Reading · The Cereal Aisle by Leandra Medine Cohen

A portion of this newsletter is brought to you by Warby Parker.

My working theory is that June and December are the same months with the: high intensity! Being so busy! Tying up loose ends before The Big Break! And an overall positive, cheery spirit in the air.

Ditto that July and January: the novel part of a new season when the crux of THE PLANS get made, play out.

And February/August, when we start to dull, dream ahead. In February, we future trip into Spring. In August, the vibe is "I don’t want summer to end but man I love fall clothes.” So, you know, the future trip commences. Both Feb and Aug carry an energy of feeling post-settled, almost withdrawn — the exception being that while the sensation is more like fed up in February, August is more like a gentle coasting.

Although I have to say, one of the best things about August is how I settled I feel in my summer clothes. By now, I’ve tried everything I wanted to, pursued every curious whim that has come and I feel great — like it is a healthy choice — about returning to the same dress day in and out, out and in, over and again. But how different can I make myself feel every time I wear it is the question. You’d be surprised at what a pair of sunglasses or a belt, or even just a pair of shoes can do. Allow me to demonstrate!

The sunglasses are called ‘Millie,’ the bicep bangle can be found here. Here are the earrings. Good dress alt 1!

This is the everyday-er, and the most common way I wear the dress. The shoes are easy on, somewhat unexpected against the delicate, shiny silk and leave a lot of room to explore unusual corners with the accessories (dramatic earrings, movie star sunglasses, a sleek clutch, bicep bangle with a diamond hanging off it)…but with just the simple change of a shoe though:

You get a totally different vibe. And a bigger bag, because you can probably wear this outfit to the office, but you’ll need a sweater once there. Swapped out first frames for a wire frame and added more metal hardware to my limbs to further anchor the look. One more for the shoes —

Your bucket hat here, miss, ear cuff here, plus dress (the trifecta dresses from Toteme, Khaite and The Row are here, here and here), black riding boots 1, black riding boots 2, we skew a little more western 3 — but these from Jimmy Choo are my overall pick — so good with that high gloss shaft in that deep shade of wine.

Looking ahead to the F-word! But still in the spirit of summer, with a canvas buckie to offset potential rainfall (and to flirt with the sequined bag/fancy necklace).

From least to most practical —

A better look at the frog and shoes! Which oddly are a perfect match, no?

A close up of the next look, with the main event being the contrast of pearls (many good pair on TRR, which I suspect are going to get more expensive because Blazymania/Chanel is nailing the costume jewelry but average price point is like $55439217658250), to fringe “belt” (St. Agni — comes in black too) against slip dress (I’ve heard good things, btw, about the one from Quince)

Charm bracelet is Jamie Haller, I love her but she’s sold out, so I should like to show you this. And this. And most similarly, this.

In this tableau, we played with a fabric belt, an unconventional leather belt and a chain belt. You’ll notice that of the 3, none of them sit high rise. The first and third renderings can potentially be worn for interchangeable events, but bring a different spirit to whatever it is (v1 is more playful, v3 is more timelessly serious), while the second serves as a good back-to-life look for next week. Nothing makes me feel so READY TO GO as a long strand of pearly beads these days. Good pearls coming out of here if you’re interested. Can also just wait for the wild strand I’m working on.

From least to most (layers, that is):

Halter bodysuit styled under the dress to make it feel a little sporty. But the sunglasses, earrings and fancy rope necklace create a contrast that brings in a dose of zexy.

The next one is most conceptual —

Duster over dress, with silk pants underneath. Skin exposure a result of open toe shoes and chest. Also the first time I thought to layer my container necklaces which feels like a true missed opportunity. The obvious place to wear something like this would be a gallery opening or whatever. I think dinner with friends is fine too but I have an alt solution that riffs on the same under/over energy more subtly (and in all black):

Annie’s Ibiza dress (I have an extensive search running for sheer glass bead tunics that could totally replace your use of this bad boy, see: her, and her, her too, her, this, that (not vintage), and more!), over the slip (neckline on her is ace) with pants from The Park and Manolo Blahnik’s ‘Susa’ sandals. The suede clutch is old Khaite. Good alt 1, good alt 2. Sunglasses are you know who: Warby Parker baby! My fav shape (the Arlo), but with gold hardware.

Sheer beaded dress styled over the slip with a lighter weight pair of pants (shorter too) styled under. Gold wireframes to catch the gold hardware on the bag — both the sunglasses and the suede bag soften the look. As do the shoes, and I’m not sure you can see the necklace, but it’s an aquamarine sphere hanging off light brown leather chord, another agent catalyzing a more casual sensibility:

Meanwhile, here’s last but most certainly not least. The best way to bring in color for sure:

Tie that cutie dress into a knot at the center, turn it into a tunic and slap some colored pants under, with a pair of counter color shoes and either a jacket or sweater that feels right when you wear it.

That’s it from me today. Have a great week,

Leandra

10 ways with the same slipdress

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