Today I am thankful that I was calmer and more focused at work, and that I recovered my closet creativity.
Once I wrote about my unattractive insanity, it abated. I feel like that post might have been off-putting to readers. I am not the best judge. One of my favorite New Yorker features, in fact the thing I remember most about the first time I ever read the New Yorker, is On and Off the Avenue, which is a brilliantly annotated list of stuff to buy in Manhattan. I love it because Patricia Marx, who writes it, plays it straight, even though you can tell that she’s plenty capable of 10,000 words of social commentary. Instead, she’ll use a perfectly chosen 10, and that’s all she needs. I also find myself taken by the What I Wore column in the NY Times, even though it’s a little creepy to read about what rich women wear, and they all sound alike after a while. Except this one, which is my favorite. One day, I’ll do a real-life version (Sunday: I had to unload the dishwasher and do 5 loads of laundry, so I didn’t change out of my Lands End pajama bottoms and 10-year-old half marathon t-shirt until noon. Then I pulled on some uniqlo jeans to go to Target, and wore the same t-shirt because I just couldn’t be bothered to change.)
Anyway, when I stopped craving and stalking and filling my head with what I didn’t have and could get, I started to see, again, what I had. (Yes, that’s also a metaphor. It’s easier with clothes. I’ve written that before.)
And thus, closet archive 7. (There’s no closet archive 6, by the way. I accidentally named two posts closet archive 5.)
(Milo was my photographer. He did a fine job. My iPhone camera isn’t that great.) The challenging item is the beige (I prefer “camel”) cashmere sweater.
Why I don’t wear it: The sweater is square and baggy, and a little bit too big. Camel is a tricky color for me. I’m kind of camel-colored myself, so I can look oddly monochrome when I wear it near my face. Mono-blocking isn’t supposed to include skin and hair.
Why I still have it: It always seemed really dumb to let go of something so classic. The cashmere is exquisite quality. The tag is long gone, so I don’t know where it came from or how old it is, but I’m sure it was fantastically expensive once. My dad found this sweater for me in a Goodwill at least 15 years ago, maybe more. That was before cashmere was available at the Gap and Target, and he was so proud of his find. Now, my dad has at least a dozen cashmere sweaters from Goodwill. He wears them like sweatshirts.
What might save it: In my weeks of obsession, I noticed that slouchy, boxy, unfitted sweaters are extremely fashionable. I can fit a shirt underneath this sweater, and mitigate the beige-out. I also love the combination of black and camel. And then there’s the power of sentiment. When my dad gave it to me, it felt like a wonderful luxury, and as momentous and old-fashioned as receiving a string of pearls. I’ve had it for so long, I’d miss it if I gave it away. It feels like something I’m supposed to have, whether or not I wear it.
Another Door 
You can also dress it up with an Hermes scarf “wrapped around” your neck and a thin brown leather belt worn loosely 🙂
Wow — it’s excellent to have a Frenchwoman (do you feel like a Frenchwoman? I know you are by birth and current residence) read one’s blog. I would never have thought of belting the sweater but now it seems like an excellent idea.
I think a really classic piece like this is a must keep (and it has a great story of being from your dad). I find that with items like this, sometimes they come into your wardrobe more frequently and other times, they fade out for years. But, it seems like they always come back and that’s why they are valuable to have. I think it looks great with a blouse underneath.
This photo made me curious about those shoes!!
I’ll try to photograph the shoes for another post. They are blue-grey suede ankle boots with a small wooden stacked heel. They should be perfect, but for some reason I don’t wear them all that much. The grey has so much blue in it that it’s almost not a neutral, if that makes sense. I was, though, determined to wear those boots with this outfit, which is why I wore the chambray shirt underneath the sweater — I needed blue somewhere to make the boots make sense.
Glad you like the thought of belting the sweater. Try a scarf “like a collier/collar” sometime in front of the mirror. It makes for another outfit (haha)…
Yes, I do consider myself a Frenchwoman, as well as somewhat American (dual passports), having lived in the US for 38 years.
Even in the French countryside, I see people buy only key, classic items and then “dress” them up.
My frugal aunts, beautifully dressed, taught me well 🙂
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