Ralph Lauren Dresses

Here are my fantasy lifestyle dresses for spring/summer from RL:

For a lawn party...

For a tea party...

For when I play tennis...

For when I go shopping/do lunch in town...


Ahhhhhh.

DIY: WTF

$299 at Urban Outfitters

Okay, so Georgina and I want to do a lot of DIY this winter, including making jewelry, maybe learning to sew, making headbands, etc. What makes me mad is that I don't classify our new-found desire to create as being trendy at all, but I guess it MUST be because Urban Outfitters has an entire DIY section. Is this just a collegiate phase of independence? Is it tied to the bad economy?

Not for me.

I saw an awesome pair of jeans at Ralph Lauren that have flannel patches all over and almost considered buying them (with my employee discount, plus they were already on sale), but I realized that I could just make them myself with an old pair of jeans (if I knew how to sew). I also went to Barney's to discover headbands that cost like $75 because they were covered in feathers. I could do that with a glue gun!

So is it "cool" to DIY, or just practical? Or both? Anyway, I am excited to "express myself" this winter by making things that will probably just fall apart because I'm not skilled whatsoever. But I can learn. But not on a sewing machine from UO that costs $299. Kind of defeats the economical purpose.

Ralph Lauren Dresses

In other news, I'm trying to pick out my favorite RL dresses this season. Because RL is rooted in old classics, sometimes the Fair Isle knits and tweed vests can get a little monotonous. Anyway, here they are:

Cashmere Chain-Back Gown
For when, you know, I need to go to fancy-shmancy events.


Apsley Jersey Dress
I would probably hem this one to a little higher above the knee.




Cashmere Cable Dress
Ralph makes one of these every year with a different neckline. I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but I just love the gray color and how classy it is. Great investment piece because it will never go out of style and can easily be layered. It's still a little long, maybe? I don't like these tights at all with this dress! Check out the tights in my post about Rugby--I just bought them today and am in love!

Rugby.com

Speaking of finding the meaning of life, everything I've done will obviously lead me to be the editorial/creative person for Rugby.com. Not only do they have insightful films in 16mm, vintage-style clothing, and New England tradition, but Rugby.com (and the company) has great music.

The insightful part was a joke, by the way.

Anyway, check out the website

and look at my favorite pieces online (some of the stuff I really like isn't on the website for some reason!)

Sweaters

I used to work at Rugby. Now that it's getting cold outside, I've been wearing the numerous wool sweaters I was given/purchased during my time there. I can safely say that Rugby makes the most comfortable, versatile and pretty wool sweaters out there. Their merchandise doesn't really change that much from year to year (though the line is only 5 years old, so we'll see if they diversify), so you can pretty much count on their staples with different colors every year, give or take a few patches or elbow pads.

http://rugby.com/shop/item.aspx?productId=3691417&categoryId=3372855&cp=3138869

I also have a Fair Isle mens sweater that I adore. I tend to like the mens items better than the womens--the preppy asshole, punk look somehow works better on guys than girls. Alas, this fall the Rugby designers failed to craft any mens looks that out-cool the womens. In fact, they even have the exact same sweaters they sold last year to moms shopping for their college sophomore sons so they'd look cute but not like they were trying too hard.
AKA this:

http://rugby.com/shop/item.aspx?productId=3757354&categoryId=3372179&cp=3138868

How creative!

Like I said, staples that are warm, comfortable and versatile. I miss the crazy Rugby from its first couple of years, where eyelet bustiers thrived and Skulls and Bones still meant something.