{ the jaunty magpie }

Give to me your leather, Take from me my lace -- yes, of course I should have used Stevie Nicks' Leather & Lace as a title, but that memorable line always makes me giggle. And it seems a little more naughty than what this Bird was trying to do with this Inspired post about taking an undergarment texture like lace and balancing its ladylike charm with a bit of toughness.

Granted, if you're a lawyer or a banker, this probably isn't something for the office, but the Bird herself has worn this in the evening for a dinner meetup with friends and I don't think anyone mistook me for a Hell's Angel or started singing Fleetwood Mac lyrics at me... that I know of, anyway.

This Bird took cues from a leather-trim lace vest from St Ærk, as well as the delicately feminine touches of lace from Stella McCartney's Fall 2009 ready to wear line. I love the texture of lace, but it can really formalize a look, so adding a material like leather and the casualness of a t-shirt can balance it out, still leaving room for adornments like jewelry and a feathered cap. The satin clutch softens the top half, as the jacket, once zipped-up, can look a bit severe.

Several of the Magpie's favorites were pulled from her wardrobe for this: the lace skirt was from Black Market/White House, motorcycle printed/sequined t-shirt from J. Crew, faux leather motorcycle jacket from Arden B., purple satin clutch from Nine West, and the black leather boots are amazingly comfortable Franco Sartos. The gray wool cloche and jade rings are vintage, and the feather adornment was made by the Magpie herself, as she can be a bit of a crafty Bird.

* Special Note: know what rhymes with "lace?" How about "space," as in I totally SPACED on answering a reader's question a while back over what script font I use on the posts! I'm so sorry I'm such a FLAKE! The script font I use is called Edwardian Script, which is available for purchase on sites like fonts.com. I've also found some good free fonts on sites like BetterFonts.com if you're looking for other resources. Apologies for the very belated answer -- if anyone has questions or want to yell at me for not answering something sooner, feel free to email me directly!