Mr. Magpie and I spent an insane ten days in Spain at the beginning of May. We flew into and out of Barcelona, spent a few glorious days in San Sebastian, and one unreal day touring Rioja wine country, tasting delicious vino and soaking in the sun and the stunning views. We ate and drank our way through the country — I tried everything from marinated baby eels (delicious, I promise) to foie gras and everything in between. Oh, and more anchovies than you can imagine — it was anchovy season there and believe me when I tell you that Spanish anchovies are nothing like the overly salty, briny, fishy things we have here. Esta reia bien. (Probably hacked that spelling. I was constantly insulting the Spanish, Catalan, and Basque languages by inserting French words or making up variations on French words with a “Spanish twist,” i.e., “yo parlo francais.” What the…?!)
The women in Spain are stunning. The whole European approach to dressing is so elegant — simple, high-quality basics paired and layered in the most winning ways — and at the same time fashion-forward. They wear a lot of interesting shapes and aren’t afraid of unusual cuts. As Mr. Magpie put it one afternoon: “They wear lots of strange pants.” He said this in a reverent way, as though intrigued rather than defamatory. It made me realize that I wear a lot of…skinny or slim-cut pants. Basically, only skinny jeans and pixie pants. I have one pair of looser fit army green chinos from J. Crew that I wear rolled up at the ankle (like Gwyneth in the first pic shown here), but that’s pretty much the extent of it. I’d packed a pair of silky printed trousers I’d scooped up at Joe Fresh while in NYC (riff on the pajama print pant trend that was sohotrightnow a few seasons ago) to test out and I decided to go for it while in Spain, liberated by the senoritas there and their non-restrictive approach to wearing pants. I have to say, I loved the look — the pants were uber-flattering and comfortable, and it felt different. I drew inspiration from the lot of these lovelies:
I wore mine with a simple white J. Crew tank (obsessed with this flattering new style — $29, but on sale for 25% off) with some silky pants (exact pair I wore are linked here, but pair shown below are Joie and currently on sale for $180 — check also these adorable ones from Piamita, on sale for $142 and such a great print! or these floral ones from J. Crew Collection for $198 ) and some fab Anya Hindmarch heeled sandals that I’ve had for a few years, but these Alexander Wang wonders at TO DIE (on sale for $437). I paired it with a long necklace with big beads (in.love. with this Malene Birger style — check it out via the link, because the scale may be intimidating to some of you, but I think it’s RAD — on sale for $136):
I feel like these Wang shoes photograph strangely by themselves, but check them out in action here — seeing them worn in the context of an outfit makes them seem much more doable…and elegant. I die over them. Too bad they’re only available in pink at Shopbop and are now only in two sizes. Drat. BTW, check out the entire Shopbop sale — it’s ridic. The Clover Canyon dress that the blogger is wearing in the link above is available on sale here. Also coveting these Piamita blouses, another pair of Aquazzura sandals (too soon?), and especially this boho chic dress — very Isabel Marant, I must say.
At any rate, I wore my silky pants number with a blazer and a black cross-body ($295):
The moral of this tale is: step out of your (skinny jeans) box now and then. There’s more to the pants universe. Happy weekend!!!
Leave A Reply