copy+paste 08
when it shouldn't all work together... but it does
copy+paste is a series of attempts to either digitally or physically recreate an outfit I saw and admired IRL. (You can find all 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!
She was standing on the corner of Smith and Pacific with a perfect messy updo and wired headphones looped around her neck. She wore a fitted cropped cotton blazer as a shirt, with vertical stripes in manzanilla olive green, kidney bean red, and light brown. The blazer hit just below the waistband of her loose chino shorts—the same silhouette as the Gen Z jorts, presumably a pair of men’s Bermuda shorts? I haven’t seen anything like them—faded, loose but not baggy, properly hemmed, not just a cutoff pair of pants. To round it out, she was wearing chunky black heeled loafers with black Nike crew socks. It sounds terrible, I know. I really wish I could post the picture. But you’ll have to let your imagination do the work!
Some secondhand options for each element below:
Here’s the evolution of my attempt to recreate this outfit:
I already had the loafers (minus the heel) and the black socks (minus the Nike check), but the rest of the outfit was more difficult to recreate. I thought about wearing my baggy green trousers, but it was the length—not the color—of the woman’s shorts that stood out to me, so I tried these thrifted denim shorts I never wear. The first top I went with was this Batsheva x Laura Ashley one—it’s not striped, and it’s not a blazer, but the silhouette felt similar. It’s … fine? I think if I had this shirt in stripes and a warmer color palette I’d like it more in this outfit.
So I shifted to a combo of a button-up (thanks, Tiia!) with a similar stripe and a blazer over it. Again… it’s fine? But I think the balance of formal/casual is off—the blazer, shirt, and loafers are too much for the denim shorts. I tried to balance it with a grey short-sleeved hoodie next, but it looked bulky and plain.
Then I remembered this old Jenni Kayne blazer, the fit of which is much closer to the original one I saw. It’s too heavy and low-cut to work as a shirt on its own, but with a black tank top underneath I think I like it?
My interpretation of this outfit has a short window of relevance, weatherwise—like leather shorts or a short-sleeved sweater. But I’m sure there’s at least one October day where this outfit would hit just right. We shall see! And if nothing else, I’ve figured out that I don’t hate the loafer + sock + bare leg combo if the loafers and socks are the same color.
As always, if you buy one of the items in the newsletter—send pics!
I can see it!
I love this series and also love that you don’t post the original photo. Forces the descriptive to be more evocative?