Weeklong Style Seminar: How to Style a Boyfriend Jacket, Part 2

Yes, yes, strictly speaking this isn't a boyfriend jacket--the vampy gold-staple embellishment pushes it into the power-suit section of the 80s vintage rail. But it does have a broad-shouldered, slouchy vibe going, and is brilliantly ensembled by the vendor. So as part of a ongoing series of entries on how to style vintage pieces as demonstrated by eBay and other online sellers, let's take a closer look at why it looks so good.

Pattern harmonies: check out how the lattice effect of the dress's cutouts echoes the dashes on the jacket. The slit effect shows up again down on the shoes. Our mind registers shapes, even negative shapes, as strongly as it does positive ones. It's helpful to keep this in mind when you're trying to rig different parts of an outfit together, especially when you're working with blacks.

Proportion harmonies: see how the broad shoulders are balanced by the winging straps of the glad heels.

Texture harmonies: note how the nailhead rounds on the ankles subtly replicate the scales on the oversize snakeskin clutch. It's low-key, even accidental details like these that build to an amazing overall look.

(Obviously the dress is shorter than many of us can actually wear. I reckon the jacket would also look amazing with a longer knit dress or skirt, or with well-cut tapering black capri-length trousers. Do try to find shoes as killer contemporary as these heels.)

Weeklong Style Seminar: How to Style a Boyfriend Jacket, Part I

On my frequent forays through eBay, Etsy, and other online retailers of vintage clothing, I've noted a substantial increase in the number of vendors who style and shoot their lots as though for a fashion editorial, with a talented model, carefully chosen accessories, and top-notch photography.

I think this is a fantastic development for buyers, because it provides a fingertip visual resource. Stuck for a way to wear that vintage piece a different way? Keyword it in, and see what others are doing with it.

A case in point: this gorgeous black double-breasted Cacharel jacket, being sold by Australian vendor ClaireInc (whose de la Renta blouse is pictured in the entry below).

I would never, in a million years, think of styling a jacket like this with horizontal striped hose, a mini-dotted bow tie, and nude oxfords, but here it is, looking absolutely brilliant. It's a look that a young, slender woman could pull off effortlessly. Put on a skirt, lose the hat, and an older/larger woman could wear it as well.

I'm going to spend the rest of the week showing different ways vendors have styled the same sort of garment, with the aim of addressing a range of ages and body types. Hopefully, it will inspire you to get more wear out of what you have, or find a piece with a similar sort of versatility.

(Thanks again, Belinda, your site looks great.)

The two cents opinion: Oscar de la Renta, Spring 2010

Fleeting impression . . . apart from photos 46 and 48, I wasn't overly impressed, which puts me squarely in the minority. I think I'll stick with his vintage pieces . . .

. . . like the blouse here. Fun, fantastic quality, and why not keep the old going in time with the fashion world's applause for the new?

More Marc Jacobs: Gracefully Yours

My favorite item from the Marc Jacobs Spring 2010 collection, shown at Fashion Week in New York: this amazing, gossamer gown, as whispy as a spring breeze.

Was, by any chance, its inspiration a Grace--not Coddington--but one of three dancing a rondel in Botticelli's delightful painting of Primavera, herself the embodiment of the Spring season?



Maybe not, but it's nice to think so . . .

(Photo top: Catwalking/Getty Images, bottom, Primavera, Sandro Botticelli c. 1482, The Uffizi Gallery)

Just Extraordinary: Ponyskin Gloves

A bit unfair, isn't it, how Rihanna makes it look so easy to get bichrome just right.

Of course, those of us who have ever given it a try know that striking just the right balance between Mod whites and blacks is the difference between a great Mondrian and a nightmare Rorschach.

For those of us without the killer attitude and cheekbones, it's far simpler to wear all (or mostly) black and leave the chess game to the accessories. For example, these vintage gloves from the 40s. Teamed up with a basic black overcoat or suit, they are thunder and lightning.

His Hoses Are Roses: Nude Leggings the Jacobs Way

From my front-row screen access to the Marc Jacobs Spring '10 collection show, I learn that fashion's erstwhile blue-haired boy has gone in for pale, loose leggings in a big way.

As Cathy Horyn of The New York Times reports, this is essentially Good For The Women (as opposed to other innovations from the fashion front, which are Horribly Bad For The Women, as Fluff Chance notes so perceptively at the Emperor's Old Clothes).

Jacobs might not agree, at least publically, but I'm convinced that the reason these leggings will be a huge trend the world over is modesty. Like the salwar element of Pakistan's national dress, the salwar kameez, they cover the legs while allowing unhindered stance and movement.

Isn't this why the garment essentially refuses to go away? We wear them for warmth, and we wear them for comfort (that lovely supporty lycra stretch against the legs) and we wear them most of all when that skin, fully exposed, would feel epidermally incorrect.

Anyway, if you don't feel like paying Jacobs-level prices for loose beige leggings, another option is to look online for silk longjohns typically used for skiing, which are much of a muchness. Keywords might include "thermal" "base layer" "tights". Do get them new, obviously. As ever, the word "nude" ignores the vast majority of women whose skintone is darker than bisque.

To wear, simply wack them on under a dress--they are near-brainless to style, which is one more significant reason to give them a try.

(photo top, Elizabeth Lippman for The New York Times, photo bottom from www.salwarkameez.org.in)

Unlikely Fashion: The Snorkel Jacket

So I sent my son off this morning on his first away-from-home-without-the-parents trip. The last I saw of him was the tip of his nose, as he had fully zipped up his beloved snorkel jacket.

Well before Kenny made it a South Park fashion statement, or for that matter appeared as the Sarah Jessica Parka, left, the snorkel was a fixture in late 70s lockers as the unisex overcoat du choix of schoolkids across the northern USA. It also happened to be the overcoat du nécessité, since Sears sold them, our moms bought them, and we didn't know enough to argue for anything better.

We also knew very little about the origins of the style, which is provided in detail on Wikipedia. Here's an extract:

The original Snorkel Parka . . . was developed in the USA during the early 1950s for military use, mainly for flight crews stationed in extremely cold areas, designed as it was for temperatures down to -60 deg. F. Originally made with a sage green DuPont flight silk nylon outer and lining it was padded with a wool blanket type material until the mid 70's when the padding was changed to polyester wadding making the jacket both lighter and warmer. The outer shell material also was changed to a sage green cotton-nylon blend . . . It gained the common name of "Snorkel Parka" because the hood can be zipped right up leaving only a small tunnel (or snorkel) for the wearer to look out of. This is particularly effective in very cold, windy weather although it has the added liability of seriously limiting the field of vision. Earlier (Vietnam-era) hoods had genuine fur ruffs on the hoods; later versions used synthetic furs. Older nylon-shell parkas have a tendency to exhibit a change in color from the original sage green to a shade of magenta due to long-term cumulative exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun. To some in the military, this is personally desirable, as it lends to its wearer an aura of seasoned experience (referred to as salty by those in the US Navy and US Marine Corps). However, considered in a tactical environment, this is a liability, as it decreases one's ability to be camouflaged on the ground.

Wow.

But wait, there's more. This army surplus site, in the UK, adds some interesting detail about how the parka was worn in the 70's:

Whilst the original N3B parka lining was un-quilted and the same colour as the outer shell, the school type parkas usually has quilted orange lining. The measure of a school parka quickly became how grubby the orange lining got through natural wear without washing and many schoolboy parkas ended their days with the lining more black than orange.

OK, fine, that was the boys. We washed ours at least once a season.

Interestingly, it is this very lining that is touted by vintage sellers on eBay (and presumably elsewhere) as a sign of an authentic 70s snorkel parka. So if, by chance, you have a sudden hankering to view the world through a furry personal periscope, an orange (not black!) lining is the retro way to go.