Archive for September 2010
Crisp White Shirt
I haven’t updated in a while and all for good reason. See, so much have happened in the last month that I’m not even going to *try* to recount in its entirety. With New York Fashion Week in full force, I was in fashion heaven! Brushed arms with Andre Leon Talley, and saw Anna Dello Russo and Carine Roitfeld — in the same room. Swoon! The other big announcement is that I’m taking off for Paris. It’s a one-way ticket. We’ll see.
In any event, my personal apparel discovery of moment is the “crisp white shirt.” Somehow as I recall in fashion journalism, anything white shirt-related is always prefaced with “crisp.” Now I finally understand why.
So I started my venture into these woven shirt things with a chambray shirtdress. I bought it in an unassuming boutique called “Teddy”, which other than its outpost on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it is more of a Park Slope/Williamsburg kind of establishment. Even though the dress is quite covered up, it was perfect to wear in warm weather because the woven cotton is light as air. I love how it has a column of snaps down the front and a slight A-line shape. A very snazzy thing to throw on for brunch (or when you are late for work.) Not premeditated and so comfortable, it quickly became my favorite summer dress!
Then, braving more wovens, I went for the crisp-white-shirt. Oh god. It goes with everything and is always so chic. New found love! Here are my favorites:
Love the rolled sleeves on this one. I always end up rolling my sleeves up anyway!
Silk twill is one of my favorite fabrics. Feels so casual yet luxurious! Be forewarned however, that it wrinkles easily. But I have never been a stickler for perfectly-ironed shirts. I am not German and I am not in banking, other than that, I don’t think anyone else cares.
Lastly, I have always detested woven shirts do to its impact on the environment. By my estimate, a male working in a stiff job will dryclean about 10,000 shirts in his lifetime. Eeeek! That’s a lot of hazardous air contaminant. So my advice is hand wash or machine wash on delicate cycle, hangdry, then iron. Much like a crisp-white-shirt, caring for the environment is always chic!
