Casual Friday: Boyfriend Look

As many of the eyes within the socioeconomically developed world will be turned to the royal wedding spectacle today, and myself enamoured with the delicate, feminine, and traditional dress choice by the bride, I decided on an utterly antithetical look for my casual Friday and adopt some men's style inspirations. Alexander McQueen couture, I have none, so the epitome of casual it was, this morning. After the whirlwind of my business trip up north in Boston, comprising of only a handful of sleeping hours, I am thankful I opted for a casual and comfortable, yet still sleek, spring look.

Playing with my hair is always a temptation, due to its length, but is a horrible habit to harbor, especially during prolonged status meetings at work. My cupid-bow lips are also evoking the image of a mouth-breather; I am trying to remember why I included this particular photograph, which aside from the awkwardness of the model is of excellent quality, but I immediately remember that it is plainly goofy.

This particular collared button-down top is a favorite item from my closets; indeed, in my spacious apartment, my bedroom sports a large predominantly professionally oriented and organized closet, as well as a smaller one where I store dresses and skirts. Made of soft cotton, this top has a versatility that cannot be beat: I tuck it neatly into pencil skirts and couple the outfit with heels, or I, as I chose today, throw it over a pair of spring chinos and some flats. In a previous post, I revealed and mocked Gap's marketing strategy, titling this number the boyfriend banker shirt; though, obviously, as can be surmised from his moniker, my lovely filmmaker is not a banker, he does look rather sharp and handsome in a button-down. The navy blue chinos, also from Gap, purchased earlier this season, were again touted as boyfriend pants; I found this description to be wildly misleading. The pants actually have a pleasant, tighter fit, such that they feel well tailored, but are not muffin-top inducing by any means. The Italian-inspired ankle length is perfect for the warmer weather.

The white bangle was recently excavated from one of my jewelry boxes, rather containers: a large turquoise Samsonite make-up and toiletry luggage piece. The make up tray can be removed, to reveal a deep basin interior, perfect for organizing larger bangles and necklaces. The clear lucite bangle is another recent purchase, picked up while at the antiques fair with my mother last weekend; the shape is asymmetrically rounded in structure, as is the white bangle, so the pair complement each other well.

This one of my favorite pieces of jewelry, or at least necklaces, but is surprisingly one that I do not frequently wear. The cream and honey-tinged tiger-eye beads are a gorgeous combination, and again, I love the asymmetry of the structure.

These shoes resulted from a dire emergency; while traipsing about the city last summer, my favorite gold-strapped sandals fell apart. I was able to evade most of the sidewalk mess and then temporarily borrow some shoes from my friend Becca, which I wore until I found these basic caramel brown flats in Urban Outfitters. Though no replacement for gold sandals, these shoes are cute and comfortable, and certainly sufficed for my train ride home back to the Garden State.

The filmmaker captured this one, while I was not paying attention; again, I am not mouth breathing, but am in mid-sentence. This weekend is scheduled for some entertainment grandeur; tonight, we plan to join some of the filmmaker's friends and see Kevin Smith, and tomorrow evening, we will head to Carnegie Hall for a Steve Reich symphony.