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Towards Spring

Hi. What's new? I hope you're all doing really well. After a not-restful but very fun spring break I'm reluctantly getting back into the real labor of school. Junior year is almost over. Note to self: time is always already moving faster.


I've been furiously journaling and writing and listening to the loads of fantastic new music (Kacey, Adrienne, Bleachers, Beyoncé, and that Lorde cover) and also older music (welcome back Neil) and it has me thinking about, well, the future and the past.


Amidst the uncertainties and considerations for my senior year (!!), clothing has, per usual, been a grounding thing for me. A few weeks ago I acquired a fabulous Comme des Garcons wool blazer from 1991 for the ludicrously low price of $25. It's in a very beautiful lightweight smooth fabric, sort of like a gabardine, with no collar, a slightly cropped boxy silhouette, two little tiny pockets, and a row of buttons up the front. These buttons are very cool and special because all buttonholes except the one at the top are concealed — meaning that this blazer (blardigan? It is somewhat redolent of a cardigan) is possibly the most versatile piece of outer-slash-inner wear I've ever come across, even more versatile than my other Comme de Garcons black wool blazer. It's one of these tasteful, between-ish, transitional, trans-seasonal pieces that can be worn in practically infinitely many ways. It's a hybrid creature. It's comfortable being in the middle of things which are in the middle of other things. I want to be this blazer when I grow up.



I do like to wear this thing as it was intended, as a blazer. Here I am layering my vintage blue silk blouse (no tee underneath this time because it is spring, see previous blog post for reference) underneath the blazer. I liked the cohesive suit-ness of the black trousers (90's Girbaud) with the jacket but felt it needed to be broken up a little bit. The drape of the pant and the blouse are nice foils to the clean crisp line of the blazer. And the Prada Sport mary jane is just good with everything. Also, black nylon tote in the back.



But it can also be worn as a cardigan, obviously. It was a bit overcast on this day so I layered the blazer over a Frame long sleeve tee and underneath my vintage trench, thus it was functionally a sweater. It's thin enough that it didn't excessively bulk up my sleeves when I had the trench on, which I appreciated. Also wearing a J.Crew wool sock and vintage Levi's. Keeping things comfy, warm, simple, calm.



I guess this next day I was also wearing it as a blazer. Big jean (vintage DKNY), white tee (Uniqlo), fun flat (Martiniano) for the win. I think this look has a lot of soft strength to it — it's classic, coherent, but not fussy or stuck-up or self-aggrandizing. Easy. Accessorizing was fun: I'm wearing a Monica Vinader cuff that feels very tough-pretty, and all week I wore this lapis ring from my parents' honeymoon in Egypt (<3).



Oh, here I am wearing it as a top. It's good to have things in the closet that look good even when you feel bad / tired / messed up / anxious, and these are a few such things. Leaving the bottom few buttons open and cuffing the sleeves helped the shape relax a bit. Vintage workwear and Jordans completed the look — strong, comfortable, and very, very cool.



Finally, I am wearing it as part of a skirt suit set! Say that three times fast. This day was so sunny and warm so I ended up ditching the outer layer later but it was cute while it lasted. I'm wearing a 90's miniskirt, a Michael Stars black ribbed tee, and Prada cowboy boots.



Happy spring, take good care —

Karissa


Cover: Detail of "Four Dead Trees" (1942) by Edward Hopper


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