Legs and All

The November cover of the J.Crew catalogue inspired a month long search for the perfect pair of gray tights. Sure, the ones featured in the pages themselves would have done just fine, but J.Crew is no longer in my daily path and lately I refuse to pay $8 on shipping for something that costs only slightly more.

While wearing skirts in the summer is fun, there's nothing quite like a pair of opaque, woolly tights to take the skirt to a whole different level in the colder weather. As soon as the leaves turn and begin to fall, I reach to the back of the drawer for the Wolfords. In the spirit of not spending $30 on a pair of tights that will probably snag or rip by the end of the season, I was looking elsewhere.

My new job, which leaves room in my schedule for weekly lunches with my mother, is also a stone's throw from a lovely little plaza with boutiques and shops galore. After our weekly lunch date, I had a few extra minutes for a stop in at Banana Republic. A 25% off your entire purchase sign was music to my eyes, as were the the perfect shade of gray, textured tights snuggled into the accessories bin to the left of the door. I snatched them up (along with a new wool mini skirt to match) and headed to the counter with my new obsession satiated. Almost as good as taco night.

Blonde Ambition

I won't say that Elle Woods was my inspiration when I applied to law school in 2005, while at the time working as an assistant buyer for Ann Taylor. But Legally Blonde certainly didn't hurt. The first year of school was a blur; endless reading requiring my first real pair of glasses, Socratic method-induced nausea, and a new found fear of subways (and one of the few highlights- being told by a classmate I hardly spoke to that she loved every single outfit I wore, and asked what I hoped do after law school. Good question).

Had there been something similar to Fordham's Fashion Law Institute at the time, I think law school may have been an entirely different experience for me. The new course of study may have the law school halls chocked full of a new breed of student, possessing not just intelligence (which, in law school, is as pervasive as hangovers freshman year in college), but also a style savvy that is largely unprecedented in such locales. An added bonus is that style icon and wrap-dress inventor Diane von Furstenberg backs the program (internships anyone?)

I am pretty happy in my new line of work, where law makes a daily appearance in the form of contracts with venues for various galas and events, and a high school moot court club I'm fortunate enough to head up. But Fordham's Institute certainly opens a lot of doors for those who haven't yet found their fashionable calling.

Shorts and Loafers

A fall weekend is rarely complete without a trip to J.Crew. Among the plush cashmere and light as a feather merino, I got momentarily lost in what felt like a visit to Barnes and Noble. The new preppy must have Take Ivy (complete with issue number out of a proclaimed 300 copies, fact or fiction being largely irrelevant) was the find of the month.

Originally published in Japan in the 60's, the revamped treat is bursting with inspirational photos and serves as a diary for the ages. (My coworker who cannot accept that the leather sleeved, felt body varsity jacket is a thing of the past would surely love to get this as a gift.) At my liberal arts college, which liked to call itself a 'little ivy", though I'm not sure what that really means, there were more sweatshirts than oxfords between the hours of 9am and 6pm. While I stand by my aversion to men's hairy legs, I can't completely condemn the madras and penny loafers when done so deliberately. I think ripping out page 11 and placing it behind my desk might be a nice reminder of what young men are capable of.

Short Sighted

When I was abroad in Australia junior year of college, we took a 2 week long spring break trip into the interior of the continent. In preparation for the trip, which would involve a lot of hiking, rain forests (and other foreign modes of travel for a bunch of Northeastern liberal arts college kids), we were instructed to buy sturdy, practical backpacks that would be filled with multiple water bottles for our journeys. After a trip to the local mall, and perusing the many 'practical' options (various shades of hideous nylon with straps and buckles that resembled something from the show Lost more than something I'd be caught dead carrying), I went with a single strap pack from Diesel, which was worn across the chest and, in my opinion, qualified as a 'backpack', and was extremely cute.

On the second day of our 2 week excursion, it was over 100 degrees, and we were 3 hours into an infinite hike up a red-clay covered mountain side. I had already finished the only 2 12 ounce water bottles that my fashionable pack would hold, while my companions had many of reserves still to spare in their oversized, ugly yet utilitous sacks. I was miserable, dehydrated, and exhausted by the time the sun began to set and we returned to our bungalow.

The moral of the story, however, is not that I will thrown taste and aesthetics to the wind when shopping for a item of apparel with a specific function in mind. Rather I will just be sure the particular good meets the requisite need before indulging in the first cute option that comes along. With that in mind, I set my sights on this Marc Jacobs messenger bag as a fall must have for my new lifestyle which includes a lot of being prepared on the go. (I also actually like this Coach convertible, since they decided to offer options that err on the side of classic Coach and don't blind you with assaultive logos). No matter how many you own, there's nothing quite like the thrill of a new purse (especially when its lack of storage space won't cause you to faint on a mountain side down under).