one and two: the epitome of quiet, three: vanessa jackman
This is one of those "a little bit of wrong to make it right" moments in fashion. You know the ones - anklets, calf-length skirts, pants that are cuffed too high - the little accidents in fashion that take outfits to the next level. Often they are touches of yourself in outfits, like a tatty sweatshirt you've had forever or too many bangles because you just can't decide which ones to wear. These shirts are really growing on me. They're like a high fashion update on the naff banker shirts (of the Wall Street "Greed is Good" variety). I like the contrast patterns and abstract blocks going on, there's a lot happening, but it looks pretty good.I can't decide which outfit I like better either - Melanie's french insouciance of the second girl's embracing of the abstract surrealism of the shirt. There's something quite fantastic - fantastically wrong- about both these outfits. The hint of the pinstripe poking out at the bottom of Melanie's shirt tuck is so weird but so good, the melange of block prints and colours in the second outfit is kind of wrong, but also kind of awesome.
I've been thinking a lot about items of clothing like this recently. Not specifically this shirt, but in working out my wardrobe in terms of the ratio of neutrals and block colours to prints. There are a lot of plain things in my wardrobe. That's not a problem per se, I'm a simple girl at heart. But recently I think I've gotten myself into a bit of a wardrobe rut (this always happens in the lead up to summer as I have separation anxiety to my knitwear and coats) and all I can think when I get dressed is how boring my outfits are. I try and jazz them up with accessories, but I think there is a definite void in my wardrobe for interesting basics. That is not to say that I need to fill my wardrobe with neon brights or crazy prints, but rather instead of buying a million and one oatmeal jumpers (guilty guilty guilty as charged) maybe I need to focus on getting a few updated, interesting versions of the pieces and staples that I love. Ever since seeing this sweater it has been growing on me to the point where it is dominating my waking thoughts. It's still simple and it's still easy and it's still unfussy. But there is something more than just, well, oatmeal going on there. (Oatmeal - don't take this personally. You are still my favourite colour and my one true love. Sometimes a girl needs a bit of spice in her life though!). The two-tone pigment-rich blue and grey, the slouchy feel, the open knit. It's little details that lift what is essentially a basic into the realm of something, well, more.
That's how I feel about this shirt. At the basest element this is essentially a chambray shirt, no. And we've all seen a tonne of those in our lives. It's nice to have a plain chambray shirt. They're classic, and they go with a lot, everyone has one and everyone loves them (especially lin). But for those days when you want the ease of the chambray shirt but you want something more because, oh, I don't know, you're not going to wear as much jewellery as you normally do, or you want to lift your shirt-and-jeans outfit into something a little dressier, or you've got the chambray shirt blues, you'll want something like this in your wardrobe to put a smile on your face. We can't be simple and plain all the time - we just can't. But we can stay true to our style. The answer is to search out interesting variations on our favourites to keep the state of our wardrobes a little lively. I think I know what the first item on next season's winter wardrobe planning list is going to be...
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