I snuck that waist cincher corset of mine into work another outfit, and as expected not one person noticed. To be fair, I suppose it does sort of look like a vest when the jacket is layered over it. I wore the jacket all day, so no one was ever the wiser. I liked how the pinstripes in the jacket play nicely against the piping on the corset.
outfit or in a slightly different configuration at work. The featured outerwear here is a boiled wool shawl-collar coat that I picked up in Riga a couple years ago. It's soft and drapey and basically feels like a giant sweater. It's really idea for the San Francisco climate because it's warm without being too bulky, which means I can wear it over other layers while still looking tailored.
I tend to wear this batwing top belted, because otherwise it just makes me look large and shapeless, especially over a full skirt like this one. The elastic belt keeps the excess fabric in place and still allows the top to have the unstructured, flowing look that made me like it in the first place. I like the way the keyhole back reveals part of the pattern on the dress.
Coat: Promod
This is what happens when I let my outfit posts get ridiculously out of order -- I end up with the same garment appearing within just a few days of the last time it showed up. The horror! Actually, it's okay, because perhaps this will prove to Mark's dad that I actually don't throw my clothes away after a single use. Though he's a brilliant astronomer, he is apparently completely bewildered by my wardrobe, since I appear to never wear the same thing twice. Harry, I assure you that neither does my closet defy the laws of physics, nor do I throw my clothes away after one wear. Behold, here's the same shirt I posted last week! But since you're a scientist and may require additional data before you're convinced, I submit for your consideration this further photographic evidence: 
I've worn this shirt many times, in fact, and in a number of different ways. It struck me while looking at these photos that it has yet to appear without something layered over it; this is really due to the shirt itself. Because of the long length and vertical stripes, it elongates my already long torso. And as I've mentioned many times before, I don't really like tucking shirts in. Thus, a contrasting layer on top lessens the impact of that long line of stripes and brings my body back into proportion without having to jam all that excess shirt length into my skirt or pants.
Today's featured outerwear is this brown drop waist wool coat that I bought in Venice several years ago. This coat is one of the few drop waist items I own, another being the tunic shown above. I find that it generally isn't a very flattering shape for my figure, managing to magically hide all my best features while simultaneously highlighting the worst ones. But I think with both these items it's the shaping, the asymmetry, and the dense, structured fabrics that make this hard-to-wear shape work.
Tunic: Promod
often stay in one place the whole time; thus, comfort and ease are key. Boots are my most frequently worn after-hours shoe because they don't slip around or otherwise bother my feet even on steep hills, and I try to avoid tight-fitting belts when I go out because bar stools and restaurant chairs rarely keep my posture as straight as my office chair does, which means that anything squeezing my middle is going to be digging in by the end of the night.
The hat, of course, is one of my own designs. This is a new take on my Bettie mini topper style; it's about half an inch taller and about
an inch larger in circumference than the other ones I've made. I was wanting a slightly larger hat that I could style sort of in the vein of Joanie Stubbs' top hat on Deadwood. This is a dressier version than hers, but I like the new style and will be playing around with it more and potentially offering it in the shop. In order to create this hat, I needed a custom-made wooden extension for my existing hat block, which Mark kindly created for me. It entailed lots of sawing and sanding, which naturally meant a lot of sawdust, not to mention the noise. Who knew that millinery was such a messy business?
I only bought one new item to compete this outfit, and that was this pair of long black leather gloves. I've seen a lot of these long gloves this season, and had been wanting a pair. I found these for 50% off at Macys.com and decided they'd be the perfect way to keep my hands and arms warm while still looking dressed up. I ended up wearing them for much of the night, and they worked really well for keeping my fingers warm while holding onto an ice cold drink.
No special occasion post would be complete without a picture of Mark and I. This shot was sort of rushed, since we were trying to get out the door by that time. Mark wore a beautiful thrifted tuxedo jacket with his dark wash Heathen jeans. I thought this was a great modern take on a classic look. His vest is a thrifted one that he embellished himself to steampunk it up a little, and the bowler hat is one I made. 
To do this you can either mix everything together and leave it in the fridge overnight, or alternately you can heat the mixture until the wine is steaming (not boiling!), and let it steep for 15 minutes or so. For my test run I tried the second method, and it worked great.
Instead, pour a small amount, maybe 2-3 tablespoons, of liquor into a metal ladle or large spoon, and carefully but quickly and smoothly pour it over the sugar. You'll need to brace yourself for the flame, but don't chicken out! -- just pour it right over the sugar, pull the spoon back slowly, and if necessary, blow out the now flaming spoon. Easy! If it's your first time making it, and depending on how adept you are with handling fire, having someone else standing by with a fire extinguisher might not be a bad idea. It's also a good idea to make sure you don't have a lot of loose clothing on that could get in the way of the flame.
As an avid hat enthusiast and milliner, I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "I can't wear hats." Well, I'm here to tell you that yes, you can. Oh sure, there are those rare people out there; you know, the People Who Can't Wear Hats*. But I suspect that their relative numbers are roughly the same as the proportion of narcoleptics versus People Who Just Like to Sleep A Lot (I'll freely admit to being among the latter category). So if you're one of those People Who *Think* They Can't Wear Hats, why not pop over and check out the guest post I wrote for Already Pretty, and see if I can change your mind?
I suppose I ought to tell you about the rest of my outfit too. Continuing in my ongoing outerwear feature, I'll start with the jacket. This one was selected because with the thick vest to keep me warm, all I really needed were the long sleeves. The cropped leather jacket was the perfect solution, plus, the detailing is cool enough to stand up to those fabulous rings.
Since I don't really like the feel of tucked in shirts, I used the fitted vest to give me waist definition and to balance out my proportions, which were a little off because of the length of the shirt. I also wore long socks over tights with this outfit, but the socks were only for warmth and were pulled all the way up rather than showing beneath the skirt -- and anyway, something about knee high socks with a pleated wool skirt just strikes me as waaay too schoolgirlish for a 40-year-old woman to be wearing. I just love all the socks-over-tights looks I've seen recently on Chelsea and Erin though, and I'm determined to put together one of my own.
designer Shawna Hoffman, who also made my fabulous convertible flight suit. This jacket also features Shawna's imaginative and highly functional approach to clothing design: the sleeves come off, and the two bottom tiers of the jacket can be removed for many different lengths and 
configurations. I originally saw this jacket at Ceiba Records on Haight Street, but it was in a size way too small for me. Assuming that several had been made, I asked about it over at Five and Diamond, but they told me that the one I saw was just a sample and the only one in existence, but that I could have one made to order. Months later, it was finally mine, and the fit is just perfect. There's also a leather version of this coat, but somehow I thought the dark denim was more unique. The back of the coat has corset-style laces, allowing the fit to be adjusted all over.
blue. On the top I layered a sheer floral over my All Saints mottled argyle tunic, and glammed up the whole thing with a sequined scarf. Overall the colors were dark, but the blend of patterns and texture 
kept the outfit rich and interesting.
