#the v-neck sweater with a blazer feels so 90s

[frommybookbook]

I have no idea what the hell Paul is wearing here but I'm all for it.

[bettycooperoutfitwatch]

3x13 Chapter Forty-Eight: Requiem for a Welterweight

Before we dive in, let’s take a moment to reflect upon Alice’s RIVW-approved pink silk pineapple blazer. 

A marvel.

The crewneck, the ribbing of the sweater, and the alternative knitting in the shoulders and chest recall several motifs Betty’s sweaters took in season 1 (see here or here for examples.) It’s been a little bit since we saw her in something like this. 

Betty’s version of Southside style!! Girl took that ‘wear plaid’ bit to heart and it paid off, bc cute. Gotta respect, she made it her own.

The Betty Draper vibes are so so strong.

(Mad Men, 3x11, The Gypsy and the Hobo)

(Also, seems fitting that this is an episode in which Mrs. Draper finally gets Mr. Draper to tell her who Dick Whitman is. Secret identities, and whatnot.) 

The sweater is very Missoni-esque in pattern, but the collar is superrr season 3 (eg, see 302.)

It’s a bit of a visual riot, which is apropos for Betty’s feelings towards her mother’s baptism. 

(Do we buy that Alice Smith, 90s babe, willingly choose the be wed in this dress?) 

Something about this striped mohair v-neck cardigan, on top of a light blue v-neck tee, just works for me. It’s either brown-striped or a warm gray, but that it seems to work so well with the baby blue feels really unexpected and surprising. Again, lots of 70s vibes in season 3.  

She’s also wearing her navy boots.

I can’t really think of anything interesting to say about this sweater. It’s stripey, crewneck, some pinks and grays and baby blues. It’s just something Betty would wear. 

Well this is something new. A plum-colored bomber jacket with a pink-fur collar. Plum is the color of the jacket Betty wears when she gets up to less...savory stuff (like dumping the Shady Man’s body.) Here’s she’s diggin’ into the Farm. 

Boots, with a heel, laced. Sturdy. 

This is totally speculation that is subject to being blown up by season 4 canon, but I think this is perhaps where Alice starts to really move from being Alice, Farm Convert, to Alice, Undercover FBI Informant. There’s this moment at the beginning of the episode: 

I’m not saying this makes sense, but it does make me wonder if Alice is pushing Betty away as a means of protecting her. Who knows? 

The surest way to convince someone you’re not a narc is to let them nearly drown you via baptism. 

idk, maybe she saw that indeed, they’re a dangerous cult, and her purpose is stopping them. 

It’s still a tough pill for Betty to swallow.

Summary: Four

That backpack?: yep, at school, with those plaid pants

Best outfit: I am very into the striped mohair cardigan with light blue v-neck

[kentonramsey]

Obsessed With Square-Neck Tops? Same! 27 We're Loving For Spring

When you're craving a little kick in your wardrobe but don't want to go all out, a good top is often the answer. Whether paired with jeans, shorts, a skirt, or trousers, there are so many ways in which a new top can feel transformative to your outfit lineup. Square-neck tops are a trending silhouette this season that comes with that '90s and early aughts nostalgia we so often crave as of late. But more than fresh when compared against classic scoop, crew, and V-neck shapes, square necklines are ultraflattering whether you opt for a simple tank, puff-sleeve blouse, or long-sleeve knit.

When styling a square-neck top for Spring, there are myriad routes to take no matter your aesthetic. For date night, a fitted silhouette, be it minimal or with a flouncy little sleeve, is perfect tucked into high-rise jeans. Or, you can go for a cropped version for a chic reveal of skin. At the office, a square-neck sweater or blouse is stylish with a polished skirt or pair of tailored trousers. We even like a figure-skimming style layered under a blazer or a square-neck jacket that can be worn as a top. For those off-duty days when your personal style can really shine through, why not embrace a little volume via a pretty peplum, puff sleeve, or open-weave knit?

Ahead, scroll through for our edit of square-neck tops worth adding to your wardrobe this Spring. With plenty of options under $100 and a few irresistible designer styles, there are options for every taste and budget.

Related:

17 Wedding Dress Brands Every Curvy Bride Needs to Know in 2020

Obsessed With Square-Neck Tops? Same! 27 We're Loving For Spring published first on https://mariakistler.tumblr.com/

[gothify1]

An expensive-looking wardrobe doesn’t mean a closet stocked full of actually expensive items. In fact, it’s actually quite simple to create high-end-feeling looks on a budget if you incorporate affordable (but elevated) pieces into your ensembles. To highlight further, I’m showcasing 46 of the cheapest and chicest staples that can be mixed and matched with other items in your arsenal to create top-notch outfits. So without further ado, shop the coolest under-$75 pieces out there below, separated by category from tops to dresses to shoes. But you better act fast, the must-haves in question are already starting to sell out—and could easily be gone by next month. So enough talking and more shopping. Retro and so chic. The leopard-print trend isn’t going away anytime soon. Yes, this is as comfy as it looks. This classic bodysuit is incredibly popular among fashion girls. Peplum tops are coming back in a major way in 2020. Wear this printed turtleneck on its own for a night out or layered underneath a blazer. The balloon sleeves bring a little something extra to this staple turtleneck. A simple cashmere V-neck is undoubtedly a wardrobe staple. Cozy up in this cardigan all winter long. It’s all about the details here with the buttoned sleeves and on-trend round neckline. NYC girls can’t get enough of chic LBDs like this one. The croc-embossed detail here is so luxe-feeling. The tiered ruffle hem and sheer bell sleeves makes this floral dress even more special. There are so many things right about this skirt—the faux-leather fabric, on-trend tie detail, and chic button-front accent to name a few. Such a sophisticated miniskirt. Toss this comfortable dress on, add boots, and you’re all set. You can easily dress this slip dress up or down depending on the occasion. Such a fun night-out option. Party time. Gorgeous leather pants will make any ensemble feel even more luxe. The wider-cut shape here is flawless. Say hello to your new go-to work pants. Cargo pockets offer up a cool twist to a casual look. Fancy trousers for that 5-to-9 life. You can dress up these plaid pants with a sweater and heels or down with flat boots and a hoodie. Perfect black skinny jeans? Check. All about flares for 2020. All about those ’90s denim vibes. A classic camel coat will never go out of style. It’s reversible—so basically like two jackets in one. This sherpa-trimmed coat seriously looks like it could be five times the price. Bring that extra element of luxe to your ensemble with this faux-fur coat. Yep, this water-repellent coat is spot on. Wear this on its own or layered with another coat for those especially freezing days. This will keep you nice and toasty. A black moto jacket is never a bad investment. Moto boots are still where it’s at this season. Try this woven crossbody bag as an alternative to a clutch for your next night out. Consider going bold and wearing this choker necklace over a turtleneck sweater. Heeled loafers are one of the key footwear trends of the season. The perfect addition to your ever-growing collection. Shine on. A dressy shoe option that’s also comfortable. Score. Can’t go wrong with the classics. The rainbow gems are so sweet. New work tote, anyone? Next, check out the under-$100 items celebs are loving right now .

[wokebutsleepy]

HONESTLY YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER. PLS ANSWER ALL THE THIS OR THAT QUESTIONS. I WANT TO KNOW U BETTER thx

👀 I didnt think you were online...

Ugh here we go

1. Sun or moon lesbian? Moon for sure

2. Flannel or sweater lesbian? That hardest question I've ever had to answer. Probably sweater tho

3. Curly dry or waffle fry lesbian? Curly all the way

4. Thrift store or high end lesbian? Thrift is just smarter I think

5. 70's disco or 90's grunge lesbian? Tough choice but 70's disco. Don't even get me started on my love for ABBA

6. Fat cat or hairless cat lesbian? Love a fat cat!

7. Chinese or pizza lesbian? I have a pizza tattoo if that answers your question

8. Big dog or tiny dog lesbian? Big dog for sure! Love a dog you can like play wrestle with

9. MoMA or Metropolitan lesbian? Metropolitan

10. Matte or glossy nail lesbian? Glossy I guess

11. Red or dusty rose lipstick lesbian? Dusty rose

12. Crop top or maxi dress lesbian? Crop tops are suuper cute

13. Neck kisses or forehead kisses lesbian? Neck kisses are v good

14. Fluffy fat cat vs tiny hairless cat lesbian? Is this different than #6?

15. Answered

16. Too much salt or too much pepper lesbian? Love pepper. Can never have too much

17. Glitter or matte eyeshadow lesbian? Matte

18. Answered

19. Ugly cat print sweater or rough jean jacket lesbian? Probably the jean jacket

20. Spaghettios or Kraft dinner lesbian? Kraft dinner all the way

21. Hot chocolate or lemonade lesbian? Hmmm lemonade

22. Champagne or whiskey lesbian? Ugh I hate whiskey. Give me champagne all day

23. Dark or pastel aesthetic lesbian? Dark for sure but I like the pastel look a lot too

24. Silk velvet or crushed velvet lesbian? Silk is so nice

25. Ball gown or tuxedo lesbian? Oh a tux lesbian all the way

26. Forest or space lesbian? Forests make me feel very relaxed

27. Lennon or aviator glasses lesbian? Aviator is such a douchey look. I love it.

28. Hestia or Artemis lesbian? Artemis

29. Answered

30. Electric guitar or ukelele lesbian? Tough.... electric guitar is pretty bad ass tho

31. Converse or doc martens lesbian? This is Van's lesbian erasure

32. Hayley Kiyoko or mary Lambert lesbian? Lesbian Jesus Hayley Kiyoko

33. Olive garden or chilies lesbian? I've never felt god in chilies so, Olive Garden. Also free breadsticks...

34. Answered

35. Peppermint or cinnamon lesbian? Cinnamon

36. Playing with her hair or having hair played with lesbian? Hm maybe having my hair played with

37. Victim of tickle attack or tickle attacker lesbian? Oh I'm an instigator for sure

38. Tiny tattoo or full sleeve lesbian? I'm not there yet but full sleeve is so hot

39. Lady and the tramp or aristocats lesbian? Aristocats

40. Cool rock or cool leaf collection lesbian? Cool leaf or pressed flowers are 👌

41. Art hoe or music hoe music lesbian? Art hoe fo sho

42. 80's windbreaker or 80's blazer lesbian? Windbreaker

43. Mom Jean's or skinny Jean's lesbian? Skinny jeans

44. Silver or gold lesbian? Gold I guess

45. Flower crown or snap back lesbian? Flower crowns are too adorable to handle

46. Annie on my mind or rubyfruit jungle lesbian? Rubyfruit jungle

47. Breakfast club lesbian or princess bride lesbian? Princess bride every day

48. "Wanna cuddle?" Or surprise hug lesbian? Wanna cuddle is my fav question

49. Jupiter or Pluto lesbian? Pluto because I like an underdog

50. Make her mixed tapes or sketchbooks full of drawings of her lesbian? Definitely have filled some sketchbooks because of girls....

[menswearmusings]

Finding Non-Tailored Layers That Suit You

Tailored jackets—sportcoats, blazers and suits—are where it’s at for me. #Menswear in the early days gave us Italian suits, soft-shouldered, well cut, beautiful in make. But people have moved on. The market is evolving. And that’s just not what people are wearing anymore.

Except for me. I continue to want that lifestyle. The truth is, a tailored sportcoat makes me feel more comfortable in public. I feel that they make me look better—hiding my flaws and boosting my self-confidence. 

But there’s also great appeal—and comfort—in well-made knitwear. Eidos head designer Antonio Ciongoli said knitwear and sweaters get more interest and sell through better than their (awesome) tailoring (a sign of the evolving market). Aran knits, mocknecks, fisherman knits, chunky cardigans, thick cable knits, shawl collar cardigans, turtlenecks—all these hold enormous appeal. Unfortunately in many cases they do the exact opposite of tailoring—the tailored jacket helps you hide a paunch; a chunky aran knit accentuates it. 

So how do you find non-tailored layers that suit you?

This winter, I’ve collected an almost entirely new set of knitwear and learned a few things along the way that may help you, if you, like me, love the idea of wearing sweaters, but aren’t built like Adonis.

At some point during the last three winters, all my wool knitwear was eaten up by moths, with only one or two pieces surviving. It was a mixed blessing.  It had been a long time since I’d worn any of the sweaters I did own, which were all smooth merino wool, and most of them v-necks. I find the smoothness of merino wool boring. Worn on their own, merino wool lacks any character or visual interest. It isn’t particularly flattering, either, and the typical designs do nothing to make up for the inherently less flattering drape of a clingy knit. Worn as a layer under a jacket it can work well, but I usually find that for a V-neck to look good under a jacket, the neck needs to go fairly deep, and most of my sweaters just looked like crewnecks with a slight notch cut in the neck.

So my tastes have changed to favor chunkier knits, more interesting designs and versatility. If it’s chunkier, it needs to be able to replace a sportcoat as an outer layer in decent weather. If it’s less chunky and lighter in weight, it definitely needs to layer well under a tailored outer layer, and it’s nice if it can stand on its own. Of course I’ve always loved shawl collar cardigans, but I’ve begun to open up to other designs (including, gasp, the turtleneck).

So my discovery of Abercrombie & Fitch’s revival under new head of design Aaron Levine was serendipitous. It was a store I never shopped at even in its mall brand heyday when I was a teenager, and I still feel somewhat embarrassed to be seen there. But good clothes are good clothes, and the knitwear from this fall/winter season was pretty great. In fact, I came away this season with four new sweaters—two chunky cardigans and two turtlenecks. Inadvertently along the way, I discovered a trick (which I’m certain will be changed soon) that saved me about $175:

Abercrombie’s website prices are often higher than those of my local store; for things purchased online, simply take the item in and ask for a price adjustment if there is one available within a 12-day period after you receive the item. This works even for online exclusive and their flagship store items. This method allowed me to come home with two $198 MSRP turtlenecks for $25 apiece.

For years I’d been wanting a fairly standard rib knit shawl cardigan in navy, but hadn’t bought one because the cheaper brands usually do some sort of unique iterative take on their shawl cardigans season after season, and I usually just wanted the basic rib knit design a la the $300 Scott & Charters version. If there are two words that describe most of the decisions I make, they are opportunity cost—so while I’m certain a $300 cardigan would be amazing and I’d wear it until the day I die, that’s still a hefty price to pay when there are other things I need and want more.

So I was thrilled to find Abercrombie’s version, which is way, way less nice than the S&C version, I’m sure, but which for the price is unbeatable. In store they carried it in camel, which I tried on and loved so much I bought it on the spot (which is highly unusual for me). And they also had it in a shade of navy (not quite pure dark navy, but almost an indigo-esque shade), which I bought. I played the sales game on these, too, getting them each for $33.

Not to leave out my favorite brand Eidos, I was drawn to a chunky aran-knit mockneck Antonio had designed for this season. At over $300 retail I figured it was a pipe dream, but one random morning I happened to refresh the product page for it on Mr Porter (when their sale had dropped to 70% off), and BAM, size Medium was in stock. I immediately checked out, and with all that money I saved on the Abercrombie sweaters I came away with my top Eidos choice.

These five new pieces join the few sweaters that survived the mothpocalypse to make a pretty good, versatile and minimalist collection. Previously I had picked up an amazing and beautiful Eidos belted shawl cardigan last winter, a gray Brooks Brothers Supima cotton crewneck that I wear exclusively under tailoring years ago, and an oversized lambswool raglan crewneck from J.Crew (good for wearing while doing chores, chopping wood in the frigid cold, or running to Home Depot).

So what makes these sweaters better than what I owned before? And what are the characteristics that makes them more versatile? It is fairly obvious that an aran-knit made in Italy is better than merino wool V-neck from J.Crew. But each of these pieces has a few characteristics that make them more wearable, in my opinion, and more attractive. Here they are:

1- They don’t gather at the bottom in an elastic band

Sweaters that gather at the bottom no doubt do a much better job of keeping the cold air of the North Sea out, but really only serve to accentuate whatever muffin top you’ve already got. Try and find sweaters that have either a very loosely knit bottom hem, or have no gathered hem at all. The Eidos mockneck as well as the A&F turtlenecks are each this way and it has a tremendous slimming effect.

2- They are textured, not smooth weaves

Merino wool, smooth finely woven cotton, and even cashmere—they are soft and nice to handle, but don’t do much to flatter or provide much visual interest. Thicker gauge yarns help the flattering problem by smoothing out less than ideal physiques, with chunkier weaves (such as the intricate designs of an aran knit) solving the boring visual problem. If you want to layer underneath a tailored jacket, the aran knits will usually make you look like the Michelin Man, so I recommend sticking to plain weaves (except maybe for thinly woven cable knits) under jackets, with the rib knits and aran knits standing on their own.

3- They each utilize tricks at the shoulder that flatter your physique

I bought a vintage Polo super-thick wool cable knit sweater from the 90s that I could’ve survived Siberian winter in (see image at the bottom), but which had shoulders extended way over into my deltoids. It did not flatter me. In contrast, these sweaters each do a good job to flattering the male form in different ways. Abercrombie tends to do a really good job at this in particular, I’ve noticed. On the rib knit cardigans, the design of the shoulder is as a raglan sleeve. Visually, it accentuates the bulk of your shoulder (even if you’re not a weightlifter) with the knit seam running diagonally up from the armpit up toward the shoulder. 

With the regular sleeves of the turtlenecks, they use a slightly narrower shoulder with deliberately longer sleeves meant to run the extra distance over your actual deltoids to accentuate that muscle. And Eidos’ sweaters are made with a trick of weaving that eliminates all seams at the shoulder, but the weave effect accomplishes the same as the regular shoulder of the A&F sweaters.

The key is that when you’re trying on knitwear, give a critical eye to the shoulder because it can make a sweater look really great, or really plain.

Growing up I was always so impatient for winter to be done with by late April when my birthday was. But these days I’ve been lamenting cold enough weather to wear my awesome sweaters with, haha. 

Keep these things in mind when looking for a knitwear strategy that works for you.