Jeans Confidential

I have a confession to make.

I don't really like wearing jeans.
I know that sounds Un-American, but its not my fault. Check out everyone around you-how many are wearing jeans? Um, many people are. Its like some kind of unspoken uniform.

I think my anti-jean-ness started with my mom always dressing me in dresses. Then I think adolescence and hormones and baby fat made it difficult to find good jeans. And then I think going to massage school solidified the idea that jeans were not the best thing to wear. You need pants that allow for movement and jeans are too stiff, sometimes too restricting. For so long i did not wear jeans that when i finally did put on a pair, it felt uncomfortable! I was like, UGH.

Now, i sort of to feel really dressed up if i am wearing jeans.

Don't get me wrong, i own jeans, i didn't toss them all away. And i love all the different styles-boyfriend, skinny, straight, ripped, dark, distressed....i want to try them all! Now i even find myself compiling a wish list of jeans, because I have gravitated away from jeans for so long. You know? I, like everyone else, is hoping to complete the Perfect Wardrobe (but first i need the Perfect Closet, which in my case, is just a closet that is a normal or bigger size than what I have now).

I am mostly used to jeans again but...like most clothes, its hard to find things that fit right. No muffin top, but i also don't want any...cracks...to be showing. Something fitting, but not too tight. Maybe i just haven't found the right brand yet. :p

Don't you just adore mustard yellow and purple together?

I also love button down that has lines that sort of mimic the lines of the necklace, which are echoed in the little oxford designs stamped into the shoe. I thought the toe opening of these shoes were very different; almost like cloven hooves, ha!

hat: urban outfitters

top: thrifted

sweater: thrifted

necklace: forever21

pants: thrifted
shoes: kohls

Dedication, Obsession

i don't remember if i mentioned how i was obsessed with this vest i saw in the Banana Republic window displays on my way to work for MONTHS and they DIDN'T even HAVE the vest in the store and it was TORTURE and i had even found a less pricey, forever21 version?

Well, i got it and let me be honest. I do like the vest; i like the black/grey combination, the floaty light fabric and the pockets. In terms of length and style it is very similar to what i wanted. However, i had this little problem with the stripes.

Look up at this picture, do you see how the stripes match up on one side of the vest but not the other?

And i realize its silly, to be bothered by stripes like this (go check out a striped shirt that you own and see if the stripes match up at the seams. Do they? A lot of the time, the stripes do NOT match up, argh!)

...but i can't help it. I think we all have our own pet peeves when it comes to the things we wear. I intend to fully explore and document every little quirk i have, i know that.

One day after work i decided to randomly check out a banana republic sale going on at a store around 86 street...and they totally had THE VEST. I grabbed it to my chest protectively, noting it was the only one left. Even on sale, it was sooo pricey for me.

I think Banana Republic is my Oops Store. Every once in a while, I will buy something there; way too expensive and later i will think oops. Why did i do that. I should return this. Then i don't.

And i have to tell you, i used to be the girl who debated over buying a top that cost $20. Shoes more than that, no buying that.

I think NYC can change that about a person because the average price of a shoe is $60. $20 for a blouse is a great deal here.

Oh, the girl i once was...its always a debate, you know?

The less expensive version, or the perfect one that you will wear everyday to get that money's worth? The answer is not always as obvious as it should be. And sometimes the cheaper version falls apart or the stripes don't match up, and sometimes the cheaper version is way better and allows you to buy even more!

I think with this vest, the desire built up for so long that when i finally held it in my hands i was too determined to let it go, ever.

Is it everything i dreamed of? Heck yes. But at the same time, waaaaay too expensive for me. Oops. Bad Kay.

Do you dig seeing the white bra through the black top? I am bringing that look back.

headwrap: handmade by Dean!

top: forever21

vest: banana republic

jeans: daffy's

shoes: daffy's

Shoe Design Contest

So, I love to draw.

I love to draw anything, but its really fun to draw what is only in my mind's eye, such as fabulous shoes!

Its a real challenge too...sometimes I draw something and I think its awesome: a shoe with tweed straps and an escher-inspired print, but is it really?

What if you actually made the shoe and it was really fugly? That is what I fear, not being able to know.

This is a nice set-up to talking about the Vince Camuto Shoe Design Contest.

I totally entered during the last few days (procrastinatooooor) and still have yet to see my designs up on the voting site.
Rejection. Even if they DO appear on the site, they will be about 300 or a million votes behind.
No hope.

But thats okay! I still plan on taking a shoe-making class someday SOON!

I really enjoy looking at all the designs that other people made-so much talent out there!

Take a gander at my fugly shoe designs! This will teach me to do things so late, I think my drawings would be better if I wasn't so rushed...

So this is the horrific herringbone tweed/escher print shoe. It has a wooden clog platform thing going on with some clog studs along the ankle strap.

And this is like some crazy menswear-esque sky high heel. It has cut outs and a peep-toe with a high ankle collar type thing and of course, has some oxford detailing all over.

Check out the contest website if you'd like to see the shoe designs that people have entered so far! http://vincecamutoshoedesigncontest.com

San Fran Picture Treats!

So now, the long overdue pictures!
My first time being there, I had no idea what to expect. Well, for one thing, its not a warm place. I mean, I wasn't expecting it to be like a sauna or anything. But I was hoping it would be warmer than New York!
It definitely was not, it was a bit rainy, definitely foggy, but quite cold. I jumped the gun, I was so excited for West Coast weather, I packed skirts and dresses. I pretty much wore everything I brought with me and bundled up in layers until I looked quite the fashion repellent.

Here is my sweetie at the aquarium, it was so peaceful and beautiful.


Cue the Full House theme song. "Everywhere you look, is a heart, is a heart...."


I dragged my love onto a trolley ride, because you have to do this if you're a tourist. But San Fran is a really easy city to get around in, as they have about four different modes of public transportation. Buses, trolleys, a subway, these old retro looking bus things.

After another day of non stop walking, we stopped at Japantown for some amazing food! We were so stuffed, do you SEE that caterpillar roll?!

At the Ferry Building right near the water there is this marketplace, and they sell all kinds of good local fruits and veggies and pastries. Inside there are even more stores, where they sell cheeses, meats, wines, fancy olive oils, mushrooms, even olive oil trees! We bought food here to make a nice meal, I wish I had taken a picture of it. Oh, and there was this woman in an antique store who talked with us and it was a great conversation, she was quite the character, with this great cultured voice, and she was from NY, as well!

Oh, this is me in the aquarium, these pictures are all out of order. I look frumpy because I am wearing as much as possible in order not to freeze to death.

You can spend days just exploring Golden Gate Park. I especially loved the Botanical Garden (free, unlike the NY Botanical Gardens), and they even have coastal redwood trees in it!! We were fascinated by this giant chicken and hen plant! Its bigger than my first manicure! I mean, my hand! In NY, these plants are sooooo tiny.

If you ever go to San Fran, be sure to check out the Palace of Fine Arts, if you are going to go over the Golden Gate Bridge, this is right near it. Its a great park, but there is also something called the Exploratorium there. Its like a museum full of science stuff for kids, but a bunch of us older peeps went together and we still had fun there for hours!

Originally, I wanted to bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, but looking at it from afar, I just imagined myself getting winded and stuck halfway across the bridge.

Luckily, we met up with friends who had a car and we just drove over it. Lovely views!

If you love to eat crab, Fisherman's Wharf is the place to be. You can sit down in a fancy restaurant and be served on fine china and use utensils shaped like mermaids, or you could find a more down to earth place, where one man will boil the crab in front of you, bust up the shell all over, and hand it to you in a dish with fries and sauce, unbelievably fast-a dinner and a show.

We did the latter and walked a few blocks to eat on the grass at this park near the water, down below Ghiradelli Square (we later meandered up there to snarf some chocolate and listen to a great street violinist).

Thats not everything, as we packed a bunch of activities into our time there. It was such a good time. People there are super nice and everyone looks so chic and so many people exercise. Even though I was freezing most of the time, San Fran can be a bit overpriced and touristy, and there were times when we had to walk up those infamous hills to get to places, it was all totally worth it.

I did have time to check out the local Goodwill (it was all right, nothing amazing), but I found, randomly, the best thrift store. I dragged my sweetie in there to find him clothing, ironically enough, and found a couple of cool things. I was in heaven, everything looked so amazing, though the prices were maybe slightly lower than brand new. The line was just crazy long and it was crowded with people, so I didn't really do anything but sort of peruse, which I sort of regret.

I kindof wished I had gotten at least one thing.

I think maybe if I were there alone, I would have braved it out more and fought with some chick over shoes or something. Oh well. But next time I go to San Fran, I know where to head to!

Its a Mad Mad World

Another lame title, but things are quite mad here. And busy as all get out.

We have returned from San Fran (working on getting the pix to share) but am now working on going down to Washington D.C. for the cherry blossom festival and meeting up with my dad and stepmom there.

I honestly do not travel around so much but now that I am, it makes me feel all chic and sophisticated, putting together my little suitcases and toiletries into bitty cases. Or ziploc bags.

I am also working towards a position where I get to work on the window displays for a thrift store, but since its New York City, anything you have an interest in trying to do, there are roughly 10,000 people that are also there and have way more experience doing it than you.

But I think it would be a really fun thing to do! And challenging! And not just challenging in the way that working in a thrift store will be an exercise in self-restraint and buying shiny things!

I know that shopping in stores for clothes is fun and its nice to get brand new things that no one else has worn before, but I really like the idea of getting something at a thrift store that someone else can no longer afford to keep and had to donate, but I can keep it and love it.

Its no longer just sitting in someone's closet, unloved and unused, taking up valuable space where loved clothing can be stored. Its like the perfect thing ever. Plus, I love the thrill of the hunt and never knowing what awesome things you can find!

Its perfect shorts with tights weather here in NYC. I am pacing restlessly between the pants and dresses, the sandals and closed toe shoes, champing at the bit. I WANT TO STOP NEEDING SWEATERS AND FABRIC ON MY FEET AND LEGS TO STAY WARM.

The story for this top is that I had this shirt from forever21 when I was obsessed with lace paneling on tops. But being me, I got a stain on one that just wouldn't go away. I finally cut the lace off to keep so that I could maybe sew it on to something else. But fondling the lovely jersey soft fabric, I didnt want to relinquish the shirt either. I decided to safety pin the front of the now free-dangling puff sleeves to the now lace-less front of the top, pulling up enough fabric to hide the tiny-everlasting stain and to make the front of the shirt higher than the back, which I think is cute.

I like the fact that you can see the safety pins and that there is a little gap between the sleeves and armpit, it feels somehow edgy to me.

I am afraid that this is, sadly, as edgy as I will ever come to get. Safety pins holding up my shirt sleeves.

A San Francisco Treat

Really bad title post, sorry. I am super awful at coming up with good titles. Maybe I should just use song lyrics. There are so many good ones.

Anyway, my love and I are heading to San Francisco super soon to see his sister and to be tourist dorks.
Mentally, I have been conjuring up outfits to wear there. For like weeks.
I was imagining wide brimmed hats, huge sunglasses-bigger than my whole face! Summery dresses, open-toed sandals, delicate strappy camisoles!

It will most likely be raining, but the fantasy lives on. *goes to check out weather report*
...I even drew a list of what I want to bring on the trip:

Scanner is not operational at the mo, sorry, so a pic will have to do.

I've got a to-do list on there and everything. Notice how I even had to draw 7 pairs of underwear? Sad.

To be an even bigger dork, I threw down on my floor what garments I wanted to bring, then arranged seven outfits out of them-could i wear each item with every other item? Then it could be packed.

I wish I had a polaroid camera, I totally would've taken a pic for each item, then shuffled them around into little polaroid outfits.

Actually, I really want to do that. FOR EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE.

Is this a future project? Except, I dun has an old polaroid camera. < -_->

hm...!!

I debated packing way less than this, so that I would HAVE to find a nice thrift store or goodwill of goodies to have enough clothing. But I shall also go to thrift stores anyway, hopefully.

Apologies for the sorry quality of the pix, I was in a rush.

Blue, yellow, and grey together with a kind of khaki/olive color...YUM!

Should yellow plus grey stripes plus brown plus maroon tights be paired together? WHY HECK YES.

Hmm...perhaps grey tights with this? I may be bringing red knees high socks....

May nix this sweater, its so thin...

Can I just say that I love this heels pictured here? I thrifted these recently, and it was such a surprise! The material that crisscrosses the front is a big ol piece of elastic, which makes me go eww.

But when I put them on, they are the most comfortable shoe (more comfy than, gasp, a flat shoe) and feel so light on my feet. I have to stop myself from sleeping in them, plus the new york cold crap weather = horror.

These are not even all the outfits I made. I have been narrowing this list down even more, but also throwing more stuff in....

....like running clothes! I figure if I schlep them across the country, I better gosh darn run in them, up the majestic sloping streets of San Francisco! Plus I told people I would run with them in this 4K at the end of the month in Central Park (never ran a race in my life), so yeah.

p.s.

Just checked the weather! Rainy our first weekend there, then sort cloudy and then kinda sunny at the time we leave.

But weather can change! It is gonna be AMAZ'N!

Gray Stripes Are Forever

Every person has their quirks...one of mine about clothing is that I am afraid of prints...no, not afraid. Just very...particular.
It can't be too abstract a print, it has to have the right color pallette, it has to be printed on the right kind of fabric...it can't be a huge print, but not microscopic.
But stripes....stripes are much easier! A smaller to medium stripe, with the colored stripe on white or cream is always classy. Dressed up or down. Black and white is too graphic, navy and black is too muddy. Therefore, I own many a striped...garment.


I don't remember what I was listening to while taking these pictures...I want to say it was a Killers' song...I think I was listening to Muse Radio on pandora.com....I was really into it...
Still look scary, though, so apologies.
Just focus on the clothes, please and not the scary girl in them.

I think I have a problem...I own too many stripes...even the shoes have little leather strips/stripes.... *forlorn*

BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP THE WHORLY SWEATER

I drooled over this sweater and then, lo, I was way downtown, found a hidden Anthropologie with an epic clearance section (oh you, recession, oh you)-I beheld this!

top: H&M

pants: gap

tie/belt: target

shoes: target

sweater: anthropologie