Brand obsession: Trovata

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Everything by this California-based brand is pretty cute and highly wearable, but I am especially enamored of their shirts, which come in a stupefyingly broad array of colors and prints. I am crazy for the almost-but-not-quite-too-loud pattern on this button-down.

The ruffles here are nicely restrained, and the floral print’s color combination is to die. Here’s the same shirt in a really good plaid.

This peasant-y top comes in several good floral prints, the best of which is this one—which looks like Liberty of London even though I don’t think it is, and which is sadly sold out in my size.

 

 

 

Fun with animal prints

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I like animal prints because they can skew so many different ways, depending on your style: they can be punk or preppy, ladylike or sexy, depending on the piece and your desire. I like them best on clean, minimal shapes (though there are exceptions to that rule below) and I especially like them on sweaters, like this inexpensive and fun cardigan.


A packable lightweight jacket that’s perfect for working out and/or travel.

I really dig this fleece sweatshirt from The Great. Leopard always looks good when it’s punctuated by hits of color, like the red floral embroidered trim here.

This shirt has far poofier sleeves than I usually go for, but I’m somehow liking it anyway.

I would loll about endlessly in these luxe silk pants if I owned them.

I’m always happy to see animal prints in unexpected colors, like this right-on-trend green cardigan.

A sultry square-neck dress with a slit I’d probably sew up an inch or two.

Even though the model’s pose here reminds me of Sassy‘s classic Dopey Fashion Poses (executed by the peerless Andrea Linett), I do like this roomy zebra print.

Such a cute little lounge set.

A very literal animal print that I find quite charming.

And here’s something similar but somehow slightly more sophisticated.

I don’t usually like animal prints on shoes or bags, but I do think this crossbody option is pretty spiff.

A zebra stripe shirt that looks pricier than it is.

A splurgy but gorgeous gray cashmere scarf that is neutral enough to wear with just about everything.

This button down silk shirt is seriously marked down so maybe there’s something wrong with it I’m not detecting, but it looks pretty perfect to me.

Is J. Crew getting good again?

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The jury is still out, but a perusal of the once-essential brand’s new arrivals is encouraging—as are the prices, which seem to have settled into a more sane range than in they were the Jenna Lyons years. I still don’t quite think they’ve got a whole vision going on there—which they certainly did during the Lyons years, sometimes to a fault—but the aesthetic is also less all over the place than it has been recently. I’ve wanted a leather skirt for ages, but might settle for this faux version.

Such a chic little boucle jacket—I’d wear mine just as it’s styled here.

The styling of this teddy sherpa topcoat, on the other hand, is just ridiculous: for starters, the combination of bare legs with a big cozy coat does not hold much appeal outside of a fashion shoot, and I will never endorse the little-socks-with-heels look for anyone over the age of 25. But I like the coat! And it comes in black and brown too, just fyi.

A cool wool shirt jacket in heather grey.

This sweater blazer comes in a ton of good colors, and is just so easy.

I’m thinking I might go for this cashmere patch pocket cardigan, because it’s kind of similar to my favorite (and now moth-destroyed) Vince sweater.

I’m a big fan of J. Crew corduroys: they’re flattering, pretty well-priced, and come in a satisfying range of hues.

A very smart houndstooth blazer in a cool combination of navy, brown, and grey.

I’m pretty sure I’ve shown you this lightweight quilted shirt jacket in the not-so-distant past, but it’s just so good and travel-friendly.

 

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About

Kim France

I was born in Houston, Texas in 1964 and have lived in New York City since 1988. I had a long career in magazines, working at Sassy, Elle, New York, and Spin, and in 2000, I founded Lucky magazine, which I edited for ten years.

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