Winter Accessory 3: Mittens & Gloves

Closet Content Analysis: Upgrade Basic Winter Outerwear 

Necessary Choices: Mittens & Gloves

NICE     NECESSARY     NEED     NOTE-WORTHY

To match or not to match is the question. There are those who love the matched sets - snood and mittens, scarf and gloves, toques and mittens in the same colour, colour combinations and knits. I don't usually buy matched sets of these items and prefer to wear leather gloves although they are not the best choice for really cold weather. My favourite "matched set" is my Burberry check scarf (see the previous post) with red leather gloves - black and tan are nice too. 

NICE: If you need to protect your hands from the moderate cold, or you simply want to look fashionable, whatever the motivation, leather gloves fill the requirements. Leather gloves can be expensive and very expensive but if you care for them and don't lose them then your investment comes back tenfold. Consider a cost per wear on gloves that some of us have to wear everyday over a six month period - at the worst of times.

The nicest gloves I ever owned were purchased in Italy - cashmere lined, longer than wrist length but shorter than elbow length, red in colour and the most fashionable gloves I have ever put on my hands. Unfortunately I have no idea where they are - I don't know if I lost them or simply packed them away when I left for my 6 month stint in Europe and now cannot find them. I always have a black pair in every pocket and never seem to lose my black gloves.

NEED TO FIND or BUY: These gloves provide me with the criteria when searching for a new pair. They may have been "gauntlet" length which is about 11 inches but I thought they were a little longer than that. Of course, I never thought to measure them when I bought them. The best way to describe the length would be to compare them to rubber gloves that are sold for household use - longer for dipping hands into sinks of water.

NECESSARY: If it's frigid, mittens are a better choice. The warmth of your body is a greater insulator than the fabric encircling your fingers and so mittens "outwarm" gloves. My favourite mittens are either angora or mohair - I love fuzzy yarn for mittens. My husband once bought me a pair of blue and grey angora mittens at the farmers' market but I don't know where those are either. Although I have never owned a pair, the warmest are apparently "felted" wool mittens. They cost more because the mittens are knitted to be gigantic and then they are washed in hot water, shrinking the wool and thereby "felted".

NOTEWORTHY: If it's fashion not frigidity that you are trying to master unlined leather gloves are less expensive and mold to your hand in a way that lined gloves do not.

Photo Source: Leather Gloves Online

NEED: This is not so much "need" as desire - a pair of gloves in each and every colour - now that's a collection I wouldn't mind beginning.

NEED to Know when Buying Gloves: Snug is best. Leather stretches and if the glove has room to spare and long in the fingers when purchased they will become sloppy after a short period of pulling on and off and wearing. At the same time I write that, I am thinking about a friend whose personal preference is to have more room in the fingers for what he calls "insulation value". 

Winter Accessory 2: the Scarf

Closet Content Analysis:

Upgrade Basic Winter Outerwear

NECESSARY Choice: the Scarf

NECESSITY: When the wind is howling, it finds its way under, down, and through you. A scarf simply crossed over at the neck makes a world of difference and when the thermometer goes below minus 10, a scarf at the neck is even more important. 

Burberry Scarf Look Alike
Photo: JoyD

Burberry Check Company Trademark

NICE: For me, make that a soft merino wool, cashmere or a wool/cashmere/silk blend. I can't explain to you honestly or scientifically that the natural yarn is warmer than acrylic but I do prefer the natural fibres. My favourite scarf is cashmere, basically a copy of the "Burberry check" which was developed in the 1920s and originally used as lining in the luxury brand's trench coats. I bought my scarf in Scotland at a shop selling cashmere items but it is not the official Burberry brand - a knock off I guess.

Regional tartan of Canada: 

Saskatchewan

Cornwall's National Tartan (England)

These two particular tartans, one from Canada, and the other from England are similar to the Burberry check.

Photo Source: The Knatty Knitter

NO THANKS: My scarf needs to be lightweight, smooth and wrappable, not bulky. And so I say "no thanks" to a long thick bulky knit scarf but in fact, it all depends on the proportion of the bulk. So although quite beautiful, as this one posted on The Knatty Knitter, I prefer a less bulky yarn. I do love the colour and a pair of bulky knit mittens in that colour would be perfect with my Burberry look alike scarf. But that's the next post . . . 

NOTE-WORTHY: Although I say "no thanks" to a bulky knit scarf, I don't mind the bulky knit snood. It must be the wrapping process and what to do with the two ends of the scarf that add extra bulk that befuddle me.

Winter Accessory 1: the Snood

Closet Content Analysis:

Upgrade Basic Winter Outerwear

NICE Choice: the Snood

The next few posts will be dedicated to frigid winters (with apologies to those who do not experience the winters that this Canadian writer does). Since it is uneconomical to buy a new coat/jacket/parka every winter, the best strategy is to accessorize. 

I'll start with my favourite winter accessory: the snood - think scarf joined at the ends to form a circle, which is pulled over the head, in the most simplistic short version or if a little longer, to go twice around.

The more elaborate styles incorporate enough fabric for a "hood" that is pulled up from the back and then falls into a beautiful cowl neckline. I have seen them in faux and real fur, knitted or in woolen fabrics. Visit Swakdesigns.etsy.com for some beautiful hand-knitted snoods.

Photo Source: Swakdesigns

Photo Source: Swakdesigns

Photo Source: Burberry snood from The Telegraph

Burberry has shown the snood perennially for men and women in both solid colour cable knit and the classic Burberry plaid. This photograph is from 2009 however as stated they are a perennial winter fashion statement. Men and women are both comfortable wearing snoods and there's just something about the way they crumple into a cowl around the neck that makes for a chic look.

Photo Source: Brorablog

When choosing a snood, you need to consider proportion relative to the coat or jacket, style (long, short, simple, "hooded"), function ("hooded" or not) and of course, colour. I have accessorized my basic grey, brown and black coats and jackets with red but the baby blue as seen on the Brorablog is quite lovely and much more subtle than the red I chose.

You can do exactly what this photograph demonstrates and that is to pick one of the more subtle colours in a tweed or plaid and match your winter accessories to it.

Sweaters

Cozy Choices

A Clostet Content Analysis: Bulky Knit Sweaters

NICE         NO THANKS         NOTE-WORTHY

Sweater, n.: garment worn by a child when its mother is feeling chilly.

- Ambrose Bierce

Photo Source: Aran sweater from Blarney Woolen Mills 

I was in Ireland a few years back and although, it was June, I was cold - the humidity got to me. So much so that the sweaters aka jumpers, I know as "fisherman knit", looked very appealing. Trouble was, I was on my way to France and the need for a fisherman knit sweater from June to September was unlikely. In Ireland they were called Aran sweaters. I owned one in high school and although I have often thought about getting another, the opportunity has not been there, other than that cool rainy June week in Ireland. I have friends who are knitters and I have knitted a few simple things however I can't imagine that my skills would even suggest that an aran sweater would be on any of my "to do" lists.

While shopping in Paris at the end of October, there were many choices in many colours. Because of my height I do not care for a very bulky knit stitch and would choose one similar to the photograph of the Aran sweater here.

Bulky knit sweater purchased at Sandro
in the Marais, Paris, October, 2013.
Photo Source: JoyD

It seems ironic, but I just bought a sweater in Paris, mind you it was October. The sweater I finally purchased from a Sandro store in the Marais was not what I had in my mind exactly but after trying several on, I found that this style did not make me look like a "q-tip" - round on the top and narrow on the bottom. I did buy a creamy white one but I was looking for a pale creamy pink. I found one in that pale pink in a knit that was proportional to my frame at Galleries Lafayette but it was too big.

This experience offers the following advice: even if you question the look on the hangar, try it on, it just might work better than the original image you had in your mind's eye.

2021 Update: I shrunk this sweater in 2020 and decided to take it through the felting process. I cut circles to fit my non-stick pans and now this sweater separates them in the kitchen drawer.

Shopping in Paris

I took a five day layover in Paris before returning to Canada and spent some time at Galleries Lafayette on Saturday morning. I soon became disgusted with the crowds and the overburdened sales personnel. I made it to Bon Marché in the afternoon and service there seemed better. Actually you can't blame the service personnel for their short responses and their inattentiveness since most have to be suffering from "tourist fatigue". I left without buying anything at either department store, although I did try on several sweaters. Galleries Lafayette had a sale, which also is becoming more common. There once was a time when there were only ever two sales per year in France, one in January and one in July, both required by French law. Now very often you see the "soldes/sale" signs as often as you do in North America.

Shopping in Paris can be invigorating and satisfying or just plain frustrating therefore to accomplish the best Parisian shopping experience, you might want to try a few of my suggestions:

NEED: Have a list of the items you want to buy in the price ranges you want to spend. This year I had two particular things on my list: a bulky knit pullover in a creamy pink and a pair of camel straight leg trousers. If you go with no particular item or items in your head you will soon become overwhelmed with the choices. Don't worry, your list will not limit you, there is plenty to see and divert your attention even when you are shopping for specifics. When I was working full time in my profession, I knew exactly what I needed; now it's not so easy - I don't really need anything.

With that in mind, shoes, scarves and handbags are the easiest to buy. Clothing takes more time and effort in the fitting rooms.

NOTE-WORTHY: Visit the designer shops and the ones in the department stores such as Galleries Lafayette, Printemps and Bon Marché for the perfect opportunity to get a cross-section of what the trends are for the moment. If you can afford to buy, then make your way to the luxury brand signature stores. If the luxury brands are not worth it in your estimations, then make your way to the less expensive marks in the department stores with the ideas you garnered from the designer looks.

Language and attitude sometimes make tourists reticent to visit the small boutiques. Don't deprive yourself of this opportunity. The shop owners want to sell and you are a potential buyer - you have the upper hand. Or just window shop for ideas.

NECESSARY: Remember that you are paying a Value Added Tax of approximately 19.7% on the clothing and luxury items you purchase. As a tourist you can get that back if you spend €175. or more in one store on the same day so be strategic in your buying. You have to ask for the tax back form and the store personnel will fill it out for you. And remember your passport - that number and proof that you live elsewhere is necessary for the form. I wrote about this on the Paying Duty post. 

I did buy from a shop called Sandro in the Marais. The "form" came from the cash register in the same format as the receipt. Now I don't know if all shops have this capability but this is definitely an innovation, making the process easier for both the shops and the consumer.

NICE: If you see it and like it, buy it. That is the first rule of travel. If you are in Paris as a tourist wanting to get some shopping done, you may not have the time to indulge in looking around and then returning to where you first saw something. I have been in the situation where by the time I returned to the shop, it was closed and I was leaving before it would be opened again. Be happy with your purchases, don't second guess the cost and enjoy wearing your Parisian "souvenir/s".

And if you leave Paris with nothing new in your suitcase (although I doubt that), you will leave a little more cognizant of what is chic and what is trendy, helping you spend your tourist/closet dollars at home.

What to Match; What Not to Match

Closet Content Analysis: Monochromatic Matching 

NICE      NEED      NECESSARY

Matching your hat to your shoe to your bag, or your necklace to your earrings, has a tendency to look dated. Mixing up your accessories adds interest to an outfit, and can make you look more modern and polished. 

 - Stacy London

NO THANKS: There once was a time where shoes and bag had to match, a time when shoes were dyed the same colour as the dress . . . thank goodness that is over. Matching shoes to a bag is a definite NO THANKS, as are exact matches of necklaces and earrings. 

At the same time that I write about not matching shoes to a bag, I must reveal my "unintentional match" of my patent ballet flats with my Lancel bag. It works for me because the colour of the bag is a tone lighter and has a differentiated colour effect because of the texture. The pants too are in the same taupe tone.

Matching taupe ballet flats, skinny Theory pants and Lancel Premier Flirt bag. Photo by JoyD.

NICE: However, vestiges of the basic principle still exist and are quite valid. Monochromatic matching is my thing. I have seen a pink formal gown with a leather shoe that was beige with a pink tone that looked very NICE. If the tone of beige was yellow, it wouldn't have worked. I learned to match certain accessories because I am short relative to most everyone I know. I always wore a colour or tone of shoes matched with the trousers because I believed that it gave my leg an illusion of length, as you see in the photo of my Theory skinny pants and ballet flats. For the same reason, I prefer a black skirt, black tights and black shoes and couldn't imagine wearing a white skirt with black tights, and never ever black tights with white shoes. There are those who do it but I am not one of them.The match now should be subtle in its tone because a perfect colour match seems too garish, too planned, too coordinated.

In fact, when I am designing jewellery I tend not to make "matched sets" of earrings and necklaces. Rather I will make several earrings that have certain of the same elements as a necklace but not in the same assemblage. I have made matched sets because there are people who still want that look but usually it has been done because of a direct request.

Monochromatic Matching:

Shoes with trousers: men have done this forever - black shoes with black pants or tones of colour together; brown with brown tones, etc.

Shoes in one of the colours of a print so that a pair of shoes could match any one of the colours in my Italian-made Manila Grace print dress which has blue, mauve, a couple of shades of rusty brown on a creamy white background. Anyone of those colours will look terrific with this dress.
















NO THANKS: Analogous "matching" is clashing in my assessment. Think of a colour wheel, now pick a colour and then the next colours on either side of it would be considered analogous matching which means that if you choose red, you could put pink or an orangey shade with it - sorry, I just can't do pink and red; nor can I do orange and red. 

Life was so much easier when your clothes didn't match and boys had cooties. 

- Unknown 

Check out my other post on Matching: Unintentional Matches 

Paying "duty"

I am soon to be returning to Canada and since I travel back and forth between France and Canada, I am at the mercy of airport personnel questioning me about my claims of purchases and possibly some of my high end products. I have a story about a fellow, who traveling from the USA to Canada, was questioned about his cashmere luxury brand sweater. The customs agent asked why he did not "claim" the sweater on his list of purchases. The sweater was not new. Still the agent had the authority to charge him since the traveller had no receipt. And in fact the agent was about to do exactly that. However, the sweater was old enough that the fellow had kept no receipt and so instead of paying a charge, he took the sweater off and asked the agent to throw it in the garbage. I imagine he was saying to himself, this sweater owes me nothing and he wanted to demonstrate to the customs agent, I would rather dispose of the sweater than oblige to your insistence. If he had the receipt at home, he could have paid the charge and then applied to the Canadian authorities for a refund. Here is a case where you are guilty until proven innocent.

But so it is when dealing with any customs and immigration. I understand the necessity for the authority they must posses but when it comes to sweaters and purses and shoes, sometimes I think the customs officer must be bored to be so preoccupied with such frivolous items. 

Because we travel regularly between Europe and Canada, I do not want to be red-flagged and so I am impeccable with my list and with receipts although I am still perturbed with some of the requirements expected of the traveller. I have debated this issue with a Canadian lawyer and with an accountant with Revenue Canada. I always lose the debate. The law is the law and no matter what my rationale is, none of my points are going to make a difference to the customs agent who is only doing his or her job. Therefore I defer to being meticulous with my expenses and my list.

In Europe, there is a VAT (value added tax) that can be up to 19% on certain categories of items. Store policies vary but a general rule is that on any given day, you must spend at least €175.00 and ask for a tax return document, which the shop personnel must complete. I did buy from a shop called Sandro in the Marais just last week and the "form" came from the cash register in the same format as the receipt. Now I don't know if all shops have this capability but this is definitely a recent innovation, making the process easier for both the shops and the consumer.

You need to offer passport information in this process and then you must have the purchase verified before you leave the country (go through security). This requires that you must have the receipts as well as the actual items. In Paris, if your items are in your checked baggage and you go to the tax kiosk after, you will be out of luck. They need to see the actual items. I was in Charles de Galle airport just last week and the agent did not ask to see my item however most other times I have been required to show what I bought. I wouldn't risk not putting those items in your carry-on. 

After that process, you can then check in and drop the document in the post. You will receive the tax back as a credit to your credit card account. Or you can walk a few meters to another kiosk and if you pay a commission of just over 10% you can get Euros or whatever currency at the airport. I bought an item for €195. and received €20. and change back. The actual tax was €23. and change for the purchase.

In the past, the issue here too can be that this service by shop-owners can be inconsistent - some have the forms, some don't; some have lower or higher minimal purchases and the whole process can be annoying for both sales personnel and customer. However, I do not know if all shops have the new cash register receipt form that I encountered in Paris this year. The best service for tax returns, of course, is in the department stores and in luxury brand stores. One more thing, you must have your passport for this process.

The only advice I can give, and I do follow it, is to keep all receipts  and be aware of the necessity for receipts of high end items, no matter how old, particularly when you may have already paid duty on them. 

Echoes from the voices of my mom and my Girl Guide leader are in my head, "honesty is the best policy" and "be prepared".

What's New in Boots for the Winter, 2013?

We went to the market last Sunday in Issigeac in the south-west of France, a little ways away from Bergerac. My husband wore sandals and I wore boots. Such is the weather here. The fall mornings are cool enough to make you realize that summer is over but it is nice enough during the day to make you want to keep wearing your sandals. Considering I return to Canada for the snow, you would think that I would be acclimatized to cooler weather. The humid overcast coolness here affects me quite differently than the dry sunny bitter cold of Canada. It is the sun more than the cold that affects me. Nonetheless, boots are a common purchase whether here or in Canada.

I bought a pair of boots while I was in Roman-sur-Isere in the south-east of France in September. Before I shopped, I perused the net to find out what is "new" as far as styles goe. 

Deja-vu?

Was it that long ago that I bought my over the knee boots, that they are back in style again? Or maybe they're still in style? Whatever . . . over the knee boots are supposedly one of the number one styles of boots for the winter of 2013. Of course, no one is discounting knee-high boots and the mid-calf ones are still being shown, the short ankle boots are still around and the dysfunctional bootie shows up again, in my mind, for "show" only. I should not be so harsh. If I were staying in France for the winter, perhaps the bootie would be sufficient; however I am back in Canada and so . . .  do I have to explain myself? So what's new? Maybe nothing. But what are "they" showing in boots for 2013?

1. Over the knee boots - heels or flat

2. Knee high boots - heels or flat; riding boot style still popular

3. Mid-calf boots

4. Ankle boots

5. Booties - grazing the ankle and certainly not snow friendly

. . . some with boot bling at the ankle, some with a simple buckle at the top or at the ankle, some refined and elegant, some revisiting combat grunge. It appears that whatever style you like, it's "in".

I feel like I just described boots over the past 10 years. Elle's Fall Boot Guide illustrates a cross-section of all of the above for 2013.

I settled for knee-highboots with a buckle at the top and at the ankle. Interestingly, there are two zippers - one at the back and one at the inside ankle. I've never had a pair of boots with two zips.

I am pleased with them and I believe they will serve me well over the next two or three winters in Canada or in France.

Fall Colours 2013

Spring colours blend into fall 2013

Choices: Pantone or Not?

Do designers influence Pantone or does Pantone influence designers? I often wonder to what extent designers use the Pantone colours for seasonal collections. The reason I ponder that question is because of some of the beautiful pieces I have seen that are no where near what Pantone is promoting. Emerald was touted as the Pantone Colour of the Year and although it is allegedly all over the runways for the fall, I must be blind to it because it's not a colour I would choose and so I suppose I ignore it. In a March post I wrote about the green focus of Pantone for Spring 2013.  

At the same time one site tells us green is happening all over the runways, another is saying that blue in every shade is the colour of the season. This same debate was presented in that March, 2013 post. 

So here is what Pantone says the top colors for women’s fashion for fall 2013 are:

PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald
PANTONE 18-4434 Mykonos Blue
PANTONE 15-0533 Linden Green
PANTONE 19-3628 Acai
PANTONE 19-1662 Samba
PANTONE 17-1452 Koi
PANTONE 18-0312 Deep Lichen Green
PANTONE 19-2045 Vivacious
PANTONE 19-4215 Turbulence
PANTONE 19-1116 Carafe

And for the men, 9 are exactly the same, just replace Vivacious with PANTONE 18-2027 Beaujolais.

There are two particular colour concepts that are fashionable and trendy for 2013 and that I love but they don't correspond with Pantone's picks.

NICE

1. Winter White: According to Glamour head to toe white in the textures relative to winter weather is one of the "most wearable fashion trends". Yet I see no white, cream, beige or ecru in the lot of Pantone colours. However, we can forgive them since "winter white" is a classic that never really goes "out".

Céline Oversize Coat Fall, 2013. Photo source: Elle

2. The powder/pastel pinks that Elle.com and Glamour have proposed for the Fall of 2013 are no where near the tone of Pantone's Vivacious yet a whole series of clothing and accessories in this pale pink are featured on Elle's website. Granted the grey under the coat and the boots could be the shade of Pantone's Turbulence but then again, pastel pink and grey has been co-ordinated forever.

When it comes to colours, really, we choose the ones we like, the ones we believe we look good in and the ones that are available to us in the clothing items we need.

Illness and Dressing

A Collection of 9 Anecdotes, Old Wive's Tales, Good & Misguided Advice, Stories and Experiences

I have been ill in September - strep throat gone wrong. After 10 days of thinking that I should be able to overcome this myself, I went to see a doctor here in France. I have just completed a couple of potent medications right now but this health related lead-in has a purpose. When one is feverish, one loses all personal inhibitions and what one is wearing is of no consequence. 

I began thinking about the stories, old wives' tales, good and misguided advice and other anecdotes I have encountered about clothing and illness - the following post is a hodge podge related to illness and clothing choices.

1 Did your mother tell you to wear clean underwear, in case you were in an accident? This advice should be: if you have to wear dirty underwear, you might as well, especially if you are in an accident. This is not the place to describe the details of what happens when the body is hit with force but clean underwear is not even a consideration.

2 For the female gender, if you are prone to yeast infections tight pants and synthetic underwear are two things to be avoided since the two provide the perfect environment for a yeast infection to develop or if you already have one, the environment that needs to be avoided. As for men and this piece of advice - not wearing tight pants - I can imagine that there are health consequences, I just don't know what they are.

3 Continuous wearing of tight neckties and shirt collars are an issue for men who are genetically pre-disposed to stroke concerns.

4 When going out for dinner, where you expect to indulge, leave the spanx and tight clothing in the closet. Acid reflux can be the least of the negative consequences.

5 If you are a chronic wearer of spandex for the torso and thighs, you need to know that compression clothing worn habitually can lead to nerve damage and pain.

6 Many with sensitive skin or eczema, are often irritated by wool products. However a friend with eczema told me that she's not affected by cashmere.  

7 A woman I know in Switzerland was angry with her mother for a long time after her mother's death. Her mother was dying of cancer and apparently in Switzerland one can make a choice for euthanasia. The mother awoke one morning, went to get her hair and nails done, put on her favourite suit, went out for lunch with her daughter and told her about her decision. That afternoon she returned to the hospital.

8 I worked in an upper end dress shop while in high school and the most memorable sale I ever made left me slightly appalled and amazed at the same time. A young woman, who looked very pale, very ill came into the shop with her parents, who in turn looked distraught and overcome with fear. They asked to see bridal gowns. I informed them that I had to get my supervisor because I was not part of the bridal sales team. The young woman, who looked about the same age as me, said she would like me to help her and so it was arranged. Apparently in her heritage, a young woman who dies before marriage is buried in a wedding gown. This young woman and her parents were shopping for her wedding gown, which was not going to be used in a marriage ceremony. I still get goose bumps when I think of it.

9 The classic hospital gown or "johnny" gown is not an example of warmth, modesty or dignity yet it is endured by most just because the last thing we are thinking about while hospitalized is what we are wearing. Yet between the pain killers and being lofted from bed to gurney and being rolled through public access places in hospitals, we see patients conscious of their gowns as they tug and pull so that their bottoms are not exposed to passersby. Short of bringing your own, which may or may not be tolerated by the hospital, cost and the idea that this is trivial when you are ill, will keep the "johnny" gown the mode in the majority of hospitals.

Culturally there must be many more stories and anecdotes about what people wear during illness and beyond. Your comments in response to this post may just be the place for this "odd" collection of stories.

Embellished Scarves

Re-Usable Choices

The purpose - where I start - is the idea of use. It's not recycling, it's re-use.

- Issey Miyake

Closet Content Analysis:

Embellished Scarves

NICE          NOTE-WORTHY            NEED

NICE: With the cool fall evenings encroaching, it's NICE to have a great shawl or oversize scarf to throw over your shoulders. I have my favourite (Holt Renfrew cashmere winter beige shawl); it's become like a child's blanket for me. 

NOTE-WORTHY: However, I was quite taken by the embellished scarves designed by Caterina Quartana, who studied textiles and design in Florence and now works out of Sardinia, Italy. She weaves her own textiles and hand-finishes each, whether with vintage lace or hand-painted details. I found her work on Boticca.

I had one of those, "I can do that!" moments. Not the weaving of the fabric from scratch part, but the embellishing process. Since I already make jewellery, or rather compile component parts into jewellery, I am up for another challenge. Embellished scarves just might be the that challenge.

If you are a sewer and handy with a needle and thread, there are many how-to videos and sites to lead you. Sewing.org suggests upgrading an old scarf by adding favourite trimmings. Try it for the most basic of scarf embellishments. But what takes it to a new level are the trimmings and their positioning.

My Shirley Lamp. Photo by JoyD, France, September, 2013.

More inspiration came from my friend ShirleyB, while she visited Port Ste. Foy at the beginning of September, 2013. She found a piece of heavily embroidered "lace" and bought it for €1 at a vide grenier (empty attic sale). At the time, it caught her eye and appealed to her but she had no preconceived notion of what would become of it. Back at my place, we investigated the attic and the shed and found an abandoned lampshade. She had an idea. If I lost you with the lampshade, stay with me and you'll soon see the associations. She cut, attached, extended and embellished the "lace" with her own embroidery and used existing features of the lampshade until it suited her. Again she had no preconceived notion of the design, she just cut where it seemed right to cut, sewed and embroidered to accommodate the empty spaces. (I wish I had taken photographs of the process.) Now substitute scarf for lampshade. Here's the point, there are so many beautiful laces and trims, both old and new, out there that one has to look "outside the box" in order to make something unique by simulating a loveliness from times past.

Back to my embellished scarves . . . I have purchased several ancient linens at the brocantes and vides greniers while in France. Some of those old linens are worn beyond use in some places but soft and supple in others, a touch that only age can bring. The linen might be patterned, like jacquard, and there are often monograms and other embroidery that can be incorporated into a new piece.

NEED:  Now what I NEED more of are laces and trims. Here we go . . . I have a new search goal which legitimizes more visits to the brocantes and vides greniers in the district.

Nouveau Look

 Closet Content Analysis: Re-Inventing Yourself 

NICE         NO THANKS        NOTE-WORTHY        NEED         NEW      NECESSARY

I was watching television on a Saturday night and happened to come upon "Nouveau Look Pour Une Nouvelle Vie" which is essentially a makeover show - a new look for a new life. In the episode I was watching one of the candidates was a 54 year old woman whose wardrobe was comprised of cartoon character sneakers and t-shirts with skinny jeans. Just to confirm: Yes, I am in France.

Cristina Cordula, host of Nouveay Look Pour Une Nouvelle Vie.
Photo Source: M6 Publicité

Cristina Cordula, the Brazilian-born stylist of the show, has the "look" I love. For the show, she prepares clothing choices of different looks and the candidate tries the ensembles on until she agrees to one of the "looks". 

Then it is off to hair and make-up and any other requirements. My husband, who was patiently watching along with me, described her "before look" as "scritchy". Her long frizzy hair, which was tied into a side ponytail, was eventually cut and coloured into a medium length bob. She already looked transformed! I must admit the make-up application on this show looked far too complicated. Whereas in North America, we are looking for quick application, the French are looking for perfection. In this particular episode, the candidate was also taken to a dentist for veneers. The smiles at the "reveals" at the end of the show do not need translation - a smile means the same thing in every language. In the case of the 54 year old, her husband's look of pleasure and astonishment was quite endearing. You just knew he loved her just as she was, but now . . . wa-oo!

Lida Baday suit, 2011.
Photo Source: Toronto Life

As for my own transformation . . . through my career I had a reputation for the variety of heels I owned and for always dressing "business appropriate". My Lida Baday suit was one of my favourites and it was the last suit I purchased in my former career. But now since I live in France, I feel as if I need a makeover and the television show's name, "a new look for a new life" is exactly where I am insofar as transitions go. Slowly I am transforming my French closet but in fact I still like the business look even in a more casual lifestyle. I'm not so much giving myself a "new" look, as re-inventing and adapting the look I still love.

NICE:

I still wear the jackets/blazers but now it is more with jeans and linen pants than with skirts. 

I still wear my button-down white and black shirts.

NO THANKS:

A variety of heels in different colours are no longer needed. 

Skirted suits - although I still love the look of them, I truly have nowhere to wear them.


NEED:

A pair of tall black flat heeled boots that will help elongate my look.

I am in transition, have been for two years now and I found a quote by a mom that says what I am feeling about my closet. I never have been a mom but it fits where I am in my life right now . . .

I'm a mom, so I have to be comfortable. Jeans are a staple . . . But I also love getting dressed up!

- Candace Cameron Bure

Biker Chic . . . Again . . .

How many times can one live through the style description, "biker chic" or is that "chick"? In my fashion-conscious lifetime and hey, I'm not that old (relatively speaking), it has recurred at least every three years. So here we go again . . .

With its history, I believe the leather motorcycle/aviator jacket could be considered a classic since it has recurred every three years or so over the past 30. It's 2013 and Holt Renfrew in Canada has illustrated "the fall's hottest trend, a leather motorcycle inspired jacket". I saw it through the 70s in high school, the 80s in university, the 90s while I was developing a career and now, that I am officially "retired", it is 2013 and the "leather motorcycle inspired jacket" is still here and there. That smacks of being a classic. Of the jackets featured on the Holt Renfrew site, the Rag & Bone and the Helmut Helmut Lang are my favourites.

Helmut Lang. Photo Source: Holt Renfrew

Rag & Bone. Photo Source: Holt Renfrew 

I have never owned a leather jacket of this style. I guess I always thought that they were too trendy and so opted for a more classic cut. I also preferred longer jackets and so although I have tried on a few, I have never purchased one. As I study the Helmut Lang jacket, I think to myself that perhaps it's time - this would be a NICE one for me.

Do Not Bleach!

Grey & white striped Armor Lux top. Photo by JoyD.

After Bleaching - grey is now pinky beige. Photo by JoyD

So what part of "do not bleach" did I not understand? I noticed a black smudge on my Amor-Lux grey and white striped long-sleeved top. I decided that I would use one of those bleach pens to just dab it lightly and if the grey bleached out white a bit, I could live with that. Trouble is the bleach turned the grey to a pinky beige colour. So then there was a pinky beige splotch on the grey and white stripes - actually worse that the black smudge that was there in the first place. So what did I do? Bleached the whole thing of course. Now instead of grey stripes, I have pinky beige stripes. I can live with that but I am annoyed with myself for not heeding the manufacturer's washing instructions.

Funny thing is, and it must be my personality type, I began looking for an explanation online after I created the problem instead of looking for a solution for the black smudge in the first place. I do like understanding why something happened.

So now after the fact I found out from Yahoo Answers that the fabric, when you use bleach, "won't turn white. It will only bring it back to the original fabric colour before . . . dyed grey in the factory". Is that a fact? I read about a guy who put bleach into his wash of grey sweats and they all came out pink. Now I know and so does he.

Now we know! Here are a few other things I already knew and a couple I learned about bleach, after the fact:

Bleach takes out stains from certain fabrics, it should not be used as a dye (for a lighter colour). 

If you are trying to get "white" by bleaching dark clothing, it probably won't happen. They will lighten but never become truly white. And of course, there's the other explanation of bleaching bringing fabric back to the original colour in the factory.

Always dilute bleach. Straight bleach can damage clothing. 

Wear gloves in a well ventilated area when working with bleach. 

As far as clothing goes, linen and cotton stand up best to bleaching. However, rayon and some polyesters also can stand up to bleach.

To work effectively, bleach needs to be mixed with warm or hot water. 

Never mix vinegar with bleach - the two create a toxic gas. Just click if you need the scientific explanation. 

Wool and silk are far too delicate to bleach. It may in fact weaken the fibers to the point of disintegration.

There are plenty of sites giving good advice when working with bleach. I'm old enough to have known better. Sigh.