Ethically Source/Produced Clothing

As I learned more about "fast fashion" and started to re-focus on buying few but better items, I began to add learning about a companies production environment was like and including that in my calculations when looking for items. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Brooks Brothers is one company that is paying attention to this. They have a detailed description of their process and commitment on their web site here. They also just opened a new, expanded manufacturing space in Massachusetts.  A commitment to ethical production and to production in the US and not oversees. Just another reason to love them! Brooks Brothers has long been one of my favorite places to shop, although I usually stalk items and wait for sales. As I re-focus on fewer and better things, this really has been working for me. Do you consider production when you shop?

In Which I Embrace Printed Pants

 

I was always a dark, solid pants person. Navy, black, the occasional glen plaid maybe, but nothing printed or bright. I know that printed slim pants have been around a while but I have only recently jumped on the band wagon. My shift on only flat shoes have had something to do with this. I tend to wear mine with a pointed toe loafer or flat and either a round neck top or turtleneck and a blazer. That's my new uniform but I'm experimenting with some slightly different pants to mix it up.

 

 It's really hard to tell but these are from Brooks Brothers and a very dark navy or black (I can't really tell) and have a small, subtle brighter blue foulard print on them. They almost look like a man's tie.

These I think I have posted about before. Also, Brooks Brothers. They are so great! I was nervous about buying them as they were my first toe dip into printed pants but I love them. I also have a gray windowpane plaid pair of Sloan slim ankle pants from Banana Republic which I couldn't get a good picture of. I wore them to work this week with a dark green Tippi sweater and a dark green blazer. I think the key has three parts. First, quality trousers. They shouldn't look cheap or shinny. Second, I always try and pair them with a conservative top. The busier/crazier the pants, the more conservative the top. This goes for shoes too. Third, I'm sticking with conservative prints too. Not wild floral prints. It's working for me and I quite like it. It allows me to feel fashion forward and safe at the same time. What do you think?

Almost Fall!

I think fall is one of my favorite seasons, not that we get a lot of season in the Bay Area. But the feeling of fall is the same. The light is a little different, even the sunshine feels quite, a little sad. I went to college at Fairfield University in Connecticut and the fall was so beautiful there. I miss it every year. Still, there are a few leaves turning on the trees outside my house, the evenings come quicker and there is a nip in the air. Time for fires, pumpkin spice, quilted vests and boots!

It had to be ME!

I don't have a good picture for this one but felt like writing it. I've been feeling like I was caught in a spiral lately, not a good thing. I turned 45 at the end of June and suddenly felt like I'd accomplished nothing. If I were a cliché, I'd be driving around in a red porche! I kept looking at web sites and shopping trying to find the perfect thing that would make me happy. Surely if I had the right clothes and makeup I'd be happy? Maybe if I lost 10 pounds (not going to happen while I was visiting the office vending machine every afternoon) then I'd be happy? Then, after a lot of thought, and a very good yoga class, I realized that only I could make me happy. If I want to lose weight, I can. My clothes are great and I don't need to buy more. I'm the compliance director at a hedge fund, so I'm pretty sure I'm not stupid. It was like a light bulb and a huge weight falling off my back. It seems silly now, like that should have been evident to me. But it wasn't, but now it is.  

Pretty Puppy

I love spring spaniels. Growing up we had a couple but the one I remember best was named Ruffles and I got him as a present for my 16th birthday. He didn't have beautiful long feathers like this guy above but these short, tuffty ones which is how he got his name. He was super sweet and went every where with me through high school and when I would be home from college. He loved to ride in the car and swim in the ocean. We are currently without a dog and it's a little sad. Both hubby and I work full time and we have three school aged kids. It's just not the right time. But some day that time will come again and I'll be searching out another springer to keep me company!

A Rare Sighting

It's very hard to get all three of my kids to smile for the camera at the same time. Frankly, it's not easy to get all three of my kids in the same place at one time unless they are asleep or eating. However, we were at a family wedding last weekend and I managed to grab this one for a status up date. From right to left, AGB is almost 15 and a freshman in high school. He's baseball crazy as you would guess if you could see that's what is on his tie. In the middle is CMB, she's 12 and in the 7th grade. Still playing lacrosse, soccer, the flute and running cross country. Finally, the boy in the bow as we call OPB. He's also 12 (yes they are twins) but he's in the 6th grade. It's a very long story, perhaps the subject of another post. OPB is into fencing, chess and plays the violin. So there you go, a rare sighting of all three kids, in the same place, at the same time.

A Capsule Wardrobe

I've always been drawn to the idea of a capsule wardrobe. It seems easy and time saving as well. Trouble is, after a while I always got bored. Or distracted by something I saw on line or TV and before you knew it, I'd veered off course. Recently, however, I've been working to refine, update and streamline my closet and my life and the capsule is back. I found the blog The Vivienne Files and this great post about capsule wardrobes. It's based on a book called Ma To-Do List by Jeanne-Aurore Colleuille and Laure Gontier and has 3 main points.

1. Dictate your rules: This defines what you want and how you see yourself. Short sleeves? Dresses, flats? Think of this as your personal style rules and then eliminate anything in your closet that does not fit. My personal style rules are trousers (preferably ankle length and slim), round  neck tops, blazers and flat loafer style shoes. This is a switch for me from pencil skirts, cardigans and heels. The switch was mainly driven by 2 things. First off I have a bone spur and arthritis in my foot which makes walking in heels, even low ones unendingly painful. Second, I am the compliance director at a hedge fund in the Bay Area and the only woman in upper management as well as the youngest person. Somehow the cardigan and skirt look, just didn't work. This feels more authoritative.

2. Work on your coordination: A variety of colors, tops and bottoms that are impossible to coordinate, shapes and materials without a common ground: these are the enemies of the ideal wardrobe. At the base of the “capsule wardrobe” is a simple idea (and yet we apply it rarely!): everything should go with everything else, so that you can get dressed with your eyes closed. Think of this as a sort of grown up "granimals". I'm probably dating myself with that reference but that's how I think of it. My core colors are navy and gray. I accent with white, hunter green and camel.

3. Choose your signature piece: This is the part that makes it you. Do you love bangles? Scarves? Hats? Pick what pleases you and what you feel the most "you" in and go with it. For me there are 2 main one. First is pearls. I almost always wear the pearl and gold knot earrings my grandparents gave me for my high school graduation, the pearl necklace my parents gave me for my college graduation and the gold and pearl ring that was my mother-in-laws that my husband gave me at our wedding. I sometimes alternate with the gold and pearl necklace my father gave me on my wedding day. Second, I love brooches and have a collection of vintage ones that belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother. They look great on the various blazers I wear.

What do you think? Do you embrace the capsule look? Or are you more free ranging? Which suits you best and why?