Sometimes you see so many editorials of a certain item, you buy into the idea these pictures were absolutely created to sell. This gilded jacket from the 2007 Spring season did exactly that to me. Although I knew, after seeing the runway looks, that I would not be able to pull off the sequined hot shorts with it, I rather fancied the notion of wearing such a fancy jacket in that devil-may-care way, all unbuttoned and 70s liberation vibe. You see what I mean–photos in magazines, catalogs, and now across the internet can really do a number on your fashion psyche. You think you can be that Glamazon tossing back your hair while rocking that look that only supermodels can do.
My first rule of fashion? Know thy own self (all the good, bad, and ugly). I’ve yet to wear this jacket out of my house. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic piece of art. I just don’t know, for the life of me, how to wear it. I’m so fixated on the way it was styled on the catwalk and numerous magazines that I for once am stumped. Do not know how to make it look as cool in reality. But as a result of this one (unfortunately of many back in my earlier days of collecting) experience, I now am able to resist all the looks in editorials that I fixate on… my litmus test is now whether I can take a runway look and dilute it properly into my own reality.
My second rule of fashion? Don’t buy into the hype, no matter how loud it gets… So from here on out, buy to wear first then buy to collect second. Although I sometimes refer to my closet as a museum, the honest truth is that 80% of the RTW in there is used on a regular rotation, and the remainder on a more infrequent cycle. After all, I do regard some of these Chanel items as demi-couture and they should be treated as such. Look at the lining of this jacket in that photo above–even the inside of the jacket is golden, and that’s the magic of Chanel. But from a wiser, more practical point of view of a somewhat veteran collector, I must remind myself each season that all that glitters is not gold. It’s only the real deal if I will wear it.
Wear it with black leather pants or skirt, Larkie. Or another colored leather. That would do the jacket justice, huh?