Pretty, predictable... pass.

My outfit probably makes me look extra short today, and you know what?

I don't care.

It's cold (*sigh*), it snowed today (*sigh* again), I'm wearing dark jeans and my grey old Navy V-neck sweater (*sigh*... again) with tall black boots and an orchid pashmina scarf.

I rolled my pants hems once to get through the snow to my car and just... decided to go with it. I just needed to do something different. Mid calf length anything is totally against "the rules" but what the hell, I figured I'd give it a shot. These boots don't show my small ankles as well as I usually like, but whatever, I'll deal.

Mah new boots - Nine West "Mixer" - check out the external zipper!

In my twenties I'd often wear fairly aggressive clothing. A typical go-to was punky knee high black combat boots with loose, below the knee cutoffs (yes, and suspenders) and I think this has a sleeker version of that same aggressive feel. I've been feeling out this sort of British motorist *thing* lately and I think I'm going in the right direction.

While the effect on my profile probably isn't ideal, over the course of the day something about it felt right, and I decided that what I sacrificed in silhouette I felt I had gained in feeling properly settled in my skin.

If everyone wore the same stuff the same optimized way there'd be no space for personal style.

I've gotten a lot of the basics of "don't actively hamstring yourself" down I think, so now I'm starting to get a feel for my actual style; as compared to what happens when I put my collection of generally reasonable but bland clothes together in the most predictably inoffensive way.

Some people feel you have to learn the rules before you can break them. I don't necessarily agree with this; there are definitely those for which the rules have NEVER applied, but for the rest of us there is some utility to the practice.

The Matrix (1999) The Woman in the Red Dress

When I was in high school I just plain didn't understand preppy style. Shirt from A column, pants from B, how boring! In my late twenties I embraced it, because it meant I generally looked presentable-ish but didn't have to think about what I was wearing.

Consequently I never had to think about what I was wearing.

Except when I wanted to look *good* as *I* defined it, that's when I felt like I had a wardrobe full of nothing. Sure you can put together something that follows all the rules and looks perfectly nice but that only works if you're just going for "nice".

There's a British woman named Florence Colgate who had been determined a few years ago to have a scientifically "perfect" face. Symmetrical and ideally proportioned she is most certainly pretty, but hardly what I would consider terribly interesting. In fact I consider her notably less interesting even then the other women most commonly listed as extremely close (i.e. Elizabeth Hurley, Kate Moss, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Simpson, Marlena Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, the Bust of Nefertiti).

How will she stack up through the ages against the sloe eyes of Myrna Loy, the unmistakeable square jaw of Sophia Loren, the generous mouth of Rosario Dawson, the unearthly angularity of Tilda Swinton?

When I mentioned Florence did you know instantly who she was? Could you bring her face to mind? Will you be able to do so in twenty years? What about Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, or Eartha Kitt?  Do you remember them because they are perfect, or because they are interesting?

These pics taken about two months apart differ only in the boots and scarf.
When I think back to these outfits which one of these makes me look more proportionate and nice, just like everyone else walking into the supermarket? Which one am I likely to remember and revisit?








































Additional modeling talent provided by Quincey, nosy ginger cat extraordinaire.

Faking a fair weather flat

It's been snowing. *sigh* Again.

Sandal weather isn't even a distant glimmer on the horizon, and flats are like masterful little precipitation collectors; so sometime around mid December I started asking myself, "what I do for my feet when I'm ankle-(or knee)-deep in winter but still want to look good"? 

When I started really thinking about it the answer was right in front of me the whole time, and yet has proven to be so hard to find!

I'm fond of my bones and skin (and my shoes come to think of it) so all of my high heels are right out. I need a foul weather shoe with a low heel for stability and smooth enough treading on the bottom that snow and ice doesn't pack up into the treads as that ends up being cold, dangerous, and messy.

I have a pair of Born half calf boots in a tobacco pebbled leather which are exactly what I outline above. They are comfortable and serviceable but they are so very decidedly comfortable and serviceable. That's them up there, if you hadn't already guessed. I got them for camping and outdoors stuff and they're really honestly FABULOUS for that, and that is the only way in which they could ever be described as fabulous. I don't actually like them in the least, but that's what I've been wearing any time the weather has been bad since that's pretty much all I've got that won't lead to a broken neck.

Actually not 100% true. I do have a pair of Cherry Red Patent Doc Marten's which do surprisingly well in snow as long as I'm wearing heavy socks, but I'm just not into them at the moment.
What? I'm a goth AND they were on sale AND I had a bit of a red shoe *thing* going on at the time. So shiny!

Knee high riding boots are a long established Northeast winter essential, but I don't tend to wear my boots fully visible in crappy weather. I only have one pair of skinny jeans and none of my boots are wide enough to wear over them except the Born boots, and that is NOT a good look (yes, I've checked).

Image Source: blog.clothingattesco.com

What I've been looking for is something that looks as good with full length or slightly cuffed pants as they would over skinnies. Equestrian boots are gorgeous when you can SEE them, but I spent the majority of my twenties in knee high combat boots and frankly, I'm just plain tired of dropping hundreds of dollars on low heeled boots that don't have any interest below the ankle. 

I want winter appropriate kicks that make a statement no matter what I'm wearing them with!

During good (but not quite sandal) weather when I want to wear flat shoes that look nice I reach for...

*drumroll* my flats! 

I know that seems obvious but flats really tend to be a different kind of creature with different points of interest than sandals or pumps or boots, and I got to wondering what it was that set them apart. 

Desperately in need of a shoeshine day! I don't think it's hard to figure out which is my go-to pair.
Left to right: Miz Mooz - Ditto, Candies, Born - Keynes, Croft & Barrow, Croft & Barrow

Flats come in all manner of colours and rich materials and they they are very likely to have some manner of interest on the toe, whether that be a contrasting material, a bow, a horse bit, some intricate structural detailing, or openwork. They look equally great with jeans, shorts, skirts, you name it, because they are usually interesting to look at, even if you can only see the toe.

I started looking at boots with an eye to this aesthetic and found that people just don't tend to put that sort of detailing on the toe of a low heeled boot. Well, except in Western boots, there are some AMAZING western boots out there, but that's not really my style.

So far the only boots I've found which start to fulfill the perimeters I've been looking for are wingtip designs. The Megan ankle boot by Miz Mooz, which I got for Christmas in the whiskey colour shown below is a great example of this style with some bonus spat-like buttony/lacey ankle action. Admittedly I'm not the hugest wingtip fan and I feel the really sexy parts are those further up near the ankle, but at least it has SOMETHING going on!

I'm still a bit afraid to wear them out into the deeper snow but I have gotten them wet and the colour seems to have bounced back just fine. If anything they're getting a lovely dark patina around the bottom edge. I do want to weather protect them, but clear wax drastically changed the colour of another pair of Miz Mooz boots I own (Janessa in grey - a discontinued style) so I'm iffy about messing with these too much.

 My next goal is to find a second pair of "knee high statement flats" but this time I'm looking for a looser, taller, non-wingtip boot with a lower heel, preferably in black or charcoal as I've somehow ended up with more pairs of brown boots than black!