Happy Saturday everyone!
What a busy week it was in NYC. Our factory is busy busy with production and we launched a new cardigan! This is the third cardigan we’ve designed and by far the best. Made from 100% cotton, Joanie is so incredibly soft and lightweight. What I’ve learned over the years about sweaters is that it’s the really lightweight ones you wear over and over again. While I love a chunky Irish merino wool fisherman knit, it’s great for January in Maine and not much else! A long, lightweight cardigan will go absolutely everywhere with you.
I styled our Joanie cardigan with tons of neutral basics and received a lot of questions about them. I wrote the below article last year that contains all my favorite spring basics. Upgrade your subscription and give it a read:) It has lots of hidden (and affordable) gems.
One question I receive all. the. time. that I thought I’d discuss today because it is our new Joanie cardigan’s best friend…
Do you have a go to white button down?
My answer is no. I really don’t. I wear whatever is around the office or my apartment. What I DO have a religious “go to” for is an iron. I iron every white t-shirt, cotton turtleneck or white button down EVERY TIME I wear it. A cheap white oxford or a well made white oxford will look almost the same if it’s ironed properly. This is the iron I use. Affordable, had it for years, love it.
Steaming is not the same. At all. While I know it’s the internet’s preferred method, you need both direct heat and weight on the fibers of your fabric, not indirect warm mist. I took a tailoring class at FIT and we spent a month learning how to professionally press garments. Ironing your clothes is as important a step as brushing your teeth.
If you’re saying to yourself, well you can’t iron silk! You can’t iron satin! Incorrect. You just need an organza pressing cloth to go on top of delicate silk and satin while you iron. If you place this over whatever you need to iron, you can crank it up to the linen setting and go to town.
If you want extra credit, add this to your Amazon cart. You’ll smell like Martha Stewart in her banking days and people will start asking you where you bought your button downs.
Can you tell I was inspired by visiting my alma mater last week?
I hope you all have a lovely weekend and happy shopping!
I love your Saturday notes! Thank you for sharing your time and exquisite taste. I wonder if you might consider sharing your favorite white blouses? I just bought a nice one from Ann Mashburn, and the cotton is super thick, but it's more of a tunic style and I'd like to refresh my closet with some basic standards. Many thanks! Meg