Lately I've been getting a lot of use out of this beautiful leather jacket. Its open front and cropped length make it not quite winter-worthy, but it's the perfect outer layer for spring and all the way through fall in the mild San Francisco climate. I loved the way it looked over these light chiffon layers; it added just the right amount of toughness to the soft, feminine look.
With this outfit I wanted to put together something that had sort of a 50's vibe. I thought the cuffed jeans were a good place to start, and the cropped cardigan, beret, and scarf were the perfect finishing touches. Not too overt, but it had the feel I was going for. My outerwear was my navy pickstitch coat from Tulle. As you may remember from way back in my Buyer's Remorse series, this coat was on my 'specific rules' list for quite some time: I was only allowed to buy another coat if it was a navy one. I found this one on a crazy sale for something like 12 bucks, and it's a great basic coat for mild winter days.
What's that on my hand, you ask? Oh, of course it's my Wendy Brandes for Frances swear rings!
Striped hoodie: ??
Scarf: Banana Republic
Rings: Wendy Brandes
Jeans: Acne
Shoes: Tsubo
Coat: Tulle
Well, I'm back to the daily grind, and back to my regular office outfit posts. This one was inspired by a rainy day, as you can probably tell from the rain boots. Since the shiny boots have sort of a mod look to me, I chose this vintage 60's suit to wear with them, and added the hat so that I didn't have to worry about my hair going flat from the soggy weather.
the donation pile. So sad.
Suit: vintage
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
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.
sort of complexion that looks good surrounded by lots of washed out colors; I have olive undertones in my skin and pale colors tend to make me look, well, dead. So I modified the look somewhat and added this light brown scarf around my neck; the color is soft enough that it doesn't ruin the harmony of the rest of the outfit, but at the same time it frames my face with a warmer color that gives it a little life.
Dress: Lady Language
Brown t-shirt: H&M
Today's blog post is dedicated to Mark's coworker Margaret (hi Margaret!), who wanted to have a look at the vintage coat I just scored for a ridiculously low price on eBay. The coat appears below, but first I'll give the details on the outfit that was 
created especially for it.
Today I winterized this little shirtdress by adding the long-sleeved shirt, scarf, tights, and boots. I seem to frequently wear 
this dress with orange, so I decided to mix it up a little today by at least throwing some brown into the mix. The long scarf was secured by wrapping it around my neck twice and then threading one end over and under the wraps, in order to 
avoid the resulting bulk of tying it in a knot.
As I was putting together the photos for this post I began to hear car horns honking and people joyfully shouting outside, so I knew the election must have been called (as everyone will recall, I live in uber-liberal San Francisco; I don't know one single soul in this town who planned on voting for McCain, or at least none that would admit to it). 
Though this is of course not a political blog, I trust my readers will indulge me as I share the fact that when I clicked over to the San Francisco Chronicle web page and saw the headline, I absolutely wept with joy. This is the first time I've felt optimistic about our country's future in a decade, and I'm so proud of everyone, regardless of political affiliation, for getting out there and voting in record numbers.
These tights are some that I picked up at Noa Noa during my trip to Paris. I absolutely love Noa Noa tights; the best thing about them is the fact that they have a sewn-in seat just like old fashioned long johns, which means they actually fit around your bum instead of being stretched taught and then creeping up into unmentionable regions all day. They also have turned heels, which cuts down on the stretch and wear to the heel area.
texture to the outfit, while the mix of browns and grays tied all the other pieces together. The jacket, with the wide open front, has limited utility on really cold days, but is just perfect for this brisk fall weather we've been having.
This little sheer black top is just perfect for my figure. Since I don't have a big bust to work with, I tend to wear clothing that accentuates my small waist, which I feel is one of my better features. 
Generally if the clothing itself doesn't do the trick, I add a belt so that my meager curves don't get "lost" under the fabric. This top, with its fluttery sleeves and wrap-tie waist, required no such embellishment. It has a delightful bird and star pattern, and I got it from La Redoute on sale for $11.
The dress is from Betsey Johnson, shoes by BCBG Girls, and there's that same Banana Republic bag I've been using all week. Since it was another cold and foggy day in San Francisco, I wisely wore a jacket. This lightweight trench is by Liquid. I've had it for a few years now and when I first bought it I was a little shy of wearing it because the pattern is so bold. 
However I eventually got over that, and in the meantime fashion started to catch up to it and brighter colors became more of the norm. Now I wear it all the time, and I absolutely adore it in all of its loud outrageousness.
The shoes are from BCBG Girls. Since they have the potential to be too flashy for work, I've paired them with neutrals in non-shiny fabrics and kept the accessories to a minimum. The gray sweater and black vest are from H&M, and the skirt is from Banana Republic.
This red coat by Tulle is another of my favorite clothing items. I love it when the coat matches so perfectly with the shoes. 
