Came for the weekend, staying for twelve plus or so. Husband says every day can be a Saturday, not quite there yet. We’ve been checked in at downtown Greenville SC Springhill Suites, and have yet to ride those cool retro bikes. Peloton yes, every morning in the hotel gym, and outdoor steps 12,000+. Bought a […]
Continue readingday seventeen, moving forward
Wow, putting yourself out there in the social stratosphere can feel pretty overwhelming at times. Even on the best of days there’s second guessing. On hard days it’s really hard. Talked with my twenty-six-year-old daughter this morning and she said ‘mom, I delete my Instagram app now Monday to Friday simply so I can focus on getting done what I need to get done. Then on the weekend it’s just that much more fun to kind of scroll through and catch up with everyone’. I say smart girl.
Are our lives really that interesting? Is there oversharing? Where’s the line? And what about me posting pictures of myself? Crazy!
Anyways, here is where we are, and this is what I do so moving forward. I sell clothes. I style clothes. I wear and style clothes. I wear clothes to sell clothes so therefore the posting. Sometimes all I want to do is wear old jeans and my kids’ old college hoodies, and I do. I also believe women feel better when wearing better clothes. We can do better work when we feel good in our skin. I think we all can spend way too many hours staring into our closets wondering what to wear and I try and help with that.
These photos were taken by my second son and he too has a fear of sharing, and he’s in the very social generation. He documents trips and moments and life with his camera and for all of us it’s like pulling teeth for us to see his work. I try and tell him, ‘progress, not perfection’. I think it’s slowly working. Moving forward with one small step at a time, even when that one step can feel so overwhelming, bring you to your knees, or maybe even a complete standstill.
So here I am, wearing clothes from my current trunk show, photographed by my son, and he shared his work. Inside I’m smiling.
The outfit is a riff on uniform dressing, army greens. Some of my clients would object as the colors aren’t exact. I’m okay with it. The voile blouse has soft jersey insets and an edgy concealed zipper front. I think this is genius for women that have trouble with blouses, no gaping and pulling like you can get with a buttoned placket. The pants have front and back pockets, light gold hardware. Most of us love a column of black to get out the door, this combo just edges the look up a bit. Shoes are old Gucci, and love the block heel, so much better for on-the-go.
Besides selling and styling clothes I like to cook. The other night was scratch chicken noodle soup. No photo, camera battery dead. It’s got to get warmer out there soon.
Every day dress, clothes: dark olive on olive, food: scratch chicken noodle soup.
Day seventeen, moving forward, and check.
Trunk show now through Monday, April 29th.
day 10, a clean palate
In an effort to minimize, so far to go with that concept, for new house down south furnished in a flash I stuck with a color palate of white, grey, and dark brown, or one of my favorite words chocolate. Mostly white and grey, and we moved fast.
At Rooms to Go we picked up two white leather pieces, a sofa and a loveseat. The rest of the haul came from Restoration Hardware, and not embarrassed to say Restoration Hardware Outlet. Husband likes to move fast, no time to wait for special orders.
First night in the new house we slept on a mattress on the floor, and second daughter Booie slept on a yoga mat on the floor. In a land of plenty it was fun in a weird strange way. Booie and I also spent a night with no power, and that was fun too. Candlelight and early to bed.
Kind of like building a wardrobe based on a cohesive color story, furnishing this place with limited choice made it so much easier to make decisions. Of course, you always need to mix things up or throw in a curve ball, hence the Hermes orange cushions for outdoor seating area. Really like that little pop in what is otherwise Zen-like and serene.
Today’s work outfit was tone on tone too. Black cashmere V-neck, black leather skirt, soft white scarf, taupe suede boots, keeping it all in the same family made it so much easier to get out the door.
Every day dress, clothes: neutrals, interiors: mostly grey and white, food: Prosecco in the office and take-out for dinner.
Day 10, check.
day 7
Last summer husband and I basically Marie Kondo’d the country house, nothing like having an on-site wedding to get you going, and now I’m feeling the urge to purge city-side too.
We were a family of eight living hard and large with kids doing all kinds of sports and activities. Most of them are launched, two come home this summer from college.
We built our house from the ground up and it was brand spanking new when we moved in. Like most things after fifteen years I’m feeling its age, and well-loved wear. I can’t do a complete overhaul, completely out of the question, so I’m taking whole days and some whole weekends and doing a clean-sweep.
used to do tons of canning, all those jars sitting empty
It’s me doing the work, and it’s okay, and therapeutic. Started with the fridge and pantry because of course that gives immediate results. Clean fridge lends a cleaner mind. Actually, those are the first two things I organize when home from a trip. Kept on cleaning and last night I even washed down walls.
As for style when working at home I’m all about a favorite pair of blue jeans, these are boyfriend style, can’t really get on the high-rise kick, a tank for when it gets hot, and simple, easy cashmere pieces.
Every day dress, clothes: denim and knits, food: took my mom out to dinner.
Day 7, check!
day 4
Running a little behind here yet self-employed and self-published so I’m the only one losing any sleep over this, big huge problem.
In the interim I have found the summer pant: intricate textured stretch jacquard Italian style pant in yarn-dyed stretch cotton in an on-trend plaid and stripe combination. Tried them on in the studio with twenty-six-year-old daughter, she loved them too, added them to doctor client’s order this morning, and placed my order this afternoon. Thinking these are the perfect dress-up run-around version of denim pants that I default too way too often. These are 76% cotton, 20% polyamide, and 4% elastane, giving them incredible wear and ease. I’ll pair them with a white blouse or tee and navy cashmere something, crew or cardigan if needed.
What I was really wearing as it’s still cold was a navy cashmere turtleneck hello late March, current favorite camo jeans, black scarf, black coat, and combat boots. All wardrobe classics and things that will hang around. The coat is Celine from before Phoebe left, and the scarf is Fendi from before Karl passed, both gifts from husband, and both things I’ll keep and wear until threadbare.
We ate out that night at Billy Club, and I had market salad as you can never have enough green things and Bolognese as I make it often and am constantly trying to improve it, therefore trying it wherever it is served. Chef added rosemary, thyme, and a bit of lemon, three aromatics I’ve never tried. House made tagliatelle pasta was divine. Started with a tequila Three Stacks cocktail because I’m kind of wondering just how much wine I can drink…. It was a great meal and a fun night out.
Every day dress: clothes, fun plaid pants and kind of all black, food: dinner out at Billy Club.
Day 4, check.
day three
I’m working trunk the entire upcoming month of April, minus a getaway to celebrate Easter and maybe a quick trip to Florida. Working trunk means being with women one to one in my downtown studio surrounded by 300+ pieces of luxury clothing items and helping them find styles that they love. This has been the professional piece of my life for almost nineteen years now.
Most women love having help in the dressing room. I think deep down we all have a need for affirmation in how we present ourselves to the outside world. For sure the clothes we wear speak about who we are, where we are, and where we’re going. As a stylist I help women refine their message with what they wear. I’ve been doing it forever, it’s always evolving, and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it. It’s in my DNA.
Wear good clothes, eat good food, love those around you.
Most days I’m in jeans and a tee, this is where I’m truly most comfortable, and as a creative it’s a look I can do. At the studio I tried on a pair of easy flowing satin and reverse satin pants in on-trend olive green with a little fitted jersey shell from the summer 19 collection, these two items definitely upgrade the denim and tee look.
Before I leave for the day, I like to have dinner prepped or planned out, it simply makes me feel good and gives me a sense of calm knowing what I’m feeding those I love. Yesterday it was meatballs in tomato sauce. Sauce was a little watery on the plate, whatever, we had five at the table, nobody complained.
Every day dress: clothes: olive green, food: meatballs.
Day three, check.
white things and grilled cheese
we visited Restoration Hardware Tampa yesterday, this is upstairs outside on their 4th floor
It’s Monday and we heard it’s snowing again up northeast and we’re wondering what to write on the blog that might inspire, so we’re going with some year-round classic basics, white things, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
We love white denim twelve months a year, and grilled cheese. Here we added spinach to get those greens in and sliced figs to a simple green salad. We always love a tank; white, black, or even silver.
new votives I picked up at Restoration Hardware outlet
White flowers are also are go-to. Husband and daughter are convinced these ruffled tulips are past their prime yet I’m holding on. Wrinkles and imperfection have got to be okay.
white on white and sorry some of these images are huge, remember cottage industry here and can’t figure out how to resize, eye roll…
White denim and tweed from Carlisle | Per Se, heading back to work trunk show later this week.
Every day dress, white things and grilled cheese, our favorites. xoxo
a pinstriped dress
If I could I might spend forever living in the Italian countryside wearing only clothes by Brunello Cucinelli, cooking and eating pasta with family and dear friends all the while drinking Brunello di Montalcino.
For now (or the month of March) I’ll live and be in Saint Petersburg FL, work and plan for upcoming trunk show, cook and eat pasta, maybe drink a beer, and perhaps gift my husband with a cashmere sweater or two, because I always borrow. Husband’s cashmere sweaters from Cucinelli are always the best.
Every day dress and a great pinstriped dress. xoxo
some simple things
sometimes a chocolate croissant wins 🙂
Even when we’re home away from home we keep our routine pretty much the same. Eggs, the best we can get our hands on, fresh flowers, farmers market vegetables, white denim and a black tank. These are some of our tried and true.
I also hemmed them just above the ankle, showing a slash of skin
Simple style notes: white denim is best with a seasonal refresh. Sure, we can wear last year”s pair, it simply feels better when they are new. Last years white’s can do the dog walk and the garden tour. The pair you see here I cut the front pockets out and stitched the seam closed. It’s a cleaner look, especially if you don’t like to distract the eye with funny pocket linings that you can invariably see when wearing white denim.
Happy Monday, some simple things, and every day dress. xoxo
really bad dinner
Snowed in and thinking about food, and clothes, obviously. We’re in spring trunk show mode and traffic is light, especially when everything is closed for three days and counting. Kind of love snow days, time is at a standstill.
Thinking too about the blog, and what I need to do to inspire myself. Yesterday got myself up, dressed, made the bed, packed up some ice for the drink bin and grabbed fresh flowers off the kitchen counter, headed downtown for client meetings, and with the snow falling the cancellations rolled in. Headed home, and all I could do was double denim, blue jeans and a blue shirt, and contemplate what could be had for lunch.
Last Friday night, in an effort to be new year healthy, picked up four salmon fillets and a head of green cabbage on the way home from the studio, having had worked with new spring clothes all day. Salmon and cabbage? Kind of spring like; and even though the cooking, technique, plating, and presentation were on point, it was a really bad dinner. The thing is it’s just not spring yet, and not even close to being spring like. So, while I might be dressing myself and my women in new spring clothes for the season ahead, the food correlation is just simply a no-go. It was a dinner for three, and not one of us could get through it. Instead, we tucked into the wine. Started with white, because you know white with fish, ha-ha. Took a look out the window, snow blustering all around, and poured some red. Ate some of the cabbage and simply pushed the farm raised pink stuff around the plate. I should and do definitely know better: do not buy farm raised fish, but I did. So, no dinner and over served on the wine. Went to bed hungry and spinning. It was for sure a really bad dinner.
Having made meatballs and sauce the day before served that up for lunch the next afternoon. That was the dinner we were looking for on a cold snowy night, live and learn. When you get it right it should go on repeat? We can do meatballs and sauce two nights in a row, especially and particularly in January.
Still trying to do healthy, yet wanting warmth, and comfort. Simmered up a double batch of vegetable stock, some for a hearty minestrone soup, and some for the freezer. A bowl of soup, combined with a grilled cheese sandwich, butter is still love, be still my January heart. See you later bland, pink fish.
As for spring clothes, we put in our order: a tailored single-breasted glen plaid blazer, for denim in all configurations, dark, distressed, white. Added the matching glen plaid trouser, not for a pant suit look but maybe, simply for having a nice trouser in the wardrobe. Try as I do denim can’t take you everywhere and felt a grown-up trouser for spring 19 was a must have. Also did a white blazer dress in a beautiful crepe with princess seaming, a bit of an asymmetric hem, to be worn as a dress, and as a coat. A black ballet inspired tee, semi-fitted, extended cap shoulder, because again, try as I do sometimes a tank is simply feeling a little too exposed. Added a beautiful navy unlined crewneck cardigan, with six silver buttons, a little fringe detail, tonal stitching, and long, cuffed sleeves, it’s stunning. For underneath a white pique blouse with silk chiffon trim, very classic and luxurious, hidden button front and long sleeves with deep cuffs and two rows of buttons. Of course, there is denim, a new pair of white, always need to refresh those to look best, a cool textured jacquard pair done in a black and navy texture, and a color block one with a cool fringed hem. Yeah, three pair of jeans yet that’s what we wear. To top it all off added a little iridescent jacket in a jet black and navy Moiré cotton, with silk habotai hem and cuffs. All great pieces can’t wait to get them, hopefully UPS is snow-proof.
As for the blog, they say write what you know, so food and clothes. Not for all, I know. If you like what we’ve got, thanks for hanging around. My in-house photographer grew up and went to college so the clothing shots have been lacking, only so far I can push the husband, and selfies feel a little weird. Speaking of selfies, here’s one in the studio, while snow swirls all around. A few DM’s about the taupe suede boots: they are Sarah Flint, a direct to consumer brand. Sarah makes great footwear using some of the same production sites as Hermes, Louboutin, and Blahnik, and counts the likes of Meghan Markle, Lady Gaga, Jane Fonda and Cindy Crawford as fans. I’m trying a little six month ambassador thing with them, and in return they’ve given me a code for clients and friends, RCOLLINS50, to use at checkout for $50 off your first pair. I do like her shoes and boots, have three pair now.
That’s all for now, I’ve broken the ice and re-fed the blog. Off to take an afternoon bath, time stands still on snow days, and then back to work on wardrobing women in new spring things. Really bad dinner, see you later. xoxo