point of difference
Scott Trindle for "Untouched"
Hurrah for the the nth picture of a girl in t-shirt and jeans on this blog. I can't help it - I love a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, it's my idea of the perfect outfit. It looks good on men, women, old, young, it's timeless, it's practical, and there are tonnes of shapes and styles you can choose to define the look your own way. I love how the simplicity of it seems to set off a person's personality - you really see a person in an outfit like that, it's a confident look.
In an outfit so simple, the thing menswear blogs call a "point of difference" is important. First of all, the fit and quality has to be as good as you can buy. The texture of the fabric, the colour of the rivets on the jeans, the thickness of the cotton, the fit - it's all going to be screamingly obvious and you should be particular. You can tell when someone isn't.
Most of my t-shirts are white, with a couple of greys and blacks. I like my t-shirts soft, but not too drapey - it needs to feel...cotton-y. I also like a linen knit tee. No silk for me, the beauty is in the basic. As for jeans, I like them to have as little stretch as possible, and I prefer them faded - I get a lot of satisfaction watching my jeans fade over the years.
Accessories are another point of difference. I prefer something non-intrusive because it's an outfit like that is not about a statement accessory. I keep it simple with a belt with my jeans - always the same mahogany woven leather one I've had for years. My watch adds a touch of polish. Unless I want to make my shoes the focal point, I stick to my Converses, and plain ballerinas. Never heels.
If you're Raquel Zimmerman, the point of difference should be obvious...
Picture from models.com
Comments
I love tee shirts and I love flat ballerinas. I only wish I could find a perfect pair of jeans. Correction - I only wish I could wear my perfect pair of jeans. I have a pair, but they have a rip where pants shouldn't have rips and thus I can't really wear them out in public.. because it's really embarassing haha.
X
The point of difference for me is sometimes a watch or bracelets, more often leather sandals in warm weather, and sometimes... the fact that I haven't ironed my t-shirt. I quite like the rumpledness that brings to it.
By the way, I'd like to invite you to my blog but can't find a way to contact you by email. I'm leaving you my own here if you wish to get back to me : afropeenne.blog@gmail.com
I think shopping for jeans is one people have to be exceptionally patient with, because no one pair or brand works for everyone...in the meantime, you have plenty of beautiful skirts to enjoy before the perfect jeans turn up. I love wearing jeans until they're unwearable! So far this has only happened once...
Catherine: Precisely!
A: I didn't think about it that way, but you are right, so much for the 80s being all famed for "bad taste".
I love it when people rock the rumpled look well.
Aissa: You're absolutely right. And I've been meaning to write to you about your blog, thanks for the invite :) My email is outofthebaaag@gmail.com
Pret á porter P: It helps that James Dean, Johnny Depp and Charlotte Gainbourg have spectacular charisma! I know what you mean by nostalgia reasons, I have a couple pairs I keep around for the same reason.I consider my denim wardrobe very complete too. Sometimes I'm tempted something in a beautiful material, but I haven't had to buy jeans in 3 years now.
Garderoben: I find it especially tricky to find perfect t-shirts, so I'm grateful to what I have already. Hopefully they'll last long enough.And agree, for, the right pair of shoes is all I need for a jeans-and-t-shirt combo.
Austere: Being able to personalise it allows you to repeat the outfit endlessly without it looking tired too!