ITSO . . . In the Style Of Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham's style is one of my favourites to research. Even with her, there are some No Thanks looks that make one wonder, "what were you thinking?"

NOTE-WORTHY  

Wide Leg Trousers. It is interesting that Victoria Beckham often wears either skinny skinny jeans or loose over-sized wide leg pants. I like them, even though you do not see them often on the streets. I personally am not fond of turtlenecks on myself but I love the casual look and the warmth portrayed. Although when you notice the snow on the street, what the guy behind her is wearing and that it was February, you want to say, "It's not that warm, Victoria."

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2017
Photo Source: StyleBistro

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2016
Photo Source: StyleBistro

NICE

Photo copied from: designerzcentral.com

Pencil Skirt and Over-sized Sunglasses. This photo keeps recurring when I search for pencil skirt - Victoria Beckham. I don't know the original source of the photo nor the year it was taken but it demonstrates to me, the Victoria Beckham look I love. 

The oversize sunglasses are another signature look that some might consider overdone. If she is in an airport, one does wonder why in the world she would be wearing them.

Designerzcentral.com called this look classic simple and that is my constant and never-ending goal for the look I want to portray. Compare it to the two "No Thanks" looks. There is no contest; the leaner slimmer look of the pencil skirt makes her appear in control, self-confident and successful. The other skirts illustrated here under the "no thanks" heading, seem disproportionate for her figure, the pink is too cutesy and the aqua just looks wrong.

NO THANKS

The Chunky Wedge and Matchy Matchy. Not my favourite look for Beckham. For a woman who can pull off the strappy stilletto sandal as a normal walking shoe and has made it a signature look, this shoe just doesn't live up to what Victoria Beckham should be wearing.

The second "No Thanks" look is the masculine big shirt with a skirt made of a fabric that looks like something from a tacky 1980s bridesmaid gown. Even her signature strappy sandals cannot save this look.

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2015
Photo Source: StyleBistro

Victoria Beckham, New York City, 2016
Photo Source: StyleBistro

3 Spring Must Haves: the Dress, the Shoes, the Bag

NEED for Spring 2017

a silky or slinky dress  

matching flats or heels

the cinch bag

Photo Source: Lucian Matis

A dress in a floral pattern can be the basis for you to indulge in your love of shoes. Buy a dress like this design by Lucian Matis and choose one of the colours for your shoes to complement the dress. The patterned shoes in the photo just don't do it. 

Focus on the pinks, reddish-oranges, yellows and greens and search your shoe stash or buy some new ones in each of those colours. The pantone colours for spring are not pastel and not the neon brights. They seem to be earthier, subdued; what you might find in Victorian chintz.

Photo Source: Pantone

Photo Source: DailyMail

With Pantone identifying "flame", an orangey-red, as one of the top 10 colours for Spring, 2017, it would be fun to have a silky dress in that colour. Your ensemble for casual summer weddings would be taken care of with a matched combination like that. Like Pippa Middletone, you could even go shopping in New York or out for lunch in that matched set and not feel overdressed.

Whether floral or solid, the dress and the shoes are the focus. The bag is strictly functional and would look great in either hazelnut, niagra or kale. 

There must be something in your closet in the 2017 spring colour tones. Resurrect it and add something new to update it and voila, you are aware of the trends without looking overtly trendy.

My personal taste is more subdued and so I would likely choose "island paradise", "pale dogwood" or "niagra" if I were to search for a a dress-shoes match.

Photo Source: Nordstrom

Bags for the spring are interesting. They range from gigantic oversized to credit card tiny. The bag in the middle is the cinch bag, which is reinstated every three or four years. Nordstrom is already sold out of this one, which looks like it could pass for the colour, "hazelnut". Several luxury houses such as Lancel always have a cinch bag available albeit in materials and finishes that eventually date it. My Lancel "flirt bag" is leather with a stamped finish and that is what dates it. I still love my Lancel "flirt" but there you have it, no matter what, we are victims of the trend and colour of the moment. 

The 2017 spring trends don't seem outlandish or out of the typical closet colour spectrum and so with a little ingenuity, you may be able to reuse, reassemble and make it look so Spring 2017.

Traxx: Amazing Shoe Store in Saskatoon Saskatchewan

Closet Content Analysis: Unexpected Find #1

NEW and NICE

I've driven and walked by the Traxx shoe store many times and have never ventured in. I had the impression that all they carried were hiking boots and "comfortable" shoes. It was conversation at a dinner party last weekend that inspired me to visit the store. Yesterday for the first time, I walked into Traxx and left with a pair of "comfortable" Semler sneakers but found much more. I believe the family run business's original goal was to provide hardy and comfortable footwear for all reasons and seasons but it has certainly evolved. Now they carry it all, from very fashionable funky $400.00 stilettos to $400.00 hiking boots. Who knows, perhaps those stilettos are more comfortable than over the top designer brands. I recognized some of the brand names but not of the stilettos.

The Traxx online presence is as successful as their storefront. The left hand sidebar on the website's home page lists the brand names of the shoes they carry. This is most convenient when you have fallen in love with a particular shoe and know what you want.

I am still a face-to-face shopper and I don't believe that I would have ever bought the Semler sneakers from the pictures I saw online. I had no idea about the German-made Semlers and only bought them because they were 60% off from the original $305.00 - all leather, including lining, and obviously excellent craftsmanship.

Photo Source: Traxx, Saskatoon, SK Canada

Photo Source: Traxx, Saskatoon, SK Canada

Loving my new Semlers!

Flats vrs. Heels

Closet Content Analysis: Shoes in my Closet

Choices: Flats to High Heels

You can never take too much care over the choice of your shoes. Too many women think that they are unimportant, but the real proof of an elegant woman is what is on her feet.

— Christian Dior

First off, M./Mr. Dior, let us remove the gender specific language. In fact, "too many (people) think. . . " that shoes are trivial . . . "but the real proof of an elegant (person) is what is on (his or her) feet." Bon! Yes, exactly. For me, relative to the female gender, I need heels to feel elegant. I was often asked at work, why I wore heels. My response simply was "because I can". Too many women, of a particular age, have foot problems and I don't. I have worn heels, wear heels, and will continue to wear heels as long as those tender tootsies of mine can handle it. 

When I was asked about how it was that I could wear such high heels at work, and I had the time to respond, I sometimes was impertinent . . . "Listen . . .  I have been an insulin-dependent diabetic for over 40 years, I have worn glasses since I was seven years old, I have worn hearing aids longer than I can consciously remember and my feet . . . well they are perfect! From the neck up I'm a wreck! Damn, I'm going to wear heels until . . .  until I can't and that hasn't happened yet!"

I can't concentrate in flats. 

— Victoria Beckham 

Nude Jimmy Choo Open Toe Heels purchased in 2011. Photo by JoyD.

From my posts you would think that the only pair of heels I own are my nude open toe Jimmy Choos. Yes, I do own others but these definitely are my favourites and they still are, even though I bought them in 2011.

My lifestyle has changed and so there are more flats in my life but I still love the heels!

Photo Source: JoyD on http://PhotoCollage.net
Disclaimer: The ballet flats in the upper left corner are not mine, nor are those my feet. Thanks to Aiden Joel from Calgary for the pic since I did not have a photo of the one and only pair of ballet flats that I own. All other shoes are mine (a small sample) and have been worn by me over the past ten years.

My Favourite Clothing to Pack

Here it is the spring and I am packing winter clothing in my one check-in bag for Europe. What's wrong with this picture? Absolutely nothing since my summer closet is adequate in Ste. Foy but I will need more cold weather clothes since I am staying until February. However, I like my husband's attitude. He reminds me every time he sees me pondering over my suitcase,"All you really need to pack is your credit card". 

In fact, it's more a matter of packing some of my favourite things that I keep toting back and forth between Canada and France. 

NICE

My LBD. Photo by JoyD.

1. My LBD: Perhaps it's time to buy one in France and leave this one in Canada but it has been a staple in my closet for years. It fits perfectly. The length is proportional for my height. The lines are classic and adaptable to any season. There's nothing more I can ask of it. It owes me nothing.

2. My skinny jeans: Again it's a matter of fit. My blue and black jeans have served me well over the past year and I want them with me in France. 

3. My black, white and navy v-neck short-sleeve t-shirts. Of course I can buy t-shirts in France but again it's the fit, the length and the quality of cotton that makes me buy and pack these over and over again. Believe it or not, they are the $8.00 Joe Fresh t-shirts that I have written about before.

My Jimmy Choo heels. Photo by JoyD.

4. My dark taupe ballet flats and my beige Jimmy Choo heels. I keep carting these back and forth only because they are the only ballet flats I own. As for the Jimmy Choos, they serve me better than my black heels.

5. My black blazer and my black and white patterned blazer. I usually wear the black blazer on the plane. Like the LBD, the black blazer is a staple that probably needs to soon be replaced but until then I shall take it back and forth.

NEW: Last week, Louise K. gifted me with a woollen snood that she knit. I'll be taking that to France and leaving it there to help take away the January chill.

NEED: In addition, for the purposes of this trip, I have included several wool and cashmere sweaters since I'll be there during the rainy winter. I'm re-thinking the underwear - again I'll take only a few of my favourite pieces since there's no better country in the world to buy lingerie than France. And that's it. Whatever I need can be accommodated with my credit card!

Age Appropriate?

I don't like it when people say, "You're 45, so you should be wearing X and never Y". For me, dressing is about attitude, not age.

- Twiggy 

OK Twiggy, I'm over 45 and I do think that there are times that I should be "wearing X and never Y". I will agree that attitude plays a part but sometimes one's attitude can influence them to make inappropriate choices. As a teacher once told me, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".

For the most part, people are kind and will not criticize what you have chosen to wear. But what about the times when you or maybe someone else wants to say something, but doubt arises for a variety of reasons and so nothing is said? My mother used to voice the saying, "When in doubt, don't!" 

Here are some of the things that others have suggested people at a particular age should not wear.

Closet Choice: NICE OR NO THANKS?

Your Choice . . .

When and with what do we stop?

1. Skinny jeans/pants. I'm still wearing mine and I love them. I know more women who are 45+ wearing them than not. I don't see a problem. Should I? They are becoming a classic, a basic in the closet.

2. Short shorts or short skirts. I've given them up but there are others who haven't. Is this unreasonable?

My Favourite Jimmy Choos. Photo by JoyD's husband.

3. Heels. I have a pair of Jimmy Choo's. I love them. I wear them and I will wear them as long as I can; yet there are those who say high heels should be given up when you reach a particular age. My feet are in good shape - no fallen arches, no bunions and I have decent legs. I won't give up my heels until my feet tell me to.

4. Denim. Now I think this is ridiculous but someone somewhere put doubt in my mind. Where did I hear that after a particular age one should not wear denim? To me, this one is not debatable. In fact, I began watching for denim and it appears that is is the fabric of choice amongst the 50+ age group. Does this mean they are all wrong? Mind, there are a few questionable choices made by some, but for the most part denim is worn well by all those I see on the street. This too is an evolution of what is considered a classic.

5. Cleavage revealing tops. What is too old for those women who have great skin and beautiful cleavage and the attitude to pull it off?

OK Twiggy, I will defer to you . . . attitude does seem to be the discerning factor.

What would happen if . . .

I recall a creative thinking exercise at a workshop I attended many years ago. The question posed to us was, "What would happen if all the cars in the world were painted yellow?" The consequences ranged from outright revolution to personal individualization. My response was that individualization would take place by adopting accessories for the cars that would likely reflect the extreme, bizarre and eccentric depending upon the personality type of the car owner.

And so it is with fashion. I can imagine the same exercise being presented in design classes. We all wear clothing and if we were all mandated to wear black, you can imagine the accessories that would develop.

What would happen if everyone was mandated to wear black ?

Given that there would be variations with the clothes themselves but since all is black, accessories would become more important to illustrate one's individuality (think of Fred Butler designs.) . . .

the belt . . . belts would probably evolve much differently than what we see now. They might extend upward and downward in such a way that would not only embellish the torso but extend into decorative trains and wings.

Coral, silver & black statement necklace by JoyD.
Photo by JoyD.

the jewellery . . . fashion costume jewellery would abound and I suspect choices, such as the ones Iris Apfel makes, would be the norm. More facial (for example: nose rings, eyebrow decoration) and more elaborate and unconventional ear jewellery would also evolve.



the bag . . . purses would probably not be much different since their function is the same and does not necessarily have a direct impact on the clothing worn.



footwear . . . similar to bags, shoes would also not develop differently than they are now, except our choices would probably lean toward what would be considered more eccentric and most certainly there would be more colour. There is no shortage of bizarre footwear presently.

Photo Source: Parasite 

frames for eye-glasses . . . designs like Parasite would be the norm and glasses would be viewed in the same way jewellery is by everybody who needed to wear corrective lenses. 

Photo Source: Just Posh Masks

In fact, decorative eye masks (See Just Posh Masks) would probably develop for special occasions.


hats and hair accessories . . . once again creative extensions of what exists today but bolder and bigger.



gloves . . . the long and short of it; obviously more colourful and certainly more decorative.

Chica Blue Shawl handmade by C. Murphy.

Photo by JoyD. 

the scarf, shawls, capes . . . colourful combinations would predominate with large and larger sizes coupled with ingenious ways of tying them.

tattoos . . . definitely more people would have tattoos that would be larger, more colourful and probably in more conspicuous places.

I have never taught in a design school but I'm thinking that this exercise would elicit curious and creative results.

I just may use an adaptation of this exercise for my own design purposes: what would happen if . . . 

The LBD: Season-less Style

Closet Fashion Analysis: Dresses that are Black

Clothing Choices: Little and Black and a Dress

NICE

One is never over-dressed or under-dressed with a little black dress. 

—  Karl Lagerfeld

Lunch in a LBD in Paris, 2012.
Photo by the waiter serving JoyD and her husband.

When many of us think of the LBD, we think of cocktail hour or evening wear. The LBD can be worn morning, noon and night - to work or to entertain or to be entertained. 

When a little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear in its place.

- Edith Piaf

What is the little black dress?

• a must-have - a wardrobe essential

• constant, reliable and always appropriate

• easy to wear
• available in every style imaginable
• season-less

Purple shoes to colour block with a little black dress.
Photo by JoyD.

• a canvas to colour-block accessories or display a special statement necklace, but that's more an evening thing 
• a medium to portray the woman you are 

This woman was in the Bordeaux airport, mid-afternoon, at arrivals last fall. Excuse the quality of the photo but I was trying to be discrete! I don't know who she was or who she was waiting for but the person landing in Bordeaux should have been impressed with this reception.

Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.

- Coco Chanel

Other Closet Fashion Content Analysis posts featuring the LBD:

Black is a Canvas (July, 2014)

The Dress - the Sheath - the LBD (April, 2012)

Black is a Canvas

One Choice: Black

Closet Content Analysis: An Eternal LBD

Note-Worthy

Jessica Quirk wrote in a post on her blog, What I Wore, "I am a firm believer that nothing is the new black. Black is the only black . . . " I agree with her 100%. To call any colour the "new black" is wishful thinking at most, particularly when colours like orange or lime green are professed to be this "new black". Black is the perpetual "basic". So to say that orange is the "new black" is ludicrous. Everyone can wear black; not everyone can wear orange or lime green or would want to.

Black is a canvas, a base - with a solid base, you can put anything on it.

- JoyD Gulas

Insofar as basics go, I have tried to move toward navy and camel in the summer or pastels and grey or khaki and brown but I always return to a combination of black, white and beige accessorized with the colour of the day. This comfortable, easy combination got me through traveling between continents at any time of the year, summer weddings in Canada and abroad, and just day to day living in Canada and in France.

Photo by JoyD.

Black is a canvas, a base - with a solid base, 

you can put anything on it.

- JoyD Gulas

Note-Worthy: I can only guessimate how old this LBD is. It was the one item I kept when I was too big to wear anything in my closet. I have been wearing it again for three years now, add that to the three years it sat in my closet and the two or more I had it before then, the dress has to be at least 8 to 10 years old. I still feel good in it and sheath styles similar are still being sold. It also acts as a measure when it is becoming a tad tight . . . of course, you know what has to be done then.

I have had other LBDs but this one has been eternal and I don't have any intentions of buying a new one.

Here are the ways I have worn this LBD:

1. For work - with a blazer style jacket, from floral to plaids including melanges of colour and solids.

2. For evening and more formal events - with a statement necklace or stacked bracelets and cuffs and the highest heels I can manage.

3. For casual lunches, brunches or other events - with a cardigan, scarf, black tights and flats, ballet or oxford style.

As you see, my LBD is a canvas and I create as need arises . . . 

I have written about my LBD in previous posts . . . here they are:

The Dress – The Sheath – The LBD
Closet Requirements Relative to Lifestyle

Traveling Europe: Clothing Observations in France Italy andSpain

Spring 2013: The Necklace or Sunglasses?

How does black function in your closet, or rather on your body?