11. Outfit of the Day – 3.15.08 Pt. II
March 16th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
Top – Slip worn as top / Skirt – Hand-me-down from my mother / Tights – welovecolors / Shoes – Thrifted / Mini-coat – SOGO
I do like welovecolors, for the most part. They aren’t perfect, but they’re very comfortable, and I love the colors I do have. This is an outfit I wore a few weeks ago.
10. Outfit of the Day – 3.15.08
March 15th, 2008 § 1 Comment
I tried pin curls for the first time as inspired by the ever-so-stylish Amelia (is there a link you’d like me to put here, A.?) – I think they turned out all right for my first attempt, and I will definitely try them again. They seem like all the more reason for me to maintain my permanent. No, I will not call it a perm! A doctor asked me if I had “a natural bend to my hair.” I did when I was a baby, but then my hair went absolutely stick-straight.
Necklace – Target / Belt – Therapy / Dress – eBay (I’ve had this dress for seven years and I can’t remember who I bought it from) / Socks / Heels – eBay
As those near and dear to me know, food is one of my greatest comforts in life, especially brunch. Few things make me as immediately happy as brunch (one of my mantras: A GREAT DAY STARTS WITH A GREAT BRUNCH!) and when I go to a new city, I often wind up searching out the best brunch places for my gustatory amusement. Greasy spoons are a pleasure; posh French places are divine; McDonald’s sausage breakfast burritos are amazing. The list goes on and on.
This morning I wore this outfit to go to one of our standard brunch places, Hobee’s in Mountain View, where I had a St. Patrick’s day themed hash and about four cups of coffee. In order to spend little to no money my housemate and I are staying at home, reading (him) and goofing around on the Internet (me). Later I plan on making my second attempt at Mrs. Dalloway, and maybe the mailperson will come with a package for me.
9. Style Profile, Mags, & Lonely People
March 14th, 2008 § 3 Comments
There’s an ethereal man’s voice coming out of the tunnel that goes beneath the train tracks. It echoes as it sings Beatles songs – “Eleanor Rigby” has been my favorite so far. Sometimes he pauses and clears his throat. The tunnel is notorious for being somewhat filthy. I’ve seen human feces down there and there’s often the smell of sweat and urine. It’s also always dark down there, which is what is preventing me from going down there and giving him a dollar, but I hope he’s making an okay amount of money – there, he just interrupted himself to say “thank you” – because he’s really good.
I stopped at the bookstore today to buy three magazines: the newish Lula, Preen, and a non-fashion magazine (Print). Lately I’ve been making plans for summer art projects – perhaps a small, limited-edition artist’s book – but I also want to figure out exactly what I want to do with this blog and what my intentions are. I don’t intend for it to be a moneymaking thing ever, I’m not on the cutting edge of anything (my edge is quite dull) so I can’t provide much news about this new release or that great new sale, and while I’d say my daily wear isn’t bad at all, I’m a big enough fan of fashionable ladies like Susie Bubble and an (here he goes with “Eleanor Rigby” again) avid enough reader of The Sartorialist to know when I should bother getting out the camera. So the point of all of this blathering is to let you know that this blog is more of a stylistic journal than anything, and I’m just pleased that you’re willing to follow me along as I explore.
Does anyone know of an online source for individual magazines? As an undergraduate I used to go to News Haven for my eclectic magazine fix – rows and rows of rags devoted to all kinds of things, and I loved it, especially since I was devoted to assemblage/collage at the time. All I can find right now are websites to buy subscriptions from, which I don’t necessarily want. (Do I want a year’s worth of Jalouse? Or French Vogue when I don’t, uh, parlez vous?)
When shopping, the laser-beam focus that can make itself so apparent in other aspects of my life completely disappears. For a long time, my closet was a complete mishmash of things that didn’t really go together; I’d buy things based on instinct without following the rule my mother had always taught me, that being: What could this go with? Is this something that I actually like?
The process I went through recently to clean out my closet will make some people unhappy, but it helped put some money back in my wallet and made my wardrobe about one-fourth its original girth. I won’t go into the whole process, as Gala Darling has explained the general steps with loving care on her own site, but basically, I decided what my general style profile was right now and figured out what didn’t belong. I know this goes absolutely against the very nature of the free spirit who dresses like Stevie Nicks on Tuesday and Debbie Harry on Wednesday. But figuring out my “style profile,” instead of jamming me into an unpleasantly narrow box (yes, I do own a wool orange-and-brown mod romper from the 60s, which decidedly does not belong in my style profile), really helps me focus when I browse for clothes. If I see something that is way beyond the realm of what I believe my style profile to be, the case is more likely than not that I wouldn’t feel comfortable in it, wouldn’t feel good wearing it, and probably won’t get my money’s worth out of it. Plus, the style profile is always growing and changing. I wrote a style profile for myself four years ago and some things that were major staples back then (button-up polyester shirts from the 70s) are not so much for me now.
Right now my style profile would read something like: ladylike and tailored, phasing out the massive amounts of black by introducing neon colors (often with opaque tights), low heels, high waists, no pants, chipped nail polish (this is more because I’m lazy), Beauty Queen lipstick, short-pixie curly hair, increasing amounts of rhinestones, standard huge coat (I have a rotating collection of coats), piled-on bracelets, bows. Last year I fully embraced the tent dress, but this year I discovered my waist, which seemed to have reappeared at least temporarily, and therefore I have accumulated some cinch belts.
What would your style profile be?
Now I am going to listen to some Edith Piaf, drink cheap merlot and read my magazines…
8. Outfit of the Day – 3.12.08
March 13th, 2008 § 4 Comments
Dress – SOGO in Pingtung, Taiwan / Cardigan (I know, I said I don’t wear them) – My mother / Red tights / Sandals – Thrifted / Necklace – Present from a friend, received through the mail
At the farmers’ market this week I encountered a group of young men selling cheese and butter. The butter was being sold in sticks and sat in a metal bucket full of ice, and although I was tempted by the hand-churned, fleur de sel-containing nature of the butter, I hemmed and hawed and wandered around the market a second time before returning again and buying a stick. I think it will last us a long time, and already Chris and I have enjoyed it atop chard and red pepper ravioli, which we’d also bought at the farmers’ market. If I wind up moving away from California come fall, which is looking increasingly likely, I will really miss the produce here and our semi-weekly trips to the market.
7. Owens Up
March 11th, 2008 § 1 Comment
Note: I’ve been meaning to post Daily Outfits here. Problem is that my low mood has translated to schlumpy, uncreative get-ups unworthy of your valuable eyeballs. I promise to do better in the future. In the meantime, I’ll talk about Rick Owens.
There’s an article in this week’s New Yorker (March 10, 2008, “Elegant Monsters”) about Rick Owens, designer of all that is rock star leather and impeccably undone. My favorite part of the profile had nothing to do with the word “glunge,” the numerous mentions of Courtney Love (complete with creepy robot picture of her in a leather-and-shearling jacket, and no, I’m not a hater), or even the great descriptions of his clothes, which for the most part aren’t seen in the article. Rather, the best part of “Elegant Monsters” is about his dad, who is into Buddhism and astrology and raised Owens to read Marcus Aurelius and Buddhist texts, listen to classical music, and refrain from watching TV until he was in his mid-teens. Basically, Rick Owens was like a member of Salinger’s Glass family.
But anyway. Interest piqued, I ventured to eBay to see what goodies I could find for less-than-retail prices, and this bone leather jacket came up. Although it’s pretty from the front, the back is what makes it truly swoon-worthy. The tucks and folds near the collar, the extra-long sleeves perfect for shy-finger days, and the extension at the bottom are thoughtfully distinguished. Although $350 (the price as I type this) is certainly nothing to sneeze at, the seller helpfully points out that the retail price is $3.5k. Gulp. (image from seller)
Although I’ll probably never find an equivalent jacket that won’t empty my piggy bank, a little sleuthing on eBay did unearth these two vintage pieces that, while not the same, could add a bit of white leather edge to the wardrobe (Images from Violetville Vintage and UK Vintage Company).
6. Trunk Show, Part II
March 9th, 2008 § 2 Comments
Today was the day: my first attempt at finding a wedding dress. I anticipated either leaving in a puddle of tears (it was a trunk show and I feared not fitting into any of the sample sizes) or in a euphoria induced by satin and lace. Dear Reader, you will soon find out which it was.
The trunk show was held at Nouvelle Vogue in San Mateo, a bridal boutique nestled among a variety of upscale restaurants and antique stores. The store itself was laid out in typical boutique style: spare walls with a handful of dresses on each rack, glamorous lounge couches with at least one bored-looking man poking at the women’s magazines (I sighted a Marie Claire with a still-pregnant Maggie G on the cover), and a few confection-like dresses on display. The staff (I was later to learn that the woman who attended to us was a co-owner) was attentive and friendly without being overbearing, and said hello to my mother and me right away. Since we were a smidge early for our appointment, we took some time rummaging around the racks.
My first go-round yielded a single dress – a romantic lace number with droopy cap sleeves and a bow at the natural waist. Disappointed, I made a second round. We’d built ourselves up to this trip and it seemed that everything I looked at just wasn’t me – too sexy, too frumpy, too old, too many beads… I wound up choosing two more just to have an even three and then whoosh! To the dressing room with its lush satin curtains.
After some fussing with the strapless bra they had on hand, the saleswoman helped me on with the first dress. I walked out, stood in front of the giant mirror and, well, I think I heard crickets chirping, or maybe an audience yawning for bedtime. Next.
The second dress was by Jenny Packham, a British designer known for vintage-style gowns. It didn’t look like much on the hanger, but it was a pretty decent approximation of 20′s/30′s glamor when put on. We almost bought it right there and then, but then we remembered that today was the first day I’d ever slipped on a wedding dress, so my mother and I waffled a whole bunch and then asked to see other, similar dresses for comparison. And the dresses came – including dresses that emphasized my gut and clung to my abdominal scar and showed off other body parts that I’m not too proud of, therefore giving more gold stars to Dress Number Two.
As an aside, I’d like to mention that the whole “bride-to-be” thing still hasn’t sunk in despite it all (I’ve been engaged for over a year now), but it started to hit me as I was standing on the stepstool, in a gown, with a veil on my head. Surprisingly, neither my mother nor I cried.
We didn’t leave with the Jenny Packham dress; I’m going to look around some more to see what else is out there. Aces to Nouvelle Vogue for excellent customer service and making me feel like a bride-to-be for the first time (Nouvelle Vogue, 132 E. 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401 USA).
