Tristan & America Get Their Groove Back
It appears that the heavenly bodies have aligned against me in a cosmic joke.
Let me explain. The trends at Tristan & America this season are actually sensible, and this is coinciding with the first time in my life that I’m in debt.
I used to shop at T&A years ago. With ribbed sweaters and sharp silk ties, they always had a classic sense of fashion. Around 2002 the style turned into what I can only describe as urban cowboy. Dress shirts were adorned with tasseled fringes and pre-worn edges. Mannequins even had the Texan string tie. For the next four years they experimented, what I’d consider a strong euphemism, with different styles, until this season.
The spring/summer collection has gone back to it’s classic roots, with a lovely blend of earthy tones. I like to stay with neutral colours — though nothing pastel — because I don’t like my clothes to make bold statements. I prefer to hide my personality, what I’m thinking, and let my actions speak for themselves.
New clothes are definitely more of a want than a need, so it’s hard for me to justify going further into debt to add more to an already full closet.
Maybe I’ll wait until it goes on sale at the end of summer. The problem, especially at T&A, is that the small sizes disappear within days.
The cosmic gods, they’re laughing at me.
Khaki Ressurection
The zipper on my khakis jammed and promptly died at a rather inopportune time (well, I guess there’s never really an opportune time for such a thing). When I brought them in to get fixed, I realized that I didn’t have a backup pair.
I only buy khakis at Randy River, the store with the wiiiide-legs that nearly cover my foot with shoes off. Even the Dickies relaxed-fit work-wear series aren’t wide enough, and they’re too stiff for my taste. They also lack a double-reinforced back leg cuff, which I like cause all my pants touch the ground.
The only problem with R2 is that the smallest size they have for pants is 30. As I found out when getting measured for the wedding, I’m actually a 26 waist, but I prefer 28–29 max so I can wear them low on the hips. When they’re 30, I have to cinch up my belt because otherwise they’re really low.
This season, the R2 khakis are all very dark with slight orange tones, and cargo pockets or frayed edges. Really not my style. At least I got my current pair back within a week. Hopefully they’ll survive me until next season.
Fall of the Ben cut
They discontinued the Ben wide-leg cut from Bluenotes. Instead, they’ve come out with a new Walker boot-cut. Off the shelf, the Walker cut really reminds me of the flare they put on girls jeans back when I was in high-school, but I only say this cause I like to give Aaron a hard time about it. They look good on him, but he can pull off anything.
Bluenotes is the only place I buy jeans, and jeans are the only thing I buy at Bluenotes. It’s because of the Ben cut that I go there (and certainly not their pop-culture silk-screened shirts). When I found out they aren’t being made anymore, I had to buy the last three pairs on the rack — two 29s and a pair of 28s.
Oh Ben. You define me.
What will I do for jeans now when they all wear out? For the last couple years I’ve done preppy tops with skater bottoms, but maybe my style will change by then.
I rather liked the cowboy embroidery thing they had going on there but Hubby will be more likely to say it’s safe to return.
Really? I had no idea there was a market for that sort of thing in Ontario. I always trust women when it comes to clothes. It’s too hard to be objective about such things for me.