Romeo Gigli’s buttons

Believe in worldliness !!

I first heard of Romeo Gigli when my friend showed up to a party in a delicate white lace sweater. She was in the borrowing from mom’s closet phase which in her case was quite the wardrobe: Her mother was a prominent screenwriter in Los Angeles.

I’ve since thought of Romeo Gigli as the Sophisticated 1990s Hollywood Power Mom look. This was before it had any valence on the resale market (I still don’t know exactly how that happened). One thing you learn quickly from Romeo Gigli is he really cared about the finer details. Like the lace trim on this perfect cocktail dress or the hand-painting on these jeans. Or his penchant for fancy buttons — many a well-cut shirt is elevated by a strong button. The clothes are out of style somewhat (boxy, reliant on iridescence, not to mention the stripes on stripes and high opera-y collars), and they’re clearly meant for older women, but the fabrics are current (velvet-linen combos).

A $478 velvet coat from the F/W 1994 collection — with crystal embellished buttons—is prob not going to work. This is a very attractive top however.

$388.

This jacket is very ugly, but look at these buttons!!!!

Also very grandma in Palm Beach, but great cartwheel metal buttons. I have a Romeo Gigli shirt, probably one of my favorite shirts of all time, which my husband gave me when I passed my driver’s test; it has beautiful mother-of-pearl buttons.

I do think taking any top and replacing all the buttons is the easiest of the wardrobe upgrades on offer to us. Since Tender Buttons closed, I’ve been a little at a loss where to shop in NYC for buttons. (Button collectors are insane, and I hope you all become one of their rank.) Right now, I’ve been relying on the internet. Let me know if you know of a great in-person button shopping option. I’m on the hunt!

This is a top from the upcycling brand Hodakova that I think should serve as a point of inspiration.

Worldliness i.e. Looking Worldly

I don’t really go to the shows during fashion week, but I stay glued to my phone, and I liked how many people on my feed published this same image from Altuzarra. There’s an easy impression here (“she’s a reader, her bag is big enough to hold a book,” something you might have guessed b/c all the guests got books on their seats), but I think the real sign of worldliness is the sweater that crests the chin. That’s a woman who understands the WEATHER. My favorite piece from him LAST season is this gossamer-ass sweater. Everyone wants to wear a cable knit sweater in the winter, but you also want to look like it was made by fairies…

Speaking of Romeo Gigli (a Roman brand if there ever was one), I noticed I keep trying to recommend clothes and bedclothes for a made-up archetype: off-duty princelets and princesses. I guess the thinking has been what clothes do you wear in a castle that you cannot afford to heat? The real answer? Uptown harlequin, Rudi Gernreich evening gowns, dumpy old McQueen. Dress your baby, too.

I’m feeling, in other words, very anti-minimalism for minimalism’s sake, with the exception of streamlined back-to-the-office wear (because looking put together at meetings will never go out of style).