scrolling through the fashion spot forums the other day and came across a topic about 'french wardrobe'. intrigued, probably thinking it was about an actual french wardrobe ( i love french furniture) i clicked onto it, and found that it was a topic devoted to a manner of dressing that is distinctly french; build your wardrobe around 4/5 key pieces that you (often, but not always) splurge on, but are great quality and will last forever.
It's not exactly my cup of tea, in that i don't have key pieces, i have items of clothing that i love and wear all of the time, but my clothes are always changing. I work on a bit of a rotational basis, and i like to mix things up, but i agree with the idea of paying for quality. When i am a little older and more disposable income of my own i will definitely be working around the basis of building up a wardrobe with quality clothing and good basics. At the moment i'm young, and i should be able to experiment a bit, right?
Still, i thought i would do a little experiment each season, picking 4-5 pieces for each season that are both on trend and classic. I won't be able to buy anything too expensive, but i will be looking for quality, not quantity or aesthetics. These items will be my 'french wardrobe' so to speak, items that i should wear a lot each spring/summer but that will also translate into winter dressing, so i begin to build up my basic wardrobe. Isn't this exciting! So, for Spring/Summer 09;
- studded gladiator sandals in black/brown leather
- lightweight linen safari jacket OR blazer
- sandwashed silk skirt, tiered, in aubergine (vanessa bruno $415, yes expensive, but i'm working on the mother to go halfs for my birthday!)
- big sunglasses in tortoise shell.
- 4 lightweight tee-shirts with v-neck or low round neck in black, white, light grey, plum
And as a further list, seeing as all of january and february will be spent in england, paris and new york i should do n autumn/winter list, although i doubt i will get around to doing these as well.
- slightly fitted black blazer with satin lapels (if not possible, then just plain black blazer)
- loose fitting blouse in cream/white satin with some interesting detail (lace?)
- elbow length gloves in black leather
- ankle boots with a heel in black leather a la alexa chung and the pierre hardy for gap boots
- cocktail ring, coral necklace, smaller rings...
And, just as a little 'lets look to the future', this will be my first purchase towards my ultimate 'french wardrobe' in 5 or 10 years time when i am rich and famous. The rest of the wardrobe will of course be a lovely mysterious trench coat, super super sexy high platform heels, a full black skirt (not pencil) with a scalloped hem and interesting detail on the waistband, a cream silk blouse with buttons and some interesting detail... and this;
[google images]
so until i become fabulous, extravagant and very very wealthy, i have the photo to comfort me. all that stands between me and that masterpiece of a bag is a cool $3000. *sigh*
7 comments:
Your soon to be French Wardrobe sounds heavenly!
Those Pierre Hardy boots are indeed love at first sight, and just yesterday I was thinking "I need a humungous cocktail ring!" After noticing my Art teachers beautiful one...I don't know about you but I always feel much more elegant with a huge ring on my finger!
About la clothes making...I always end up starting a piece and then get mega stressed and chuck it away or make a mess, but I made my skirt from a pattern called 'burda' if I can remember right..I always choose the ones labled 'easy' so I can practice and continue using the pattern to make more and more, but if you wanted to start, I would definitely recommend a simple skirt pattern like mine, you'll get the hang of it in no time! (Oh, and a helpful parent on hand is recommended at all times!)
xxx
Goog morning, my favorite blogger in the whole-wide world ! :)
I loved your comment :)
I've been working a lot lately. I have two jobs, one that's serious on the week and then i help out at a tanning salon on the weekends ! It sorta sucks 'cause i don't spend as much time with my boyfriend, so were both kind of bummed out, you know ! Besides that, i've been on a reading binge over the last couple of weeks. My Boyfriend got me the shelves i wanted from ikea, so i'm slowly filling them up :)
What are you studying ? It's so hard to type right now, my baby cat is hoping in front of the screen trying to catch the cursor haha, you should see, she's cute !
Also, where are you from exactly ? I didn't check your profile, maybe it's written.
Anyways. Have a great day :)
J.
Hi love! Thank you so much for the sweet comment, I really appreciate it. Not contributing to social/economic/environmental ills extremely important to me, and seeing as I love to make my own clothing so much it's not so difficult for me not to buy new. It also helps that I really hate fashion in it's commercial sense, I think that it's an art form, one that should have no rules, no trends, no boundaries, and certainly should not be connected to how much money one has in their pocketbook.
Anyway sorry for the rant! I hope you're well!!
xo
angela
at the top of my "need-to-have-but not-yet"-list is the ultimate chanel purse as you had a picture of. i don't know if i want it vintage or new... i thing what you call a french wardrobe is quite smart, and I've startet on mine.
and btw, i don't mind! i'm adding you to my list now as we speak..
The French Wardrobe sounds amazing, chic dressing like those parisiennes can only be a good thing. I like the description of your safari jacket too, it is the perfect thing for summer!
i have that tfs thread saved in my links that i refer back to for inspiration, about only adding 4-5 new pieces per season. which ive begun to follow. i used to be the type of person who was buying things every week.
but also i may add that i do have the solid foundation. truly if i was in a situation where i had to stop shopping for a yr i would not have any significant wardrobe gaps.
however, if things works out, and im take on a new job i would have to deviate from this disciplined form of buying as i would have to buy new clothes as part of my uniform.
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