Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Winter Hats

Besides the classic newsboy cap, the beanie and the beret, the latest winter hat twist to hit the scene this season are these half hoodies.
I first caught sight of them at Marc by MJ (left) and I thought, "whoa it looks like an oversized turtle neck- without the shirt part," and I didn't know what to think of it. In fact, to be honest I still don't. I thought maybe it is an Marc by MJ abberation and I should just ignore it. But no. It seems to be creeping up a lot more lately on both Shop Bop and Barneys. I mean, it's kind of neat in that it is like attachable hoodie you can put on any outfit you want and it serves as both a scarf and a hat. And with the looser kinds, I guess it does look a bit cool (or not as weird as I initially thought it was). But I think the show a little fringe rule applies here too (I can see myself burrow inside the hood, if I ever got this, with a dark hole as my face). What is everyone's consensus on these?
While I am undecided about the loose hoodies above, I am however very decided about these tighter hoodies. I don't like them. It looks like those ski masks people put over their heads, where you can only see their eyes, except here they widened the hole a bit so you can breathe. It just looks weird- especially as an accessory to an outfit it is not part of. If the model doesn't look that great in this... what are our chances?
Other hats of note. I just couldn't resist putting up this Sophia Costa floral knit beret (left). Even though at this point I have to admit that I am not a beret girl, I must say I love this hat. It just looks so artistic and pretty. I can totally see this on Gossip Girl. And speaking of morphing hat and scarf, I thought I'd throw in this Eugenia Kim combo (right). I think it works! Especially since the design is so simple but feminine. I imagine it would be very convenient to just grab this before you head out the door into the winter cold!
And for something a bit more conventional, I am in love with these two winter hats. The first one is a newsboy cap (left) with a twist, literally. The cap is designed to be on the side. Then there is this Mischa Lampert hat (right) which is simply adorable. Especially with the furry balls at the end. It's so festive! Plus, your ears will definitely be warm

Silver jewlery


I like simple things, you may have noticed, and when it comes to jewelry I believe simplicity rules all. And while I do like a bit of gaudiness (that post will come later), I am mostly a strong believer in things that are simple - and silver.

The other day I went into George Jensen just to look (with my jaw on the ground). Their items have always caught my eye, they're just very elegant - there is no other way to put it. You can opt to wear their pieces for everyday, or as a focal point for an outfit. The brooch above is beautiful, it has a sense of both old and new.


The setting of the ring above was one of the first I had seen, it came out around two years ago. After George Jensen came out with this design, Tiffany's was quick to follow (but in my opinion not nearly as unique as Jensen's).


Add something with a little more sparkle. Jensen's designs are very smart, often times there is a choice to pick from to add to a piece of jewelry.

So instead of buying multiples of something next time, find one thing that you think is exotic. Those are the pieces that you'll wear over and over again.

These beautiful photographs were in W's Spring Jewelry edition, 2006.

Winter Berets

It snowed this weekend! Luckily, not the scary blizzard painful kind of snow (not yet anyway), but the movie kind, where they gently flurry down and then disappear as it hits the ground. As pretty as it is though, it is also deceivingly cold. In fact, it is officially freezing out there! A great time to bring out your winter hats to protect your ears from coming off.
I was actually excited this year, because I wanted to try wearing out my white popcorn beret (left) which I just bought from Urban Outfitters. I figured that it was very wintery and cute, plus since it is so loose, it won't give me hat hair (or less of it anyway). Apparently I only got it half right. The first two times I wore it, 2 of my friends told me that I looked like a cancer patient... the rest were too polite to comment. Of course I defended myself and told them that they don't know what they're talking about, but if I were to be honest with myself, I do kind of look like a cancer patient. Because unlike the models on top where the beret just sits atop their head, when I wear it, I pull it all the way down to my eyes and ears (such that no fringe escapes) and am fully bundled up from head to toe- hey it's cold out there! Unfortunately, as a result, one cannot see that I have any hair at all and I effectively do look like cancer patient. White was also an unfortunate color choice. The cute popcorn probably look like tumors on me too.
I'd like to think that this "effect" only applies to unstructured berets like the ones above and that if I got a more structured one, like this one from Eugenia Kim, I would look much better, because I'm totally in love with this hat. I love the little buckle and I love the subtly textured tones of purple. It is dark enough to match with many things, but there's still some color to stand out amongst the black hats around.I have a feeling that it might not provide as much coverage and warmth as the ones above, but it looks so pretty!

Or am I just deluding myself into thinking that it will look better?
Maybe I should just stick to a classic newsboy cap that looks good on everyone- maybe in red.