Hello world, what is happening?
As we all settle in, buckle down and isolate, with suddenly, more time on our hands, I post another "retro" photo, this time of a cocooning outfit, which, honestly, is perhaps the best way to dress these days. Late winter and early spring in New Hampshire are still pretty cold. Pairing a velvet Theory dress (found at a local consignment shop) and an oversize wool Eileen Fisher sweater (same source) with bright purple leggings from American Apparel (oh dear, how I do miss that label) triggers a memory of my 90s loose, comfy clothing. There was a mail order catalogue, and here I am searching for the name, googling away, and stumbling upon this NYT magazine article. Speaking of nostalgia. They sure don't write articles this long anymore, so thoroughly written and researched, because people used to spend their Sundays reading the Sunday paper, from end to end. And then we could talk to each other and have the same frame of reference, "did you see in last Sunday's New York Times' magazine...?" Nowadays, the New York Times publishes a great deal of fluff.
Anyway. It wasn't J.Crew, although I remember ordering my first work blazer from them, and feeling so professional and ready to show up for work. No, this was a more casual brand, all cotton and comfortable. Tweeds. There it is! I remembered! I remember when the catalogue arrived in the mail, I would look forward to leafing through it, over and over and over again.
That sweater looks a lot like the one from Eileen Fisher. There is a direct line from Tweeds to Eileen Fisher, although the latter is a lot more expensive, and the fabric lasts longer and is less sporty. I loved the oversized pants and sweaters. I remember a mustard yellow V-neck sweater that I had ordered from them and wore all the time. Mustard is back, maybe I had forgotten that that color was very 90s. I don't really think of that decade as having a particular style or color to set it apart from other decades.
And now I see that the brand is returning? What? I open their website where there are three items, and they are out of stock. Somebody must have bought the domain name. It has to be a scam. Besides, you can bring a name back, but you can't bring the entire era associated with it.
Happy cocooning everybody. Hang in there.
