a few things i liked

Okay, so I didn't hate absolutely everything at fashion week. I liked these things:

Well no surprise here: Proenza always does really interesting glasses, and I find these particularly intriguing for some reason. I love me some round glasses, and aviators, and these are the best of both. And I dug the red eyeliner at Derek Lam, though it could have been a wee bit less pink. As someone with goth friends, I'm no stranger to putting red eye makeup on, and this looked very classy and chic (unlike some of my own dabblings).

Phillip Lim

Jesus, could this have BEEN any more perfect? It's the right size, and it looks like an uber-fancy yet understated laptop/ipad case, but cooler (and more expensive). I wonder if it was actually designed just to be a handbag or if it has some other function I'm not aware of.

Well aren't these stiletto numbers a bit of a departure for our old friend Alber. Seriously, I expect chunky heels from Lanvin, not these terrifying (yet awesome) steel monsters.

I actually haven't really done much investigating into the accessories from Spring 2011, but from a few internet roundups, these are my favorites as far as makeup, shoes, and accessories go.

winter wardrobe

Phillip Lim cropped sweater, Bassike asymmetrical white dress, Burberry Prorsum coat, Henry Holland for Pretty Polly super suspender tights, Fleet Ilya clutch, Made Her Think earrings, Barbara Bui mary janes, Alexander Wang goddess dress, Fleet Ilya belt, Mark Fast hot shorts, Lanvin ring, Miu Miu embellished knee socks, Ann D. earrings, Ann D. triple-laced boots, Bottega Veneta scarab ring, Ann D. bracelet

I've already got the black dress and the tights, I have some black knee socks I can embellish. I have a plain white t-shirt dress but it might be too transparent for winter, especially over black tights, and I refuse to wear a slip.

What I need is the super tight, cropped ski sweater (I've been stalking that grey Phillip Lim number for like four years), and those delicious Ann Demeulemeester triple-lace boots (if I can ever find them...). I'd take the Burberry coat, but I have a pretty sweet Rag & Bone equestrian coat that could stand in for it. My plan would be to wear the cropped sweater over the white dress with tights and boots, and the black dress with the mary janes. The knee socks I'd probably just wear over plain black tights with the mary janes or flats.

In reality, what I'll be wearing this winter is exactly what I wore last winter - black on black on black, with my Alexander Wang hobo jacket over it and Chucks. But I have good news - yesterday I wore a dress that was NOT black, so things maybe changing, one infinitesimal bit at a time.

which shoes?

Gary Graham leather jacket, Hope Merry cropped t-shirt, J Dauphin gold necklace, Iosselliani pendant necklace thing, Marios Schwab leather sandals, Etro gladiators, Ann Demeulemeester sandals, Pamela Love cuff, and, most importantly, Philip Lim skirt.

Phillip Lim's designs are generally a little too feminine for me, but when he does it right (i.e. according to my particular aesthetic) it makes me weak in the knees. [Side note: I'm beginning to wonder if I haven't replaced romantic relationships with a tortured lust for clothing?] A lot of people are playing around with the idea of athletic gray sweatshirts and how to dress them up/make them more interesting - par example, Alexander Wang's version, which I love from the front, but am not quite as enamored of the back. Phillip Lim's take on classic athletic heather gray is easily the freshest of the lot, and I want it. I want something that could potentially be described as having ruffles (wtf).

I also have to admit that I'm liking the return of crop-tops. I'm not advocating a return to the 90s custom of perpetually-bared midriffs, but frankly most of my shirts are so long I could sit on them. Whenever I contemplate wearing a pencil skirt my pool of tops shrinks drastically because so many of them are too long or too lumpy to tuck in. Of course, I'm not going to go out and buy a cache of cropped shirts, I'll just cut some down to size and re-hem them. As soon as I re-learn to operate a sewing machine. Actually, I could just buy American Apparel's scrimmage shirt, which I've been eyeing for a while, on TrendyBlanks and be done with it.

So anyway, which shoes? I'm leaning towards the Ann D's myself.