4 December 2010 – Batwings and Belted Scarves, originally uploaded by academichic.
Sources:
- Dolman cardigan: Ann Taylor
- Tank: Target
- Scarf: gift from MIL, Target
- Belt: thrifted
- Jeans: Ann Taylor
- Boots: Steve Madden Intyce, via eBay
End Notes:
(I think my sweet mother-in-law now has a kind of compulsion to gift me with mustard/marigold/saffron garments and accessories. Not that I’m at all complaining. Thanks, Mom!)
This outfit is so similar to number 16 that I almost feel like I’m cheating. Plus, I’m mostly covering everything up with a big, bright scarf. This is save-the-day accessorizing, folks, and I’m a big believer in it!
I had the luxury last night of snuggling up on the couch with a cup of tea and a new episode of What Not to Wear. Frankly, I’m glad I DVRed it, rather than watched it live, since I ended up fast-forwarding through a lot it. I’ll always be grateful to Stacey and Clinton for introducing me to the pointy toe shoe and the belted waist, but I think that our philosophies of dressing have diverged at this point. While the fearsome duo are wholeheartedly committed to the notion of dressing to create as long and slim of an hourglass figure as possible, I’ve been increasingly questioning that standard as my motivating priority. I’ve been wondering what happens when I cut off my leg line or wear two boxy and slouchy pieces simultaneously or just dress to match a mood. I’m certainly not abandoning that culturally constructed aesthetic altogether, but I am more willing to explore other rubrics by which to get dressed and to allow a playfulness with shape, texture, color, or proportion be an end rather than a means.
I feel the same way now when watching WNTW. I think it’s great that they want to empower women by helping them realize that looking good helps you feel good… but sometimes the suggestions they make about what a woman needs to do to to “look good” makes me shake my fist at the TV. Last night while channel surfing I heard them tell a woman to pick out two dresses– one that spoke to her and one that she thought fit the rules. And they seemed to be suggesting that she needed to realize how far off “the rules” the item that spoke to her. Channel change!
Agreed. I like a tall hourglass most days, but sometimes a little closet-related adventure is most important. WNTW (and a few similar shows) have a pretty narrow idea of what “works,” and it feels a little too “mall” for me. =)
You look happy and bright.
This looks great! I love the belted scarf, which is a look I’ve been afraid to try. It draws attention to my “problem areas,” as Stacy and Clinton might say. But maybe, now that I see how cute it can look, I’ll give it a whirl anyway!
I think the importance of shows like WNTW is still there, just not for those of us who have already considered the basics. Once you have a foundation, once you know what type of clothing will always flatter your body type, once you know how to pick out a bra and wear tights and avoid showing your midriff…I think it’s perfectly fine to branch out!
As this outfit perfectly shows–I adore the belt beneath the cardigan, and I’m totally stealing that trick (I have lots of lovely dolman cardis from when I was pregnant last winter, but I’ve been struggling about how to wear them.) Kudos!
How ironic that you are posting about WNTW as I am currently watching my DVR’d episode of WNTW right now. I also agree that you can move beyond the rules and explore what else might work for your mood or body in an unexpected way. I think that it is important to be able to explore all kinds of styling and pick what you feel meets the day’s requirements as well as makes you happy.
I had to stop watching WNTW because it made me so insecure about my clothing choices.
Does your mother-in-law read your blog? I have found since I began blogging that all kinds of folks are giving me things they want to see me work into an outfit. A curious and unintended side-effect.
I love how you have paired this bright scarf with the grey.
This outfit is so cute! I love the scarf! And I totally agree about What Not To Wear, I think it is a great show to teach principles but it doesn’t necessarily work for everyone.
I tentatively agree with you on WNTW; however, the overwhelming majority of women on the show admit to being unhappy with or self-conscious about their bodies. (And, further, the vast majority of their audience probably has those same issues.) In these cases, Stacy and Clinton are simply giving the women what they want: a way to dress that makes them fit into the ‘cultural standard’ (long, lean, hourglass.)
Is that necessarily the right message to be sending? Debatable. Would I still watch the show if, instead, they lectured their participants about bucking societal (and fashion) norms and creating new standards of beauty? Probably not. Whether we personally agree or not, the woman always come to a new acceptance of themselves and their bodies by the end of the show; isn’t that the ultimate goal for everyone?
@azurefinch – I didn’t mean to make an indictment of WNTW overall, just some reflections on my own changing attitudes towards the show which have a lot to do with my own changing attitudes towards how and why I get dressed.
Without fail I get all gushy and weepy at the end of every episode when I see how these women carry themselves with new confidence, and I’ll probably keep DVRing the show just for that happy moment :)
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I love this outfit! You look so put together and yet so cozy! Winter-y but cheerful with that great pop of yellow!
I agree that there are things we can learn from Stacy and Clinton but that we need to explore a little bit sometimes to find what works for us. Its like they taught us in ballet, we need to learn the rules before we can learn to break them gracefully. Classic ballet before modern dance.
[...] loved how E. belted her scarf under a loose drapy cardigan the other day and decided I would give it a try. This charcoal wrap sweater is one of my favorite [...]