Madame Predicts...Really?

 
You know you're getting old when you can honestly say you've seen everything. There's no fashion trend I haven't lived through or seen revived, sometimes multiple times. So I, Madame, predicts there will be nothing new this fall. However, fashion is a Rolodex—and if you know what that is you too may consider yourself old.

Spinning the cards on their little wheel, I see the following trends. For no rhyme or reason in no particular order:

WIDE-LEG JEANS
Denim refuses to die. Is it because denim is so American, and we Americans take pride in our national treasures? No style of jeans is ever really "out", but some do make it to the head of the line. This fall expect to see a lot of wide legs. Don't reject this out of hand if you are petite (5'4" and under). The idea of tucking and belting your top lengthens the leg and plays with proportion. Don't tuck, and you will look like a brick.

Banana Republic, $120

GENDER FLUID
AKA The Boyfriend. It used to be great fun to borrow from the fellas. Now it might be "making a statement". But it's still fun. Vests are back. It's a fitted vest, not oversized, so you can't steal it from his closet (if he still has one—vest that is, not closet). In theory this will give a lift to what you already own. I like that idea. The vest tried to make a run for it a few seasons ago. Let's see how it plays out this time.

Amazon, $25.66

Just kidding...

TAILORING
Banish the word "suit". It's now called jacket-and-skirt, giving one the freedom to pair with other pieces, something that was always hard to do when we called it a suit. I'm seeing a lot more structured dresses as well. There will be no slouching. For these you have to stand up straight and wear proper shoes, which will start you thinking of a proper handbag, etc. We don't all need this look in our wardrobes anymore, but it does feel like we've grown tired of casual 24/7. At least the designers have.

Givenchy

SHEER
If you dare. But really you don't have to be that daring. Anyone can pull off sheer sleeves, and a nude cami under a sheer top does a good job of fooling-the-eye. A sheer skirt can be the illusion of (see below). So along with tailoring is a kind of grown-up romance. Think combining the two.

Zara, $89.90

EXPENSIVE
The fact that new clothes are expensive should come as no surprise, but because they really are expensive should give one reason to pause and shop very, very carefully. Pay no attention that I just ordered the skirt, above, while doing research. Even fast fashion has caught on to this trend. Gone are the days of a $39.90 dress at Zara. More than ever Madame predicts we will be shopping sale, off-price, thrift or vintage.

SHAGGY AND FLUFFY
We've gotten so used to faux there is no need to pretend it's fur any longer. Expect to see all kinds of shaggy and fluffy outerwear, scarves and trims. 

Hope for a cold winter...

COLOR
Madame goes out on a limb here and predicts that one of the hardest colors to wear, one that most people don't like but is actually a favorite of mine will show up this fall. Chartreuse gets a bad rap. Perhaps it would do better if renamed "gecko" or "grasshopper". I expect to see it only in small doses, but if you wear this you will surely pop:

Jason Wu

Stylish Read: "Ex-Wife"

Norma Shearer in "The Divorcee"*

Be advised "Ex-Wife" is not exactly upbeat. Published in 1929 and reprinted several times, this was the first book by Ursula Parrott, a novelist and prolific short story writer for women's magazines. A roman a clef, "Ex-Wife" is her best remembered work. I would not have known of it or Ursula Parrott but for a much-belated obituary recently in the New York Times. There was none when she died in 1957.

Copy and paste this to read it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/obituaries/ursula-parrott-overlooked.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Dk4.PqAC.NDSWtilgIlmj&smid=url-share

An early edition

The ex-wife of the title is young, still in her early 20s, whose marriage dissolves under the weight of unintended circumstances. Though I've never had an ex-husband I certainly had an ex-boyfriend—the trauma of which I carried around too long.

The book was considered quite shocking at the time for its frank portrayal of "gay young things" in New York City in the hectic middle of the roaring twenties. The earliest flappers had been rebellious teenage girls. By this time they were adults in a world with no rules how emancipated women should behave. 

Our heroine, Pat, and her slightly older friend, Lucia, are justifying their actions as they go, while running up against the still-ingrained good girl/bad girl double standard of men for women. I won't tell you how it ends, but let's say it would be an odd choice for a Lifetime Movie of the Week.

In time Pat, writing in the first person, reaches a foothold on maturity (we hope). I may not have liked all the characters—certainly some of the men, who become almost interchangeable—but I could see a little bit of Pat in my younger self, trying in vain to redo the over-and-done. And not for nothing, my mother would have been Pat's age and briefly living in New York City around then. For the hundredth time I wondered what she might have been like as a young woman.

Ursula Parrott, strikingly modern-looking

What makes "Ex-Wife" relevant to Allwaysinfashion? The book is a fabulous glimpse into the look of the period. Pat is consumed with appearances—clothes, hair, makeup, style (hers and every other woman's). Interestingly she is also an ad copywriter for a department store. Pat is so clueless she has no problem in her deepest misery being cheered by borrowing a gold wrap to put over a red dress. Her solution to anything is buy a new outfit or at least have a manicure. Even lingerie is important. In the middle of recording a heart-to-heart with Lisa she will mention details of the negligee Lisa is wearing. Clothes hold her together as she deals with her life.

"Recollection that the last time (name withhold not to give away the plot) ever saw me, I was wearing a bright red dress from Paris, with a hat that matched it precisely, and a brand new grey Krimmer coat, would be some comfort to me, always. That might be absurd. It was nonetheless profoundly true."

She wore what she wrote...

 
"Ex-Wife" is a fascinating, contemporaneous account of how these "new women" were dressing as well as navigating without a playbook. They had no idea they were creating the plays we've followed (or cast aside) ever since.

 
*"Ex-Wife" was the basis for 1930's "The Divorcee" starring a radiant, Oscar-winning Norma Shearer. Catch it on TCM sometime if you can. And, yes, Ursula Parrott sold scrennplays to Hollywood.

How to Justify a Splurge...

We've all done it at various times: paid too much for something and either happily lived with it or admitted we made a mistake.

It's rare the splurge itself isn't fraught with machinations of justification, ranging from "I deserve this" to  "If I wear it four times a week for ten years it will cost nothing". Sometimes there is no hesitation and only regret. Think of a Mimosa-filled brunch with friends that ends with the group trolling through Saks Fifth Avenue and, well, you can guess what happens.

Sometimes the splurge does not justify itself immediately. I treasure an unusual, pricey dress by a designer no longer in business that I purchased almost 20 years ago. It's a style vaguely '20s but not really and can be tied several ways for different looks. It always answers the What shall I wear to this thing? question. At the time I was not so sure. I just knew it was love.

RIP Christopher Deane

Likewise the reverse. You may hold onto that white $ilk shirt for years before realizing you have never worn it. By then it's yellowed a bit and won't button at the waist. This is easy to get rid of because you can always blame the short life of 100% silk.   

There are splurges for good, such as when you have found The Perfect Something-or-Other. This is the purchase that will stop your ever looking for it again: the perfect handbag, the perfect cashmere cardigan, the perfect pair of jeans. You will only search again when it's falling apart, way too late to have bought a second "just in case". Invariably this is the most expensive version of what you seek. If it's not, you may still keep looking.

There is something wonderful about buying a basic piece you will wear and wear, and every time you do you will know it's the best of its kind you could buy. I'm not talking about spending $600 for a pair of pants from The Row. That's only paying for the name, and we're not playing that game.

Any time I've done it (and there have not been many), I've never been sorry. In fact fairly recently I did something similar. I've had a pair of slim leg double knit black pull on pants for years that were probably $15 at TJ Maxx. Even though they look good and still do, really, I am aware that A) someday they are going to fall apart and B) they are not The Best. 

When I get dressed to impress (so to speak) I'm very aware those pants are not "good". So when I came across their equivalent from Vince (also at T J Maxx but in The Runway) I plunked down the $100 and am not sorry. It does make a difference; you know what you are wearing.

Don't worry, as I have, that paying too much for a basic will set you on the slippery slope where you will henceforth only be happy with $475 Loro Piana t-shirts. We've long been told that it's better to have fewer items of quality than many which are not. As someone who loves volume and choice, I've not always agreed. In the case of a good basic, I can now see the wisdom. 

* * * * *

There are three categories of splurges:

THE WAIT-AND-SEE
This one operates with a carefully thought out battle plan. You dream about it, locate it, find the best price, dream some more, start justifying, etc. I'm presently trying to find a tiny but thick pair of real gold hoop earrings on a post, not impossible because I found a cheap, costume jewelry pair. My search for the real thing is a great excuse to go shopping. I've yet to find them, but I will splurge when I do. I just hope it's not too soon.

THE SPONTANEOUS
I'm all for this splurge because one never knows when you will fall for something. Unless it's a flash sale or final markdown, you can usually put it on hold. Go home, think about it, come back, try it on again. After all that you should know. If you don't/can't put it on hold you may be playing a game of Russian roulette. If you lose you can always convince yourself "it wasn't meant to be." Personally, I don't enjoy that game. I'd rather buy it and return it.

THE AFFORDABLE
You really don't need it, but it won't set you back much. This is kind of my philosophy when trolling through a vintage store or a sales rack. I might not need it, but it scratches some itch. I set a $30 limit for myself and don't look back. Over time, however, these "little splurges" can add up. I try not to do the math.

 * * * * *

Now no one likes returning something. If not an admission of guilt, the return will be an inconvenience at best, an annoyance at worst. I counsel, in the immortal words of Cher in "Moonstruck", get over it. I understand; it's a hurdle, but you will feel so much better unloading this thing you don't really want. Just don't make it a habit.

Always know the store's return policy. Have you ever been confronted with "no returns, exchanges only" when trying to get your money back? This mainly happens at small, expensive boutiques where you have spent too much by even going in (longing can be costly).

In conclusion a splurge can be justified with some kind of logic (twisted or otherwise) and can (usually) be rectified should your cooler head prevail. In any case a splurge is an act best made sparingly.

PS While researching images, I found the photo of that dress, above, on Poshmark, along with a cropped blouse version in the same arresting print. Well, I already have the dress, but I just bought the blouse. $25—an affordable splurge.