WIW: Why yes, I am a Karen Millen model. (Not!)

Of course, nahhh--I am no model! But I was amused when I opened the Karen Millen sale e-mail today and saw an outfit on their page that baaasically, I wore yesterday. (ETA to clarify: mine's an accidental "copycat" that happened the day before I saw the KM pic. So not actual KM.)

I've been taking a few WIW pix but haven't had the time to write or get them to press with all the media adjustment needed to go with it, but this amused me, so.

And you'll get some bonus geekery at the end too. (Gee, thanks, I can just hear you think. :D)

Items:

Sheer black shadow stripe hi-low hem knit (Apt 9 @ Kohl's)
Gray/white tie-dye tee by Columbia (thrifted a couple of years ago)
Dark skinnies with "moto" panel knee detail (Jessica Simpson juniors)
Mary janes by Softspots (had these since at least 2008)
Hermes-type chain link horn scarf ring worn as pendant
Also worn: Mexico silver earrings, varied silver chain bracelets, silver rings, etc.

#1, me (hair is just clipped up after a day wearing it down)
#2, the real Karen Millen model
#3, an attempt to show the knee detail on my jeans (pix are dark...I know.)
#4, me again
#5, yup, me
#6, the Kohl's top showing the sheer factor
#7, the Columbia tee. I had been theorizing different things under the sweater but this is my fave! It gives this subtle painterly effect in the combo that quite appeals to me.
#8, squirrel fur (aka vair). This is one big reason I bought the tee. It instantly reminded me of vair from medieval heraldry (something I got really into studying on my own during my high school years). Vair is a name for the pattern made by piecing squirrel fur as depicted in some of the medieval manuscript images here. There's some fashion trivia for ya...

I'll post some other outfits as I get a chance. Some are...umm...more colorful, anyway...

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10 years ago

Catnip

Veteran

Great outfit! I like the necklace.

Kristin L

If a black top and jeans are wrong, then I don't want to be right. I think it looks great.

Suzanne (ambergreen)

@Catnip: 'Twas a simple outfit...but 'twas also comfy. Thank you.

@K: Thanks. And I know, right? It is just a black top and jeans after all--so many variations of which have been one of my uniforms forever. And for many others, naturally. Yet I am proud any day I don't end up too much of a frumpmädchen.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

The shadow stripe on the KM top is gorgeous - I love their stuff. Great for milder weather.

You made me smile, Angie...my top is Apt 9 from Kohls and not the higher-end KM. Though I've loved shadow stripes for many years and I'm happy to find them at other price points. And I don't mind if my disguise works a little bit.

I also love the lines of KM, but I might have to grow a foot taller for them to be really effective on me.

Thistle

You look terrific! I can see why KM copycated you. .

LOL @ Thistle! Wish I had thought of that angle. I'd...be...rich? Or something.

Ah well, hee hee. Thank you.

Jaime

Looks great KM or no KM!

Debora

No wonder KM is copying you, you look fabulous!

CocoLion

Thanks for such an entraining post. You look great -- spunky and smart too although I may be influenced by your writing! Never heard of Vair. It made me think of the "Ivan the Terrible" series from Sergei Eisenstein. Fur cloaks were big with the nobility depicted in the film.

Suz

Fab outfit and extremely fun post! I love your prescient "copycatting." How nice when you align with the gods of fashion in such a way...

Gigi

Nice outfit! I like the layering under the sweater a lot. And the jeans are cool.

rabbit

love the subtle blacks, and it's cool that you layered a pattern under the striped sweater - gives it even more depth.

So if vair is squirrel fur, is the white from the bellies of red or fox squirrels? I think I remember reading about vair tippets somewhere....and vair lined cloaks.

Lyn D.

Captivating- your title and the outfit

Beth Ann

Texture in black and deep grey can add such interest and depth --- how fun to pull together a look and then see it in an inspiration photo!

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. And I wasn't sure if I was getting too nerdy about medieval fur, heh.

@CocoLion, I haven't seen those, but have heard that 20th-century Russian history blockbusters are...interesting...

@rabbit, I don't know that much about the species they used...I'll guess that the choices had a lot to do with relative abundance and size-matching? Interesting question.

@BethAnn, yep, I can't help it, I will probably always love combos of the neutralest of neutrals...black, gray, and silver (white allowed as an occasional accent). I'm happy to have added color over the last 20 years, but it has also come with a learning curve regarding what to say no to.

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