Beat the Heat

Top | Amour Vert
Skirt | Banana Republic
Shoes | Paul Green

     I've paired together two recent outfits that are both drape-y, if that is even a word (quick google search produces mixed results, no hits from OED). I've recently been drawn toward clothing that is more soft and flowy, avoiding anything tight or structured. Part of this might be because of the recent heat waves the Bay Area has been having. It got up to 106 degrees in the city last weekend - the hottest ever on record. 

     Now, I know what your thinking, "my city also got up to 100+ degrees" and I hear you, and that is hot, but heat is always tough in SF because it never gets that hot, and as a result, no one has air conditioning. No A/C in your apartment. No A/C in the bogeda on the corner. No A/C in the majority of restaurants. No A/C in most coffee shops (except Starbucks which was a madhouse). I and about a thousand of my fellow city-dwellers decamped to the movies, which is one of the few places with air conditioning.

     On Tuesday, when I was back in the office, I still couldn't bear to wear sleeves or closed-toed shoes. So instead I wore this:

Top | Calvin Klein
Skirt | Amour Vert
Shoes | Coclico

In-vested

Dress | Amour Vert
Vest | Rag & Bone Ines
Shoes | Calvin Klein 

     I am always mindful to avoid looking like a restaurant waiter whenever I wear a vest, the same way I never wear a red shirt and khaki pants when I go to Target. For this particular outfit, I knew I wanted to wear this knit dress (another new Amour Vert find), and couldn't figure out what else to wear with it. My blazers were too long and made the skirt look a bit short, a sweater pulled over the dress sort of ruined the nice lines of the dress, and I didn't feel like wearing a cardigan. 

     Vest to the rescue. This vest shows off the long sleeves on the dress, the white provides a striking contrast to the navy, and, as the vest has pockets but the dress doesn't, it adds a level of functionality. Also, since the vest has lapels, it invokes the style of a blazer in a way that still looks polished, for work. I don't wear this vest very often (I was actually surprised to see that I purchased it back in 2014) but it keeps surviving my closet clean-outs because when it does work, I really love it.

Workworkworkworkworkwork (sung like the Rihanna song)

LEFT:
Sweater | Uniqlo x Lemaire
Dress | Rebecca Taylor (secondhand)
Shoes | Matt Bernson
RIGHT:
Top | Calvin Klein (secondhand)
Cardigan | Halogen (secondhand)
Pants | Marc by Marc Jacobs
Shoes | Donald J. Pliner

I'll give you two guesses as to what I've been up to lately, although I'm sure you only need one....it is obviously pouring over fashion photos from Cannes.  Well, in addition to that, I've been working and so here are two workworkworkworkworkwork outfits.

Both of these outfits feature old stalwart items. First up, an outfit featuring a pair of shoes I have had since 2013, and which have only recently become comfortable. When I was in New York, one of the first sample sales I went to was for Matt Bernson - it was around the corner from my apartment and I stumbled into it on my way home (also, I do miss that about New York, there is no better city in the world for stumbling upon). As much as I wanted to love these shoes (they are so flattering on my legs and go with everything) they were not comfortable and gave me blisters so I shoved them in the back of a closet. I couldn't part with them, however, because that felt like defeat. Flash forward to today, I now wear them to work, and while they are totally fine for wearing in the office all day, they still start to hurt if I try to walk great distances in them. At this point though, I think they are getting close to falling apart and I feel like I did my part on making sure they were put to use. (Also, as I read this, I think the fact that I've kept them so long is slightly nuts, and they should probably go).

Next up, a pair of work pants that have served me well since 2014. I bought these when I started my current job, and they were a Marc Jacobs splurge from Nordstrom Rack (so I just looked them up because I got them around the time I started keeping my clothing spreadsheet, and they were a whopping $72.68 - however, at that point I was used to buying pants, on sale, from the Gap for like $30). I still love them, and if anything, their streamlined, ponte-pant-ness has become only more and more trendy over the years. They also have fun zippers around the ankles. I went nuts with a half-tucked shirt, because it is the only way I know how to wear a shirt, and was feeling good.

Speaking of Nordstrom Rack (honestly, these posts are never sponsored, but I should look in that, haha, I basically buy all my shoes there) I recently found these babies - comfortable right off the shelf. I've seen a lot of Donald J. Pliner shoes there and they always catch my eye because they seem very well made, however nothing has ever been quite the right fit. These will be versatile work shoes for me and, it is hard to see but there is a little rhinestone border at the edge of the sole, which is pretty delightful.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Trust Me, I'm Wearing a Pencil Skirt

Top | Equipment
Skirt | Theory
Shoes | J. Crew

...and we are back to our regularly scheduled programming. I've been working quite a bit lately and when I come home, I instantly change my clothes and get back to work, so there hasn't been much outfit documentation, or creative energy to showcase my outfit documentation, but hopefully I'll get a chance to recharge a bit this weekend. 

     One day last week I did manage to snap some photos because I went to a work event. My goal for this outfit was to look more polished, so I went with the trusty old pencil skirt (this pencil skirt was actually part of my very first "adult" suit, which I bought from a Theory outlet store back in 2014). However, I did a half-tuck on my menswear-inspired shirt because, number one I love a half-tuck, and number two because I think it feels a little younger. It could be that it just looks a little sloppier, but I paired this with a black leather jacket (which I did not get any photos of) and hoop earrings, and I thought it looked pretty cool...but also trustworthy.

Business, business, business

Then boom!

     Also, since it is the end of the week I thought I'd throw in some random bonus photos that I don't think I can build entire posts around. 

Think of these like the prize in the bottom of a Blog-Cracker-Jack-Box.

In no particular order, we have:

1. A work look featuring the jacket I promised to bore you with by wearing it so often, and a sick bag that I got in Italy. It is a tote bag with a top flap (it drives me nuts when tote bags are open on top) which is wide enough to fit my laptop and a lunch Tupperware, and comes with a cross body strap!

Jacket | Rebecca Taylor
Jeans | DL1961
Shoes | J.Crew 

2. A weekend look featuring a sweater I've had a few years but should probably wear more. It has a cozy fleece lining and the print can frankly best be described as an interior-designer-fever-dream. It is sort of hard to tell from this photo but features alternating house blueprints and doll-house furniture.

Sweater | Clover Canyon
Jeans | Citizens of Humanity

 3. One more look at my new Eileen Fisher dress, but paired with a leather jacket. A leather jacket frankly goes with everything.

Jacket | Veda
Dress | Eileen Fisher

4. And lastly, a pretty casual weekend look, with one of my favorite tops, whereby I am holding, but at least not wearing, the jacket in #1.

Jacket | Rebecca Taylor
Jeans | DL1961
Top | Calvin Klein
Shoes | Paul Green
Bag | Mansur Gavriel 

 Thanks for stopping by!

2016 Superlatives...

...and now, I present some of my favorite and least favorite purchases from 2016. For the past 3 years, throughout the year, I keep an excel chart of all of the items that I purchase, and include data such as retail price, how much I paid for it, where I got it, online vs in-store, and general thoughts (could include if I had to get it tailored before wearing, if it is Made in America, etc.), and then at the end of the year I go through and review/analyze what I bought. This might sound clinical, or crazy, but I like shopping and my system helps me identify trends from my own shopping data. 
     For example, last year I noticed that most of the items that I purchased and never really wore/lost interest in quickly were items I ordered online from J. Crew and Banana Republic. That helped me curb mindless online sale shopping at both of those places, and remind me that if I am going to shop at either store, I need to do it in person.
       This year, just to give you a flavoring, 31% of the clothes I bought were dresses, 42% of the items I bought were used or second-hand, and I saved, on average, 79% off of the retail price of all of the clothing I bought. That last number is heavily weighted by the secondhand shopping, and some key Nordstrom Rack and RealReal.com clearance item finds. 
1. Best Sport: Rag & Bone Varsity Jacket

Jacket  Rag & Bone
Pants | Joe's Jeans

This first piece is a great example of my commitment to bargain hunting. I really wanted a varsity jacket, and had seen a few Rag & Bone ones, but did not want to, and could not, pay $500 or more (retail here, although mine, to be fair, is probably last year's model) for one. I waited and waited and eventually the one I am wearing above popped up on the RealReal for less than $80. Boom. It was one size larger than I would have ordered normally, but the slouchy look totally works on this piece and everything else about it was exactly what I wanted, so I purchased. 
I really adore it and wear it all the time, even though sometimes I think it makes me look like a local high school student. Go Bulldogs? 

2. Most Unflattering: Caslon Pants

The back of these pants is pretty unflattering - even more so in person. I ordered online, drawn in by a $15 price tag, and then missed the return window, so here they sit in my closet. I will probably force myself to wear them to work one time, and then donate them. Mental note to stop adding things to cart just because they are cheap, or because I am like $8 away from free shipping.

3. Best Assist
These pants, on the other hand, feel like they were made for me. Both the top and bottom here were actually random second-hand finds that I did not initially intend to try on. In both instances, I was in the dressing room and needed a top/a bottom, because I was wearing a dress that day and trying on a top/a bottom, so I randomly grabbed these from the rack to assist me in the dressing room. I'm so glad I did because I now wear this top once a week (who knew a metallic could be so versatile....probably Stacey London actually...), and I have worn these jeans multiple times a week, to be frank. 

Long live the skinny jean! 

Top | Calvin Klein
Pants | Citizens of Humanity

Bauble

A bauble is technically any small, showy trinket or decoration, but whenever I hear the word bauble I always picture small, bubbly beads, such as the ones on this necklace. It is also such a great word to say - it sort of sounds like the name of a cute, round Pokemon: Bauble bauble.....ok that last one might just be me, and some recent lack of sleep is maybe having an effect.
These photos are a little dark - for example you can't really tell I'm wearing jeans, as opposed to black trousers, but the necklace shines through. I wear it sometimes when I want to liven up an outfit without any additional work. This necklace, in addition to the unusual zippers on the sweater, also add a little polish and visual interest to an otherwise simple, and somewhat staid color palette.

Top | J. Crew
Necklace | Ann Taylor Loft (old)
Pants | AG "Stevie" Ankle Jeans
Shoes | Calvin Klein Kasey Suede

Thanks for stopping by!

Fancy Pants

Sometimes, you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone. For me, although I've gotten comfortable with printed dresses, printed pants are another story entirely. Typically, I am all about jeans, or work pants in black or navy (I know - wild). I saw these at a consignment store, took a chance, and ended up digging the pattern.

Pants | 3.1 Phillip Lim
Sweater | Gap
Shoes | Calvin Klein
Carpet | Ugly, unfortunately