Lunch Meeting

I wore this outfit when I went to lunch with gorgeous fellow bloggers Sonja and Jennine from The Coveted and Tami from fête à fête. Yes, that's how far behind I've gotten with my outfit posts -- I wore this on December 18. Thankfully Jennine was on the ball and posted about our meet-up in a much more timely fashion.

Since I was having a lunchtime meeting, I figured what more appropriate than a tie? I've really grown to love the look of a tie, and I'm inspired to try to thrift a few more in the coming months. Some pointers on wearing a tie without looking too androgynous:

• Make sure there's at least one piece in the outfit that looks feminine. In this case, it was the fitted, short-sleeved jacket. While the plaid print and neutral color scheme are harmonious with the menswear look, the shape is figure-defining.
• Don't tie the tie too perfectly; keep it a bit sloppy as if you're truly wearing your boyfriend's clothes. This was an easy one for me since I really am quite inept at tying a Windsor knot.
• In the same vein as the point above, keep the outfit slouchy and relaxed looking, even if the individual pieces are tailored. I left the jacket unbuttoned, and let the cropped pants bunch up around the tops of the boots as if they came untucked on their own.

My outerwear was this lightweight, hooded black jacket with gray piping. The day turned out to be one of those glorious San Francisco winter days where you barely even need a jacket at all. We seem to be blessed with a lot of them in November and December, which makes up for the fact that we don't get much of a summer.

Short-sleeved jacket: A. Byer
Tie: thrifted
Top: Max Studio
Pants: Noa Noa
Boots: Modern Vintage
Coat: Liso Bono