Blazer (Mango, similar here and here), T-Shirt (Gap Men's - Excellent present from The Sister), Jeans (J.Crew, similar here), Shoes (Vans - get them literally anywhere including here and here; they are never going away), Necklaces (Dogeared), Watch (Marc by Marc Jacobs), Bracelet (Nadri), Ring (Blanca Monros Gomez via Of a Kind - Christmas present from The Man)
Let's just get the taglines out of the way and say that the dominant themes motivating the fruition of this outfit are "everything old is new again" and "sometimes the Men's Department does it better."
The former refers specifically to the checkerboard Vans that have been around (and paddling through various stages of popularity among various groups and influencers) since before Spicoli. These shoes are awesome and so refreshingly relaxed. They are a welcome addition to my neverending rotation of stilettos. 'Nuff said.
The latter refers to the Miles Davis Men's t-shirt that hangs and bags in all of the right places, far more successfully than any Women's t-Shirt of a similar style and purpose that has come out of any of the Gap Inc. brands.
I have had a love/disdain relationship with Gap over the many years that they've been in my sartorial purview. They've had their ups and downs, their cycles of nailing it, and of course their spells of totally missing the mark (do I even need to mention this abomination?), in the same way that people do...not unlike myself. Gap for the most part is milk-toast these days, at least as far as their Women's offerings are concerned lately, and I for one had been so assured of that fact, that I forgot one of the rules espoused by many a Fashion Folk, one that I myself have mantra'd, and that is that when the ladies stuff isn't blowing your skirt up, HEAD TO THE MEN'S DEPARTMENT.
Luckily for me, I have my sister, who woke me from my milk-toast Gap coma when she presented me with the aforementioned t-shirt as a Christmas present. (It's worth mentioning that these made up the other half of her Christmas offerings to me this past Holiday season...and it's worth mentioning because, well...look at them!)
In any case, after laying eyes on the t-shirt and squeeling, she squeel-retorted in a sort of "Who knew?!" way that the shirt happened to be care of the Gap Men's Department, to which I squeel-responded with a gaspy "No. Really?!". Which later prompted me to click on over to Gap's website and browse their male-intended wares thoughtlessly for about 20 minutes. And I as I floated down that rabbit hole, I found myself quite surprised and pleased with the offerings of (what would amount to on me as perfectly oversized) sweaters -- v-neck! crewneck! button-up! -- crisp, classic collared shirts, a plethora of graphic tees that I found to be (in most cases) much less obnoxious than their female counterparts, hell, even a grandpa-style sweater vest, complete with pockets which would undoubtedly get used.
Long story short, this particular t-shirt reminded me that as ladies, we are lucky enough to have the ENTIRE WORLD of the sartorial spectrum (sort of) available to us for consumption and appropriation. That is to say, if you find yourself underwhelmed by a particular brand's female-intended vesture, do remember to cock your head, squint your eyes, lift your leg, raise the roof, and explore that brand's Men's offerings, for you will leave the experience renewed, reinvigorated, and a little bit more filled with love for that formerly written-off purveyor of ladies milk-toast.
The former refers specifically to the checkerboard Vans that have been around (and paddling through various stages of popularity among various groups and influencers) since before Spicoli. These shoes are awesome and so refreshingly relaxed. They are a welcome addition to my neverending rotation of stilettos. 'Nuff said.
The latter refers to the Miles Davis Men's t-shirt that hangs and bags in all of the right places, far more successfully than any Women's t-Shirt of a similar style and purpose that has come out of any of the Gap Inc. brands.
I have had a love/disdain relationship with Gap over the many years that they've been in my sartorial purview. They've had their ups and downs, their cycles of nailing it, and of course their spells of totally missing the mark (do I even need to mention this abomination?), in the same way that people do...not unlike myself. Gap for the most part is milk-toast these days, at least as far as their Women's offerings are concerned lately, and I for one had been so assured of that fact, that I forgot one of the rules espoused by many a Fashion Folk, one that I myself have mantra'd, and that is that when the ladies stuff isn't blowing your skirt up, HEAD TO THE MEN'S DEPARTMENT.
Luckily for me, I have my sister, who woke me from my milk-toast Gap coma when she presented me with the aforementioned t-shirt as a Christmas present. (It's worth mentioning that these made up the other half of her Christmas offerings to me this past Holiday season...and it's worth mentioning because, well...look at them!)
In any case, after laying eyes on the t-shirt and squeeling, she squeel-retorted in a sort of "Who knew?!" way that the shirt happened to be care of the Gap Men's Department, to which I squeel-responded with a gaspy "No. Really?!". Which later prompted me to click on over to Gap's website and browse their male-intended wares thoughtlessly for about 20 minutes. And I as I floated down that rabbit hole, I found myself quite surprised and pleased with the offerings of (what would amount to on me as perfectly oversized) sweaters -- v-neck! crewneck! button-up! -- crisp, classic collared shirts, a plethora of graphic tees that I found to be (in most cases) much less obnoxious than their female counterparts, hell, even a grandpa-style sweater vest, complete with pockets which would undoubtedly get used.
Long story short, this particular t-shirt reminded me that as ladies, we are lucky enough to have the ENTIRE WORLD of the sartorial spectrum (sort of) available to us for consumption and appropriation. That is to say, if you find yourself underwhelmed by a particular brand's female-intended vesture, do remember to cock your head, squint your eyes, lift your leg, raise the roof, and explore that brand's Men's offerings, for you will leave the experience renewed, reinvigorated, and a little bit more filled with love for that formerly written-off purveyor of ladies milk-toast.
