As spring covers Rome with a bask of warmth, it’s the perfect time to bring out dresses for the season. As with all of my outfits, I pick them out 10 minutes before class or while I am brushing my teeth, mentally sorting through everything that can possibly be rendered as “clean.” I usually opt for an all black ensemble, mostly because I own a ridiculous amount of black long sleeve shirts and three out of my four pairs of jeans are black. I saw one of my favorite shirts laying on my chair as I furiously finished a paper while drinking my Earl Grey tea. I snatched it up along with the tights laying under it (which were unusually freshly laundered, by the way) and the perfect bout of outfit inspiration came together in my mind.
With a nod to Jil Sander’s Spring 2017 runway show, this burgundy leather dress that had been neglected since the thaw of winter was begging to be taken out of my closet, and I had been waiting for the opportune day. It keeps me just warm enough to block the cool wind that breezes through the shade behind the tall concrete and marble buildings on the way to grab my morning cappuccino (I have successfully plotted all the bars that offer soy milk in Rome).
I always let nature do my hair, so today I just pinned the front pieces back, because the wind makes it hard to deal with, and opted for my Adidas Sambas because they’re super comfortable. Even if I wear a dressier piece, I prefer to keep it relaxed by keeping the other elements pretty casual. I threw the dress on over my favorite oxford shirt that says, “all that glitters” in gold embroidery on the back. I don’t wear a lot of statement jewelry, in fact I think this is the only piece I have. I gravitate towards daintier jewelry, but this face ring was handmade from a single piece of wire, which is very cool. Because of my inability to wake up with enough time for coffee before class (but since I prioritize well and usually decide to get coffee regardless), I have fine-tuned my ability to whip up an outfit quickly. I have found that sometimes the best bouts of last minute inspiration come from just a quick passing glance to the top of the clean clothes pile.
