Atelier Doré

Second only to my tuxedo shirt, this is my favorite shirt. I was in Zurich for work and needed a bit of fresh air, so I took a walk down Bahnhofstrasse with the goal of heading to the lake. I would say about 50% of the time I take this walk, I don’t make it to the lake, for one reason or another. Sometimes I get stopped distracted by the chestnut man, during Christmastime the lights in the Paradeplatz are too good, so I just stop there. But, this time, I survived each of those obstacles only to be stopped by Trois Pommes. Trois Pommes is a boutique that has a couple of locations in downtown Zurich and periodically they have a pop-up outlet. It’s a real life saver when I’m traveling there for work and realize I packed like a bozo. Rounding their stairs to the top floor I saw this shirt and, like all of my favorite pieces, my only thought was, ‘They better have my size! But, if not, I’m buying it anyhow.’.

This shirt is actually a bit more sheer than it photographs here. I learned this the hard way when I wore it later that evening. I had to meet clients for a drink about an hour after finding this little gem. Like many of us are after finding a piece they love, naturally I wanted to wear it immediately. So, I raced back to the Widder and pulled out this Commes des Garçons blazer I picked up with my friend a couple of weeks before at LeClaireur in Paris. When we were in Paris I heard from my client in Switzerland here in Switzerland that they were ready to move forward. I hung up the phone and immediately said to my friend, « I need blazers. Switzerland said yes. » Not more than two hours later we found this one, and though super unconventional, has been a go to piece so many times.

Back to drinks. When I bought this shirt it was late afternoon and the light both inside and out was quite low. The same was true for my room. I hadn’t actually buttoned this blazer before, but upon walking into the bar to meet my colleagues, I realized my favorite new shirt was about half as opaque as I had noticed before. So, I turned bright red, buttoned my blazer and for the rest of the evening had to say I was cold in order to defend keeping my jacket on. Not my finest moment :/ The jeans here are Rag & Bone and the heels are Prada. They make them both in a 3 inch heel and a 4 inch. I get them every season in black and nude. I hope to wear the four inch forever, but the time may come where it’s just too much.

This top has a pleated cape back, which is about 6 inches longer than the front. You can kind of see it in this picture, peeking out the back of the sweater. It’s super fun to wear with shorts as it moves great in the wind and falls even to a short hemline. Also, though I had to cover it up for a work meeting, it’s actually a great level of sheer that works really well in non-corporate environments. For this look I kept my jeans on and threw on a Kind of Guise sweater over the top, to accentuate the pleated, longer back. Paired with a pair of Fendi boots from about 3 years ago. All topped off with my Gucci Blazer. This was another piece I saw and knew I was in trouble. I thought I would be safe walking into the Gucci Garden, just a retail scouting trip, I told myself. Though I truly respect and admire Alesandro, the current Gucci aesthetic isn’t something that reflects my sense of style. Or so I thought. A couple of steps in, I saw this blazer and new I was toast. From a distance it just looks like a standard tweed blazer. But, when you get closer you realized he cut slits in the front as an additional arm hole and secured grosgrain ribbons on either side to tie closed, thus holding the jacket in place when you’re not using its traditional sleeve. To me, it’s brilliant. To my boyfriend its ruined his life, as I have tried this on at least one of his blazers, that I thought he never wore anymore. For the record, it’s worked! Though, it has a slightly more Margiela vibe, as I have left the edges raw. Grab a scissors, try it – it’s incredibly easy and can really spruce a piece up!!

This last look is my favorite. Rounding the Trois Pommes staircase, not only did I fall in love with this shirt, but upon closer inspection I saw they also used this fabric for a skirt. Best day ever. I don’t generally buy whole looks, never wanting to look like a campaign image, but with this one, I had no choice. This print is so subtle but still specific, making for a great low-key double print look. To me it’s the female power suit. Mostly I wear it as shown, but when I need to button it up a bit more, I add a sweater on the top or throw on a pair of Wolfords to cut the contrast. In the bottom left image, you can begin to get an idea of the sheerness to this fabric. It’s super gathered at the top, so you’re not exposing anything too risky. But, when the gathered piece ends and lets loose, it falls just perfectly. The way this skirt moves in the wind is just magic. Chitose is a genius.