out for a while

To cap off summer shenanigans, thank goodness as it’s been a long one, husband and I did a two-day getaway at The Red Horse Inn before hitting Greenville SC for Furman University family weekend.

we stopped at a small Amish store and bought ham off the bone, hot pepper cheese, a jar of mustard and mayonnaise and a loaf of bread

Hiking the foothills of the Blue Ride Mountains and making grilled ham and cheese sandwiches in the petite cabin kitchen were the activities, perfect. The new terrace of the main house was a great spot for a glass of wine or two.

denim shirt with wide legged navy pant

new season square toe lace up boot, a season or so ago bag

Yeah, we’ve been out for a while, and looking to get back in. Two life changes, a marriage and somewhat of an empty nest after sending youngest of six off to Providence College this fall and just gotta say the tank feels low. Things that got us going like writing, and cooking, and even dressing haven’t had the same pull. That’s a problem, as we named this site every day dress, not only to talk about clothes, but more about the idea of getting up, showing up, taking risks and putting yourself out there, and to perhaps help inspire a few women to do maybe a little of the same.

Simply putting this post up on this first day of October feels awkward, as we’ve fallen off the habit, kind of like the first day of school or the first day back at the gym after a too long hiatus. We know we like it, and that it’s good for us, it’s just that we’re out of the routine.

In talking with a client today she reminded me that research suggests it takes thirty days of regularly doing ‘a thing’ to make ‘a habit’. So here we are, with an awkward feeling post, hoping to get back to regularly writing, cooking, dressing.

All I can say is every day dress. xoxo

 

thirty one

Woke up this morning, had some coffee, hit the gym, and made the bed. Thirty one years ago today and almost all of those days in between I’ve followed pretty much the same routine, although that specific day I married the man of my dreams, the love of my life.

I knew at first sight that he was the one, he thought I was way too young. Kind of positioned myself so he would notice. Notice he did: a bride at twenty-two, a mom at twenty-three; we’re still here, still loving.

Good habits and aligned values have helped us endure. Family first, lots of exercise, shared meals.

taller than my man, and wore Azzedine Alaïa for church ceremony

We created our wedding day and have created every day since. Even then I loved clothes, and made the wedding dress, and the dresses for five bridesmaids, and two flower girls. Sewing my clothing was a self-taught skill, a hobby, and a necessity back then. Crazy girl, yet crazy kind of got me here today, thankful. Still love clothes, yet finding I need less, and want better. Even so I’m often most comfortable in husbands shirt, rolled sleeves, and worn in blue jeans.

Sure we still love to dress up, and celebrate. We celebrated large for oldest daughter’s wedding a month or so ago, and felt it fitting to share photos of that day, on this day, as both days celebrate love.

Thirty one and more, and every day dress. xoxo

all photos | Sarah Bridgeman

Yes, I wrote this post on our thirty-first wedding anniversary day, yesterday. Sarah Bridgeman, our daughter’s wedding photographer, compiled over 1,700 photos for us, each one seemingly better than the last. As you can imagine it takes hours to sort through, and wanted to post some of her images here, as to us they are just so magical. We hope you too can feel the love. Thank you, Sarah. 

44 days…

6:59 am text to oldest daughter, bride to be, ‘is it really 44 days away or did I count wrong’. Her immediate reply, ‘you counted correct’. Holy moly.

Tuesday we planted 5 more hydrangea, weeded a ton, organized furniture, and did basic life. Wednesday we went and got more hydrangea, weeded forever, (even the driveway because no one I know is going to weed the driveway), and loaded in 15 cases of wine that arrived from last out-of-town excursion until after this wedding day. Now Thursday, and we’re staying put, and head is down.

We love doing parties, and this will be our biggest yet. Nothing like throwing a party to get you in gear to do stuff you’ve thought of doing. We’re renovating, for sure. Completely redoing a barn, recovering cushions, digging a second well, redoing decks, establishing new garden beds. It’s not every day we get to receive 200+ most favorite humans, some from as far away as Brazil, for a celebratory dinner out in the country-side. Kind of feel like I’m living my best life, because really I like my hands in the dirt.

While in the weed patch today I was thinking of this site, and thinking I should simply chronicle what’s going on for the next 44 days as weddings are big life events. Thank you for hanging in, we’ve kind of got mountains to move, and when I blink I know it will have come and gone, and that’s the circle of this wonderful life.

all photos by Alexis, dear friend of the bride to be, coming to celebrate with us from San Diego

dress | W by Worth

shoes | Christian Louboutin

ps. turning 53 in a week or so and have decided here, in this space, it can be what it needs to be, different at different times, kind of like when you roll through the decades. Also, no filter. 🙂

Every day dress, 44 days…..xoxo

 

showering linnie

Of course we’ve been watching all things royal, adoring her sartorial choices, and couldn’t be happier for the beaming bride and groom. Love too that it’s a modern-day fairy tale, and reminds us that with love, and persistence, all heights are possible.

the everything shoe

Honestly I don’t even know what day it is, as our own little wedding story has been wonderfully encompassing: in just under twelve weeks we’re bringing together two large and joyous families for a union that simply feels right, and good.

Peanut on the bride cookies

Stephanie on flowers and balloons, 100+

setting the stage

Last weekend (or was it the one before that?), twenty of us came together at Bobo in NYC for showering Linnie. We laughed, and cried, and shouted out a little with Taylor Swift, all in a glorious Saturday afternoon of celebration.

the bride arrives

Every day dress, showering Linnie, and loving everyone and every moment. xoxo

a mom in love

Linnie and her twin brother

sent as many guests as we could home with flowers, love you Taylor

I’ve been MIA as doing it all is seemingly not possible, so blogging slipped, sorry. Gotta do what’s necessary, and getting through the days is top of the list, even though settling in with the laptop and the keyboard is pulling, and consciously unsettling…

an easy dress

Recent Instagram posts feature a dress and a tee by JCrew, a brand I haven’t worn in years. JCrew used to be our family go-to for outfitting five of our six kids, one just didn’t get it and still doesn’t and probably won’t ever, talking about you, Booie. As it often goes we’ve circled back. During holiday time oldest daughter and I stepped in to their Madison Avenue boutique and picked up some sweaters, one cashmere, one not, and both of those sweaters have been regular players in each of our wardrobes. The recent purchases they made quite easy, with an email online thing offering a discount of I think 20% or 30%, so picked out a few things and hit submit. The box with a few tees, a dress, and a pair of sunglasses arrived a few days later.

Their tees don’t need any double thinking, they can be worn out, to they gym, and for coffee in the morning, and really don’t impact the clothing budget or the overall aesthetic. A dress, however, can be a game changer, and a commitment. Wasn’t sure I was going to keep it or not, and threw it in the carry-on for little Florida getaway.

Late yesterday afternoon we headed to St. Petersburg, and the dress offered the ‘what to wear’ solution, thank you, JCrew. In my idealized world I’d be living in the Tuscan countryside and wearing Cucinelli, yet in the now we’re living in upstate New York, wearing most often Worth New York and W by Worth, and traveling wherever, and life is good.

So, we kept the dress, because it was easy. And wore it with leather. A dress is one and done. We’re heading home tomorrow, and moving into trunk show mode. Here we come Worth New York and W by Worth, we’re so looking forward to our women and some new season spring clothes. Trunk dates: tomorrow, Friday, February 23rd – Thursday, March 1st, and Tuesday, March 6th – Monday, March 12th.

An easy dress, and so many good dresses to come.

xo

 

 

 

a new suit

Four daughters will buy suits in multiples, me, not so much. I’ll do one at a time, maybe two. Husband and I dropped oldest at Tampa International Airport, and then stopped at International Plaza to run in and return a broken belt buckle at Louis Vuitton, and to pick up a new suit.

Two things about this quick visit, Louis Vuitton handled the repair with grace and courtesy, and will be shipping out a new buckle in a few weeks. Nice, good things go on. When I started this site seven years ago I thought I was starting a site about fashion for the over forty set, and now it seems it and I have evolved to more about style, not necessarily fashion, and style with respect to clothes, food, make-up, life, and perhaps not that age specific. Fashion to me can feel exhausting, and endless. Style feels like it can be cultivated and counted on for the long run. That Louis Vuitton belt and buckle will endure.

Now, secondly, the suit: we’re in Florida for a little so obviously spending some time poolside. I brought a classic black Eres tank suit, (actually gifted to me by the husband a few years ago), and a Dolce & Gabbana floral bikini I picked up last summer in Portugal. The Eres suit is as classic as classic gets, and fourth daughter likes to wear it as a bodysuit with her denim. With proper care it will last a good, long time, yet it’s not a piece I like to wear when sitting pool side, it’s a little hot. I wanted to add another to the rotation, and prefer a two-piece for pool time, and don’t care about maybe a two piece is not the best look for women my age in some opinions, in my upstate New York State of being. Truth: last summer posted to Instagram while wearing a white Eres bikini, outdoors in the country side cooking for the family, our dog in the background, and it was reported, and deleted. Come on, really? Is that why I get seated in the backside of the restaurant for breakfast when dining alone yet when I return with the twenty-something daughter the very next day we are shown a table up front and center? Yes, this is a tangent, and probably worthy of more space yet simply had to get it out there. While traveling in Europe I never feel or sense this ageism, two piece suit or not.

The takeaway? Women, wear what you want, and feel good. I’ll upload the photo of the suit I bought as a flat-lay, yet not going near the body in the suit, at least for now. Think I’ll wait until I’m sixty or seventy or eighty something, when I/we really look good feeding the family at the country house with the dog in the background.

Every day dress, a new suit, and it’s a two piece.

by appointment

adore a nice room in the city, one night went to bed at 9pm and slept through to 8am the next morning, pure luxury

second daughter scrolling through her phone

leather pant, lace tunic, black sneaker 

I do think women like to know possibilities of what to wear

For three nights second daughter and I camped in at The Nomad, and for three days second daughter, first daughter (bride-to-be) and I shopped out by appointment various atelier for the precious dress.

Leanne Marshall

second daughter considering wedding party dresses

black cropped denim, oversized sweater, silk blouse underneath

It was sublime, and close to perfection. Each morning we started with eggs and avocado in The Atrium and then walked, taxied, and ubered around town for dress appointments. There was champagne, and chardonnay, joyful tears, and honestly plenty of burgers, and fries.

We took a million iPhone photos, and at the end of it all decided to keep those albums private. Sharing here are a few photos from the Canon Rebel, with none, by design, of the bride to be.

on the floor at JFK while charging the iPhone

feet up on the carry-on, glitter socks, a tote, and a bag

the bag goes in the tote for boarding

Every day dress, shopping, by appointment.

xo

a white suit

Snowing again, and we’re totally jazzed by the idea of a white suit, or really anything all white.

Here we go, writing and posting at the end of the day, and not very first thing, as we had researched about habits, and productivity. There’s always tomorrow, that’s what we really love about the every day.

In a few days second daughter, or now MOH, (that’s Maid of Honor in wedding lingo, something I had no idea about), travel to NYC for a round of white dress look sees with first daughter, bride to be, (or is it BTB?). Obviously there’s been a lot of dress looking, for the bride and the wedding party online and on Pinterest, (another social site we’re just not that good at), and this has us thinking about a lot of white.

So, above you see some looks I’ll be working with this spring/summer 18 for clients, and myself. Our spring selling season opened today, I was in the studio wearing not yet a white suit, but white denim. I was cleaning, and prepping the show calendar, and organizing. A white suit for so many women sounds amazing, particularly in the middle of winter, yet for now we’re going with white denim (yes, white denim for sure in winter), and the standard but luxurious black turtleneck sweater. No photo, simply imagine the simplicity.

Over the weekend we we’re thinking about what it is that we really do, and why. We like to help answer the professional question ‘what to wear’, and the personal question ‘what to eat’. We love good clothes and the start of a new season, and we’re always honestly thinking about our next meal, truth.

We kind of wore a suit over the weekend, denim on denim while out in ski town, and last night upon arrival city-side cooked up a quick delicious batch of The New York Times Creamy Pasta with Smoked Bacon and Peas. Anyone that’s not eating vegan, or gluten-free etc. should have this in their repertoire, it’s a supremely good basic. All ingredients can and should be pantry staples. Add a green salad and dinner can be on the table in about twenty-five minutes.

What to wear and what to eat?

At the end of January it’s denim, of course, blue, black, or white, and lots of black knitwear. Moving towards spring, a white dress, and a white suit.

Creamy Pasta with Smoked Bacon and Peas, and tonight’s it’s scratch chicken pot pie from the freezer, it’s Monday after-all.

xo

professional images Worth New York