Welp, it was an eventful weekend, to say the least! Rich and I went down to Nashville for a quick weekend trip, and upon landing at roughly 4pm on Friday afternoon, I found that my instagram account (@maryorton) had been hacked. [Insert Russian hacking joke here.] The account has been disabled, so for those of you who noticed over the weekend that my instagram wasn’t showing up at all, thank you for all of your sweet messages and emails! I’m currently working with Instagram to (hopefully!!) bring it back to life and I’ll continue to provide updates (and as few dramatic lamentations as possible) via snapchat, so stay in touch there. Fingers and toes crossed!
I’m sorry for the unusually sparse posting lately—I promise this is not the new normal! After the overwhelmingly busy holiday season, I’ve been spending much of January trying to get caught up and reorganized on lots of work/projects/life/blah blah blah. The stuff that’s important, but not necessarily super visible here on the blog.
We have lots of exciting new stuff coming down the pike with Trove, and I have tons of new projects that you’ll be seeing here on Memorandum as well. This year, I’m especially looking forward to expanding more in the areas of home decor and entertaining, beauty and hair care… and video! So, lots of good stuff on the docket, and I appreciate your patience while I get it all in order.
Today I’m highlighting two of the biggest 2017 trends: the statement sleeve and the layered turtleneck. We’ve been seeing both of these over the past many months, on and off runways, and I’m so happy that they’re here to stay. First of all, I’ve always been obsessed with turtlenecks, even when they were very very very uncool. I believe it was a source of much amusement for my brothers when I was in middle school, but even their daily ridicule could not cure me of my affinity for these cozy beauties. Trendy or not, there’s just nothing better during the colder months, and this season it’s not just about the turtlenecks themselves. It’s turtlenecks layered under everything—dresses, other sweaters, and (my favorite) button down shirts.
Now, this crisp white button down is not just your average joe crisp white button down. As you can see above, it has the most amazing split bell sleeves joined by bow ties at the wrists. Statement sleeves of all shapes and sizes have been making major waves this year (just take a spin through some of my favorites in the widget below!), but I’m a particular fan of the split sleeve variety. This crisp, lightweight collared shirt will be an easy wear through the spring and summer, but I loved it layered over a turtleneck for a winter-friendly spin. Especially with those split bell sleeves, the contrasting black turtleneck underneath really highlights the cool arm detail.
I’ve worn this silver circle collar necklace obsessively since getting it last fall, and almost immediately went back to buy it in gold as well. I often go for simple, geometric jewelry, and these beauties certainly fit the bill. There are only a few left in stock, so I’ve rounded up a few similars below (including this near-identical silver version) since they will likely sell out in about 30 seconds…
One of my best friends grew up in London and has the most amazing style. As many of you know, I have a particular fondness for British style, so whenever I see Meghan, I’m often interrogating her on where she found whatever amazing thing she’s wearing that day. Just this past Saturday night when we were out for a girls dinner in Soho, she was wearing the most beautiful coat (super similar to THIS ONE) and, like innumerable gems she has sported in the past, she informed me that it was of course from Marks & Spencer, another one of Britain’s greatest gifts to the world. I spent the rest of our dinner contemplating methods of pilfering the coat, which included at least one failed attempt at bribing the coat check attendant to tell her it was lost. FYI, for all of you New Yorkers, the coat check guy at Le Turtle has zero chill.
After hearing about the magic that is Marks & Spencer for so many years, I had to finally check it out for myself. Enter these AMAZING checked joggers, this perfect chunky knit sweater, and this navy double-breasted coat with cool faux fur collar. I have to say, perusing their online store was an extremely dangerous experience (consider yourself warned). This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of my online purchases from them. It’s entirely possible that I only wear Marks & Spencer clothing from this point forward. The love is real.
But let’s chat price point for a hot sec: I have to say I was a bit skeptical about the quality of the pieces because if you take a quick spin through their site, you’ll see that their prices seem to be in the “way too good to be true” range. However, I’m thrilled (and shocked) to report that the quality of the garments is strikingly good. To top it all off, their packaging was so nice that I did not have to iron a SINGLE THING that I’m wearing between ripping it out of the box like a rabid five-year-old on Christmas morning and wearing it to work the next day. I mean, just take a look at those pants! The drape of the fabric, the quality of the tailoring, the pleating detail at the waist and the cuff at the hem—I’ll take one in every color, please.
And not to wax on about these pants too much, but not only are they beautifully constructed and amazingly comfortable, they’re also my absolute favorite alternative to traditional workwear pants. With the classic check, pleating, and cuffs, they are that perfect mix of classic and trendy—appropriate for every office environment, while still maintaining a little of that extra stylistic oomph with the modified drawstring waist and loose “jogger” fit. If all of that isn’t enough, let me just close with these three words: hidden elastic waistband.
By all means, go ahead and take a moment to compose yourself.
Just like the pants, they spared no detail when it comes to this chunky sweater or double-breasted coat. The sweater is exactly the perfect oversized knit that’s as comfortable and effortlessly chic at the office as it is with ripped jeans on the weekends. It has an amazing cuffed sleeve and a notched hem with a longer length in the back—a particularly clutch detail for mastering that half tucked/half untucked look. Oh, and did I mention that it’s $30? That’s 3-0 dollars. I repeat, it’s THIRTY DOLLARS and comes in four perfect colors. Run don’t walk.
As for the coat, the faux fur collar breathes new life into the classic peacoat style, yet the masterminds at Marks & Spencer ingeniously made the collar detachable so you can remove it when you’re going for a more classic, streamlined look. That little touch makes such a huge difference and truly makes it seem like you own two completely different coats. Feel free to high-five your wallet on this one.
Interestingly, Storets actually calls this dress a coat. While it could possibly be worn open over separates, I’d say that first and foremost, it is unequivocally a dress. It’s made of really nice heavy material, but not so heavy that you’d feel weird wearing it inside. In my opinion, it’s the perfect alternative to a skirt suit or dress/blazer combo when you’re looking for a way to spice up your business formal attire. (Doesn’t this dress just scream SPICY to you?) With the double-breasted front and classic menswear-inspired glen plaid fabric, the dress has all the formality of a full suit but all the fuss-free comfort of a dress.
The other unusual thing on Storets’ website when it comes to this dress is the color description which indicates that the dress is “navy.” I’m not sure if this is a typo, or if the fabric is indeed navy and white, but if it is, it’s a super dark, near-black navy. The buttons on the dress and the coordinating belt are all definitely black, so I have it paired with black accessories. Again, très confusing.
So despite the discrepancies in product description, this classic glen plaid pleated coat dress is one of my very favorite purchases… maybe EVER? The style is timeless and the fit is spot on. I wish I had more than two thumbs to point emphatically upwards.
A trendy riff on the classic pants suit, this velvet blazer and tapered pant combo was the perfect ensemble for yesterday’s long day of work meetings. You know from this recent post that the velvet blazer is one of my favorite pieces of the season—easily dressed up for work or dressed down for casual drinks with friends. This navy beauty that I’m wearing today is a particular favorite because it somehow looks like a structured blazer, but feels like you’re wearing a comfy cardigan. Tt doesn’t have any the stiffness often felt when wearing a blazer and allows you to move easily and comfortably all day (and night). I’m also a particular fan of the black contrast trim along the shawl collar, which adds just the right finishing touch and makes it super wearable with your favorite black basics.
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