I'm gonna have to borrow that

First, a photographic introduction to the influence(s) behind why my new favorite dressy topper is an LLJ, or "little leather jacket":

Ashley, Winter 2008
Ashley, November 2007

Together with Danny Tanner, January 2007
Mary-Kate, September 2007

Together, September 2006
Together, May 2006
Together, March 2006

For those who were hoping I'd fallen off the Prim Express altogether with an admission of affection for Mary-Kate's favored Balenciaga ankle-booties, Ashley's beloved Louboutin 'Pinhead' boots, or their mutual affection for all things big and furry, I do apologize. I'm not quite there yet.

Where I am, however, is madly in love with the idea of wearing a fitted, moto-style black leather jacket on the red carpet -- or in my case, to a formal or semi-formal DC event. For the past couple of months, ever since my lone formal coat was sucked into a black abyss in a club bathroom, I've had to choose among my work coat, my more casual weekend coat, my olive trench and a host of cute but seasonably impractical jackets to top my cocktail ensembles. I know it might seem excessive to some to care so much about an item that will spend the majority of the evening on a rented hanger, but hey, that's me, I kinda want it all.

So after a couple of years of observing the twins Tanner rock this look so successfully, I finally came to a point where (a) I needed a new going-out coat (b) I found a very reasonably priced version of my ideal going-out coat and (c) I had the chutzpah to finally face the fact that there may be a little more Olsen and a little less Audrey in me than I ever wanted to admit.

Also, on a more practical note, the benefits of owning an LLJ extend far beyond just that which you'd wear on the party circuit. They look smashing with skinny jeans and flats, super chic with a high-waisted pencil skirt and pumps and even have the ability to enhance that ruffled jumpsuit you know you -and your friend to whom you've outsourced its less-expensive equivalent's search and rescue- are constantly looking for on the Interwebs.

In closing, I'd like to thank you, Mary-Kate and Ashley, for your leather-jacket-cum-party-topper inspiration -- I hope y'all don't mind too much I'm gonna have to borrow that.

A new feature: "I'm gonna have to borrow that"

Prompted by reader Angelina's suggestion that I include in my ASJiNE repertoire an end-of-the-month feature in which I highlight the item I've coveted more than any other during the previous 27 to 30 days, I give you just that -- but with an eensy tweak.

Instead of simply placing my seal of approval on this pair of jeans, that cool clutch or the funnel-necked leather sheath I quite literally can't stop searching for/fantasizing about, I thought a more interesting approach would instead involve writing about the genesis of that month's most notable influence, be it from a runway trend, a vintage find, a DC lawyer with an admirably avant-garde fashion sense, or in this month's case, a celebrity.

Or two, rather.


Check back later today for my first "I'm gonna have to borrow that" installment to see what finally convinced me to think of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen less as the crazy cat-women in waiting I'd always assumed they were and more as two cool chicks with two very unique, often sophisticated and always chance-taking senses of style.

And no, (eye roll) their bony chests will not be the featured subject.

Best white dress of 2007 (and 2006)

I can't believe I'm typing this, especially after that deal I struck with Monte to never forgive this half of Michelle Tanner for ruining my entire pre-birthday month with her painfully inarticulate "op-ed" in The New York Times last February, but I here I am absolutely in love with the self-designed kimono-sleeved plunge-neck column gown Mary Kate Olsen wore to the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City last night.

And when I say "self-designed," I really mean self-designed.

A selection from the 'Elizabeth and James' label, the twins' more affordable side of their new upscale fashion house, 'The Row,' this gown was MK's first and favorite sketch from the collection that is slated to debut in its entirety during Fashion Week later this Fall in Bryant Park.

This is not a universally figure-flattering cut, nor is the bralessness it requires practical for most naturally well-endowed ladies. That being said, if you are slim with a reasonably perky set of upper-bits, I can't think of a silhouette that more effectively marries sophistication, simplicity and whatever that was Rita Hayworth carried in her trademark smirk all in the same three yards of lightweight neutral-hued silk.

Beyond the aesthetics of this dress, there's just something very effortless, very easy about it that I find attractive. Much like a traditional DvF, this dress looks like one you could slip on and off in a single movement; whether you took the most meticulous or the most reckless care was immaterial, for the end result - a fabulous fit and drape - would always greet you in your three-way mirror. No buttons or zippers with which to fiddle, no cumbersome design that forces the wearer to contort her body into one and only one pre-determined position to achieve the perfect fit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm occasionally in the mood for those other, fussier dresses, too, the ones for which you feel you deserve a bejimmied soft-serve once you've wriggled and tucked and sucked-in to get just so on your frame, but nine out of ten times, I want the coupling of the implicit, behind-the-scenes casualness with a formal-gown silhouette. This contrast is something I've grown quite fond of in recent months thanks to dresses like this, this and still my favorite, this.

More of Mary Kate and her grandma-thin bag of bones at the CFDAs below:


And because I don't do the make-outright-accusations thing unless I've got your upturned wrists pinned beneath my knees, I'm just going to present you with some photos of this other dress that looks nothing like the twins' completely original design:

Jennifer Lopez (in Michael Kors) at last year's ALMA awards

How does *this* make it into the New York Times?

February 25, 2007

TIMELESS; Brand Loyalty

By MARY-KATE OLSEN
I have a large, red quilted Chanel bag that I borrowed from my sister Ashley. I wore it to an event and never gave it back. Luckily, she's moved on to another bag, so I'm safe for now. I'm not quite sure how many bags I have, but let's just say I have a few. When I find a bag I like, I tend to wear it to death until I become obsessed with another one. This probably happens three to five times a year. But I always come back to the Chanel. The size isn't overwhelming, and it has enough subtle detail to keep it interesting.

I also have the smaller version in blue and in white, but the red is definitely my favorite. I don't have a stylist -- I'd rather just do my own thing and put together my own outfits. The chain-handle bag is the perfect accent to almost any combination I come up with. I look at everything with a designer's eye, but I wouldn't change a thing about this bag. I think that's why it's a true classic.

I'm trying really hard not to pull several different kinds of rank here - after all, a good writer is a good writer for her style and precision, not her formal experience or academic pedigree - but this review MK Olsen put together for The New York Times on how she likes to "do [her] own thing" with her favorite red Chanel handbag is an example of unearned celebrity privilege at its most egregious.

Next thing you know, we'll be reading a Katie Holmes-penned article in The Washington Post on the "funnest" part of faking her pregnancy or a piece by Nicole Richie in Newsweek in which she describes how "exhilarating" it feels to crack a malnourished rib during foreplay.

Actually, those are two articles I'd much prefer to waste five minutes of my lunch hour reading than having to endure any more of MK's dangling-participle-ridden drivel.

On the bright side, at least we now know what two-half-assed-semesters-at-NYU caliber writing looks like.