the ins and outs of Scottish highland dress (and how an entirely of-the-moment designer like Phoebe Philo can appropriate them in the loveliest of ways for Céline), and something as critical to fashion history as the Dior Bar jacket (is Raf Simons able to do anything wrong in the fashion world's eyes?). I've explored a legendary technician like Yohji Yamamoto and another who calls Patti Smith a friend (Ann Demeulemeester).

I've had a ball.

Céline, via Style.com

What does this have to do with the Everywoman, you ask? How the heck am I supposed to wear Vans with a skirt entirely made of netting to the office? You're not. Never mind that the shows are labeled "Ready to Wear," or prêt-a-portér. 99.9% of what you see there of course doesn't make it to the racks at Macy's or even to a higher end place like Nieman Marcus. What you will see, aside from the one or two looks you might actually wear straight from the runway, is invention, beauty, ingenuity, and creation. And then you'll see trends. Oh, the trends.

Emilio Pucci, via Style.com

The trends will hit us like a ton of bricks. There will be some that we'll love, some we'll embrace, some we'll hate, and some we'll try on and realize, though we hated the idea, and said "Never," well, we did. But the runways are one of the places our everyday clothing pulls on.

That, and it's really, really cool.

Alexander McQueen, via Style.com

If you haven't clicked through from my facebook posts to read the reviews already, and you're interested in reading what I thought of some of the most watched collections for next spring, they're lined up here. And please do check out other writers' reviews. There's a lot of talent sitting over there at Glass news.

Style in Armor: Clothing as Shield

If you follow me on Instagram or facebook, you know I've selected my ensembles to shield me from the trials of tough days lately.

Aviators + metallic leather

Neon

So. The protection I've donned made me realize I've noticed more and more armor lately.

Like these chains, which are just begging to be worn.

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Or this cape, which, if I can wear at Carmen's age, will mean I need no armor.

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Then there's shielding oneself in leather, a la the Coolest Superheroine Ever.

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But then sometimes armor is unexpectedly girly,

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And sometimes it's softer than we expect.

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For a devout Winter Girl, a turned up collar protects, not from the cold, but from the Others. It's up. No one can harm me.

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Of course, if they try, I can just turn on my filigreed stiletto, humming Nancy Sinatra all the way.

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I showed you my armor. Show me yours?

The Teenager Me - Recycled

It took me years, literally, to find a pair of "riding boots" that I loved - and that fit my muscular calves (I have dainty ankles, but inherited my Pop's calves, which are great, but not good for tall boot wearing). Finally, Ginger came through at the DSS, and I scored a perfect Modern Vintage pair (thanks, in part, to a lovely lady who didn't play the mean evil shopper and let me go first). I wear them constantly in cooler weather.

Then, today, my facebook feed displayed these beauties.

Boden, a funny, sophisticated British venture that started out with 8 menswear items, had posted these. I think they did it just for me. While a small fortune at 179 pounds, they might just be worth it. There's something to be said for the English fashion aesthetic - at least the one that's not all tweed and jodphurs. In your face, snarky, and always a little twisted, the Brits have a way of saying it all - louder than you'd expect them to do in a quiet demure tearoom, of course.

I adore, and always have a soft spot in my heart for lace and bodices and refined, soft colors (yes, I devour historical novels). That's one Teenager Me, dreaming of her Gilbert (yes, yes, I know that's a Canadian story, but you get the picture). The other Teenager Me stomped around in what she thought was cool and not-like-anyone-else in her daddy's plaid blazer, her mother's "paint" jeans, and vests and blouses that should've stayed at the thrift store. That same Teenager Me hung with the theater crowd, which in our school was an odd mix of punk and hippie. (The same dear friends who post their kids' pics on fb one minute, and announce their attendance at a Depeche Mode concert the next, and incidentally, just gathered for a mini-reunion I missed at a local winery owned by the parents of one said friend. I raise a glass, my dears.)

Four years ago The Met had an amazing exhibit on British fashion - in which McQueen, Westwood, and the Royals all played a part. And I fell in love again. I should've done it then, and hopefully I'll do it now, but it's time to bring a little Brit punk to the world - if I can swing a 179 pound pair of boots into the budget.