sonia rykiel for h+m.

i've lived in nyc for 8 years, now, & have longingly watched the jimmy's, stella's, karl's, mcq's, viktor & rolf's, rei's, matthew's (that was a tough one to miss), etc. go by in their democratization of fashion @ retail giants. in spite of my exceeding & lustful admiration for their clothes - which, unless i win the lottery, i'll never be able to afford otherwise - i never could quite get it in myself to brave the crowds to get a piece (ok, with the exception of stella mccartney for gap kids, from which collection i got a beautiful dress for my niece julia as her x-mas/chanukah present). & to be honest, as much as i obsessively love rodarte, their line for target is meh & definitely geared toward a much younger market.

but when i heard sonia rykiel was doing her turn @ h+m, something in me clicked. so why sonia & not the others? ever since my first trip to paris some 15 years ago, i've been a not-so-closeted fan of her singular parisian style. the same way betsey johnson epitomizes an unwavering & trend-agnostic 80s-nyc-frilly-rocker-girly sensibility, sonia rykiel, to me, embodies a timeless romantic parisienne-ness that i've coveted since i first walked into her shop those many moons ago. she makes me want to pop on a beret, sip a cafe creme, stumble through a museum, make-out endlessly w/ someone french-ified, & sketch the light along the seine. in a very, very good way. & like betsey (bears repeating, nay-sayers step off), sonia rykiel's remained true to her sensibilities, trends be damned & is utterly a legend in her time.

so i hauled-ass to 34th/7th, fended-off the wicked ebayers & found a handful of pieces that will grace my wardrobe with splashy color, sassy stripes & that je ne sais quois parisienne style for years to come. i think autumn in paris is sounding really good right now...

vive la france!

point of fact, i am anti-label-in-your-face & defintiely anti-bedazzler. but the little cropped sweater & tote were trop adorable & j'adore the script, so screw it.



the black knit ruffle/flower-lapel dress has pockets, fyi. best.

fin.
xoxo