Nice Hat

Today no fewer than 5 random people who I do not know (I work at a very large company) passed by me and blurted out, "Nice hat!" This was not surprising; I'm a hat kinda gal and I'm used to such comments. But why do so few people choose to wear them? For one thing, I am strongly of the opinion that there are very few outfits that can't be improved upon by the addition of a cute hat (scarves are next in line in order of preference; the two together are a particularly fabulous fashion coup). Not only that, but I work in one of the windiest spots in the Bay Area; a hat is the perfect means for not having your hair in shambles by the end of the day.


Today's hat is a lovely creation from Parkhurst, who makes a lot of wonderful retro styles. I do realize that this outfit looks a bit wintery, but I'd like to point out that in South San Francisco, where I work, the summers are often as cold, if not colder, than the winters. If you've ever been to San Francisco and thought it was a lot chillier than California ought to be, try visiting South San Francisco some time (Actually, don't. Just take my word for it. I wouldn't want to be responsible for ruining anyone's vacation.).

The rest of the outfit: Drape-neck tank by Michael Stars (do I need to explain again how wonderful these shirts are?), cardigan by Kersh, olive wool skirt from Noa Noa, shoes by John Fluevog.

When I came home this evening, I swapped everything but the shirt and cardigan for my evening walk with my dog, Georgie. I thought the new ensemble still held up as quite fashionable, at least for dog-walking wear. This hat is one I bought in Hamburg, Germany (I don't know who made it); the jeans are Lucky, the scarf is THRIFTED (for me this is a big deal), the shoes are Rieker, and the armwarmers I found at Sock Dreams.

Note all the layers: San Francisco is COLD when in most other places in the US it is WARM. This is how the locals can tell the tourists from everyone else: they're the ones wearing shorts in July.

Final note: Why does my dog always look so guilty?

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.

Questionable Nylons

I'm not sure how I feel about these coffee-colored nylons, but I put them on because they met 2 important requirements: they were clean and they had no runs in them. It's possible that they looked a lot worse from my vantage point (i.e., looking down my legs at them), but to me they seemed far too dark. Not that it matters now, as I managed to run them during the day and thus destine them for the trash. As for the rest of the outfit, the burgundy top is from Anne Taylor, waistcoat from Benetton, skirt from Sunhee Moon, and shoes from Steve Madden. The jewelry is from a local import store. I absolutely love the waistcoat; it goes with so many outfits and gives anything a polished, tailored look.

Also, new background today! I figured the books were a good match with the nerdy theme of the blog, and anyway I've gotten tired of posing in my entry hall. Living as I do in a small apartment, my choices for photo settings are very limited. I'm also still experimenting with the camera settings.