Putting my new La Ligne Breton striped shirt through the paces. I love doing work to MOTG variations with one more polished look and one more casual and fun. This striped shirt feels very French, so I tried to imagine what I would dress like if I lived in Paris. Which means more elegant and understated with darker neutral colors (but still keeping the accessories fun and interesting). And a nod to Rock, who is trying to get past the long-ago comment that wearing navy and black makes you look like a bruise. Embrace Ecchymosis Chic, I say!

The tee is actually a very dark navy with tan stripes, but it looks almost black and tan to me. I did a French secretary look with a black leather "skirt suit", with a slightly pleated and flared Halogen leather skirt and Spiegel leather jacket (anybody remember Spiegel?). I had gotten this jacket for $24 (real leather!), and bought one for each of my sisters, niece, sister in law and mom for Christmas 12 years ago, and we all took a picture together in our leather jackets. Fun! I like how the diagonal drapes of the jacket echo the stripes on the shirt. Kate Spade tortoiseshell glasses necklace (Je Ne Sais Pas, you have to get the necklace! I have one that is red on one side, black on the other, and another one that is tortoiseshell on one side and gold on the other. So useful!), and a cheap/old "Art Deco" style bracelet that kind of looks like stripes too. Stuart Weitzmann leopard ballet flats because French women love leopard print, it's "wild" while still being classy, right? And a Longchamp Le Pliage bronze gold tote with horses. All of these pieces are super old except the shirt. The bag is so old and I've used it so much the finish has worn off in places (9-10). I don't know if it's too shabby to keep using, or whether that counts as RATE (rough around the edges) and minimalist to keep using your most well loved stuff forever. I might be able to get a replacement on eBay, but pretty sure it's going to happen again (the similar horse print ones on eBay also have wear and holes in the corner). I don't like the plain solid bags through. I tried the outfit with my fancier Goyard bag (6-7) since that's also French and also black and tan. It seemed like the RATE-ness of the Le Pliage worked a bit better, but what do you think? I had hung my outfit on the door the night before (8), but the 3M hook fell off in the middle of the night. Guess I'll need to get a real hook.

Today I wore the Breton shirt with toffee wide leg pants and the Converse fleece lined sneakers with black, white and gold.
Like Angie, I was surprised at how I liked the brown tan/toffee color with the shoes, shirt stripes and pants, because brown isn't usually my best color. These J Crew wide leg pants are a few years old but they were languishing in the back of my closet till I pulled them out recently. Too late to return obviously, so I decided to wear them. I had bought the same pants in cream and olive green too. When I first tried the green pair on, DH was not a fan of the pants and said I looked like a "rice farmer" in them. (Yikes, but we're both Asian, so I guess it's not considered racist?). I don't know what rice farmers wear (besides the conical hat), but I like them, they're as comfy as my jeans. He's not used to wide leg pants because I've usually worn skinnies. I think the wide leg is back in though, right? I used to have a pair of floral wide palazzo pants back in the 90's, and I still am on the lookout for a modern version (unfortunately the La Ligne one was not playing nice with my tummy). But, he didn't say anything about the pants today.

I UWP'ed the look up with the same needle necklace, spiky thorn bracelet and studded satchel I wore with my other outfit I posted. I also wore it with a Banana Republic moto jacket, slightly more RATE than the Spiegel jacket. I also pulled out a new phone case, I had bought it at the same time as my usual rose gold mountain sunset case, but I guess in my heart I knew I had a shadow persona. The black case with skull cherries is very on brand for my Rogue Romantic Wuthering Heights kick, don't you think? During the day the polished fairytale princess reigns supreme and at night the goth punk princess comes out to play. Anyways, a French take on my dual personalities, in my not-usual colors inspired by bruises, what do you think? The second outfit was as comfy as my usual jeans/tee/Cotopaxi fleece, but a step up in style!

By the way, the ecchymosis chic I'm referring to is of the skinned knee variety and NOT traumatic bruises! Having known a domestic violence survivor close to me, I want to be clear I'm not glorifying violence! DV can happen to anyone, so please get help and know you are not alone and have support! 1 (800)799-SAFE (7233)

Two examples of bruises used in fashion shows, but the second one in poor taste.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/li.....uised-knee
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-s.....-accessory