Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What worked for me this summer, or the Almost-Labor-Day-Blues

As the season draws to a close, I'm thinking about packing away my summer clothes, moving my winter clothes out of storage, doing inventory, and figuring out what I need--and whether what I need has any relationship whatsoever to what I want.

(Usually it doesn't.)

But have I actually started doing it? No, I have not. Not when it's not Labor Day yet. There's time for a few more Mojitos before I have to do all that, right?

So I thought I'd dedicate a few posts to the things I'll regret packing away. And I'll begin with an astonishing item:

White shoes

I don't know what hit me, because fashion experts have been railing against white shoes for years. I can hear the chorus even now: "They only look good on brides!" "They make your feet look huge!" "Only if you're a nurse!" But instead of looking dorky, like a farm machinery salesman from Sandusky, they looked fresh and clean and summery.

Kelsi-Dagger-Womens-Ivy-Espadrilles
I wore the hell out of this pair of Kelsi Dagger Women's Ivy Espadrilles. They looked good with pants, but were particularly nice with dresses and skirts. And the wedged heel made them incredibly comfortable.

Kors-Michael-Kors-wedged-patent-espadrilles
The other pair of shoes I'll miss is also white, wedged version of an espadrille--this time in white patent leather from Michael Kors.

Now, I think of espadrilles as very preppy. Thirty years ago, preps wore Jacques Cohen espadrilles. Nowadays you'll find espadrilles being produced by prep favorites like Ralph Lauren and Kate Spade.

But I opened the Zappos box, I couldn't decide whether the big silver MK and all that patent leather didn't so much say "preppy" as "retired Vegas chorine." Seriously. I don't do patent leather. Or logos. I felt edgy! But oh, my goodness, were these comfortable. And I loved them with white jeans.

Ah ... summer.

9 comments:

  1. I have a pair of open-toed pumps in a white -- I mean bone-- patent leather.

    They are so so so so so cute & very comfy.

    And i can keep wearing them because I live in South Texas & the no-white-after-Labor-Day rule does not apply here.

    We still have 6 weeks of over 90 weather to look forward to.

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  2. You will spot white shoes in Vogue and on the shelves of Neiman Marcus all year long, Mama, so don't pack those away!

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  3. I'd testify: both pairs looked great.

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  4. Oh, me likey the MK pair. You know, I do patent leather, white shoes, logoes, whatever.
    And I trust my little Bb.

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  5. My white sandals and bag are about ready to be packed away too, but I'm thinking about waiting on the white jeans. I think I can get a few more weeks out of them without feeling too weird. Maybe if I pair them with brown sandals and a tee.

    I'm also sad that the season for Lilly winds up being so short. I have a few fall appropriate pieces, but I don't love them in the same way as the crazy pants and summer shifts.

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  6. For some reason I don't count white sandals in the same category as white shoes. I toy with the idea of white sandals, particularly with a cute wedge heel. But somehow I'm never brave enough to do it.

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  7. Will you be putting away your white trousers too? Please can I wear mine after Labour Day?

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  8. There is nothing I love more than Fall clothes (except maybe Fall weather), but I went ahead and tempted fate today, risking arrest by the Fashion Police, and wore my white cropped Levi's one last time. So far so good, but I'm keeping close to my office just in case.

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  9. For me not wearing white would kill me. I have around 20 pairs of all white sandals, shoes, heels, and boots and they are all used for many different outfits of mine, so I doubt I could just pack them up.

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Gentle Readers:

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xxx, Poppy.