brogue - A heavy, oxford-style shoe featuring pinked and perforated detailing. Many golf shoes are brogue in design.
Some stylish brogues for fall: Affordable and casual Fluevog (shown above), gorgeous Italian oxfords and luxe luxe luxury.
Short women with great legs are perfect for formal shorts. It’s about proportion — we also look less slutty in short skirts and dresses. Hot pants are scary on skeletor six-footers who waltz the runways. Formal shorts show too much skin on spray-tanned starlets with stylists. But put a short chick in short shorts and get out of the way, it’s her turn.
These days lots of people are wearing formal shorts and lots of people are dissing formal shorts. I’m coming out as sort-of in favor of the look. It all depends on who’s wearing them and where.
Today’s super-trendy evening shorts, with the complicated ribbons and the blousy fit and the drapey fabrics and the akward length, they are giving hot pants a bad name. Evening shorts are best in simple, clean designs. They are best short. To keep things this side of Florida hotel hooker, keep things sleek — this is not a time to accessorize. Hot pants say enough.
Consider the black satin glamour of le smoking in abbreviated proportions with hot pants, slick hair, simple heels, sans shirt. Be wary of a tux with tails and hot pants, a look reserved for Rockettes only.
Pinup types can go 1940s Vargas with a short-sleeved blouse, wedge shoes and finger-waved hair. Back off the matte lipstick, rockabilly girl — this is a kinder, gentler midcentury throwback.
I adored Michael Knight’s formal shorts on Project Runway. Diane Von Furstenberg was guest judge on that episode and said “I wore a lot of hot pants in my time, and those are hot pants.”
Shortened hemlines make for shorter trends and I think this one will soon flog itself to death. The omen: I saw a pair of tweed shorts at a Reno Wal-Mart last month. Cute for a teenager, very Junior’s department. But on a grown woman, no I am not feeling it. Once a style gets that diluted, it’s over.
“When in doubt, wear red.”
Bill Blass
chiffon - A lightweight, plain-weave, sheer fabric made with very fine, tightly twisted yarns. It is very strong, despite its filmy look.
Another new column is up at KOIT radio. You could read it.
To be blunt, I’m a top-heavy kind of girl. Not fat or hippy or pear-shaped, I am busty. I need something on the bottom to balance out all that top action. Boot-cut or wide-legged pants are great options, as are A-line skirts.
Regardless of body type, I am a very stylish girl. I like to keep up with the times. I was dubious of skinny jeans as soon as they started creeping their way into boutiques. Audrey Hepburn’s skinny black bohemian pants made an adorable outfit, just not one meant for me. But there she was, smiling and looking so perky with the ponytail and the black turtleneck and those skinny straight-legged pants. I wear a fierce ponytail and look quite shapely in a turtleneck sweater. I had to try the pants.
And I looked like Peg Bundy. There was no way around it, the skinny pants made my chest look even bigger. Maybe moon boots would balance out the torpedoes, but that’s a look no one wants to see.
There is one thing a busty 5′3″ lady wears well: curves. Hussah!
These fashion words can also be found in the Molly Bloom Style Glossary.
tunic - A simple slip-on top that falls to the hips or lower. Here’s one from Nicole Miller, and one for men by Yves Saint Laurent.
bolero - A waist-length (or shorter) jacket inspired by a Spanish bullfighter’s embroidered jacket. Here’s a nice evening bolero from Oscar de la Renta.
Mandarin collar - A short, band collar adopted from the close-fitting Asian collar. This vintage-inspired dress from À La Disposition features a Mandarin collar and puffed, banded short sleeves.
wrap top - A bodice created by the cross-wrapping of fabric. The wrap may be in front or back, and can have either a high or low neckline. This is a men’s wrap top by Alexander McQueen.
Manly grooming is the sex appeal equivalent of a woman in garters and stockings. Women might tell you to be modern, but we’d like to see a masculine modern.
You can’t really go wrong in a haberdashery. The well-made, classic clothes mix well with current pieces and make a strong impression. Look for the most elegant, simple pieces — dress shirts, cufflinks and ties. Not everyone can pull off a bow tie — regular bow tie wearers seem to be indulging in the ultimate square quirk. Haberdasheries are some of the last places to stock well-made toppers, so don’t miss the hats and caps. If you’re in San Francisco, get your fix at Cable Car Clothiers (200 Bush St.).
Vintage luxury automobiles are sexy. Driving gloves are sexier. Driving loafers are sexiest. I once saw a guy in first class pull on a pair of Tod’s at the start of a flight and I had a crush on him all across the fly-over states. Driving mocs are shoes for seated activity, not walking, so they last for years.
Speaking of shoes, having your shoes repaired and maintained will make you look more put-together. I remember my father’s routine of dragging out a box full of brushes and polish tins that I was under strict orders never to touch. I’d rather pay someone a few bucks to do it for me, but if you’ve got the inclination by all means get one of these and work it into your decor scheme.
I’m not really into man jewelry. A lot of guys have been wearing the same rings and things since the ’90s. “I’ve been wearing these for 12 years!” you say? Exactly my point. Lots of men enjoy jewelry and some of them pull it off. A good leather belt or cufflinks can be just as personal and a lot more grown-up than those sterling pieces you bought at Lollapalooza/Santa Fe/East Village some years back. Simple wedding bands are an exception and are a delight to behold, but they take some work to obtain. For the record, I am steadfastly anti-bling for men. Watches are cool but have been replaced by cell phones.
When was the last time you bought new mancessories? There are slick leather wallets and hand-made handkerchiefs to fill your pockets and designer frames and sunglasses for your face.
Some of the coolest old-school stuff has a note of whimsy to it. The keychain flask is suave, so long as you aren’t hitting it every day. Great for your spare keys, it’s a 1 oz. welcome to houseguests (just keep the flasks filled).
All that nice stuff needs a good place to go. Man-up your bedroom with an executive valet. Single guys could use one to show a date that yes indeed, you do own a tuxedo. Not that you’d stage your apartment to get someone into bed or anything.
Party Girls In Short Skirts
Betsey Johnson — Betsey Johnson is still doing that thing she does so well: cute party dresses. Who hasn’t attended a wedding (or 10) in a Betsey Johnson dress? The highlight of her show wasn’t a dress but a polka-dot retro swimsuit. Does she do custom?
Marchesa: This is the dress for curvy petite women. I would totally wear it in a color. Black or hot pink or (oooh!) green. The bell-pouf sleeves are the dress but the simple boatneck bodice carries it off. Sadly, later in the show Marchesa seems to have taken a queue from losing Project Runway. Those rosettes look heavy. That same length worked so well for the sleeved dress but it’s too short for strapless cake icing.
The higher the hair, the closer to God.
You know who can pull off high hair? Yours truly, and I am more than happy to pull out my blond bobby pins. The updo on the right shouldn’t take too much hairspray.
Mmmmm. High fashion. Hi, fashion. It’s New York Fashion Week and I’m in San Francisco. Yesterday I wrote about a mini-label. Today it’s the big guns.
John Varvatos - Hot guys in hot clothes. Lovely black-on-black separates and a striped suit that are an American version of dandy — youthful, wearable and a bit adventurous.
Diane Von Furstenburg - Color and prints good enough to invest in. This season’s signature DVF wrap dress is a stunner. It has a puff sleeve but stays just this side of the 1980s. The green and yellow metallic fabric is delicious (and not easily replicated for cheaper department store lines).
Marc Jacobs - I’m sick of reading about him but can’t resist writing about him. The clothes are adorable but complicated. Maybe that’s why he went with such light shades. Check the details page to get a better feel.
ps: It looks like this model has two left feet.
