Denim’s got a whole new look, courtesy of Diesel. 

By MyLittleBird Staff

OKAY, WE DIDN’T see this coming. But maybe we should have. Certainly there has been a decade (longer?) of shredded denim jeans—threadbare at the knees, shredded at the hems, giant holes where the workaday fabric ought to be.

Italy’s Diesel jeans brand takes credit (or is it blame?) for spurring the shredded trend, which affects an I-so-don’t-care attitude. But Diesel’s new creative director, Glenn Martens, is showing that he cares quite a bit—about how denim can get the burnout treatment generally used with velvet, how the sturdy fabric can be lightened to gossamer weight, how it can assume the glamour of “haute-er” stuff. A master of so many techniques—from tufting, fraying to collaging and painting, let’s just call Martens the Denim Disruptor!

Below, we look at three dresses and a jacket from Diesel’s fall 2023 collection, shown in Milan last week, and three pieces from the label’s spring runway that are in stores and on the retailer’s website right now. Little Birds Janet, Nancy and Kathy have their opinions:

Janet: Who knew denim could be this sexy and stunning? This spaghetti-strap, body-hugging gown, made with dévoré denim, is from Glenn Martens’s fall 2023 runway collection. Although it’s not technically for sale, I’m guessing stylists are considering grabbing it to dress one of their celebrity clients in time for the Oscars this Sunday. The only rub is that it’s so shockingly sheer.

Nancy: I would faint if someone showed up to the Oscars in this! I’m old enough to remember Barbra Streisand basically baring her behind, and a lot more skin has been on display since way back then. But nipples!? I don’t see it. Or rather, I don’t want to. I admire the skill and technique, but if this slinky number makes it to any public gathering, I’m betting it’ll have a lot more layers. Put this noise-maker under the heading of Épater les bourgeois: Yes, we regular folks would be shocked indeed.

Kathy: OMG, this dress is gorgeous. As is the model. R rated obviously, but who cares? And yes, clearly Oscar-worthy sans the nipples. I’ve gotten so turned off by so much of what’s on red carpets these days. Too MUCH skin for my taste with gowns so ridiculously contrived my reaction is why even bother wearing anything. However, that’s not the reaction I have with this wisp of a dress. Don’t know why. Perhaps because it’s so delicately elegant. Delicate denim. Who would have imagined there could be such a thing?

Janet: Timing, they say, is everything. In a season when the biggest trends are denim everything and everywhere and see-through fabrics, creative director Martens nails it with his fall collection. I’ve never been a fan of ripped jeans with gaping holes—except perhaps for skinny 16-year-olds—but Martens takes distressed to a new level, succeeding in making magic out of strategic shredding as on this dress with a top that’s just barely attached to its skirt bottom.

Nancy: I don’t think even skinny 16-year-olds look good in ripped jeans, but this is something else. As often happens, this may be a runway look that gets “adapted” (some will complain “watered down”) and may insinuate itself into more mainstream clothes.

Kathy: Back in the Pleistocene, when I was in college, is when we young folk (at least to my recollection) decided it was cool to wear jeans (bell bottoms in those days) frayed at the hem. I suppose we thought it some sign of cool rebellion it being the ’60s and all. Plus, we looked really cute. But I certainly wouldn’t have called it a fashion statement. How times have changed. It would be wrong for a woman my age to wear this, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it? But, I would so love to.

Nancy: Cut longer for a clientele of normal-sized women, this one is a no-brainer. I leave it to Janet to explain how a bucket of paint can become a dress, but the style is easy enough to wear.

Janet: I’m loving the idea here. Who wouldn’t want their very own Jackson Pollock of a dress? I understand this is from the fall runway, but, please, Diesel, can you make a longer one for the retail version?

Kathy: Paint? There’s paint involved here? I suppose I could deal with that. I’m just picturing how this intriguing mini would go over out here in the wilds of West Virginia where denim is the absolute fabric of choice, and the average body weight is around 300 pounds. It’s okay. I can dump on West Virginia. I was born here.

Nancy: Sun-bleached and lacy, this Zipped Bomber Jacket marries a (formerly) working-class fabric with exquisite tailoring and embodies the way that wild runway ideas can migrate to city streets. The jacket is $667 on Farfetch.

Kathy: Very pretty. I’m not a fan of denim but definitely would wear this. I think most women could. It’s great to see something that works on more than a sylph-like body. The jacket is so feminine. Not something one usually associates with denim.

Janet: I want to swap this gorgeous piece of clothing for the jackets in my closet that now look so darn ordinary.

Nancy: This is sheer that almost anyone can carry off! This is the dévoré technique at work, applying a pattern that eats away at the fabric leaving its substrate behind to give the effect of lace. This was part of the Spring-Summer 2023 runway show, but it will be available on Farfetch for $555 beginning March 13.

Kathy: Thanks, Nancy. You just taught me something. I’ve seen the results of the dévoré technique but didn’t know until now exactly how is was done. And I love the way it’s exhibited in this unique skirt.

Janet: My inbox is full of e-mails suggesting that my must-buy for spring is a denim skirt. But I’ve seen nothing as inspiring as this sun-bleached, lacy midi. It’s not only clothing; it’s art.

Nancy: Glenn Martens isn’t the first to rough up denim, but the ruching (Diesel calls it smocking) here is genius and wearable. The price of the Puffy Artisanal Trucker has been cut in half on the Diesel site, to $747, but you’ll have to ask to be notified when it’s back in stock.

Kathy: Interesting take on denim. I like it. Would I wear it? Not if I had to pay $747 to do so.

Janet: Agree with Nancy—it’s genius. Diesel’s Glenn Martens scores again with another innovative, easy-to-wear take on the classic jean jacket. Unique but yes, Kathy, it’s spendy.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale. We are also an  Amazon Associate.

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By Grace Cooper

Recommended listening while reading: All of Me by John Legend.

I THINK it was approximately four years ago—although at times it feels like 44 years—since I adopted a cute, scruffy little dog. The year before I’d lost my precious Cooper, the sweetest Cavalier King Charles spaniel. Only eight years into our love affair, his heart of pure gold gave out, breaking my heart in two. My children insisted that the best way to mend was to adopt another dog asap, and because my two children have huge hearts, they encouraged me to adopt a rescue dog.

The shelter was only two miles from where I’d gone to buy organic grass fed beef from Ron, a farmer friend. As we chatted over a cup of coffee, I checked my email. A dog called Bandit’s adorable mug shot popped up. I showed it to Ron. 

“Look Ron,” I smiled, “he’s got markings on his face that look like a heart, and he’s smiling…it kind of resembles a snaggle-toothed sneer, but it’s sort of charming.”

“He’s cute, Grace, and he’s in a kill shelter. If he’s not adopted within a few days, it’s a death sentence for him. BTW, that shelter is only two miles from here and on your way home.”

The universe was conspiring. 

I renamed Bandit JJ, short for Jesse James. Somehow I sensed the spirit of an outlaw, and let me tell you, my instincts were spot on. Very shortly after I brought him into my tidy, peaceful home, his true personality began to emerge. For instance, on our debut neighborhood walkabout, we approached a neighbor walking two huge mastiffs on leash. JJ tugged me in their direction, little tail wagging. The owner of the giant dogs greeted us, just as JJ gave an unexpected lunge, wrapping his front paws around one of the big boy’s neck and punctuated this aggressive move with a deep growl. The mastiff rolled over, exposing his belly in an act of submission, acquiescing to this 11-pound creature tethered to my leash. 

A few seconds later my shocked neighbor muttered something about never having witnessed such a thing … I apologized profusely as I dragged my snarling little pet down a side street and back toward home. 

Once we settled in, I decided this must have been an aberration, after all he was abandoned by a callous previous owner, left to die in a kill shelter, mouth full of rotting teeth (necessitating hundreds of dollars in doggie dental care), undernourished and obviously unloved. I’d soon change his life, I thought proudly. 

The reality was somewhat different. 

JJ turned out to be a “marker,” as in marking his territory both inside and outside my home with an ever ready stream of urine—everywhere—sneaking off whenever I turned my back to spray every inch of my beautiful home and furnishings. No amount of disciplinary redirection helped. 

One day after reading Cesar Millan’s hail mary suggestions for marking, JJ and I visited the pet store to buy supplies. Warning: graphic descriptions to follow … .

According to ‘The Dog Whisperer,” I needed a cotton handkerchief that I’d soak with JJ’s urine and tie the saturated muffler around his neck. The theory was that he’d smell the soiled handkerchief and think he’d already marked that area. 

While we waited in line to pay, some woman with a perfectly behaved golden retriever tapped me on the shoulder. 

“Your dog just sprayed the display of dog treats,” she gasped with a horrified look on her face. “There are wipes over there so you can clean it up!”

Instead I opened the package of cotton hankies and used those to mop up the urine. She gasped! Then when I tied it around his neck, I thought she’d faint. 

I paid for our purchases, and as we hurried towards the door a woman approached me. 

“I saw what just happened, she explained. I had a terrier once. Good luck.”

“He was neutered too late” my vet explained. “He’s obviously not been socialized adequately.”

“Furthermore, he seems to have an anxiety disorder … probably was mistreated earlier in his life.”

The situation was coming into focus now. This adorable little Jorkie —Yorkie and Jack Russel mix—was trouble. I hired a trainer. She spent a total of four very expensive hours with JJ before she gave up on him. 

“He’s unusually stubborn, passive aggressive, and manipulative,” was her excuse for abandoning me with this tiny monster. 

He’s a pure alpha male terrier terrorist was my rueful conclusion. 

My daughter was giving birth to her first child and asked me to be there for the blessed event. I managed to locate an overnight pet sitter who agreed to take JJ for the week I planned to be in Boston. Oliver was born, my daughter and son-in-law were over the moon, and the universe seemed to be smiling upon us. Then came the call from the petsitter. 

Long saga short, she’d been walking several dogs along a woodland trail until a storm front cut short the outing. All the dogs loaded into her car, but as she drove away, JJ decided to take a flying leap out an open window. She saw his little body hit the ground hard, but he kept running. Not one to obey, shouting his name did no good. She called in a search team of fellow dog walkers who scoured the woods for hours during a pelting rainstorm punctuated by a violent microburst. Sobbing, she told me he was nowhere to be found. 

Despite the sitter’s distress, I am ashamed to admit that I felt a bit of relief at this report. However, by 7am the next morning, I received a call from a man who explained that a dog wearing a tag with my phone number had limped into his fishing camp.
“I’ll bet you’re relieved,” he added. Hmmmm.

I thanked him, phoned the petsitter and changed my flight to head home. 

JJ’s injuries were extensive, requiring surgery, a few days of intensive care, rehab and a serious outlay of cash. Once it became apparent that he’d survive, I bought an expensive pet insurance policy, gambling that JJ had a few more tricks left in his bag. 

Yet JJ wasn’t without his charms. He was surprisingly affectionate, a warm lapdog and superb bedtime cuddler—as long as you didn’t disturb him once he chose his side of the bed. 

He followed me everywhere, except for those times he was sneaking off to pee on my sofa or dig an escape route under my backyard fence. With tolerant good humor, my neighbors grew used to his high-pitched and insistent barking and even cheerfully joined search parties I organized on those dozen or so times he managed to escape my yard. 

And then there was COVID—and a quarantine—and gradually I came to understand that JJ was the reason I got out of bed every morning those two long, lonely years. We walked miles every day. I baked him special meals of organic kibble and dog cookies for training treats. Reupholstering all my living room furniture became my creative Covid home project, thanks to JJ. Reluctantly I ultimately grew to tolerate, then appreciate this stubborn, messy, smelly, territorial little creature. 

But then Covid vaccines were developed and distributed. The world gradually reopened. I started dating again. JJ did not approve. 

One particularly memorable date with an unmemorable man ended abruptly one evening when JJ jumped into his lap. The next thing I heard was the man yelling that my dog had peed on his lap. Yes indeed he had. 

JJ and I are now in a new home. For the past year I’ve been dating the man who renovated my beautiful new space. JJ has peed and pooped on his rugs, floors, patio, and most recently, in his bed. We’ve had spectacular arguments about this creature. 

Back to the vet I went for suggestions. The doctor prescribed a sedative—for JJ not me—and advised me to try to think of JJ as a previously traumatized little creature who bonded to me as the only human he truly trusts. Then he suggested a trainer who uses positive reinforcements only. Next Saturday is our first class. 

I feel ashamed of all the negativity I’ve experienced since adopting my little outlaw. Vowing to turn over a new leaf, I challenged my beau to try to make peace with JJ as well. 

“But he growls at me whenever I sit near you and snaps at me when I try to pick him up,” he protested. 

“He’s only got a few teeth left. It won’t hurt much when he bites you,” I reasoned. 

The bottom line is this, I told my beau, “I’m a 68-year-old woman with a terrier terrorist who is likely to outlive us both. I made a commitment and can’t abandon him now. You can choose to walk away from our relationship any time you like, but if you stay, JJ is part of the package. 

(Then I held my breath, crossed my fingers and said a prayer he’d choose us.)

I flew to Boston this morning. My beau dropped me at the airport and asked for last-minute feeding instructions for JJ. My two messy, sometimes smelly, territorial, über-competitive alpha males are going to try to bond. I’m hoping for an interspecies bromance, but I’ll settle for a peaceful truce if that’s all they can manage. 

Xoxoxo 

Addendum: JJ and my beau made it work this week. Champagne and roses are dandy now and then, but the guy who takes all of me? Could that be love? 

—Grace Cooper (a nom de plume) left her long marriage a decade ago, and with it went all sense of her identity—but not for long. Now 68, she has begun chronicling her tales of looking for love in all the wrong places, and unexpectedly finding herself.

By Janet Kelly

IF YOU’RE impatiently waiting for who’s going to win best actor and what movie will get the nod for 2022’s top picture at the Oscars on March 12, here’s a thought: Curl up this last week of February/first week of March with one or three of these stellar documentaries and films about the fashion world.

2023’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s first Monday in May event, otherwise known as the Met Gala, which benefits the museum’s Costume Institute, will take place May 1, a mere two months from now. The theme will be “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” Suggested dress is anything Karl.

No invitation? You can still get a peek into the fashion world’s equivalent of the Super Bowl with the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May. The film follows the behind-the-scenes creation of the museum’s most attended fashion exhibition in its history: In 2015, “China Through the Looking Glass” showed how Western designers, such as John Galliano (whom curator Andrew Bolton interviews), Yves Saint Laurent and Jean Paul Gaultier, were inspired by Chinese art, film and culture. Every detail from the exhibition’s design to the must-see Red Carpet (what celebs wear what high-fashion gowns) to the floral arrangements and table settings is meticulously planned and executed by Vogue’s Anna Wintour and her team. It’s a treat for fashion lovers, maybe too inside baseball for others. Nevertheless, the breathtaking beauty of the clothing is what makes the film worth the watch.

First Monday in May is available to rent on Amazon Prime for $3.99. 

Halston, the documentary, tells the story of the rise and fall of the designer’s (born Roy Halston Frowick) fashion empire. To his detriment, Halston was way ahead of his time with ideas about clothing and business. He had an amazing eye, sense of proportion and ability to cut fabric without zippers or buttons. As his close friend Liza Minnelli, said, “His clothes danced with you.”

Despite his reputation as a heavy drug user, it wasn’t until he was middle-aged in the late ’70s and ’80s, when the business pressures were extremely stressful. He was rather a workaholic throughout his career.

Having started out as a milliner (famous for designing the pink pillbox Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her husband’s 1961 inauguration), he made a gigantic leap into unstructured, fluid clothing. He made a lot of money and then lost it all when he gave away the store and his name (without understanding the consequences) to investors. He died of AIDS far away from New York and the fashion industry —a rags-to-riches tale and then back again.

Watch the trailer here. The documentary is available on Apple TV for $9.99.

A 2009 American documentary film directed by R.J. Cutler, The September Issue is about the behind-the-scenes drama following editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her staff during the production of the September 2007 edition of American Vogue.

Known for its number of ads; the 2007 edition weighed in with 840. Needless to say, it’s the biggest money maker of the year. With the stakes high, there’s even more tension than usual to make it fabulous.

And it’s complicated—deciding on the stories, choosing the clothes and models to wear them, picking the photographers, arranging the photo shoots in locations all over the world and then there’s the all-important cover.

Anna and Grace Coddington, Vogue’s longtime creative director both started working for Vogue the same day in 1988. They’re the main protagonists in the film, frequently butting heads on the issue’s contents.

Speaking directly to the camera, the two reveal some personal stories. Grace felt she had to escape her small town in Wales; she became a model and then when a bad accident left her scarred worked her way up the ladder at British Vogue before arriving at American Vogue. On a train heading to a shoot, Grace calms herself by looking out the window: “A photographer taught me to keep my eyes open at all times, that whatever you see can inspire you.” Anna talks about asking her father to help her decide on a career path. The British newspaper editor told her she was going to be the editor of Vogue. She also speaks about her three siblings and their impressive jobs and sheepishly says she thinks they’re amused by what she does.

You can watch The September Issue on YouTube.

Richard Press’s 2010 documentary, Bill Cunningham New York, profiles the quintessential chronicler of street style in New York City. Like Halston, he began his fashion career making hats. After his U.S. army service in Korea, he returned to write fashion for the Chicago Tribune and then Women’s Wear Daily in New York, where he quit when an editor completely changed the story Bill had written, making fun of his subjects’ clothes and appalling the good-natured Cunningham.

Gifted an Olympus camera by a London photographer, Cunningham found his niche. He realized that “the street was the missing ingredient” to see how people interpreted the clothing they wore. Plucked by the New York Times in the early ‘70s, he spent decades working on his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” He photographed uptowners (Anna Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Brooke Astor), downtown eccentrics (Annie Flanders of Details and founding editor Kim Hastreiter of Paper magazine)—who all show up in the film—and everyone in between. One humorous and touching moment is a scene at a surprise 80^th birthday party for Cunningham,  where the Times staff wonders why Bill’s the only one who always gets his way.

A short question and answer with Cunningham, filmed in his Carnegie Hall studio/apartment (with no kitchen and no private bath) and only work-filled filing cabinets as furniture, reveals a sensitive, humane man completely dedicated to his art.

Bill Cunningham New York can be streamed on HBO Max.

Jeremy Piven as Harry Selfridge in front of his eponymous Oxford Street store. 

The television series, Mr. Selfridge, recounts the real-life story of the visionary  Harry Gordon Selfridge, who, after a successful retail career in Chicago, arrives with his family in 1909 London on a mission to transform the shopping experience on Oxford Street. And that he did: He rearranged the store’s layout to match what women wanted, moving makeup and perfume counters to front and center. He believed items should be accessible and be touched by customers. He wanted everyone to come to his store, regardless of class and was the first businessman to offer bi-annual sales and create a bargain basement. Decades ahead of his time (think Marvin Traub of Bloomingdale’s), Harry turned Selfridge’s into a destination where people could stay all day going to restaurants, hairdressers, galleries and more. He spent a cool $2 million on advertising for the store’s opening.

Watch Mr. Selfridge on Apple TV for $19.99 a season.

Reynolds Woodcock  fits Alma for a dress in Phantom Thread. 

Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s eighth feature is a film that spins an eerie web of a story, depicting a cat-and-mouse battle between fictional 1950s London dressmaker, the imperious Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and an awkward waitress-turned-lover-and-muse, Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps). The third character in the triangle is Woodcock’s sister Cyril (Lesley Manville), who runs his business and social life, quickly dispatching the short-lived love interests of her brother.

When Alma’s spell wears off—Woodcock tires of her asserting herself and she’s on the brink of being forced out—she insists on staying as a member of the household. With the help of a mushroom omelet, the unexpectedly cunning Alma succeeds in turning the tables and subduing Woodcock to her will.

You can rent Phantom Thread on Amazon Prime for $3.99.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale, whether through a retailer, an online store or Amazon.com.

By Janet Kelly

“EVERY single person makes a decision every day about how they’re going to appear in public. Why is this not a major subject?” wonders New Yorker writer Judith Thurman.

We have often wondered the same. Which is one reason we’ve decided to expand our education by reading a bunch of books on our favorite subject. Some we’ve chosen are new, some vintage and/or reissued.

The Queen of Fashion is a fast-moving read about how Marie Antoinette used clothing to carve out her image and why it worked at first but ultimately failed her. As entertaining and educational is The Battle of Versailles, which describes how five American designers and their unstoppable publicist outdid the French fashion establishment.

“The only reason I’m in fashion is to destroy the word ‘conformity,’” said Dame Vivienne Westwood early on in her career. If you’re a Westwood fan, the Catwalk, an overview of 40 years of her womenswear collections, is a must. If not, it’s an opportunity to find out why she’s so special. Designer Claire McCardell’s words on style also reveal her as something of a maverick: “If fashion seems to be saying something that isn’t right for you, ignore it.”

We may not know why what we wear doesn’t seem to matter much. But the ideas and stories of the women who either wrote these books, like McCardell, or are featured in them—like Marie Antoinette—do matter for the ways they moved the needle on fashion.

Below, our reading picks.

LEFT: Robin Givhan’s very readable lesson in fashion history with a cast of colorful characters, includes Eleanor Lambert, the publicist who conceived the idea of a fashion-show fundraiser to help restore the palace of Versailles, Halston who took his own celebrity so seriously he began referring to himself in the third person and Stephen Burrows, a cool black kid who came out of the ether. The “battle” pitted five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Marc Bohan, Ungaro and Pierre Cardin) against Americans Oscar de la Renta, Halston, Anne Klein, Bill Blass and Burrows with the Americans decidedly the underdog. Against all expectations and in difficult working conditions, American energy along with a group of fearless models (ten of whom were African American) won out, resulting in American fashion taking its place on the world stage. For more about The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History (Flatiron Books), read MyLittleBird’s interview with Givhan.

CENTER: Victoria Finlay’s art memoir/travelogue, Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World (Pegasus Books), begins in Papua, New Guinea, with barkcloth and ends in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, with the community’s patchwork quilts. For those not versed in the textile arts, skip to the parts that discuss clothing trends, such as Indian pashmina shawls that dominated 19th-century European fashion, the silk dragon robes of China’s Qing dynasty and nylon stockings of 1940s America.

RIGHT: Many people dismiss Marie-Antoinette as a spoiled, selfish girl (she was only 14 when she arrived at the French court from her native Austria). But author Caroline Weber, fashion historian and Barnard College professor, tells a more sympathetic story in Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution (Macmillan). Amid unrelenting pressure to establish herself (made more difficult by her husband’s long reluctance to sleep with her), Marie Antoinette reinvented herself as a fashion icon, wearing three-foot high powdered and ostrich feather-adorned poufs (headdresses) to command attention and attract a following. When a flour shortage (flour was one of the ingredients in the powder for poufs) unleashed a backlash, she retreated to Versailles’ Petit Trianon, where she abandoned poufs (and heavy makeup) for muslin, loose chemise dresses instead of the French court-preferred, elaborate dresses with faint-inducing corsets. She changed the direction of French fashion, but while her “new look” was admired, the tide turned against her for wearing clothes that were not considered splendid enough. Weber argues that the power of fashion did too much and too little to save the head of Marie Antoinette.

LEFT: Don’t get dressed without reading Claire McCardell’s What Shall I Wear?: The What, Where, When and How Much of Fashion (Harry N. Abrams; updated edition). Originally published in 1956, the book has been reissued in a new edition with a foreword by Tory Burch. McCardell’s modern, accessible ideas included ballet flats, denim for day and pockets in dresses. Take note of her practical suggestions for how to shop, the importance of comfortable shoes and investment dressing. Want to dive deeper? There’s an exhibit on Claire McCardell at the Maryland Center for History and Culture in Baltimore, and it’s open through November, 2023.

RIGHT: In this book of 39 essays, A Left-Handed Woman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), Thurman, biographer of Colette and Isak Dinesen and New Yorker writer for the past 35 years, profiles fashion designers from Isabel Toledo (who designed the matching coat and dress Michelle Obama wore to her husband’s first inauguration) to the black designer, Ann Lowe, who made the gown Jaqueline Bouvier wore to wed John F. Kennedy. She also weighs in on the likes of Helen Gurley Brown, Emily Dickinson and Dante. As a leftie whose father tried—unsuccessfully—to force her to switch to writing with her right hand, she’s sympathetic to her mostly female, trailblazing subjects.

LEFT: Even though it’s almost impossible to separate the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn from Truman Capote’s 1958 novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Vintage Books), is worth reading for the pure pleasure of Capote’s prose and the introduction of the little black dress, along with strands of pearls and sunglasses. “It was a warm evening, nearly summer, and she wore a slim cool black dress, black sandals, and a pearl choker. …she had an almost breakfast-cereal air of health, a soap and lemon cleanness …”  Sartorial suggestions include: “It’s tacky to wear diamonds before you’re 40, and even that’s risky. They only look right on the really old girls.”

CENTER: Do you recall the fabulous Pucci dress you snagged at Loehmann’s, what you wore the day you became engaged, went to your first prom, filed for divorce? Author Ilene Beckerman believes our memories are often tied to our favorite outfits and chronicles her joys and sorrows from her Brownie uniform to her Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress. Love, Loss and What I Wore  (Algonquin Books) is a poignant look at life through the lens of clothing.

RIGHT: Patricia Field opened her eponymous Bowery boutique in 1966, where until 2016 she catered to “starving artists and drag queens,” along with New York University students. But life changed in 1998 when her pal Sarah Jessica Parker convinced Darren Star to let Field take over the job of costume designer on HBO’s upcoming “Sex and the City.” When Field paired a white tulle tutu with a tank top for SJP to wear in the opening title sequence of the new show, the star of this unconventional, opinionated woman shot up. She’s currently 81 and still speaking up— in her new memoir, Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules (HarperCollins), written with Rebecca Paley .

LEFT: In Vivienne Westwood: The Complete Collections (Catwalk)  by Alexander Fury (Yale University Press), short texts explain each collection’s highlights and influences, accompanied by runway photographs showing hundreds of clothing ensembles, documenting Westwood’s runway from 1981.

CENTER: From the bikini to the pantsuit, the colorfully illustrated Nevertheless She Wore It: 50 Iconic Fashion Moments by Ann Shen (Chronicle Books) showcases 50 memorable fashions and the women who wore them, along with insightful information behind the sartorial choices that defined their time. Think the Flapper Dress, the 1920s outfit of female independence; the Afro hairstyle, a symbol of black beauty and power; the Cone Bra Madonna wore in 1989’s “Express Yourself”; and the Dissent Collar Ruth Bader Ginsburg put on when she disagreed with the majority.

RIGHT: The 2022 film sparked the re-release of this tale of a London cleaning lady with a heart of gold and unfailing optimism about people. In Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico, Ada becomes enchanted by a Dior gown she sees in the closet of one of her wealthy clients. Determined to buy one for herself, she saves for years until she finds herself in the front row at a Dior couture collection in Paris.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale. We are also an  Amazon Associate.

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By Grace Cooper

Listen while reading: “Rope Swings and Avalanches“ by Cate Curtis

AS I swept the last little bit of gardening debris from my front walk yesterday morning, a woman stopped to admire my pretty flower-filled boxes under the freshly washed windows. I spent days driving to all my favorite nurseries in hunt of the perfect specimens for my carefully composed planters. There were fresh fern accents for either side of my pretty lavender entrance and once bag after bag of dark brown peaty mulch was put in its place, all that was left to do was tidy up a bit. She stood there smiling up at the scene—a stately tall Victorian with “good bones” made even more charming by my horticultural efforts. “You must really be in love with your little home.”  She smiled. I surveyed the scene, smiled back and murmured my agreement.

For years, my old homes, all carefully disassembled by construction crews under my hire, were then refashioned into inspired vignettes that brought people knocking, begging for a tour of my personal home and garden show. Today, in this moment, I thought to myself as this stranger strolled away, I want something more. Besides, my back is screaming in pain, and yoga class is still a day away.

This afternoon I accepted an invitation to lunch with a sweet friend—a lovely man with a thick shock of white hair framing his unlined face, made more handsome by his twinkly blue eyes. He belongs to a big noisy Irish clan, well known in town for the local business his father began over a century ago. As we walk to the restaurant, every other person we pass knows him and he holds out his hand to many. I tell him about my recent travels, including a writing workshop, and he listens intently, making comments about what kind of books he thinks I should write. “Romance novels sell,” he exclaims, “you could make a fortune.” I shake my head no, and tell him I have spent so much time dismantling the myths surrounding romance that for once I simply want to understand why it seldom seems to work out. He looks disappointed, but he is listening still.

“Were your parents in love?” I ask him. He considers this for a few minutes, but then tells me they made a great team. His dad worked hard, and his mom raised all those kids. “Were they happy?” I ask. He answers that he supposes they were, although often it was hard to tell. He tells me there was just too much hard work to distract, and a lot of static in the background, to really hear the melody of their lifelong partnership.

As I slowly move through the paces of my downward-facing dog, and my pigeon pose, the tight muscles in my lower back relax and my mind begins to unwind a bit, too. Romance is such a lovely way to think about life in general. I can certainly create a romantic garden or set a beautiful table for a romantic candlelit dinner for two. I just can’t seem to be able to conjure up the leading man to hold my hand across the table. So tonight, when I strip off my yoga clothing and stare into the mirror of my life, all I want to do is pull on my softest nightgown and slip between my freshly washed sheets to dream a bit about romance.

—Grace Cooper (a nom de plume) left her long marriage a decade ago, and with it went all sense of her identity—but not for long. Now 67, she has begun chronicling her tales of looking for love in all the wrong places, and unexpectedly finding herself.

Dive into denim. From left to right: Alex Mill’s work jacket, All Saints’  tough-girl, military-inspired style and Gap’s belted riff on the classic.

By Janet Kelly

PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL saw his shadow two weeks ago, and if you believe that tricky little groundhog, we still have roughly four more weeks of winter—probably a few more. Which is why these past few days of 50-degree weather have us longing for spring. We’re not putting away our winter coats anytime soon but are definitely thinking denim—jackets, jeans, too, and skirts (more on those two later). As for jackets, it’s time to reconsider your choices. Don’t toss the one (s) you have, but do look at what’s currently on our radar for how designers are bringing new direction to an old standby.

Veronica Beard starts with the classic jean jacket and tweaks it with an Isak Dinesen/Meryl Streep/Out of Africa vibe starring a mandarin collar, box-pleat flap pockets and a nipped waist with belt loops. Too stunning to keep in your closet ’til the weather warms, consider this chic denim jacket your ideal transitional layer. It’s $498.

When you want a more serious look and feel, Massimo Dutti’s double-breasted denim blazer ($279) steps up to the occasion and then some with its linen-and-wool lined jacket. Suit it up with matching trousers ($149) that are fitted at the waist and puddle at the hem. Note that for its price point, this Zara sibling goes above and beyond in attending to details.

Girls just wanna have fun, right? Go for it with Free People’s Western-inspired jacket in an oversized, slouchy fit with a whole lot of fringe detail. Layer it over a hoodie. It’s $148.

Cozy and casual but still chic, this short quilted jacket is made from light-colored vintage denim with dropped armholes, wide sleeves, shawl collar, an adjustable belt and snap-button closure at the waist. It sells for $340 from Paris-based label ba&sh. (The initials stand for its founders, Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief.)

With an appreciative nod to the versatility of denim, Cinq à Sept’s cropped, collarless jacket ($465) with braided detailing along the neck moves the needle from a piece of casual clothing to one that would feel at home at  a swanky dinner or a high-powered work meeting. It also happens to look smashing in white. It’s available at Saks Fifth Avenue, where it sells for $495.

Alicia Silverstone (aka Cher Horowitz in 1995 film Clueless) wore her signature yellow plaid suit in an ad during last Sunday night’s Super Bowl, but who can forget her plea to a thief demanding that she lie face down on the pavement: “Oh, no, you don’t understand. This is an Alaïa.” So is this wrap denim jacket, which looks like the traditional from the front. The back is where the design house shows off—with wraparound panels. It sells for a stratospheric $1,800 at Nordstrom. But if money is no object, you, too, can have an Alaïa.

Made from no-stretch denim that breaks in over time, Gap’s utility jacket is similar to the look of the Alaïa with its hip length, button front and tie belt. But it’s a waaay more wallet-friendly $115, reduced from $128.

Cut from recycled denim in a vintage wash, Alex Mill’s Work Jacket is a relaxed take on the more fitted silhouette. It looks to us like the kind of no-fuss piece you can slip on over cargo pants, a midi-skirt, really most anything, and head right out the door  knowing you look put together. It’s $225.

On the days you want to project your tough grownup-girl self, show some attitude with All Saints acid-washed military jacket in a sturdy denim fabric with practical roomy pockets. It sells for $269 at Bloomingdale’s.

Like much of J. McLaughlin’s clothing, this denim blazer speaks to my inner preppie with its slightly faded color, white buttons, three-quarter sleeves and flip-up-or-not collar. Personally, I’d skip those gingham pants. The jacket sells for $268.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale, whether through a retailer, an online store or Amazon.com.

Not your basic button-up. From left to right: A.L.C.’s creamy silk blouse, Reformation’s relaxed knit top and Massimo Dutti’s cropped shirt with a band collar.

By Janet Kelly

Editor’s Note: According to Wirecutter, “Though many people tend to use the terms button-up and button-downinterchangeably, a button-down shirt refers to shirts with collars that button down at the corners, typically Oxford shirts.” A button-up is any shirt with buttons up and down the front. 

Isn’t it romantic? If we had plans to dine out or stay in for an intimate Valentine’s supper à deux, we’d want to slip on Sézane’s creamy silk Chloé shirt ($130).

Far from basic, Reiss’s Sophie shirt ($290) with front pleats and lacy floral cutouts can dress up black jeans or make an elegant ensemble when paired with, say, wide-leg white pants.

Leave it to Stacy Bendet at Alice + Olivia for an unconventional take on the basic white button-up. In faux leather with three-quarter puff sleeves and cinched cuffs, it sells for $330.

This shirt from H&M combines comfort—a generous fit and dropped shoulders— with a sheer, lacy detail on the front. It’s $74.

Faherty’s cotton Willa top ($158) goes bohemian with embroidery, blouson sleeves with ruffle cuffs, standup collar and pleated back yoke. Wear with jeans to tone down the peasant-blouse vibe.

Rachel Comey has her own interpretation of the classic. She substitutes wide-wale corduroy for cotton and snaps for buttons. A less expensive alternative to her cha-ching, cha-ching $450 Supply Shirt is G1 Goods Corduroy Basic. Not quite as fun and still not cheap, but I’ve worn mine so many times, it has earned its keep.

Zimmerman takes the trademarks of the basic button-up and turns them into a party-ready silk linen organza shirt with ric-rac ribbon trim along the point collar, front placket and cuffs. No need to hunt down a camisole to wear under the see-through blouse because it comes with a separate slip. Such loveliness comes at a steep $575 from Moda Operandi.

Without going to extremes, this oversize, crisp poplin shirt with ruffled collar and cuffs riffs on the classic and is a signature example of Alex Mill’s “preppy-with-tweaks” design. It sells for $135.

It has that classic collar and buttons, except Reformation’s ribbed shirt is made from a cashmere blend, has wide sleeves and looks a lot like a cardigan. It’s $248 at Farfetch.

Come this spring, look for cropped shirts like this one from Massimo Dutti, which sets itself apart from the traditional with standup collar, bib front and back pleat. It’s $119.

If you happen to feel bad about your elbows, Zadig & Voltaire’s satiny shirt with its fluttery 3/4 sleeves will camouflage them nicely. Plus, we like the high, ruffled neckline. It sells for $398.

Despite its long length (hip skimming) and generous proportions, Madeleine’s short-sleeve blouse ($199.95) has a sleek silhouette without a hint of sloppy. That’s what caught our eye and won our approval.

Psst. What the WSJ accurately noted is the necessity of a handy stain remover in the case of a latte or soup spill on that bright white blouse.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale, whether through a retailer, an online store or Amazon.com.

Clockwise, from left to right, the hearts have it: A balm-y gloss, a retro postcard puzzle from Liberty, an arty shoulder bag and a stress reliever.

By Janet Kelly

Am I the only one who’s seeing a renaissance of heart-shaped jewelry? On MSNBC’s “The Eleventh Hour,” anchor Stephanie Ruhle expertly layers two necklaces with large hearts. For a more subtle touch, we like these Elsa Peretti-designed, open-heart stud earrings in yellow gold. They come in two sizes—7 or 11mm for $750 or $1,075, respectively, from Tiffany.

This heart-shaped rose balm (a moisturizing, alcohol-free bar with beeswax, almond and jojoba oils and rose fragrance) doesn’t even need water to lather. When it’s gone, you’ll still have a ceramic soap dish or a place to stash jewelry. Besides rose, other soothing scents include lavender, lemongrass and fresh linen. It’s $20 at Uncommon Goods.

Spoil your Valentine with this 16-piece box of multi-hued chocolates, handmade by artisan chocolatiers. Each little heart-shaped “artwork” is infused with a blend of flavors, including key lime, honey lavender, passionfruit vanilla, vanilla crème brûlée and pistachio ganache. $48 at Artful Home.

What, you or anyone you know, stressed? Put troubles in perspective with this squeezable foam toy that reimagines the work of illustrator Adam J. Kurtz into an everyday, useful object. It’s $12 from the Museum of Modern Art.

You click the bottom of Kaja’s Heart Melter Lip Gloss Stick ($19, Sephora) to swipe on a high-shine, flush of color that’s infused with moisturizing organ and plum oils. Besides this bubblegum pink, it comes in cherry red, mauve, fuschia berry and four other kissable shades.

Made from acetate in translucent red, EyeBuyDirect’s statement-making Suki glasses are not for the shy and retiring. Lenses can be made for distance or reading. They’re $42.

Italian label Coperni’s heart-shape leather tote in lipstick red and pink (on the reverse) is sold out in most places. But the streamlined bag that fits snugly against the body is available in glossy black for $446 at Farfetch. And in a pretty pastel blue ($533)—for spring— at Mytheresa.

Breakfast for two on February 14 or any old day. This handy-dandy appliance makes an 8-inch heart-shaped waffle in minutes. It’s $29.95 at Sur La Table. For a smaller, easy-to-store option, Dash also offers a Mini Waffle Maker ($9.99, Amazon), which makes 4-inch hearts.

Filled with lavender from Provence, these cotton hearts with Liberty London patterns ($36.99) are useful as well as nice to look at. Stash them in a sweater drawer to prevent moths or put them under your pillow and let the scent soothe you into a sound sleep.

Go big for this Prada’s choker with its oversize pendant in recycled 18-karat yellow gold on an old-fashioned velvet ribbon. The small is 3cm wide by 2.5 cm high; the medium is 4cm wide by 3.5 high. It’s price on request for these baubles that are handmade in Italy in limited quantities.

Roses are red, violets are blue, if you love gorgeous jigsaw puzzles, this is for you (or someone you like a lot). Liberty’s special edition, extra-large (17.5-by-14-inch, 302-piece) puzzle, $135, is made from photos of vintage Valentine postcards that are printed on wood and then laser cut into whimsical shapes.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale, whether through a retailer, an online store or Amazon.com.

iStock

By Grace Cooper

Recommended reading while listening: The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice

INSPIRED by Mary Carpenter’s excellent article on addiction to alcohol, I’d like to point out another type of addiction that is rapidly becoming epidemic among all age groups. Match.com and all other virtual reality dating websites, as well as reality television shows about dating or mating, should come with a warning: Continued use can lead to a paradoxical inability to bond securely to a new partner. Let me explain.

Increased use of social media in the last few decades has opened a window to a virtual parallel reality, available to all. Think about Facebook, TikTok or Instagram. No one posts photos or videos of themselves, their family members or their vacations that aren’t heavily curated and staged in the best possible light. Reality of an ordinary life pales in comparison. Those unable or unwilling to participate in such false representations are often sidelined and made to feel uncomfortable to be left out of all the virtual “fun.” Good just isn’t good enough any longer.

A daily television habit often plays a part in feeding our appetites for non-immersive romantic escapism as well. We watch complete strangers forge the most intimate bonds—dating or even marriages—in competition with other contestants as the television cameras roll, recording quick and dirty courtships. Absurdity abounds, and (I hope) none but the most naïve thinks reality TV of this nature leads to sustainable relationships, yet ratings suggest that a large part of the population across all demographics is tuning in.

So why are we so fascinated/captivated by simulated love bonds?? Those that study human behavior report, “it’s because watching these shows activates the brain systems relating to sex drive, romantic love and attachment. For instance, when we watch a suitor finally tell someone he’s dating that he loves her, we might experience a surge in dopamine (the neurotransmitter linked to romantic love and elation). When we see a couple make out passionately, our bodies might release testosterone (the hormone connected with sex drive). And, when a couple cuddles on the screen, our bodies likely release oxytocin (the neurotransmitter associated with attachment). They may not be true relationships, but the feelings they give us are real.”

The sad reality in this last stage of life is that anyone widowed or divorced initially feels emotionally adrift from an identity as part of a couple. Even when motivated and eager to begin dating anew, creating a new romantic reality after such a loss is difficult—to say the least. Let’s face facts, no matter how well you pull yourself together before heading out to the grocery store, you are highly unlikely to meet your future mate reaching for the same cantaloupe. That’s where dating sites promise to bridge the matchmaking gap.

Daily hits of “eye candy” is how a fellow Match friend phrased his participation in years of online dating. Neuroscientists label it dopamine central nervous system reward centers pinged. Every day a dozen or so “matches” are delivered to millions of email accounts of online dating subscribers. Most participants display their carefully curated photos, lifestyle descriptions and claims of looking for “the one.” So far, so good. However, reality can’t compete with virtual airbrushed reality, and that’s where the addictive nature of the virtual dating scene begins to derail the normal course of a sustainable romantic relationship. Instead, an addiction to the feel-good neurotransmitters takes control. As in any addiction, emotional highs are soon replaced by lows as the excitement of a new romance triggers a strong chemical reaction, called the limerence phase of the relationship. Limerence is the state of infatuated obsession with another person, driven by a subconscious desire for reciprocation, typically of a sexual nature. This dopamine-fueled high begins to ebb typically after a few months of dating but not always at the same speed for both partners. It’s a fascinating topic, but the bottom line is that those who become addicted to the highs of limerence, experience the unsettling lows as well—melancholia, fear of rejection, insecurity and unpleasant obsessive thoughts.

So, what does an honest, healthy sustainable relationship resemble? No matter what your “type” is, a relationship in which each partner feels safe to be their true selves is the ideal. Safety demands trust and building trust takes time, intention and accountability. In the best of circumstances, it takes an average of two years of sustained dating to know if a mate is trustworthy. In practical terms, how do you trust someone you meet online to reliably exit the site and commit to an exclusive relationship with you, when the siren song of daily eye candy is continuously luring him back?

Furthermore, online dating sites are rife with scammers, catfishers, dangerous wackos and those with attachment-style disorders. Here’s the synopsis of that twisted attachment tango: anxious attachers, neurologically hardwired for limerence, are drawn to avoidant types who eschew long-term commitment. Avoidants—addicted to the highs of romance, but who shun sustainable attachment—find a virtual playground in online dating sites. Anxious attachers, left high and dry by avoidants, dive right back into the pool even more recklessly, driven by insecurities and a deep need for connection. Welcome to the hell of emotional addiction. No judgment from me if you mistake fantasy for reality and limerence for the type of relationship that is healthy and sustainable. We live in a society that romanticizes limerence and repackages it as entertainment.

However, I firmly believe that forewarned is forearmed. Think of me as your online dating fairy godmother because, girlfriend, I’ve experienced it all —limerent obsession, the pain of withdrawal and ultimately recovery. Do not be afraid to dip a toe into the waters of online dating but do it intentionally and with eyes wide open, firm personal boundary enforcement, a lot of patience and a good sense of ironic humor…you will need it all.

Life is a wonderful opportunity for learning, so make “late dates” count for something other than an addiction to eye candy.

—Grace Cooper (a nom de plume) left her long marriage a decade ago, and with it went all sense of her identity—but not for long. Now 67, she has begun chronicling her tales of looking for love in all the wrong places, and unexpectedly finding herself.

Left to right: Responsibly sourced alpaca and wool sweaters from Everlane and Eileen Fisher, respectively, and a unisex puffer made from recycled plastic bottles from Girlfriend Collective.

By Janet Kelly

THE FASHION industry’s dirty little not-so-secret secret: It’s one of the largest polluters on the planet, responsible for huge amounts of carbon emissions and waste.

Some designers, including Eileen Fisher and Stella McCartney, acknowledged that problem years ago. In 2009, Eileen Fisher began its Renew line, taking back its garments to be recycled. For material for its fabrics, the company uses responsible wool— from farmers who follow best practices for land management and animal welfare—and organic cotton grown without pesticides. Since founding her company in 2001, McCartney has been on an eco-friendly mission—no leather, feathers, fur or skin.

Other fashion manufacturers are also beefing up their plans to be better stewards of the Earth, by making clothing and accessories with materials that limit the amounts of chemicals and water used in producing them. Reformation, which started out selling vintage clothes out of a Los Angeles storefront in 2009, now makes their own from low-impact materials, rescued dead stock fabrics and repurposed vintage clothing. To keep textiles out of landfills, Reformation has been recycling and reusing clothes since 2015. Now with customers’ returned denim, sweaters and outerwear, they’re breaking down their clothes back into fiber and turning them into new products.

Shoe company Rothys makes its popular, washable flats out of recycled plastic bottles; Cariuma and Veja protect the Amazon rain forest by harvesting rubber for their sneakers’ soles without harming any trees.

Activewear brands Girlfriend Collective and Pangaia are also committed to Earth-saving practices. Send an old girlfriend back to Girlfriend Collective, and they’ll recycle it into a new girlfriend. Pangaia makes warm jackets out of wildflowers and turns its textile waste into pigment for dyes.

In case you were wondering, helping to reduce fashion’s impact on the environment doesn’t mean these companies are skimping on style. To prove it, we’ve picked out clothing from 11 brands that we—and we hope you—will be happy to wear while doing your part to curb the planet’s pollution.

Yellow for winter? Hell, yes. Everlane’s oversize turtleneck ($175) gets its chunky, ribbed texture from a double-ply alpaca knit, which hits just below the rear for extra coverage and warmth. It’s a blend of alpaca, recycled nylon and merino wool. Everlane’s goal stated in its 2021 Impact Report is to shrink its carbon footprint by increasing use of recycled materials.

Tired of black? Cool, dark blue Almond Loafers ($179) from Rothy’s are knitted into thread from recycled plastic bottles. When they get dirty, take out the insoles and pop shoes and insoles into the washing machine (use cold water and mild detergent on the delicate cycle).

There’s much to like about this one-and-done sweater dress— the flattering fitted waist, easy fit—and that it’s made from a blend of fine-gauge recycled cashmere in a process that saves water and reduces carbon dioxide in the environment. It’s $348 from Reformation.

Stella McCartney was talking about vegan materials before other brands got on board climate change. Her limited-edition Falabella mini shoulder bag ($950) pays homage to Lunar New Year 2023. Adorned by a lucky rabbit charm, the bag is made with vegan fabric, recycled brass and aluminum chains and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified cotton laces. GOTS is a certification that limits the use of toxic bleaches, dyes and other chemicals during the textile production process.

Another pick from Reformation, this oversized shirt ($128) is mostly (96%) made with organically grown cotton, which means it doesn’t use genetically modified seeds and restricts many chemicals. Reformation has a tool, called RefScale, to educate shoppers on how much CO2, water and waste they’re saving by shopping the brand’s products over others.

Pangaia makes colorful hoodies, track pants, jackets and T-shirts—”everyday essentials using innovative technology and bioengineered materials.” This cerulean-blue bomber jacket ($595) is made with Flwrdwn™, an alternative to duck and goose feathers that’s created using wildflowers. Its outer shell is recycled nylon.

Founded in Paris, fashion favorite Veja manufactures these ec0-friendly V10 sneakers in Brazil. They’re made from vegan leather with soles constructed of wild rubber responsibly harvested from the Amazon rain forest. They sell for $175 at Madewell.

If you’re looking ahead to spring, denim never goes out of style, and it’s looking more popular than ever if the spring runways are any indication. London and Stockholm-based Bite (which stands for By Independent Thinkers for Environmental progress) uses eco-friendly materials like GOTS cotton for this spiffy, tailored denim blazer. It’s an investment at 420 euros, but its wide lapels and cuffs, hidden buttons and contrasting white stitching make it far more chic than your old jean jacket.

When it comes to jeans I’m like Goldilocks. I don’t want them too skinny, too baggy, too high-waisted or too pricey—definitely less than $200. These Fillmore boyfriend jeans, a blend of organic and recycled cotton, fit my criteria and just make the price cut (they’re $198 at Outerknown). If I get tired of them, I could sell them on the company’s Outerworn platform, launched in 2021.

A cold-weather staple, Eileen Fisher’s merino turtleneck top meets the Responsible Wool Standard — the wool comes from farms that respect animal welfare, practice land management and protect workers. The company works on reducing water usage when making new clothes and collects gently used garments to resell, donate or remake them into new designs. They’ve taken back more than 1.9 million pieces since 2009 as part of their vision for a future without waste. Only limited sizes are still available.

A practical layer for T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc., and a fashion statement, too, the Everyone Puffer (unisex) is made with recycled plastic bottles to keep the planet happy and you looking stylish. It’s water-repellent, wind-resistant and has an adjustable bottom bungee you can cinch in to keep cold air out. It sells for $128. When you no longer want it, send it back and ReGirlfriend will recycle it into future clothes.

Cariuma says it makes old-school shoes, like these OCA leopard -print canvas sneakers, with new-school ethics. The brand uses GOTS cotton, natural rubber gathered from tree bark without harming the actual tree, cork for a vegan insole and recycled plastic bottles for linings, laces, threads and labels. The sneakers sell for $89 and come in a ton of other prints and colors.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale. We are also an Amazon Associate.

From left to right, a classic in camel from Reiss, a Herno svelte down puffer and Apparis’s faux fur topper.

By Janet Kelly

If warmth and style are your objectives, North Face’s Metropolis Parka ticks those boxes with a 550 goose down fill rating (the range is from 300-900-plus), a detachable hood, water-repellent shell and slim fit, including a cinched-in waist. It rings in at $300.

Aritzia is the gold standard for puffer warmth. This jacket ($250), from their  Super Puff™ collection, is made with water-repellent and wind-resistant fabric and is filled with responsibly sourced, 700-plus fill-power goose down for great insulation from the cold.On the looser end of the scale for fit, it’s available in different lengths (shorty, bomber, midi and long), in addition to classic (above, which hits between high on the hip to below the rear). Choose from 50-plus colors.

Herno constructs this slim style with 200 grams of ultralight nylon and then injects the padding with super-fine goose down, making the coat lightweight and svelte. It’s $695.

Mango’s knee-length double-breasted coat, made with recycled wool, is generously cut (in fact, the site recommends you take one size down). For wintry blasts, layer a light turtleneck and even a fleece hoodie underneath. It sells for $229.99 and comes in camel, black and petrel blue colors as well as the green shown above.

What’s fun about Woolrich’s beet-colored check-pattern,coat, made from an Italian wool blend, is the fringe at the hem. Its price is reduced from $595 to $417 at Farfetch. For more subdued hues—cream and blue—you can find them at Woolrich for $595 each.

Barbour’s wool-blend, viscose-lined military-style coat ($520, Tuckernuck) is a classic cold-weather option that works for both casual and dressed-up occasions.

On the spendy side is British label Reiss’s belted coat in camel for $640. (It comes in turquoise for $446 and in pink for $382). The brand says it has upped the wool content on an earlier version to 63%, and instead of the traditional buttons, the coat wraps neatly around the body.

I love that this Apparis faux fur with its oversize hood comes in navy, which I think is far friendlier to older faces than black. Plus, it looks so darn cozy. It sells for $320, and it does come in black, as well as shocking pink, camel, white and beige.

This below-the-knee, button-up Kenca coat from Stand Studio is reversible, offering the choice of a smooth camel faux-suede or plush faux-shearling exterior (as shown). A shearling interior would be warmer! It’s sold out in this combination but is still available in green and black—on sale for $278 at Matches Fashion.

How would the quirkily stylish Kate Spade have worn this rich, plush, sublimely cozy faux fur jacket ($428, Nordstrom)? Yes, exactly —with a leopard skirt. Note: the buttons are only decorative; the jacket closes with hooks and eyes.

I’d have to give up a mortgage payment or more to afford this glamorous faux fur coat ($4,100, Moda Operandi) from design duo Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada. That said, I bet it would solve the problem of finding the one coat I’d want to wear over everything and keep me blissfully warm at the same time.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale. We are also an Amazon Associate.

Clockwise, from left to right: Toasty mittens, lined high-top sneakers, slouchy beanie, trapper hat and a thermal top that isn’t boring. 

By Janet Kelly

HAPPY 2023. Despite a spate of balmy days, wintry blasts are not in the rearview mirror. Meet the challenge with our cozy but chic choices of cold-weather accessories.

I came across these Tremblant Moccasins in a Sundance Catalog store in Westport, Connecticut. I didn’t know Sorel, known for their boots, made indoor/outdoor slippers, but I’m loving the look of the hand-stitching, fleece lining and contrasting wraparound rubber soles. They sell for $88.

Winter days can be dreary. Sundance Catalog’s sherbet stripe socks are anything but. Artfully mismatched, this cheery duo of cotton, nylon and lycra sells for $39.

If you’re committed to your black puffer jacket or coat, at least add some color with cashmere striped gloves from the Uniqlo and Marni collaboration.

Balaclavas are not my favorite cold-weather head covering. But I do like the bright color on Rachel Comey’s wool-and-alpaca blend headgear ($225) and the way it’s rolled up and worn as a hat.

We think the slouchy style of this hat with a pom pom makes it a more flattering option for many of us than a head-squashing beanie. Made of 100% merino wool, it’s partially lined with fleece to keep the heat from escaping. It sells for $50 from Cajoli Boutique.

The aim of a trapper hat is to rebuff the elements. If that’s yours, too, set your sights on Ugg’s sherpa puff topper. It’s $75 at Anthropologie.

Sometimes you feel like wearing boots; sometimes you don’t. For those don’t times, Cariuma’s high-top Therma sneakers ($149) will slough off the slush (they’re waterproof) and ensure your toes are toasty.

Gloves may be sleek and sculpting, but Kurt Geiger’s raspberry cable-knit mittens with metallic thread accents will keep your hands warmer and are adorable. They’re $58 at Bloomingdale’s.

For her collaboration with Peruvian Connection, former Harper’s Bazaar editor Glenda Bailey put on another hat—designer— bringing a new perspective to the brand. One of the results is this alpaca vest with Fair Isle kind of stripes in rich colors. Just what you need for a pop of pattern, as well as warmth. It’s reduced to $169 from $218.

Stylish long underwear is practically an oxymoron. But this layering turtleneck, an excellent blend of color and warmth, is good-looking just on its own. From Uniqlo’s collab with Marni, it’s $29.90.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale. We are also an Amazon Associate.

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By Mary Carpenter

Editor’s Note:  Inspired by a recent play and its reviewers, Mary decided to update her 2017 post on alcoholism, officially alcohol use disorder (AUD). Together these offer eloquent insights that may reach a wider audience—for whom the topic of addiction can seem too unbearably grim. And one reviewer compares AUD rehab to the “Covid pause.”  

 “THE HARDEST and most confusing aspect is…addiction, which takes over all logic and reasoning,” wrote DC-based poet W.C. in a personal email.  “It’s inexplicable to those who aren’t addicts and even, sometimes, to those of us who are lucky to have gotten sober.” According to the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), one definition of AUD is having developed a high tolerance for alcohol and experiencing withdrawal symptoms if its use is suddenly stopped.

The greatest barrier to understanding AUD is that drinking alcohol usually signals relaxation, parties, friends; and for 95% of people, social drinking causes few problems. So, most everyone steers away from the topic of addiction, which includes the best books on the topic, despite being beautifully written, deeply and sensitively probing, such as Drinking: a Love Story, by Caroline Knapp; Dry: A Memoir, by Augusten Burroughs; Co-Dependent No More, by Melody Beattie.

But People, Places & Things, by Duncan MacMillan— a play that traveled from London and New York and most recently to DC’s Studio Theater—confronts the audience with intense characters and illuminating words. Explains the Doctor (who has no other name) in the Alcoholics Anonymous-based, 12-step in-patient program: “Your addiction will fight any progress. It’s a parasite and it will fight for its own survival until you’re dead.”

“Acting gives me the same thing I get from drugs and alcohol. Good parts are just harder to come by,” quips the main character Emma —“a spectacular liar [with whom] the playwright successfully hooks the audience,” writes Artsfuse reviewer, University of Maine drama lecturer David Greenham.  In her profession as an actress, Emma constructs false identities for her turns on stage but off stage completely loses track of the truth.

“You want me to conceptualize a universe in which I am the sole agent of my destiny and at the same time acknowledge my absolute powerlessness” is Emma’s evaluation of her rehab program—which makes the infamous AA request that participants give over control to a higher power. “It’s a fatal contradiction and I won’t start building foundations on a flawed premise.”  As New York Times critic Jesse Green rephrases it: “We play a large part in our own addictions, yet we are powerless over them.”

After detox and rehab, Emma leaves her program “clean,” an apparent success. Only toward the end of the play is the audience obliged to experience the most debilitating aspect of recovery—the addict’s return to the same world that was once unmanageable without the help of alcohol or drugs. Writes Green about the ending: “We are given devastating evidence that Emma’s addiction is… the mark of the world’s cruelty to sensitive souls.”

Among its dated methods that lead to poor success rates, lack of follow-up for easing participants back into the real world is a major criticism of AA-based treatment. Long-term recovery following 28 day-residence programs like Emma’s —including resort rehab and regular 12-step meetings—may be as low as 5%, according to retired Harvard psychiatrist Lance Dodes in his book, The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry.   

Most AA-based  programs have no medical personnel on staff and, for countering the physical components of addiction, forbid such medication as Antabuse and naltrexone. In fact, many AA-program participants believe they must refuse all medicine, including aspirin for headaches. Medication-assisted-treatment (MAT) “has never been quite as controversial a subject as it is today,” according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website.

Over time, constant consumption of alcohol changes the brain, in particular altering the release of chemicals such as GABA and dopamine that create the feelings of warmth, contentment and good humor associated with alcohol; and strengthening the synaptic connections that increase the likelihood of thinking about and eventually craving alcohol, until drinking becomes compulsive. Naltrexone has reduced drinking and increased abstinence in more than a dozen clinical trials, including one large scale NIAAA-funded trial published 15 years ago.

Because Naltrexone is available in an inexpensive generic form, however, pharmaceutical companies are not promoting the drug.  Still, AUD experts are baffled by its limited use. When the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, previously an AA-only model, announced it would offer Naltrexone, it was 2006— and there has been little movement since.

Medication can also be essential for treating “dual diagnoses”— including depression, anxiety, and more serious bipolar disorders and schizophrenia— that affect approximately 37% of those with AUD and 53% with drug addictions, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness. By itself, medical treatment for these conditions can reduce cravings for alcohol. Most experts agree that about half of a person’s vulnerability to alcohol-use disorder is hereditary and that co-occurring conditions play a role.

Despite increasing evidence of MAT’s effectiveness, only 1 to 2% of people treated for alcohol-use disorder receive anti-craving medication. The current state of addiction treatment is like “general medicine in the early 1900s, when quacks worked alongside graduates of leading medical schools,” concluded a 2012 report from Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, described in a 2015 Atlantic Monthly article by Gabrielle Glaser. The report noted, “The vast majority of people in need of addiction treatment do not receive anything that approximates evidence-based care.”

“When the facts change—and they’ve changed a lot—the minds have not,” addiction psychiatrist Mark Willenbring, director of treatment research at NIAAA from 2004 to 2009 and founder of the Minnesota outpatient clinic Alltyr told the New York Times.  At Alltyr, Willenbring’s Minnesota clinic, addiction is considered a chronic medical condition, and treatments include antidepressants, anti-relapse medications and psychotherapy—for as long as needed. “You don’t treat a chronic illness for four weeks and then send the patient to a support group,” Willenbring said.

These individuals need treatment “that is individualized and offered continuously or intermittently for as long as they need it,” according to Willenbring. Among patients who were helped at Alltyr, one woman had been in and out of rehab 42 times, and one young man had tried more than 20 abstinence-based programs, attempted suicide and overdosed on heroin. In addition, compared to resort-based AA programs in Antigua and Malibu with monthly price tags over $50,000, “low-cost publicly funded clinics often have better-qualified therapists and better outcomes, according to Anne Fletcher in her book, Inside Rehab.

AA-based programs, on the other hand, remain the mainstay for as many as 80% of the more than 13,000 rehab facilities in the U.S. What its successful participants find most helpful is support from other addicts, in both in-patient and ongoing after-treatment meetings, with encouragement to attend “90 meetings in 90 days.” Said DC Poet W.C. about AA, “I just wanted freedom from the addiction and was willing, as they say, to go to any lengths to get it. [With AA]  there’s always a sense that you’re doing so with a supportive community whose members are available 24/7.”

Connections between People Places & Things and the ongoing Covid pandemic—which “has prompted…many of us to reexamine our identity and the roles we play..” come from  Artsfuse reviewer Greenham. “We were addicted to a lifestyle that had become too fast for reflection. We thought that’s what we needed. Emma’s narrative bubbles with similar justifications.”

“For some, the Covid pause has been a version of rehab, an opportunity for a new start—by facing the truth,” writes Greenham.  Even in a play that works hard to make this topic accessible and comprehensible, however, its main character Emma comments almost as an aside that no one can understand addiction unless they’ve been there.

Because I have had intimate experiences with alcoholics, people ask me questions. When I see them struggling but failing to understand, I recommend books and more recently this play. What remains incomprehensible, though, is the most basic question about addiction: how anyone can continue to use substances they know can change their behavior in ways their sober selves sincerely would not want to change.

—Mary Carpenter regularly reports on need-to-know topics in health and medicine.

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By Grace Cooper 

Suggested listening while reading: Bird on the Wire by Leonard Cohen

LATE DATES has been MIA for a few weeks—my apologies. It’s the forced frivolity of holiday Sparkle Season after all, and not to be outdone, I scheduled a flame-out finale to 2022.

In early October I purchased a new home. I sold my former home for a tidy profit, but then overpaid in the peak of the housing market frenzy, for a place that needed major renovations. That questionable decision necessitated expensive purchases at a time when the supply chain links for building materials and appliances are clearly broken. My nest egg has been cracked wide open to pay for feathering the new nest. Does that make sense to you, because daily I question myself on the wisdom of all the above?

So, while demolition crews are doing their thing at the new place, I paid a king’s ransom to rent my home back from the new owners for a few months. Magnanimously, during my renovation and packing chaos, I also hosted Thanksgiving weekend for my favorite 13 loved ones. Within a day of the annual feast, one by one, we all fell ill to a nasty rotavirus. With a houseful of puking adults, this Thanksgiving I was most grateful for four working bathrooms.

My loved ones recovered and on the road to their respective homes, it was my turn to fall apart. On the following Monday evening, dehydrated and overwrought, I was admitted for an overnight stay at the hospital right smack in the middle of my three-day moving adventure. While medical angels of mercy worked to restore my health, all my earthly belongings were being packed into hundreds of boxes and loaded onto a truck. On Tuesday, I was discharged and told to go home to rest . . . in my unfinished new home, decorated now with towers of boxes piled high in every room? And did I mention it’s Sparkle Season again? That means gifts and parties and forced frivolity at a time when I’d rather hide in a dark closet and drool on my sneakers until well into 2023.

It will be at least another month before I’ll have a kitchen, functional bathroom or even a bed of my own. Daily, my subcontractors ignore me and respond only to the direction of their boss, who unfortunately for him made a remark that didn’t exactly sit well with this woman on the verge.

“Just be nice,” he said in response to my complaints about the delays and all the unforeseen changes. “You told me you are a nice girl.”

I could feel the fury rising—up, up, up from deep within my solar plexus, rising like a hot swell towards my throat chakra.

‘This is a familiar feeling,” I thought. Typically, I’d swallow hard at this point, forcing the molten lava of dark emotions to remain contained until it cooled off a bit. Then I’d talk myself out of speaking, because—well—nice girls—enneagram type-two helper codependent girls—don’t say anything that might offend or challenge the reality of anyone else, especially not a man. Nice girls swallow it back down. Nice girls smile and purr appreciatively when a man treats them like empty-headed, fragile creatures. A nice girl knows her place.

Let’s just say I blew my cork. And he huffed and puffed and blew back. When the dust settled, we’d both said some unfortunate things, none of which I am willing to retract because I spoke my truth for once. Ever wonder what happens to nice girls after a lifetime of repressed honesty? They get sicker and sicker, manifested as physical or emotional illness. That’s the not-so-nice truth.

And who do we gals have to blame for this? It begins with that sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice pablum recited to all baby girls, who are then taught that someday their prince will come . . . if they primp, plaster on a bright smile and wait patiently for some dude to pick them. Then if we have a family, typically we learn that it’s next to impossible to truly be a good wife, mother and employee because competing agendas at home or in the workplace rarely lead to satisfaction in any of those roles. And then we have the audacity to age, which renders almost every woman over the age of 50 relatively invisible and irrelevant.

So what does this have to do with late-life dating? Everything.

Dating websites are all about illusion, which for women hoping for more satisfying future relationships, is a setup for more frustration, if not outright failure. There’s an implied promise of new beginnings—just trade in the old model and start anew with someone else. Then the game begins—“I’ll make you feel young, important, loved, and you do the same for me.” But like any game, sooner or later, reality intrudes, both desire a deeper commitment, and the time comes to fish or cut bait.

Dating website profiles, or any occasion that leads to an in-person date is an opportunity to remove the veil and see one another in a more realistic fashion befitting your mature station in life. Look for the guy who will look beyond your false eyelashes, fake breasts, or stiletto heels—whatever hides the real you. The goal is to find some bonafide male feminist who will cherish the worst versions of you as well—unbrushed teeth, crazy morning hair and a range of unsuppressed and uncomfortable emotions. Honesty is the name of the game now. We all deserve what was denied our foremothers. This is a time of great opportunity for a woman to claim her power just as the aging male is losing his. Meeting in some place of mutual respect and sensitivity trumps the sexist roles we were assigned at birth.

And in the spirit of Sparkle Season —and also full disclosure – this same man who made me pop my cork recently, also sent me a movie suggestion: Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, based on this review by Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian.

Accordingly, the British film Institute and Sight and Sound Magazine announced the results of their decennial “Greatest Films of All Times” poll, and this movie came in first place. Together we watched this three-and-one-half-hour, odd, yet brilliantly effective film, and afterwards I gave him my interpretation, for whatever he internalized.

I am not certain any modern man understands what most women on this planet experience during their entire adult lives. Without giving away the plot, I assure you that the theme of Jeanne Dielman is as timely in 2022 as it was when it was filmed in 1973.

Late-life dating is an opportunity to change the script, rewrite the roles and finally achieve some degree of equanimity regarding the inequality of power among the sexes. But every now and then, forgive yourself for losing your cool when it comes to dealing with men. Who knows? One of these days —fresh batteries in his hearing aids, or even angry words of protest screamed in his direction— the nice-enough girl might just change his-tory.

—Grace Cooper (a nom de plume) left her long marriage a decade ago, and with it went all sense of her identity—but not for long. Now 67, she has begun chronicling her tales of looking for love in all the wrong places, and unexpectedly finding herself.

Made for celebrating. Clockwise, from left to right: sequin leggings, golden gloves, a party pink bag and a sparkly top.

By Janet Kelly

FIRST LADY Jill Biden glistened in a custom Oscar de la Renta hand-beaded, off-the-shoulder crêpe floral gown for the first state dinner of the Biden presidency. Guests, including celebs like Juila Louis-Dreyfus, who wore a Monique Lhuillier black velvet floor-length sleeveless halter-neck dress and Vogue’s Anna Wintour, who dressed in vintage Chanel, accessorized with lots of shiny layered gold necklaces and strands of pearls. The White House itself gleamed with more than 83,000 twinkling lights.

We here at MyLittleBird are taking it as a signal for us all to celebrate the season as we RSVP “yes” to parties for Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s.

If store windows offer any hint of what to wear now, it’s sequins galore on skirts, dresses and tops, along with shiny, sparkling gloves and bags. More subtle but lush and expensive-looking, velvet is also starring—on this season’s blazers and pants.

Here, 14 what-to-wear-to-a-holiday party suggestions—from Saint + Sofia’s bronze pants to Massimo Dutti’s flowing blue silk suit and shiny satin-and-tulle gloves from Queen Elizabeth’s glove maker. Plus, elegant velvet pants from Armani, Banana Republic’s hot pink blazer and  a vintage bright red wrap blouse.

Make a statement in Commando stretch-jersey leggings ($218, Net a Porter) with twinkly sequins. With the brand’s smoothing internal waistband and flattering high-rise fit, they’re a perfect party pant, especially when paired with a luxe tuxedo jacket.

A colorful botanical print on Peruvian Connection’s versatile Fabienne Jacket ($350) shimmers with delicate sequins. Wear over your little black dress or add glamor to everyday jeans. Thoughtful details: it’s fully lined, long enough to cover your rear end and has pockets.

When a friend told me she had bought this coppery sequin swing coat dress for a holiday soirée, I had my doubts, thinking it looked like a dress for a drum majorette. I quickly revised my opinion when she told me how she planned to wear it–with a black turtleneck, leggings and ankle boots. It’s $575 from Batsheva.

Suits are back in style. And Banana Republic’s structured velvet blazer ($280) with matching wide-leg pants make for a fresh holiday spin in hot pink. Although we’re partial to that hue, it  comes in forest green, burgundy and a paisley print, too.

Giorgio Armani proves he’s still the master of minimalist luxury. These impeccably tailored, feminine velvet high-waisted pleated trousers with hidden zip at the side and ankle were shown on the runway in the Emporio Armani fall/winter 2022/2023 fashion show. They sell for $675. Expensive admittedly, but I’ve had a similar pair from Armani for at least 15 years I still wear on repeat.

Zadig& Voltaire gives its short-sleeve sequin top the Midas touch for an extra dose of shine. It’s $498 at Nordstrom.

Cos clothing is evolving from its mostly utilitarian looks. Take this organza pencil skirt decorated with sparkling sequins to catch the light. A navy panel on the back makes sitting comfortable; a slit at the hem, for sex appeal. It’s $190. Make it a match set with coordinating sequin top ($135).

This rock candy-like mini bag from London designer Clio Peppiatt is straight out of a fairytale. Quite the confection, Clio Peppiatt’s “Quartz” bag is hand stitched by artisans in India and embellished with recycled acrylic beads in shades of pastel pink (shown) and green, as well as moody blue and purple. It sells for $371 at Moda Operandi.

From Queen Elizabeth’s glove maker Genevieve James of Cornelia James comes these midnight blue duchess satin gloves with a tulle tutu cuff, glinting with Swarovski crystals. They also come in black, pearl, champagne, rose and ivory for $235.

These Cynthia Rowley Bea leather gloves have already sold out once in gold (above) and in silver. They’re also available in six other colors, but for festive eves, nothing beats the shine of metallic and the drama of elbow-length gloves. They’re $395.

Clare V’s hand-beaded, “waterfall pearls” bag with chambray lining can accommodate your phone, keys, cards and a tad of touchup makeup while looking quite glamorous. The leather ribbon tassels in red and navy knocks any seriousness out of this fun pochette. It sells for $275.

The relaxed look and feel of  this Saint + Sofia wide-leg pant in bronze comes courtesy of its soft plissé jersey fabric and raw hem finish adjustable to one’s desired leg length. A reliable party piece, it’s $109 from Saint + Sofia.

For holiday fêtes and evenings out all year long, Massimo Dutti dresses up the suit in satin wide-leg flowing trousers ($199) with ankle slits and a matching double-breasted blazer ($299).

Founded in Tuscon, Arizona, Desert Vintage also has a brick-and-mortar store on 34 Orchard Street in New York City. If you can’t make it to either one, check out their website. It offers a mix of vintage from the turn of the century through the 1970s, such as this circa-’70s Calvin Klein silk wrap blouse. It will have tongues wagging about that chic woman in holiday ready-red.

MyLittleBird often includes links to products we write about. Our editorial choices are made independently; nonetheless, a purchase made through such a link can sometimes result in MyLittleBird receiving a commission on the sale. We are also an Amazon Associate.