Pumpkin

"I hate this time of year with all the pumpkins and fall colors and chill in the wind," said someone I work with. I couldn't disagree more: October is actually one of my favorite months until April comes. I love rusts and oranges at this time of the year - I find it relaxing to wear the colors of nature and seasons when you live in an urban environment.

Today I am wearing RL Purple Label red socks, 90% cotton, 10% nylon and made in Italy. I bought them at the Mansion yesterday after work. I was helped by an awesome salesperson who showed me things they did not have on display. It makes me proud to work here, even if I can only afford socks! I had just thrown away a pair of J. Crew red cashmere socks that lasted for three years, and these are the same shade of bright holiday red.

This is one of my favorite Hermes ties, showing labrador puppies playing with red balls. I think I bought this one in 1998 in the San Francisco store. The orange is perfect and I it always gets compliments.

An American Living dark blue gingham shirt. It has an "easy care" finish which would be a no-no in RL product but for the JCP customer it is a must. I personally love not having to iron this shirt.

Banana Republic silk & wool zip pullover. I was attracted to the spicy caramel color. I think it is two years old and it has held pretty well, although I only wear it at this time of the year.

After a couple of weeks of doing these sketches I am thoroughly enjoying the process. My sketching had been so rusty and this helps me get back on track.

Lavender & Grey

Continuing my love affair with lavender and purple this season, here is a new Polo RL cable knit sweater in 90% merino wool and 10% angora. I bought a similar quality two years ago in a light spruce green color. It has held well with minor pilling. I love this color even though it is deeper than what I wanted.

These Polo grey corduroys are two years old and I purchased them at the outlet. Personally, I like the corduroy quality better at the regular stores. I was wearing them on weekends only but when I saw how well they went with the lavender sweater, I moved them to my weekday wardrobe.This Banana Republic belt must be 10 years old. It is too narrow for today's fashions, but I love the saddle stitch - meant probably as another Hermes knock off.

Gap light pink knit boxers. These are looser than the boxer briefs and have become so soft that I hate to part with them. They are part of the collection I wrote about, which was made in mercerized cotton in all the colors of the rainbow, launched around 2001 or 2002. The t-shirts I bought as part of this collection are still in amazing shape. Oh Gap, what ever happened to you?

Light grey H&M cotton socks, the type that come three in a pack for $8 or so. They hold up well for a couple of years although the elastic stretches after a while.

Blue & Brown

Polo RL linen shirt in a brown check pattern on white. It was probably inspired by an antique dishcloth.

Cobalt blue H&M cotton v-neck sweater. I am not happy with the quality - it wrinkles very easily and the hand is not that nice. I know it is going to pill eventually. But I loved the shade of blue.

I bought these Converse shoes online three years ago. The blue and brown combination can verge on clownish but I like how unique they are.

October Country II

This is the short lived season to wear my favorite RL corduroys in burnt orange. The quality of the corduroy is almost like velvet, the buttons are corozo, and the fit is not too baggy. I think I bought these two years ago at the Bleecker St. store. I love to pair them with a deep plum sweater I am not showing here.I wore a RL Purple Label French-cuff shirt, white ground with lavender stripes. I like the fit from Black Label shirts better, which is more fitted, but this is good compared to the Polo line.

The socks are also Polo in pastel yellow.
I am still a fan of Gap boxer briefs, they are probably the only thing I ever buy at the Gap anymore. The fit is great and they can last up to a decade.

On occasion I wear my Hermes "L'heure H" watch. I bought it in 1998 when Hermes was on 57th St. The original "courchevel" leather strap was brown, which later I substituted with "blue jean" and further to "rouge Hermes" to come back to a cognac brown last year.

The face has no scratches but the stainless steel "H" frame does. I like it this way, showing its age.

October Country

It is a warmer day than I expected, humid and windy.

The humidity made me justify extending the linen season a bit longer.

This is a J. Crew Irish linen shirt, which was too soft for my taste at the beginning, but subsequent washings have removed the softener. I bought a navy linen shirt from J. Crew several years ago and it has held amazingly well. This grey shirt is a bit sad and military (perhaps that is why it was marked down to $14) but I like it for fall.

The belt is from Banana Republic from several years ago. The buckle is a blatant Hermes knock off. In fact, I was somewhat embarrassed to be wearing it at the Hermes Fabourg St. Honore store last year when I bought a belt. The attendant gingerly removed it from my waist and did not say anything as he put on me the new belt I was about to purchase, but I know what he was thinking. I am surprised I was not prosecuted for wearing it given France's counterfeit laws!

The jeans are from Rugby and they are somewhat stiff, which I like. The waist is higher than what is trendy right now but it makes my legs look longer.

This pair of socks is the last thing I bought at Banana Republic, and that was a couple of years ago. They are a nice rusty pumpkin color.

I wish I had had time to sketch my chocolate brown RRL toggle coat, my John Lobb knock off double monkstrap shoes, and my burgundy Monoprix linen scarf, but that will have to wait until another entry.

Grey & Brown

Some of my favorite combinations are lavender and brown, camel and grey, and brown and grey. I chose grey & brown today.

H&M charcoal grey button-down shirt. It is very slightly heathered. A steal at $19.99. The cut is very fitted and modern.

A pair of Banana Republic dark grey-brown wool trousers circa 2002. Everyone seemed to be wearing these pants back then. The fit is a bit too roomy for today's standards but I love the color, so I have not been able to part with these, but after wearing them today I did not like how they looked, a bit too loose and frumpy.This is a pair of socks I bought at Century 21 in early 2001. They were a French brand I don't remember and I have not seen since; but they have held up amazingly well with no holes whatsoever. I have not been back to Century 21 since 9/11, but I wonder if they still carry this line.On the left, black underwear from C&A. I have been wearing their underwear since 1988 and it is quite durable. I bought this pair at the Paris store three years ago.

On the right, a Polo RL heathered charcoal grey wool jacket, shown from the back. I bought this at the San Francisco store in 1997. It has held up pretty well and the style is classic and never goes out of style.
A black belt. I don't remember if it is Calvin Klein or if I bought it at Marshall's several years ago. It has held well, and I like the brushed nickel buckle.

This Movado white-face watch was given to me as a graduation gift in 1991 by a jeweler friend of my grandparents. The original strap was white lizard. I have always suspected he gave it to me because it didn't sell and was left over inventory!

Several years ago I changed the strap to black, and it made all the difference in the world. I had this watch in a drawer for years until I found it last week and took it to Tourneau to have the battery replaced. I thought the Movado store in Rockefeller Center had closed but I just found out it's still there.

Lavender & Camel

I love Polo t-shirts. They are extra long, which means they do not bunch up. They last forever as well. (Disclaimer: I work for the company, hence the abundance of RL clothing.)
I bought these knee-high socks in Bermuda. I loved the turquoise color and the wool/acrylic blend, which is perfect for this time of the year.

The boxers I bought in New Delhi from a store called Anokhi, which specializes in traditional woodblock printing.
I have loved lavender for a while now, even though the trend seems to be shifting more towards mauve. This is one of my favorite oxfords.Last night I closed all the windows in the house and will not reopen them until April or May. It marked in my mind the beginning of corduroy season.

These are camel Polo corduroys. I've had these for about eight years. They are pleated, which I do not tend to favor, but I love the rich deep camel color.