A Match Made in Heaven

Here's the third of the new bags purchased this year; the first was the taupe-gray L.A.M.B. bag I got in New York, and the second was the Michael Kors bag I showed you a couple days ago. I snapped up this beauty via Gilt after seeing Sal's review of it and admiring how its capacious tote form coverts to a compact cross-body style. This is a great bag for San Francisco, as it is large enough to carry the compulsory sweater or light jacket that is a necessity even on the most seemingly summery of days. The bag itself is also light enough that filling it up doesn't push it into the realm of unmanageable -- unless you fill it with bricks, I suppose. It could actually hold quite a few, should the need arise.

I didn't even realize until I started writing this post that Sal also inspired the purchase of this scarf. While we were in New York in February we stopped at Saks for Sal to pick out her McQueen skull scarf, and while we were looking at all the options I tried on a red and black one. I've thought about it ever since, so I finally tracked one down on eBay, and boy am I glad I did. My $20 knock-off version doesn't hold a candle to the real thing; the difference in the quality and feel of the fabric is immediately apparent, and the skull pattern is perfectly crisp and clear on this one, whereas it's smeary and irregular on the knockoff.

And finally, here are the opaque-but-skintight ponte knit pants paired with the nearly-butt-baring dress; as I suspected, a match made in heaven!

Dress: Asos
Harness: Audra Jean
Pants: Club Monaco
Bag: Foley + Corinna
Jacket: Skin Graft
Scarf: Alexander McQueen
Shoes: BCBGirls

Dressing for the Season

I figured I'd better sneak in one more wear of this fabulous furry vest before we get too much further into spring. Despite it still being pretty chilly here, I've decided to make a concerted effort this year to dress for the season, which means shelving much of my warmer stuff like this vest, and avoiding wintry combos such as tights and boots. I'm still planning on wearing some of my boots during the summer, I'm just going to try to do it sans heavy tights. This look most certainly says winter, but it was really cold and rainy that day so I felt it was necessary.

One of the problems with living in a climate that doesn't have temperature extremes is that my approach to dressing varies as little as the seasons do, which means I can get tired of seeing the same things hanging in my closet day after day. I figure if I try designating certain items for a particular season only, then I'll have a renewed interest in them when that season rolls around again. Thus, this furry vest goes in the Winter pile for the time being, as do many of the other garments in this outfit. The leather pants might prove to be a multi-seasonal item, but for the next several months they'll most likely be appearing with sandals instead of boots.





How does your wardrobe change with the different seasons? Do you physically pack up items and put them aside for the season, or do they co-mingle in your closet all year round? Does this contribute to how long your items have interest and appeal for you?

Vest: Adrienne Landau
Scarf: Duke et Duchesse
Sweater: All Saints
Pants: Firetrap
Boots: Bos and Co.

Tough but Sweet

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.

Dress: Fremont
Skirt: Anthropologie
Boots: Timberland Boot Co.
Jacket: Skin Graft

Asymmetry, Balance, and Flow

I finally got this dress dry cleaned so that I could wear it; this is the Helmut Lang dress I alluded to earlier, and now that I've worn it I love it even more than I did when I brought it home. Behold how the asymmetrical neckline dips down to perfectly frame my snake tattoo -- did I tell you this company designs clothes just for me, or what?

I didn't feel like this dress needed much additional embellishment, and in keeping with the Helmut Lang minimalist aesthetic I kept my makeup fairly light and even went without lipstick. The jacket added plenty of interesting detail though, and the cropped length worked beautifully with the dress without hiding any of that gorgeous draping at the waist.

Dress: Helmut Lang
Leather jacket: Skin Graft
Shoes: Tsubo



I want to talk for a moment about asymmetry in clothing, because a comment from my Fashion Week post the other day got me thinking about why I love asymmetry in certain garments and abhor it in others. What it comes down to is balance and flow. If you look carefully at the dress I have on here, you'll see that on the top half the visual "weight" of the dress is skewed to the side with the sleeve; however on the bottom half that weight shifts to the other side, where draping gathers into the long sash.  Now consider these two one-shoulder dresses:

 Sorry Giuliana Rancic, but I think your dress sucks. Also, I have no fucking idea who you are. 

What are you doing at the Oscars if I have no fucking idea who you are?

What works for me in the Oscar de la Renta dress on the left is the fact that the visual weight shifts smoothly from one side to the other as your eye travels down the length of the garment; the shoulder side of the dress swoops across and flows naturally into the cascade of ruffles on the other side. This type of asymmetry gives a garment movement -- can't you just see the model's wiggle, even though this is a still photo? With the dress on the right however, the shoulder strap just looks weird and out of place. There's nothing to transition it to the bottom half of the dress, so it feels like an afterthought. And sure, there's that long train sticking out, but that's the back of the dress; if you looked at it straight on, it would be a big stupid tube with an awkward strap stuck on one side. Thus, I hate it. Giuliana, call me; I'll get you hooked up with a better dress for the next Oscars, and maybe by then I'll know what in the hell you're doing there.

Invincible

It isn't often I wear black from head to toe, but I figured it was time to give it a whirl. If you look at the window behind me you can see what a black and miserable day it was, and my mood when I got up wasn't a whole lot better, so I figured my outfit should follow suit.

Monochrome looks, whether they're black or some other color, are always more successful when the individual items have interesting detailing and differences in texture. For this outfit I started with my new Helmut Lang blazer because the draping at the waist creates a great silhouette. I added the chiffon top underneath because it gave the outfit some softer edges and also brought in the subtle dark blue pattern. The black leather trousers and studded boots added glossy texture and silver hardware.

I finished off the outfit with my Wendy Brandes swear rings, just in case there was still any doubt about how how I was feeling that day. In the end I think all the black actually improved my mood, because I felt rather invincible; my entire lower half was shielded against the driving rain and the rest of my outfit was closely-fitted and impervious to the high winds.     

Blazer: Helmut Lang
Top: Noa Noa
Trousers: Pepe Jeans
Boots: All Black
Rings: Wendy Brandes

Not for the Faint of heart

Here's that pretty silk chiffon dress again, as promised. This time I gave it a more relaxed look by leaving the ties loosely hanging rather than tying them up in a bow. Since the dress is sheer and needs something underneath, I chose my burgundy suede shorts; they brought in a little color and were an unexpected twist.

My initial thought was to grab one of my pairs of tall, chunky boots, such as my Jeffrey Campbell Clinics or X-Rays. But in the end I decided that they would've been a rather obvious choice to pair with shorts, so I opted for these well-worn cowboy boots instead. The giant wedge boots are so ubiquitous these days that I feel the need to deploy them sparingly, and then only when it's least expected.

This outfit also features the new bag that I brought home from Century 21 in New York; the store is home to some amazing deals on designer goods but is not for the faint of heart. Getting trampled in the mad frenzy, or at the very least jostled and shoved,  is a very real possibility. I narrowly escaped with my life! -- and this infinitely versatile bag. I've decided that soft gray is the perfect shade for a bag; it can go with browns, it can go with black, it can go with color. And I might have been exaggerating just a little when I implied that I risked my life to buy it.


Dress: Fremont
Shrug: All Saints
Necklace: Wendy Brandes
Bag: L.A.M.B.
Shorts: thrifted and shortened (from pants)
Boots: vintage Morgan

A Moment of Panic

These boots were purchased in a moment of panic just before I left for New York, when I was convinced I was going to be mucking through three feet of snow the entire time I was there. I actually ordered a different pair first, some white snow boots which were utterly adorable but which ran a size too small and had to go back. Fortunately I found these, which are waterproof and shearling lined, but have the added bonus of being wearable back home. I hadn't heard of Bos and Co. before, but they're owned by the same folks who make Fly London shoes, so I took a chance and ordered them at the very last minute. Normally I would never advocate taking brand new shoes on a trip, but I did just that and lucked out; they're wonderfully comfortable and a great heel height for walking all day. And I've gotten multiple compliments every time I've worn them.

I bought the vest in New York while I was out shopping with Sal, Sara, and K. Line. It was marked down 50% and it was just so deliciously soft and furry that I couldn't resist. I've worn this vest several times now and each time I do, someone asks if they can touch it. Hey, at least so far they're asking first.

Vest: Adrienne Landau
Tunic: All Saints
Leather pants: Firetrap
Boots: Bos and Co.

An Abundance of Leather

In my continued effort to make use of all my warmest items before the winter is over, I pulled out this dense, boiled wool tunic and paired it with my leather pants. And oh man, was it comfy and warm. These pants started out pretty tight when I first bought them, but after a few wears they've broken in to a nice, relaxed fit. I'd definitely recommend buying leather pants a bit on the snug side if you're thinking of adding any to your wardrobe.

It did feel a little weird to have my legs encased in such an abundance of leather; I mean, tall leather boots over a layer of leather pants? It felt a bit extravagant, but I got over it.

Shirt: J. Crew
Scarf: Forever 21
Tunic: Promod
Pants: Firetrap
Boots: Bata

Tuxedo

This is the J. Peterman shirt I told you about a few posts ago, newly-arrived in the correct size and fitting far better than the size recommended on the website. Since the shirt has all sorts of tuxedo-like detailing, I decided to play up that look by making the whole outfit black and white, and on the fitted, formal side. To spice it up I chose my leather pants, because wouldn't any tuxedo be more interesting with a little leather?


Shirt: J. Peterman
Necklace: from a glass shop in Venice
Waistcoat: Heathen
Pants: Pepe Jeans
Shoes: Steve Madden

International

This was a fun outfit because it brought so many unique items together; I also enjoyed wearing it because it's been awhile since any of these pieces (except for the boots) has seen the light of day.

I love how the strong shape of the leather vest is highlighted against the dark brown background of the silk shirt. Coincidentally, the shirt has some ruching on one side that creates an asymmetrical hem; the ruching happened to be opposite the longer side of the vest, which made the lengths match up perfectly. The shorter ruched side also allowed the cute column of buttons on the skirt to show; I actually had to turn the skirt around and wear it backwards to make this happen, but since it looks the same in the front and back it didn't really matter.

I figured since I had so many one-of-a-kind items in the outfit, it was only fitting to wear my hand-knitted linen socks from Latvia, along with the boots I brought back from Prague. The vest was handmade in Finland, the skirt is from the UK, and the shirt was made by a local SF desinger, making this quite the international look.

Another thing to note about this outfit is that it is essentially monochrome. The matching hues of the shirt and boots give some continuity to the outfit, while the buttery-beige vest, herringbone patterned skirt, and light beige socks bring in both a variety of shades as well as some textural elements.

Shirt: Lemon Twist
Vest: Attila Design
Skirt: All Saints
Socks: handmade in Latvia
Boots: Bata
Ring: Wendy Mink, via Gilt

Suede Shorts

After many months of looking longingly at different pairs of leather shorts online, I finally followed Sal's lead and a pair myself. These started out as suede pants, which I picked up at Goodwill; a couple of snips with the scissors, a little folding, pressing, and sewing, et voila! Suede shorts, for $16. The best part is that Mark saved the rest of the pretty burgundy suede, which hopefully he'll turn into something amazing.

My first thought in creating an outfit with these shorts was to pair them with something unstructured on top, so that the outfit wouldn't be too risque for work. This sheer, leather-trimmed tank was actually something I selected in my head before I even started playing around with the actual clothes.When I got to my closet and started poking around, I thought at first glance that the tank would be too long, but after several fruitless attempts with other pairings, I gave it a shot and found it was just right.

The loose tank and asymmetrical cardigan keep the top half of the outfit interesting while still letting my legs be the star. I felt like anything fitted on top might push this outfit into the realm of office-inappropriate (although who knows, I might wear it that way anyway). Adding the socks kept my legs warm and somehow gave me the feeling of being less exposed.


Cardigan: All Saints
Tank: Black Market Baby
Bracelet: Leslie Danzis
Shorts: Wilson's Leather
Socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: MIA

Getting Away With it

Yeah, leather pants in August; it really is cold here. I think today it might have hit the high 60's, but unfortunately I was stuck inside for all but 5 minutes of the day and couldn't enjoy it. At any rate, I had a great excuse to pull out these seldom-worn leather pants and layer up a sweet-but-tough look.

This "dress" is scandalously short to be worn as such, but it makes the perfect means by which to soften the impact of the leather pants. These pants are nicely fitted and really show off my bum to its fullest potential, but for work I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with displaying much more than just my leather-clad legs in these babies. For a night out yes, but not at the office. But here I've used the longer length of the dress, combined with the interesting blend of colors and layers, to make the top half of the outfit the focal point. The pants become part of the background over which to highlight the pretty details in the dress and cardigan.

By combining these pieces I was able to use two items that otherwise I'd never feel comfortable wearing to work: the tight-fitting leather pants and the super-short dress. I just love feeling like I got away with something.

Cardigan: Anthropologie
Dress: Anthropologie
Pants: Firetrap
Boots: All Black

Premonition

Well, this was just that kind of day, a day where I ended up pissed off and frustrated and really glad that I at least had the foresight to rock my leather pants at work. It's possible that it was a premonition, but so many of my workdays suck lately that a crummy day is really not very difficult to predict. At any rate, wearing a sassy outfit is always a nice way to combat a bad day, and this was no exception.

When I first got these pants I thought they were a little too tight to wear at the office, but the super-soft leather stretched to a very comfortable fit after just a couple of wears, and now I feel quite confident that they're work-appropriate. The continued rain was also a great reason to waterproof my legs.

Tunic: All Saints
Hoodie: local import store
Belt: thrifted
Pants: Firetrap
Boots: Modern Vintage

In other news, the Etsy shop has been filling up with new items in preparation for our ad in the June/July issue of Bust Magazine, which should be hitting the newsstands now. I'm really excited to be advertising in Bust, for one thing because it's great exposure for the shop, and for another because I think it's an awesome magazine and I'm happy to be a part of it. Bust is really supportive of small businesses like ours, and their very reasonable advertising rates reflect that.

On a related note, be sure to check out the gorgeous photos of our Bolero Harness, modeled and shot by the beautiful Morgana of Iberian Black Arts Photography. Click on Morgana to see the rest of her photo shoot!

Too Tight

This is the second pair of leather pants, which I told you about last week. They are the softest, most supple leather you can imagine, and though they're a bit on the tight side, I'm confident that they'll stretch and relax a little after a few wearings. I wore this outfit for a Girls' Night Out with my BFF Laura (it was the evening of yesterday's outfit; you can see that I kept a couple of pieces from the work day). I think the pants are a bit too tight to be worn at work for the time being, but for a night on the town they were perfect.

The gray top is another Oregon thrift find; it's a lightweight waffle-weave top from J. Crew. It has such perfect thickness, texture, and arm length that I'm tempted to see if J. Crew still carries this style in other colors.











Hat: Accessorize/Monsoon
Scarf: Urban Outfitters
Shirt: J. Crew, thrifted
Tank: Rapsodia
Pants: Firetrap
Boots: Jeffrey Campbell

Extreme Rebelliousness

Well, it was really only a matter of time. I've gotten away with wearing a corset at work, Wendy B's swear rings, and a whole host of other envelope-pushing items, so I figured it was time to rock some leather trousers. Having been inspired first by Sal and then by Angie, I figured this was a trend that's right up my alley. And hey, if 88-year-old Iris Apfel can still wear leather pants, why can't 40-year-old Audi?

At first I was going to try to be "good" and make the trousers as subtle as possible. But then in a moment of extreme rebelliousness I thought, "Oh fuck it. Why should I care if anyone thinks leather pants are inappropriate for work?" and put on my goth argyle sweater, towering wedge heels, and a splash of leopard print for good measure. Not coincidentally, that day I had a meeting with someone who is, shall we say, far above me in rank and is someone whose opinions I disagree with and whose motives I mistrust. Being clad in leather and towering over this person made me feel like an ass-kicking rock star, albeit in a completely pointless and ineffectual way.

Since nobody said anything about the outfit, I just assumed that as per usual, no one noticed. But the next day I passed one of my more stylish coworkers on the stairs, and she mischievously whispered, "I loved your leather pants!" Ah, vindication.

Now let me tell you one more thing. If you're not at all interested in owning a pair of trousers like these, you can stop reading now. But for the rest of you, I ordered these pants from the Asos website and when they arrived they were a size too small. Not wanting to deal with shipping them back to the UK, I decided to sell them on Ebay instead and take a bit of a loss (which I'd do anyway if I had to pay the return shipping). So, a pair of unworn, new-with-tags leather moto trousers can be yours for just $125 (if you use the Buy It Now option). They are size 28 (US 6), but they fit very much smaller, more like a size US 4 because the 28-inch "waist" actually sits squarely on the hips. Click here to view the listing.

Obviously, I liked the pants so much that I ordered the next size up, which fit beautifully. And since I'm sort of crazy that way, I also ordered a pair of the gray leather trousers shown in Angie's post; you'll be seeing those before too long.

Sweater: All Saints
Top: La Redoute
Belt: thrifted
Pants: Pepe Jeans
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Restrained

This outfit features one of only two clothing items I bought down in Tulum during my Christmas holiday. I was a remarkably restrained shopper despite the abundance of really cute clothes in the shops; I think it was the fact that the heat made it not so fun to try things on. I found this asymmetric, layered halter dress in a shop called Shalom right on Tulum's main drag; it set me back about $75, which I thought was a great deal for such a unique piece. The dress is going to be perfect for the warmer months, but it works equally well layered up in this cozy winter look.

Because the dress drapes fairly low in the front and is sleeveless, I added the scarf to fill in the neckline, and the purple cardigan to keep my arms warm. I selected the bulky scarf and drapey cardigan in order to give the whole outfit a relaxed, organic feel. Adding a belt gave some definition to my waist, although I matched the belt to the dress so as not to disrupt the long flowing line of the outfit too much.

This outfit was pretty warm by itself, so for outerwear I wore my cropped black leather jacket to put an extra layer just over my arms. I thought I'd also include my handbag in the photo, since I went with the unexpected choice of my brown Lucky bag. I thought black would be too obvious, and a shade of brown with less red in it would've clashed. This bag is sort of cognac-colored though, so I thought it blended nicely with the warm purple and red tones while still adding an interesting color mix.

By the way, as soon as I figure out how to enable the sound on my camera, I'll shoot a video tutorial about this method of tying a long scarf, as well as another method that I've gotten questions about. Hopefully I'll have that for you by next week.

Scarf: H&M
Cardigan: S
Dress: Forla Paris
Belt: Urban Outfitters
Tights: MP, via Sock Dreams
Boots: Fly London
Jacket: Skin Graft
Handbag: Lucky Brand