me and my twinsets

There have been several interesting discussions on the gripping topic of whether twinsets look "mumsy," so I thought I'd weigh in. What a depressing expression, where on earth did it originate?
First, the J.Crew Jackie twinsets: definitely mumsy. I don't own any. Tippi twinsets: same. Also, solid color twinsets, even cashmere: chancy. Need to be worn with leather pants or skirt, if at all. I don't have any solid color "sets." Nor anything in ponte fabric, but that will have to wait for a different post.
But the Missoni and M Missoni matching or coordinating cardigans and tanks: a boon to the traveler and packer, and a blessing for events with dubious dress codes. An M or MM (I'm going to save me some typing) tank on its own with silk slacks has great appeal. Add the cardigan, which is sometimes v-neck, sometimes jewel neck, sometimes with a neckline Missoni has invented, wear with a slim skirt or well-fitting slacks, those last preferably dark, and you can have lunch or dinner anywhere you would have worn a black dress with neckline in the years before dress codes switched over to "please come in and spend some money" from expressions that began with "gentlemen: jackets required…" Things are slipping all over the world, except in Russia where the only detectable dress code was and continues to be показна́я ро́скошь. As far as Missoni goes in that direction, in some years they offer sweaters with metallic thread among the not-quite-tweedy knit.

Moreover, because of the interesting necklines and mix of fibers, the tanks go well under solid-color jackets of any variety. Not only is this characteristic generally useful, but it can be crucial in times of over-enthusiastic air conditioning. I usually prefer not to bring a jacket to a restaurant, to avoid discussion with over-helpful staff who want to check it for me, so usually on hot days I carry the cardigan.

And because of the mix of colors and textures, the paired sweaters go well with all of my leather skirts -another packing preference because they don't wrinkle and if a skirt has been folded the fold hangs out in minutes. 

These things are good only with shoes that don't pinch or make you totter or stagger. My Chies fill the bill, so do the basic black pointy-toe RL Collection pumps but only peeking out from pants. 

I have one TSE cashmere set and one Missoni cashmere set, Oddly both have very large flowers on solid backgrounds. I don't know what I was thinking. Chilly springs, I guess. They're both getting on in years, and HAVEN'T PILLED YET.

cotton

And I have a few M or MM 100% cotton sets, one has spaghetti straps on the tank and short sleeves on the cardigan. All definitely summery, go well with cotton pants and jeans.
sweaters. 
My first J.Crew set was the Creatures of the Wind sweaters. Finding the proper fit was horrendous, but I persisted until I had found something that worked, and then I waited for a markdown or two, which in due course arrived. What I liked, finally, was the fit and the mix of colors, which went with a lot of slim skirts and pants. It got a lot of admiring glances on the Riviera. I love it when a Frenchwoman checks out your outfit and tries not to look impressed. The opposite of that is a brief disdainful glance, which they don't care if you notice. As you will.

So anyway, since that was a success, and seriously cheaper that the M and MM sweaters, even marked down or at a flash sale site, I moved on to the recent "Two-Way Stripe"sweaters. I got the brown, tan, grey, black combo, called "Snow Navy" as in find the navy, win a prize, again with fitting issues but ultimate success. These, too, have been a success, especially the tank under a lightweight leather jacket.

I  rarely wear the cardigans by themselves. Although it just occurred to me that one of the darker ones might be good with a strapless or bare-shoulder dressy dress. If I had such a thing. No, ya know what? A sweater over a party dress? That looks "mumsy," IMHO. 

I would not wear any of these sweaters with:

lace (too busy)

sequins (snag risk, also too busy)

any kind of embellished garment (ditto)

"fancy pants" (too busy)

shorts (will not dress like I just finished a catalog shoot)

very short skirts (ditto)

ankle or higher pants (ditto)

heavy jewelry, except real gold chain or torque (see sequins entry)

any jewelry that could catch on these sweaters (ditto)
shoulder bags (exaggerated snag risk)

scarf is really a pale grey
with taupe drawing
and H-orange notation

didn't even think of these
two together, they arrived
two years apart. Go figure.

I have a short string of tiny emerald beads, another of tiny rubies, and still another of a great mix of tiny colored stones, and those go well with the more enthusiastic sweaters. And of course some of my better scarves seem to have been made for some of them.

owned scarf for years
before buying sweaters
without even thinking of scarf