J. Crew or Pay. Crew? Considering the Brogue-y Brodie Boots

I’ve been contemplating these Brodie ankle boots (below) from J. Crew since I first saw them the other week. I like the brogue styling with monk straps, perforations, and hidden platforms.

I even took the step of placing them in my virtual shopping bag (both colors, for educational purposes).


Pressing the “checkout” button, however (for one pair), is a different story. I’ve had good luck with J. Crew boots in the past (I actually have four pairs, when I take count: hiking, riding, short, and full-length).

In fact, I’d argue that J. Crew’s boots are their best-made product—shoes are usually ill-fitting; shorts and tees are fine for a summer but not made to endure; dresses have bodices that are too low cut for anyone who’s nursed three children (I can't bear [ahem] cleavage on moi); cashmere is . . . OK: the cashmere is terrific.

But back to the boots: they’re clearly being promoted as an “investment” purchase, with a wildly un J. Crew price of $300+. The only time that J. Crew ventures into that range is when it sells products from other houses, like Quoddy (handmade in Maine) or Barbour, which has an English pedigree (and I hope it’s made in the UK too).

So are these boots truly special, or is J. Crew remaking itself as Pay. Crew, reimagining itself as the purveyor of luxury goods, and trying to convince its gentle clients that $300 is but a dip of the oar in the water if one is to sport the Crew?

I can’t decide whether to keep my oar wet or dry (see opening image).

Au Revoir, Eric Rohmer

No Ordinary Blue-Haired Lady: Beatrix Ost

Sometimes women of a certain age, whose hair has turned gray, engage in “blueing,” a process designed to take any yellow tones out of the gray, to brighten the color.

This activity has led to the affectionate term “blue-haired ladies” because sometimes the color blue kicks out the yellow but then takes up residence itself in the gray.

The stunning artist and writer Beatrix Ost explodes this concept at her seventieth birthday party, with her perfectly blue-hued hair.

It’s not too strong to say that I am harbouring a considerable style crush at the moment, so exquisitely turned out and poised is Ms. Ost (together with her husband Ludwig Kuttner) at a number of art-and-theatre-world events.

Indeed, I would like to sing this kind of “blues.”

Snow Daze; or, How a Canadian Dresses for an American Winter

It’s a snow day today, with three children home from school while mum and dad go out to their day jobs.

All this snow, combined with K.Line’s charming post about her winter wear has got me thinking about how I currently dress for the weather in the States compared with how I used to dress in Canada.

Perhaps I’ve shared this detail with you before, but when I went to university in Ottawa, I skated to school every possible day (meaning every day that the Rideau Canal was frozen). It was great exercise and usually faster than walking.

My house was right on the canal, so I’d cross the Driveway (the Queen Elizabeth Driveway), pop into the skating shack and don my skates. Boots would be tied together and slung around my neck. I also had a satchel slung crossways over my body, because I thought backpacks were goofy. (My one concession to style.)




Like K.Line, I never wore tights, leggings, or, heaven forbid, long johns under my trousers. I have a keenly developed long-john phobia that began when I was a child: from kindergarten through grade two I wore a dress to school every day (not my choice) and my mother would bundle me into long johns and then into a pair of tights over top.

Can you imagine trying to keep the long johns from not riding up your calves and bunching? At the tender age of 4 (we had two years of kindergarten), I knew that I did not ever want to wear long johns under my tights—or trousers—when I gained control of my own clothing choices.

Back to the trek on ice: I’d also wear a shirt for layering, followed by a thick sweater, a black watch scarf by Roots for my neck, all underneath an enormous, billowing dark-green ankle-length waxed cotton coat with brown corduroy collar (a la Barbour) by Hilary Radley.

Then there’d be a paisley wool scarf that covered my head, ears, mouth and nose, a black beret and a pair of ear muffs. Then mittens, of course, sometimes two pairs of hand-knit ones.

And if it were possible to glide down the ice against the piercing cold wind, I’d move forward (don’t forget the satchel and boots).

Today, on a snow day, I walked to work in—oy vey—après-ski boots, my Tecnica Skandias, a down jacket, beret, and lightly lined driving gloves. I have become very cavalier and soft indeed.

All Puffed Up

I have two puffers, a navy sleek one for winter elegance (a cashmere sweater fits underneath it) and a light gold one for everyday wear. It’s the same color as this Moncler puffer, but infinitely more practical in cut. I wear it with a beige beret and my palomino Tecnicas.

Light gold for every day, however, is not necessarily practical, and, taking stock last yesterday, I realized that it was time for my puffer to take a dip.

Last night, as I put it into my washing machine, I glanced at the cleaning instructions on the tag.

Dry clean only, they said.

Silly, thought I, as I turned on the water. I’ve washed my daughters’ puffers, as well as duvets in my machine, and they turn out perfectly.

My jacket looked fine, too, until it came out of the dryer in puffy clumps. Alas, the down had redistributed itself in unpleasant ways.

But with advice from Town and Country Mom, and The Clueless Crafter, sage and gentle readers, I opened a can of tennis balls (yes, I am so lucky that my children play tennis) and popped them into the dryer avec puffer and turned the setting on low for about 30 minutes.

Much better.

I haven’t tried on the jacket yet, but think that all will be fine.

Thank you, sage and gentle readers!

Coffee Becomes Miss C

Today, having driven over 14 hours during the last two days and another 90 minutes in snow this morning in a round trip to and from my children’s school, I felt very tired around 10:00.

I’d had two European-size cups of Peet’s coffee chez moi around 6:30, a large latte about 8:30 and succumbed to a half-caf latte at 10:15.

Usually caffeine makes me irritable (and perhaps I am?!) but today it felt like a glorious jolt of color in an otherwise white snowscape.

So, then, this image by Lynda Benglis, “Swineburne Figure I,” also known in our household as “pink Venus” seems appropriate.

I wonder what kind of snow angel this figure would make?

Helmut Hair: Should I Tie Up My Hair with This Helmut Lang Upside-Down Jacket?

I am not one to make resolutions, but I do like trying something new.

For some time I’ve wanted to wear something more asymmetrical, a la Ivan Grundahl, but have not been in the right place at the right time.

But certain stars were in alignment this week, when I ordered this Helmut Lang jacket from Bergdorf’s.

Here are three different views, above and below, all from different websites.

The jacket will arrive some time next week, and I will not get excited in advance, because it may not work for me at all, but I confess that I am curious to inspect this jacket in person.