plaid - The Seventh Sphinx

Ah, boot season.

Spring is OK for boots but not sufficiently dry for the suede styles that are my clear favorites (if acquisition is any indicator). This, among so many other reasons, is why autumn reigns supreme. Another reason might be the predominance of plaid, for which I have always harbored a weakness. Perhaps it is my rural upbringing?

In particular I am craving the extremes of thigh-high and ankle boots. Booties. Bootlets. Much browsing and buying and returning before I discovered these charmers from UGG (which lacks romance but there it is). These have a great cowboy silhouette in the toe, minimal yet sculptural detailing, a great pale wheat color, and the slightly tapered chunky heel that I am drawn to these days.

Isn’t there something wonderfully pristine about a bare, unadorned throat?

Ripple pearl drops from Pearlescence, Chanel Rouge Noir Illusion d’ombre smoked out with a sepia shade from the Viseart neutral matte palette, MAC Peaches blush (new, loving), MAC prolongwear brow set, Wet n’ Wild Megalast lipstick in Bare it All with Urban Decay 24/7 lip pencil in Naked, which is almost a perfect match, some other stuff you can’t really see…

In the hair I’ve been using the deep repair mask (as a leave-in treatment) and the styling cream (for definition) from the Carol’s Daughter Tiare line. Smells amazing and I like how soft yet defined my hair is. Doing pretty well with my resolution to wear it down more.

On the nails: Zoya Taylor. Basically a realistic concealer shade for me thanks to a touch of peachy warmth. Really nice color, though the whole time I’ve worn it I’ve wanted to add gold glitter to liven it up. The formula I find OK but it cracks on me within 48 hours or so.

J Crew flannel shirt, Obi-style leather belt (eBay), Express leggings, Breil Milano watch, Ugg boots, Rough & Tumble bag (more on this bag later, loving this).

I have a few of these obi belts and find them so versatile and sleek. Though I could also like this look without a belt at all, loose and casual, to me the belt is doing so much here to amp up the style factor. The power of a good belt.

Get thee a good belt.

I love the contrast of a short skirt in winter. If otherwise well bundled on a not-too-cold day, it doesn’t have to be woefully impractical. Some tights. Some boots. Legwarmers, maybe. It’s all about that unexpected near-bareness of leg, all the better if there is a bit of thigh on show, too. And near-bareness is key, as true bareness is a) too cold and b) sort of uncomfortable to see, you feel for the sufferer.

Ankle boots maximize the leg-visibility here, though I really like this kind of look with bulky knee-high winter boots as well. Either way.

Another great hood. Another winter cape. The arm holes on this one aren’t quite where I want them (meant for a smaller-armed person?), but of course I can’t get enough of this camel color.

It helps that I’m always selecting the same kinds of colors over and over again, across fashion [and other life] categories, but there is such effortless color harmony here. Effortless in the sense that I did not try to make things match, exactly, I just selected what I wanted and it came together naturally because I so often want the same kind of thing.

Wool blend cape (thrifted, been a while since I wore it last), pleated corduroy skirt (thrifted), Guess ankle boots, Zara scarf, Free People tote. On the lips: MAC lip pencil in Beet and MAC lipstick in Damn Glamorous (LE), a dark pinky red. NARS Exhibit A blush, which never disappoints me. These fur-lined mittens are awesome, so warm. Where are they from again? They are linked in a past post somewhere.

These are actually not tights but thigh-high stockings. Secretly kind of sexy, which is in many cases the best kind of sexy, I think, subtle and indirect. Perhaps technically invisible but shining through, somehow, nevertheless.

Tag: plaid

bootie call

the winter skirt