updating the trench coat...

depending on where you live...you may be experiencing beautiful summer autumn weather...or already feeling a bit of the chill of fall...and whether you are a sun goddess or love the cold weather...it is coming...and in those times where it is chilly...but not quite cold enough for a winter coat...what to wear?

the classic trench coat...such a wardrobe staple...but why settle for a basic black, brown or blue?  add a nice color to brighten up a grey dreary day...there are some wonderful colors to choose from...like this oxblood...which is a BIG color for fall...

feeling more adventurous?  how about an animal print trench?  or any kind of print...adding lots of interest to your outfit...

ellen tracy water repellant trench coat
nordstrom

men's corner: details...

i am always on the lookout for details in men's clothing...let's face it...when it comes to clothing...men don't have as many options as women...but there is still a way to make your wardrobe reflect you and your personal style...

for my men clients...and guy friends...i am always talking about the little details...a small detail in a coat...for example...can be the difference between plain and pretty fabulous...

when i saw this ad for burberry prorsum in the april issue of vogue...i was delighted...how gorgeous is the little tangerine tango trim...the color of the year by pantone...i might add...

details...a little goes a long way...start looking at your wardrobe...from your socks...to your shirts...to your sports jackets...when shopping...are you looking for those small details that will set your wardrobe apart from others...

scanned by moi

what makes a classic a classic?

oxford button-down shirts, levi's jeans, white cotton t-shirts, baseball caps, bomber jackets, little black dresses, striped french sailor shirts, a string of pearls, navy blazers, trench coats, gold hoop earrings, cartier tank watches, ray ban sunglasses, cashmere cardigans, loafers...



it's an old friend with a new twist...a clunkier heel, perhaps? an animal-print pattern? it doesn't matter - whatever makes you kick up your heels...

you buy it for what it's always been: a familiar shape that seems to weather time and is always just a comfortable reach away in your closet...
you buy it for what it lets you be: yourself...

a classic classic? it is dependable, time-less, and tamper-proof...yet open to reinterpretation...

the classic trench...

awww...the classic trench...

it started life in the nineteenth century as a soldier's coat...two world wars imprinted the trench on our minds: we saw it in misty railroad stations...saying stoic good-byes...

bogart wore it best...he seemed to fill the familiar khaki shape...its military-style epaulets and separate back yoke...with just the right dose of tragic romance...

we can appreciate the nostalgia and practicality of a trench coat without requiring it to be long, beige, heavy, and lined...after all...we are not looking to lead an expedition to the south pole in it...the staple of office workers of the western world...those who invest in styles with removable linings may wear it three seasons a year...

the trench's classic style also lends itself beautifully to wild reinterpretation...it can be short and sexy...in a featherweight microfiber or a delicate silk...it can shock with color...be daring in leopard...or dramatic in gold...when it's worn luxuriously long...the trench will cloak all that it covers...so you need not worry about warring hem-lines or clashing with what's underneath...

i tend to lean on the side of reinterpretation...i do not own a khaki/tan standard trench...most likely never will...unless...of course...i have the fortunate opportunity to trip over a vintage burberry trench with its ever so beautiful plaid lining...such as i wrote about yesterday in the trenches

but until i stumble upon such an incredible find...i am pretty happy with the two trench coats that i own...here they are in all their glory...

silver metallic leopard print trench

gold metallic short trench coat

i did a little survey to see what others own...most seem to lean on the side of reinterpretation...

and most own more than one...

one female client owns two...one in zebra print & the other in bright red (how perfect for a grey gloomy day)

one friend owns three...black satin, silver, & gold metallic (yes, we like a lot of the same things)

another female client owns one...pumpkin orange (nice fall color)

my dad...classic khaki (you know if it was a burberry it would now be in my closet)

male client...classic khaki

and one of my twitter friends who sells vintage...sent me a picture of her favorite trench...a vintage peruzzi leather...but she admitted she has over 5 trench coats...why not?? they are so classic...

check out her picture below...but also...check out her vintage at joules etsy shop

joules modeling her vintage peruzzi leather trench

so how about you?? do you lean towards the more classic or reinterpretation?

in the trenches...

years ago...when my girlfriends father passed away...she and her siblings had the daunting task of going through his things...her dad was a very simple man...clothes to him where nothing more than a necessity...most of his things were bought in local thrift stores...he did not look at labels...and he didn't believe that clothes warranted a lot of spending...

as they rifled through his things...they pulled out a trench coat...the brothers recalled how he wore it for everyday use...not really caring all that much for it...they remembered a time that he had even taken it off and used it as a "rug" while he needed to check something on the underside of his car...

the mother confirmed that he had bought it for a few dollars at the local thrift shop...there was no denying it...the lining...the well-known check lining...

what it was...was an authentic burberry trench...a vintage burberry trench...a burberry trench that now sells for 1300 a piece...

now...of course when i heard this story i was beside myself...being an avid vintage collector...this was truly a find...my girlfriend's sister is now the proud owner...of course...to her...it is much more than an authentic vintage burberry trench coat...it is a memory of her dad...the simple man that valued other people...and would have given the shirt of his back for pretty much anyone...

in 1856, the british sportswear manufacturer thomas burberry came up with the trench coat, a breathable alternative to the rubber-lined mackintosh...improving upon the shepherd's closely woven linen smocks, he wove wool with cotton in a gabardine twill...the trench was a virtual uniform for nineteenth-century adventurers: burberry outfittet balloonists, expeditions to the poles, and travelers to india and other british colonies...lightweight and strong, his trench coat has sold more than a million since 1917...

the burberry check, registered as a trademark, was introduced as a lining to the trench coat in the 1920's...the burberry check is what most people connect the burberry name to...

and now...a little over 150 years later...burberry is an internationally recognized luxury brand...