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

Let's Get This Party Started

I snagged these beautiful navy blue silk pants on Gilt for $99; they came with the original $790 price tag still affixed, which made me happy. I really wanted them as more of a fall item, having been inspired by LPC's post about party pants. If anyone needs a pair of party pants, surely it's me. I just thought I'd start the party a little early by wearing them now.

The pants need to be hemmed a few inches, but I wanted to sneak in one quick wear before I drop them off at the tailor. Tucking them into boots did the trick. It's never a party when your pant legs are dragging on the ground.

It was tough to capture the sheen and color of the fabric in these photos; it's a deep blue, metallic textured silk. Gorgeous.

Also tough to see here is the metallic sheen of my silver shirt, which created a subtle sparkle underneath the sheer chiffon layer. The fun, bobble-edged scarf added to the festivities. Click the photo to enlarge; you can see the texture better in the larger image.

Chiffon top: Noa Noa
Silver top: no idea
Cardigan: Cynthia Rowley
Scarf: Eileen Fischer
Belt: Noa Noa
Pants: Vera Wang
Boots: All Black
Bangles: Amrita Singh

Georgie tried to join in this photo shoot, but it didn't go quite as well as the last time. First I had to scratch her head to keep her from trying to lick my silk pants...

... and then she just got bored.

Built On Black

As much as I love a challenge, I just couldn't rally for Sal's Summer Black-Out for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the weather was just not cooperating when the challenge started, so it simply did not feel like summer at all. And secondly, I've been really drawn to the black items in my wardrobe lately and didn't feel I could live without them just now (it probably has to do with the black mood I'm in when I have to go to work!). So what I decided to do, rather than try to keep black clothes out of my summer, was to try to bring some summer to the black clothes.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you've heard me bemoan the black pants fallback that far too many people rely on to look "dressy." Because the fact is that black pants alone do not make an outfit dressy, and in fact they often counteract any cuteness that's going on in the top of the outfit. The most common mistake people make is to throw on black pants and shoes with a colorful top, without any further effort at integrating the top and bottom halves; the result being that the top is left adrift on a solid black background, and neither half of the outfit makes sense with the other.

For this outfit, I softened the impact of the black jeans by pairing them with silver shoes; the shoes are a neutral color and make sense with the black, but they also help to break up the block of darkness. I repeated the silver color with the crinkle-texture tank top, and further reinforced it by adding the pale pink cardigan with silver paillettes and metallic silver stitching. Finally, I secured the front of the cardigan with a black and crystal brooch; this not only gave me the shape I wanted, but also brought a black focal point to the top. I finished off the outfit with a bracelet and earrings that also contained some black stones.

The lightness and drape of the cardigan and tank made the outfit feel very summery to me, and I just love the contrast of the inky black against the soft, pale colors. And although the outfit isn't Summer Black-Out Challenge material, it does bring a little summer to an outfit built on black.

Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tank: thifted
Jeans: Diesel
Shoes: Born

Stevie

Here's some more asymmetrical goodness from All Saints, and an appearance from a very lazy looking Georgie. Just look at that sloppy posture; with all the sunny spots in which to lay around in the new place, Georgie has achieved new heights of laziness. For these shots she couldn't really be bothered to sit up straight and tuck her feet in, and in fact I thought she was going to slump on down to the floor.

The new top is the Bolly top; when I first took it out of the box I had a hell of a time figuring out which way it was supposed to go, so finally I went on the All Saints website to look at how it was configured in the photos. I'm about 80% certain I got it right. It looks gray here but it actually has tinges of acid-washed pink, which blended nicely with the soft shades of the 2 skirts. To give the outfit more of a colorful punch, I added a bright fuschia tank underneath the shirt.

With all these drapey, flowing layers I felt a little Stevie Nicks, which I guess isn't really a bad thing. If I grew my hair out and invested in a really large fan, I could do some fantastic photoshoots...

Top: All Saints
Necklace: Manu Lizarralde
Belt: Oscar de la Renta
Pink skirt: Anthro
Tulle skirt: Noa Noa
Shoes: Born

Morning Inspiration

I intended to wear this outfit as shown here on the left. I had it all put together and hanging in my closet, and had even photographed it in advance. But in the morning as I sipped my coffee and flipped through an interior design magazine, I happened to come upon some unexpected inspiration:

I was immediately struck by how beautiful the silver and light blue looked together, and vowed to make use of that combo as soon as possible. Thinking over the contents of my wardrobe, I realized that one of the only light blue items I own is the very dress I was intending to wear that day. As it turned out, I also happened to have a silver obi belt lying around, an item I made a few weeks ago for the Etsy shop but haven't yet posted. What would be the harm in giving it a test run before putting it up for sale? And so, the modified outfit was born:

Rather than wrap the belt around and tie it in the front, I thought it was better to tie it in a big bow in the back. The belt is actually reversible, with a silver and black floral pattern on the other side. It has some stretch to it and is quite comfortable to wear, I'm happy to report. Look for it in the shop soon!

Dress: Red Dress Shoppe
Silver Belt: Audra Jean
Black Belt: Red Dress Shoppe
Nude fishnets: Sock Dreams
Silver Shoes: Born
Black Shoes: BCBGirls

Mixed Denim

Georgie decided to join me for today's photo shoot and show off her newest toy, a stuffed platypus with a squeaker inside. Oh, how Georgie loves her squeaky plush toys. She loves them so much that eventually there are bits of fluff and stuffed body parts all over the apartment. Luckily there's a great pet store within walking distance of my place, so the beloved plush friends are easily replaced.

The upper part of this silver top is really ugly. It's just a simple tank, but the fit is horribly unflattering on me. However, I recognized the top's layering potential, so when I found it at the Goodwill for $3, I decided I could live with the limitation of needing to wear it under something else.

Today's outfit features a mix of denims, something I don't do very often. I think this is the easiest way to mix different denim pieces: choose two that aren't too close in color, and then have another non-denim item that separates the two. I don't think this outfit would work nearly as well if the top were shorter and the vest long enough to sit right next to the pants. It's also great if there's a difference in texture between the two denims. In this case, the vest is a classic rough weave, while the jeans have a smoother, slightly dressy texture.

Vest: Anoname
Top: Thrifted
Jeans: Joe's
Shoes: Bobbi Blu (OMG I wore the same pair of shoes 2 days in a row. What is the world coming to?)

Well Read

Today I had to give an important presentation in front of the VP and all the directors of my department. I wanted to look somewhat understated while of course remaining stylish. I chose this striped shirt from Promod as the starting point, since it has a crisp, tailored look. Then I layered on this sheer blouse from the Red Dress Shoppe as a contrast to the masculine cut of the button-down. The layered necklaces and strand of pearls worn as a bracelet modernized the look of the 1930's style blouse.

The wide-leg jeans are by Level 99 and the shoes are by Born. I wanted to keep the whole outfit to this simple color scheme of white, blue, and silver, so I added some flash by layering on a bunch of shiny jewelry, as well as the satin, rhinestone-buckle belt from Noa Noa.

I love the look of lots of rings, although my hands aren't exactly my best feature. When I read Anna Karenina many years ago, I remember being struck by the recurring description of her fingers covered in rings; it's an image that has stuck with me and to this day I feel very elegant when I pile multiple rings on my hands. The circle ring is one of my lucky charms (worn particularly for the presentation today) and is from a Seattle designer whose name I forget.

The second lucky charm I wore today was this necklace. I love images of boats and ships, having been a sailor myself. The ship pictured on the necklace has a special appeal for me because I'm completely hooked on Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series, of which I'm working on book 14 out of 20. The stories mostly take place at sea during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, so the ships would have had silhouettes much like this one. I didn't realize until now how many elements of today's outfit were inspired by classic literature.