Silver Lining

Still completely excited about putting together summer ensembles, even though I need a cardigan at night here.

Also, when I tried this dress on, I was a bit nervous about how revealing it was. It is one thing to show a little cleavage or a little leg (both of which I do frequently), but when you combine the two, especially during the daytime, it becomes a tad much for me.  Still, I loved this Mara Hoffman dress and knew that I had to have it.  It's funny to me that a silver lame tube top totally makes this outfit daytime appropriate for me.  Well, that and the cowboy boots. 

AA cardigan, Mara Hoffman dress, AA silver lame tube top, Jeffrey Campbell cowboy boots

Nothing to Cry Over

I just found out about this new online magazine called Spilled Milk. The photography is gorgeous and the styling is simple yet superb. I highly encourage checking it out.

Image via Spilled Milk

Keeping It Cool

It's finally starting to feel like summer in Oregon. 

Zachariah Bryant vest, Wilfred tank dress, Snakeskin belt, Tyler by Richard Tyler sandals

Something New

It happens. You buy something and then you get it home and you realize you're not exactly sure how to incorporate it into your wardrobe. Or just not exactly sure how to wear it. 

Back in March I bought these Silence & Noise pants online. I was so excited about them, then every time I put them on, the outfit, the look didn't feel right to me.  Perhaps I was hesitant because I am not accustom to harem pants. Perhaps it is because they are a fairly lightweight cotton, so they feel like more of a summer pant to me.  And I didn't know what to wear them with.

Then, yesterday I went to a new boutique (after visiting the Apple store) that opened up in the mall called Aritzia. I found the white Kain pocket tee I've been eyeing for almost half price and it went perfectly with the harem pants. I also purchased a wonderfully loose gray tank dress by Wilfred that was half off. I left the store in total bliss. 

Flounce cropped leather jacket, Kain pocket tee, Silence & Noise harem pants, F21 heels

F21 black bangle, Turquoise and silver cuffs, Marc Jacobs ring

Also, my goal of finding some nice silver jewelry in Tucson was fulfilled. I found the top two bangles at the Buffalo Exchange. While I wish I found more, these two cuffs compliment my other bangle so well. There's nothing more satisfying than finding what you're looking for.  Well, okay, maybe there is, but not when it comes to shopping.

Hot Tucson Night

It only seems fitting that once I promise more outfit posts that my computer stops working. Luckily, it is now fixed (without any cost!) and I'm able to share a couple photos from my Tucson excursion. 

One thing that I love about Tucson is Hotel Congress; it's a place where I can be as dressed up or as dressed down as I want to be. (I haven't found that place in Portland yet.) So I took the opportunity to wear this fabulous dress that I found months ago at my store and have been dying to wear, yet I didn't have a place or occasion to wear it. 

Leopard print sequin minidress, F21 bangles, earrings and heels, Secondhand clutch

Reunited with my love, Bradley

On Bradley: AA tee, H&M vest, Taverniti jeans, Frye boots

Familiar Territory

Today I returned to Tucson for a nice five-day trip. I'm excited to be back in the sun and 98 degree weather, so I can bust out some summer outfits.  (Outfit posts will resume. I promise.) Mostly, I'm ecstatic about seeing all my friends here.

In honor of my return to the desert, below are some scans of "Outlaw Country," published in January '09 Elle. I still love everything about this story. I am going to go in search of more turquoise and silver jewelry while I'm here in town. There is nothing that I've been wanting more for months than an armload of silver bangles and cuffs.

Well, that and those Alexander Wang fringe ankle boots. But I can't afford those and I refuse to buy the Forever 21 knockoffs.

Photos via elle.com

Sunday Shoe Lust

Charlotte Olympia Platform Heels

Photo via Jak & Jil

Nicholas Kirkwood (Not sure, actually. Can anyone tell me? I love them.)

Photo via Stretched Thin

L.A.M.B. shoes

Photo via Shoelust

A Little Something

Phillip Lim's Resort 2010 collection is nothing spectacular, but I do believe it demonstrates his ability to create garments that are simultaneously dressy and casual.  There is an ease to his clothing that I don't think every designer can achieve. 

The first photo is prime example of what I consider to be an outfit that is effortlessly sexy.

photos via Style.com

Wow

That's all I can say.

jak and jil

Simple Complexity

I am not the only one enamored with Complex Geometries as of late. The pieces are wonderfully thought out and versatile.  I am looking more and more (perhaps like so many others right now, although my desire stems more from the idea of maximizing my closet and less from the recession) for basics that can be worn in a multitude of ways, with many things.  

Sidenote: My closet, I feel, is full of good pieces, but pieces that can only be worn one or two ways. This leads to boredom and to me standing in front of my closet for a half an hour sometimes, feeling as though I have nothing to wear, and then buying more so I feel that I do have more options. I need to remedy this situation.

Below are pieces and ensembles I could live in all summer.

I am especially in love with the above dress. 

Is it wrong that I love hot shorts so much? (I know I said 'denim panties' are not for me; hot shorts certainly are.)

And these last photos simply reaffirm that I need a pair of drapey shorts for summer. 

Complex Geometries, S 09

complexgeometries.com

Close Knit

Clare Tough

It seems that a chunk of the fashion world has fallen in love with denim bloomers, or denim panties, if you prefer another moniker, as of late. Bloomers are not for me. If I do go the route of near panties, I would choose these knit shorts. So wonderfully sexy, and I'm sure super comfortable, even in summer heat.

Surroundings

Photos via The Selby

Alexander Wang, is it possible to love you more? 

A minimalist workspace is so appealing. I love the high ceilings, the sparse decor. Oh, and I also love the shoes. Especially the knee-high gladiator sandals in the center of the last photo. 

Tough Love

Clare Tough

Why am I immediately drawn to anything involving fringe (whether it is more refined, as in these pictures, or more raw, as in Southwest/Native inspired pieces)? 

I plan on keeping an eye on what this 28 year-old does in coming years. Loving everything so far.

Illusions

The best kind of sexy is effortless, or at least seemingly so.  An outfit that is simplistic to the eye yet offers a hint of flirtation—a little bit of leg, an exposed shoulder, some casual cleavage—is so appealing. The outfit, or more importantly the woman wearing it, isn’t trying to hard, yet she exudes sexiness. The outfit offers a glimpse, but doesn’t shove it in your face.  (Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for a fierce pair of heels, a mini-dress and a push-up bra. But I can’t, and shouldn’t, always be that girl. That outfit has a time and a place.)

Clare Tough

Effortlessly sexy carries a quiet confidence. The wearer appears utterly at ease with herself, almost as if she wasn’t wearing any clothes at all.  Coco Chanel said, “A woman is closest to being naked when she is well dressed.”  This confidence only adds to the allure of the woman, the outfit.

MK at Matthew Williamson for H&M launch

Getty Images

Any woman who knows anything about fashion knows that to appear effortless requires effort. It takes great skill and knowledge of what looks great on your body to achieve such a look. More than that though, sometimes it requires a sacrifice of practicality. 

I wear boots often, and with boots, I wear socks.  Since I don’t wear socks on a regular basis, my socks are, well, somewhat embarrassing.  I don’t want anyone to see these socks.  And no one does usually because they’re buried in my boots.  Yet, what about those times when I need to take my boots off, say, on a date? Taking off my socks while undressing (and having lovely little sock lines) isn’t sexy to me.  If I see them, my illusion of effortlessly sexy becomes fractured, perhaps it’s only a hairline fracture that my date doesn’t even notice or mind, but I notice it.

Moccasins are another item that remind me of the effort that goes into my outfit.  I wear my knee-high lace-up moccasins often in the summertime with easy summer dresses and these combinations make me feel comfortable and pretty simultaneously.  The moccasins, however, take at least five minutes of unlacing and pulling, forcefully I might add. On early dates, I have ruled them out completely. 

I have a vague recollection of an article I read in Vogue last year in which the author stated something to the effect that her ideal man needed to be willing to help her out of her Spring 2008 Balenciage knee-high gladiator sandals (which is apparently a 45-minute endeavor).  And while she has a point, I will sacrifice some of that practicality (socks), or impracticality if the case may be (moccasins), in order to maintain the illusion of effortlessly sexy.  But then again, if I feel sexy, even if I'm sacrificing a bit of comfort, then I can exude it.

Totally Toga

Images via Toga

Not every day do you come across a line that instantly enamors you. (I do not think it has happened to me in months, perhaps since I viewed the Fall '09 Wunderkind collection, which I never posted about, and should, still.) Then I stumbled across Toga's Spring '09 line by Yasuko Furuta the other day when reading Lulu's blog. 

I love the impeccable tailoring that contrasts rather harmoniously with the feminine ruffles. The intersection of the masculine and feminine is subtle, never detracting from the female form.  These are gorgeous women's garments. And the bolo ties: well, let's just say I never imagined wanting to sport a bolo tie as much (and as chicly) as this collection does. Absolutely fabulous.

Swimsuit Cravings

Image via Stylesightings

In perusing photos on Stylesightings from Coachella, I saw several girls donning this black and white print swimsuit in several different forms. What I want to know: who makes it and where can I find it?

Rarely do I buy new swimsuits. They are expensive and it is impractical for me to buy a new one every year, especially now that I live in Portland. I have seen so many cute ones lately, especially one pieces, that my standard black bikini (with gold chains, mind you) feels boring. As much as I want to lay out in the sun, I'm not super thrilled about pulling that bikini out of the back of my drawer.

Tea Party

Miu Miu Shoe, Nylon (2007?)

The lack of updates in the past week and a half are because I moved into a new apartment and have been in serious nesting mode. (And I don't have the internet quite yet.) The above photo I love and ripped out of a Nylon magazine months, perhaps even a year ago, and tucked away inside a notebook with the intention of one day framing it and putting on my wall amid other fashion photos.  Well, that day has finally come, as I rediscovered it unpacking the other day. These Miu Miu shoes are more art than footwear to me. I have never seen them in person, but I prefer to imagine them made of porcelain rather than leather (or any other material).

More updates to follow (soon I hope).

Black & Gray

What is it about the cold and color monotony? My colder weather wardrobe is dominated by gray and black.  Yes, brown makes its way in there sometimes, but more often than not, I find myself reverting back to gray and black.  While I love them, I feel like real color is missing from my life.  (Or perhaps it's just the sun.)

Max Studio cardigan, Diesel tank, AA silver bandeau top and circle scarf, F21 jersey skirt, UO tights and thigh highs, Wind-chime earrings, Frye boots