the room number benjamin

In my book Anne Bancroft as the iconic Mrs. Robinson is more than the ultimate cougar-- she does disinterested sexy far better than the women who frequent Abe & Louie's on a Friday night. Patricia Zipprodt, costume designer for The Graduate, dressed Anne Bancroft in stunning lingerie, monochromatic shifts, fur and some fierce animal prints-- all trends I am loving for spring. The cropped pants, blazers and belted trench coats worn by the beautiful Katharine Rose/Elaine are spring essentials-- very APC/Band of Outsider and jcrew spring styling. And to me Dustin Hoffman is the king of California prep. Check out the Mrs. Robinson inspired spring lookbook from Band of Outsiders here.

Few lines to check out if you want to rock graduate style for spring:
APC--http://usonline.apc.fr/?camp=&email=#/women/
Tory Burch (TB for all you ladies who lunch)-http://www.toryburch.com/toryburch/
JCrew - http://www.jcrew.com/index.jsp
Kitsuné- http://www.maisonkitsune.fr/clothes/

tres chic

I stumbled on the coclico website a few months ago and was impressed by the simplicity and the beauty of this shoe line. Of course I was drawn to yet another nude bootie. This seems to be a problem for me. Cocolico is based in NYC and its creator, Sandra Canselier, credits her childhood in the French countryside and love of NYC as inspiration for the line. Additionally, it appears from the website that the line is made with an eye towards "sustainability". They use meat industry by-product leather and vegetable tanned leather.

Now, I find this very interesting. Sustainable fashion is all the rage and there is no real uniformity in how the term is applied to the fashion industry-- is it environmentally friendly, recyclable materials, just wages? Recently, the Financial Times explored the issue of "sustainable fashion" asking what the hell constitutes green fashion and arguing that designers themselves don't really know. Alexandra Sinderbrand at The Huffington Post replied that the lack of uniformity in the definition is by design-- the luxury industry relies on excess and reduces green fashion to a bunch of sound bites to detract attention from the fact that we must learn to do with less new stuff.  Really, anyway you slice it "sustainable" must mean buying less-- that's the bottom line. That can mean different things to people-- buying quality not quantity, buying vintage/thrift, updating pieces with a tailor, buying accessories to reinvent your wardrobe...the possibilities are endless. I know I have a tendency to buy too much and this in part is why I stared my little blog-- an outlet for contemplation prior to a purchase. For me fashion is art-- not all beautiful things are meant to be purchased some are for inspiration and appreciation. Enough said there.

Regardless of this debate, I love the shoes. They are high on my list of spring purchases but for now I am window shopping. Which, I may add, is very French of me.

possible alternate

I am officially obssessed with the Loeffler Randall Tilly rivet bootie, but they are still $650 and still nubuck.  I just don't know if I can rationalize that given the "spring" weather in Boston.  Could I have possibly found an alternative with J Crew Metropolitan leather ankle boots? Considering they are a fraction of the cost ($265) I am heading to my love JC to try these on.  We will see. 

loving loeffler

It's no secret I love Loeffler Randall.  Now, in the past I've taken issue with the fit of a few items.  But let’s put that aside for now because the spring collection is exactly what I am looking for. All of it.

Where to start...Let's start with the bustier jumper, I would wear this day to night constantly. This fall I purchased a Rag and Bone jumper which I love and I am in the market for another version. The problem I often have with the short jumper combo is the length of the shorts-- they end up too long. I am willing to try these out.

Next, the Printed Silk Peplum Dress. OMG.  I must have this. I love the basket weave print with that ruffle overlay-- can’t get a good sense from the picture of the actual colors but I am hoping they are vibrant.  I know I have not tried it on (or seen it irl) so I shouldn't get too excited but how could this not be prefect-- cap sleeves with a boatneck-- get out.

The graphic dress does several things very well: exposed zipper, graphic print and contrasting colors. Also, I love the pink salmon color. I see myself in this dress with a wedge sandal. 

I am in need of a black blazer for spring.  I really like the Loeffler silk/linen blazer but at $395 not sure I can make this work. I need to devote a future post to my search for a black blazer.

Finally, the Tilly rivet bootie. I know that I want a nude bootie for spring and these would be perfect. I love the heel and the silver rivets. What I don't love is that their nubuck and $650.

I love the feel of this collection-- modern and classic, simple but with wonderful use of color and detail. The collection embraces several trends (nude, exposed zipper, graphic print, basket weave print and the ubiquitous jumper) without the collection feeling contrived or trendy. Don't take my word for it-- check out the Loeffler Randall spring collection for yourself!

short stuff

I saw the Adam Emma twill pleated shorts at Dress this weekend. Unfortunately, they only had them in a 4 and these babies run BIG. With shorts all over the runway last week ( is this Alexis Mabille's version of shorts, I can't tell but I love it), I had them on my mind. I am trying to figure out the best way to work this trend into my spring/summer plan-- given my height (5'2) this could be a difficult look. I love the pleating of the Adam shorts and think that I could wear them in early spring with sheer stockings and wedge booties. I obviously have very fond memories of the coolot trend from middle school.

I have started my spring planning-- expect posts to come on the spring transition strategy. This weekend I made my first real spring purchase and it's just wonderful...you will see it soon!

please just wrap me in valentino

chanel

I will let other far more knowledgeable critique the shows. What I like is the pastels are not ethereal. There is a structure and weight to them which I appreciate.