Classified

Yep, I wore the same scarf two days in a row. But when I put together this outfit I knew it needed some extra oomph, and the scarf just seemed to give it the perfect, polished-yet-funky touch. And anyway, that day I was on a TOP SECRET MISSION and needed all the polish I could get. Hopefully I'll soon be able to reveal exactly what my mission was that day, but for now it's classified. In this outfit, I felt like someone who'd have top secret clearance. Or maybe just a pistol in my handbag.

Here's a close-up of my new pixie cut, which I absolutely love. It's been awhile since I've had my hair this short, and I forgot how great it is for windy summers by the bay. There is seriously no messing up this style, no matter how strong the gusts get. Between the new haircut, my awesome Helmut Lang blazer (which is possibly the best purchase EVER), and the killer scarf, I felt totally invincible in this.



Blazer, dress: Helmut Lang
Scarf: Alexander McQueen
Bag: Foley + Corinna
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Born
Earrings: Swarovski

Playa Hair

Okay, so the new hair isn't really radical so much as it's just very different. I had several reasons for going this route, most of them having to do with the upcoming trip to Burning Man. For one thing the desert, with its blazing sun, dry air, and ubiquitous talc-like dust, is hard on hair color, and since red is the most delicate of the colors it definitely had to go. More importantly I'll be without my hairdryer out there, and my hair without a hairdryer is about as limp and lifeless as a soggy dishrag, and about as attractive. But bleaching my hair gives it stiffness and texture, so my brilliant hairdresser Michele created this mixture of colors by bleaching big sections of hair on the top and leaving small strands of the previous color mixed throughout, and then darkening the layers underneath for contrast. Because of previous color treatments, the bleached strands have sort of an ombre effect, with the roots being very blonde and darkening to more of a caramel color on the part of the hair shaft that's already been dyed several times. This, my friends, is playa hair.

I recently decided that I absolutely love these loose, open jersey vests I've been seeing all over. So much so that I went and ordered FOUR of them. This wasn't a huge splurge, mind you; this striped vest set me back just $13.80. To me pieces like this are way too simple to spend more than about 20 bucks on. That's why, although I've seen some cute ones on Gilt and similar sites, I haven't really been tempted to buy until I found this and the others at Forever 21. None of them was more than $15.

These little vests are perfect for warmer climates, because they're lightweight and cool while still adding visual interest to an outfit. And as luck would have it, San Francisco suddenly and without warning turned into one of those climates. Last week it was cold and foggy, barely getting into the 60's in the daytime, and then BAM! NINETY degrees the last couple days.

Now people in places like Houston or Phoenix are probably going, "90 degrees, big fucking deal!" But I assure you that this is really extreme for the city. The other night I went out to meet Laura for a show (Crowded House at the Warfield) and both of us showed up hauling sweaters along, as you do. It was so warm we had both considered leaving them at home, but then of course you do that and later find yourself freezing your ass off like a tourist. And yet there we were, leaving the theater around 11 pm with those sweaters still in tow and not on our bodies. San Francisco weather, I will never fully understand you.

Vest: Forever 21

Dress: Lady Language

Belt: Red Dress Shoppe
Tights: Sock Dreams

Boots: All Black

Body on Tap

Looking at this outfit again I'm not really sure I like it. But no matter; what's important is that I tried something a little different. I'll leave it up to my readers to decide if this one was a winner or a loser. What I really wanted to talk about in this post was my hair.

This shiny, soft hairdo is brought to you by Anchor Steam Beer. What, you haven't heard of the old beer-in-your-hair trick? Allow me to explain. You know how after a party you wind up with all those forlorn, half-finished beers, the ones that someone opened and then abandoned because they couldn't remember where they set it or which one was theirs? Well, I'm here to tell you that there's a use for them. Flat beer is in fact a wonderful conditioner for your hair, and leaves it super soft and full of body.

I didn't throw a party, but a couple of months ago I bought several cases of Anchor Steam Beer in plastic bottles to take to Burning Man. The plastic bottles are great because they're lightweight and won't accidentally get broken, but they don't have the shelf life of beer in glass bottles. I cracked open one of my leftovers the other night and discovered that the beer was completely flat, so I decided to use it in my hair.

The best way is to completely soak your hair with the beer, then wrap plastic wrap around your hair and wait 20 or 30 minutes before shampooing and conditioning like normal. If you don't have time for that, you can do what I did yesterday: rinse your hair in the shower, pour on the beer and let it sit for a few minutes, and then shampoo and condition. It's important to really shampoo thoroughly or you'll end up smelling like a brewery (Unless you happen to work at a brewery; then you wouldn't care. I verified this last night with my friend who actually does work at a brewery.). Then just style your hair like normal. The effects of the beer last several days, especially if you don't shampoo every day and only use conditioner instead.

The outfit:
Button-down shirt: Guess
Wrap cardigan: S
Cropped pants: Noa Noa
Tights: American Apparel
Shoes: Bronx
Brooch: Vintage

Unkempt

I had my hair cut and colored last weekend in preparation for my best friend's wedding, in which I'm the maid of honor. My hairdresser, Michele, has a real knack for styling my hair with that tousled sort of look, like I partied all night and have just rolled out of bed. When I've tried to duplicate it, however, my hair just ended up looking frizzy and unkempt. That is, until I tried out a couple of different products that I'm liking very much, and which I will share with all of you, in case you're still searching for that rock n' roll style without the hangover, lingering groupies, and astronomical hotel bill.

Both products are by Redken. The first is Elastic Works 09, which I put in while my hair is still wet. Crunching my hair as I blow dry adds a few waves, which I can then exaggerate by spraying Urban Experiment 8 onto my dry hair and crunching some more. This second product really adds the texture and separates the random waves. It also prevents that frizzy look I hate so much.

I didn't really feel like a rock star today as I attended meetings, wrote reports, and answered emails, but at least I sort of looked like one, or at least my hair did...

Striped shirt: Promod
Navy shirt: Aziz
Belt: Oscar
Skirt: Sunhee Moon
Socks: Sock Dreams
Boots: Modern Vintage

Beachy

This top is so stretchy and comfortable; it feels a lot like bathing suit fabric. Perhaps this is what inspired me to go with a tousled, beachy hairdo today.

Surprisingly, mussed up hair is a lot more difficult to achieve than perfectly-groomed styles. I used to not be able to do it at all until my hairdresser taught me the trick. I'd read in various fashion mags that you're supposed to crunch your hair as you're drying it; what those mags don't tell you is that it really only works when you have curly or wavy hair. My hair is naturally straight; the texture and random waves produced by crunching fall out if I so much as look at it wrong. The trick my hairdresser taught me is to get the hair very hot with the blowdryer, grab a section and crunch it, but don't let go until the hair cools. That way the waves are "set" before you let gravity start working against you. Once it's all dry I add a little texturing paste, then spray on a little hairspray and crunch it some more while the hairspray is still wet.

The green halter top by is by Ktoo (via The Red Dress Shoppe), black shrug by Weston Wear, skirt from an unknown manufacturer, shoes by Camper. Clearly there's no way I can get away with wearing this top at work without the shrug, and even then I think it might be pushing the envelope a little, but such is my way. I wish I could find more shrugs like this; it's lightweight and sheer, and adds just the right finishing touch without completely covering what's underneath. This would be an ideal outfit for going out straight after work, as all I'd have to do is remove the shrug. It also has to be one of the most comfortable ensembles ever.

Swap

I got a new hair color and cut yesterday; I just gave my hairdresser free rein to choose whatever she thought best and let her go to it. I thought my hair ended up looking a bit like Audrey Tautou in Amelie, n'est pas? Really the cut has not changed at all; it's the color that makes the biggest difference.

Since I had a rather important meeting today this started out as a fairly monotone, conservative ensemble; however I started swapping one piece for another, and that one for another, and so on until it finally became a lot more interesting than originally planned. The obi belt and short cardigan necessitate frequent readjusting so that everything stays properly aligned, but on the whole I'd say this outfit won at least a few points for comfort.

Leopard print blouse from La Redoute, orange cardigan from e-klah, obi belt from Sunhee Moon, shoes from Born, and the skirt is from an unknown manufacturer.

Close Call With a Bad Hair Day

I'm never quite sure how to take comments like, "Wow, you're so colorful today!" or, "You look so spring-y!" My self-assured, confident self translates such remarks to, "You look great! I wish I knew how to wear something besides gray and black!" whilst my insecure side translates them to, "It looks like Bozo the Clown just threw up on you." For this outfit, my confident side prevailed.

The sparkly tee is from Michael Stars. O Michael, let me count the ways that I love thy shirts: One; they have a shimmery texture that makes them far dressier than a plain tee. Two; they come in loads of different colors and styles, which change every season. Three; they are super stretchy and comfortable. SO stretchy and comfortable that they come only in "One size fits most," and how brilliant is that? I vamped this one up by adding some flashy jewelry and a flower barrette.

In the interest of full disclosure, the barrette really only came about because I'm sadly in need of a haircut right now, and I was on the verge of having a really bad hair day. One side of my hair wanted to flip outwards, the other in. Rather than struggling with it, I decided to fight fire with fire and accentuate the asymmetry by clipping one side up.

The rest of the outfit: navy tee from H&M, jeans from Level 99, shoes by Gabriella Rocha. I wish I could remember the designer of the jewelry, but I purchased it a couple of years ago in a small boutique in the Haight which has since closed. The flower barrette is from a local vintage shop and the belt from an import store. Kasmira reminded me of the trick for tying these long belts; her full instructions are here.