Cashmere from my Father

One of my favorite finds from raiding closets at my parent's home, aside from my mother's heels that she has worn once, maybe, are older cashmere sweaters that belonged to my father. He is a tall man with broad shoulders, who is generally slim, especially as he spends his retirement bicycling through forested trails, so his discarded sweaters are loose and comfortable, without being too shapeless. Cashmere men's wear always seems to tolerate the elements of daily wear a bit better than ladies' sweaters; perhaps, though, my preferential leanings towards soft and loose comfort embellishes the overall sweater endurance.


The other night, the filmmaker and I went out to sushi; I was in dire need of a stroll in the cool evening air to clear my head, and while I was looking forward to breathing in crisp clean air, chilling the lungs, I was also looking forward to finally being able to wear a veritable sweater. Camel, chocolate brown, cream, and black became my neutral palette for the evening. When wearing more comfortable clothing, which could arguably be categorized as active wear, if attempting to construct some taxonomy for the situation, I like to stay with neutral shades. An over-sized men's sweater in a navy or brown or black can look sleek and playful, with tall boots and either fitted jeans or tight leggings; however, in a magenta or teal or burnt orange, the look may lose some of the appeal.


This sweater is longer, but still does not have the length that my legs require so that I am sufficiently covered when wearing leggings; underneath, I paired a cream pleated dress that I purchased from the boutique Need Supply Co. in Richmond. The cream wicker handbag is a recent acquisition from my trip up to Providence; wicker bags were wildly popular in the 1960s and have since been experiencing quite the resurgence, with the help of designers like Ralph Lauren. I have often seen bright hospital white wicker, which looks perfect with cheerful summer dresses; this cream is more versatile to transition from the warmer months to winter.


An array of textures: wicker, soft pleated fabric, leather, hard plastic. The cream of the dress, the handbag, the ring, seem to create a cohesive look.


When one has amassed a collection of vintage purses and handbags that has grown almost too cluttered for one's large one bedroom apartment, a collection that indeed has its own taxonomic indices, it can be difficult to find something unique when vintage shopping. Even if I do not own it, I have seen it, somewhere. While I have seen wicker handbags frequently, I was drawn to the structure of the golden handles on this cream bag: each handle comes in a pair, which separate, a beautiful piece of architecture.


A few months ago, I had almost, tragically, pushed these earrings aside for dead: one of the rhinestone pieces had snapped from the floral statue base. Thankfully, the filmmaker used his skill and patience to somehow re-affix the glittered accent to the original, reviving these large and bizarre earrings.

Dark Sugared Maple by Lancôme was fitting for the generally muted look.


I desperately miss the days of being an astute and diligently reckless student for, amongst a myriad of other reasons, I could flaunt ridiculous eye makeup daily. Rimmel makes incredible eyeliner in a pastel-like crayon, which is easy to apply and provides a flash of sharp color and sheen.



I have had this cream and camel paisley jacket for years, a perfect weight for early fall. Surprisingly, I failed to cover the fabric in espresso stains through university, an anomaly for which I am now rather thankful.


Since I am wearing a sweater that formerly belonged to a man and leggings, frequently donned by pregnant women and others who perhaps are unwilling to admit they have a bakery problem, tall boots with a sturdy and strong heel were appropriate.