New Ears Eve: Miss Cavendish Hearts Kate Spade's Bunny Accessories

Today I upgraded my phone and needed a new case. When I went to Kate Spade, my avatar was delighted to see the new "magic" collection, or as I call it, "bunny ears."

Interested readers can explore Kate's website, but I'll share my two favorites here:

the top-hat bag:

and my new iphone case:

The bunny-ear applique is on dove-grey leather, which doesn't show up so well in this photo. When you open it up, like a book, your phone appears, as if by magic.

Wishing every reader tonight a very Happy New Ears Eve!

The Shape of Things: Two Picks for 2017

Two shapes I love for the New Year:

These boots by Christian Louboutin

and this perfume bottle from Miu Miu.

I have no idea what the fragrance is like, but the bottle makes me happy every time I see it.

The Edit: Small Caps (Cap Sleeves on Puffers)

As puffer jackets shrink and become thinner, it only makes sense that their shapes shrink too. The puffer jacket wth cap sleeves is enticing because it suggests more polish and style than a vest.

A favourite is from the Italian company Herno, pictured right, avec pussy bow, and below, sans:

Even though I've seen this jacket worn over a short sleeve, I don't recommend it, as the effect is a bit too Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love, aka not a flattering length/look.

Moncler has a version, too:

And there's a less pricey one at Kohl's, as well:

My editing pencil stets them all.

Pom-Pom Power

When I was little I desperately wanted a poodle because I LOVED the idea of pom-poms. Little did I know that a pom-pom-ed poodle would require meticulous grooming that was beyond my 10-year-old self. In fact, the only enduring pom-pom was the one in his name.

Over the last couple of seasons pom-poms have been appearing in miniature on scarves, shorts, bags, dresses, etc. I still like the dramatic touch of an oversized, often spare pom, though, as on these garments:

Diane von Furstenberg hat, to the right, circa 2009:


Universal Utility by Carin Mansfield, below:

Eugenia Kim baseball cap with pom, below:

And my childhood inspiration:

My own goldendoodle wears a more wild and woolly Scottish sheep coiffure:

                                     

But his "mother" *could* feel a bit like a poodle in these pom-pom-ed sneakers by Steve Madden:

Farewell, George Michael

Powder Puff Winter Style: Think Pink

As I sit by the glow of my Christmas tree in my deep-pinkish-red room, fluffy snowflakes falling outside my window, I'm currently obsessing over something equally pink and fluffy: this hat and these slides.

The pink baseball cap is from Opening Ceremony and also comes in an appealing camel (as well as more run-of-the mill black, leopard, and gray). The camel reminds me of butterscotch pudding, which adds to its appeal.

But it's the pink that evokes the old-time glamour of my mother's dressing-table powder puff. I'd love to wear this out in the snow with any jacket or coat.

Then these pink mink slides from Givenchy break all my rules: I don't like slides, I don't seek out fur. But these have a delicate sturdiness, coupled with a frivolous seriousness that I like.

And then these Miu Miu sandals have no business being shown during winter, but I think that their jeweled feathery embellishments are delightful. They remind of of Christmas ornaments, angel wings, and tinsel.

I could either hang them on my Christmas tree, or wear them underneath.

Miss C on Dark Florals or Night Blooms in Selvedge Magazine's "Wild" Issue

As the days grow darker, so do my thoughts on fashion.

Here's my latest piece for London's beautiful Selvedge Magazine's "Wild" issue, on dark florals, or "night blooms," as I've titled the article.

Literary and/or Canadian readers will find a reference to Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table; cinemaphiles will spy  Barbara Stanwyck-esque beauty wearing what I'm calling "floral fatale"; and royal followers may recognize (the name of) Princess Elizabeth of Toro, the lawyer and diplomat from Uganda who was also an important model in the late 1960s. The photo on the opening page is "The Dress Lamp Tree, England," by Tim Walker (2002).

It's an eclectic garden.

Go Take A Hike: I'm Prada These Boots

I have a long-cherished pair of hiking boots from J.Crew--black with scarlet laces. They've been mine for over twenty years now, and I feel like an Alpine Edelweiss when I wear them.

And although they come in handy for climbing ev'ry mountain, there are some times when a lass needs to traverse a lunar landscape. So I'm considering turning to Prada, and these terrific hikers that are just right for leaping over craters or stalking the milky way.

September 11, 2016

Fifteen years ago at 9:30 a.m. I was getting ready to teach The Great Gatsby, not having any idea what was happening in New York, or Pennsylvania, or DC.

Now, instead of considering "the single green light" from Gatsby, I see this double blue light, remember and honor the past, and look forward.

A Tail of Two Shoes, or: The Zebra's Tale. Gucci's Delightful Mary Janes

Jenna Lyons from J Crew calls new shoes "shiny ponies"; Gucci's taken that one step further with these cunning zebra Mary Janes, replete with glossy black tails.

After seeing these, pompoms seem solastyear, and all I can think about is corralling a matched set to pull my carriage.

Anyone else want to take a ride?

Mens Where? Shirting Fabric in Feminine Shapes at Johanna Ortiz

I love men's shirting fabric, especially when it's done up in a feminine manner, with oversized frills and balloon sleeves.

In the 1990s Byron Lars owned the feminine take on shirting, with his architectural fits, and now the mantle seems to have been passed to Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz.

I'd pair these with a darker denim than pictured (from Net a Porter), or maybe a short khaki short. And definitely a grey pencil skirt.

Bottoms Up: Dressing Upside Down in New York Magazine

I love clothes worn in unexpected ways, and New York Magazine's fashion issue did not disappoint with its series of restaurant employees wearing clothes inside out, upside down, or bottom as top.

My two favourite looks were on Kellie Jones, a server at Lovely Day, who wore this wide brim Ralph Lauren hat topsy turvey. (I intensely dislike wide-brim hats like this [the floppier the worse] but I may revise my thinking now that there's a chic way to wear them.)

And this upside-down gown by Oscar de la Renta was just meant to be gathered into billowing pink clouds. Jones clutches them as if she were Daisy Buchanan, ready to push Gatsby around.

Gone Bowling: In Remembrance of Mushroom Hair Past

When I was little, in the 1970s, I loved reading the ad pages in my comic books as much as I loved the comics themselves: Archie, Millie the Model, horror comics, romance comics.

My favourite ad was for a mushroom wig, which I thought was the dernier cri in chic. The ad I remember featured that wig among a bevy of other wigs; current research turns up this singleton version, in its full bowl beauty:

Last spring Gucci reclaimed the mushroom via model Peyton Knight, who wears it in the top right image.




I recall also loving this look on Toni Tennille, here with her glorious bulldogs:

on Joanna Lumley's Purdey:

but not, alas, on me. And I should have know; I never eat mushrooms.

By the way, I also thought that Marie Osmond, circa 1976, wore a cropped mushroom / bowl, but I was wrong:

I did realize, however, that Taylor Swift, circa 2016, is wearing Marie's hair.

Carolina on my Mind

Mr. C bought me a vintage arts and crafts dining table, with wonderful, thick, carved wood legs. It comes with six chairs, which I have not yet seen(!) but which, he assures me, will need to be reupholstered.

I've thus been losing myself in furnishing fabrics on the Internet, imagining what would suit my unseen chairs.

My first inclination was to buy fabric from Liberty, but curiously enough, I could not locate any home fabrics in the United States, and I am too impatient to order from England.

Then I thought I would try William Morris, C. F. V. Voysey fabrics, or classic arts and crafts fabrics, but they looked too old and too dark.

So I turned my eye to more youthful fabrics, and rediscovered Carolina Irving. I'd swooned over her textiles in Vogue a while ago, but had forgot about them as I didn't have anything to be covered!

I adore, of course, the beautiful Aegean Stripe, shown here in two colourways, and also Indian Flower.

James Corden's Carpool Karaoke with Britney Spears: Auto Tune Edition

Someone had to make that pun, right?  It came to me the second I saw that Britney Spears was singing along with James Corden.

The first auto tune they crooned is "Oops! I Did It Again!", a song I had happily ignored until I took a trip to London and wandered into a high street shop--maybe Zara, maybe Topshop; I don't remember.

Anyway, when I walked over the threshold, into the shop, this song was blaring at discotheque levels, and it suddenly seemed SO RIGHT! But then I left the shop and the song returned to so wrong.

In the video Britney is wearing a choker,

and so I present a few favourites from Manet.