Peacoat

A peacoat is a great grab-and-go item for cooler weather. I love anything that can single-handedly transform a tee-jeans-boots ensemble with no effort.  They are perfectly between a jacket and a full-sized coat.   One of my favourite coats is a navy peacoat with brass-coloured buttons. It has pockets, a stiff collar that can be put up against the cold wind, and has a little bit of cashmere in the wool fabric to make it soft, warm and light to wear.  

Peacoats are about as preppy as I get, though.  I’m never going the full Ralph Lauren for anyone.

One-Piece Swimsuit

Having slinged the specific idea of a bikini into the distance (PING!), I hereby declare a generic “swimsuit” (togs, swimmers, cozzie, cossie, bathers) to be essential.

It doesn’t have to be a maillot, a bikini, and tankini or any other particular configuration. It just has to fit and to function. I mean, go starkers if you want to, but a great many places frown upon that sort of thing. A good one piece is like any other good cossie: it doesn’t ride up when you walk, doesn’t fall down or off when you dive, doesn’t go loose or transparent in the wet, doesn’t rub, grab, pill, sag or cut in. It doesn’t fade in the sun or in chlorine, and doesn’t leave you with weird tan marks.

A one-piece makes my one hundred.

(The) One Hundred

You know, you really should buy or borrow a copy of Nina’s actual book. There’s a lot more in it than just a list of stuff, and it’s not a challenging read at all.  Go on. You know you want to.

Old Concert T-Shirt

Even if could still fit into those old concert t-shirts, I don’t think an over-priced thick jersey crew-neck tee from U2 or Aussie Crawl is going to either increase my (admittedly non-existent) street cred or make me feel more comfortable in the summer heat. 

Neither will they have escaped the ravages of time, silverfish or public transport. 

Neither will they make me look or feel younger (probably the opposite).

I’ll stick with plain white, black or striped tees. A bit boring, but my days of pogo-ing, moshing, and hugging speaker stacks is over, and I don’t need a t-shirt to bring back those memories :-)

Nail Polish

Nina declares that nail polish should be light or dark and nothing in between. Despite loving many of the colours on offer by Esse, OPI, China Glaze, Zoya and Chanel, I think I have to completely agree with her.

I think that the colour of I’m Not Really A Waitress is beautiful, but do I wear it?

I must be a bit of a slow learner, because it’s taken me this long to realise that just because I love something doesn’t mean I have to own it or that I have to adorn myself with it. It’s certainly nice to do so, but it’s not essential. I can admire another woman’s jewellery without wanting it for myself. I can admire a shade of lipstick or nail polish without needing to own it. 

So, I stick with my Chanel Rouge Noir and Blue Satin, my Zoya Freja and my China Glaze Camisole. And I use them, and they look great, and I am happy with that.

This doesn’t stop me salivating over the newest OPI minis collection, mind, but it does mean that all I have to do is wipe up the drool (safety first!) and then I can move on.

Motorcycle Jacket

I’m hoping that Nina is referring to a motorcycle-style jacket, because unless you’re actually travelling by motorcycle, you probably shouldn’t be wearing a motorcycle jacket. 

Do you really want to be asked, “So, what do you ride?”, if you don’t? 

Awkward.

Besides which, many actual motorcycle jackets are not leather, but super-tough fabric sometimes reinforced with Kevlar,  which functions really well but doesn’t look cool at all. There are even Kevlar-reinforced jeans for riders who would like to keep their kneecaps. Dress for the fall, not the ride, people :-P

Regarding motorcycle-style jackets, I’m not so fussed. Motorcycle jacket styling is one thing, but many of the jackets out there are almost mock-motorcycle jackets, and therefore reek of dagdom.  There’s nothing wrong with a road-life reference, but there’s no need to go the full Hell’s Angel if you’re going to ride your scooter to the corner espresso bar.

Authenticity is essential. If the clothes are authentic, and authentically you, you’ll probably look fine. If you have dreadlocks and like patchouli and incense, then a pair of loose woven hemp cargos is (probably) going to look alright. If you have false dreads and you hate incense and you’re wearing poly-cotton hempy-looking cargos, you’ll probably look rubbish.

Do or don’t do. There is no try.

(Anyway, I prefer the Alexander Wang style of leather jacket – suede, fabric, stretchy, soft and relaxed).