Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Shades of Purple
It was fun to put this outfit together if for no other reason than to see how many different shades of purple I could get in there. The jacket, the sweater, the tank top, the tulle skirt, and the shoes are all slightly different shades, which I think made this outfit really interesting despite the fact that the palette is limited to just two main colors.
This olive skirt transitioned easily into wintertime with the addition of the tulle skirt underneath. Though the overall length of the olive skirt is long, it opens quite far in the front and would be way too cold to wear without a layer underneath. The tulle was the perfect length and added a textural element, and then what could possibly be better than ruffles plus tulle??
The featured outerwear today is the beautiful leather jacket I brought home from Paris last year (I told you I buy a lot of coats when I travel!). It's lined with a dense padded lining topped with a layer of silk, making it far warmer than a typical leather jacket.
Jacket: Zadig & Voltaire
Sweater: Free People
Tank: Rapsodia
Scarf: Duke et Duchesse
Belt: Oscar de la Renta
Olive skirt: Heathen
Tulle skirt: Noa Noa
Boots: Eject
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Looks Like a Vest
I've been wearing so much brown and black lately that I decided to throw in these orange argyle tights just to get some color in there. I thought the shoes were a good way to bring a little splash of lighter color into the bottom half of the outfit.
Jacket: thrifted
Top: H&M
Corset: Xcentricities
Skirt: from my sister
Tights: Sock Dreams
Shoes: Art Shoes
Monday, December 28, 2009
Optimism
I just loved all the drape, texture, and 3-dimensionality of this outfit: the sheer batwing top, the chains and studded boots, the hint of tulle peeking out at the hemline, and of course the fantastic ruffles and shaping on this dress. This is definitely an outfit I'll use again, either for an evening
It occurs to me that I've bought a lot of coats in my travels -- perhaps that just means that I don't pack enough warm clothes. Some might call that poor planning; I prefer to think of it as optimism.
Dress: All Saints
Top: Sisley
Skirt: Glam Garb by Gunlis
Tights: MP
Boots: All Black
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Drop Waist
Shirt: Promod
Skirt: F21
Tights: MP
Shoes: Born
Coat: some shop in Venice
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Weekend Casual
Several readers have inquired about my weekend/after work outfits, so I thought I'd show you a few of them in one post. As I hope to convince you, dressing down needn't mean dressing slovenly. Though many of my casual outfits are built around jeans and comfy shoes, they also tend to include the same sorts of accessories, color combinations, and other details that make my work wear interesting and uniquely me. They also generally look neat and fitted, with plenty of the layering strategies you're used to seeing from me. Shown above is a typical outfit that I'd throw on after work when I'm heading over to Mark's place or going to meet friends for a casual evening out. Starting with a pair of jeans and a comfy, long tunic, I added a hat and scarf for some visual interest, layered on armwarmers and a cropped hoodie for warmth, and chose a funky but functional pair of shoes to complete the look.
Hat: San Diego Hat Co. -- Scarf: Banana Republic -- Tunic: H&M -- Hoodie: Kersh -- Arm Warmers: Sock Dreams -- Jeans: Acne -- Shoes: 21 Sport
This outfit is really basic, being built around jeans and a sweater. But with this one I've brought in a little color with the purple sweater and boots, as well as adding some sparkle with the sequined scarf. An outfit like this is a great way to throw on something in a hurry that's easy, comfy, and still looks put together. Because the sweater is a loose, lacy knit, it adds a bit of sheer texture to the outfit.
I very frequently add scarves to my casual outfits to boost the style. To me they add an element of sophistication without looking too fussy.
Sweater: Free People
Scarf: Urban Outfitters
Jeans: Acne
Shoes: Cydwoq
Here's an even more relaxed look, with faded jeans and sneakers this time. But rather than wearing a plain t-shirt I chose this soft drapey cowl neck shirt instead, which adds a bit of visual interest at the neckline. The other thing I did here was to use several different shades of purple, creating richness and depth. Since I usually don't bother with a lot of jewelery on the weekends, I use layers of color to make my outfits more interesting. Between the soft cowl, the chunky sweater, the jeans and the sneakers, I definitely look comfortable here, but the outfit still gives the impression of being carefully put together.
Cowl: thrifted
Sweater: BB Dakota
Jeans: Lucky Brand
Sneakers: Simple
Finally, here are some outfits you've seen before that I've either transitioned directly from work to an evening out, or worn out on an evening or weekend and then decided to turn into a work outfit later. Notice that all of these outfits are comprised of comfortable pieces, good walking shoes, and not too many layers that require frequent adjusting. That's because when I go out, I usually walk to wherever I'm going and don't
Monday, December 21, 2009
Company Holiday Party
Last weekend was my company holiday party, so I figured I'd better come up with something that would really top my usual flamboyant daily wear. It turned out to be a great excuse to wear my gorgeous Dark Garden corset, which I've owned for about 2 years but sadly have not worn until now. It worked so beautifully over this tulle skirted dress that the two look like they're one piece. The dress is one I bought at a small boutique in Copenhagen a few years ago; I've actually worn it to the company holiday party before, so this was the perfect way to wear it again but make it look different (not that anyone other than me would remember what dress I wore 2 years ago!).
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For this event I curled my hair using foam curlers that I put in when my hair was damp, thus avoiding a repeat of the forehead-burning I sustained when I curled my hair for the Seattle blog meet-up. I found that the curls lasted a lot longer this way and came out softer and smoother.
My outfit:
Friday, December 18, 2009
Feuerzangenbowle
Today's post has nothing at all to do with fashion, unless you count the subject's ability to stain your clothing. It does have to do with booze and lighting things on fire though, which may perhaps interest you. This post is about a little-known (in the US, anyway) German beverage called Feuerzangenbowle. And today I'm going to tell you how to make it, because it's a drink that's just perfect for this time of year. I'll start by describing the whole process and then I'll give the list of ingredients and quantities at the end.
Feuerzangenbowle is sort of like a mulled red wine, and starts out pretty much the same way, with red wine being steeped with spices and citrus fruit. But because of the way it's prepared, this drink is well-suited for a large party with friends, firstly because of the large quantity that the recipe makes, and secondly because the fire is pretty damn impressive. What's shown in the photo above is the final preparation step, which involves soaking a dense cone of sugar, called a Zuckerhut, in Bacardi 151 and lighting it on fire over the heated wine mixture. The idea is to carmelize and melt the suger, which drips into the wine through a long slot in the bottom of that metal tray.
My love of Feuerzangenbowle started years and years ago when a friend introduced me to it after spending some time doing an intership in Stuttgart, Germany. I used to have one of the metal trays, called the feuerzangen, but lost it to my ex; for years I've looked for a replacement, and finally found an entire set, which is sort of like a fondue set with an alcohol burner underneath. I special ordered it from Germany with the help of the delightful Erika at German Specialty Imports in Prior Lake, MN, and last weekend I gave it its first trial run. You really don't need a lot of fancy equipment to make this drink, but you've gotta love that gorgeous German engineering, which I assure you is a vision in all its gleaming stainless steel glory. If you can't get your hands on a proper feuerzangen, you can try using a large, slotted metal spoon or something similar. It's fairly important to rig up a system that you won't have to hold onto though, because the sugar takes a good 15 minutes to burn, and then of course there's the little matter of it being on fire.
Besides the feuerzangen (or your reasonably MacGyver'd-up substitute), the other unique thing you'll need for this recipe is a Zuckerhut, which can be found at German delis or import stores. Alternately, you can use a whole pile of sugarcubes, about 250 grams' worth of 'em, to be precise. Having made it both ways, I can tell you that although the sugar cubes work just fine, the zuckerhut is a lot easier to work with.
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Once the wine mixture is ready, it's time to prepare the sugar and rum. When using a zuckerhut, I like to place it in a small container, pour Bacardi 151 over it until no more absorbs, and then let it soak for several minutes, because I find that more of the rum soaks in and the sugar will burn longer without additional maintenance (which I'll discuss shortly). If you're using sugarcubes you can still use this approach, just don't let them soak long enough that the sugar dissolves.
Now, remove all the spices and peels from the wine, and heat the wine in a metal pot it until it's steaming. Position the feuerzangen above the pot of wine, place the rum-soaked sugar in the feuerzangen, stand back, and light it. The sugar makes a beautiful blue flame as it burns (it's even prettier with the lights off), and the dripping caramelized sugar makes a satisfying sizzling sound as it hits the wine.
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With my recent test batch I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the feuerzangenbowle will keep for several days in the fridge, if for some reason you find yourself unable to consume 3 liters of alcohol in a single evening. I've never tried scaling the recipe down, as I've usually only made it for a group, though I found this photo on the left that suggests there are also single serving approaches. That doesn't sound nearly as fun though, or as delightfully dangerous.
Feuerzangenbowle Recipe:
2 cinnamon sticks
7-8 cloves
2-3 cardamom pods
3 oranges (juice and a large slice of peel)
2 lemons (juice and a large slice of peel)
3 Liters dry red wine
2-3 cups Bacardi 151
1 zuckerhut, or 250g sugarcubes
Equipment:
feuerzangen
large metal pan
long-handled metal spoon or ladle
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Yes You Can
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
True F@#!ing Story
Yes, the glorious Wendy Brandes for Francis swear rings are mine at last! I coveted them for months, stalked them and obsessed over them, was haunted by them first on Kingdom of Style and then by Wendy herself, and finally broke down and bought them last week rather than waiting until after the holidays as I'd originally planned. And I have to say, I'm really fucking glad I did! Pretty much as soon as I put them on my hand and headed into my first meeting, someone promptly noticed all the flashing silver and started oohing and ahhing. Soon the whole team was admiring them. Yes, MY coworkers, noticing, and admiring, some seriously boundary-pushing jewelery. Go fucking figure!
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.
Highly Functional
Today's featured outerwear is a coat you haven't seen before. It was custom made for me by
With this outfit I tried the long-socks-over-jeans-tucked-into-short-boots look again, this time blending the jeans, socks, and boots in a long unbroken line of indigo
Tunic: All Saints
Sheer top: Noa Noa
Belt, scarf: Urban Outfitters
Jeans: Joe's
Socks: Sock Dreams
Boots: Frye
Coat: Shawna Hoffman