Get Over It

For some reason this skirt always feels very risqué to me, even though the shortest length isn't any shorter than some of the other skirts I wear. I think it's just the differential between the long back and the short front; somehow it feels like it's supposed to be a long skirt, but then there's that big opening in the front.

I figure I just need to get over it, because to me it works better as a bare-legged spring/summer garment than as a layered up winter one. It's more comfortable bare-legged, too, because there's no good way to prevent tights from sticking to this skirt.

This skirt has a very high waist, and it's made of a dense, slightly stretchy cotton blend fabric, which does a great job of smoothing out my figure. It's like a foundation garment only WAY more comfortable. I combined it with my snugly-tailored blazer to continue the slim line through the torso and to give me some volume around the bust and shoulders.

Underneath I wore my lace-trimmed full slip, which just peeked out at the neckline and below the front hem.

In other news, I'm really happy that my beloved San Jose Sharks have made it into the second playoff round, and are leading the series. Laura and I found a fabulous new (well, new to us anyway) venue to go root for our team, and Laura even got us some shark hats to wear. Stay tuned for some serious team spirit -- I'll be posting photos at some point soon. 

Also, have you entered my 3-year anniversary giveaway yet? There's still time -- the contest closes at 8 pm PST this Friday! Make sure you to leave your comment(s) in the original entry. The giveaway is open to international entries, too!

Blazer: All Saints.... Skirt: Skin Graft.... Shoes: Paolo

In Full Swing

Over the weekend I put together a few days' worth of outfits and recruited Mark to take some photos outside, just to mix things up a little. As you can see, spring is in full swing according to most of the plants, although the bougainvillea seems to disagree; it's half-heartedly putting forth a few small leaves, but seems content to hibernate a little longer until it warms up. I can't really say that I blame it.

For this outfit I kept it springy with the pale pink and off-white skirts, even though with all the layering it was designed with cool weather in mind. It was also the perfect vehicle for this fab new harness that Mark made. Actually I 'ordered' it from him; he had this very pretty caramel-colored, smooth leather in his stash and I thought it would look great for spring and summer in a lightweight harness style. This harness is the basic "Jane Doe" style, with straps that are thinner than the original. This strikes me as being a great option if you've been wanting to try out the harness trend, but don't want to look too edgy or bondage-y. The color reminds me of some of the leather accessories seen in Lanvin's SS11 RTW line.

Tank Top, pink skirt: Anthropologie
Jacket: French Kiss, thrifted
Harness: Audra Jean
Tulle skirt: Noa Noa
Tights: Hue
Shoes: John Fluevog

Marie Antoinette

There's a wig shop right down the street from our house, and they always have these outrageous Marie Antoinette-style wigs on display in the front window. Naturally, I desperately want one. So the other day I was walking back from the hardware store and I decided right then and there that I was going to march into that wig shop and buy one, not so much because I have any use for it at the moment, but simply because I thought it would be fun to come home from shopping carrying some landscaping staples, an aluminum dryer vent, and a Marie Antoinette wig. You know, just the necessities.

Sadly the wig shop was closed that day, so my dream of assembling the most random assortment of purchases in the history of shopping will have to wait. Who knows, maybe next time I'll also be carrying some lightbulbs, a pack of guitar strings and a pumpkin. 

Today's featured new thing is this camouflage-patterned infinity scarf, which my mom gave me for our belated Christmas. I think it would look great with a Marie Antoinette wig, don't you?

Scarf: Express
Jacket: French Kiss, thrifted
Top: All Saints
Skirt: Anthropologie
Boots: Timberland Boot Company
Jewelry: Betsey Johnson

Curses

Has everyone signed the petition for Team Jennine yet? In the event that the scandal that's rocking the blogging world hasn't reached you, Jennine Jacob of the original The Coveted has had her blog name ripped off by... oh, I don't know -- some jackass whose blog I didn't read anyway. And clearly never will now. The whole sordid episode has already been discussed at length by Sister Wolf, Wendy B, Kingdom of Style, Make Do Style, and so many others, so I'll just add my humble contribution to the growing maelstrom of outrage and leave it at that.

In short, I wish all manner of nastiness upon the perpetrators, including (but not limited to): parking tickets, tax audits, a prolonged visit from their in-laws, clogged drains, alarm clocks that inexplicably go off at 4 am, chronic bad breath, and socks that go missing in the dryer. A curse upon you, thieves! Please feel free to heap your ill-wishes upon the scoundrels in the comments.

Oh, and if you buy Wendy B's fabulous swear rings, she will donate part of the proceeds to help Jennine with her legal fees. Which, in truth, will probably prove to be far more useful than the curses you'll find over here. Not that those aren't fun too.  





Jacket: thrifted
Necklace: Manu Lizarralde
Shorts: White House Black Market
Harness: Audra Jean
Socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: MIA

Oblong Inflated Spheroid

Disclaimer: the rest of the text in this post has nothing at all to do with the outfit. I tried and tried to write something interesting about it, but finally had to call uncle. It was just a casual Friday outfit, after all. Here are the details in case you're pressed for time or are otherwise disinclined to read my random rant of the day:


Tunic: thrifted
Harness: Audra Jean
Bangles: Amrita Singh (via Gilt)
Jeans: Diesel (via Gilt)
Boots: All Black










Over the weekend I realized why I cannot watch American football. I always figured it had mainly to do with the fact that the players spend most of their time just standing around on the sidelines. That, and the way the players' butts look catastrophically bad in those gross shiny pants with the weird seams on either side of the crack. The uniforms look like a skintight, disco version of a union suit.

 Dude, you've got way worse problems than the concussion you're about to get;

pimps in 1975 looked hotter in their spandex pants than you.

But in fact I don't think it's either of those things at all; my general loathing of football comes down to two annoying little occurrences that just plain bug the crap out of me.

One is how the calls are communicated. Now in hockey, when a call is made the referee gives you three important pieces of information: who is being penalized, for how many minutes, and what the penalty is for (usually in one to three words). That's it; no more, no less. "Number 64, 2 minutes for high sticking." Fine, now let's get on with the game. But in football the explanation might take several minutes, and frankly I don't have the patience to hear the entire rationale behind a convoluted call pulled from some obscure rule, whose source can only be found by poring over a tome that's undoubtedly equivalent in mass to the entire Encyclopedia Britannica series.

 Easier to interpret than the rules of football.

What's worse is that the majority of the referee's monologue typically isn't even the call at all, but a recap of what just happened. Look buddy, I just sat here for 10 minutes of deliberation, watching the players wander around spitting and readjusting their crotches; cut to the chase, would you?

The other thing that really gets under my skin is the commentators, who insist on using the word, "football" in their descriptions of the action, as in, "He ran the football into the end zone." Now I may not even begin to understand the intricacies of the game, but even a blockhead like me knows what kind of a ball they're playing with. Obviously if I'm WATCHING FOOTBALL, then the object they're throwing around (when they can be bothered to get out on the field)  is simply the ball. Is that extra syllable really going to fill up a significant amount of airtime when you've got nothing clever to say? I didn't think so.

 

Clearly they were never told that silence is golden.

I understand the desire to spice up the language and make the commentary more interesting, but this is not the way. In hockey they might call the puck a biscuit, or simply the puck, but you'll never hear them say, "Marleau shot the hockey puck from the blue line." Why? Because it sounds stupid, that's why. Get some new words, football announcers; even calling it an 'oblong inflated spheroid' would be better than football.

It's sort of like that annoying sound, faint though it may be, that once perceived is impossible to ignore. A distant barking dog or crying baby, perhaps. And now that I've taken note of the lengthy soliloquies of the refs and the irritating overuse of the word "football," my utter disdain for the entire sport has crystallized. I do, however, occasionally enjoy hearing about how a player's head was "on a swivel." Perhaps there's hope for me yet.

One Fell Swoop

This is the other new pair of boots I alluded to yesterday. They're a little lighter than they appear in the photos, more of a camel color and not medium brown. Normally I avoid suede, but these were just so darn pretty I couldn't resist. They reach all the way up to my lower thighs and yet have no hint of a Julia Roberts/Pretty Woman hooker vibe.

One complaint about these is that on me they're a lot slouchier than they appear in the listing on Endless. In fact I had to tighten those straps at the top of the boots to keep them from slumping all the way down to my calves. But tightening the strap did work, and Mark had just the perfect buckles to put on them so that I don't have to take up the excess length by doubling it back through the front loops. It's a handy thing to have a leather craftsman in the house.

These boots take care of several fall trends in one fell swoop: OTK boots, camel, and suede; adding the military jacket and bubble-hem skirt brought the trend count to 5 in this single outfit. As for the big piece of string stuck to my right arm, that was purely accidental; good thing I noticed it before I left for work.

Jacket: thrifted
Belt: Audra Jean
Skirt: Attila Design
Boots: Apepazza

Giants Fever

It seems the whole city has got Giants fever. Last night there were Giants hats and jerseys everywhere you looked, and after the victory over the Rangers, you could hear people cheering and car horns honking all over town. I got really excited this morning when I noticed that even the guy collecting trash on the side of the highway was wearing Giants orange, until I remembered he was just wearing the Caltrans uniform that's issued to people who have to perform community service. Oh well, at least for today that guy can pretend that he's wearing the orange vest and hard hat not because he got caught drunk driving, but to show his team spirit.

This outfit was meant to have a mod look, but ended up being something else entirely. I like how it turned out though; the shaping of the top works really well with the skirt, and the bright colors counteract the pirate vibe that would ordinarily come across with the combination of the military-styled jacket and cuffed boots. Not that a pirate vibe is a bad thing; in fact, I might try to play that up a little the next time.

In other news, check out this high-larious video of a Dallas reporter at last night's game, in which he flips out because he smells someone smoking weed at the ballpark. Do people really not know that smoking pot in public is not a big deal in SF? And here I thought we had a reputation for it!

Bonus shots of Georgie photobombing me:

The dog's laziness knows no bounds. First she walked right into the photo and couldn't even be arsed to sit up straight (she's actually leaning against my leg), and then she just slid on down to the floor and laid down. I'm surprised she didn't just take a nap right there.

Jacket: F21
Shirt: Red Dress Shoppe
Skirt: Anthropologie

Boots: Modern Vintage

Fidel

I got the idea for this outfit when I was shooting some photos for the shop; it was inspired by the way the harness was styled on the male model in our Auxiliary Magazine feature. The model's outfit in the photo shoot had a military vibe to it that made the harness look very rugged and utilitarian. I thought I could approximate the look by wearing this lightweight jacket as a shirt, and then just for fun I added the tie to fill in the neckline.

The harness is another one that I shamelessly stole from Mark's stash; I saw it there in the finished pile and figured I'd better claim it for my own before someone ordered one in that size. This is the Jane Doe style, and is actually the first black harness I've added to my growing collection.

One of my coworkers told me I looked French in this outfit, which disappointed me a little; I thought I was channeling more of a Fidel Castro look.

Hat: ADS Hats
Harness: Audra Jean
Jacket: thrifted
Skirt: thrifted, shortened
Boots: All Black

I'm pretty sure I've never seen Fidel Castro sporting either 
polka dots or a miniskirt, and that's sort of a shame. 
You only live once, Fidel!

Stars and Stripes

I found this little tunic at Goodwill just before we left for Burning Man. Out on the playa I wore it as a super-short minidress, with just a bikini bottom underneath. Back in the real world though, it's relegated to the role of tunic, and will be worn strictly over skirts or pants. The starry scarf came with the tunic and is actually designed to be used as a belt, but for this outfit I wanted the contrast of a black belt, so I swapped in one of Mark's designs and wore the original belt as a scarf.

One thing I noticed about this tunic is that while it's really comfortable for normal wearing, the sleeves are a little too tight for the hunched-over position required for riding a mountain bike. Which reminds me that I really hate riding mountain bikes. So if this tunic goes back to the playa again, it'll either be with cut-off sleeves or, preferably, I'll be riding a cruiser bike instead.

Burning Man bikes are a whole phenomenon in and of themselves. First of all, the alkaline playa dust is highly corrosive, which means you really don't want to take a nice expensive bike out there. And then, with the thousands of bikes scattered all over the playa, it's important to be able to readily identify yours, as well as light it up thoroughly for nighttime visibility. So what you'll see out there is an amazing assortment of lavishly decorated, incredibly beat up and rusty bikes, many wrapped with EL-wire, which can be used to create all sorts of spectacular effects against the black background of the desert. Every year as August approaches, beater bikes become a hot commodity in and around San Francisco, which is good to know if you're looking to unload an old rusty bike.


Shirt: Target
Tunic: thrifted
Belt: Audra Jean
Jeans: Acne
Boots: All Black

Belly Dancing

This was an outfit that went straight from work to going out; it was Laura's birthday last week and we double-dated at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant complete with belly dancers. Laura and I were even persuaded to go up and join in for one song, and the outfit proved to be plenty comfy for a little belly dancing. Which, by the way, is a lot more difficult than it looks.

Laura's birthday having passed means that my own is just around the corner. But every year I make the most of these few weeks of difference in age to give Laura all kinds of grief about how old she is, in the form of a birthday poem. I've been doing this since Laura turned 22, mind you. And every year it gets more and more difficult, because really there are only so many ways to tell someone they're old.

I've rhymed "superannuated" before, I've discussed how Laura baffles scientists because her bones are too old to carbon date, I've placed her back in ancient times on the banks of the Tigris River, drinking mead from an earthen jar and learning to read in hieroglyphics. I've thrown in references to Depends, a walker, pushing up daisies, false teeth, the

whole nine yards. I've talked about how her lifetime is known to geologists as the "Laurassic Era." And this year I described how, being so old as to predate any modern form of transportation, she arrived in North America on foot via the Bering Strait land bridge. It's getting tough, I tell ya. How I'm going to keep this up for another 40 or so years I really can't tell.

Dress: All Saints
Jacket: thrifted
Necklace: Manu Lizarralde
Belt: thrifted
Skirt: a gift from Mom
Boots: Modern Vintage

Unbalanced

The colors are a bit off in these photos. This top is actually a very soft peachy pink, but here it looks very bright and salmon-y. If you take a look way back in the archives at this post, you'll see a better representation of the top's actual shade.

That old post might in fact be the last time I wore this top. I've actually tried it a few times but just never found quite the right combination. As I stated in that previous post, I'm in general not a fan of strapless garments on anyone when they're worn alone; I think all the bare skin up top does weird things to a body's proportions, mine in particular. I'm small through the shoulders and bust anyway, and strapless things always make me look disproportionately smaller. I frankly don't get why the look is so popular, especially for long dresses, where all that bare skin up top is outweighed by the huge expanse of fabric below. To my eye it just looks unbalanced.

I've managed not to wash these black jeans yet, so they're still nice and dark. I'm actually extra careful not to get them dirty, knowing if I have to wash them and they fade, that I won't love them as much. Thanks for all the suggestions on caring for them, by the way -- if and when I do need to wash them, I'll definitely refer back to all your great advice.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Mark and I are in the final stages of getting our new vacation rental furnished and ready for guests. I'm hoping to post some photos of the place next week if we can get everything done. We have a lot of work ahead of us for the weekend, but it's exciting too.

Top: Weston Wear
Jacket, belt: thrifted
Jeans: Diesel
Shoes: John Fluevog

Striped Shorts

I'm really excited about these striped shorts. I had found a pair of pants in the exact same fabric while we were out shopping with Sal and Mike in Minneapolis, but sadly the only 2 pairs in stock were a size too big and a size too small for me. A couple of days later I found these in a second-hand shop in Chicago for $15; I think they're actually better than long pants because they're more versatile. In order to really see the fabric you have to open the photos and then click to zoom; the digital camera does wacky things to stripes and other sharp edges.

Jacket: F21
Top: Michael Stars
Pants: White House Black Market
Shoes: Tsubo

Sick

This is going to be a quick post because I'm not feeling very inspired today. I've been sick for the last couple of days and have spent most of the time flat on my back.

This outfit was from last week, and I love how it turned out, with the combination of soft and hard elements. The floaty skirt that I got at Anthro a couple weeks ago paired well with my new leggings from Black Market Baby, as I expected. The military jacket and studded belt and boots gave it some edge.

OK, time to get back to lying on the couch...

Jacket: thrifted
Shirt: random shop in Krakow
Necklace: Manu Lizarralde
Belt: thrifted
Skirt: Anthropologie
Leggings: Black Market Baby
Boots: All Black

eShakti Dress

I received this dress a few weeks ago as a product review sample from eShakti, but I had yet to wear it until after the move because my iron and garment steamer were both packed up. Normally I probably would have just worn it anyway, but I didn't feel like the deep creases left by being boxed up and shipped would exactly make for a fair product review, so I held off.

As for the dress, it is really gorgeous, and I'm very impressed with the quality. eShakti offers sizes from 0-26 on every item, and for a fairly small additional charge, you can get anything custom sized. You can even change up the styling on many items; for this dress I had the hem shortened from the normal length to above the knee. I ordered this in a standard size and found the fit to be very true to the measurements listed on the sizing chart.

I just love the beautiful floral pattern that's stitched around the bottom panel of the dress. The flowers are black and the edge stitching is sort of a purplish color, which I think will give the dress some additional styling options. The midsection of the dress also has black contrast stitching. I only wish that the floral pattern went around the back of the dress too, but it's a fairly minor drawback. I will most likely order additional items from eShakti, and I would definitely recommend them, especially for hard-to-fit figures.

Jacket: F21
Dress: eShakti
Shoes: Tsubo

Consistency

I never realized until just now how very similar some of my poses and even expressions are. Well, I guess consistency can be a good thing, right?

It was high time I pulled out this fabulous skirt again, and I love how well it paired with my simple military jacket and towering Jeffrey Campbell Clinic wedges. Even though most everything else in the outfit was black and I wore minimal accessories, the outfit still looks interesting to my eye because of the skirt. This is what I love about having really unique pieces; they don't really need much else to create a good outfit.


Jacket: thrifted
Top: Sisley
Belt: thrifted
Skirt: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

17 Addresses

What's this, the same shoes two days in a row?? Well, as you may have guessed, my apartment is quickly migrating into boxes, and as it does my selection of shoes, as well as clothes, dishes, reading material, and everything else, is dwindling. Pretty soon I'll be living on a capsule wardrobe, but thankfully it's only for a few more days.

So far I haven't packed too many things that I've had to dig back out again, but then again I ought to be a pro at this sort of thing by now. I realized recently that this apartment is the longest I've ever lived anywhere in my entire life. I've had 17 different addresses, and 12 of those have been since I moved out of my parents' house when I was 18. That's a lot of moving, which probably explains my propensity for being really ruthless when I decide to start getting rid of things. I sort of miss the old days when everything I owned fit into my little Toyota Tercel. Now I doubt I could even get my shoe collection in there.

This was very much a trial and error sort of outfit. I hit on the combination of the strapless top and military jacket right away, but it took me awhile to figure out the bottom half. In the end it came down to the skirt length, because any shorter than this looked really out of proportion. I think this is the first time I've worn this jacket buttoned. With many outfits I think it looks better open, but here the closure of the jacket coincided precisely with the black band under the bodice of the top, so buttoning it just made sense.

Jacket: F21
Top: Mica
Necklace: Manu Lizarralde
Skirt, tights: Noa Noa
Shoes: John Fluevog