Blazers for Spring

I'm dying to have a navy blue cropped blazer with oversized gold buttons--I think it'll be the perfect addition to my growing work wardrobe, but I also want it to be frivolous enough to look cute with spring dresses. I haven't found the right one yet, but here are a few that come close.

From Urban Outfitters, the byCorpus (what's with the capitalization? Who do you think you are, bell hooks?) Harlow Blazer is a steal at $39.99-- although it's only available in size large. I love the black trim, and the adorable schoolboy cut. I'm all about the blazers that look like they could be part of the Gossip Girl costumes. If only it had big gold buttons, instead of one tiny black button.




On the other hand, this Delias Camilla Cropped Jacket, $24.99 (but also only available in size L and XL), has some great buttons but isn't a blazer-- I think I'd look pretty silly wearing a peacoat inside, so this won't quite work. The faux-millitary details on the side are cute, though, and I dig the mid-length sleeves.


This is pretty much my dream blazer, and not just because it was featured in Lucky: from Ralph Lauren (who does better blazers? I mean, if it's good enough for Olympic athletes, it's good enough for me), the Tirana Crested Blazer, $99.99, is preppy perfection. The RL crest on the front is so classic I could weep--I'd love to wear this and pretend that I spend the weekends riding a horse named Hayden at my parent's country estate.

If I can't get a navy blazer, I'll settle for a white one. This American Eagle Boyfriend Blazer, $59.50, is nicely crisp and fresh. It's the sort of jacket that inspires you to impulsively run through sprinklers. The lining inside is pinstripes, too-- very classy.

Leather Jackets

So spring might not seem like the most obvious time to be wearing a leather jacket. But that's exactly why you should! On those days when there's still a bit of a chill in the air, or the nights when you need a little extra warmth over your little spring dress, a leather jacket will keep you just warm enough. And you'll look like a bad ass!

In the past, I haven't bought a leather jacket because I was too scared I couldn't pull it off. I'm a bit of a Bambi, so I thought there was a big chance that wearing leather would make me look like this. But then the combined good influences of my roommate in Prague and Gossip Girl convinced me otherwise. From the first five minutes of the GG pilot, I wanted to find my own vintage tan leather jacket (and not only so I can recreate this outfit and go as Serena for Halloween). And then how awesome is this leather jacket? I covet it beyond all belief, and when this episode airs (this is a promo pic for a future ep) someone better tell me where it's from. See the buckle in front at her waist? Perfect.


Also, am I the only one who wishes she had to wear a school uniform so she could copy Serena's plaid skirts and loose ties? And those of you who had to wear uniforms, don't burst my bubble with reality by saying that you could never get away with Serena's outfits at their school.

I think this Short Trench by Guess, $179, could maybe find its way into Serena's wardrobe. Great color, fun buttons, and I love the buckles at the wrists. On the other hand, I find that coats with belts are hard to wear open, because the belt kind of falls all over the place and looks sloppy. And for spring, you gotta wear your jacket open so as to better show off what you're wearing underneath.



This Scuba Jacket, also by Guess and $179, would be great for that. I like how non-butch this jacket is, with the deep brown color and vertical seams. And it's nice and fitted so you won't get lost in it.


Speaking of feminine, this Generra Cropped Leather Jacket, way out of my price range at $695, makes leather sweet enough for lunch with your mom. Also, have I talked about how I have severe issues with this particular ShopBop model? She has such fantastic hair, but such an awful bitchface! I'm equally drawn and repelled by every thing she models.







Let's talk about price. Leather is expensive, because cows are so rare and so highly valued in our society. You're lucky to find a cute jacket under $100, and I definitely found more jackets costing a month's rent (in some town other than Manhattan). But here's a pretty cute Short Zipper Jacket in a fun shade of burgandy that's just $59.95. Ignore the Fake Housewife of Orange County inside the cute jacket. I also like this Waist Length Honey Colored Leather Jacket, also $59.95.




This one is cheaper than most because it's not a full leather jacket; Dillard's calls it a Zippered Cardigan with a metallic leather front, $69. I guess the front and part of the sleeves are leather and the rest is rayon. But that's good for warmer weather, and t's definitely a unique design. The cutout embroidery is just the icing on the cake.


So all the jackets I've shown so far have been colors other than black, because I think brown and tan leather and like are easier to pull off when you're sort of a wuss. But through my extensive research, I'm beginning to become convinced otherwise. Just look at these Ashley Olsen and Natalie Portman, two petite women not known for their ass-kicking toughness.



Let's start slow with some cropped jackets. You know, I'm always kind of impressed when magazines or websites do a splurge and save feature, since it seems hard to find items that are practically interchangeable from very different price points. But guess what? I have a splurge and save for you. The first, the Twenty9Twelve Yves Leather Jacket from Shopbop, is $690...











...and the second, the Halogen Zip Front Leather Jacket at Nordstrom, is $148 and 50% off!

The first has the full length sleeves, really cool pintucking at the waist and in the back, but I'm not crazy about the weird ruching on the bottom of the sleeves. The second has the sleek zipper, and doesn't it just look ridiculously soft? Also, it has four pockets in the front, so you would hardly need a purse.

I have just one more super expensive jacket, and then I promise I'll go back to under $200. I like this Vince Leather Motorcycle Jacket, $775, because it's not overly fashion-y. With the right outfit, you might be able to convince someone you actually know how to ride a motorcycle. It's pretty basic, but the slightly distressed look of the leather and the snap closure at the neck are badass.






This Leather Moto Jacket from Arden B, $128, is a bit simple, too, but the gold zippers make it just bling-y enough that you could wear it to a nicer bar or restaurant.










Also from Arden B is this Leather Pintuck Moto Jacket, $168. Pintucks are usually so prim and reserved, making them totally bomb on a leather jacket.





Remember, at the beginning, when I said how awesome a leather jacket would look over a light spring dress? Well, I would be remiss if I didn't give you some options for dresses also. The first is the Cut-Out Shift Dress from Old Navy, $17.70. You can't really see the detail on the front in the photo of the white, so I'm including the black version too.











I'm completely obsessed with next dress from Alice + Olivia, who always makes great frocks. The Ombre Rosette Tube dress, $297, is like the sky in dress form. Yes, it's a little shapeless, but a highly structured dress would be wrong when trying to capture essence of sky, right? Just think about how fierce those chiffon rosettes will look peaking out from underneath your leather jacket. I'm including three photos because I think it's just that fantastic.

This one's for the boys

It should be obvious that the intended audience for this blog is males 18 to 25 years of age who like video games and drinking beer. The whole reason we started blogging is to help bring espadrilles and lockets to dudes all over America, and I think that, so far, it's all been an unqualified success. Every day when I'm walking down the street I get stopped by college guys who say, "Thank you for that post on wrap dresses. It saved my life." At this point I've heard it so often that I'm like, "Yeah, whatever, I know." But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop bringing pretty, dainty jewelry to our male readers, so don't despair!

Today's topic is coats and jackets. First off, don't just throw on a North Face fleece and think you're done. I don't care if they're warm and comfortable, because they are the laziest pieces of outerwear ever created. They're the Uggs of outerwear. You can do better than that.

Every guy needs a good peacoat, and it's even better if it's in navy blue or dark green instead of black. This one, from the Gap, is waxed cotton-- I like the winter-y style in the spring-y fabric. This is the jacket you should wear when the weather is in the 50's and you'd normally be wearing a hoodie but recently decided not to be a slub. Also, check out the lighter-blue striped shirt underneath, with the color poking out. That's good styling. The Waxed-Cotton peacoat is $88.

When I first started this post I looked at the Sartorialist for inspiration, to try and figure how men's fashion can ever be not boring. This is one of the first photos that caught my eye, and you should go see it full-size so you can check out the greenish-grey sweater poking out underneath, and the single pin on his chest.

That jacket is similar to the Military jacket, $88, also from the Gap. I think all guys will agree that it's good to have a jacket with lots of pockets so you never run out of places to put condoms. It only comes in "ginseng brown," though.

As I'm searching for more jackets, I'm having a hard time deciding whether I actually like that piece of clothing or I just think the model's cute. Like, how cute is this guy and how boring is his jacket? He looks like a model-y version of the guy in the T-Mobile commercial who keeps leaving messages for the girl he went on a date with last night, like "Hey, sorry I was sweating so much last night, it's a gland thing..." I love that guy! But I hope he would have more sense than to buy a $68 hoodie from Banana Republic in a color called "groundhog heather" (what a bunch of queerballs).

You guys, I've been working on this post all morning and I'm about to fall asleep from boredom. Men's fashion fucking blows. But I'm going to take some caffeine pills and keep going, all for Ariel.

This is a pretty nice coat, I guess. From Toscano, it's called the "Walking Coat," $298, so there's no running or jumping allowed. It's mostly wool (warm) with a hint of cashmere (soft).

I love jackets with toggles, even though I understand they can be kind of a pain to fasten and unfasten. But they have a very "tailgating at the big game" feel, which appeals to fun college girls. It's by Marc New York and it's $159 at Bluefly.

I can't say for sure, but I think I'd be really into a crisp white coat on a guy. It could be a little overly foppish, but it could also signal the kind of confidence that comes with high dry-cleaning bills. Especially if the coat was Burberry. This peacoat is $650, but once people catch a glimpse of the Burberry plaid under the collar, it'll be so worth it.

Men's jackets can be so boring, but then you find something with a really fun, surprising detail and everything is good again. The Manolo for the Men blog did a post on this Paul Smith jacket whose lining is a map of London. I couldn't find it anywhere online, but that's the sort of thing you should be on the look-out for if you want a distinctive coat.

I think that's enough men's fashion for today. I'll leave you off with some more coat inspiration, from the Sartorialist and elsewhere:

This kid is totally the douche in your film class who won't shut up about auteur theory and you hate but are secretly attracted to. You'll see him smoking outside of Cantor and hate his sunglasses and skinny jeans, but if he asked you to go see an unknown band in Williamsburg you would probably say yes.


Did you see on the Oscars Red Carpet when Ryan Seacrest told George Clooney, "People used to want to be Cary Grant, but now everyone wants to be you." And Clooney smoothly said, "Well, that's because he's dead and no one wants to be dead." WHY IS HE WASTING HIS LIFE WITH A WOMAN WHO ATE A SCORPION ON NATIONAL TELEVISION?