Watching Full House as a kid, I never would have guessed that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen would some day become the style icons that they have grown to be. But in retrospect, it makes sense. The twins are endearing. Their personal sense of style, love it or leave it, inspires reactions both good and bad. Don't tell me they earn so much that they should look "better" than they do - a complaint I often hear - they are people, just like you and I, and they're entitled to express themselves however they see fit. Personally, I rather enjoy their irreverent approach to fashion, money be damned. Which isn't to say they don't wear designer duds, head to toe, most days... because they do.
But I digress. The stars have ventured into the designing end of the fashion world, and I can't blame them, because if I had their money, that is precisely what I'd do. Design. They don't design so much as pull together pieces of a certain genre, mood and spirit but they do it well. Elizabeth and James is a collaborative effort by both sisters yet, as Mary-Kate tells InStyle in the September 2008 issue, it's really her brainchild. Named after the twins' sister and brother, Elizabeth and James is "more accessible, contemporary and playful" than their other designer line, The Row, says MK. I appreciate very much the play of yin and yang, masculine and feminine, hard and soft that resonates throughout the Elizabeth and James collection.
Above left, this Elizabeth and James plaid poncho really speaks to Fall and I'd love to own it. At $695.00, I'm forced to find cheaper sartorial pastures from which to graze, which leads us to the Silence & Noise Buffalo Poncho on the right. At $68, you can embody the Elizabeth and James uber-cool vibe without spending a fortune.
Ponchos, plaid, celebrity designers...what do you have to say?
Left: Elizabeth and James plaid Olivia Poncho at Shopbop.com, $695.00
Right: Silence & Noise Buffalo Poncho at Urbanoutfitters.com, $68
And also, if I had $700 laying around, I would NOT spend it on something designed by the Olsens. That's messed up, but it's true. I would want something classic from Ralph Lauren, or YSL, or Gucci. Not something designed by the two kids I use to adore when I was a kid (heck, we're the same age!).
OK, that was kind of rant-y.
I actually really like the Elizabeth and James poncho and vastly prefer it to the UO version. But I'm doing something else with my spare $700, I'm afraid.
To the real subject at hand - the poncho. Love, love, love the Elizabeth and James poncho. I'm not crazy about the Silence & Noise version, but I am learning to sew; perhaps I can find a fabric similar enough to the Elizabeth and James version to make one myself!
Albeit, I have other things to spend 700 bucks on...like shoes!