Winter Dressing

~~~~~~Time for a fashion article perhaps~~~~~~

I've always loved Winter clothes. Moving South many years ago I really missed dressing for the chilly months. Coming from damp old England, then New England where the Winter months could be brutal, I found I no longer required heavy wool overcoats and slacks, itchy turtleneck sweaters and snow boots. But I've missed these. I feel they can be so much more elegant than the basic warm weather uniform that many of us can wear almost year round in the South.

I was always a bit of a 'clothes horse' who grew up with a mother who sewed the latest fashions for me and then taught me dressmaking skills. As years have passed my lifestyle has changed. I now wear more casual clothes as opposed to the dressy outfits I wore when I was a working gal!

Although I didn't visit Paris in October, I did spend a couple of days in Aix-en-Provence. This is one very fashionable city. The shops were wonderful and their Winter offerings were tempting. Only a French woman can wear a scarf and make it look so fabulous. Aix is full of students from all around the world, they certainly knew how to pull neat looking outfits together on a budget, sometimes just adding that fabulous scarf or a knitted hat.

I love texture........knitted scarves, sweaters, cardigans.

I'm really for neutrals when it comes to color - give me black, brown, oatmeal and grey and my wardrobe is happy!

Window shopping in Aix-en-Provence ~ October 2008

I've been kicking myself for not buying a pair of fabulous French boots while in Aix ~ not snow boots, elegant soft leather dress boots in a gorgeous, perhaps unusual, color.

Beautiful boots!

Well I did decide to buy tall leather boots in December. After all there's no rule that says Southern ladies can't wear boots in the sunshine, is there? I'm so happy because with the temperatures down in the single digits at night these past few days, it's not only boots with warm pants tucked in, it's a turtleneck, a cardigan, a soft wool muffler, a pull on hat and a pair of wool gloves that go up to the elbows! Add the LL.Bean faux sheepskin coat and what do you have, a vision from Winter up North of course!

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Do you like the latest fashions? Do you even care what's in style? Do you think current styles are mediocre/boring? Where do you prefer to shop for clothes ~ large department stores crammed with racks of clothes and designer brands; small national chains such as JJill and Chico's; locally owned boutiques; Target, K-Mart/Sears and similar stores; thrift/vintage shops?