Now and later

My other new Forever 21 skirt - it's this weird metallic floral brocade. Happy 4th!!

H&M jacket, Gap shirt, Bebe heels.

Vintage sleeveless blazer, Forever21 sunglasses, Lucky bag, Dollhouse heels.

This week's auctions

Click to check 'em out!

More zips, more studs

I am of the probably very small party that thinks that Bebe comes out with some pretty alright shoes once in a while. You just have to look past the rhinestone encrusted "athletic wear". I originally wanted to go to check this pair out but once I saw these on the busty mannequin, I knew I needed them. Kicking and screaming, though acknowledging their draw, Lulu followed me in to investigate. Once I handled them, I fell in love with the aggressive textured leather and S&M zippers. Mmm. Obviously, I wish the heel was chunkier, but I'll try to deal with it. Lulu argued that the stripper heel kind of ruined them, but, well, I know when I want something, and I've never gotten the '04 Balenciagas that they're a knockoff of off my mind. It's inexplicably satisfying to zip the foot into a sandal. I seem to be falling for zippers as hard as I did fringe, between the Nightingale, the 'stute heels, and this (selling out by the second) dress I ordered from Topshop this morning.

Oh and this jacket has kind of a funny story - I TOTALLY owned it when I was in high school, it was one of my treasured Urban Outfitters items (remember that company Bulldog? it's by them). I, of course, long since lost track of it but I found the same one in a thrift store last month. Reunited!

Jacket, secondhand. Skirt, sweatshirt top, and necklaces, Forever 21. Heels, Bebe.

Wait...something just happened.

Taking these photos was easily the strangest ten minutes of Lulu's and my recent history. The entire day was sort of odd, and ended up not being too focused on shopping, because it turns out we really weren't lying when we said we didn't enjoy it as an activity. It's probably just me, but there really isn't much out there. But we still managed to intermittently eat and browse for a record eight hours - she debuted the Levi's shorts I gave her, I dragged her into Bebe to investigate some awesomely trashy heels, we bought matching tutus, tried on that Balenciaga leather jacket, met one of the main moderators of The Fashion Spot, found out what a turban/bra hybrid looks like, almost immediately got blisters when I switched from heels to flats (UGH flats), and discussed, you know, life. As strange as the means we met through was, I can honestly say that I haven't connected with a girl so quickly in..years.

One strangeness - a guy that I randomly asked to take our photo turned out to be an actual photographer (well so he said) and he took this one of me..kind of nice. So thanks P.



Dress worn as top, American Apparel. Skirt, Forever 21. Belt, vintage. Boots, Marc by Marc Jacobs. Bag, Givenchy.

White on white

There's something so wrong about the white dress/white shoe combination but sometimes such things are hard to resist. And I'm not quite sure what it is that has me so re-obsessed with this scarf and these aviators, but I definitely think I have a tendency to wear something for a week straight and then shove it aside forever. I need to work on that.

Dress, American Apparel. Shirt, secondhand. Scarf, H&M. Shoes, Aldo. Sunglasses, Ray-ban. Bag, Givenchy.

Trainspotting

So..my boyfriend and I are having fun playing with the new camera. To all who have asked who takes my pictures, he is my lovely and tireless photographer.

Stowaway

When I was trying to jam my goods into this beautiful but microscopic bag, my boyfriend sassily noted that he "thought I hated small bags". Jeez...well hate is a little intense, I just have a hard time with all that contorting and smushing. But I will always make the sacrifice for this one, it's one of the very few cool things my mom has handed down to me. There's nothing worse than listening to her ramble about all the amazing things she used to wear that she cruelly didn't keep.

Top, Forever 21. Belt and bag, vintage. Heels, Marni. Shorts, Levi's.

Rendition II

Seriously...a blazer minus the sleeves. I couldn't not buy it. I ended up taking the scarf off because it's freaking amazingly hot.

Blazer, clutch, and belt, vintage. Skirt, Forever 21. Top, Alternative Apparel. Scarf, H&M. Sunglasses, Ray-ban.

Stairway to heaven

Could I ever leave California?

T, American Apparel. Skirt, vintage. Heels, Marni.

Dressed down and up

Wore this out to a casual sushi dinner last night - one qualm I have about wearing denim jackets is how completely not warm they are. There is no insulation going on there! Maybe I need to get a flannel lined one from LL Bean or something. Sexy.

Denim jacket, Unionbay. Scarf and tights, H&M. Skirt, Forever 21. Belt and cuff, vintage. Bag, Givenchy. Shirt, Alternative Apparel. Shoes, Dollhouse.

Tears for ears

This skirt makes me so happy I want to die. Well it's actually more of a loincloth than a skirt since it's pretty much a triangle with snaps and the rest of it is just fringe, sweet fringe. Hopefully I'm not becoming so bored with readily available merchandise that I must reference the prehistoric. Anyway, I took cover underneath with a black mini because I am not a stripper.

But that is not the focus here. I want to discuss earrings. Somewhere along the way it seems they became irrelevant, or perhaps it's just me? Aside from my peacock feather ordeals, I never even think to put them on anymore. Perhaps we are living in a time of the necklace and bangle. Not wanting to exclude entire categories from my accessorization practices, I wore this piece today, which I picked up at a thrift store years ago in a set of two. It requires no piercing, instead relying upon the shape of the ear to stay put. Belgian model and Jefferson Hack dater Anouck Lepere came out with a line of similar jewelry made of delicate chains that I remember wanting every single piece from, but for some inexplicable reason she discontinued it. A Google search only yielded the below image (of Anouck herself), from The Fashion Spot of course, but it is enough to demonstrate how beautifully ethereal her designs were. If I had known, I would have gladly sacrificed buying a couple poli sci textbooks in college for at least a few pieces..though I know I'm lucky to have found these similar-ish gold ones. Man I hate it when good things stop existing.



Top, American Apparel. Skirt and earring, vintage. Heels, Dollhouse (thanks to Karla for bringing them to my attention!). Bag, Givenchy.

Equinox

Sunday Lulu and I met up again to cavort in the dry California fields. I brought the clothes, she brought the luxury jewelry. We gleefully played with my carful of goods, observed the horses, and sat on prickly things, only interrupted once by some awkwardly young boys that tried to hit on us.

Leather skirt and aqua crochet cutout top pictured are available in store right now.

References: the Like, Lowluv, Treasure Chest Vintage, Christopher Kane, Melanie Huynh, modern elf princesses, Lula.

Notes:

As I watch Lulu kick around in the dirt in her Aldos trying to get a foothold, I observe, "I think I've seen small animals do that."

"Do you want to play basketball?" - Lulu

“Are you guys in high school?” “Yes.” – Dude bro’ + friends, Lulu
"But she's getting her GED" - Lulu, pointing at me
"What's a GED?" - me

As Lulu clasps a necklace around me, "This necklace is worth like a grand"
Me: "Ahhh get it off of me!!"

Click to enlarge, for once.

xoxo

My new/old brogues

I've had a lot of requests lately for a jewelry post (which I will definitely do soon), so here is a closeup of one of my favorite vintage pieces. Most of the jewelry I wear is vintage, and the remainder is either from Forever 21 or things I pick up when I travel. My mom brought me back some cute silver bracelets from Paris so those have been integrated as well. I love how battered this particular cuff is..normally I hate wearing watches, somehow they feel suffocating to me, most likely because I am crazy. But the watch face here is so small that it doesn't bother me..I know zilch about watches but the brand is "Sheffield" and it's made in Switzerland so it can't be too bad..I keep on meaning to take it to a watch place to see if it can be made functional, but I've never gotten around to doing this in the two years that I've owned it. Man I'm lame. Luckily it's so un-watch-like that no one ever asks me for the time since it's set on a permanent nine o'clock...could be pretty awkward explaining to strangers that I'm wearing a defunct timepiece.

And after all that whining about my Kain order, it shipped approximately a day afterwards. Suspicious. Luckily this thing was worth the wait, I'm rather obsessed. Whatever modal is, it's so soft and thin it barely exists. I'm contemplating ordering one in black too. I also got a few Alternative Apparel burnout tops and have been wearing them in a bunch of auction photos, I highly recommend them to everyone that was asking about my Urbn white T in this post.

Pocket tank, Kain. Skirt, secondhand (bid on the same style in gray here). Shoes, vintage. Bag, Lucky Brand.

The instead boots

A couple extra shots we took by the cliffs this past weekend I thought I might as well share..I really wanted to wear my new lace-ups but we decided it was too cold to bother with much of a photo shoot. I did end up returning my white Docs, mostly because I didn't feel like putting the time and energy into wearing them in until they looked good. Plus they were massively uncomfortable..the tongue kept on chafing my ankles. Weird. Anyway, I figured something would turn up eventually while thrifting, and, well, they did. They're by some obscure brand but they fulfill my qualifications of being laced and pre-worn in.

Cool: my boyfriend has invested in an actual good camera after doing much internet research - the Canon XTI! Hopefully my blog photos will benefit. I told him to start a photography blog, since he seems to be getting quite into it. He didn't seem very impressed by this suggestion though. I don't think he shares the same love for the internet that I do. What a weirdo.

Dress, American Apparel. Shirt and boots, secondhand. Jacket, Forever 21.

Another cool pair of lace-y shoes I picked up recently, I've wanted some like this forever but was never able to find just the right pair:

Americana

So I did get some cool loot out of my American Apparel excursion last month, this fiery top included. Deep v acid washed Ts are so so good. I used to ferociousyl hate red/white/blue combinations in clothing, even approximations of the scheme. But then all of a sudden I started thinking it was rad...especially with some black thrown in there.

And just because I don't have many bland real life photos of me up, this is how I look in parking lots:



Tee, American Apparel. Shorts, Forever 21. Bag, Givenchy. Shoes, Aldo.

What I wore

Tee, Gap. Skirt, made for me by Camille. Scarf, vintage. Bag, Givenchy. Heels, Aldo. Gold cuff, Forever 21.





Top, secondhand Gap. Shorts, Levi's. Heels, Marni. Bag, Givenchy.



Blazer, Banana Republic. Tank, American Apparel. Scarf, vintage. Shorts, Forever 21. Boots and tote, secondhand.

Well I suppose I'm good about taking the photos while I'm traveling, but not so on it with the posting..sorry! Here are a few day's worth of outfits I wore. Talk about June gloom, it was weirdly hazy/cold/humid/suffocatingly hot in the car while I was down there..I was glad to return to balmy 85 degree days! Enough useless weather talk though.

I hit up the Nordstrom half yearly sale last weekend..I didn't really mean to purchase anything and was more in the mood to stroll around aimlessly and quickly grope some material goods before hunting down a smoothie, but when I saw these very discounted Marni wedges it was all over. The patent seemed shinier than any other patent I've seen and was offset perfectly by the dusty neutral tones and sporty elastic black strap in the back. Oh yeah and that insane cliff-like edge in the back is alright too. I also spotted Camille's buckled Marnis and my god those are even better in real life.

Lulu and I have been playing a sporadic game of '05 Sienna blog tennis, attempting to breathe life into the key items from this golden style era of recent history, from her low-slung belt over floaty dress and cowboy boots (this image will forever be embedded in my mind) to my uhh also belted dress and Moroccan disc cincher. I actually meant to rally back with some flat ankle wrap sandals. In gold. But ugh i can't find them right now. So my slightly less awesome entry is the white peasant top in the second set of photos. I mean, as long as the thing isn't paired with a tiered knee length dress I think it's quite timeless, and pleasantly more comfortable than pajamas. Not that I wear pajamas in the classical sense. Does anyone?

And I know it's been ALL outfit posts lately, I'm trying to make some time to Photoshop up some fun inspiration/shopping posts. While I'm getting the store back at full force again, any vintage requests? I saw that a few of you want to see more shoe action, interesting. Do we mean vintage boots, newer heels, or just anything that's sort of cool?

Edited to add: a sweet reader let me know that I have somehow managed to make it onto the devote.se homepage?? I think it's a Swedish blogging platform, feel free to correct me. Once again wishing I understood Swedish, but the article looks fun!

Cliffhanger

This little spot by the ocean is simply magical, with wildflowers of every color, a long path to amble your way through, and a rocky cliff overlooking the water. We spotted chipmunks, lizards, rabbits, bizarre orange bugs, and happily pollen-sucking bees. And, of course, a weird camo print gizmo that I frolicked on. The perfect idyllic Sunday.

Dress, vintage. Jacket, Forever 21. Boots, secondhand.

Little black skirt

Yeah I got my hair done, the same color as I did last time but it does seem to have come out lighter this time. I haven't really shopped at Forever 21 in a couple months since I like the Socal stores more and I never have time to really peruse the way I want to when I'm down here but this skirt remains one of my favorite finds there this year - especially for $20!

Shirt, secondhand. Skirt, Forever 21. Heels, Nine West. Bag, Givenchy.

Nightingale

I have a policy with handbags - if I end up falling in mad lust with one, which is relatively rare, I'll wait it out. If a year later I still want it, I'll figure out a way to get my hands on it. And so it happened with the Nightingale. After seeing it dangling nonchalantly from both the Traina sister's arms last year, I knew that the simple, logo-less design, pliable leather, and S&M-reminiscent zipper strap would work it's way seamlessly into my wardrobe, and since so much later I still couldn't get it out of my mind, I finally bit the bullet and got the luxuriously huge Maxi size. What I love most about it is that it's so damn mushy that if it isn't filled to the brim with my goods, it sort of collapses it's way into not seeming like such a massive bag, but when I was lugging it through the airport yesterday, it fit every last thing I could possibly need to smash in. Caldwell doesn't seem to be quite sold on it yet, declaring it huge and plain, but I'm going to give him some time to come around.



Oh and I can't stand that creepy black mark my camera is now decorating all my photos with either..taking care of this problem soon...

Aaaand check out a Treasure Chest Vintage interview on Everybody is Ugly!

Tee, Gap. Shorts, Levi's. Sunglasses, Rayban. Bag, Givenchy. Shoes, Aldo.

Pocket tees, protective spray

Tee, thrifted Old Navy. Skirt, made by Camille. Bag, Balenciaga via my mother (not mine). Heels, Chloe.

Ever since I submitted my order for these shoes, I was picturing wearing them with one of Camille's lovely skirts. Though I must say her skirts kind of work perfectly with most shoes, how is that? Hmm.

Then this ratty shirt..I've been all about purchasing pocket tees lately, and back in April I put in an order from an unnamed sort of horrible website for a few items, including this promising Kain rendition, which was backordered for a week. Whatever, no big deal. But more than a month later, nothing, and even though everything else was in stock, they didn't ship it because they just have to do it all in one go. Ugh lame. I will purchase it elsewhere. Okay no more angry typing - the point is here's my $5 version of thrifted faded black Old Navy T with the arms haphazardly cut off. If you like the Kain look, here's a better place to buy it.

In merrier news, my mom actually did end up purchasing a Balenciaga in Paris! In highlighter yellow, no less. Her reasoning being that she wears mostly neutrals so this is her emphasis piece. I can respect that. It is currently on loan to me because I told her she needed to spray it with Apple Guard so it wouldn't get dirty. Which is actually true. But also allows me to play with it. It is so, so bright. I almost can't handle it. What I really need to do is take a picture of my mother herself wearing it, she is the cutest tiniest thing ever. Tiny like she shops for jeans in the junior section.

My boyfriend and I had an alarming conversation this week, I think I have fully reformed his understanding of fashion and what is worth what.

R: Ugh Marc Jacobs is having their 70% off sale this week, I'm trying to restrain myself cause I know I would buy stuff galore and I obviously have a sick, sick shoe problem. Lulu got the cutest gold sandals!!

C: Yeah, but is there really such a thing as having too many MJ shoes? Remember how much you regretted not getting that pair of oxfords in December?

Wow.

I'm back to Socal tomorrow, so I'm going to stop procrastinating and start packing.