I love a good purple, but it's rare that I see one I love. When done right, it's my fave and works as a real mood lifter, becoming my go-to whenever I'm in need of a pick-me-up. Which brings us to Party Frock Find #2: a silky, off-the-shoulder number in a rich purple.
Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent One Shoulder Dress, $297 @ Catch Boutique. It'll work with black tights for winter, or bare legs for spring.
I can't buy back my lost Theory blazer just yet, so I'm on the hunt for some more affordable options to tide me over in the meantime. Since I won't be investing too much in them, I'm thinking I'll go with something more trendy than classic. Some candidates:
Topshop Satin Waterfall Jacket, $90.
Whether it's thick, medium, or skinny stripes that strike your fancy, Vince has mastered the art of the striped sweater to perfection. Luxe knits, quality construction, and a clean aesthetic make them standouts, and the fact that they can be dressed up or down to suit the occasion pretty much guarantees heavy rotation.
Coincidentally, the prices among my selections seem to correspond to the size of the stripe.
Vince Stripe Crewneck Sweater, $245 @ Nordstrom.
Oooh, this one is just too good. Sally Tseng's lovely, lumberjacky plaid topper is now just $128, down from $348. See? It pays to stalk past-season merch.
Where do I even begin? The Duke features leather buttons, pockets galore, and a removable belt. Sizes 2, 6, and 8 are left. Also available in brown.
My friend Naveen just gave birth to a baby boy! She's the first of my inner circle to have a baby, and I think I might be more freaked out about it than she is. The next time I go to LA, there will be a brand new, tiny little person to meet, and since I want to make a good impression on him, I'd better come bearing a kick-ass gift. Some ideas:
This one is as much a decorative piece as it is a plaything. Scandinavian Rocking Horse, $190 @ Acorn.
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It’s a week for losing things. Last Friday, someone walked off with my favorite Marimekko umbrella at Bunnychow, and this morning I left my black Theory blazer in the back of a cab en route to work. There goes my once-weekly uniform, which consisted of said blazer with sleeves rolled up, skinny jeans, a slouchy white u-neck, a tangle of necklaces, and turquoise Lanvin flats.
I know it’s silly to attach so much value to material things, but damn, two of my oft-worn staples in one week? Lesson learned: never step out of doors with valuables unless they are physically attached to your person.
I s’pose it’s time to shut up about it and move on, although “moving on” is going to cost me a pretty penny. I’ve already re-ordered the umbrella but figured I might as well investigate some other options, and I’m on a mission to replace the blazer (which you can read about it in the latter half of this two-part post).
I think I’ll revisit The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for some inspiration . . .
The most basic of the bunch. I love that the crook handle is also clear. Clear Bubble Stick Umbrella, $13.59 @ Target.
I went through this seemingly endless day in a fog, dragging myself through the motions and quelling the urge to curl up into a ball under my desk for a nap. I've shared my hibernation fantasy with you before, but more and more, perhaps due to a recent bout of illness, I wish I could make it come to life. Cozied up in my apartment, away from winter's chill, I want to escape into a world of comfort, warmth, and color. I want the aroma of yummy treats emanating from the kitchen, tea to sip, soup to slurp, Wes Anderson's color palettes flitting across the TV, and a record player scratching my favorite tunes. Such an agenda needn't require getting dressed, so my outfit of choice for enjoying said activities would be one of these lovely kimono-style robes by Plum Pretty Sugar.
Knee-length Silk Habotai Robe, $124 on Etsy.
Craving Kaiser Karl's long black leather gloves:
K Karl Lagerfeld Chloe long leather gloves, $195 @ Net-a-Porter.
How to get a guy's guy to embrace scent in his home and on his person without inducing fear of a floral, feminine takeover? Just add alcohol. Two ideas:
Portland General Store is the great little Etsy shop of Lisa Brodar, and she has this whiskey-scented old-fashioned shaving jelly that sounds awesome. $8.95 on Etsy, but if you live in SF, you can pick it up at Rare Device.
In which we take a break to gaze at pretty pictures and read about things that caught my fancy this week.
Way late on this today, but it's been a busy weekend! Enjoy.
Love this beautiful image from Raychel (don't know her last name), who does these amazing, intimate self-portraits. For more, visit her blog, Mayhem is Beautiful, or her Flickr photostream.
My shoes have storied pasts. They've taken quite a beating from pounding the NYC pavements, scaling the vertiginous hills of San Francisco, and clomping through the cobblestone streets of Georgetown. My shoe guy always shakes his head in bewilderment every time I come in with yet another pair in sorry state, begging him to give them another chance at life. He's done countless heel transplants, painstakingly polished vintage leathers in hard-to-match hues, and performed emergency surgery on many a battered sole that had nearly danced itself to death. His greatest miracle was probably the readjustment of a pair of beloved Missoni wedges, when one shoe became inexplicably shorter than the other by a whole 3/4 of an inch.
Though I'm extremely grateful to him for resuscitating my most treasured footwear and will continue to run to him in a panic, there's also something I love about the look of a well-worn shoe. There's a certain richness and character in an old leather boot that's wrinkled with age and creased with wear at the instep. A flip flop with the grooves of a foot worn in conjures up a feeling of lived-in comfort. And most interesting of all are the sneakers, their skins faded and discolored with the passing of seasons, shoelaces frayed by the frazzle of life, treads worn down to smoothness.
The process of breaking in a pair may take several years, but if you like the look and are too impatient to do it the natural way, these come pre-dirtied for your convenience.
Diesel Men's Magnete Exposure Low in overdyed grey, $90 @ S|Sense.
It’s no secret that I’m not pleased about the imminent winter, but one thing that instantly perks me up is the prospect of shopping for holiday dresses. I usually have a party or six to attend (which is exactly how many a boyfriend dragged me to one year), where I can usually be found planted beside the dessert table, feigning interest in the idle chatter of fellow partygoers while furtively sneaking a third slice of pie onto my plate and chewing thoughtfully on chocolate-dipped fruit while pretending to contemplate the topic of discussion. I don’t mind if I don’t know a soul, really, so long as there is an assortment of canapés and ladyfingers to keep me comp’ny. I never go full glam at these things, preferring simple, unfussy looks so as not to court disaster in the form of errant chocolate sauce.
The first promising find of the party dress season is this sweet, silky number from Whitley Kros. As you can see, it has a drawstring waist that can be conveniently adjusted to accomodate the food baby I plan to acquire. It’s versatile enough to dress up for a fancy fete with tights, heels, and a fun updo, or dress down with a chunky oversized cardi and boots for an eggnog hangover brunch the next morn'.
Whitley Kros Chelsea Dress in navy, $225. Also available in magenta.
When it comes to rainy days, it’s always best to:
1) Trust a Londoner’s advice
2) Have a sense of humor
3) Treat the inclement weather as an opportunity to bust out your totally awesome umbrella.
Daily Candy’s London edition tipped me off to London Undercover, Jamie Milestone’s year-old umbrella company whose whimsical designs turn a wet day into puddle-hoppin’ fun. I’m a bit peeved that they’re not available outside the UK, and am fervently hoping that a US distributor will come along soon and make me a happy girl. In the meantime, if you happen to be in Londres and pick one up for me, I’d be ever so grateful.
You can still have a mouth-watering picnic in the park with the Slim Walker English Breakfast, £ 50.
V-neck sweaters from two of my favorite labels, albeit in limited sizes:
Acne Hotel V Pullover in green, $75 (was $199) @ Gargyle. Available in small, large, and XL.
I'm a girl who loves fine underthings, always gravitating towards undies trimmed in eyelash lace, relishing design details such as a unique bra closure, and favoring thigh highs to tights, even in the most punishing weather. I find that with all the covering up that goes on in winter, my desire for the racy and lacy increases tenfold, and I'm suddenly stricken with the impulse to don slips, fussy brassieres, and even the occasional garter belt under all those layers.
In Europe, it is quite easy to find beautiful lingerie of this nature at even the lowest of price points and I've always wondered why it is that we can't import that concept over to the U.S. of A. Then I discovered Philly-based label Jenna Leigh. Lingerie designer Jenna Blatstein creates the loveliest underthings that not only function as wearable objets d'art, but also provide a girl with adequate support. Best of all, her stuff is priced to move, at just a touch less than a Cosabella or Elle Macpherson would cost you, making it a sweet indulgence without the guilty conscience.
Jenna's been getting some love from the press lately (see both October and November issues of Elle), and if you have yet to see her Malawi collection, then I shall tease you no further:
Stretch Silk Satin Malawi Demi Bra in Midnight Blue, $85.
Most of my friends can attest to my habitual tardiness, for which I conveniently lay blame on my South Asian roots. Growing up, time didn't really dictate the daily routines of our household. Dinnertime was whenever my father happened to get home from work, which always varied, and my mother was always magically prepared for his arrival with food on the table at a moment's notice. Any attempt my parents made at enforcing an official bedtime was never taken seriously by either party, which meant we stayed up late (to this day, I am convinced that my mother never really sleeps at all, preferring instead to continuously recharge herself with several cups of chai). As is the norm among Pakistanis, we showed up to formal functions well beyond what is considered fashionably late in most circles. When my cousin Mona got married last summer, her planner marveled that the wedding, which started nearly three hours late, was remarkably on schedule in comparison to other South Asian weddings she'd done.
Leaving a party seemed to take as much effort as it did to arrive. The parents would take a good hour or so in making their rounds to bid adieu to anyone with whom they'd had even the slightest interaction (standing next to one another in line at the food buffet seemed to suffice), and for some inexplicable reason, introductions were made at the end of the evening to other friends/relatives/connections, so that on the drive home, the mothers could give detailed accounts of who exactly was there (down to who their relations were, what they were wearing, and their physical dimensions). Ours is an extremely social, highly interactive culture and everyone, both young and old, seems to just be caught up in whatever is happening in the moment, blissfully unaware that the hour grows late until a toddler starts to nod off or an elderly person becomes unbearably cantankerous.
As an adult, I don't have clocks in my home, nor do I wear a watch. Other than my morning alarm, I'm generally unconcerned with knowing what time it is, and if absolutely necessary, would sooner reach for my cell phone than turn to the clock on the wall of whatever room I'm in. That's why I find it sort of amusing that my home decor obsession as of late has been wall clocks. Don't get too hopeful, friends. I don't intend to start telling the time with them -- I'm purely interested in them for decorative purposes.
During my Spring 2010 Fashion Week coverage, I expounded at great length on the subject of prints, declaring that I had heretofore been a pattern-shy person but had at long last seen the sartorial light. I vowed to step away from the safety of my solids and experiment with lively, labyrinthine motifs, blooming florals, and geometric abstractions with wild abandon. I may find myself venturing into said uncharted territories a wee bit earlier than anticipated, however, as lovely pattern play abounds this Fall. I just might have to try one of these stunners:
WeSC Rosabella Cardigan, $187 @ Tobi. I've got the perfect burnout tank to layer it over, with navy leggings, and boots, boots, boots.
