Knotted Belt

I like this unusual black and gold knotted belt. One of the magazines last month (Vogue? Harper's Bazaar?) ran a story about how 'in' black and gold are for fall. Well, I'm not sure about that...After all, did they ever go out? Gold accents seem perfectly classic and natural with basic black. For example, a straightforward black leather belt with a gold buckle is pretty standard.

What I like about this belt is that whereas it plays it safe in terms of color, it's flaunting an unusual knot at the front. I admire how structured and substantial the piece looks because of the knot's rigid sculpted contours and the width of the front part of the belt band. It's an accessory that could go a long way toward refreshing a simple black cocktail dress but I'd also try using it to define the waist of a hip-length black cardigan. Finally, I'd want to play up the gold trim by matching it with other gold accessories like gold shoes for evening, or gold jewelry at any hour.

Image from Lucky, September '07. Belt by Anna Vince.

Missoni Dress

This dress and the belt it's shown with in the first photo make me salivate. The style is simultaneously retro, because of its fitted shape, and totally of-the-moment, thanks to its swooping, billowing sleeves. The fabric drapes gorgeously and its unique pattern combines some of my favorite warm earth tones. I love it paired with the dark, cable-knit tights as in the first image, but it would also work fine with a bare leg on early fall days. It seems like such a great work dress, and could easily be paired with some round toe pumps like the black or grey ones I wrote about a couple of days ago.

Something I find strange is that if I'd just seen the second photo in a magazine, I think I would have passed the dress by entirely. It can be hard to picture what some of the past few seasons' voluminous clothes will look like on. I guess there's a lesson here about keeping an open mind about what styles might work for you and remembering when you're out shopping that it can be good to occasionally try on shapes that you might not usually wear. Who knows, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I'm also amused that the dress was featured in both Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. Seems like I'm not the only one crushing.

Dress by Missoni. First image from Harper's Bazaar, July '07. Second Image from Vogue, July, '07.