To celebrate getting promoted, Stylish Young Co-worker and another colleague suggested I buy myself a luxury item such as a killer handbag, diamond earrings or some other form of statuswear. I just can't justify spending big bucks on a purse, but damn, isn't this a thing of beauty?
The handbag is from The Row, which is the line developed by the Olsen twins. It's only $3,200! Even SYC said it's the kind of bag you notice before you even look at the person. Don't need it, don't want it, but I admire its perfection and the fact that it is made the the USA. I'm not a fanatic, but I do try to buy American whenever possible.
Then I thought about a perfect trench, a Burberry? Not American but rich with history and tradition. I figured once I was ready to throw some money at it, they would magically appear. Not quite. Finding a classic knee-length cotton poplin trench is not easy! The coats I viewed online are styled differently or short and shown with jeans. It's funny how you never see women in business suits modeling anything. Everyone is young and lives in jeans.
The other problem is that many Burberry coats aren't even made in England. I mean, you buy something like that partly for its iconic value, and then you find out it's made in China. I'm sure if I looked long enough I could get what I want, and it might actually be made in England, but I found a better solution.
I looked in my closet and discovered my old London Fog trench. It's close to 20 years old and looks new. It's a classic color and style, and it's made in the USA. The only problem is that it features oversized shoulder pads, and it's kind of long. I took it to my wonderful tailor today and for $62.75, I will have a new coat! He took out the shoulder pads and will taper the arms. He'll also bring up the hem to just below the knee.
Andrew, the tailor, said it's a great coat, and it will look even better when he gets done with it. He laughed about the shoulder pads. He said they used to do that to make women look tough. I said, oh no, you better put them back in! I just got a new job, and I will need to look tough. He said, no, dear, you just need to be tough.
