Fear Not Color

Big Day out people. 8am train to Glasgow was nearly Zenlike... by Scotrail standards anyway. By which I mean there were no drunks on it yet, and nobody opened the door on me while I was in the loo, sitting on the toilet. That story (a true one) is for another time people. So anyway....Check it.

Note how all the seats at my table are empty. Bliss! Just me, my coffee, and Elle. Sigh.  I am that antisocial girl on the train. Yup, that's me.  I'd say hello, but as I say, I'm antisocial.


Oh, and this.

Don't get those kinds of views on the N Train to Brooklyn.  Not too shabby.





Anyway. Walking through the shops, getting my high street fix in Glasgow, it hit me like a wet handful of sand that the retail cycle has officially declared it time for spring and summer clothes. And our sensibilities follow, the witless lot that they are. I find myself thinking about maxi dresses, slouchy skirts, and flat sandals. It's  2 degrees Celsius outside. I should be looking at cashmere, or perhaps wood-burning stoves.  I'm instead thinking about tunics to go over the bathing suit that I have yet to purchase.


But most notably, was the jolt of candy colour that smacked me in the face as I walked into high street fave New Look (they do affordable jeans in tall! 36 inch inseams! In Glasgow! Why am I yelling!?). I was greeted with an onslaught of colours that looked as if they had the Marc Jacobs - Vuitton -  Spring 2012 wand waved over them.

Photo courtesy Louis Vuitton - Spring 2012 Ad Campaign






et Voilà....

Photo Courtesy NewLook.com

As lovely as these colours look on the models and in store, I am just not a pastel-esque kind of gal. Oh sure, the occasional cardi here and there...I have a sorta soft purple-y tweed bouclé skirt suit from J Crew (that ROCKS)....but still.  I love you Marc Jacobs, but I just can't handle that much candy-colored sweetness. Not to mention that I'm 5'11'', a size 10 US, and have size 10 to 10.5 feet. Not exactly your sample sized ingenue swanning around in all of her delicacy. I fear (rightly or wrongly) that this trend would make me into a study in opposites. A walking oxymoron, if you will.  Emphasis on the moron part.

So. Which new-season trend am I most up on right now?  

                                                                   Sport chic Baby! 

Photo Courtesy Akris (style.com)

Photo Courtesy Isabel Marant  (style.com)

Lets face it. this is a very wearable spring trend for a gal who lives in a small town in the Scottish Highlands, or anywhere else for that matter.  And nary a wellie or a Barbour jacket in sight. And lets face it (again)....Isabel Marant is the QUEEN of louche, casual style for everyday awesomeness. What I had a harder time finding was this look on the high street in a quality that I can live with. Perhaps what they say about getting older and shopping is true...it is harder to find fabrics that are flattering on the high street when you get to be a dame d'une age cértain...but sheesh!  As much as I loved the idea of some of these high street pieces, they seemed to lack the kind of structure and fabric required of something that purports itself to be sporty. There is an inherent implication of structure and sturdiness in something like that and it was simply lacking here. So. 

I figured I would start small. I came away with this. 

Courtesy H & M (www.hm.com)

LOVE the flouro yellow accent colour, the sheer panels, and the fact that it is constructed from a cotton-poly blend of yarn that has some structure to it. Looks cool over that sport bra in the photo. Will look cool under a blazer or layered over skinnies. It took me a minute of feeling it up to decide that I liked the hand. Almost feels like recycled plastic bottles. But in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, It came home with me. In a size smaller than I think I wear, no less.  So there it is, ladies and gentlemen. My newest high-street addition to what will hopefully be an increasingly sport chic spring and summer wardrobe choice.  shield your eyes, and Fear Not Color.