Banana Republic's Mad Men Collection

I have long been a fan, and a faithful client, of Banana Republic, especially for nuanced yet classic office attire, and I have watched now epidemically popular Mad Men since its debut pilot; needless to say, as an avid antiquer and vintage jewelry, clutch, and cocktail ware collector, as well as an inquisitive, analytical romantic interested in gender and sexual politics and the socioeconomic implications therein, the show quickly became a fascinating habit, and the prospect of an entire collection through an affordable retail chain was much anticipated. Now, having previewed the pieces, I feel uninspired and find the collection, though meticulous, rather lackluster. As I continue to examine the detailing and structuring of each look, I can find aspects of nostalgia and genius, which I thoroughly enjoy; perhaps my hesitation and disappointment surround the bland postures of the model and the milquetoast expression in her eyes. Though the pieces are, indeed, the highlights, some greater period-influenced extravagance in the styling of the shoot may have further whetted my interest and mounted anticipation.

With both of the dresses pictured above, again, I am fond of the cut and overall structure of the look, genuine to the era without appearing to be a caricature; however, neither the muted mauve nor the coral and gray floral are calling to me. As I well know, coloration in images such as these can be profoundly misleading, so a trip to an actual Banana Republic location may be in order.


The proportions of slacks and cardigan sleeves in the look to the left are ideal; again, the model is a bore, and I would be interested to see some additional accessorizing, other than the beehive chignon. She wears some type of bracelet, but it is hardly noticeable. The belted leopard trench with the, presumably, almost Jackie Kennedy-Onassis shift-inspired cream dress peeping through is my favorite look; over-sized pearls would be a great pairing. Cascading strands of small pearls is a classic, and has been recently re-introduced to popular fashion consciousness; I never buy accessories from large retailers, due to the mass production, and feel that this piece could be easily mimicked with true vintage pieces, which may afford more flexibility in layering possibilities if they come as single strands.

(images taken from New York Magazine, Fashion section)

Perfecting Packing and Preparation

I am a notoriously disorganized packer; I tend to pack schizophrenically and, especially if I am uncertain of my destination's weather conditions, I always over pack. While packing last Saturday for my business trip in Prague, I was surprised at how smoothly everything was going; I had run errands to obtain necessary travel-sized toiletries, was able to neatly fold three of my suits, a charcoal, a cream, and a black, picked appropriate and comfortable travel attire, and all was fitting in my carry-on sized suitcase. As I was transferring in Rome, and could not afford, obviously, to lose anything in transit, an economizing carry-on was a necessity.

Then, as all was seeming to come together seamlessly, my driver set to arrive in a little under two hours, I double check my travel laptop to ensure I have the necessary files for my upcoming meeting; much to my severe dismay, the files did not synchronize properly, though I had connected to my office's network and had opened the files late the previous night, before leaving. Anxiety already mounting at the prospect of travel and other professional responsibility, I start to dry-heave a bit. Then, miraculously, I remember that I had already planned for this event of misfortune, also miraculously, and had uploaded additional back-up files to an online file sharing service. Due to their immense size, it took some time to download them onto the laptop, again, meaning some excruciating nail biting for over half an hour while I stared furiously at the crawling progress bar, every muscle, every last one, clenched.

The files downloaded successfully, and, most importantly, the meeting itself was also a success, so this is all now a hilarious and mildly self-deprecating meditation, where I can fully revel and appreciate my ability to pack for five days in Prague, where it is prone to tempestuous spring and summer weather with frequent rain, in a single suitcase.

Baby Elephant Walk

A few days before I was scheduled to fly out to Prague, via a layover in beautiful Rome, while I was deep in the proverbial professional trenches preparing for my meeting and working long hours, the filmmaker's mother offered the two of us a proposition: she had been, a number of weeks prior, tasked with the making festive elephant shaped sugar pink and chocolate candy lollipops for a colleague's retirement celebration, it was now the night before the affair, and she had other, less tedious plans with her sister, visiting town for the evening. She offered, in return for the filmmaker and myself bearing the burden, to treat us to a night about the town.

Rather foolishly, wanting to enjoy the last few moments of sun for the day, the filmmaker and I decided to go out and about for a summer drink, before embarking on our journey of melting, without burning, pouring, drying, and waiting, and waiting some more, to transform the soft disc shaped candies into also soft elephants on a stick, complete with ears, trunk, and legs. After realizing the packet instructions recommended utilizing a microwave, and after learning how long was too long in the make-shift double boiler before the candies congealed to a gelatinous muck, ruining our would-be first batch, we slowly and successfully formed four elephants. It is important to note, at this point in the tale, that we had a lonely single mold, able to set four elephants at once; in order for each party attendee to have at least one lollipop, we would need about thirty-six or so, the precise number at this moment escapes me. Feeling absolutely exhaust and guilty, I slipped away from the steaming stove to the seductively sultry feel of my cotton sheets and my soft mattress; within seconds, I was dozing, ambling silently to the land of dreams, where Queen Mab reigns.

My filmmaker persevered, boiling, melting, without scalding, pouring, scraping, sculpting, drying, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, until about four in the morning. Surely, the effort was appreciated, as the elephant lollipops turned out to be absolutely darling, and while I cannot attest to the taste of the massively manufactured sucrose-induced candy gum, I know that I have the sweetest beau around.

A Beautiful Brunch and Beau

On Saturday morning, before I departed on my business trip to Prague, the filmmaker and I went out to brunch at a local deli, cafe, bakery type of place, a neighborhood joint where one can easily eat in, enjoy the friendly banter amongst the congenial staff, or take out for a picnic. After living in my town almost two years, I discovered this place mere months ago; the filmmaker and I have since become welcome regulars. We are greeted warmly and with smiles. This most recent weekend visit, I tried the daily special, a decadently layered baked French bread, with a side of bacon, which was ridiculously delicious, while the filmmaker opted for his tried and true choice of waffles, also with a side of bacon.

I loathe monotony, or perhaps, more foundational to that, complacency; within the last twenty-four hours I have technically traveled to two new countries and have already exposed my heart and mind to new beautiful parts of the world. Exploration and constant learning is refreshing, is, for me, the metaphoric vital organs of the spirit.

That being said, there is something equally beautiful about the comforts of a home, of being able to sit in contented and pleasant idle silence before someone who cares for you wildly and deeply, sipping a cup of strong coffee, or tea, preparing for the adventures of the day.

Outfit for a Thursday: Rugby Chic

This Saturday, I am flying overseas to Prague, for yet another business trip; preparation has been arduous, given all the other projects on my plate, and my vain attempts at some type of balanced social life, so by Thursday I was ready for a comfortable outfit, suitable for sitting in front of my computer and focusing on certain client deliverables. Though it is business related, there will be hopefully a few moments of pleasure while on my journey; I will be accompanied by a lovely colleague and friend, Nicole, as well as her beau, Dave. The opportunity to see one of Europe's most beautiful cities has me beyond tickled. Already, I am projecting the boutique hotels of Prague, whether my toilet paper is politely folded into quaint triangles or not, will oust both The Standard Club of Chicago as well as the Hampton Inn of Exton.

This light cotton sweater, another item from a Gap online sale, is ideal for the warm, devilishly humid summer months; its feminized mimicry of traditional rugby jerseys made it a natural choice while virtually perusing countless items, feigning deep pockets and a full checking account. Online shopping definitely requires a certain risk-benefit analysis, though, I have had fair successes with stores I know well in person, with respect to sizing and fabric quality, such as Gap and Banana Republic.

Not shockingly coincidentally, the deep navy cigarette-leg spring weight chinos are also a Gap purchase; though I abhor looking as though I stepped off the page of a massively produced and consumed retail catalogue, I hope, this grave and rather public admission aside, no one noticed. Must be the cotton comfort that prompted me to turn the other cheek.

If this looks familiar, it is because I wore this necklace on Wednesday as well; it is a new piece, and thus inherently fresh when it comes to my wardrobe. As I previously mentioned, I adore the tangible texture and weight of this entwined trio of golden chains.

Bronze low heel sling backs, which I have owned for quite some time, but which never seem to tire or to grow, or at least appear, terribly worn. This metallic is highly versatile, as it works with both brown and black, as well as a plethora of other muted tones and bright colors.

I am so wonderfully excited about fleeing the country, and this region for a bit, even for work; still, do not let the smile fool, I am anxious about packing appropriately, and with a carry-on, nonetheless. Perhaps, folly or success, that will lead to another tale.

Outfit for a Wednesday: Polka Dot Linen

Despite its propensity to wrinkle, linen is an incredible summer fabric and a fabric that, as proven in an earlier outfit from the cold winter months, is also refreshingly versatile, depending on cut and the specific piece. This particular linen blouse features not only small dark navy polka dots, but elbow-length cuffed sleeves and a rounded, faux Peter Pan collar, lending it a light-hearted sensibility on top of its light, comfortable weight. To help counter balance the informality of the blouse, with its innocent nymph appeal, I paired it with a classic navy blue high-waisted skirt, featuring subtle side pockets just below the waist and puckered fabric accenting along the hips.

Over the weekend, while meandering through a local artist and studio crawl, featuring predominantly muted and tame watercolors, portrait photographs, and some insanely hideous pig-shaped pieces of detritus and trash being disguised as sculpture, the filmmaker introduced me to a new vintage shop. One of my finds included this entwined, intermingling golden chain necklace, a sort of metallic menage-a-trois. Immediately I was attacted to the slinky texture, reminiscent of a python, and the hefty, meaty weight.

This goldenrod, ochre color is a favorite of mine, particularly for accessories; the deep navy and gold combination is a classic, adding some flash to what is considered generally a neutral tone. Thankfully, vintage bakelite bangles and other jewelry always came in an array of yellows and golds.

To add a further ochre, caramel, butter feel, ingredients as colors, I layered my new twisted chain necklace with this tried and true vintage piece, with large flat square beads, which always remind me of antique television screens.

Golden ochre shoes are a wardrobe essential, as they complement almost every neutral tone and many colors, black, white, gray, navy, brown, red, purple, blue. One of my colleagues wore an almost identical pair, which featured a wedge as opposed to the tapered heel, and agreed, pronouncing her goldenrod shoes a necessity.

Cephalopods and Cream Suit Carnage

Today's schedule and ultimate turn of events has proven both rigorous and wretched; it began with hurrying to the office early to complete a purportedly important presentation, which was never reviewed and now likely resides in the realm of inbox limbo, a whirring virtual maelstrom from which little if anything ever manifests. Upon my early arrival to the office, the sun shone, the day appeared bright and promising, pleasant even, and I pondered on the beautiful landscape afforded me by my large picture window. Four hours later, the deluge commences, and an additional hour after that, I recall dejectedly that I left the windows of my car cracked. During an internal business development meeting with some colleagues in our large conference room, as I shifted my crossed legs under the table, I snagged my new cream suit pants on a shockingly sharp screw, cream suit pants I had worn for the sole purpose of a cancelled client meeting set for later that afternoon. Naturally, a plethora of pathetic puns involving screw and its idioms ensued. Finally, here, still in the office, the rain persists, and I am without umbrella. Glorious. Earlier in the afternoon, the filmmaker forwarded the above image, a large octopus ring he saw somewhere in a store window weeks before, and had neglected to send me; though the day has been long and trying, this trinket brought me a slight smile. Cephalopods are some of my favorite creatures; in addition to finding their fluid movements ethereal and surreal and beautiful, they are remarkably intelligent and astute problem solvers. Masters of disguise and camouflage, they are able to alter not only their skin color, but its texture as well, an attribute I would certainly welcome and pay for in the fabrics of my professional attire.