A Few of My Favourite Things

Travelling to and from France every six months has got me to thinking about going back and forth with just a carry-on. The problem is my favourite things take up more space than a carry-on allows and having two of everything might be economically challenging.

NICE: Here goes an analysis of what I should actually be doing with those favourite things.

Cobalt Smythe "Duchess" blazer
Photo Source: ShopSmythe

Cobalt Blue Smythe Duchess Blazer: Having two is economically prohibitive at this time. I wear it as my travel outfit. Problem: it looks best with jeans and I like a more comfortable pair of pants, which necessitate my black blazer. This in itself is ironic because I have more than one black blazer but my lightweight single-button Sandro blazer (purchased in 2016) travels best. So now I'm taking back two blazers.

LBD Photo by JoyD.

Little Black Dress: I cannot tell you when I bought this because it is so long ago now, I have forgotten but it still is my favourite LBD. I have purchased others but they have not stood the test of the fickle time of fashion. This one has. And I still fit into it. It still gets me through the most basic luncheon to a gala event. I can't leave home without it.

Little Navy Dress: I should leave one of these two dresses behind. Last year I didn't bring my navy one back to Canada and I did go looking for it a few times before recalling that it was in France. It's a MaxMara dress I bought ages ago in a consignment store in Calgary. Perhaps this year I should take it back and leave the LBD in France. It's a thought.

Dark Blue Denim Jeans: Like my LBD, my dark blue denim jeans take me everywhere and look great with my Duchess cobalt blazer. They come back and forth between France and Canada and accompany me on every vacation, whether a weekend or two weeks. The pants I'm wearing are more flexible, black and white check, stretch that travels well.

Linen matching top and trousers: My latest purchase when I visited Arcachon at the end of September was a linen matching top and trousers. Funny . . .  the label says Orto Botanico Italia yet I have not found the clothing company online. Perhaps I have not tweaked in on the word/tag that needs to be used to get me to their site. I see this outfit as a "lounging" or "hostess" outfit as my mother called them - simply comfortable clothing that looks elegant yet casual.

What do I leave in France? It would seem from my analysis that the little navy dress or the LBD should stay behind. The linen top and trousers are a possibility as well since I will be in Canada for the winter and a linen outfit in the winter seems incompatible.

NO THANKS: Well, after having written all of that, I have decided to leave the little navy dress in France.

One more thing to add: I need my denim jacket!

Photo by JoyD.

Yet another thing to add: A white Burberry shirt. Two or three years ago I tried to return a Burberry shirt because the metal appliqués were falling off. I called the location in London and the person I spoke with told me to send the shirt to their address in London with an explanation of what I wanted done. I did that. The package was returned to France - return to sender - without ever being opened. I was annoyed but not enough to pursue it and so I am taking my Burberry shirt back to Canada to see if I can get the collar replaced by a wonderful seamstress I discovered a couple of years back. The story is too long and I only get frustrated when retelling it and so here is a photo of the collar I need replaced. I probably would never have tried to return it if it was a cheaper shirt but it was a Burberry shirt and well, I don't need to relate the price because it is after all a Burberry shirt. I'm not so fond of Burberry anymore.

Photo Source: Lyst (Retrieved Oct. 31/17)

I will be taking my Harris Wilson camel coat back to Canada with me. I left it in France last year when I bought it because I had a coat to wear and did not want to take two. As it turned out the weather was wonderful during October in France this year and I never did wear it this year. I will have better use of it in Canada.

NOTE-WORTHY: And then there are four scarves and my pyjamas. 

I'm good to go!

ITSO . . . In the Syle of . . . Amal Clooney

"[Amal] clearly seized the moment, and could very well be on her way to becoming one of the great style icons of our day," Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Linda Fargo wrote (via Vanity Fair), "And not just because of what she chooses to wear, but because underneath the clothes, we admire her intelligence, activism, globalism, and her clear confidence in her own skin." (Retrieved March 13, 2018 from http://www.thelist.com/33496/stunning-transformation-amal-clooney/s/she-nails-every-look/)

Amal Clooney's best looks come when she is in her professional wardrobe. No, I'm not referring to the legal robes.

Photo Source: express.co.uk
Retrieved October 21, 2018

Wearing white or cream would make you stand out in a room full of dark suits. Whereas men might feel that it would be impossible to wear anything but a dark suit, women can use the stark opposite of white or cream to make a statement. Compare this suit to the centre one of the three InStyle photos below. The longer pencil skirt has a much better "look" than the flared shorter version.

On the InStyle website the following three images depict Clooney in professional garb. My favourite is on the far left. As I have already indicated, I don't care for the flared skirt with the short jacket in the middle photograph. There's something about knees, the longer pencil skirt just looks better or perhaps it's the photographic angle that is to blame. The dress on the right appears more as something she would wear to a "summer lunch" while in Italy. 

Photo Source: InStyle Retrieved October 21, 2018

Photo Source: Huffington Post

If not white, then red. Once again, no need to wear a dark suit and blend in with everyone else. There's that longer pencil skirt again. In ibtimes.com.au, Mary Alice Stephenson, fashion expert and founder of Glam4Good, was quoted, referring to how Amal Clooney has the same attitude about clothing, as Princess Diana had, “She understands how clothes can draw attention and make a statement.”  

Amal Clooney appears very comfortable in her skin in skirted suits even if she is drawing attention and making a statement.