Friday, April 29, 2011

To Wear or Not to Wear: The Harem Pant

Please know that as I'm writing this post, I'm totally giggling at the photos and the topic. Feel free to follow suit.

Ok, so I braved the debut of my Catherine Malandrino harem pants yesterday, and I'm not sure how I feel about the experience. Ah, the trials and tribulations of taking fashion risks! I didn't get a single compliment at work or at happy hour, though I did receive a few of the requisite MC Hammer references (which, to be fair,were completely warranted). I even did a few Hammer shuffles just to show that I wasn't bothered by the snarky joke (even though I kind of was).

I also feel like if I lived in New York it would have gone over better, but then, maybe I'm just in fantasy land. Should I be wearing these or should I sell them on eBay? What would make them better? Higher heels? Gwen Stefani hair? I'd love to hear what you think (and I promise, I will not take offense if you think they should be left back in the 1980s. Cross my heart).

Also, they're so high-waisted (and not in a good way) that I have to fold them over--kind of adds an unnecessary layer around my middle.



Can't see well enough? Well, here's a closeup. At least there's a lot of pocket space!



Happy Friday!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Print Dress

I'm completely inspired after a day of closet organizing and shopping for my dear friend Sara. So for the weekend post, I'm going to share some of my favorite printed dresses. First up, here I am in a Dolce Vita dress.





Here are a few out in the market that I'm coveting:

I'm completely in love with this ECI dress ($150). It would be gorgeous with a metallic gold or turquoise skinny belt (or both!). A bright cardigan and a neutral shoe, or a neutral cardigan and a bright shoe (maybe my favorite Sam Edelman) would complete the outfit.
















Trina Turk Lilet 2 $320
Pure Sugar Ruffle Dress $80
Kensie Blotch Print $90
DVF Agantha Print $525
Madewell Dress $135



ECI Surplice Zebra Print Wrap $60

Top off these looks with some chunky jewelry and a blazer for a polished look.

Tommy Hilfiger $70
Rag & Bone Dinner Blazer $395

Friday, April 22, 2011

Business Travel--Part 3

For the third installation of my Business Travel series, I'm posting a couple of my new favorite outfits. I found myself in a complete scramble to pack last weekend, as I was out all day at the Cherry Blossom Festival (stuffing my face with Japanese food) and taking in the Pulp Fashion Exhibit at the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Then I went to see a live Clive Owen interview (yes, Clive Owen, in person), which left me pretty much zero time to pack.

Anyhow, back to the wardrobe—I only needed two “work” outfits this week, and I was determined to pack as little as possible (though I totally cheated on my one pair of shoes rule). First, I was really excited to create a look with my recent Goodwill find —a Dana Buchman silk leopard print blouse. I wore it with my black faux-harem pants (I call them faux because I have a real pair of Catherine Malandrino harem pants now, a huge score off Gilt). I love the way these pants look with my nude Seychelles, and I definitely needed a neutral shoe with all that animal going on up top!
I felt like I was walking straight off the set of Dallas (save my lack of shoulder pads), and I was actually in Texas. As I was about to leave my hotel, I put on my Rebel lipstick in haste, which is very fushia on me, and I looked straight out of bad 1990s Eastern Europe. I had to do a quick removal of the lipstick, because believe me, I looked like a train wreck with it on.

So here I am channeling Dallas:



The bracelet I wore was a birthday gift--it's made out of stingray! Who knew?


 
The second outfit is a new stretchy skirt with leather hip panels paired with a very old Zara silk top (again, silk travels so well!). I love that graphic prints are so big right now, because I'm a huge fan of patterns. I topped it with a Kenneth Cole silver necklace to give it a little contrast. I wore the belt again to give myself a little more shape. If I had been in San Francisco, I would have worn a chunkier, bolder shoe, but since I needed to look a tad bit more conservative, I went with my favorite pair of gray & black Bandalinos. Like I said in my last business travel post, if you work in a more formal environment, a blazer or cardigan could be layered over either outfit.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Pret-A-Coachella

What's a girl to do when it's a Monday and her co-worker says she's headed to Coachella on Thursday? She squeezes in two one-hour shopping sessions, and then miraculously manages a one-hour style & photo session, of course! Sound ridiculous? It probably is. But check out these photos before you make too swift a judgement.

Nahal had a few of these items already, we purchased a few more on Monday and Tuesday, and then I brought some accessories from my stash for our Wednesday style session. We literally had one hour, so unfortunately we weren't able to run outside to give these outfits the lighting they deserve. I'm guessing they'll get the sunlight (and attention!) they warrant at Coachella.

We did some mix & match with different accessories. I tried to narrow down how many photos to post, but I'm just so in love with all of these outfits/shots, that I could not possibly pare it down any more.

Up first: a bomb dress from Aritzia (amazing Canadian store Nahal introduced me to. It will probably be my new obsession once I have time to shop there for myself), paired with some fushia hoops and my very own fedora. The color of the dress is unbelievably beautiful on Nahal.






Next, yet another fabulous find at Aritzia, with Nahal's tourquise bikini underneath. In the first shot is a necklace I bought at a vintage store in the East Village while shopping with my mother-in-law, and in the other shots you'll see the gold belt we bought at Loehmann's. The gold belt accentuates everything!




Next, a Young, Fabulous and Broke dress Nahal had ordered especially for Coachella. It looks amazing on its own, but again, the gold belt and gold Steve Madden gladiators really amp it up.



I love this next outfit: very causal yet surprisingly adorable (and perfect for the Coachella heat).


And last, a ridiculously cute romper paired with, what else, the gold belt!





A special thanks to Nahal for letting me play Coachella dress-up! She and I will do another session soon when we can play around with her whole wardrobe and hopefully get some outdoor shots.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Thread Treasures

I ended up going to the Thread show for a few hours last weekend, and there are two companies that particularly stood out to me amongst the many. I only bought one piece at the show, but what a piece it is! I totally fell in love with designer Kathryn McCarron's edgy, Japan-aesthetic-meets-American-knitwear designs. They are insanely comfortable and completely wearable, and are designed to flatter every body type. Curious yet?

Here's what I bought:


This top (sweatshirt meets t-shirt with a side of lace) is just so versatile! It would be easy to wear with leggings, skinny jeans, gray jeans, a black mini, a maxi skirt, etc! I can promise, I'll be wearing it this weekend! I didn't end up buying the leggings, pictured on the model here, even though they were so adorable. They're black with what looks like a gray pair of shorts paired over them, only that's the construction! Part gray, part black. Clever, I tell you!

Kathryn was quite lovely as well--very gracious and super cool. Here are a couple shots of the lady herself (wearing her own designs, of course) and of her little makeshift "boutique" at Thread.




Another boutique I took a liking to was Liva Mira. Funky, eclectic jewelry hand-made by the founder, Kristen Brillantes. As if the jewelry itself isn't cool enough, for every purchase, a care package is sent to a child in need in the Philippines. I was fortunate to meet Kristen, who is insanely adorable on top of being a talented artist. Her jewelry is incredibly affordable too. Check out these rings.



A picture Kristen and her friend Emerson:



Last, I'll leave you with a gorgeous shot of San Francisco on an unusually sunny day--some models from the Thread fashion-off, in which local bloggers styled models for a competition. 


And one more of the models--my favorite is the cream outfit!


Saturday, April 9, 2011

Business Travel--Part 2

As promised, here are a few shots of my week of travel. Full disclosure: I ended up not being able to take pictures one day, so I put the outfit back on and took pictures when I got home. Also, I left my camera in the taxi I took to the airport, so all we had was an iPhone... so the pictures aren't the most amazing. Still trying to track down that camera, dammit! I think it's a travel casualty!

I want to say a special thanks to Sharon, my colleague and travel buddy for the week, who was a very patient iPhone photographer!
Day 1: Preppy comfort

I'm wearing GAP's really skinny pants that I previously blogged about, a Polo striped golf shirt (purchased at Ross in the middle of nowhere Delaware), and my trusty TOMS. I decided to wear my statement glasses to add a touch of interest to my look, since the outfit isn't anything ground breaking!








Day 2: Slighty vintage

I absolutely love this Reiss blouse, but I don't get to wear it that often. I love the ruffles paired with the buttons on the back, which gives it a vintage feel. It's 100% silk and it doesn't wrinkle (I'm surprised at how well silk travels). Also, it takes up basically no space in my suitcase. A black (or cream!) blazer could be added if the look needs to be a bit more "professional." That would hide the details of the blouse, but it would be a good day-to-night outfit.

I paired the top with a simple black skirt--my absolute go-to item when I travel for work. It never wrinkles and it goes well with 90% of the tops in my wardrobe as well as 90% of my shoes. I added a low French braid to the bottom of my hair, which as you can see, didn't completely survive the day!! I'm still experimenting with hairstyles, since this is the longest my hair has been in nearly two decades.








Day 3: Mixing pattern with brights

I'm wearing a Design History tee with a Liquid skirt. Do you think the ruffly sleeves are too much paired with the bold pattern of the skirt? I couldn't decide... usually I wear this skirt with a less voluminous top.




The Shoes:

These Antonio Melani very low wedges are perfect for me--since I'm a trainer, I'm sometimes standing for 6-8 hours during my work day. I got these over the holidays when I was visiting my family in Colorado Springs. I absoutely love them, and you know what I love even more? Scoring a fabulous pair of peep toes in the dead of winter in CO! The distressed antique gold look give them a vintage vibe, while the buckles lend them a modern feel.





The Earrings:


I bought these beauties at a little Noe Valley boutique, Successories in the Button Box. There is some really cute jewelry there, most notably, rings fashioned from vintage buttons.