Wheeeeeee!

Sweater: Better Breton by ME! wollmeise dk in admiral and natur
Jeans: Madewell Rail Straight jeans (possibly discontinued; replacement (?) style is Alley Straight
Shoes: Sperry Top-Sider Hayden Loafers in Sahara; similar styles (with tassel) and in patent from Bass
Nails: Butter London flawless basecoat which makes a pretty good matte nude...
Lips: Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural in Aubergine N50

Today is kind of a big deal.

It's my first for-sale independently published pattern. And, to be Californian and British for a moment, I'm properly stoked. Since we already talked about this sweater a couple months ago, I'm not going to bore you with rehash. What I will say is that writing a pattern is both easier and harder than I anticipated. Easier in that numbers don't lie. Provided you start out with good notes and proper measurements, applying a to b is not that difficult. If your gauge is 24sts over 4" then to have something 32 inches wide requires 192 stitches. The End. But transposing that simple truth across ALL the measurements needed is a bit tedious and more than a bit nerve wracking (cause it's so easy to make a mistake and never realize it). Which is why (and because if I'm asking someone to pay me for something, I ought to make sure it's good), I enlisted the help of a tech editor, Joeli on ravelry, to point things out like the fact I had copied and pasted the totally incorrect and nonsensical final measurements from some (likely notepad) document onto my "final" doc.

It's also a bit difficult to trust the standards especially when you, yourself, aren't so standard. My personal neck to underarm measurement is shorter than average; my bust to waist differential is larger than average; I prefer a shorter sweater. How to reconcile those preferences with a garment that will be universally (or will aspire to be...) applicable is challenging. Do I make the adjustments to my version but write the "real" numbers into the pattern? I didn't. I made my version according to Hoyle - and I'll make my next one a little more to my norm. This not only made the process easier, but also allowed me to feel as though the sweater I was selling was also the one I was actually wearing.

So we'll see how this little experiment goes. I'll be at Rhinebeck this weekend as will ALL of the other extant Better Bretons. So if you'll be there too, look for us on Sunday and maybe, just maybe, buy yourself some yarn to make one of your own!

Tubes

Dress: Idlewood by Cecily Glowik MacDonald; Orange Flower Aran Merino Superwash in Woodsmoke; my notes and modifications on As Far As It Goes
Shoes: Ariat riding boots; similar style (and these have held up through a lot of hard use - I've had the zippers replaced, but the shoes themselves have been workhorses - see this photo of them with wildlife...)
Lips: Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural in Aubergine N50
Nails: Butter London in La Moss
Bracelet: Breil stainless steel; similar styles like an olive branch bangle, or something thinner and stackable in gold

Let's get business out of the way first: this photo was taken Tuesday and I had every intention of also writing a post on Tuesday...

I'm sure I'm not alone in impulse purchasing yarn for which no project yet exists. (Please tell me I'm not the only one.) This one-of-a-kind color needed to come live with me, but once at home didn't quite have a purpose. I had loved knitting my first Idlewood even though the yarn pilled terribly, and I love a good knitted dress, so eventually these two ideas coalesced and a project was born. It doesn't hurt that the project is on size 10 or 10.5 needles, so it really does fly. And the dress itself is great. As you can see, it will go with flattish equestrian boots and on my original project page I have it styled with my dressy boots (and perhaps a useless but delightful pair of opera length black leather gloves). However, all that fun quick knitting has, in both cases where I've knit this pattern, resulted in a pilly garment over not that much time. Interestingly enough, this yarn is 100% superwash and my other Idlewood was 80/10/10, so it's not like I can blame the cashmere.

The other problem I have is entirely my fault, but intentionally my fault, and that is because I wanted a very open cowl at the neck, there's very little fabric in the dedicated shoulder area, which means the damn thing falls off my body. Now the enormous cowl prevents this from being accidental nudity, but it is annoying to have to pull your dress up every so often. On the other hand, I have yet to exactly figure out the proper construction which gives a nice open cowl and provides enough support. My Obsidian does a better job, so I might look to it for any future cowl work.

Yet I still heartily recommend the pattern. It's super easy and super pretty and really is just a giant tube. A word of caution, though: consider putting a label in so you know which way is up. On my sweater version, because the cowl is nearly as long as the body, I cannot count the number of times I've put it on upside down. Seriously.

Two Seductions

Dress: Audrey Totter by Kristen Hanley Cardozo; The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Longhorned Beetle; my notes and modifications on I Will Vamp Your Bleep Up!
Blazer: Duskfall Blazer by Madewell; similar styles by J. Crew (nb: I will pretty much only link to J. Crew when its stuff goes on sale; I think the quality is appalling at full price and, as someone who grew up with J. Crew when it made quality clothing, I get especially ragey about it - I only just learned that Madewell is owned by J. Crew, yet at a lower price point their stuff is routinely of a much much better quality), Rag & Bone, and Vince Camuto
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik; similar styles by Pour la Victoire and Prada
Toes: Butter London in Royal Navy
Lips: Bobbi Brown Art Stick in Rose Brown
Necklace: Ever Together magnetic necklace

The first question this post answers is, yes, I do wear my knitted dresses. Whenever I can!

I remember when this pattern came out I thought it was nice. It went into my favorites. Then at 2011 Rhinebeck while waiting in line at the Sanguine Gryphon booth early in the morning, I saw it in real life. I don't remember what I had been waiting on line for, but now I was waiting in line for this! The color in person was mesmerizing. I was already planning to accidentally-on-purpose high stick anyone in front of me who tried to lay hands on the bugga I needed to make the dress. I was smitten. Like many of you, I buy at fairs like Rhinebeck and then the yarn sits around a while. Not this time. It looks as though I cast on immediately and the only reason it took so long for me to finish is that I'm pretty sure between cast-on and cast-off I got married and spent 3 weeks in Africa. I like this story because it proves that sometimes you shouldn't think, you should just do. I likely blew most of my Rhinebeck budget on the yarn for this dress and I regret nothing!

Those Prada shoes linked above at Bluefly (and not available in size 41)? I regret those. The shoes on my feet in the picture just never quite measured up. I do not like paying full price for shoes, especially the shoes I buy. And by do not like, I mean cannot afford. I saw those prada peep toes and suddenly realized I didn't own navy shoes and desperately needed some. But they were $700. Fine, I said, they'll go on sale. But they didn't. Not the first sale season after they were released, not the second, and I was getting pretty desperate. After all, I had discovered a glaring hole in my wardrobe that now hadn't been filled for well on 9 months. Enter the Manolo Blahnik 50% off summer sale. They had a pair of open-toed navy patent pumps. And instead of $700, they wanted about half that. So I bought them.

And I've regretted it ever since. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing the matter with the shoes and they're actually quite comfortable, but they're not what I wanted. The cutouts are too cutesy. These are polo match shoes, the Pradas are queen of the boardroom shoes. I wanted the latter. I'm not saying I should have spent $700 on the shoes, I honestly don't think they're worth that, but I shouldn't have been seduced by the on-sale shoes right in front of me. Just because they were cheaper, doesn't mean they were right.



So now I have a question for you: blazer buttoned or unbuttoned? I go both ways and tend to keep it unbuttoned while seated and buttoned while standing. Thoughts?

The New Monochrome

Sweater: Capricious by Elena Nodel; Cephalopod Yarns Bugga in Grey Scalloped Bar Butterfly (have I mentioned how heartbroken I am about the CY closing?); my notes and modifications on "Disraeli Blues"
Dress: Jason Wu for Target. Yes, I was one of those people who stood in line to by a Target capsule collection. If you did not wait on line, here's the thing: the dress is terribly made. I love it, but it's clearly disposable clothing. And while you can't swing a cat without hitting a black fit and flare dress, here are some I like: Shoshana's ribbon fabric variation, this boatneck dress from French Connection, and holy crap, they're giving this Banana Republic one away - despite the iffy reviews I'm nabbing a couple of sizes because if it works, it's a 30 dollar dress!
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik pink suede ankle strap sandals. A quick note on shoe substitution: I know that my shoes are not cheap. I know not everyone agrees that shoes should be such an investment. I happen to believe that if given the choice between 10 $60 pairs of cheaply made shoes with cheap material and 1 $600 pair of perfect, well-made shoes, you choose the 1 pair. So when I offer alternate styles, they're generally only from brands I trust, which are frequently expensive, though I try to find sales. After having personal bouts of bad luck with Steve Madden and Nine West, I just don't believe in the quality enough to recommend it, because even if something's only $75 that's still $75 you had to earn and you shouldn't just throw it away. That being said, if money is no object, I adore these Dolce & Gabbanas, and if you're a size 10, the deal on these Pedro Garcias can't be beat, while there are still some sizes remaining of the Proenza Schouler embellished sandals
Toes: Butter London in Royal Navy. I was going to try Essie's After School Boy Blazer, but the navy of this one is much truer.
Lips: Clinique Different Lipstick in Shy
Scarf: Giorgio Armani, similar style in blue and more reasonable alternative by Michael Stars

Everything is always the new black, but I've never been a believer. I adore navy. Adore it. Don't know why I came to my love of navy late in life, but now I want everything in navy. But not the things I want in black. see what I mean? Navy is Riviera cool, black is SoHo cool. There's a place for both, but I will never want a navy evening gown with a plunging neckline, nor will I want a black twill jacket. But monochrome, which traditionally referred to black and white uniformity, has a little more wiggle room. The dress is definitely black, but with a grey sweater, light pink - almost nude - shoes, a scarf with hints of apricot and aubergine, and navy toes, there's a diversity to the neutrals that I think works really well together. It's a bit pointillist in its execution where, from far away the colors are all of a type, but when examined more closely, there's a lot more going on.



As I mentioned, I've been on vacation for the past week and a half and vacation me is a lot different from work me. Vacation me doesn't wear makeup (I used my tinted lip balm with spf twice), doesn't shampoo her hair (I think of it as hair detox), and certainly doesn't wear her high heels. Vacation me went diving and surfing and hiking. This outfit is comforting in that it didn't take a lot of thought. That's the virtue of the monochromatic palette - it's intuitive. Everything goes with black, so it's just a question of reaching into one's closet and pulling out those things. For that week after vacation when your brain is still on the beach but your butt is solidly in an office chair, easy is good. And the reason my face is all grimace-y in the photos is not that I'm angry, it's that I'm trying not to quint at the sun.

Follow Friday | July 18, 2014

Sweater: Nora by Linda Marveng; Polo & Co Masgot Fine in gres; my notes and modifications on "Distaff"
Skirt: Loft black pencil skirt
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik (similar style in suede, in patent leather and on sale by Cole Haan)
Nails: Butter London Lady Muck



Sweater: Tyrol Jacket by Linda Marveng; madelinetosh LEDK (no longer available) in baltic; my notes and modifications on "Brenner Pass"
Skirt: French Connection black ruffled hem skirt (similar by Tibi (also in orange!!!!) and H&M)
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik black leather knee high boots (ok, so I realize the boots I'm about to link cost more than most people's monthly rents/mortgages - it is legitimately insane. Full disclosure: I bought mine for $575 at the 1/2 off sale in January of 2001 and they are THE BEST SHOES I OWN. If they were whisked off to another dimension, I WOULD spend $1500 to replace them. I would not eat for a year and/or sublet my home and sleep in my car - your mileage may vary; this pair is not exactly what I have and I like mine better, but just so you can see what's out there; I will say that if you are going to buy a staple such as these boots, DO buy them from a respected designer. If you take care of them, they will last forever and will look so much better than the pair you bought at Nine West for $200 which will fall apart in two seasons. Save up, it's worth it.)
Nails: Essie Topless and Barefoot



Sweater: Cablewing Sweater by Linda Marveng; madelinetosh LEDK (no longer available) in astrid grey; my notes and modifications on "Courchevel"
Jeans: The Gap. No joke. I bought my first EVER pair of non-Gap/Old Navy jeans last week
Shoes: Fleuvog (similar styles at very pricey Yves Saint Laurent, great deal Giuseppe Zanotti, and haven't-heard-of-the-brand-but-they-are-real-leather Halogen)
Lips: Dolce and Gabbana passion duo gloss fusion lipstick in Infatuation
Nails: Butter London Lady Muck

Phew, that was a lot of linking! You may notice that in addition to some similarities in nail polish and shoe designers, these three sweaters have something else in common: they are all designed by Linda Marveng, lindamarveng on ravelry and in the blogosphere. I got to know Linda long before I ever knit one of her sweaters because she was always so complimentary when I finished a project and posted it. I was itching to find the right project of hers to cast on because I loved her aesthetic...I just was never sure it was for me. Linda's designs are gorgeous and complex and a delight to knit; but I know some of them are far more beautiful and wardrobe friendly on other women than on me. But when I saw the test call for the Cablewing sweater, I threw caution to the wind. Perhaps it was that the sample was knit in a neutral, perhaps it was that the accompanying cowl was not part of the test, but I could see myself wearing it and loving it. And I have done both. This opened my eyes to the possibility that others of Linda's designs might also find happy homes in my closet, so two additional test knits followed - each of them a sweater I would not have foreseen myself knitting, and each of which has found a place in my wardrobe with ease.

Do I generally wear the sweaters, as styled above, with a simple ensemble? Absolutely. These pieces are standouts, little works of art, that need no more than a staple, be it a pair of dark wash jeans or a classic skirt to accompany them. I really have to thank Linda for expanding my knitting horizons and challenging me to knit with a bit more adventure. Simple pullovers and cardigans are great, but being able to make your own truly unique clothing is such a fun experience.

After discovering that Linda is featuring my Nora sweater on her blog tomorrow, it reminded me that I've been intending to do a blogroll of my own, and that rather than blabbing links all over a sidebar, I'll add slowly, writing a Follow Friday post for each addition to my link list.

Experiment x2

Sweater: Every Girl Sweater by Laura Zukaite; madelinetosh 80/10/10 fingering in fathom; my notes and modifications on "Jane Russell"
Skirt: Calvin Klein perforated leather skirt, similar or just as much fun styles at ASOS (on sale), Joseph, and just because it's outrageous, Proenza Schouler
Shoes: Giorgio Armani brown leather sandals, similar styles by Cole Haan and Diane von Furstenburg 
Lips: Buxom full-bodied lipstick in two-timer
Fingers: Butter London in Lady Muck (frankly wish it was a little summerier - my own fault for second guessing what would look good with my tan)
Toes: OPI A Roll in the Hague (might not change this color all summer long, I adore it)
Bracelet: Breil stainless steel, not at all like these also fashionable bangles

Story: There are some things I know to be true of other women my age - they style their hair and they wear jewelry. I typically do neither. It's something I aim for.

My husband bought me the earrings I wear for my 23rd birthday and it was really sweet because I spent my 23rd birthday in the hospital having a blissfully simple and majorly life-improving bit of health care. So my then-boyfriend, now-husband, bought me diamond studs. In the many years that have passed, he has asked me on numerous occasions would I enjoy an upgrade - bigger diamond studs - and I have always said no because the earrings were an indulgence for people just starting their adult lives and I value them far more for their meaning than their size (also do I really need big horking diamonds on my ears?). Other than that, I wear my rings: engagement and wedding. I've never been a jewelry person because I am so conscious of it on me. Necklaces itch my neck, bracelets and watches interfere with my arms, I just haven't ever loved being bejeweled. Furthermore, I have such simple taste when it comes to jewelry that it seems rather boring to, like today, add a simple silver bangle. But accessories are important so I can adapt.

The hair thing is a bigger mess. I am a) impatient, b) lazy, and c) the owner of less-than-perfect hair. My hair is thin, prone to unsexy frizziness, and limp on the best of blowout days (see: my wedding). I have been using Rogaine on the front of my head for over 2 years and it's still less robust than I would like it to be. I guess I could learn to tease it. See how I said, "I guess?" Implying I won't really. So I was very excited to try the notion of beachy waves. It's easy! Simply rough towel dry your hair, spritz with salt spray, and tousel. Well, we can be the co-judges of how that turns out. I think my hair just looks messy. True, I have been cutting my own bangs and that has not gone well, but I feel way less Gisele and way more Tina Fey making a joke about falling asleep with her head in a bowl of Cheetos. I will try to find other, low maintenance ways of having hair.




But let's talk about the sweater. I love this sweater. It's got a heavy Megan Draper vibe and looks great with skinny pants when I choose to wear skinny pants. I also love wearing it with my traffic-cone orange skirt as my original photos will prove out. I even like the strange length sleeves. Generally I like long sleeves, bracelet sleeves, or short sleeves, and nothing in between. I think the cutting the arm anywhere from bicep to wrist makes the arm look shorter and, therefore, less elegant, but I don't seem to mind these 3/4 length sleeves. The sweater does have an element of impracticality, namely it's wide neck, but I'd like to try to fix that perception of impracticality.

Yes, I pushed my bra straps to the side for the photos. However, this was done largely because I was appalled by how grimy the bra straps looked when I saw them in the mirror. Clearly I need to do a laundry. I don't, however, subscribe to the theory that bra straps should never ever be seen and you should be terribly embarrassed if they are seen. That is bollocks! I didn't believe it when I was a teenager and the issue started arising, and I certainly don't believe it now. I wear a bra. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. You should be more concerned if you thought I wasn't wearing one. Strapless bras are never as practical as those with straps and I really shouldn't have to put one on in the day time when I'm not going to a wedding. The bra I selected today has a similar color blue to the sweater in it so that when the straps do show, they're complementary, not hot pink. So the straps don't become the focus of the outfit. The pearl clutching associated with visible brassiere-ness really gets my anger up. It implies that women should be embarrassed by having breasts and needing to put them somewhere. I hear women, awesome women, complain that they can't wear such-and-such a bra because it isn't seamless and someone might see the seam of their bras through their shirts. So. Effing. What? I'm not advocating that you wear sheer blouses with firetruck red bras to the office because that's not appropriate on any level - you wouldn't want your male coworkers wearing sheer shirts and red ties - but I am saying that you are entitled to calm down about the exposure of bra-related things. You wear a bra, we all know it, and the end of the world will not occur if we notice that you are wearing a bra. Please stress less. Stress causes wrinkles.

Or is that only something my grandmother said?