Posted on

Jackets, Jackets, Jackets: Have Some Fun!

Darlings, this season is ALL all jackets and there are oodles of fun ones out there! Why not get out of the typical Working Girl Blazer, whose lines can look so classic as to be positively boring, and take a look at some of the new styles that have been in for a couple of years, and whose sillhouettes seem here to stay, fashion-wise (which means 5 years or so)?

Regardez, pigeons! It’s all about this kind of thing now:
boxy jacket2
boxy jacket

And not so much about this any more:
blue blazer lands end

It’s also totally not about any of these blazers from Chadwicks, which are just ugly for lots of interesting reasons: ugly, cheap-looking colors, ugly plaid, ugly 80’s patterns and ugly, trying-to-be-fashionable cuts. Yikereenos!!

It might be a little bit of a challenge, but see if you can step out of the boxy blazer-with-blouse look. There are beautiful options out there that can add a whole lot of flair to your wardrobe and that are especially great for church events when you want to look like a person who actually has a sense of fun and doesn’t need to be all buttoned up all the time. Of course, that might go against the clerical image you’re trying to project but if it doesn’t, but all means enjoy some of the terrific new jackets on the racks this season. They’ve been on sale long enough that you can find some very nice ones considerably discounted. PeaceBang just scored a very flattering black cotton jacket much like the top photo for $19 at Macy’s, marked down from $75. I’ll wear it with a pencil skirt and some heels, and I’m still figuring out what blouses and shirts will work with the cut.

And now, back to The Sermon That Does NOT Want To Be Written!!!!!!!

Posted on

Transitional Seasons

Dearest bun-buns,

PeaceBang is taking a moment of quiet to check in with you while the beagle sleeps in the living room and the cat sulks upstairs in her own little room after a little “let’s get to know each other” encounter on the stairs that didn’t go very well. PeaceBang is trying to Breathe Deeply.

Transitional seasons like New England spring are difficult. It’s easy to fall into a Frump Slump and wear the same bundly sweaters and blazers and earth tones, being grateful we can skip the heavy coat and leaving it at that. But let’s not do that. Let’s remember that we have an opportunity to look as though something miraculous just might happen — like Christ rising from the tomb, for example, or the Democratic Party deciding not to act like a bunch of stooges around the Obama-Clinton race. Let’s add bright spots of color to our winter outfits in the form of light scarves or bright shoes or a nice Eastery-hued tie on the guys.

Women, how about baby pink or hot pink paired with brown? Looks fab. Or a wonderful turquoise top or earrings with a denim skirt and white t-shirt? Get out your knee-length springtime skirts and wear them with nubby cardigans, opaque tights and cute flats in a matching color. Carry a bright yellow bag. Get our your white boot cut denim summer trousers and wear them with a black sweater and white faux pashmina wrap with butter-colored boots. Be creative.

Look at the items in your closet with fresh eyes, and get out there and be fresh. In a good way, I mean. Not like a certain beagle puppy I know who hasn’t been neutered yet and who keeps trying to make puppies with all the female visitors to the parsonage.
Naughty Max!

Posted on

The Exquisite Decorum of the Episcopal Good Friday Service

No one does liturgy like the Piskies. They have it DOWN: decorum, demeanor, graceful transitions from element to element, gracious and confident administration of the sacraments. I attended a Maundy Thursday service at a liberal Christian church in Boston last night and Good Friday at the Cathedral Church in Boston. I love the people who presided at both services, but let me just say this:
liturgically-oriented Unitarian Universalists and other Free Church folk, hear me: attend worship with the Episcopalians and see how it’s done, please. I love you dearly but I beg of you. Go thou and study.

I attended today’s service with a friend and his comment at the end of everything was “They are better than anyone else at making a space for the Mystery.” And I said, “I couldn’t agree with you more, but that Acolyte totally should not have been wearing Merrell Jungle Mocs with white socks under her robe.”

jungle-moc.jpg

Everything else was glorious.

Posted on

Professional Women DO NOT WEAR CAPRIS, and An Update On Orange

Oranges and yellows are big, big, big this spring, darlings:

oranges-and-yellows.JPG

This doesn’t mean that you have to run out and drape yourself in these particular colors, but you might add a splash of it here and there it if suits you. There are as many yellows and oranges as there are fish in the sea, so why not? Try a few hues out. Maybe a beautiful sunny orange purse. Or a belt. Or a pair of pumps with a black suit.
orange-jacket.jpg

I don’t like the hue of this jacket at all myself, but there it is again… orange.

As far as those white capri-length pants go, don’t even think about it. There is no reason whatsoever that any woman in a dignified profession should wear capris to important functions (this includes meetings, Sunday events of any kind or anything but a July lunch meeting). I’m also sorry to say that capris are for the very young and gaminesque. Think Audrey Hepburn with her darling little ballet flats and square, boxy jackets. Capris, if they are worn at all, have a zipper and a button. If they are worn in the drawstring, elasticized-waist version, they are not proper work attire at all but more accurately referred to as “pajamas.”

If you insist on wearing ankle-baring pants, and I know some of you will, for goodness’ sake pair them with smart, structured garments on top. Say, a crisp linen shirt with a belted, fitted shell underneath and a nice wedge heel. Earrings, a nice bracelet, nice hair and make-up. If they’re pin-striped and structured, wear them with black flats, a CWB (Crisp White Blouse) and a lightweight blazer. Dress ’em up. And yes, they do need to be ironed.