In Which I Am A Hat Person (Sometimes)

I guess I'm destined to be a sensitive mess when I wear hats. I may go through phases where I'm all like, Yea, girl, we look good right now in this fedora — wear this hat out! But then I put on said hat with a less egomaniacal mind, like when I'm one foot out the door for work in the morning, and I begin to rethink the whole thing. What if this actually looks stupid. WTF what was I thinking, why risk the criticism? Do I look like Dark Man in this? BEST TAKE IT OFF. Insecurity eats me up whole and in a matter of seconds I become my worst enemy and convince myself that I am not a hat person on that day. Weekends are another story though. They're the playing ground for most outfits I deem too questionable for work until I get some proper mileage on them first. Long story short, that is what the above is. It's a test run for hats again because in this moment I'm 50/50.

WEARING:

J. CREW tux shirt (size 4)

J BRAND leather leggings (size 26, runs large)

J. CREW double monk strap shoes (size 7, runs large)

EVERLANE leather portfolio tote (similar, other colors!)

REPOSSI ring

FREE PEOPLE hat

ROLEX vintage

KATHLEEN WHITAKER earrings

A Jenna Lyons Army: J. Crew

Having Jenna Lyons as a muse and Executive Creative Director of J. Crew means that she gets it: people want to dress like her. People like me, who work in office buildings, have a penchant for preppy, and despite the creative freedom in the workplace attire professionalism and dollar signs still rule. A couple seasons ago J. Crew took a turn towards the influential, upping the status of their catalogues, models, styling, and editorials to be cutting edge, aspirational, and becoming completely addicting — similar to what looking at a Jenna Lyons outfit is.  You look at an outfit she has put together and like a Miroslava Duma she mixes high and low fashions to achieve something entirely unique. So looking at these pieces for Spring 2013, the mix and match possibilities are pretty exciting for me already. I can see myself wanting to layer a blazer or printed tops with a little bit of Suno. Playing down the buttoned-up-ness of it all with some slouchy track pants, or grunging it up with some Marc by Marc Jacobs pattern play.

Tiger Beat

Hard and soft, young and bold. The combination of Theory leather skinny pants and all its bold implications are perfectly countered by the youthful charm of a Mulberry sweater. Covered up á la French with an Étoile Isabel Marant Diego wool coat, and topped off with some luxuriously leopard J. Crew half calf ballet flats. The YSL structured bag is completely revamped in a punchy green, which is surprisingly versatile, but (admittedly) not as fun as the blue one. Which is on wait list. Sad.

I'm personally going after that Diego wool coat because I felt so bummed after missing out on the perfectly wool draped, oversized French appeal of Isabel Marant's outerwear last Fall. Not this time! And let it be known that J. Crew ballet flats are the best. Period. I have a pair of patent leather Mary Janes that are about 5 years old and still an everyday staple.

Get the Look: Rosie Huntington Whiteley's Love For Leather At The Airport

There's only a few people that I see wearing this much leather and looking that good. That's pretty much what Rosie Huntington Whiteley does when she steps out to any nearby airport. So I thought, why not try to emulate this supermodel inspired outfit? An All Saints leather motorcycle jacket play well with J. Crew half calf leopard flats. Current Elliot leather pants are the ultimate Rosie staple, topped off with her ever-present RayBan aviators. Proenza Schouler's travel bag with the top handles and the cross body strap are pretty much the best thing you'll ever have while juggling a passport, a laptop, and a carry on (unless you're Rosie, then you have people for that. People like Jason Statham).

Floral Kitsch

J. Crew blazer, Karen Walker Number One sunglasses, H&M flower shirt, Theory dress, Kate Spade tote 

    

K.I.S.S.

Let's keep it simple. My palette is clean, and I in the mood for something that is equally minimal. Carven's silk printed top is amazing. I'm still not over hyper-realist prints and this particular one is so pleasing to the eye. The landscape brown is gorgeous and neutral, and it's only natural to layer the Carven top over a pair of Michael Michael Kors silk pants.

Silk pants, remember when we tried that? Pajama comfort, YES.  The accessories, I must admit, are a bit of dream items for me. The J. Crew Tillary tote is like a modified Céline boston bag and I need to have it. Unfortunately, it doesn't ship until May. So good luck with that one. The YSL Spring 2012 platform pumps are here because I am in love with them. They are available for pre-order if you choose to drop some serious cash on them. So, again, good luck with that one. And finally, to end on a high note, some completely attainable Eddie Borgo studs in turquoise.

J. Crew Collection Lookbook