Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Mood Indigo: Dosa, J Crew, and an 80s Flashback Photo

In the mid 1980s, when I worked for Sarah Clothes on a hiatus from university, one of my favourite items from that designer was an indigo, collarless shirt. Actually, I didn't like it when I bought it, because the indigo was a deep, midnight blue, and the shirt felt stiff.  But after months of wearing and washing, the shirt faded to a soft blue in both colour and feel. and I loved it. Eventually I wore the shirt to shreds, quite literally, and still miss its easy presence in my wardrobe.

When I saw this dress for Dosa's Spring/summer 2015 collection, I was immediately brought back to that glorious mood indigo. This dress has the simplest, most utilitarian lines, and I love it for that. I'd wear it with a patterned canvas sneaker (how I wish I had known about last spring's Liberty of London Strawberry Thief edition of Vans before they sold out in my size) and run all over town.

Perhaps indigo is the technique du saison, because J Crew is singing the blues as well, with its "faded adire" print. I like this one too, but balk at the obviously too-sheer sweater front.The beauty of indigo is that it shouldn't need a cami underneath; its glorious colors and patterns should speak for themselves.


And speaking for myself, tonight I opened my precious Crabtree and Evelyn wooden treasure chest (a display item I purchased in the 1980s and in which I store all my photos from that era) and found this mug shot of myself, taken old-school style--holding a camera backward and hoping for the best (but coming up with glare). But even with that glaring flaw, there's the indigo shirt, mid fade . . .


3 comments:

materfamilias said...

So pleased to see you back here (and with a Selfie, no less, albeit "vintage"). I have such a weakness for indigo and am currently trying to resist that J Crew sweater, easy enough thanks to the shipping fee and return policy in Canada, but if I get into the store anytime soon, all bets are off. . .
Currently wearing in a Gap shirt I bought last summer in a solidly dyed deep indigo denim. It's beginning to fade to where I want it, and I can't wait until it softens more in feel as well as it's already doing in colour.
That dress is glorious! Yes, with sneakers, but I'd probably wear it with my Birks. Betting it's even got side-seam pockets. . . Summer!

cmg said...

Hello! That old selfie is great. When I saw it, the shirt reminded me of a JCrew shirt I bought a few months ago (and returned because it didn't work for me). It's the chambray flower bud workshirt. If you can find it somewhere (it's sold out), it just might be the reincarnation of your original!

https://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/shirtsandtops/casualshirts/PRDOVR~A0686/A0686.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441839359&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302023902&bmUID=kNWMQNh

Miss Cavendish said...

I saw that J Crew shirt in the store and the only thing that kept me from buying it was the collar! I like a more casual band collar with this style . . . Thanks for the cross-reference!