copy+paste 06

dare we return to the dress over pants?

Jul 17, 2024

copy+paste is a series of attempts to either digitally or physically recreate an outfit I saw and admired IRL. (You can find all previous installments here!) I love seeing street style photos, but ethically, I feel uncomfortable including my iPhone creep shots in a public newsletter unless I’ve explicitly asked someone for permission to share. So the actual photo will remain on my phone, but you will still be able to share in the essence and hopefully appreciate the outfit as much as I did!

I sat across from her on the subway on a quiet Friday evening. She looked like something straight out of a spread from a 2006 issue of Teen Vogue, or one of the girls who worked at the Urban Outfitters I went to in high school. From outer layer to inner layer: she was wearing an army green nylon bomber jacket, a black sweatshirt with a white crewneck t-shirt underneath, a silky ivory/baby-pink slip, baggy jeans with a frayed, dragging hem, black socks, and black square-toed ballet shoes. [Obviously this was before the recent heatwave, or else I would have been very concerned.]

Some secondhand options for each element below:

Robert Stock quilted silk bomber jacket (M), $45; Egdon Heath silk bomber jacket (L), $22; vintage Balenciaga silk bomber jacket, $53; Domani Uomo silk bomber jacket (M), $30; Angelo Litrico silk bomber jacket (L), $38

Jil Sander sweatshirt (S), $58; J. Crew crewneck t-shirt (S), $25 Les Tien sweatshirt (XXS), $32; NWT Uniqlo U t-shirt (L), $7; James Perse sweatshirt (S), $65

Patricia Fieldwalker Adagio Silk Slip (M), $80; vintage silk slip dress (M), $22; vintage 1950s/60s slip (S), $47; vintage 50s nylon Dorsay slip (M), $69; 1940s silk satin slip dress (S/M), $57

Calvin Klein jeans (8), $45; Calvin Klein jeans (23 x 29), $28; Tommy Hilfiger men’s jeans (30” x 30.5"), $30; Levi’s 505 jeans (36), $62

Linea Paola mary janes (7.5), $67; Everlane mary janes (11), $130; Steve Madden mary janes (7.5), $68, Linea Paolo mary janes (9.5), $52; Journee mary janes (10), $40

I think I can get pretty close to recreating this outfit, aside from the slip (a key part, I know). I did own a slip like hers in high school, from Global Thrift in St. Pete (long closed by now), which I used to wear as a dress with a graphic tee underneath and actual ballet shoes. (Sorry, mom!)

I like the idea of layering a bomber jacket over both t-shirt and sweatshirt—seems like a way to keep wearing that jacket even during colder weather. Mine isn’t green, but it will still work. The pieces come together pretty easily: Opening Ceremony silk bomber jacket, Uniqlo crew-neck t-shirt, husband’s black sweatshirt, Agolde jeans, and Everlane mary janes.

Not bad! This sweatshirt is a bit long and bulky—I might see if there’s one sweatshirt from his collection that he’s willing to let me crop—but I like the layers up top. I also wouldn’t have thought to wear black socks with these mary janes, but I will definitely work that into the rotation once summer is over.