Temptation

Much as I want to visit Mayle and update you on the pop up shop, I have work to do. That said, it has been tough to sit at home today without checking racked.com and googling "Mayle pop up shop" for reports on what lies within. Without look books, photos, web previews and all the other media surrounding a new collection, I can only imagine what is being sold and what the price points might be (I am guessing around $700+ for dresses, $500+ for tops, but I really have no idea). I can't buy any of it anyway, so I tell myself it doesn't matter. But it is such a distraction. How can I concentrate on Progressivism and Early Cinema, outline the modernity thesis and debates around transitional cinema when there is a jewel box of a shop filled with new and rare clothes?
Discipline is failing me today. At least with 50-60 degree weather this weekend, I can try out some of those new Mayle purchases that hang unworn in my closet. If I finish the intro this weekend, I may even be able to dream of adding one more item to them if a real favorite turns up at the pop up shop, in my size and in my price range. Somehow, though, I doubt it. I'd rather hope that some of this won't sell and it will end up in a sample sale and go home with me that way.

More a PSA than a post....

I received the following postcard from Mayle on Tuesday. I believe they don't send these out to customers who live out of town (at least that used to be the case...), so I'm transcribing the (cryptic) text below. I don't know any of the items mentioned below, other than Avignon, so any descriptions--or pictures--welcomed. Here's the postcard's text:

Ten Little Indians

This is how we say good-bye. And it's backwards, we know.

With many of you waxing nostalgic over past collections before the shuttering had begun in earnest and then those favorite, hoarded fabrics proving impossible to just let go of, it seemed most fitting to say some sort of hello again.

From March 6th until, we're thinking, March 31st, a limited and numbered troop of re-editions (ten little, nine little, eight little indians) will compete for your last affections. Pass by often. One day you'll find the Clivenden top, still disheveled, still lovely, from the spring of Best of British birds, proving that her shape still makes sense. Another day, the Avignon dress from the fall of A haiku for Carlo M. will jostle cheek to silky cheek with the Therese dress, that dress, which could have fleshed out Bunuel's chambermaid even further. Then the lacy Lima top becomes lacy Lima dress. There's even talk of the monogram clog making a leopard print comeback sans monogram.

Not so much a collection as a series of fleeting reincarnations, a brief breathing of new life into old favorites. But, still, a little more to have and to hold on to.

A grand thank you for being there the first time around and proving it with your memories.

A grand thank you for being the most loyal band of customers a brand could ever hope for.

More Winter

Despite there being enough of a respite for me to wear my Ludovine coat on Friday (for the first time), it's back to deep winter in NYC. I write this in between checking the local news media and CUNY's website to see if college will be closed tomorrow. I am giving two exams--both in my 100+ lecture classes--so I've been receiving a lot of emails from students today, justifiably anxious about whether we'll have school tomorrow. Of course, the powers that be are playing the waiting game, likely until tomorrow morning, to decide whether or not to cancel classes. Predictions of up to 12-14 inches of snow abound, and all my students commute, but I guess the Mayor would rather tinker with parking regulations than let us know what is going on tomorrow.

Fortunately I have my snow boots ready to go, and my trusty layers on alert, but I am looking forward to getting deeper into March and finally wearing Helen, or Virginie, or Rocio.

In other news, this is the week that Mayle will be closed for its transition into a pop-up shop selling limited edition merchandise. I plan to visit next week and I'll see if I can take any photos. From the little I've read (which may be untrue), there will be baby Billie bags but no full size ones (which is a shame as I have no need for small bags), and most of the designs are from further back in the Mayle archive. I suspect a lot of the items will be more dressy, but who knows what coats, cotton sundresses and multi-fabric tops await? I recall most Mayle from the last 3-4 years but I still find items on ebay that I forgot, and others I've never seen. It's rare, but it happens. Sometimes I see one piece I had forgotten and it stimulates recall of an entire collection. The final range will doubtless be full of such nostalgia.

So, I hope as March comes in, looking back to winter and further back to early Mayle, it will also be a month for me to look forward. To those ends, I'm going for more fertility tests/treatments and taking a more aggressive stance so I can get one step closer to meeting Mini Cooper, as my friend Nicole has nicknamed our future offspring. And I also plan to finish the book this month. And get some pictures of my Mayle clothing up on this blog at long, long last.

Update: They finally canceled school this morning, causing our college website to crash under the weight of anxious student/faculty/staff clicks.

In a Rut

Over the last month or so, I've added many discount Mayle finds to my wardrobe, but the weather has conspired against me. I have all these beautiful fall, holiday and resort pieces sitting in my closet, but sleeveless dresses and fine silk blouses are hardly suited to snow, biting winds, or icy days. There's also the occupational hazard of chalk dust--something I don't want to cover my new Helen blouse or Melia dress.

So I've ended up living in my usual winter wardrobe--Earnest Sewn jeans or denim skirt (over leggings), Steven Alan shirts (gathered, reverse seams and even Dalia layered over thermal long-sleeved tops), Inhabit and Club Monaco cashmere sweaters and cardigans (generally both) topped off with a Mayle coat--usually Vera--and my increasingly battered boots. I love every single item, but I'm starting to feel a little like I'm caught in a rut.

Yesterday, I purchased the Mayle Gaia harem pants and Agnes bag from Bird who are having an incredible 75% off sale (60% on accessories). These pants are one of the items I initially wrote off as insane: they are half constructed from jersey, have a little skirt flap at the front and are tight at the ankles. I may be tall, and my legs may be long, but I have big thigh muscles and my hip bones are broad, so I shy away from anything that adds bulk there. Jersey obviously has no corseting effect, so that's not something for me. I changed my mind, however, when I went into Mayle last week and saw Vanessa trying them on (she no longer works there but now designs really amazing jewelry, but unfortunately has no website yet). I tried them on and they worked. Obviously not with my battered boots and tights, but with sandals and bare legs, I could see that these would be a good addition for spring. Plus they are super-comfortable. Now all I have to do is work out something that I can wear with them. The cashmere sweater/Steven Alan shirt combo looks really stupid with something so floaty and soft.

Still, until the weather changes, I'll wear my uniform happily. I also need the temps to change so I can get these boots repaired so they will (hopefully) be with me for yet another year or so.

Mayle Shoes

With Mayle closing, I've been kicking myself about items I missed. One of the recent ones that I most regret was the reissue of the t-bar wedge sandals that came out in January. I have big feet--size 40--so usually I've lucked out and got items on sale, but that was in the past when Mayle made several types of shoes a season. These sandals were reasonably priced ($295). They looked comfortable and pretty--Mayle shoes usually fit me really well. But I was about to leave for the UK and I had to get Christmas presents for my family. I have two pairs of Mayle wedges already and several Sigerson pairs, so I thought I could wait. Of course, I returned from the UK convinced I needed these sandals in any of the colors only to find out they had all sold out. I could have maybe managed a 41, but no luck there either. If anybody ever spots a pair, please let me know. The same, of course, for Izolda in size 4, 6 or 8--the dress that got away. Thank you.

Of course, I should have known better. The price was right; Mayle has not made shoes for several seasons, and the closing down frenzy coupled with limited stock has caused items to fly out of the store. Even 2 1/2 years ago, I had to get my Monogram clogs the day they came in as they sold out in my size in one day. I don't regret the $440 plus tax I paid for them either. I've worn them a lot.

So, in memory of Mayle's fabulous shoes, I'm sharing photos of some of my collection. (I also have the cream wedges in black patent leather but can't find the box at the moment.) I love the flats--they are very worn as you can see, but I live in them during the summer. If anybody spots a pair anywhere in a size 40 or 41 let me know as these are the best sandals ever. The Monogram clogs are very comfortable too and I love my wedges. The Lola clogs are beautiful but barely worn. The patent leather is stiff and I need to find a way to break them in as I am determined to wear them one day. I've never worn them out of the house. Mary Kate Olsen has these too--another reason to admire their ugly-prettiness. They are, indeed, the jolie laide of shoes.

Steven Alan Finds

This weekend, I hit the Steven Alan President's Day sale at their UWS Outpost where all items were 25% off (continues through today, in store only). I bought two cashmere hats--a striped beret in red, green, gray and navy for my dear friend, Nicole and a blue bonnet for myself--and two Dalia shirts for me, one cotton in a big blue plaid, the other in an olive and cream crumpled silk. Both were beautiful (the olive green is a new favorite item). With the discount, I paid $94--the shirts were reduced to $39 which was a steal, especially considering they look so great with their beautiful balloon-like puffed sleeves. I attach some horrible pictures I took which do not do these items justice. I fear they--and I--look stockier than they do in reality. The silk drapes so beautifully but my mirror photography technique is perhaps not the best for this.

With my Mayle Virginie shirt coming from eluxury's sale, I now have a great stack of plaid shirts. I love Steven Alan. The everyday comfort and quirky flair of their shirts really cannot be beat--and they make them in the USA.

Mayle Pop Up Store

By now, we've all likely read about the next, all too brief incarnation of Mayle. As style.com reports, the store will close on 2/28 (until then, what little of resort and holiday remains is 60% off). Then it will reopen 3/6 with very limited ranges of pieces remade from archival designs, sometimes in different fabrics (albeit from the archive themselves), some with additional detailing that Jane Mayle had originally hoped to add--or changes she'd wanted to make. New stock evidently will arrive each week. All very lovely and likely not in my price range. Pieces will go back to 2002 designs and feature many items from what was evidently one of Jane Mayle's favorite collections--Fall 03. I can't remember this one--anybody who has images, a lookbook or has any idea what this one looked like, please let us know.

In the meantime, what would you like to see in the collection? In a fantasy world where I'd won the lottery, I'd like to see the following, based on the items I remember or for which I have the lookbook:

Summer 05
flat sandals and wedges (the ones with the small buckle). I love them and have nearly worn two pairs of the flats out. I wish I'd gotten another couple of pairs.
green and lavender print dress (a-line with the stitched detail on the collar). This never went into production.
Cotton jumper dress as worn by Michelle Williams
skirt and pants in the same striped fabric--although these may be Summer 06
I have to find this lookbook--I think it is behind my dresser.

Summer 06
Anatole jacket
Claudie romper
Clothilde blouse in cassis
Liv dress
Ilaria shirt
Xandra Cardi
Ines Dress in noughts and crosses
Solange Shirt in either sky or marigold
Mala dress
Sylvestre dress in either marigold or sky
Isolde Dress in chestnut gingham

Fall 07
Izolda in either the pink or berry (I tried it on, the 4 just about fit and this was one of those that got away),
the Nica jacket from Fall
the Alyosha blouse in iris,
Jeanne bag in iris,
Fedosia jacket
Zofia dress


Holiday 07
Ishi top
Gia dress

Resort 07
Flavia skirt

Fantasies are so much fun! The reality is I'll never own most of these but I can at least carry on looking on ebay and dreaming that some of this will turn up.