Hunter Green, Polo Plaid, and Gold

On the eve of Christmas Eve, my younger brother and I, frantically rushing to finish up gift shopping for a partially drunken, completely hilarious gift exchange my family hosts every year with old and good friends, braced the traffic and frolicked in the unseasonably warm sun. Rather recently, when I was still in high school, a nearby defunct shopping mall was razed and in its place was erected a large, pristine, franchised outdoor shopping mall, featuring faux-boutique clothing stores, a wine shop, numerous coffee shops, a DSW Shoe Warehouse, and a gargantuan Best Buy. To complete the consumerist fever, there is also a Wegman's Grocer, which anyone hailing from the northeast will recognize as an epicenter of produce-organic-candied-prime cut meats mayhem. Not accustomed to meeting any challenge half-way, preferring the full on, unbridled approach, Adam and I head in the direction of this very shopping center, pretentiously and ridiculously named, and more importantly spelled, the Towne Centre. The various façades do exude a downtown personality, however, the surrounding sea of parking lot gravel gives it all away.

Not completely intentionally, I was in the Christmas spirit with my outfit, pairing dark hunter green with a red, pink, navy, green, and yellow traditional plaid, a dark denim pencil-like cut skirt, some dark navy tights, and wooden brown loafers.



With the bright sun and pleasant temperatures, I have been able to get away, naughtily, with completely ignoring my puffy down coat that resembles a sleeping bag; instead, wearing layers suffices to keep back the colder air. This hunter green sweater, with a deep v-neck, purchased from Banana Republic a few years back, is a silk blend, and is wonderfully warm.



For years, I abhorred the J. Crew catalogue look of collared button-down blouse paired with sweater or cardigan, perhaps harboring some residual resentment for my year-long experiment at an all girls private school as a freshman in high school. Now, more mature and more willing to embrace my love for classic styling, I cannot stop with this layering. The Ralph Lauren men's button down was actually an impromptu gift from my childhood friend, whose family spends Christmas Eve with mine, making merry and frivolously giving, unwrapping, and stealing surprise gifts during our exchange. Originally, she had wanted to wear this shirt as a tunic, belted at the waist, but found the effect to be a bit awkward on her body; I welcomed her discard.


Golden quilted earrings and a thick tiger's eye-like lucite bangle infuse this look with a bit of funk, and add a nice hardware contrast to the soft fabrics of the button-down and the sweater.



I found these dark caramel brown leather loafers for cheap at Century 21; they are comfortable, and make ideal walking shoes, both for the city and for scurrying about large, plaster and concrete suburban town centers.