serendipity: the fatigue jacket is promoted to the front closet and a travel outfit plans itself

I sometimes use phrases like "60-day probation" or "15-day short-timer" to refer to purchases that may not have a long-term future with me. There's a little section of the closet in which those that need to hang, do so in seclusion. But they do hang, because if they stay with me I want them to be nice, and if they go back, well, they'll be nice for somebody else.

Sometimes it gets a little crowded in the probationary wing. OK, not wing, but is there a single word to describe "8 inches of closet pole that's just behind the door"? Didn't think so. And so, as a result of overcrowding, occasionally something gets hung on top of something else. Thus it came to pass that the other day I found a black fatigue jacket that I'd bought in back in November during some sale/promo/markdown fest, and put aside to think about on or before January 15th. Then there were holidays, trips, packing, unpacking... And here we are in the middle of May, it finally got warm for a day or two, and while the thought of a full-scale closet turnout is beyond unappealing, a little reshuffle wouldn't hurt.

Bingo! there was a fatigue jacket! and not a moment too soon, either, because I was just about to go  buy one. The one I was about to buy is on backorder until some undefined future when I might - or might not - need it to go bar-hopping on Jupiter, others that I considered require much too much of an investment, and then there was this brand-new jacket, hanging next to but not in its plastic shipping cover, right in my very own closet. I didn't even need to put shoes on. I tried it on, and I can't remember why I found it dubious six months ago. Maybe there was just too much black going on then?

So, details. If I remember correctly, the color is called "faded black," but in reality it's a nice deep charcoal gray. My iphone is making the color look greenish, which it is not. The fabric is treated with something that makes it water-resistant. It's partially lined with a light cotton check that Aquascutum would not be ashamed to use. The coat closes with a zip and/or buttons. I like this because I have difficulty managing heavy-duty snaps on coats and jackets. There are two large front pockets with flaps and underneath the flaps are slots to allow you to reach your other pockets. There are also two smaller, chest pockets. No pockets on the back of the coat, but there is a drawstring at the waist. There's a little wind guard at the neck, cute and doesn't get in the way. The removable hood is lined, but not with the check. I tested the coat, hood and all, in today's drenching downpours and winds, and was satisfied.

I have no recollection whatsoever of having pondered sizing when I got this. Mine's a medium, my normal JC blouse size is 6, 8 or 10, and the coat has room for a heavy sweater underneath. I'm not worried about wearing the coat over a jacket, because if I were going someplace where I had to wear a jacket, I wouldn't be wearing this coat. This is not the kind of cute bell-skirted trench that one might wear over a mini with 5-inch heels - note the use of "one." "One" does not include me. I think it will be just the travel coat I need. And the front closet abounds in dressier coats (hangs head, blushes). They have been joined by the charcoal gray fatigue jacket.

Speaking of travel clothes, here are a couple of outfits I'm putting together for the upcoming trip. One doesn't involve black silk pants, one does.

DVF silk top, RL silk twill pants,
JC featherweight cashmere sweater.
Lighting is terrible, sweater is a darker
value of the blue in the top.

Blue-gray linen pants, Elie Tahari, Missoni tank and cardigan, and guess what! It's our ability to accessorize that separates us from the animals. I swear I wasn't thinking about my scarf when I pounced on the sweaters. But when I put the iPad down and went into the bedroom, I heard a tactful murmur from the armoire and there was the scarf.

I was actually glad to get to the dentist!

Wednesday was a crowded day, but somehow I was early for an appointment on 51st Street. I hate sitting in lobbies or reception areas for more than two or three minutes, so I was not unhappy to realize that I was only steps away from the corner of Anthropologie and J.Crew. With 12 minutes open, I opted for a fast lope through J.Crew, where to my STUNNED SURPRISE, I saw: striped shirts, plaid shirts, flowered shirts, checked shirts, spotted shirts.. All were cut on one of two bodies, the Perfect and the Boy. The originality of this concept was staggering. And Capri pants, solid and patterned. Enough with the ankle fetish.

the Max Mara version of the
Fatigue Jacket

Saw some cute striped cardis in a lightweight cotton-nylon blend which made my fingers itch while I was looking for the content labels.

Saw two floppy, unpressed "fatigue" jackets which would have been wonderful had I been planning to be a camp counselor this summer. I finally figured out while I was typing who could get a lot of use out of them: Honey! (of Doonesbury?) This is Max Mara's version of a fatigue coat, lighter crisper treated fabric, much nicer on. Given what JC is charging for their versions, the price of the Max Mara version didn't shock me. I bet we'll be seeing many more versions this Spring, too, these things hunt in packs.


While at JC, I tracked down this shirt that I'd thought I might like, it had vanished from the website but it might easily reappear. It is silk.

Those pale pink-or-lavender pockets have a lot of droop to them, which gives an unfortunate look. Update: Kind of the opposite of  Anne Hathaway's Oscar dress. The collar doesn't quite meet when buttoned. Also, on all 14 (I counted) of the shirts I examined, in the finishing process the front placket had been pressed down so hard that little round ridges in the fabric showed where each button had been. This was too bad, because the buttons are on the inside of the placket and are not supposed to show. I'm dubious about steaming those marks out. Left the shirt there.

I also had wanted to look at the microcheck cashmere twinsets. They had the shell in all 3 colorways, but none of the cardis. The biggest disappointment was the navy/red combo, in my photo it looks navy/pink, and in real life it looked more like black/salmon. I am tired of salmon. I'd like to say something profound and witty about swimming upstream, but I'm drawing a blank, consider it said. The bright pink/purple combo also missed, in my opinion, because the two colors are so close that from more than a foot away the pattern vanishes. And I saw a navy/pale blue combo, which was nice, but as I said I had wanted to see the twinsets, not just the shells..

The store also had a kind of retro, kind of Mondrian cashmere pullover which flickered briefly on the website and disappeared. I thought it  missed also, again, the colors weren't sufficiently distinguishable from one another from a short distance.

 I loved the windowpane cardigans, but would have to do some serious pre-purchase outfit planning for these, since I didn't think the shells were a great color match. Of course this was before Mrs. O. was seen in a windowpane cardi with shell. I probably no longer have time to wait and think before they vanish.

I also liked a quilted cotton cropped jacket, which I envisioned with jeans and possibly also with a Favorite Tank over a long cotton skirt.

Finally, I liked a blue-and-white striped silk blouse - I know, I said I'm bored with stripes, but I could easily see this one with white jeans this coming summer, which means there's plenty of time to wait out the price.


I thought that for the right person, this sweater with sewn-on necklace would be a dream come true. To me, it screamed "Hand wash!" I also worried about getting water in the interstices of the necklace.




like everyone else, I loved the Hummingbird accessories, and so I have tabled a decision on their practicality - spills? fingerprints? - until markdown/popback time.


Speaking of birds, am I the only one who's been wondering why, with all the birds and critters around,  the flamingo hasn't surfaced for Spring or Summer? Well, it has. There's a flamingo-print silk blouse on Macy's third floor, not far from the elevator! Did you know that Macy's give a 10% welcome discount to people with non-US passports?

I breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the dentist.