James Perse skinny split dress | on sale in black at Fwrd
Veja sustainable sneakers
Admonish curved zipper tote | sold out, but check out the new arrivals
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Ah. Grey. Or gray, depending on your preference. I love it, and I love this dress, but the lighter color definitely shows more of my dimples and rolls than I prefer. At least this realization has saved me from purchasing other light colored dresses in recent moments of weakness. Namely this one, by Rag & Bone, which I LOVE, but am now sure I’d wear more often in black.
Grey/light colored dresses are great for layering, but my reality lately is that I don’t wear them alone, or as often as I want to wear black. So…another one for the pass-on-to-someone-who-would-wear-it pile.
Do you find that you tend to gravitate more towards black lately? or have you always? or do you never wear black??
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Ok, my comment / question is not about the dress, but your bag…is it sturdy enough to hold up to carrying a laptop? I desperately need to get a new work bag, and really don’t want to spend a ton on it…nor do I want something too fussy / corporate looking either (like I’d rather die than carry one of those Tory Burch or Michael Kors totes–no offense to anyone who owns one, but it’s just not me. 😉 )
I almost never wear grey, and when I do, it’s a charcoal. I did get a grey cardigan (boyfriend style) at a thrift store last fall and I did wear it a couple times in the winter – but I know how I feel about grey, which is why I stayed at thrift store levels 😉 I wear black, all the time. Even when it’s 95 and 100% humidity here. Black might not be “cool” but it doesn’t show dirt and I can wear almost any accessories I want. I used to wear more khaki (on the bottom at least) and I don’t even do that much anymore. Maybe it’s just my 40s? Maybe I’ll emerge into a bright butterfly again next decade? (I do wear bright accessories, so I don’t actually feel monochromatic every day)
I wear a lot of gray. I recently got a pretty cozy Equipment gray oversized wool cardigan that goes with a lot.
As much as I love black, I find I don’t wear as much anymore mainly b/c one of my dogs is white and whenever I’m in a black outfit, you can see all his white hair on me! I know, that may sound like a silly reason but it’s the truth and I don’t have time to be brushing the hair off.
ANY person with pets will understand exactly what you say and why it’s important! I currently have a grey & white cat, so her hair shows up on everything, no matter what 😉
Yes. It is incredibly sturdy. It will hold up to anything. For a laptop bag though I use my open tote like the ones he has for sale now. And haha I get what you’re saying about the “other” bags… They’re so ubiquitous though. I highly recommend admonish bags, and not just because he’s my friend. The bags are just my style and put up with a lot…
Grey is my go-to. I love black and wish I could wear it more often, but I have cats. Still, black is a pretty good chunk of my wardrobe, mixed with charcoal, and a smattering of lighter grays and a few pieces with color (neutral or jewel, and always solid).
As I get deeper into my 40s and the contrast in my coloring fades, I’ve found that charcoal is replacing black as my go-to dark neutral, at least during the day. (At night, black works because: better makeup for going out + low lighting takes 10 years off everyone’s face.)
So basically, when I shop, I’m now looking for colors that sound like they belong on an urban construction site: charcoal, asphalt, coal, steel, slate, graphite, iron, lead. And to lighten things up, a little smoke gray, ash gray, fog gray or dove gray.
I find heather gray is really tough to wear if you don’t get the cut and shape just right. Nothing looks more perfectly casual and timeless than a well-cut heather gray tee over a pair of chinos; get some baggy olive cargo-style chinos and some metallic birks and you’ve got a weekend errands outfit.
But I had to get rid of a maxidress that got shrunk in the wash because heather gray will actually make you look lumpier than you are. I wonder if that’s because a lot of us subconsciously associate it with sweatshirts and sweatpants.
Grechen, I’m curious about the Admonish company name. It is a strange choice, as it doesn’t conjure up positive thoughts. I see an angry high school teacher waving a ruler at me 🙂 As an insider you might know what’s it’s all about…
Ha! Well I can’t say exactly but he’s an attorney, so maybe it’s a geeky attorney thing?
ask him, you got me curious now 🙂
Most of my clothes are black, I’ve always felt so at home in it.
I have a Raquel Allegra charcoal grey cardigan that I love and wear often and 2 or 3 other grey pieces that are in light rotation. Mostly, if it’s not denim it’s black and even then it’s often black.
I keep telling myself I should try some lighter colors, we have a Great Pyrenees who is a shedding/drooling machine, but it just isn’t me. I have resigned myself to constantly cleaning his hair off my clothes.
oh, and jen, i saw the new bags today and they are AMAZING. i would recommend the waxy square tote for a laptop/work bag, it’s super sturdy and the leather is nice tough. it’s slim, but still wide enough to hold a laptop and other things. the slim tote is insane – the charcoal distressed leather is gorgeous, and the bag is so cool, but even more slim than the square tote. it would hold a laptop and not a whole lot else, but if you carry a smaller purse in addition to a work bag, it would be a great, chic, slim work tote.
just wanted to let you know how they looked in person. honestly, if you don’t end up getting one, i will!! i love both of them so much…
Could I trouble to ask you your sizing in this James Perse dress? I have not bought from them but am interested. I am a small in Everlane, Elizabeth Suzann, Emerson Fry ( with some styles I might go up to an M) but the JP size charts indicate I should be an XL. I did go on their chat site, and their representative assured me I am indeed an XL. But apparently you wear a small in JP. I would say I am similar to you on top, with a smaller bottom, with a more straight up and down figure. I would appreciate your advice!
Can you give me your waist/hip:bust measurements? I typically wear a size 2 in James Perse, and this dress is a 2…but according to their charts I should be a 3. I can’t imagine that you’d be a size 4!!
I’m a 34D/DD, 29.5 waist, about 38 or so low hip. I’m almost 5 foot 6 and weigh around 117 in the warmer months, couple of pounds more in winter (I live in the great white north and need the insulation.) I don’t ever wear shapewear of any kind, not because I don’t need it, but I just can’t stand it. So I generally go with a size that is not sausage tight on me in fitted styles. You are so kind to help me in this.
Kathryn
Point taken!