October 13

I've been wanting to play around a little bit with the vintage longline bra I modified a few months back. (Click the link for the backstory.) Now that it's finally cooling off a bit the idea of wearing this piece doesn't make me break into a sweat, so I wanted to experiment a bit.

First I got out my little black knit Graham & Spencer dress.






This is a terrific, simple, no-fail LBD made of soft cotton jersey knit but still fully lined. It's got a waist and some seaming in the bodice (which I have cleverly disguised with bad photography) and is easy as pie to wear. Truth be told, though, I'm not much of an LBD gal. I have some, but I always resist wearing a black dress. Pretty much any event you attend, 78% of the women are going to be wearing LBDs, right? No fun there.

But it's slightly more fun with the bustier over it: (Click on the photos to enlarge them, by the way.)

(My hair was also having big fun today. Good googly-moogly, can you tell it's been raining for five days straight?)

This is the dress worn with my beautiful red satin Valentino bow pumps. Here, here's a better picture:




The barely suppressed loony grin on my face is what happens every time I put these shoes on -- they're just too good. Although I wasn't really loving them with this outfit -- maybe a little too prim.

What I was loving was the way the dress looks from the back with the bustier over it.



I thought maybe it would be fun & funky with some boots, like my floral-embroidered Feldmans.


Because as we know, I can't resist adding some color.



But I didn't love it. Now that I'm looking at the picture I think what it needs is some colored tights and a jacket. I'll have to try that again.

I liked it most with the Alaias:


Dayum. There is nothing those shoes don't make better. (Including my legs, which are not as good as they look here, I promise!)

Which is your favorite look?

Curried Mussels

Dinner with a friend at the Clay Pit, one of my very favorite restaurants. The food there is so amazing -- Indian is my favorite, I could live on it. If you ever go make sure you have a cocktail made of my buddy Dred the bartender's mango and ginger-infused vodka. Nummy. Have it after the meal -- you'll need the digestif.

wool striped jacket (part of a suit): Jovovich-Hawk
ivory cashmere cable v-neck: Saks store brand
bandage skirt: BCBG
tights: found 'em at Marshall's for 7 bucks, some Italian name I can't remember
shoes: Donald J. Pliner
pearls: vintage
lucite paisley ring: Kenneth Jay Lane

I started off like this


because I got the tights last week and was dying to wear them. The bandage skirt, I think, works best with something loose & a little slouchy on top because the skirt is so snug. (I should have bought two of these -- I'm wearing it a LOT.) I was going to top it off with my dark red velvet McQueen blazer, but then I decided the stripes would be more fun.



Advanced Fashion: stripes & plaid. I love this sort of thing. It raises eyebrows, but I thought was fun.




This jacket fits me like it was made for me, it's perfect. (Well, it's perfect after I had the sleeves shortened, of course.) I was sorry they closed Jovovich-Hawk, I thought they made nice clothes with a specific sensibility; but it's so hard to run a small house like that without some gigantic fashion mega-corp behind you.

What do we think of the stripes/plaid combo? Too much? Or just right?

The Thrill Is Gone

I've had this top for a few years now.


It's technically a cardigan, I guess, although it can't really be worn open because of the grippers:




It's a very charming top, a mostly silk and rayon knit in a beautiful robin's egg blue. I haven't worn it for a long time and yesterday I pulled it out of the sweater drawer with the intention of making something happen with it.

The easiest, most logical thing was pairing it with a black pencil skirt. (Because that's the easiest and usually most logical thing to do with almost any top, right?)

(Ann Taylor does a good pencil skirt, ya know?)

And I'm always happy to have any reason to bust out the blue Miu Mius. But I'm not loving this look. I look like I've just stepped out of a Raymond Chandler movie. If I were going to wear it I think I'd change out the blue shoes for black (and I have the same shoe in black, so just squint and imagine that), and maybe I'd go with a shorter skirt. But it just looks too period and slightly costume-y and not all that interesting. Then I tried it with a fuller skirt

(Wonderful swooshy crinkled/pleated wool crepe Martin Graham skirt. I should wear this more often.)

and flats, and that did it for me even less. Even more period. In between these two I tried a bunch of other stuff I didn't even bother to take pictures of -- the khaki skirt was even more boring, as were the black trousers. I thought for a moment I was going to get excited about it when paired with a leopard-print pencil skirt, but I was wrong. The only thing I thought might be kind of fun were some gray and blue plaid walking shorts, but the shorts have such a low rise that there's a big stretch of exposed tummy between the bottom of the top & the top of the bottoms, and that is not okay.

The one last thing I want to try it with is the black Valentino mini, but that's currently at the seamstress getting a new zipper (and hopefully not being destroyed -- I'm chewing my cuticles 'til I get it back). But I don't have a lot of hopes for it.

So. Anyone want to buy a really cute blue top? For $25 (which includes shipping, unless you're outside the US, in which case we'll have to figure something out) it's yours. If you're interested, contact me at shine at austin dot rr dot com.

October 6

t-shirt: C+C (I hemmed the sleeves on this one)
wide-legged jeans: Barney's Co-Op
vest: AdamplusEve
shoes: YSL
bangle: vintage Lanvin
fragrance: Musc Ravageur

I love these shoes -- I've had them for a few years now and while I don't wear them all that often, occasionally they are just the perfect thing.




They are, however, not easy to walk in, or at least not easy to walk in quickly. I have a few other pairs of YSL shoes and find them really well-engineered and comfy, but these are shoes that make me slow down. Small price to pay for the fabulousness, I reckon.

Suppression

Bought a pair of these DKNY Color Block Tights yesterday and decided to play with them by supressing all my instincts toward color. Even in my accessories.




(I am wearing a very brightly colored bra and underwear, however, which makes me feel a little better.)

merino two-tone sweater: Coincidentally, also DKNY
shorts: Gap
tights: DKNY
shoes: Pour la Victoire
pearls: vintage
fragrance: Chanel Gardenia

Originally I put it on with a black pencil skirt, but I thought the shorts pulled it down a little. I dunno -- classically Chanel-y or just gimmicky? What do you think?

These are the shoes -- click photo for link. Kind of amazing how well they match the tights.

Another real conversation-starter, these. I love them, but they rub my big toes a little. Unfortunately, I didn't remember that until I was already kitted out in the whole rig, so I had to peel off all the waist-down bits so I could put some blister band-aids on my little toesies, then climb back in again. But those blister band-aids are genius -- I highly recommend 'em.

October 3

hat: Zara men
t-shirt: another Marshall's cheapie. It's silly, but I love it.
cotton cable v-neck: Old Navy. I need several more of these in various colors. Excellent layering piece.
wool/silk matelassé skirt: Valentino
patent boots: Stuart Weitzman
enamel flower ball necklace: Kenneth Jay Lane
blue fishnets: random

I went out looking for an above-the-knee black skirt not long ago and succeeded beyond my wildest dreams:


I found this Valentino number in the couture section of my local Neiman Marcus outlet. Staggeringly, it was marked down from $690 to $85, and was on sale for another 30% off. I discovered why when I got it into the dressing room: the zipper is broken and only goes down about two inches. I refused to be deterred and pulled the dingdong thing on over my head. no sweat. Another moment when I was grateful for my small bustline. For all those who were unwilling to think outside the fitting room box, too danged bad. Grand total on the skirt: $61.18. Shopping triumph.

It's a tiny bit big, a size 42 (Valentino sizes are extremely generous -- often I can barely squeeze into a D&G 42) and I may have it taken in a little bit when I get the zipper replaced. On the other hand, the skirt is kind of stiff and a little bit structured, not supposed to fit too closely to begin with, so I may just leave it. Short as it is, too snug wouldn't be good anyway.

Here's a close-up. I've dinked with the photo so you can see the texture in the fabric, which is why the color is weird.







Gorgeous thing. I love it very much.

I've started calling this necklace my Magic Friend-Maker. Everywhere I go when I wear it, people comment on it and compliment it. It makes people smile, which is a nice effect to have on strangers.




A birthday gift from a dear friend, one of the best presents I've gotten in quite a while.

Fish Tacos

Met a dear friend for lunch. Wish I got to see her more often -- she's so busy and successful she gives me a terrible inferiority complex. Or she would if she weren't such an angel.

rayon knit top: $13 Marshall's randomness. Surprisingly good, it's got kind of a Jonathan Saunders vibe to it.
black capris: Saks store brand. Bought two pairs of these, thank goodness.
ponté knit jacket: Theory. Everything I bought this summer is knit. What's up with that?
turquoise bubble platforms: Fendi
fringe necklace: DIY

Better view of the top:



I stopped in Marshall's for running socks or something else innocuous and did a drive-by of the tops. I kinda love this silly thing -- I've been looking for print tops. If I only wear it twice I still got my money's worth at 13 bucks.

Turquoise darlings:




Have gotten a surprisingly amount of wear out of these silly things. They've also probably saved me a heap of money, because many's the time I've looked hungrily at some extreme shoe or other and then thought, "Meh. I already have my blue Fendi platforms. Don't need 'em." They start a lot of conversations.

This outfit is going to get dressed down a little this evening for very casual drinks on the deck at a friend's house. I'll lose the fringe and replace the platforms with my little black patent Choo flats:



The most perfect-est black flats I've ever owned. Sadly, I did NOT buy two pairs of these. ::sigh::