Looking good in casual clothes

You’ve probably gathered from previous posts that I’m not into casual dressing. But there is one item of casual clothing I couldn’t do without. Yes, you’ve got it – it’s jeans.

The term jeans is generally used to describe blue jeans, a particular type of trousers which were invented by Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873. Although they were patented by Levi Strauss, various garments made of blue denim had been in use for many years before jeans. (The fabric, a kind of twilled cotton, is generally thought to have originated in Genoa, Italy.) These garments were originally designed for workers and sailors, because denim is so hard-wearing, and jeans became popular with cowboys in America for the same reason. They really took off in the 1950s, and now jeans are one of the most common items of clothing, world-wide. Everyone wears them – even I!

Jeans are durable. They can withstand years of wear and many washes. Yet they are pliable enough to be comfortable, and that’s why they are a staple in many wardrobes. I like the feel of denim – particularly denim that has been washed many times so that it’s beautifully soft.

The bad thing about jeans is that it’s hard to find a pair that fits exactly, even these days when so many of them have a stretch fabric added to the cotton. Women like jeans to fit closely, to hug thighs without strangling them, to fit at the waist and to taper nicely to the ankle. Some years I find a pair of jeans that fits well, but then fashion dictates a change in style and I have to try numerous pairs to discover the perfect fit all over again.

My problem is a common one. I have a small waist, but although my legs are slim they are not skinny, and jeans often seem to be made with catwalk models in mind. Jeans that fit my legs always gape hugely at the waist. I find it easier to get jeans that fit overseas than here in Australia, so I usually only shop for them when I’m in the US, or South America. However, if you live in Melbourne, there is a solution. There’s a shop called Dejour Jeans in Brunswick, where you can get jeans tailored to your specifications, and even take in your favourite pair to be copied. It isn’t expensive either, but it does mean waiting some time in a queue, as lots of people have cottoned on to this excellent idea.

The great thing about jeans is that you can dress them up or down. I work in a place with a dress policy that bans casual wear. Yet our secretary wears jeans from time to time. No one even blinks, because she looks smarter than everyone else in their corporate attire. She has the knack of combining them with an elegant blouse and a blazer to smarten them up. And she always wears heels.

The easiest way to dress up a pair of jeans is to team them with heels. They make your legs look longer and they work with skinny jeans, or wide legs that touch the tops of your shoes. Have you noticed that jeans are often too long when you buy them? That’s because no two women are exactly alike in size, and some women will have longer legs but still wear the same size as a woman with shorter legs. It’s easier to cut or hem a pair of jeans than it is to add a piece of material. I always have a pair of jeans in my wardrobe that are a bit too long, and I only wear them with heels.  

I love wearing jeans with the Megan shoe. It seems to have just the right shape to suit the kind of jeans I like, and the colours look gorgeous with denim. Try them!

Looking good at home

January is a holiday period for many, and it’s around this time when a lot of people tend to slop around the house in their scruffiest clothes – partly because they want to hide the Christmas rolls, and partly because they’re on holiday and don’t want to make an effort.

            I have to admit I’ve always had a problem with the notion of having one of type of look for work, and a completely different (much daggier) look for home. Why should we make less effort for the people we care about the most?

            Sure, you can argue that they will love us, no matter how we look. But is that really fair? If we’d be ashamed to go out to the shops in our old tracksuit leggings, why should our partners or children see us in them?

            I’ll come straight out and say it. I think we should look nice at home. But there’s no reason why we can’t make it a comfy nice!

            So, in summer, I can usually be found in my house wearing an attractive, cotton dress (usually accompanied by a cardigan, as I live in Melbourne). For me, dresses are the most comfortable garment available. You can choose your own style but, with so many stretch fabrics around these days, you can even do the sexy look and be comfortable.

            But perhaps an even more important staple in your wardrobe is a nice pair of pyjamas. There’s a scene in the movie Coco Before Chanel, where Boy Capel finds Coco lying on a lounge in her pyjamas, reading a book. ‘You are very elegant,’ he tells her, and it’s true. Her silk pyjamas are flattering.

            I always make sure I have a nice pair of pyjamas (or two) to swan around the house in, morning and evening – silk or cotton is best and they shouldn’t be too fitted. If I’m not wearing slippers, I’ll put on a pair of Maria Peron loafers – preferably the flat Annikas, because they are the perfect casual summer shoe.

            You don't need to be a scruff for the people you live with this summer. Honestly, you can be elegant and comfortable at the same time. You just have to find the right pair of PJs. 

Breaking out of the casual mould

Last weekend I was in the Melbourne city centre, catching up with some essential shopping. As I walked the streets, and the department stores, observing everyone around me, I couldn’t help feeling depressed by the way most people dress now.

The importance of being comfortable has led to a more casual look in the last two decades. That’s understandable. But why can’t we be comfortable and look nice? Or at least interesting?

Everywhere my eyes drifted, I saw hoodies, leggings, track suit pants, all either too tight or else baggy and shapeless, and mostly in drab colours.

I don’t believe it’s just comfort that has led to this. Fashion, that inexorable dictator, is responsible, because it always exploits a trend and keeps it going way too long.  

Some people think it’s harder to dress well in winter. They say, ‘I just want to be comfortable and warm.’

But why can’t they wear something flattering and comfortable, teamed with a good coat? One good woollen coat will last ten years, and is a far better investment than a cotton hoodie, or a polyester puffer jacket.

Fashion also dictates colour, and so often people dress in dull colours in winter. On a grey day in Melbourne it would be so nice to see more orange, or red, and some bold or interesting patterns.

They say fashion keeps coming around. It’s about time we took on some tips from the 1960s. The clothes then were so original, distinctive and, above all, fun!

We could try mixing colours and patterns, like this:

Or wear a simple dress with coloured stockings, or a bold jacket like this:

And you can’t go wrong with black and white.

So many options!

Please, style-conscious ladies out there, let’s rebel against this war on beauty, and start wearing more flattering outfits, more colour and more unique designs. The shapeless comfort trend has gone on long enough. 

Places of enchantment

One of the most wonderful things about travelling is the opportunity it gives you to admire architecture. I particularly love visiting parts of the world where I can see older buildings. In Australia we don’t have the castles and palaces that populate Europe – relics of a time when buildings were made to last, and beauty was more evident because artisans were cheap and plentiful.

Some time ago I was in Sevilla for a week. That beautiful Spanish city has many stunning buildings, but surely one of the most romantic has to be the Real Alcázar (also known as the Palacio Real). It is a massive compound that has developed over centuries, beginning in 1161 during the Moorish dynasty, expanded in 1364 in the Mudéjar style, after the Christian reconquest of Spain, and added to by many monarchs since. It is the oldest palace in the world that is still actively used by a Royal family.  

There is something enchanting about the spacious rooms, exquisitely decorative even without the historically illuminating tapestries. The palace gardens are magnificent, and when you walk down into the underground baths and cisterns you feel as though you have to hold your breath. If it wasn’t for all the tourists in their shorts and thongs, you could swear that you had stepped back in time.

I’m not saying that everyone should visit an ancient castle in mediaeval dress, but I always like to feel in tune with my surroundings. Now, looking back, I’m so glad I wore a romantic, white frock when I visited the Palacio Real. As well as being the coolest and most comfortable option for a very hot summer’s day, it looks nice in the photographs. Surely, in our age of frenzied selfie-taking, that should be a consideration of paramount importance?

Dressing for summer that isn't a summer

Some climates are really hard to dress for, and there can’t be many places in the world more challenging for your wardrobe choice than Melbourne in summer.

Our wonderful city is famous for its “three seasons in a day”. You can go out in the morning in a summer dress because the sun is shining, but by afternoon clouds will have come from nowhere, the temperature has plummeted and it’s cold. This is particularly noticeable in the city, where the tall buildings create wind tunnels, and the breeze cuts through clothing like a scimitar.  

If you’re like me, you’re no longer happy to suffer for fashion, so what can you wear that is going to cover all bases? Well, everyone knows about layering, but to make sure I’m never too hot or too cold, I think more carefully about fabric.

Normally, silk is my favourite material, but on a very warm day silk will encourage you to perspire freely, and it shows (eek!) so in summer I turn to cotton dresses like the ones pictured below.

Cotton definitely won’t stand up to a Melbourne evening, so if I’m going out I’ll take a light jacket or blazer. My favourite is a russet brown coat, which is actually a raincoat as well, so very useful for those sudden showers. It folds up quite small, so I can put it in a bag. But even this won’t always be enough, so my secret addition is a cashmere cardigan. Cashmere is so warm, and it’s light. You can stuff a cardigan in your handbag and pull it out only when necessary. It’s also very useful for those restaurants or theatres with over-enthusiastic air-conditioning.

The other important consideration is shoes. I generally prefer open-toed shoes in summer, like the Karen sandal, or the Annika shoe. Both of these styles will also stand up to a sudden weather change, or a shower. But if there is no chance of rain, I love to wear the Megan in pink or yellow. There is nothing like a splash of colour to make any day feel like a holiday. Bring on summer! 

Fashion regret

Many women I know have made purchases that were extravagant, often involving a certain amount of deception. Some have hidden items of clothing from their partners for a period of time, or told him the item was on sale, naming a price half that of the true one.

I’m no exception. I’ve occasionally made purchases that have brought with them more than a little guilt. But I’ve learned something most peculiar about these purchase transgressions.

It’s the things I haven’t bought that I most regret, not the things I have, costly or not.

It seems that time reconciles me to dollars I will never see again, but the beautiful item of clothing, or ravishing pair of shoes, that was once within my reach, but that I didn’t buy, haunts me forever.

There have been a few such episodes in my past, but the one that still really bothers me is a certain coat.

I was in Buenos Aires with a girlfriend. We were walking in the beautiful Recoleta area when I saw THE COAT in a boutique window. It’s hard to describe that coat, and the affect it had on me. Suffice to say it was a piece that combined unique style with quality and classic chic. It was something I knew I would never see again.

However, I was at the beginning of a long sojourn that was to take me from South America to Europe. I was thinking about Budget (horrible word) and, though I oscillated for a few days, I eventually made the painful decision not to purchase the coat.

Of course my friend urged me to the opposite choice, told me in no uncertain terms that I would regret it, and still brings the matter up every now and again, with mischievous glee.

Because I have to admit that coat still haunts me seven years later, especially when I acquire a pair of shoes that would have complemented it perfectly, like the pink Megan shoe below, or even the yellow one.

I won’t make that mistake again. There should be no price on beauty, when it’s something you know you will treasure forever. 

Serendipity

One of the things I love about travelling is finding beautiful pieces to add to my wardrobe.

I don’t spend too much time shopping with intention on a trip. But I love to go for long walks in new places, and that means I stumble across great finds.

I do have two rules I stick by these days. One is to consider quality. The other is not to binge-buy. It’s too easy to end up with luggage problems, and a number of garments I will never wear again. (Being on holiday can play havoc with good sense.)

This dress is a result of serendipity. I was on holiday in Paris, it was my last day and I was having one last walk when I saw the dress in a window. I fell instantly in love.

It wasn’t cheap, but it ticked all the compulsory boxes. 1. I had nothing like it in my wardrobe, yet it’s my style. 2. I love the colour. 3. It’s made of silk.

Silk is always worthwhile. Good quality silk lasts, and is not as delicate as a lot of people think. Also, you can wash most silk by hand, which I prefer to dry-cleaning. (Dry-cleaning is very hard on your clothes.) You do have to be careful with patterned fabrics, and also if the silk is mixed with a synthetic fabric as the latter will often shrink.

This dress has a silk lining, which is an added bonus. I always look for silk or cotton linings. They feel so nice next to the skin and breathe better than synthetics.

But perhaps what I love best about these travel finds is the discovery that they complement other things in my wardrobe. For example, the red Alice shoe from the María Perón range looks as though it’s made to go with this silk dress. It’s the same red, and the cream contrast exactly matches the polka dots. Serendipity is a wonderful thing.