Merlot, Cabernet and Other Drinkable Hues

This season you could get drunk just by looking at clothes on the Internet. Would you like a little cabernet on your sweater? What about a bit of merlot on your bag/shoes? Whoever decided at Pantone that Tangerine was the color of the year made a big mistake. Clearly burgundy is the color of the year, at least in the fashion world.
I think that JCrew is the only retailer to make a difference between the color of "cabernet" and the color of "merlot" and I am not sure that they employed the services of an oneologist. Do you think Merlot is darker or lighter than Cabernet? Let's just call it Burgundy, we know what we are talking about.

I hate plum but I have always loved burgundy. The warmth of burgundy is very flattering on my skin tone but it is a color that tends to come under the spotlight and then be fast forgotten. The last time that I purchased something burgundy was probably 15 years ago, so a little wardrobe refresh was in order. When you love a color that feels very "new" and is offered by every retailer it is easy to go overboard so my plan was to buy one thing in each of these categories: sweaters, dresses and skirts, shoes and bags (I am not going to buy any jackets or outwear in this color).
My main "quality" purchase is a sweater that I bought in Paris. The sweater is by the French brand Claudie Pierlot and it is one of the rare brands that is not available in the USA (not even in limited quantities in select stores). I think it is because it is a relatively small family business that feels very Parisian and probably they think it cannot be exported. In any case the reason why I got this sweater is that I have a Claudie Pierlot sweater from 20 years ago that still looks like new. They make very good quality clothes, especially knits. The other reason is that I LOOOOVE the color and the style of this sweater. It is a heavy knit and I appreciate the feminine touches like the slightly puffed sleeves. JCrew came up with something similar but in this case you can't compare the quality (for example, it is actually lined in silk around the collar so it isn't itchy at the contact with the skin). I am pairing it with a knit skirt that I bought in Italy by the brand Stefanel, which is a mall brand gone more upscale in the last few years. Not sure if you can see but it is camel, brown and burgundy:

The skirt is a bit big in the waist but I preferred the S to the XS because of the length, the XS looked more like a mini. I had to buy a belt to wear with it (since it has belt loops) and they had this patent burgundy one that I plan to wear with jeans too:

The other burgundy new arrival in my closet is this dress by Zara. I bought this one here in NY and I absolutely love it. I wanted this one to be a bit sexy, not conservative (as I have plenty of conservative dresses) so I went with a S, which "just fit" as you can see. In a M it would have been longer and with less definition at the waist making it more conservative. This one is rayon and unlined which as you know doesn't bother me (but I have to admit that the skirt is a bit sheer):

With a JCrew necklace:

Always at Zara I bought something fun to accessorize both the dress and the sweater. It's the Zara knockoff of the Lanvin "eagle" necklace from the spring. I actually looked for this necklace in the summer, I thought it was impossible that Zara hadn't made a knockoff. They made it in a rubi color, which goes really well with the burgundy:

I know, it is one of those "Love it" or "Hate it" things and you are free to think that it is tacky. I personally love it, especially for $39, and I think that it adds a bit of pizzaz to a plain "sweater and jeans" outfit. If you love it as well, you can buy it here.

As for the shoes I haven't found a pair yet that really wows me and is reasonably priced. Ideally I would love a pair of platforms I can walk in and that don't cost too much. But I am looking more and more intensely at the Etta patent pumps in crimson maple and I might order a pair with the 25% off promo to see if I like the style and color.

And now, even if you have no intention to buy anything burgundy you can add just a touch on your nails. I brought back from Europe two bottles of Chanel's nail polish (which is a little bit less expensive there but not that much, we are talking about a couple of dollars once you convert from Euro) "Blue rebel" and "Rouge fatal". While I wouldn't prompt you to splurge on a color like "Blue rebel" (a light shade of navy, gorgeous but probably not something that you will wear a lot), "Rouge fatal" is the most perfect hue of burgundy red with no purple undertones and a must have. I could stare at my toes for hours:

I recently wore my Chanel toes with a pair of pink-ish sandals the pink and red looked smashing together:

The colors on my feet reflected the colors of my outfit:

Did you notice something strange? Yes, the golden burgundy pencil skirt has been transformed into a mini, the time of this pic. If you remember my post about this skirt, I thought that it would be a great skirt to wear in the Fall. Which it is, except that if I want to wear it casually (with sandals and flats) I need it to be much shorter. It was just pinned in this pic but I am seriously considering doing it.
Here is how I wore it more formally the day after, to meet my daughter's teachers:

Which way do you prefer it? I don't want to ruin it but I think it is more me in the first pic.

For more burgundy, see the post of my blog pal ajc here.

So any wine this season for you? Have you ever heard of Claudie Pierlot? What do you think of the Lanvin-inspired necklace? Have you tried Chanel's "Rouge fatal"?