So the discussion a week or two ago about Urban Warrior Princess style prompted me to ask myself a question: If I could dress like anyone in the world, who would it be?
The instantaneous answer was Emma Peel. For those of you not familiar with Mrs. Peel, she was a character on the 60’s British (and popularly imported to America) TV show The Avengers.
Is this possible, I wondered? Played by the young and beautiful Diana Rigg, Mrs. Peel was stylish, unflappable and just a bit deadly. I do already have one of her accessories: a convertible sportscar. I hopped on the web and started pinning pictures of Emma Peel.
Then I broke down what appealed to me about her style. She really had two different styles: Mod-style lady, and leather-wearing spy. I loved the modern ladylike sleekness of the first, and the tough, sexy practicality of the latter. Maybe, I thought, I can combine the two.
I don’t have pictures, but here’s how my week played out:
Monday: Teal moto jacket, cream refined tee, refined denim pencil skirt and harness knee high boots. This felt good – the boots could have been more BA, the skirt more ladylike, but I was I was on to something.
Tuesday: Rose colored slouchy blouse, trouser jeans, large multi-colored pastel pearl necklace, three-quarter sleeve faux leopard jacket, tan Frye harness back boots. Again, this felt right. The necklace and over the top jacket shone, and the boots and jeans said “I can break into that lab and you’ll never know I was there.”
Wednesday: Long purple short sleeved cabled cardigan, black long sleeved shirt, black ponte knit straight legged pants, black patent low-heeled pumps. This didn’t incorporate any of my elements. Neither ladylike nor tough, this seemed like something to stay home and watch TV in, not go out and conquer the world.
Thursday: Cream Moto jacket, rust shell, wide legged jeans, DV brown short boots. While the jacket and boots have a nice ruggedness, the outfit needed a fancy blouse to really work. Not on track.
Friday:Pine oversized cashmere sweater, straight legged jeans, leopard pumps, long gold pendant, and gold charm bracelet with vintage charms. For outside only: cream moto and black cashmere wrap. This is a less obvious instance of my rubric, but it worked for me. The oversized sweater had a confident casual ease, the pumps and vintage bracelet added more ladylike touches.
Overall, it’s been a great tool for me and I’m going to continue using this approach for awhile. I’m curious how it will affect my weekend looks – it’s a fun approach because I feel like I can adjust the Lady and Badass scales based on the occasion and how I feel. One day I might be in a suit with only a studded purse to give me away. Another day I might be in jeans and a leather jacket, with only the pearl necklace to hint that’s I’m not all tough.
I’m also having fun thinking about how to modernize the spirit of the show’s mod clothes. A single color was popular then, and I’m reinterpreting that as tone-on-tone as I don’t typically wearing a head to toe color. But burgundy slacks and rose colored shirt? Black pants and a charcoal blouse? Yes, please!
What do you think YLF? What else would a Ladylike Badass wear?
