Manors

Top | Vintage
Pants | Rag & Bone (secondhand)
Shoes | Paul Green
Bag | Mansur Gavriel

     The backdrop here is the Legion of Honor, which is a museum in San Francisco. I never realized, until I looked it up to write this, but the building (per Wikipedia) is a full-scale replica of the French Pavilion at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, which was itself a smaller-scale version of the French Palais de la Legion d'Honneur. It was a gift to the city constructed in the 1920's and given by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels (great name), who was a philanthropist and also the wife of a sugar magnate (how sweet).

Effort

Blazer | Theory
Dress | Tibi

    Happy Friday! Today, I have a look at two work outfits from this past week, both of which I was pretty pleased with. Seeing all the chic Italians gave me some motivation to step up my workwear game, instead of falling back on my safety items (jeans, oversized cardigans, and the same dresses).
     First up, a dress I haven't featured in a while, but was involved in one of my earliest posts = ) I still really love this Tibi slip dress, bought at Crossroads Trading Co., and in fact, love it even more now, because I had the straps tailored. It always sat a little low and I would constantly be pulling it up an inch when I wore it to work. One very cheap alternation later, the straps are the right length and I don't have to worry about it. 

Although no longer accidentally, revealing the dress is still slinky, so I tried to offset that with a blazer to provide coverage and structure to the outfit.

This is the actual color.

Second, a fun pleated skirt, and my continuing attempts to get a picture of me in motion - why is this so difficult?! 

Sweater | J. Crew
Skirt | Banana Republic
Scarf | Vintage

Pleated skirts are something I have been seeing more and more of, but I kept waiting to purchase one. I love the way they move, but I wasn't sure it was something I would still love a year or two from now. I was intrigued by several gold lame (with an accent over the e - I cannot figure out how to add it in blogger - not lame, as in feeble) pleated skirts, but realized it probably wouldn't be very versatile for me. I saw this one on clearance at a Banana Republic store and loved the color, and the strips of lace - it is so charming. This scarf is actually vintage, that I fished out of a bowl of scarfs and bought for a euro.When I had this outfit on, initially I was going to add a necklace, but, then I remembered the scarf and thought it added a little extra something. 

Are you in a work-wear rut? What would help you break out of it?

What's Old is New Again + Happy Holiday Reading

Top | J. Crew (thrifted)
Skirt | Theory
Boots | Bally (vintage)
Necklace | J Hannah x Winden "Fine"

I was struggling the other morning when getting dressed. I kept trying on pieces, and then shrugging and thinking - maybe different pants...maybe with a different color sweater...I ultimately pulled this outfit and was so pleased - I will probably be re-wearing it many times this winter. 

I am particularly pleased with this look because it incorporates so many elements of my personal style, such as:

1. There Are No Rules

Just as true today as it was in the Matrix - there is no spoon, and there are no rules. One rule that you often hear is around color - you shouldn't mix brown and black, as well as you shouldn't mix navy and black. This outfit has black (the sweater), navy (the skirt) and brown (the boots) and I think it all going together quite well. I think all three might vibe so well because they are all heavily saturated, rich versions of their color - i.e. I don't think a baby blue or a faded black would work as well in this outfit. 

Another rule, at least that I think about, is the idea of which length's and cuts look good on petite women. I've heard short women shy away from both longer or midi length skirts, as well as tall boots. I think, again, it is about proportion. Here, picking a longer skirt that comes down to meet the top of the boots feels very cool, rather than that my skirt is too long or the clothes are just too big for me. I think the fact that the skirt is high-waisted helps with this, since it makes the bottom half of my body appear longer. Similarly, the leather boots are sexy enough so that this very covered up look doesn't seem overly conservative. 

2. Mixing New/Old + High/Low

This outfit is a great example of mixing vintage and modern with varying price points. This cashmere-blend sweater, which is J. Crew, I got at Goodwill (almost a year ago to the day), and cost me a whopping $5. The skirt, while it is suede, and Theory (both of which, as you imagine, increase the retail price) I found at mark-down clearance at Nordstrom Rack. The necklace is totally contemporary, and also comes in rose gold. 

The piece-de-resistance, however, is the boots. These boots actually belonged to my mom, and are from the 80s. I'm not sure why she kept them all these years since they did not fit her anymore (especially because she is a famed de-clutter-er) but I am really glad she did. She gave them to me when I was in high school - and all I had to do was have them re-soled, and they were perfect. The condition is great, and they totally look like they could be a contemporary find. I'm not saying everyone has awesome boots sitting in a parent's closet, but there are a lot of great consignment and thrift stores where you can shop for vintage and thrift pieces that are a lot cheaper than what you'll find new, online or at the mall.