Excursion

Spencer is becoming quite the handsome dog, is he not? He's also more than twice the size he was when we brought him home. At about 8 months, he now weighs 65 pounds and is a couple inches taller than Georgie. Since his knee injury is still a problem and we can't yet have surgery performed on it (and would rather avoid it entirely if we can), he's now having regular sessions of therapeutic swimming in a heated pool. Seriously, if I had wanted children, they would've turned out to be the most spoiled assholes the world has ever known. It's a good thing for everyone that my nurturing impulses are focused on dogs.

A couple of weekends ago I went on a shopping excursion with a friend of mine who's also Mark's ex-girlfriend (yeah, you read that right). We ostensibly went shopping specifically to find her an outfit for her birthday party, but along the way I made a few purchases of my own. You know how it is.

This coral cardigan and teal pants were two of the spoils from our excursion. My friend and I spotted the pants right away, but in bright orange. When we got over to the rack however, I found that the teal pair was a lot prettier. They're a micro,corduroy fabric with a good amount of stretch, and are crazy comfortable. I've already worn them a few times and they've proven to fit in really well with my quick-conversion, walking to work dressing strategy.

Cardigan, pants: Anthropologie
Top: Express, a gift
Shoes: Fly London

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Excursion

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Adjusting

I'm still adjusting to dressing for my new gig; not so much for the workplace itself, but for the outdoor climate and the amount of walking I now do. In general I'm dressing in a more relaxed way than I was at mx previous job, in part because working downtown gives me loads of options for lunchtime, and if I'm going to walk to them I want to be comfortable. But the other thing I've discovered is that I can easily walk to work, which takes just 10 minutes longer than riding the bus (my nearby bus routes aren't the speediest, and driving isn't really an option). My trip is 3 miles each way, so I get some welcome exercise, but consequently I have to create outfits with breathable fabric (to avoid sweating with my backpack on) and shoes that are either easily swapped once I get to work, or are comfortable enough for miles of walking. This is a challenge, because I'm not the sort of gal who will throw on sneakers with anything and swap them once I get to work -- the walking shoes have to look reasonable too.

This was not a 'walk to work' outfit, though it maybe could have been with some minor modifications. It was definitely before I got my latest haircut though, and you can really see my color growing out, as well as how long the back was getting (hence the recent post about Janet). Thankfully I've gotten it cut since then.

I've got a post in the works that will show you some of what I see on my walks to and from work. Believe me, it's a walk that I'm very grateful to be able to make! Working in the city is truly a dream come true.

Top: Forever 21
Skirt: LA Made
Shoes: Born

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Adjusting

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Introducing Libby Smith

I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Libby Smith. Libby is one of the beautiful new shoe styles from John Fluevog, and she captivated me when I wandered into the Haight Street store a couple of weekends ago. Libby fills the wardrobe gap of "green, low-heeled boots" that I had been trying to fill for ages, and she's got just the sort of Victorian vibe to compliment so many of my current styling tendencies. I was particularly smitten with her navy blue buttons, which compliment the 2-tone olive green leather so beautifully. Libby, you are a most welcome addition to my wardrobe.

I slapped this outfit together in the morning before work, and in retrospect I feel like the tights were a bit much given the busy print of the shirt. But the weather was still chilly, and lacey olive tights were the best I could come up with on short notice. Whatevs; I never worry too much about such things because I never repeat outfits anyway. I had a reason to wear the new shoes, and that was good enough for me. However, I have mentally added non-patterned olive tights to my shopping list for the next time I place an order with Sock Dreams.

Vest: Steam Trunk
Shirt: La Redoute
Skirt: Noa Noa
Tights: Biella
Shoes: John Fluevog

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Introducing Libby Smith

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Among the Very Tall

Wearing a dress over jeans is not something I normally do; in fact, this may be the first time I've ever tried it. I've always considered the look to be reserved for tall women, and at 5'8" I don't consider myself to be among the very tall. Why I was inspired to give it a try with this outfit is anyone's guess, but I think it works, although for my proportions I think it would look a bit better if the dress were about an inch shorter.

So why is the dress/jeans combo so successful for the very tall? It's all about playing with proportions, and for taller women this generally means avoiding anything that elongates your already long legs, which in turn makes you look even taller (although why that's a bad thing is a mystery to me -- I'd love to be a full 6 feet, and you can bet I'd still wear towering heels if I were).

In this outfit, the wide belt helps to bring definition to the waist rather than letting the eye get lost in the long expanse of dress pattern. Note how the positioning of the belt divides me into three roughly equal parts: shoulders to waist, waist to bottom of dress, and bottom of dress to the end of the legs. Meanwhile, the jeans define where my legs end, whilst the rounded toes and contrasting color of the shoes keep them from adding length to my legs. The length of the dress is also key; very long or very short hemlines tend to exaggerate height in tall women, whilst a mid-length serves to balance the proportions of the legs to the torso.

Since I'm not actually that tall, I chose 3.5" heels to wear with this, because otherwise I felt like this outfit would have made my legs look stumpy. However, someone who's over 5'9" would probably want to stick with a lower heel to maintain the correct proportions. Unless, of course, you're like me and would welcome with delight an opportunity to tower over your friends and colleagues like a looming giant. In that case I suggest you buy a micro miniskirt and wear it with these:

Dress: Diane von Furstenberg
Hat: San Diego Hat Co.
Belt: Audra Jean
Jeans: Joe's
Shoes: Faryl Robin
Looming Giant Fantasy Shoes: John Fluevog

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Among the Very Tall

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Sick

Sorry for my absence yesterday; I've been sick and have gotten a little behind with my posting. Nothing is worse than being sick in the summertime, although with the sudden onset of cold, foggy weather, it feels just as wintry outside as I felt on the inside all weekend. This outfit is from last week, when it was significantly warmer in the Bay Area.

For this outfit I started with the contrasty combination of teal and red, and offset all the bright color with accents of gray. I just love the look of the funky, well-worn cowboy boots with the precise, boxy skirt and tailored, belted jacket. This skirt, by the way, is the perfect length to reveal my Memento Mori tattoo exactly the way I intended: barely peeking out when I'm standing, but fully visible when I'm sitting with legs crossed. According to my tattoo artist, girls in the 1920's used to get tattoos in the same spot just above the knee for that very same reason. And here I thought the placement of the tattoo was sort of original.

Tank top: American Eagle
Jacket: Crystal Candy
Belt: from an F21 top
Skirt: Anthropologie
Boots: vintage

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Traveling Scarf!

Kimberly's traveling scarf has arrived in San Francisco! Since it's been worn in so many creative ways already, I figured I'd have to throw in everything but the kitchen sink to try to keep up with all the stylish ladies before me. For this outfit I paired it with sapphire blue, red, gray, teal, and yes, a wee little bit of maroon for good measure.

Red, blue, and teal is a great combination that works really well with the pattern of this scarf. As I was assembling the outfit, it immediately struck me that the bright red of the belt matched perfectly with the scarf. Thus, I added the maroon pettipants as a way to bring a little bit more red tones into the outfit without looking overly matchy. The gray skirt and leggings worked as a neutral backdrop with which to make the brighter colors stand out.

Also included in the package with the scarf was a lovely surprise from the wonderful Katie. Magazines, little samples of beauty goodies, and even a ring pop?! You are too kind, Katie!

As it turned out, this outfit was perfectly suited for the blustery weather. It occurred to me during the day that a lot of people write about dressing for hot weather, or rainy weather, or cold weather, but hardly anyone writes about how to dress for wind, which we have a lot of where I work in South San Francisco. Here is my assessment of why this outfit was the ultimate wind-buster:

1. Since the dress is a wrap-style it has a tendency to fly open in the front, which of course is the worst for wind. But it's also the perfect summery item to wear this time of year, so I simply neutralized the peek-a-boo phenomenon by layering a skirt underneath. I further secured the dress by adding the sturdy elastic belt on top.

2. The skirt is a lightweight jersey material, which also flies around a lot in the wind. Just in case the skirt blew around, I had the pettipants there underneath to keep me covered.

3. The wind tends to be chilly, so I kept my legs warm (and kept the breeze from meandering up my skirt) by adding leggings. These cotton leggings are just perfect for adding a bit of warmth without being too much for the occasional moments when the wind dies down and it warms up.

4. Finally, I kept the scarf from blowing in my face by tying it in a neat bow. Take that, South San Francisco wind tunnel!

Dress: F21
Skirt: S
Pettipants: Glam Garb by Gunlis
Leggings: Noa Noa
Shoes: John Fluevog

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Traveling Scarf!

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Conference Wear

I'm at a biotech conference in Seattle this week, and this is the first of 3 days' worth of conference wear (I photographed the outfits at home when I was packing -- how organized is that?). I decided to bring nothing but flat shoes, since I knew I'd probably be doing a fair amount of walking. Not only that, but I wanted to have a bit of variety in my footwear selections, and flats pack a lot more compactly than heels and boots.

Ironically, since I was here over the weekend I spent a lot of time with my good friends Jess and Lisa, and of course the first thing we did was to go shopping and buy shoes. As impressively light as I packed to come here, I'll now have to check a bag on the way home because of the new pairs. Ah well, it was worth it -- no amount of fabulous online deals can beat shoe shopping in a real shoe store with your best girlfriends.

Top: thrifted
Belt: Red Dress Shoppe
Skirt: Anthropologie
Shoes: Bobbi Blu

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Conference Wear

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Unexpected

I really love the vibrant and unexpected combination of purple and teal. With this outfit I decided to go for a colorblock effect, thus I used only solid-color pieces. The gray dress makes a nice neutral backdrop for the saturated colors and keeps them from sitting right next to each other. If it were a little cooler I could've added my cheeky peacock feather hat to strengthen the color combo, but spring isn't really a good time for thick felt hats, I'm afraid.

This cardigan is really versatile with its long flowing wings that can be tied in any number of interesting configurations. It was a real workhorse when I was traveling in Paris and Iceland last year, though oddly enough I haven't worn it all that much since I've been back.

Cardigan: S
Dress: Red Dress Shoppe
Leggings: Sock Dreams
Boots: Fly London

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Unexpected

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A Case for Keeping Seldom-Worn Items

For this outfit I wanted to take this ruffled skirt in a different and less steampunk direction. As you can see I also wore my new Cydwoqs for the second day in a row, apparently in an attempt to rapidly drive down the price-per-wear. The gold finish of the shoes was just perfect for picking up the orange tones in the cropped cardigan, and the multitude of other colors in the cardigan made it possible to throw a teal tank top into the mix.

There's something about the proportions of this cardigan that make it tricky to wear, which is why I don't wear it very often. I've thought about altering in in some way, but I could never quite work out exactly what I would change. Eventually I decided to just let it be one of those seldom-worn items in my wardrobe that is nevertheless valuable to have on hand because of its ability to bring several different colors together. I don't like to have too many seldom-worn items in my closet, but the ones that I hang onto tend to have at least one of the following characteristics:

1. An unusual color mix. Just like with this cardigan, there are a few items I own that have such a unique blend of colors that I'll keep them around even though I don't wear them very often. When I do make use of one of my oddly-colored items, you can bet it'll be the one thing in the outfit on which everything else hinges. My long, zig-zag patterned top is another such item, and I also have some scarves that fall into this category.

2. A one-of-a-kind quality. There are a few things I own that are so distinctive that I don't need to wear them very often in order for them to have a big impact. Things like my patchwork boots or my vintage 60's dress come to mind. These are items that are fairly self-limiting because everyone remembers when you wear them, but if they're truly one-of-a-kind then they'll endure for years to come.

3. Filling a very specific niche. There are a couple of times when I thought, "I need something that's (specific color) and (specific length) and (specific other property). And man, that's a tall order when you've only got your own closet to browse through, isn't it? Any item I own that has ever fit the bill in that situation gets a free pass to stay around as long as it likes, even if it might only be those specific situations in which I wear it. A notable example is my brown tunic, which turned out to be exactly what I was looking for when I knew I wanted something brown, minidress-length, and drop-waist.

Do you have any other criteria for keeping those seldom-worn items?

Cardigan:
Tank: Old Navy
Skirt: Skin Graft
Shoes: Cydwoq

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Blue-Green

Here's a relatively simple approach to mixing colors: select two colors as the primary ones for your outfit, then use the shade that results from mixing the two primary colors together as your accent. Here I've chosen blue and green as my two primary colors, and blue-green, or teal, as my accent. The accent color compliments both of the primaries equally, while providing more interest to the outfit and keeping it from being too matchy. In this case, the teal color also made the look a little more seasonally-appropriate, since it brightened up the otherwise subdued color scheme of the outfit.

Lately I seem to have gotten over my previous aversion to letting the tops of my socks show. I guess I always considered the look to be too school-girlish, but I've found that wearing shorter socks instead of tights or thigh highs is a great way to keep your feet warm while still bearing some leg in the supposedly warmer months (I say supposedly because San Francisco isn't very warm at all in the spring or even summer, and yet we're still expected to dress as if it is). Surprisingly, these mid-calf socks had no trouble staying up all day with no extra tugging or adjustment needed. Since most of my sock collection is comprised of above-the-knees and thigh highs, I think an order to Sock Dreams may be in my near future.

Shirt: Target
Jacket: vintage
Skirt: thrifted
Socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: John Fluevog

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Blue-Green

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Sadistic

Some fashion problems simply can't be fixed no matter how hard you might try, and these shoes are one such problem. Cute though they are, they're also unbearably uncomfortable and there's no other solution but to jettison them. I've been able to rescue several other pairs by modifying them in one way or another; generally it involves ripping out the existing insoles and replacing them with Superfeet, but in this case it's not an option because the shoes pinch in every possible way. Even just standing in them hurts, never mind walking. Adorable but sadistic shoes, you have tortured my feet for the last time. I'm sorry to see you go, but then again I'm not.

On the other hand, these cotton leggings are the best. They're breathable, have a non-constrictive waistband, and take the chill off without being too warm. I'm planning on stocking up on a few more colors and making them a staple this summer.

Scarf: from a local import store
Dress: Orla Kiely
Leggings: Foot Traffic, via Sockdreams
Shoes: Pink Studio

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Sadistic

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Almost

Well, this is what I almost wore. When I looked out the window in the morning it was raining, so at the last minute I traded these flats for my Fly London boots so that my toes didn't end up soaked. Having already taken the photographs, I decided just to post the outfit like this. I actually think the outfit looked better with the boots, but when I was doing my wardrobe planning last week I wasn't prepared for more gloomy weather.

Turtleneck: Target
Sheer top/belt: Forever 21
Skirt: Anthropologie
Tights: Noa Noa
Shoes: BC Footwear

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Almost

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Voluminous

***DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY CONTEST! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't wear this skirt very often because it tends to drive me a little nuts. Though I adore all the pleating and volume, I hate the fact that it bunches up on itself and gets stuck around my legs when I walk. I'm constantly fighting with it during the day; just walking down the hallway is a chore, and trying to pee is an absolute nightmare. To show you just how voluminous this skirt is, and how much fabric I have to cope with when I wear it, I did a Kasmira-style twirl for you. That's the remote for my camera there in my hand, in case you're wondering.

After examining the construction of the skirt more closely, I realized that the problems stem from the underneath layer of fabric, which is not a simple lining but another full circle skirt. The 2 layers of fabric rub against each other and bunch up because both are the same clingy cotton. So after years of owning this nerve-wracking (albeit lovely) garment, I finally figured out that if I just cut out the underneath layer and wear a slip instead, it'll be a lot more bearable. Too bad I didn't figure that out before I wore it today.

Drape-neck tank: thrifted
t-shirt: Supermaggie
Skirt: Sisley
Scarf (as belt): Express, circa 1992
Tights, socks: Sock Dreams
Boots: Fly London

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Voluminous

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Steam Dream

This outfit was inspired by the lovely Sal. It was something she said during her visit a couple of weeks ago, while we were out shopping on Haight Street and had stopped into Daljeet's so that I could search for a pair of cropped pinstriped pants (which are still eluding me). I pointed to a mannequin done up in a corset-style dress with lots of ruffles and laces and perhaps some funky hardware and probably some lace-up boots, and sheepishly admitted that if I only had the venue for it I'd dress like that pretty much all the time. Sal asked what was stopping me, and why I didn't at least try to incorporate some of the individual items into my daily wear if I couldn't go full-out neo-Victorian steampunk goth.

Ever since then I've been turning this idea over, and realizing that despite dressing in a very flamboyant, and in a very ME way, I really do skip over a big part of my sartorial personality in my daily wear. So yesterday I pulled this steampunk-style vest out of my closet and decided I'd put together a work-appropriate version of that other side of me. I didn't have any ruffles (YET -- tune in tomorrow, though!), so I paired the vest with one of my trusty tulle skirts for a little of that rugged plus ultra-girly concept that's so prevalent in steampunk style. I added my rivet-studded boots for a little more hardware. If I substituted my lace-up Fluevog boots I could easily turn this into the sort of look I pointed out to Sal, but for work this was a good approximation without being too outrageous.

A big thanks to wonderful Sal for encouraging me to dress the way I truly dream of. This look felt great, and you'll definitely be seeing more of this style creep into my work wear. I'll post more about Sal and Mike's visit soon, but in the meantime I'll let you in on a little secret about Sal: she's even more beautiful in real life than she is in her photos. Seriously. And not surprisingly, every bit as awesome as you'd think she is.

Vest: Steam Trunk
Top: Max Studio
Jacket: Zadig & Voltaire
Skirt: Noa Noa
Socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: Jo Ghost

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Brief

Since it's now the weekend and I'm no longer in blogging mode, I'll keep this post brief and just skip straight to the details...

Jacket: Forever 21
Dress: J. Crew
Belt: Anne Klein
Tights, socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: John Fluevog

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Brief

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Faux Wrap

I was very excited to give this skirt its first wearing today because I altered it myself. Well ok, altering in this case only involved moving 2 buttons and the small strap at the waistband over about an inch, but still. Sewing isn't really my strongest skill, and this is the first thrifted item needing alteration that I haven't promptly dumped off at the tailor's. For some reason I'm somewhat nervous about putting a piece of clothing under the sewing machine, perhaps because I have a latent fear of damaging it beyond repair. I think what saved me in this case was the fact that no cutting of fabric was required.

The skirt is a lightweight wool blend and is a faux wrap style. That front overlapping part is actually just a fold; the aforementioned strap and buttons cause the fabric to fold on itself and create that long pleat, but the skirt is a continuous piece of fabric rather than having 2 ends that overlap one another. Thus, no kilt pin is required here for the sake of modesty. I have to say I like this design a whole lot better than a regular wrap skirt.

I've had this floral top for ages but rarely wear it because its short length and lace back make it tough to work with. This bright turtleneck filled in the open back and kept me warm while still looking springy and fun.

Hat: Seeberger
Turtleneck: H&M
Floral top: La Redoute
Skirt: thrifted
Tights, socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: Seychelles, via Solestruck
Cardigan: ??
Handbag: Tracy Reese

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Faux Wrap

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A Brighter Shade of Teal

I've had this cardigan for well over a year now and this is the first time I've worn it. I've tried; oh, believe me I've tried. For some reason it just hasn't quite worked in any combination until now, perhaps because it's a brighter shade of teal than anything else I own, which makes it tough to tie into an outfit. I'm glad I didn't give up in frustration and get rid of it, because I like the way it brings out the grass green in this beautiful (and as far as I can tell, unworn) J. Crew shirt that I found a couple weekends ago at Goodwill.

Hat: Alternative Design Studio
Shirt: J. Crew, thrifted
Cardigan: Solemio
Trousers: Anthropologie
Shoes: Gabriella Rocha

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A Brighter Shade of Teal

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