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Long Chain and Leopard Shoes

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11.6.10 – Saturday 

I love this necklace and always feel as if I don’t wear it enough for how much I love it.  For some reason I feel like copper jewelry is a little bit harder to wear though, am I being ridiculous?  Perhaps a little, I need to experiment more with my jewelry!  My jewelry collection is extensively made up of light, delicate pieces and this is one of my only more substantial ones.  If you can even call this one substantial.  

So I’ve definitely worn this before.  I guess this is just the fall version, and that one was spring.  Although I’d love to pair a jacket with it this season… maybe I could do a black velvet blazer sometime… 

Buttons (Francesca’s Collections) shirt, Odille (Anthropologie) skirt, A. C. Moore leather ribbon thing as belt, HUE tights, Deena & Ozzy (Urban Outfitters) shoes, ken and dana necklace. 

Lately in Lace and Double Plaid

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11.3.10 – Wednesday 

I was so glad when these lace tights went on sale at Target, I didn’t want to pay full price for them because they seem so delicate and like they might easily rip.  I’ve only worn them twice, so far so good (and better than my usual record for delicate legwear, which is a run or hole during the second wear)!  I hope I get to wear them a few more times, it’s supposed to be in the 50s for the remainder of the week, definitely more promising than last week.  I was a little bit cold!  

What do you think of wearing two different plaid patterns at the same time?  I definitely don’t think it can be done all the time, but the pattern on the coat is subtle and only two colors so I thought I should just go for it!  Also, I was really feeling black and pink that day.  I think it helps that my scarf has at least two colors the same as the coat.  This scarf is also one of my winter favorites, you really can’t beat cashmere for warmth and softness among wool.  And it’s really stood the test of time and held up beautifully over the past four years!  

Forever 21 coat, LOFT shirt, Express skirt, Merona (Target) tights, Burberry scarf, Sofft shoes.  

Light on the Shoulder

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11.2.10 – Tuesday – Hello November – Bohemian Equestrian… ish…

So Terra and I are starting a support group for whoever’s not doing 30 for 30.  You’re welcome to join us— but wait, everyone’s doing 30 for 30!  Well if you’re aren’t then you’re welcome to join our (very small) group.  Seriously though, I can’t wait to see everyone’s remixes for the next 29 days!  

I… am really behind on posting, I think it was posting out of order for Halloween that got me a little messed up, so I can’t even remember what I did when I was wearing this.  Oh well.  But these are my latest pants purchase!  They’re the LOFT riding pants on super sale right now.  I actually used to ride horses when I was younger and I could totally see myself wearing this on horseback.  On a non-strenuous trail ride or something, although flat boots would definitely be better.  Yes, I am actually that ridiculous.  

And this is probably why I’m not doing 30 for 30.  This time.  

H&M cardigan sweater thing, Free People shirt, leather ribbon thing from A. C. Moore, LOFT pants, Frye boots.  

Sunday Fall Outing… from a week ago (oops)

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10.31.10 – Halloween – Parade

Aaaaaaaand this is what happens when I have fifty minutes to be showered, hair washed, and out the door.  Forgot my lipstick, hair sort of flying… My friend texted me asking if I wanted to go to the parade at 1:30… and it was 12:40.  I barely made it and I have no photos without the coat — I was just wearing a boring aubergine shirt anyway.  But in other news, I’m appropriately dressed for the first time this season!  It was the first wool coat day of the season as well, and I would have worn gloves but I hate taking photos while wearing them, some weird thing about not being able to feel the camera or something.  

J. Crew coat, Burberry scarf, J. Crew shirt (no photos, oops), Odille (Anthropologie) skirt, HUE tights, Mossimo for Target boots.  

The parade actually occurred on Halloween this year!  It was the first time I’d gone in years.  

Serious commitment: some of the people in this band danced to Thriller while some played.  

I ate some very delicious Irish shortbread. 

I very secretly and blindly took this photo.  I’m glad I got it because I loved this woman’s coat.  Where have I seen it before?  I’ve seen it somewhere but I can’t remember.  

She was also wearing very cool cowboy boots (right).  Another sneaky photo.  

Left the parade behind the Red Hat Society.  I didn’t get a photo of the red sequin beanie though.  

My friends and I once walked through this cemetery to creepily peer in the windows of a house we wanted to rent (it was totally empty anyway so maybe not that creepy).  It was a lot bigger than we thought — we’re talking $3000+/month kind of bigger so that was a no.  Fall seems to be going so fast now, half the leaves are already on the ground…

30 for 30

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Congrats and good luck to everyone starting Kendi Everyday’s 30 for 30 Challenge!  I am not participating because I couldn’t get myself together in time/I am totally not sure I would survive (I really actually do dress for dinner when I go out).  But I am challenging myself to do #3 on the challenge list (taken from the announcement on Kendi Everyday), which is: 

3. No shopping for 30 days. 

Eek! Why in the world would I add insult to injury? Well so that you’ll learn to work with what you’ve got and you’ll learn to appreciate it. Learning to shop your own closet will in turn help you learn to shop outside of your closet. When you have to get creative with your wardrobe you discover other ways to wear a shirt or skirt, that you might not have thought of. Or you might just discover that you really like a certain type of skirt or that you gravitate towards a certain type of jacket, etc. 

I am really really really going to try to do this.  I don’t know if it’s going to work out, actually, because I don’t really have any weather-appropriate clothing and I might get cold.  But I’m going to try.  

What time is it?  Stores are already closed.  I might need to buy a cardigan online tonight.  It doesn’t really count until midnight… right?  

Sitting in the Yellow Leaves

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10.28.10 – Thursday

Finally!  This is where the new header came from.  I think I’m going to keep it… until it’s winter, then I’ll make a new one.  Anyway.  Recently — okay not that recently, I’m totally behind with this post, Terra (Stylish White Female) blogged about vegetarianism and faux fur and Kendra (Closet Confections) scored an amazing faux shearling jacket.  And I might have seen some other posts about fur but I can’t remember.  So I thought… it’s really past time that I think about wearing fur/shearling/leather.  And I have no idea how I feel about cruelty to silkworms.  I really enjoy my silk pieces. 

I actually own… not a lot of fur, but more than you would probably expect, considering its cost.  I own: 

  • magenta rabbit scarf (not kidding), gift
  • black puffer with coyote ruff, gift
  • pink woven rabbit scarf, purchased in fall 2007 from a local boutique that went out of business last year
  • black rabbit scarf, a gift  

I’m fairly certain that’s everything.  And I gave away the magenta scarf last year.  It didn’t really go with any of my coats and it wasn’t the type of scarf that you could just throw on with a sweater.  

So…. about fur I already own… the animal is already dead, I may as well honor it by wearing the scarf/coat/whatever and thanking it for keeping me warm.  And I would probably buy vintage fur as well (same idea, it was killed a long time ago) but I would never buy new fur.  I wouldn’t care if someone else bought new fur, but I feel… it’s too unethical (I can’t believe I just said that) and I wouldn’t be able to wear it without feeling sad.  Something that probably no one on the interwebs knows about me is that I was a vegetarian for almost a year in college, and vegan for about a month and a half.  I have two digestive disorders meaning (1) I cannot eat anything and (2) I cannot eat anything.  I am not supposed to eat a huge list of things (although sometimes I do anyway).  And when I say not supposed to eat I mean I’ve had gastrointestinal bleeding kinds of not supposed to eat.  The list includes about 97% of vegetables… so you can guess how that didn’t quite work out for me.  I dropped to 0/2 from 4/6, was dizzy and falling asleep all the time…   And I really like vegetables.  All I really want to do is eat a spinach salad.  

But. 

Anyway. 

I own a lot of leather.  

…thoughts for another day.  

Friend Friday

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After seeing them on Closet Confections for the past few weeks I’ve been toying with participating in ModlyChic’s Friend Friday.  And today I discovered that I actually read the article that inspired this week’s Friend Friday/it is not already Saturday and I can actually post on time! 

1. The move to do away with soap, shampoo and deodorant has been growing in popularity in the last year. What are your thoughts on this trend?  I can go without shampoo for more than a day and try to at least once/week.  As I get older my skin has been becoming drier and drier… and so has my hair.  If I don’t get my hair cut at least every 3-4 months the ends become… rather crispy.  Not sure that I could go without soap/body wash, I really like my Mario Badescu AHA.  And I couldn’t go without deodorant.  I lived in Japan where antiperspirant doesn’t exist (actually it does, it’s just not common and no one uses it) and when I ran out I bought deodorant… which I used only for about three days.  Think 85+ temperatures and 100% humidity every day… I went back and very carefully read all the labels on the products and found one with antiperspirant.  Going without is not comfortable.   

2. Be honest how often do you wash your own hair?  Surprise!  I have mentioned it before but everyone tends to forget that my hair is actually curly (just too short now to really hold a curl/not look more like a lion mane).  And if you don’t already know, shampooing curly hair everyday is extremely bad for it.  But I do it anyway.  I try to skip a wash when I can but my primary form of exercise is yoga… ashtanga and bikram.  And I like my clean hair.  When I don’t wash it I use Oscar Blandi’s dry shampoo (the powder, and I’ve heard Bumble and Bumble is better for darker hair — comes in colors) and T3/Orlando Pita dry shampoo (spray) and I always use my hairdryer to style.  

3. Have you tried to go the more natural route by forgoing shampoo? What happened? Or would you be tempted to try it?  In college I used to go every other day with washing my hair and that was especially important because my hair was chemically straightened at the time.  And it was colored red/brown — two very bad things.  But I don’t think I could give up shampoo.  I’ve heard the bar shampoos by Lush are really good, but that’s just more of a delivery system change.  I think I could use a traditional shampoo alternative but I really couldn’t go without something that doesn’t have a surfactant.  

4. What products do you use and have you ever gone with more organic alternatives?  Lately I’ve been using Suave’s rosemary mint shampoo and conditioner… and it’s very decent, not as good as Aveda (which I used in high school) but for -$2/bottle… count me in.  I used to use a lot of really high-end shampoos but I’ve become too cheap in my old age.  The shampoo I ever had was Frederic Fekkai and something like $30/bottle… ouch.  I tried at least six different organic/natural/sulfate-free shampoos (Cristophe, Burt’s Bees, Kiss My Face, Organix, Alba Botanica… I’m missing one, I can’t remember) over the past two years but I was unsatisfied with all of them… they left my hair still visibly oily right out of the shower.  So back to sulfates it was.  I use all Ojon styling products from Sephora except for my dry shampoos.  Tried argan oil but found it weighed down my hair too much.  

I use Mario Badescu’s AHA Botanical Body Soap and Johnson’s shea and cocoa butter baby wash.  I also use the Johnson’s natural baby lotion with allergen-free frangrance.  I have bad season allergies and anything with a strong scent (especially floral) bothers me a lot.  Almost all my skincare is Mario Badescu and REN/Ole Henrikson/DDF — I have more success with rotating products every 3-4 months because my skin becomes immune to things really quickly.  And Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is maybe possibly the best face wash ever made.  

5. What about that daily shower? Would you forgo that opting to shower three times a week instead?  No.  I’ll only go a day without a shower if I showered the night before.  And most times I’ll shower the next day anyway and just not wash my hair.  I couldn’t do only three times/week.  Unless I was lost in a desert and there was actually no water.  

Last Photos of Summery Fall

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10.27.10 – Wednesday

As much as I love sunny days… overcast ones make for fantastic lighting :)  Less problems with exposure (at least I think so).  I used to have major issues with lighting in my photos, but I gradually got better through trial and error + taking thousands of photos + photography blogs + photography book.  I like to use natural light whenever I can but sometimes… I would really like one of those umbrellas to direct light where I want it!  

Last week temperatures were still fairly warm but I was the only person I saw going around without tights/pants.  I’m actually extremely immune to temperature changes so I can go far into winter still wearing short sleeves and no sweaters.  I don’t get cold easily and hot weather is not extremely bothersome to me either (although you won’t see me wearing layers and sweaters during the summer, everyone does that in Japan, they must be even less susceptible to temperature than I am).  I actually barely own any long sleeve shirts and most of my wardrobe can be worn during any season with the addition of tights and sweaters.  Although I’m practically notorious for wearing sleeveless things in January and disliking all sweaters except for cardigans.  

Anthropologie shirt, LOFT skirt, Gap mohair socks, Frye boots.  

Your Socks Are Showing

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10.24.10 – Sunday – Brunch/Theatre

I posted out of order because of Halloween so now I’m resuming regular, in order of appearance photos!  Last week it was still warm enough to go out with bare legs and I had to take the sweater off eventually because I was too hot.  I guess bare leg weather is over now, it didn’t even break fifty degrees today.  This sweater is really old, maybe five or six years old?  I’m trying to decide to keep it or give it away.  It’s huge, and so heavy that it actually doesn’t stay on.  I think it actually weighs about six pounds and is bigger than a standard pillow when folded up!  I think I wear it about once a year… so it may be time for it to go.  

I’ve never really done socks sticking out of shoes before, not even the socks and sandals trend.  I actually have all these tall socks for underneath boots but I hardly ever use them/never pull them up out of boots.  I discovered I like it though, and maybe next time I’ll try it with tights?  

P. S. Any thoughts on the blog header?  I’m not really sure that I like it, I can’t seem to get the lettering to stand out without resorting to neon colors, and I honestly feel redundant on the header and then in the photos.  I might change it to a photo without me in it.  What do you think about photo headers?  

Free People huge monster sweater, Free People dress, Charlotte Russe belt, Gap socks, Frye boots, Cole Haan wristlet. 

I Still See Your Bright Eyes, Bright Eyes

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10.30.10 to 10.31.10 – Halloween 

Happy Halloween!  This is the second costume for Halloween 2010… and can I tell you that I was at a surprise 60th birthday party… in a biker bar… and it was a Mardi Gras party (but the invitation said masquerade, apparently that is the same thing out in the boonies)… and I was wearing this gypsy costume (about 2% of total guests were in costume).  I should have worn my leather and chains, I certainly have enough of those, but I didn’t know that it was going to be… yeah.  I just put on an extra layer of red lipstick.  

Do you like my Marie Antoinette-inspired mask?  I put it together in the afternoon with ribbons from A. C. Moore.  I didn’t really wear it at the birthday party, so I hope I get the change to go to a real masquerade sometime soon!  I didn’t wear it when I went out to party #2 later either.  When I got there gypsy was the next song they played after I walked in… hahhahahaha.  

Actually I quite like this skirt and I may wear it for real sometime!  

Thrifted blouse with lace, thrifted blouse with double collar, thrifted skirt, scarf from Dubrovnik, A. C. Moore leather ribbon belt, mask composed of ribbon from A. C. Moore, Frye boots.