Loving

Pringle, Spring 2010 RTW

I am coveting most of this collection. I didn't know that Pringle was this rad, but wow. Please.

More polka-dots...

Luella, Spring 2010 RTW

London is obviously doing it for me. I love these shapes at Luella, the ultra-girly styling, and yes, the polka-dots. I had a polka-dotted top years ago, but I didn't love it. Maybe it's time to try again. This scale is pretty much perfect. I have what I thought was a skirt but turned out to be a skort, in polka-dots, but they are a little on the small size. And it's a skort, so...

Home Improvements

Yesterday Karl painted our front door and put up the antique door knocker he bought in Chinatown. I think it looks rather nice, and now when people come to the house for the first time we can say "It's the one with the terracotta door".

Spoiled Rotten

The least awful picture of me, holding the most awesome boots from Jessica.

A couple of the dishes were topped with fried onions, not fried worms. I know it kind of looks like that.

Just a couple of pictures from my birthday celebrations last night. We had an excellent dinner at Nuba, then went dancing at Fortune. I had so much fun, and my friends are so generous and awesome. Totally worth turning thirty for!

Shall I go for the cheesy "Looking Goot" pun?

Josh Goot, Spring 2010 RTW

Yeah, well, speaking of colour. I know this is a little retina-searing, but it pleases me. It's pretty fresh I think. It's nice to see something that isn't instantly recognizable as referential to something else. I mean, I'm sure we can dig up some connections if we really try, but let's just enjoy the cavalcade of colours and the polka-dot accents.

Prepare to be ripped off

Marchesa, Spring 2010 RTW

I'm kidding, I'm not going to knock off any of these dresses. There is however, a prettiness and accessibility in some of the details that is noteworthy, and I don't think there's anything wrong with experimenting with some of the techniques. The construction and the vibe is familiar to me and a couple of the shapes could even be good for wedding dresses. Maybe not the hot pants though.

Something pretty for Spring 2010

Rachel Roy, again I like your use of colour. I think I will expand my horizons even farther (eep, is this a good idea?) and try pairing three bold colours, like the picture at the bottom.

Lazy Post

A couple of good time-wasting, work-distracting blogs for your Monday:

Fuck You, Penguin

Sorry I Missed Your Party

I think they both kind of sum up my sense of humour. That might be a bad sign. Now get back to work.

Seasonal Hues

I've been thinking that I might want some animal print this season, but I'm never really comfortable with literal animal print, so when I saw this kind of abstract-y top, I thought it was perfect. By the way, Ardene has pretty nice tights 3 for $10, lots of variety. Take that $26 tights at American Apparel. Who needs you?

snoozefest 2010

Why do I feel like I just don't have time for Spring fashion weeks right now? Oh yeah, because my boss is away, my interns are back at school and I am doing the work of three people. Running around like a crazy woman trying to get everything done. Anyway, I'm also pretty disinterested. What I've seen out of New York has been kind of boring, which isn't too surprising. I hope the European shows feel a little newer and more exciting. Everything I've seen from the New York shows looks like it could be from any of the last three years. I kind of liked some of the dresses from Marchesa. A lot of the collection was just watered-down Galliano, but from a work perspective, I thought these four looks were pretty.

God, I sound like I need some anti-depressants, don't I? I'll try harder tomorrow.

Lucky Feet

Maybe you've seen that show on A&E, Hoarders. It's freaky and reminds me to keep myself in check. I went through all my tights tonight and tried them all on and threw out any that didn't fit or had holes or were ugly. I narrowed it down to 26 pairs - reasonable, right? And rolled them all up so I can actually see them. I need a better system for the long term, because I know they will all be unrolled and messy in no time. Any suggestions for organizing tights?

I got two great pairs of socks today at the thrift store. I've been looking for ones like the above for a long time, sheer with hearts. They are really old though, and the elastic at the top is pretty shot. I like how they look with heels though. And the ones below are Betsey Johnson. They were still folded up in the original package when I bought them, so I didn't really know how they were going to work, but they are so cute! I don't really know what I'll wear them with, but for a dollar it was a good investment.

Notes on Coats

So, it's the season for coat shopping, and thankfully I don't need a new one this year. However, I was thinking about several coat-related issues that often bother me.

Fur-trimmed hoods: This trend has been trickling on far too long in my opinion, and it looks so tacky in most cases. On one hand, you have the fake fur, which gets matted and gnarly really quickly and looks like old shag carpeting from a 70's rec room. On the other hand, real fur. From a real animal. And unless it's a really expensive coat, what kind of animal do you think it's from? Um, woof woof. Not that a dog's life is any more valuable than a mink's, but I just don't think people consider what they are really buying.

Tips for wool coats: You know that tag that's sewn on to the outside of the cuff of some wool coats? Take it off. You aren't supposed to leave it there, proudly proclaiming to the world that this is a "Wool blend coat, exclusively for The Bay". It's a throwback from the days when you might have had your coat tailored and it might have meant something to you to have your tailor sew this inside the coat. Some bolts of expensive fabrics come with tags like these from the woollen mills, so you can have it sewn inside your suit. As if you care. I see people all to often wearing coats with these tags still on the cuffs, and I wish someone would tell them.

Similarly: If the coat has a vent or a pleat at the back, and it's loosely sewn shut with a big X of thread, you can take that stitch out. It's just there so that the pleat doesn't get smooshed in packing and shipping. Unless the coat has some funky topstitching detail all over which makes you think that it might be part of the design, just snip that sucker. Same goes for seemingly functional pockets that are loosely sewn shut.

Now go bundle up in style.

Camping 3: Things

Yes, the arid grasslands yield many treasures to behold. The prickly cacti, which will get you. Anytime, anywhere, they will get you.

A matching moth and leaf.

A dead horse. Treasures indeed.

Camping 2: Places

Home base.

Our little piece of paradise in the middle of nowhere.

Views from the seriously kick-ass hike/climb we did on Sunday.

Camping 1: People

There seemed to be a cetain element of letting your inner red-neck out on this trip. Or is that what camping's all about in general? In the first picture that's just a pellet gun. And in the second picture, yes, I am throwing a hatchet. Actually, my first try at it was perfect, and I couldn't do it right again. Beginner's luck.

Sensibility Overload

It rained today so I got to wear my new-to-me little ankle boots and what a revelation! Boots keep your feet warm and dry. Why am I only learning this now? In the past my winter footwear option were the extremes: huge clunky snow boots, or basically old runners. Well, not any more. I'm sorry, feet, for years of cold clammy toes.

Perfectly tarnished earrings.

Spangled

Although I couldn't take a good picture to save my life today, I love this top. The paillettes are kind of like scales or armour, and I like that it's body and short and has a good little square shoulder. I really made it casual today with the jeans and runners, but someday I'll have more energy and glam it up.

Great long weekend too! We got our camp on, defying the weather forecast odds. It was my first camping trip in so long, and it reminded me how much fun it is. I'll post photos soon.

Ignored my instincts and bought some pleated, tapered pants from Zara. I thought they would look bad, but I really like them. They are comfy and my theory is that as long as I wear a fitting top so my waist is kind of visible, they aren't too unflattering. And lately I've been thinking that this whole "figure flattering" thing shouldn't be the holy gospel when it comes to picking clothes. I mean, if we all followed all the rules on What Not To Wear, there would be way too many women in black, straight leg trousers with a v-neck top that gathers under the bust. Snore. I'd rather sacrifice a little flattery for a little cool or different now and then. So what if people aren't fooled into thinking I'm a size zero: I like the pleats.

So much in fact that I also bought a pair at the thrift store, in electric blue no less. Honestly though, these don't fit as well and I may pass them on to a certain slim friend who has expressed some interest in this silhouette. Only if she wears them though.

A rather regal earring - 99 cents, and it's really glass, not plastic. Real genuine glass, folks! By the way, that's not dirt in my ear, it's freckles. I had to check.