L.L. Bean--Tweaking Tradition

The other day the L.L. Bean Signature Collection catalog landed in the mail.  L.L. Bean was never on my fashion radar, but a couple of years ago I ordered a pair of their cozy shearling slippers and an adorable and affordable faux shearling coat, so I was on their mailing list.

L.L. Bean is widely known for mom jeans and boxy cardigans with tomatoes or frogs knitted into them, and styles and colors that are about as exciting as peat moss.  Pepto pink, seafoam green and mud brown have been popular colors on their palette.

I expected more of the same when I opened the catalog, but was pleasantly surprised to find stuff that I really want in my closet.  Like a navy Donegal tweed jacket styled like a vintage hacking jacket.  Fitted, self-belt, with leather elbow patches.  Hits at the top of the hip.  Cute, cute, cute and infinitely wearable! 

I was also ready to pull out the credit card for a zippered pebbled leather fold over clutch in black or dark brown with brass hardware.  Another favorite piece is the wide-legged stretch denim trouser.  Cuffed with a pleated front, all you need is a fierce pair of heels to create a leggy Charlie Girl look.  And this collection has a fierce and fabulous brogue.  Vintage look with perforated details.  Platform sole with a 3½” heel.  Comes in a smokin’ black patent and a gorgeous saddle tan.

So, what gives?  Alex Carleton, L.L. Bean’s new creative director, took their legendary quality and added style.  Updated fits closer to the body, pants with a lower rise.  Skirts pretty enough to be featured in the pages of Elle, More, InStyle and Lucky.

How cool!  Kudos to L.L. Bean for flying its chic flag and giving us more to add to our wish lists.  Check out their website--I'm sure you'll be surprised!

Green Daze

An acquaintance traveling in Brussels and Amsterdam tells me that their hot, must-have color of the season is green.  Grass, asparagus, string bean green.  Lush forest green.  Soothing, relaxing, it is second only to blue as a favorite color.  Green doesn’t incite uncontrollable passions--it is the color of peace. 

He sent me pics of shop windows to illustrate the point.  I like the idea of pairing this color with black, midnight blue or chocolate.  Will this fresh hue hit the states in Autumn 2011?  These gorgeous tones will make it easy to be green.

Photos courtesy of Jason Bloom

Plaid Men

Target has saturated the TV airwaves with ads featuring handsome guys decked out in plaid shirts.  Red & blue, grey & yellow, brown & white, green & purple--name your favorite color combo and it‘s available in plaid.  For many, plaid shirts are a vivid reminder of the early 1990s grunge scene, but they have been standard issue for lumberjacks, carpenters, gardeners, and granddads for generations.  Plaid screams "tradition" and this season we’re seeing more traditional casual and dress attire for men and women. 

Plaid shirts connote "real" men.  Not the “Home Improvement” buffoons, but guys more like Norm Abram, master carpenter on PBS’s perennial, “This Old House.”  A man wearing a plaid shirt implies a master of tools, art, music and nature.  He’s an angst-ridden guy who writes fretful songs, knows how to use a reciprocating saw, and will help you retile your bathroom.  He can manicure the boxwood, select and plant azaleas, tame crabgrass and move boulders.  He will calm the wild beasts, including your twitchy Cockapoo or sweet, but soggy-mouthed, Newfoundland. 

I usually keep a couple of plaid flannel shirts on hand during the winter.  My favorite is a old Gap chamois-soft turquoise & navy blue which has withstood countless washings and is really cozy on a chilly day.  If you need to restock your supply you can find them in a broad range of prices and stores.  The Gap has a $49.50 model, there is also Rag & Bone for $220, Diesel for $120, Ralph Lauren for $195, and a  wool/cashmere manning plaid from Bergdorf Goodman for $725.  (I think I’d buy a couple of coats with that cash.)

Beloved

In this season of classic styles I started wearing a watch that my dad gave me many years ago.  It is a beautiful, timeless piece crafted by Wittnauer, one of the top watchmakers in the world.  I don’t recall whether or not I needed a new watch at the time of the gift but I was happy to dispose of an ugly, inelegant digital display piece that had embarrassed my wrist for months.

For the past few years this watch had been lying at the bottom of my jewelry box, lacking a working battery and a stylish watchband.  This watch is not a chronograph, doesn’t have a heart rate monitor or screechy little alarm.  It won’t tell me the time in Reykjavik but it adds an authentic new dimension to the look I’m cultivating.  Delicate, small gold framed rectangular face, Roman numerals, new black lizard band.  It is tiny on my wrist, delicate like a tattoo.  Sometimes I have to squint to see if it’s lunchtime.  Although I wore this watch every day for years, I’ve become accustomed to my sportier, funkier watches with their oversized, backlit faces and wider straps. 

I love this watch and had forgotten how much I enjoyed wearing it.  In this era of cell phone as timepiece, it is a privilege to have an accessory that lends an air of sophistication to my everyday life.  Thanks, Daddy.  I think of you every time I wear it.