Bangle and Beads

The Agate Bangle :: Watts // Blanko Noir // No flashThis ebony bangle slid from atop the stack of coloured agate bangles and off the crystal bowl, landing with a musical chime onto the sprawled loops of a pink and red jade necklace. There it sits, by the crystal container holding red and pink hued hair ties. The dramatic colours instantly have me reaching for the Hipstamatic. 

What I Actually Wore #0052

Serial #: 0052
Date: 24/11/2010
Weather: 23.5° weather warm, rains late
Time Allowed: 15 minutes – to iron the dress!

I have a date at Ladro, and probably this red silk dress is overdoing things, but well, it’s new, so it must be worn. A dress is always easy too, because all you need to do is find shoes and you’re done. Except of course unless you need to iron said dress and it adds 15mins to your skimpy dressing allowance.

I pick out a a pair of Asian-inspired wedges from Unique – they make me think of black lacquer with red trim. That footwear chain Unique has closed down now. Such a shame, because it really did sell some unique shoes. I very fondly remember some 3/4 red marching band boots with suede tassels at the side. They went to shoe heaven years ago, and I still mourn their passing. 

My other easy accessory was a little white leather vintage 70s clutch. Hair in a high ponytail, red lips and off I go.

The dress must have proved a hit with my date because he wanted to go again, but it was not to be. C’est la vie.

Items:

Dress: Pepe Jeans
Earrings: Silver baubles (hand-made by me)
Ring: Autore
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Bag: Vintage
Shoes: Unique

Rules For Black

While I hate to wear black from head to toe, black worn with white is dynamiteI’ve always been fascinated by the changing etiquette of fashion. Not so much in the sense that I desire to know the correct rules of what to wear on a given occasion (my life is hardly so formal), (and, rules are boring!), but rather in a historical context.

Two books that I have bought in recent years fit this criteria: Genevieve Antoine Dariaux’s A Guide to Elegance (first published in 1964, updated in 2003), and Elise Vallée’s The Well-Dressed Woman’s Do’s and Dont’s (first published in 1925).

There is little to be found online about the latter, but I spent a much-fascinated hour or so reading Amazon reviews on the former. I was surprised to find most of them were truly offended by this outmoded guide to elegance; a very few found it inspirational, and some read it as I: as a quaint reflection of sartorial times gone past*.

Elegance is about attitude and bearing rather than mere finery…

One reviewer was disgusted that Dariaux propounded that black in the mornings was never chic. I chuckled because, according to Vallée, bright or light day frocks were completely inappropriate and black took centre stage. What a difference 40 years make!

Dariaux declares that black should only be worn with ‘beige, white, toast; clear shades, but not pastels such as sky blue or pink (with the exception of pale yellow, but only for a hat, worn with black shoes, bag and gloves)’. What strictures! But I must wonder, why pale yellow and not pale pink for example? That seems rather arbitrary. Perhaps because a yellow hat was akin to neutral straw?

Each of us must find our own way to elegance, and it does not mean we will all be carbon copies of one another…

I have fairly strict self-imposed rules on black too, but I would never go so far as to say they are the right rules for everybody. I prefer to wear black with white, grey or beige (as Dariaux suggests first in her list). I particularly dislike it with bright hues as it reminds me of the brash – and inelegant – 80s, although I occasionally will make an exception when it seems right. Many people love the classic combination of black and white with red, but I find that a bit predictable – I’d swap the red for hot pink for example (as I did yesterday in fact). Apart from that, I make it a rule to wear black as little as possible, whatever the season.

These are my own rules for elegance. I don’t believe you can be or feel elegant if you are in the slightest bit uncomfortable or lack confidence in your chosen attire. Elegance is about attitude and bearing rather than mere finery (and these are the sections in both books where the authors truly shine). Each of us must find our own way to elegance, and it does not mean we will all be carbon copies of one another – that’s more Stepford Wife than Coco Chanel.

*I was flabbergasted that the section on Hats must have been excised from Dariaux’s book in the ‘updated’ publication. Who made that stupid decision? Why leave Veils in then – who weirs a veil (except a bride) today? And Zoology! That chapter should more clearly have been titled Pets. 

Glove Love

Glove Love, Lisbon :: Bettie XL // Blanko Noir // No flash

One of the must-shop boutiques on my list for Lisbon was a ‘gloverie’ in the Baixa-Chiado district. I had read that the shop was so tiny there was barely space to turn around in it, but the stock was a marvel. I love my accessories, so I was looking forward to visiting this store. Unfortunately, I discovered that the prices were very high, and the variety not nearly as diverse as I’d been lead to believe.

It is a long time since the heydey of the glove, when shapes and decorative embellishments (cutwork, embroidery, unusual cuffs, etc) were as varied as the customers. Today most of the gloves were simple and plain, the main point of difference being the multitude of colours available. One can find more interesting vintage gloves on eBay.

I decided against buying, still looking forward to pom-pom trimmed gloves in Morocco. (That turned out to be just another of Lonely Planet’s false leads. They have much to answer for.)

Princesses and Ropes

No, this story has nothing to do with Rapunzel, but rather a strand of magical beads…

A little while ago I stumbled upon some vintage green wooden beads. Because I wasn’t sure what to make of them, I let them sit for a while.

I was tired of short necklaces – those pieces of a certain and most common length of 17”–19”. The Princess length. I wanted to make something in an odd length; something that, if worn with some other necklace, would not clash and hit the same spot.

So I made a queenly 52” necklace. Any strand greater than 45” is termed either a Lariat, or Rope. The former has no clasp and may be worn any way one pleases; the latter has a clasp. So the vintage green wooden beads, black onyx, and two old silver-toned Moroccan beads make up my new Rope.

I may have exaggerated the magical part.