It’s getting close to that time of year when time is not your own. When things get crazy busy, actually when are they not, and you need to be dressed. What are you wearing?
Here’s a look I have at the ready: black high-waisted wide-legged trousers with one shoulder fitted silk sweater. Single white shirt cuff is detachable. This look will take most women anywhere. Kind of like an updated tuxedo.
If you too feel like it’s getting close, that panic time of year, and you are wondering what you’ll be wearing, come see me, I’ll help get you dressed.
Winter 2013 Trunk Show
Saturday October 19th through the morning of Thursday October 24th
When you love clothes and food, what comes first? Both necessities, right?
Here’s what we’ve been up to at every day dress: cooking, baking, feeding:
For bacon egg cheese cups pre-cooked 6 lbs of bacon before coiling them into a lightly sprayed muffin pan. Filled the muffin cups with scrambled eggs, 8 dozen total, and grated cheddar cheese, 3 bricks, three-quarters of the way full. Baked them off in batches in a 350 degree oven and placed them all on two sheet pans to deliver to daughter’s freshman homecoming class breakfast. We love donuts and bagels but protein in the morning is a very good thing.
For small ski town Fall Fest weekend with endless kids and house-guests, we had a ball, started things off last Thursday night by pre-browning 20 lbs of beef short-ribs. Used every pan in site. 🙂 Added to that mixture red onion, garlic, etc. but the kicker was the 96 ounces or 4 large bottles of stout. I never really buy beer and decided to go local and seasonal, therefore the pumking and warlock, couldn’t decide between the two so simply bought both and mixed. Cooked that all up and Friday did 8 lbs of parsnips with cream and butter for the puree. Ran out of heavy cream to get the consistency I wanted and did not want to go back to the grocery so smartly reserved some of the cooking water to thin the mixture out with good flavor.
We had a good mix-up of kids and adults so added the party standard double batch of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Mac & Cheese. My tip here: when needing a double batch to accommodate a large group, prepare each batch separately and place one into your large oven proof serving piece and then after preparing the second batch dump that directly on top. Finish it all off with sliced tomatoes, and this you can double for sure in one swoop, the pan-fried buttered bread crumbs.
Knowing that one of our guests does not eat beef and is a total health nut did a dozen organic South Beach Rosemary Balsamic Chicken Breasts. Simple green salad with mustard vinaigrette, bruschetta, and sliced fresh baguettes rounded things out.
Put two daughters and one friend to work on peeling coring and slicing 10 lbs of apples for the oatmeal apple crisp. No photos of that, everyone was way too occupied. 4 cups old-fashioned oats, 4 cups brown sugar, 4 sticks butter, sugar and cinnamon, and with all those apples baked off and served warm with vanilla ice cream there was love in the room.
Friday night was the ribs, Saturday night turned into adult kids grilling burgers with sweet potatoes, salad, and home-made peanut butter cookies kid you not. For some pretty great tasting burgers put the ground beef, ground lamb, and ground pork that were really for meatballs into a big bowl and added some salt pepper and stuff. Put that mixture into a rectangular pan and cut it in rows and then shaped 16 equal burgers. Also roasted two organic chickens for picking and casual Caesar Salad for and then there were four for Monday night dinner home city-side. Oh, Sunday morning, more eggs, more bacon, and this time added pancakes. Sunday night dinner out in local ski town. Exhaustion, hands have burns, no manicure. Slightly manic, totally worth it all.
Yesterday, and today, back to fashion. Tomorrow, Thursday, off to Rochester NY for Fashion Week of Rochester, super excited, and Friday October 18th Fall Winter Trunk Show begins. Let’s go.
Met a client at the tailor yesterday to deliver her new leopard coat. Had her try it on, small button adjustment needed, and couldn’t stop thinking about blogger Erin Gates of Elements of Style.
Been super slow to the game of commenting, linking back, and all that kind of thing on other blogs. Totally self-taught here, tutor, mentor, helper, please apply.
Erin posts every single day, Monday through Friday, all interesting, love her style and discipline. Her main thing is interiors, Friday she writes about fashion. Since reading her last one on the leopard trend, been thinking of jumping in and it’s taken four days to do so. Check out her post Fashion Friday: Fall Staple-Leopard Coat here by clicking on all these words. You’ll get to see Kate wearing leopard like no one else can. Erin has a great way of styling, interiors and fashion, and an easy, engaging style of writing that makes you want to stay for a while.
Erin, we found your coat. Know you are looking all over the web, consider this luxurious option: Camel and Black Leopard Faux Fur Coat. 49% Cotton 34% Viscose 17% Modal for a modern, easy, light-weight look and feel. Shown here over a black dress and long leather gloves, simply elegant, and chic and sporty with black, red, and boots. How can we resist?
When above said client tried hers on she wanted to wear it so badly she stood and waited while the super busy tailor made the button adjustments on the spot, this coat is that good. He knew she had to go home with it and could not wait. Thank you, tailor.
Erin, thank you for your blog. You make me feel like I have a friend in Boston MA. Wishing you much continued success.
For recent ten-day European travel packed two carry-on size bags only. Checked one, carried one, both together with a handbag were easy to deal with. Fashion minded and as she says packing challenged colleague has asked what was inside those two bags, that will have to be another post, for the record there was only one pair of heels, and that pair was only a mid-height.
The single pair that made the packing edit was the Valentino Rockstud. Some may say they’ve had their moment but when shoes are a little sexy, super comfortable, have a bit of an edge and you can walk for miles in them, that kind of style will always have a spot in the carry-on. These packed up small, left room for boots, and if truth be told by packing only one pair with a heel there was room for new friends.
One day or ten, the carry-on is the way to go. For long trips pack two and stack them.
Every day dress in Paris France in the lobby of Hotel Lutetia wearing Valentino Rockstud shoes, the only pair of heels that made the trip. Two pair came back, it was Paris after all.
Sometimes when the world feels a little overwhelming it’s good to get back to the small stuff. Making dinner, planting mums, simple fresh cut flowers for the kitchen table, all help with the centering thing. Lifestyle, baby, lifestyle.
All photos from the iPhone, all taken quickly. Swordfish is from last week Thursday, Barefoot Contessa, mums were planted on Sunday, really thought it was too late in the season and kind of wanted to skip it, husband gently insisted, funny how when you do those things they are expected, and hydrangeas bought at the grocery about forty-five minutes ago.
Fashion news has been all over the place and with that gorgeous women with incredibly long thin legs in loose jeans and fabulous shoes.
Thinking that the most comfortable outfit ever would be a tee, jeans, and a cashmere v-neck sweater. Works for both men and women.
Thinking that the classic combination of grey and camel is always comforting.
When you are in need of the quick wardrobe fix, fall back on the above.
While traveling home from Europe after eight or nine days, can’t really even remember, needed/wanted a quick comfortable wardrobe fix. Nothing quite like airport shopping. Really wanted to pay 35 pounds or 50 euros or whatever it was for the deluxe lounge with the bedroom and shower to change into the new stuff but ran out of time. Picked up three new quick pieces at London Heathrow Zara. Have been living in them ever since. Put them on, take them off, put them on.
Black short-sleeved v-neck tee, you can never have enough of those. Jeans, how many pair do you all own, this time in black-coated cotton. Kind of the look and feel of leather yet machine washable and way less expensive. Grey cashmere v-neck sweater, never go wrong with that. Zara, you made it easy and how do you do it at those prices?
While we love and lust for our real deal luxury items, sometimes we need/want the quick fix.
Tee, jeans, and sweater, the quick fix. Strong classic accessories always a good idea.
You’re thousands of miles away from everyone you know, celebrating all good things with the love of your life, and having dinner in the countryside of France. Would you wear a transparent lace tank with a beautiful opaque silk bra underneath?
One of my younger by the decade and in the know friends at lunch awhile ago suggested I follow Yolanda Foster on Instagram. Yolanda’s big message is #getwise or ‘get wise, keep your romance alive’. Yolanda is gorgeous, loves her kids and loves her man, and inspires you to drink lemon water, I know, another post and topic altogether. Anyways, Yolanda has some great basic life messages, check her out, and thank you Jamie.
As for the outfit? The flat leather boots grounded it, you can’t wear a heel of any kind while walking on centuries old cobblestone, and, when wanting some coverage simply snapped up the matching cardigan. Very demure, right?
French phrase at the end of the night, ‘l’addition s’il vous plait’.
Get wise, keep your romance alive. Love life and every day dress. Would you wear this?
It’s been a while dear readers: last two posts were put up eleven days ago from Boston Logan International Airport. Since then every day dress has been so many places and walked so many miles, feel like those bike racers in Madrid two weekends ago.
Finally wrote the first draft of this post from Saint-Emillion France after the first 48+ hours of travel and 48+ hours in Spain and now I know why certain CNN commentators say blogging was so five years ago. Took forever to do anything, especially photo uploading, and posting almost impossible. Instagram can push your content before you are even ready and have you second-guessing and taking it back. Twitter might be great, tried that but hasn’t caught on here for me.
Most will tell you that traveling can be both glamorous and a grind so here are a few visuals. Wore first daughter’s distressed boyfriend jeans while in Boston, seems like forever ago, and, yes, changed to black Ponte pants, tank and jacket, for flying through the night, added the belt to give the look a little definition, and then to black lace dress for dinner, all in Spain.
For short flights looking great while wearing a skirt or dress is easy to pull off. Not so much for transatlantic, therefore the black pants with stretch. Slip on and slip off boots for getting through security and slipping off easily to stow under the seat in front of you. Every day dress flies coach most of the time, has a thing for buying handbags and since money doesn’t grow on trees need to make choices. Oldest daughter tells me she would forgo business class for a Lady Dior too. 🙂
It’s Wednesday, September 25th, back in the US and back at work. Travel opens your eyes and refreshes your soul. Looking forward to sharing fashion and lifestyle notes again and hoping to inspire women to every day dress. Need to get over the jet lag. Everything in time.
We’ve all been there, work all day, booked for a late flight out, flight delayed, then straight to dinner. Your clothes need to count. When you’re running and handling your own luggage you need to be able to move fast. Of course you could do blue jeans or black pants, sleeveless tee and jacket. Why not a skirt that zips and unzips up to there? Seems to be that when you put on the skirt you gain instant credibility and a good table at the restaurant. Why is that? Significant and rhetorical.
For Buffalo NY to Boston MA wore long black skirt, sleeveless appliquéd tee, and favorite push up sleeves jacket. Flat boots that slip on and off for security check through a necessity.
Luggage? That’s all. Leaving town for nine days, Boston, Madrid, Paris, and all points in between on the agenda. Love to pack light and be able to handle all the stuff when on your own, never know where you might find yourself.
For airport to dinner relied on that favorite friend, black. As you can see daughters love it too.
Every day dress airport to dinner and onwards to Spain.
Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar are of course the monthly must read but what’s been really enjoyed lately is the Wall Street Journal, Personal Journal, and here it really resonates. Wednesday’s edition summed it in so many words that what’s needed to update the Fall 2013 wardrobe is leather. Husband wishes I would read more of the financial news.
Couldn’t agree more. Picture shown here was snapped by colleague Mary Collins on my iPhone this past week Tuesday while in NYC for fashion preview. Notice the leather leg, and here it’s not just for kids. Women, why not add a little leather? It stretches, feels good on your skin, and humans have worn it forever.
There is leather out there for all. Whether you choose the leather leg, the leather embellished tee, or go full on with a leather dress or leather skirt suit, don’t be shy, the leather look is not just for kids.
Footnote: wore flat leather Chanel Boy Boots purchased many seasons ago and the Manolo Blahnik BB pumps for work meetings are tucked safely in the Céline bag. Can’t possibly get through 14 hours in NYC with heels on.
Second footnote: can you notice the balding on the pony hair calf on the front of the bag? Purchased this bag last September in Florence Italy and the pony hair has worn thin, thoughts? Céline is now producing this bag with a full leather back and pony hair on the front side only.
Third footnote: check out the red lace dress in Bergdorf Goodman’s window. 🙂 The red lace dress is big for sure.
Every day dress does the leather leg while in NYC last week Tuesday for in and out work meetings.
