J.McLaughlin

The Main Line

Leave a Comment / Lifestyle / By / September 12, 2022
A collage of essentials for summer in the country

Hello from the Main Line, where women begin their mornings with an outdoor run or exercise class, go to lunch midday, and entertain at home in the evenings. I’ve become fond of Soul Cycle lately, which I usually follow up with a salad from Sweetgreen. Whenever I visit my sommelier, V., at Di Bruno Bros., I go to The Silverspoon for lunch. So far, we’ve successfully hosted one guest for dinner. (Family members don’t count as guests.) I wouldn’t say we’re ready for a dinner party just yet, but a little more practice may be enough to change the tide.

I spend more time at home now than I did when we lived in Philadelphia. I enjoy swimming in the recently-renovated outdoor pool, barbecuing burgers and Hebrew National hot dogs on the charcoal grill, and drinking canned wine on the balcony at night. But one can only swim so much, grill so much, and drink so much wine.

Due to distance, it’s no longer convenient to take advantage of the social events (Artsi), art (the PMA), and vibrant restaurants (Parc and Zahav) Philadelphia has to offer. However, not having to constantly look over my shoulder and worry about excessive crime frees up my time for other things. A few more suburban pastimes: stocking up on Hippeas chickpea puffs and Hu chocolate from Whole Foods, seeing a film at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, eating a black bean burger and side salad at Mom’s Organic Market, and date night with my husband at Otto by Polpo.

Although I go into the city often, it is not likely that I will ever live in Philadelphia again. I’m convinced that I’ve seen everything the Main Line has to offer, but perhaps time will tell if this statement is true.

Works Sighted

swimsuit // acrylic stemless wine glass // melamine accent plates // seersucker napkins //  tunic // canned sparkling rosé // movie poster

lounge chair // pool ring // wicker clutch // visor // tank

wine tote // paleo chocolate bar // vegan chickpea puffs // book // tennis set // 21 oz Hydro Flask // align 25” // cycling shoes

Pinks and Reds

Leave a Comment / Lifestyle, Style / By / February 11, 2021
Pink and red items: skirts, champagne coupes, ring, lipstick, Breton shirt, ballet flats. dress, tweed jacket.

It’s been such a pleasure to visit the Estelle Colored Glass instagram account lately. The company has been promoting their pink and red handblown glass products for Valentine’s Day. The festive colors remind me of celebrations from days long gone. With nostalgia in my heart, I took to the internet in search of additional sources of inspiration.

Estelle Colored Glass Champagne coupes; Monica Vinader ring; Hobbs tweed jacket

L.K.Bennett skirt; Loro Piana skirt; Lauren Ralph Lauren dress

The Breton Shirt Co marinière; J.McLaughlin ballet flats; NARS lipstick pencil (damned)

How to Establish a Color Palette

Leave a Comment / Lessons, Style / By / July 19, 2021
Lauren Ralph Lauren dress, J.McLaughlin basket bag, and Superga 2790 Acotw.

Establishing a color palette is an essential aspect of developing your personal style. A wardrobe’s palette is made up of base colors, accent colors, and patterns (note: I’m not going to acknowledge prints on this blog unless they’re on silk scarves). The base colors are the ones that appear in your lineup most often. Unless you are Elle Woods, your base colors are probably neutrals (as they should be). Their job is to anchor your outfits while the accent colors and patterns add interest to the mix.

If you’ve read Develop Your Personal Style with These 3 Habits, you’ll recall that you can discover a lot about your clothing preferences by window shopping. To uncover your color palette, observe the hues that appear in your wardrobe. If you are overhauling your closet, think about your ideal clothing selection. Rank the colors according to quantity in a hierarchy pyramid. Whatever color(s) you see on the bottom of your pyramid is the base of your palette. The colors that appear less often are the accent colors. I’ll illustrate this point using my own palette as an example.

Blue, specifically navy, is my primary base color, followed by black. I incorporate white, cream, camel, and grey into my wardrobe too, but I don’t consider them base colors per se. They exist somewhere between the base and accent categories. I’d wear all navy or all black but probably wouldn’t wear a monochrome outfit in white, cream, camel, or grey. My true accent colors are purple, pink, red, and (occasionally) green. The shades I favor within these five color groups pair well with one or both of my base colors. The same is true for my selection of stripes, seersucker, gingham, and occasional polka dot.

Establishing the base colors of your wardrobe will make getting dressed a lot easier. Not only is navy the primary base of my palette, but it is also the one I feel most powerful in. It’s not out of character for me to wear five navy dresses in one week. In fact, I’ve even been know to wear the same dress on two consecutive days, washing it in a bucket between wears.

Works Sighted: Lauren Ralph Lauren dress (old); Superga 2790 Acotw (navy); J.McLaughlin basket bag; Fitbit Alta HR; Kate Spade sunglasses (old)