Utterly Chic
I’m copying Gift of Gabs here with a list of things and people I find to be utterly chic because I loved her newsletter so much. Happy Sunday!
Matching your drapes to your wall color
In what I consider to be One of The Nicest Things That Ever Happened to Me, my first husband and I bought a home from a designer. The photo above is my living room (well, hers actually because this was taken before we bought the house). While the home was decidedly less chic once all of our Ikea furniture moved in, the paint, the finishings, and the soul of the house remained. As always seems to happen in life, my best real estate years coincided with the worst years of my first marriage and we eventually sold my dream house. Still, I learned so much about design from the lovely Maria Crosby. When I asked for her advice about sourcing custom drapes on a budget she suggested sourcing Warsa fabric from Gray Line Linens having them made (I found a seamstress on Etsy) - which I have since done over and over again in multiple homes. Maria began her career with another of my design heroes, Katie Ridder. I have all of Katie’s books and routinely pour over them for inspiration.
Wearing a black wedding dress
Although SJP famously said she regretted it, I think this choice is chic chic chic.
A restaurant wedding
I’ve always wanted to get married at a restaurant. Maybe next time.
Molly Moorkamp
Love her. Also, hair goals.
A vintage Mercedes station wagon
In the early days of dating my now husband, I famously baited him into a Chablis fueled argument about Why I Would Never drive a Mercedes. “They are showy,” I said, “it’s like saying to the world, Look How Much Money I Have.” Not long after that, I tagged along with him on a work trip to Europe and his rental car was a Mercedes wagon. I have since amended my position on the subject to be that if I were going to drive a Mercedes it would have to be 1) a station wagon and 2) the older the better. I am aware that I am 1) ridiculous and 2) fickle.
A beautifully wrapped gift
It pains me to give a lazily or imperfectly wrapped gift. I end up doing it a lot because I have not yet achieved my goal of having a gift wrap room and often I can’t be bothered to drag all of my supplies out of the basement. I have learned that when I am in a pinch, Paper Source will wrap presents for a small fee. Worth every penny. I also love a personalized gift tag.
Displaying a magazine collection
Especially if it’s Vogue, Sassy, or my personal favorite, Garden & Gun. The latter are more “charming” than “chic” but still.
Socks and sandals
Tell me you wouldn’t wear this.
Styling a Watch
I love a buttoned up outfit with a Sports Watch; even better if it’s from the Omega x Swatch collection that I own and love.
Minimalist bedding
Enough with the goose down mattress topper, a comforter, a quilt, four pillows, and several bolsters. It would be far more interesting to use one colorful bedspread, ideally vintage, two sleeping pillows, and one mismatched throw pillow. CHIC. John Derian is saving us from the tyranny of layered bedding.
Clarks Wallabees
I’ve been wearing these forever. They somehow make every outfit better and the 70’s vibe is so good. I love them with jeans, shorts, and especially skirts. The only question is how you want to style the sock because the below image is chic as well.
Never Not Shopping
J.Crew is running 20% off for teachers - go go go! I tried on these satin pants this week and loved them.
Note that for me they ran big but I didn’t mind. I like the loose fit. These are the regular length (they also come in petite). I’m five foot four and often take a petite in pants but I liked the long length here.
I do not need a loafer, I will not buy a loafer, yet I am still looking at loafers. If you need a loafer, I love these (in Navy) from Ann Mashburn and these Croc D’Orsay loafers from Freda Salvador.
A stylish instagrammer I follow (mortified that I can’t remember who) led me down a rabbit hole to THESE and I can’t stop thinking about them. I would try them with a red dress.
Thanks for reading!
XOXO,
Tara
*My Poshmark Shop
Ooooh, the Warsa linen looks so intriguing, that is a great idea for curtains, which we are in need of updating in the living room! Thank you! I too have a dream house we had, which I remember with longing, the one that got away, but we had to move for compelling Geographic Reasons. I think Laura Ingalls of "Little House on the Prairie" got married in a black dress, and Kim France too. (Happy to find your post awaiting on this workaday Monday morning!)
Thank you so much for your nice comments - it means so much to me! The Warsa is AMAZING! I've done the sage green color and pink and navy. The fabric is relatively inexpensive and if you don't need them to be ridiculously long it's really affordable. Highly recommend!!!!!!!! So pretty when the drapes match the walls. I did not know Kim France wore a black wedding dress. I am a super fan of hers so that tracks.