flat sandals

The weather here is still pretty un-springy, but that hasn't stopped me from thinking about my spring shopping needs.  The only thing I'm a little concerned about finding is new sandals.  In the spirit of my newish goal of really wearing shoes out before I replace them, I actually had to throw out two pairs of sandals at the end of last summer.  They were worn to the point of cracked soles and broken straps; beyond repair.  So now all I have is one pair of pretty casual, kind of scuffed up sandals, which will do in a pinch, but aren't quite nice enough for work.  I really need something comfortable enough to wear all day, and versatile enough to wear with everything.  I'm quite cautious about styles that might cause blisters, so I think I'll try to avoid the thong style, which really limits me, as those seem to be the most popular this spring.  I made this little Polyvore collage of some nice options, but they are pretty much all out of my price range, which is "cheap", so I'll mostly be combing the thrift store, as usual.

Me again!

It's been months since I've posted a picture of myself on here, but it's not a sudden case of camera shyness, just a lack of daylight.  Luckily the sun was still out when I got home from work, so I took a few quick pictures.  I wanted to show off the awesome collar necklace my friend brought me from Berlin.  It's heavily beaded with different sizes of jet beads and I got lots of compliments at work today!

I keep reaching for this grey cut-out top.  It's tee-shirt comfy with just a little extra bit of style.

Made myself this new top at work today, and I love the colour combination!  The fabrics are three different silk pieces, just scraps that I've hung on to - not enough for a full garment, but with some creative mix and matching, I'm happy.

Opening Ceremony Lookbook

I thought that this lookbook for Opening Ceremony, featuring lots of Chloe Sevignys, was pretty cute, though I don't like the clothes.  What's cute about it?  It totally reminds me of old sewing pattern illustrations: the campy poses, multiple girls that look almost the same.

The real thing is better though, and I prefer the clothes.  That layout and illustration style would be great for a lookbook, wouldn't it?  There's a reason I have a big drawer full of old patterns that I'll probably never use.

Netsuke

There are a couple of reasons that I love getting books as gifts.  For one thing, I almost never buy books, so it's really nice to actually own a book, which means I can lend it, add it to the book shelf, and re-read it at my leisure.  The second reason is that it's a great way to get exposed to books that just aren't on my radar.  I tend to keep going back to authors that I love, but sometimes it's hard for me to just grab something I've never heard of at the library to read.

For Christmas, my mom gave me a book called The Hare With Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal.  It's the story of the authors family, following a collection of netsuke as they are passed from one generation to the next, and moved across three continents.  I had never heard of netsuke before: they are tiny Japanese carvings, originally purely functional, which were used like toggles to fasten pouches hanging from men's belts.  They evolved into finely carved works of art, which were eventually collected by Europeans in the early 1900's.

The book is fantastic.  I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in history or art; it's really well written and informative and original.  I have seen an advertisement for an illustrated edition since I read the book and that makes sense; there are wonderful descriptions of the netsuke, which were often animals or peasants, but I really wanted to see all of the hundreds in the collection.  I've included pictures of a few of my favorites below, but you can see more of them at the authors website, as well as learn more about the book.

http://www.edmunddewaal.com