pencil it in

I cannot get enough of midi length skirts and dresses right now, especially in a pencil silhouette. There is a retro ambiance to this length, hemmed somewhere around the calf, that is conservative while still feeling chic.

asos midi jersey pencil skirt

I find this length revealing in all the best ways, much more universally flattering than something that reveals the knee, and drawing attention to the calves and ankles in a way I find particularly feminine. I think this holds for a full or a fitted skirt, it’s all about that length.IMG_9281

The slinky jersey accentuates the pencil silhouette here, creating that fertile tapered curve from the width of the hips to the narrow point of the knees. Clothes that reveal more or less everything but do so with plenty of fabric nearly always come across as sophisticated to me. I positioned the skirt fairly high up on the waist as well, and do I only imagine that I seem taller?

The curvier you are, the better this silhouette looks.

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And white. Of course.

One can imagine this look with a black skirt but…white is definitely the bold, conspicuous way to go. Somehow white skirts are exponentially more appealing to me than white pants. Why is that? I’ll have to think more on that.

I can imagine it with a teal skirt or something along those lines as well, or a bright shoe, but I wanted to keep it duochromatic.

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Remember this necklace?

I like a natural look like this, a peachy/bronzy look with no eyeliner. This is the Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Formentera as bronzer/highlighter, NARS Gilda blush, a beautiful matte burnt coral, and Charlotte Tilbury lipstick in Penelope Pink with a little Korres lip glaze over top to pink it up (Penelope Pink is not that pink, despite the name, it’s a really nice nude). The Beach Sticks are lovely, by the way, remind me of the Kjaer Weis cheek creams, and a bit like a NARS multiple upon initial application but with more of a cream-to-powder formula as you blend. Very easy to blend with fingers.

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Try putting a touch of your blush (or bronzer) just above your crease with a loose blending brush to tie everything together. It doesn’t really matter what other colors you may or may not have going on on the lid (I have gold here, incidentally, loving my Lorac PRO palette), it works with anything.

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asos white midi jersey pencil skirt

J Crew silk blouse, asos jersey midi pencil skirt, Zara suede d’orsay pumps, thrifted jewelry.

J Crew polka dot silk blouse

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Nanette Lepore: just one dress

I caught sight of this one dress from the Nanette Lepore Spring 2015 collection and was curious to see the rest. As it sometimes happens, I wasn’t interested in the collection as a whole at all, a colorful, bohemian, vacation-inspired array of caftans and tent dresses. Upon closer inspection, I really only like the one dress.

This always baffles me a little. How can it be! How is this (clearly the best piece, because I like it best) not the heart of the collection? [Those fools!]

[It can be difficult to live with egomania, you see.]

But, fine. It’s more a piece of luck that I liked anything at all (always a piece of luck, to really like something). So I don’t like this designer much overall, and will direct my attentions elsewhere. I still love the dress.

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The close row of buttons, the Bardot neckline, the diaphanous (and therefore the weight of the fabric) sleeves and skirt, the precise length of the sleeves and skirt, the blousy fit of the torso, the size and spacing of the Breton-style stripes, that they are horizontal, the clean black and white palette… A romantic, elevated shirtdress.

I just like everything about this. More of this, please, Nanette.

image via style.com