All The Working Days Of Navy Blue

I've worn a lot of navy over the years. Especially at work. I'm blonde and blue-eyed so I look best in blues. And pinks, but pink would have been troublesome at work. Although I did wear a killer, blindingly pink, linen blazer during my first pregnancy. But I digress.

Navy. The meaning and story of navy.

I went to business school in the early 1980s, having previously worked for a) Cameron Mackintosh Productions in London b) Circle Repertory Theater in New York c) a consulting company run by a former McKinsey partner who used primal therapy techniques in corporate strategy sessions. This is all true.

Upon graduation, I took a job with Air Products and Chemicals, located in Macungie, Pennsylvania. Outside of Allentown, in case you are not familiar with the booming metropolis of Macungie. There were very few women in the company, excepting secretaries. One might imagine my astonishment at the culture of large corporations, what with the academic family and theater background. It was rather like emerging, blinking, onto an African veldt, following a long Finnish childhood.

We all wore skirted suits to work. I tried to buy one that was navy blue. Fail, as they say. I came home with a grotesquerie in heathered blue. Can we all shout, "Dowdy!" loud and proud? The day I wore that suit with a blue shirt and a red tie was the day I found myself dressed like 3 men in my department, and the day I vowed never to repeat the ensemble. The day Finance sent us a missive jokingly asking why the women in corporate strategy were all so flat-chested was probably the day I decided to get out of headquarters as soon as I could.

I moved from Macungie back to California. Out of corporate strategy and into sales. Where what mattered was results. And I sold well. Largely due to my enormous terror at the prospect of failing. I would come home from a day of cold calls, and lie, stunned, on the sofa, eating M&Ms, hoping to recover. I turned 30 round about the time it dawned on me that while I could sell, I had no hope whatsoever of lasting in the profession. For my 30th birthday I bought myself a dress. A broad-shouldered, wide-belted, 1980's, navy blue shirtdress. I felt so powerful, like I was making a statement about conformity, achievement and self-confidence. I was a child. But a child in a blue dress that was telling me the truth.

I got pregnant. Goodbye wide belt. Nice to have met you. I gave birth to my daughter. I quit work. I gave birth to my son. I stayed home for a few more years. I returned to work, consulting. And suddenly I was in front of groups of adults, telling them what to do.

I bought a navy blue suit, needless to say. Pants, this time. Ever since I had been introduced to the corporate VP as a leading sales rep, only to have him pay more attention to my legs than my handshake, I had worn mostly pants to work. I earned that right. To this day, the suit of my late 30's remains one of my favorite pieces of clothing of all time. Vestimenta, no longer in business. Man's tailoring, but the fabric was a fabulous crepe-ish kind of wool. Draped just so. Worn with a white button-front, and delicate black Ferragamo loafers. I felt impeccable, credentialed. I took a job at Sun Microsystems, where I swam with real corporate sharks for the first time. Rode a private jet to Europe with a mad German entrepreneur. And on to a dot.com when all around were losing their minds and millions of dollars of venture capital. Those were the days.

I spent a non-navy year at the dot.com. If I remember, I wore wide-legged, low-waisted brown corduroys and outre shirts. It's all about context. They made me VP.

In my last job, the one where I had to spend time in New York managing large, argumentative, financial institution accounts, I bought my last navy work outfit. By now the arguers were also women. By now I was 50. By now I knew what I could do well, and where my shortcomings lay. I bought a knit, but structured, Armani jacket, and wide-legged navy blue linen trousers. Fit conservative parameters, just. Some ruffle, some flow. Worn with quilted black Manolo flats. You walk around a lot in New York City.

These days, as I continue my job hunt, I'm still in navy, if we count jeans. Let's count jeans. Looks like I may have the opportunity to work in a startup with a technical colleague. A technical colleague whom I like and respect. At a pace which allows me to keep blogging. We shall see.

Being in one's 50s isn't so bad, if you've managed to pick up enough experience to become useful. I don't know if I've really needed to worry so much about what I wear, but given my upbringing, it was unavoidable. There's no way to predict, at 22, exactly what will happen over the next 30 years. No point at 53, in chastising your younger self for missteps, bad suits, naivete. The only absolute I know is that you have to pay attention. Things reveal their meaning later, and if you haven't paid attention, your chance to understand is lost forever.

*I've told much of this before, here and there, with less detail. Just seemed to warrant a retelling. When you're older, you often appreciate a retell. But twice is enough, I promise.

What Shoes Can I Wear With Navy Blue?

Like most bloggers, I track my search terms. Guess what's most common? The meaning of life? Just kidding. Shoes. "What color shoes should I wear with navy blue?"

Let us consider why it's harder to decide what shoes to wear with navy than, say, with gray, or forest green, or burnt umber. Here's what I think. Women have heard that there's a rule against black.

I am here to conclude, definitively, you can wear black shoes with navy clothing.

You CAN Wear Black Shoes With Navy by High WASP featuring Christian Louboutin shoes

How did the no black shoe myth get started? I looked around. No trace of origin to be found. I considered. Is it like white shoes after Labor Day, a remnant of our upper class habits? In the absence of proof, I theorize. What? That's the prerogative of social anthropologists, especially us amateurs.

My theory is that this rule, if it ever existed, was to prevent the wearing of black shoes with very, very dark navy. Because with a very dark navy pair of pants, or skirt, and let's say, a pair of matte black leather shoes, it might be possible to think that the wearer had been CONFUSED. That the wearer had MADE A MISTAKE and worn black shoes THINKING SHE HAD ON BLACK CLOTHES. Oh, the horror.

In case you still query the present-day acceptability of black with navy, here's corroboration. From Highly Diverse Sources.

"Black shoes can most definitely be worn with a blue suit. But it depends which blue. Sky blue and hues all the way to teal and French blue (none of them a good idea anyway) call for something different, like a light-brown shoe. Navy, however--the default setting for suits--is perfect for black or brown shoes, right up to a pale tan if you're brave. Or from Naples (Italy or Florida). The motto is choose your suit first, then buy the shoes." (Esquire)

"For another example of a celebrity breaking this rule, see the photo of Rachel Bilson (left), mixing navy, black, AND brown. Her outfit looks adorable and fashion-forward, proving that this rule is really just a dumb myth." (College Fashion)

"Traditional wisdom long held that navy suits must be paired with navy or brown shoes. But, in the past decade, black shoes have become acceptable and fashionable to wear with navy. This is primarily due to navy and black pairings on the runway from designer Donna Karan." (eHow.com)

"The problem is that the navy blue does not have the glamourous connotations, instead we think of it as the professional or the nautical color, and thus when we pair it with the black shoes it has the potential to become too drab, or too uniform. (Black clothing and black shoes do not suffer from this drabness because black has the glamourous associations.)" (Manolo's Shoe Blog) Confirms our point, given that for work, we don't WANT glamorous connotations...

If you are STILL worried, try black shoes with a high gloss sheen, further differentiating them from your clothes. If your clothes are shiny, matte shoes.

Of course, as previously discussed, you aren't limited to black either. The thing about navy clothing is that almost any color shoe can be said to "go." In one way or another. For example, in the "preppy" style (I use preppy in the current sense of the word, not as in went-to-Exeter), one could wear lime green, or bright red, or pink shoes. Color-wise, all those choices work. They just have a certain feel to them you have to take into consideration.

Conversely, if you follow the Stacy and Clinton "pop of color" practice, you can go with orange, or lavender. An edgier Artsy Cousin can pull off wearing shoe colors right next to navy (but with enough yellow or red tinge to avoid confusion), forest green or aubergine. A Grande Dame senior partner can sport fabulous chocolate brown crocodile pumps.

The sheer flexibility and range of navy is what makes it tricky. So I will put forth my particular High WASP prejudices for you to avoid, with the caveat that they are only that, prejudices, and navy is a case-by-case phenomenon.

• Light brown with navy is declasse unless we're talking sandals. I don't know why. This can make nudes, or pink, difficult to pull off too.
  
• White with navy better be pretty clearly nautical or don't try it. White bucks for men perhaps, but there I defer to Reggie Darling.
  
• Gold with navy should be worn a la Grecque, somehow. Or on a red carpet with very avant garde jewelry.
• Bronze is the best metallic, inasmuch as it's the most surprising.
• Turquoise-studded sandals would look fab.
• Purple and aqua are tough, as they tend to verge into navy territory dangerously near to the SHE COULDN'T SEE THE DIFFERENCE gaffe.
  

In sum, it's about the style tribe signals you want to send, your color sense, and your tendency towards the sombre or the cheerful. The strict or the playful. Not about rules. Here are some examples, from previous posts.

What Color Shoes To Wear With Navy? by High WASP featuring Fendi dresses

All this extends to jeans. They are navy, you know. And east side bride says Bensimons are the way to go. I'm a fan of Tretorns too.

Bensimons To Wear With Navy by High WASP featuring Tretorn shoes

So there you have it. Speak now or forever hold your navy peace. Speak now anyway. You guys are fun.

Apparently Navy Is Now "Indigo"

Retrogurl at nitro.licious posts this announcement from Lancome.

Yesterday in Paris, the Lancôme makeup team unveiled their latest fall 2009 color collection, Declaring Indigo. Created by Lancôme artistic director for makeup, Aaron De Mey, this collection celebrates Paris in all its vibrancy. Aaron chose shades that represent the glamour, the energy and the passion of Paris—indigo blue, bright red and luxurious gold.

Apparently navy blue, here in the "indigo" incarnation, is tres now. It's even being declared. You see, when you have the same style all your life once a decade you become moderately fashionable.

Apparently one can even pre-order a makeup bag with navy blue brushes. Excuse me, I mean indigo.

Just when I was ready to move on to khaki. Sigh.

Shoes With Navy Blue, Redux

In fashion, there are always arbiters. To me, east side bride is an arbiter of cool. She may not want to be one, far be it for me to insist. However, as professors always say, for the purposes of discussion, let's just say she's an arbiter of cool. And let's just say, in this case because it's true, that she said she was tired of Converse and couldn't I get some Bensimons or some Tretorns. So, always one to respond well to authority, like a good High WASP, I did. Lots of them. Delicious. Rather like a berry salad, only for wearing on your tootsies.

Bensimons To Wear With Navy by High WASP featuring Tretorn shoes

Slynnro is also an arbiter of cool, if you ask me, which of course nobody did. A different kind of cool. A Texas kind of cool. Luckily for us there are many different kinds of cool. She said she would wear these with navy.

I'd ask Kappa Prep what she might wear with navy, (not at her future wedding, there she says pink) as another arbiter of yet another genre of cool. But she is in India at the moment. Um, riding elephants.

I expect that you are all arbiters of one sort of cool or another. Enjoy whatever you put on your feet. I had thought High WASPs by law were not allowed to be cool. I had made my peace with that idea. My sister, however, is cool. I am not sure how she gets away with it.

Have a wonderful weekend.

What Color Shoes To Wear With Navy Blue?

You have a lot of choices for shoe color for navy blue clothing. Here are some pictures of a few options. Because, despite all the terribly serious talk about careers and lifelong satisfaction, the momentary glee of a good pair of shoes, matched perfectly for your circumstances with whatever you are wearing, cannot be discounted.

And why wear navy? Well, navy is the High WASP color of choice, right? Do you need proof? There's no question that it's the best suit color for women. As well as the perfect dinner party dress color. And, finally, the defining characteristic of the most beautiful, classic outfit to hit the runways in a while.

What Color Shoes To Wear With Navy? by High WASP featuring Converse shoes

A Brief Moment Of Navy. Maybe Two.

Mmhmm.


Mmhmm.

But not together. It's not advisable to match your housewares.

High WASP True Colors - Navy #3

And for the High WASP dinner party at home, a little black dress is a tad too austere. Navy blue will hide the stains from roasted red pepper relish or corn fritters or homemade blue cheese dressing or malted milk brownies or ma po tofu, just as well as black. I could continue. But I will restrain myself. It's all about restraint.

Dinner at Seven in Navy by High WASP featuring Cynthia Vincent shoes

High WASP True Colors - Navy #2

There are those working days when you plain and simply have to gear up to fight. When what you have to accomplish is going to require your last iota of capability, cognitive, emotional, physical. In the corporate world those days call for navy blue. Every single woman going into law or finance or industry ought to make her first purchase and most frequent purchase over time a navy suit. Or suit equivalent. The particulars can change decade by decade. I celebrated my 30th birthday by buying my first non-suit for work. A navy blue dress that buttoned down the front, big shoulders, wide belt. It was 1986, remember? Throughout my 40's I had a Vestimenta crepe wool navy blue suit. Hung perfectly. Wore it with flat black Ferragamo loafers. Nowadays I wear my Giorgio Armani navy tweed jacket with unmatching wide legged navy linen pants. Manolo Blahnik ballet flats. Heels cause me to wiggle, and wiggling causes me to falter.

Understand that I am not a big shopper. My closet is small. I only buy what I have to. I don't have oodles and oodles of designer labels festooning my hangers. I have figured out the High WASP way of doing nothing wrong with my work wardrobe. No one will ever talk about my clothes behind my back. But some days I need to drop the gloves. I prepare myself for metaphorical blood on the ice. I get my tailored blue and white striped Brooks Brothers shirt, my Rolex Cellini, my bag. All the top level accessories. I wear not one thing that causes me to use up capability on doubt, no wrinkled shirt, no sub-optimal earrings, no scuffed shoes. I put on my navy blue jacket and pants. I prepare to prevail. Against all odds, sometimes.

Wow, this really gets my testosterone going. Line up the accessories like hand grenades.

Must Win Work Days by High WASP featuring Salvatore Ferragamo shoes

Now I might wear just a little bit of blue mascara to remind myself that I used to frequent CBGB's back in the '80s. To remind myself that I find the whiteness of rice quite overwhelming. But that's a small private sign. And the mascara is still navy blue.

High WASP True Colors - Navy, #1

If the High WASPs had a place of worship, the altar cloth would be navy blue. You can never go wrong with navy. Yes, I said never. Black may be the neutral most favored by the rest of the fashion world but black is problematic for High WASPs. First of all, it's funereal. Second of all, it's edgy. In the High WASP world the ultimate sin is to offend anyone, for any reason. Some people get offended, or at least nervous, around edgy. Navy blue is deeply respectful, serious, sober. It's American. Very American. Look at jeans, the single most important invention of the American innovation engine. Yup, navy. And I know jeans weren't invented by a WASP. Even better. Immigration is really American. My ancestors were in part sheep farmers and cheese makers from Southwestern Scotland.

So if you are ever in doubt about what to wear, it's easy. go navy. Let's say for Sunday lunch at the lake. The archetypal lake. The Platonic lake.

Now of course there may be regional variations. You can think of them as regional colorways of the High WASP. For example:

Sunday Lunch At The Lake by High WASP featuring Old Navy

In California, for Sunday lunch with the family at the Lake Tahoe house, go with an orange shirt. Northern California will be slightly rebellious, we can't help it. In Texas or the Carolinas, a lovely pink polo. In Vermont, kelly green all the way. But in all cases, the navy blue jeans jacket says we understand we are in the country. The wedge shoes say we get that there's no reason to sink heels into the grass. And the vintage Halston scarf? It belonged to our aunt, the one who had a slightly scandalous past. But she's family. Impunity, remember?

The navy parade doesn't end with lakeside lunches. More to follow.