5-28-10

Today consisted of raaaaaaain, work, watching Junebug, and making brownies. I really wish I had more time this morning getting ready because my hair desperately needed to be down and blowdried. Instead it looked like this all day:

Why exactly did I run out of time? I had to try on about five cardigans before I found one I liked. The only problem with this lovely raspberry Nordstrom one is that I am a sleeve pusher-upper, and the sleeves stretch out and fall down so I spend all day pushing them up every thirty seconds or so. I'm wearing two tank tops, the black one was three dollars at Labels and has a cool satin trim. If you could see the shoes better, you would see they have giraffe print and are awesome. They were on clearance at Kohl's many moons ago. Also, I wore my Lulu Guinness glasses. Fun fact: Lulu Guinness is the heir to the Guinness beer fortune. This fun fact may or may not be true, and is brought to you buy a random library patron.

5-27-10

Don't you hate when yesterday was laundry day and you unloaded everything onto your bed in the morning meaning to fold it during the day and then you go to get ready for bed and you see this:

Now for the outfit. I went pattern CRAZY today with the christening of my new houndstooth sweater vest. I thought about wearing my houndstooth tights also, but when I went to try them on I remembered my argyle tights. I was running on time getting dressed at this point, but for some reason, even though I've worn the tights numerous times before, putting them on this morning turned into a ten minute twisting and tugging ordeal. By then I was ten minutes behind schedule and no way could I start all over with new tights or leggings so I went with it, and topped everything off with whatever pattern is on those shoes.

I was trying a leg crossing pose I've noticed is basically the only way anyone in Teen Vogue stands when they're on the red carpet, but it didn't quite turn out. The crossing is supposed to hit more at the upper thigh, not in the knee/ankle region.

Well, since I banished the dreaded laundry pile before I started posting, I may now go to bed. After I take out my contacts and wash my face. And then I will eat pudding and watch The Practice on Hulu. Fun fact: whenever I go to search for The Practice on Hulu, I get as far as "the" and it starts suggesting shows it thinks I'm looking for. First on the list? Family Guy. Um, yeah Hulu. By "the" I meant Family Guy. Aren't technological shortcuts handy?

5-20 and 5-26-10

Tori went to the east coast and brought me back the quintessential gift:

The strange thing about this very cute t-shirt is that it's a size medium. Seeing as how I am barely big enough for the size zero Old Navy trousers I'm also wearing in the picture, it doesn't quite track that the "medium" shirt is practically suctioned to my torso.

Moving on...below is me dressed for a day at home on the couch working on an experimental artistic endeavor while watching Tyra and Cash Cab and whatever else I can find since our TV only goes up to channel 13.

The cardigan is Anne Taylor, purchased at Goodwill at Tori's urging sometime last year. I have worn it exactly one other time. While I like the color and beading, I can't shake the notion that it's old ladyish, and not in an ironic/retro sense. It's also a bit wide, and oddly short. It can't seem to decide if it's cropped or just giving off a "shrunken in the dryer" vibe.

And here's a shot of the fruits of my labor:

An almost-finished collage piece. Each blue square was hand-cut onto this plate and hand-glued one by one to a canvas. I'll post a full shot when it's finished.

First sign of the impending apocalypse: I want these Uggs

I could write endless diatribes on the travesty that is the Ugg boot trend. I have long believed myself a firm boycotter of the entire Ugg empire. And then I saw these:

Yes, they are Uggs. Yes, they are gorgeous (and come in three other colors). Also, they are two hundred bucks.

NOOOOOOOO!!!

(For some reason, this is the largest image size I could find, if you want to see them in more detail search Ugg Highkoo. Kind of love the name even.)

Labels Day

Wow, having Joe in town severely inhibits my outfit picture-taking and overall blog posting. No photos today, I am comfy on the couch and am going to bed soon and I wore nothing particularly (it took me about seven times to type that right) interesting. I had some cool outfits that went undocumented, oh well I must press forward. Tori and I took Megan to Labels today, she had never been before and I had only been once. We scored big time, seriously where else can you get a flashdancy gray Hollister sweater for three bucks? I don't buy Hollister retail, don't know how I would manage since their fitting rooms consist of black walls and a single bare bulb hanging from a wire. But I've gotten a couple of cool things secondhand. My other scores include a gray and black houndstooth sweater vest, a black tank with satin trim, and a black velvet blazer that turned out to still have the security tag attached when I got home. Home as in, thirty-five miles away from the store. Ah, well, I will be back soon enough since Labels is in the same town as Joe.

Somehow everything I bought was black and gray, but Megan's take was slightly more colorful. She made me lead her around the store and tell her what to try on, resulting in a stack of clothes from which she plucked three major treasures. It also resulted in her giving me approximately 150 looks of uncertainly or disbelief as I held up an item and she shot it down. I did convince her of the major necessity that she buy the gorgeous chocolaty brown Banana Republic blazer we found for like four dollars. Seriously, you can't even get that kind of deal at Goodwill! And our Goodwill is pretty awesome. Beside a couple of other items (including a flower-print dress with elbow-length sleeves I kind of covet), I also found her an amazing necklace for two dollars and fifty cents. How do you do it Labels? I had a phone interview this morning to work two doors away from it, I think I will spend all my expendable income there, resulting in a wardrobe that will fill a five-bedroom house. Did I mention the sixty dollar Chanel bag? Want.

After Labels, more successful shopping including a half-price tribal-print dress with an off-white lace panel at the neck for Megan when she goes to Australia. Sounds super weird, right? But somehow it was amazing. AND it was from JC Penny, one of those stores I find something I like for a good price in only once a year or so, but I continue to go in because I can never forget those rare amazing deals. White scoop-neck tee for ninety-seven cents? Yes please! Brown suede flat-soled boots on sale for forty bucks the day after Christmas? I wear them all winter with my skinny jeans. (Hello cute and stylish Ugg alternative.) I would wear them with skirts, but I have chicken legs and they hit between my ankle and calf, easily the most chicken-like part of my legs.

Sighhhhh I want to go back to Labels right now. Did I mention I gave them some old stuff a few weeks ago to sell and so I had a seven dollar and fifty cent credit towards my purchase? In Labels-land, that's about twenty-five percent off! Moral of the story: Secondhand clothing is my life.

5-19-10

Below is a shot of the aftermath of my 11 pm dinner. Chicken and potato my mom gave me yesterday when I stopped by my parents houseto say hi. Me: Hi Mom. Mom: Oh I just made dinner are you hungry here take something home with you is this okay I can make you something else do you want me to go to the store let me find some Tupperware take two pieces of chicken. Me: Thanks Mom. *walks to my house NEXT DOOR*

So that transcript is an exaggeration, but for serious I never walk out of their house without my mom giving me stuff. The other day I mentioned I was sprouting some zinnias from a kit I got at work but I needed a bigger pot to transplant them into, and I went somewhere, and when I got home there was a flower pot filled with soil on my back porch.

Below is my second version of today's outfit.

I started out with shorts, since it was gorgeous and sunny out. Tori and I even planned to go for a walk to Walgreens, and then borrow my dad's truck when he got home to pick up some deck chairs her parents have for us. Suddenly, from the living room I hear Tori say "It's raining." "Oh," I replied, supposing it was a typical Northwest Washington minorish shower. An hour or so later, I emerged from my bedroom to see that a veritable monsoon was taking place. Not just rain, downpour and high winds. In light of this turn of events, I put on pants, but I stayed with my cool brown faux snakeskin Daisy Fuentes wedges. Not weather appropriate, per se, but my legs were mostly covered and I'm a native so I didn't mind my feet getting wet. Plus the wedges are platform which kept my bare skin from the puddles. I didn't get the shoes in the shot very well, but I'm sure they'll pop up again soon. The shirt is second hand, bought at the amazing consignment shop Labels, originally from Wet Seal. Ok, well it's been fun but I'm missing Jimmy Fallon writing this so gotta go. I only half saw Slow Jamming the News with Bri-Wi, and Seinfeld is coming on soon. AAAHHHH IT'S HUBBLEGOTCHU I HAVE TO GO NOW.

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2010/05/hubble-gotchu-the-music-video/

Wedges of the moment?

I first saw these Pierre Hardy for Gap wedges a day or two ago on Tavi's blog (for those who don't know, she's a barely-teenage blogger who can write circles around most professionals and has the style I wish I had at her age. http://www.thestylerookie.com/)

Then, whilst perusing blogs from the Style99 fashion blog ranking I saw them here:

http://whatiwore.tumblr.com/

And just now, on the flickr wardrobe remix...

http://www.flickr.com/groups/wardrobe_remix/

Upon first viewing, I thought they were cute but not for me (I am too short and overall petite to deal with those giant cloth ankle bows). Now I kinda want them. Still, though, I could never pull them off like the What I Wore chick. She's nice and tall and leggy. Love the trench, too. Props!

Today...

Blaaaargh. When I finally got up and showered at around noon-thirty today I had delusions of grandeur about what I would accomplish. What I actually accomplished turned out to be moving my laptop out of my bedroom and into my living room and staying planted in that exact spot all day. I started out with a continuation of yesterday's bridesmaid dress obsession, moved on to wedding shoe obsession (hint: mine will NOT be white), and ended up discovering a great new blog:

http://daddylikey.blogspot.com.

Love it. A kindred moment happened upon reading her blog entry about how great Walgreens is. I live a mere three or four blocks from a Walgreens, and I felt chastised for under appreciating my proximity. Personally, I usually only stop in for absolutely necessary toiletries, though I always end up buying a 99 cent Arizona Mucho Mango or Raspberry Iced Tea. I think this stems from the knowledge that if I let myself wander freely, I will end up spending way too much time and money on things I really don't need but are awesome. It brings me back to my childhood and early teens, the days before we had a Walgreens, when the Rite Aid was still Payless, and I would enter with a couple of twenties in babysitting money and a vague notion of certain items I needed and emerge without any twenties but plenty of Bonne Bell products, candles, nail polish (usually with some kind of glitter in it) and probably some candy. But nonetheless, though I usually am able to restrict my Walgreens purchases, it does offer opportunity for some really awesome photos

I have others, but they mostly involve embarrassing shots of me, my friends, and my boyfriend. In this pic I was amused to appear giant in relation to anything, since I am quite short.

In unrelated news, I want one of these:

5-17-10

Nice spring day, and the return of the coral skirt. I got this in the children's section at Target for around nine bucks. And the white t-shirt I've had for years. It was $0.97 at JC Penny's! I would have worn the legging shorts again, but they need to be washed. I actually wore them to bed last night. The polka-dot shoes are back...

I can't stop wearing these either. I love the lower heel for work, and the pattern adds kick to a simple outfit. Patterned heels are so fun, but honestly how often do you see them? I only have one other pair, my leopard-print Candies. I always get compliments on both pairs.

Somehow Alisha and I got on the subject of bridesmaid dresses. I'm not getting married until next year, but what little thought I've given to them has already been frustrating. I hate matchy-matchy satin strapless prom-looking and whatever else you typically see for bridesmaids. Alisha and I started scouring the internet, and I came across a suggestion to look at anthropologie. Bingo! Meet the Drifting by Dress. I am in love. It's made of silk, less than $200, and I think it will work for any body type. I found some images of real people wearing it online, but only in the cream color. As far as I can tell it just recently came out in black, and may be available in red soon. Is it totally insane to order bridesmaid dresses over a year before my wedding, and months before I am officially engaged? I'm not even one of those wedding obsessed girls. I am, however, fashion-obsessed, and am determined for all the clothing in the wedding to be semi-causal, unique, classic, and comfortable.

WANT.

My birthday week

This week has been crazy. Tori was gone to a wedding across the country. I had my birthday on Thursday, and Joe was here all week. We went to Seattle on Tuesday on a whim, ate lunch at Dick's, checked out a record store, saw a weird Ben Stiller movie called Greenburg, ate good pizza, and came home. I only got lost, oh, twice I think.

Other highlights from the week included renting The Happening, maybe one of the mostly awesomely bad and cheesy movies ever. (Sample dialog from newscaster addressing public after large amounts of people in the Northeast suddenly begin killing themselves: "An event seems to be happening." Uh, thanks. Super informative.) Also, Joe cooking me dinner, not allowing me in the kitchen, me calling out instructions from the couch while he insisted he didn't need help. And my very first surprise party, which Joe put together for the day after my birthday. No outfit pictures, but here' one from today. The shorts make another appearance!

5-8 and 5-10-10

My mom and I went away for the weekend to celebrate Mother's Day and my impending birthday. We started off with Mexican food and a Big Mama Martguerita, and went to bed early so I could get up at a decent hour. She gets up super early, me not so much. So six was sleeping in a bit for her, and eight was super early for me but I had fallen asleep around midnight so I felt good. We started at the mall, where I got my new camera, and then headed to Macy's. I got legging shorts and some blue heels with white polka dots, both of which can be seen here in my Sunday church outfit:

Loooove the shorts, I've worn them pretty much every day.

Here they are again with my Buffalo Exchange black strapless dress and a Walmart t-shirt. I also picked up a pair of vintage earrings from an antique shop, I'll try to remember to take a picture.

5-7-10

Just ignore the huge pile of laundry on the couch...

Yay for sandals! These were something like 70% off last year when I bought them.

I added this vintage clip-on earring to a plain necklace one day, and I've come back to it several times when I wanted to add a little interest to a plain outfit.

At least once a year, perhaps once a fashion season, a trend emerges which conjures a strange foreboding in my heart. I stare in disbelief, I gasp, I turn helplessly to the nearest friend/coworker for reassurance. Sometimes, the offending trend simply retreats after a few coughs and sputters, other times it persists long enough to become a part of the current fashion canon, and I assimilate or even embrace it.

Ponchos seem to crop up every year or so like some sort of antibiotic-resistant fashion virus. If you're smart, you steer clear and wait for the newest strain to die. Crocs and Uggs also manage to be extremely offensive to most, but are somehow considered in some circles to be cool. The only explanation I can conceive is that in both cases said footwear are purported to be comfortable, and are also very noticeable. Noticeable fashion, good or bad, draws attention. And while the stylish tactfully choose to remain silent, keeping their criticism to themselves, the deluded and misguided portion of society who wrongfully approve of said footwear (likely because they lack the ability to distinguish boldness that is innovative and awesome from that which is awful and ridiculous) are unrestrained in their praise. So the Ugg/Croc wearer only hears praise, never the cacophony of silent regret.

ugh. I could go on...and on.

Look, I get that fashion has an element of whimsy, and should NOT take itself too seriously. But there are boundaries.

In the spirit of not coming of as completely self-righteous, I admit that I do often change my tune about trends that initially make me balk. I was completely confused when skinny jeans started to appear, and as a member of the shipment crew for a pretty major clothing retailer at the time, my coworkers and I mocked them openly. Then a friend of mine (tall, skinny, blonde, size zero) got a pair of grey ones and I had to admit, she pulled them off. But it wasn't until six months later when I got an amazing pair of tan suede lace-up (fake) fur-lined wedge boots for Christmas and I needed a skinnies to wear under them that I bought some. And I never looked back. And styled correctly, I'm even starting to warm up to the idea of the romper. But please, never in denim. And jumpers need not apply.

So where am I going with this? Well, I am, to state it mildly, chagrined to discover that the weird comeback of the season--clogs. High-heeled ones specifically, but it's incarnations are many. I myself went through a couple of clog phases, and a vintage wooden-soled pair I wore in middle school were kinda kick butt. But my comfy brown suede slipper looking things only remain in my closet for late-night walks, and the flannelish grey ones with the black soles were given away long ago. I regret my attachment to them, though they had a certain comfy-cute quality that's not altogether inappropriate for casual wear, and I was in college and still re-finding my style at the time. So clogs...sometimes they work. But couture clogs? I'm sorry, but I'm kinda throwing up in my mouth a little:

Now there's something to be said about the muleish, narrow-toed, sleek black things Mary-Kate (right?) is wearing, but I don't think they really qualify as clogs and shouldn't be included in the image. The rest of these just make me sad. I think it's the stud detailing that really befuddles me. Most of the chatter I've seen about the "new clogs" I've seen so for has been trepidation, followed by sheepish approval. I, however, do not fall into this category. I hate them. Yuck. Their clunkiness and styling reminds me too much of Uggs and Crocs. No sophistication, and the whimsy seems misguided and misplaced. The foot is a beautiful and feminine part of the the body (for females, that is). If you have good feet, show them off. If you have bad feet, cover the toes and heels if necessary, but do it sleekly with flattering flats or boots. Don't encase them in stiff molded material shaped in such a way to make anyone's foot look wide and stumpy.

Clogs may seem retro and kind of fun now, but believe me, you will soon regret them. I'm begging you all, don't fall victim to this trend.

5-1 and 5-4-10

I ran out of time to get a good shot here. The t-shirt is from Value Villiage, the dictionary is saying "Word!" and the Thesaurus is saying "Decree!" Most people at my work don't get the joke.

I've got a bit of a cold, so I went for recent favorite, this Goodwill owl shirt that says "Love Hoo you Are." I had to find it in the bottom drawer of Tori's dresser first, though.

I haven't broken out the cuffed Levi's in a few weeks...they're just the slightest bit big. I'm determined to grow into them. Just finished eating a corn dog and chips, considering some chocolate cheesecake as well.