"Life Changing" Products

I wanted to give you a break from skincare products and list some of the best things I've ever spent my money on, in any category. These are things I constantly talk up to everyone and would be the company spokesperson if they wanted to pay me / had any idea I exist.

1. Uniqlo leggings-pants. These are basically jeggings, but they are just thick enough and non-shiny, and they have real back pockets and fake front pockets and fly. In my opinion, they pass as pants. I wear these to work, on vacation, and I have basically forgotten to wear real jeans ever. I got my coworker hooked on them too. They are the ultimate bottom for a long plane ride in the history of travel outfits, ever. I have them in the dark green, shown above, a dark blue, and lavender (I wear these the least, they might have been a mistake but at least I got to try out the colored skinnies trend for cheap?). Next I want them in a dark wine color and my wardrobe will be complete. In the winter, I wear them over fleece leggings, and their tightness balances out big sweaters and coats. They are amazing. Being comfortable is the best.

2. Uniqlo Heattech anything, but particularly long-sleeve scoopneck shirts. I am not exaggerating when I say these are the reason I can still spend winters in Chicago and haven't moved yet. They are very thin and tight and look sexy, but they magically keep you warmer in a way a cotton long-sleeve shirt doesn't even come close. The scoopneck is low enough that your vneck sweaters don't look dorky. Looking dorky in v-neck sweaters was an issue for me pre-Uniqlo. I basically wear one of these every day all winter long. I also have socks and a tank top, and I am always on the lookout for more. They don't feel *warm* like fresh-out-the-dryer clothes, but when those get invented trust me I will be first in line to drop all the $$$. However they wick sweat and keep you insulated.

3. Expensive shoes. This encompasses everything from buying a second pair of waterproof winter boots (similar) when the first ones weren't really cutting it, to fancy Tevas, to Croc flats. Having comfortable, walkable footwear that keeps your feet dry and at an optimal temperature cannot be overhyped. I used to think that Target and Payless shoes would work fine and I suffered through years of unhappy feet. Now I have a job, so never. again.

5. Dear Kates underwear. This is about to get personal about periods, so men, feel free to look away now. I can't remember where I heard about these but I am now practically evangelical about them. They have a really amazing absorbent-yet-dry fabric layer that replaces the need for pantyliners and catches any leaks when you're on your period (or any other time). Never wash your sheets or pants again, especially never in the middle of the night while camping, not that that has happened to me. They are machine washable and do not stain, magically. They are also quite cute, they have lacy and sporty and plain versions. They also have yoga pants which are mostly good just because of the revolutionary fabric (it is revolutionary!), and they have made a new version hopefully working out some of the not-ideal fit issues (too-low rise in back). The company has great customer service. As it's a fairly new product they had some kinks to work out, namely, not the best construction on seams, and when I complained, they sent me another, for free. They did it a second time when I realized I'd ordered the wrong size. They really promote heavily on Instagram and blogs so if you watch out you can almost always get a discount of some kind. I WISH they would pay me to say this, but they aren't. Also, made in USA, company owned and started by a woman chemical engineer, and body-positive advertising and marketing.

EDIT : I had a positive review for the Seven Year Pen, however mine just ran out, easily shy of 5 years in, and after some further research I found out these are just priced-up Swiss promotional pens, like the kind they give out for free with a pharmaceutical drug name on them. They are still pretty nice pens, but no longer worth of the "life changing" title.

Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle

I went to a movie by myself yesterday for the first time ever. I went to go see Pillow Talk, a Doris Day movie, but it turned out to be preceded by a long college lecture so I snuck out and went across the hall to see the Eric Rohmer movie Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle, which I'd wanted to see too and was much more fun. It's about two young girls who meet randomly and end up sharing an apartment in Paris and how their new friendship holds up as their value systems clash. It was made in 1986 and I found myself laughing at the absurdity of 80s fashions even in super-chic Paris.

The girl with the lighter hair is Mirabelle, the Parisienne, and while she wears some crazy stuff, I won't lie and say that I don't now want some high-waisted jeans, oversized sweaters and little canvas sneakers. I also like the ridiculous polo/turtleneck teal shirt thing she has going on in the last photo, and the giant quilted coat, Wellies, and black tank top she wears when she meets Reinette out in the countryside. I also like her attitude: she's the one telling off the snobby art dealer above.

Doppelganger

I got on the Sartorialist! Just kidding, but according to my friend K this girl looks scarily like me. Also, she's searching for chairs in an alley-- could we be more soulmates?

Since dying my hair I've shied away from wearing red but this looks awesome. I think redheads can wear red, it's just a really bold look. Not for the days you want to try to blend in, I guess.

Clothes for Grown-Ups

I went to Forever 21 yesterday with a friend, even though I'm morally against the throw-away and ripped-off fashion of stores like that, sometimes in a moment of weakness I cave to the lures of fast, cheap consumerism. A week or so ago we'd gone and I tried on an orange loose drapey dress, and I couldn't stop talking about it. My friend had picked it out and told me to try it on -- usually I avoid loose silhouettes, and orange, because it clashes with my hair.

 

There it is! It was nowhere to be found when we went back to the store last night, but I found it online. It was both more expensive and less cute than I remembered, but still a good dress. I ended up buying something "overly sexy" on super-sale. It's short, tight, black and a subtle purple print, vaguely reminds me of a wetsuit, has an exposed black zipper all the way up the front, and has enough coverage for a bra. I'm in love. I don't usually go in for both short and tight, but the rest of it is perfect, and at least it's tough and sexy rather than little-girly and sexy.

Anyway, I was surprised at how few of the dresses there look alright on a tall person like myself. There's just gobs of very short, kinda frilly, flowered dresses that would have looked adorable on me if I was 5. I've noticed a few bloggers seem to go in for this kind of silhouette with a short full skirt, but when I dress like that I feel infantilized and also nervous that I'm flashing the whole world every time the wind blows (which is constantly, because this is Chicago). I actually really like these bloggers, but maybe this style is just not for me. On the other hand, the whole conflation of childishness and sexiness really bothers me. Add my voice to the growing crowd asking for a more grown-up, vintage-inspired look for women. While the femininity signaled in "vintage" clothing is also problematic, I'm much more comfortable in a pencil skirt than a short ruffle.

I hear dudes expressing some kind of interest in "sundresses" and I think the short floral dresses is what they mean. And they look awfully cute on the models, but that's maybe because the photos are cut off above the knee! When you see some girl tugging it down all the time, it's less cute. Heaven forbid she try to bike (not that I can bike in my new dress either). Am I being a prude?

Empty and Hot

 So one roommate moved out. Turns out me and roommate S have NO furniture. He's got even less than me. I literally woke up only once when A was moving out, and when I woke up later in the morning, only a garlic skin had blown under my door.

And the whole place was totally empty. Ok, I own that bookshelf and the pillows. And most of the crap in the closet.

My stuff too. The light blue velvet chair is from my grandma's house, there's a tall skinny bookshelf I picked up a couple apartments ago, and the little chest that my mom got for me when I started college. This is the room with the dining room table and the rug, all of which is gone now.

It got hot again today, so this is what I'm wearing. It's this hot pink tunic thing with some crazy gold embroidery around the neckline. My favorite part is these little dots on the shoulders. I think one of them is a patch for a rip and the other is just to make it symmetrical. I got it at a thrift store, I'm sure, probably Goodwill in SC. It's a total rectangle, so though I've worn it loose before, I like to belt it. I also curled my hair with foam rollers last night, which always comes out a little messy looking but I like the sort of retro effect.

Flea Market

I went to some insane flea market out in the suburbs with my roommate on Sunday morning. I got some random stuff- yarn, an alligator pin (now all my clothes are Lacoste!), some "Maine Woods" brand lace-up hipster/Laura Ingalls Wilder boots, an ice cream cone.

But MOST IMPORTANTLY I got this dress!

OH MY GOD!!

It's Diane Von Furstenberg, which I know enough about fashion to know "designer" if not the trendiest thing in the world or like Chanel, this baby retails for $325. And it's sold out on Bluefly (picture source) so ha! I got it for $15. I got it because it screams MIAMI BEACH!!!! And it's the skankiest thing I own. Especially because it's like stretch silk, and size 0 and I am skinny but no size 0. Who is anyway? So it doesn't really look like it does on this mannequin. I don't know if I should keep it (roommate says "wear it to graduation") or sell it on ebay. Cash rules.

Oh my god, I love this dress. This is the first designer thing I've owned. I guess I have a Guess coat but that doesn't count. DVF has been a judge on Project Runway, so you know she's legit!

Man Repelling, Losing Stuff

I went on two trips out of town in two weekends and now I have more work than I can handle and a court date on Friday! Caffeinate!

In other news, I'm into The Man Repeller. I thought I wouldn't like it because it's about a hip(ster?) New Yorker who has expensive clothes but WHO AM I KIDDING I LOVE THAT SHIT. If you see someone giggling uncontrollably in the oh-so-quiet library, that's me. Hiiiiii.

Anyway, the girl behind the man repeller is oh-so-funny and into clothes that men hate, like mismatched loud prints and culottes and rompers and harem pants and nary a defined waistline in sight. I have more traditional taste but I like the attitude.

A classic man-repelling outfit by me, earlier this spring. Shapeless tunic, check; baggy cardigan, check; topknot, check; excessive scarf, check. Sexyness? Nope.

On one of my weekend trips I lost my black cardigan. I used to wear it like 3 times a week and took it on every trip I went on during its life in my wardrobe, but now it's gonnnnne and I'm sad. The rental car company can't find it and my friends deny having it and it isn't in my room anywhere and I'm going crazy. I know it's "just stuff" but ugh, it was so perfect and did I mention it goes with everything? I think I'll go home and tear my room apart again. Maybe it's under my bed or something. Maybe it went to join my other fuzzy sock (RIP, snowflake socks) or that awesome plaid fedora I got at a thrift store in Wisconsin and used to have as a rain hat (umbrellas are just too much work) and now I have to use the hat that looks like "some dorky Annie Hall shit" (thanks, T, you're the sweetest) except my Bosnian coworkers think its adorrrrrable! This hat is a brown brimmed kinda floppy hat I got from grandma and I made a pink felt rose and safety pinned it on during a weird Anthropologie-feuled craze for embellishment I was having. I still leave it on because it gets comments like "spring-like" and "so feminine!" and (this is gonna sound bad) foreigners love that kind of thing. I think I mentioned before how Egyptians just went nuts for my brightest, patterny-est, crazy-pants-est skirts. So, to tie this all together (see how I did that?) man-repelling clothes are Bosnian or Egyptian- attracting clothes, and that's how I like it.

Here's a picture of the cardigan, the weekend just before it disappeared. Also note my awesome man-repelling face, hah.

I HATE LOSING THINGS.

I left ANOTHER thing on my last trip, a kinda silly but weather-appropriate short khaki trench-like weird-nylony jacket that is from Limited or something but I got at a yard sale. It was all professional and spring-like so I'm sad I left it but in return I got a sweet way-too-big San Diego lifeguard sweatshirt so I can repel the men some more. Nothing like swapping your girly narrow-waisted light coat for a giant hoodie.

The source of the hoodie, pictured above through New Orleans twilight and headlight glare.

Domestic Concerns

Today was pretty horrible and depressing, despite a middling to good day at work, I was ridiculously tired and irritable and impatient coming home. So I cured it the best I know how: a long bath (with school reading to feel virtuous), laundry (new Unique purchases! finally got the plain white button-down every style person seems to think should be a staple of every woman's closet), some cleaning and straightening up, cooked up some healthy food (chickpeas and chard, with onion, garlic, and garam masala) for dinner and for two small lunches in the future, mended a couple things, made some dye from the red chard stems (don't quite know what to do with it, since I added vinegar it might not really work as a food coloring), and orange juice.

I sound so boring! But really, puttering around the house is a great way to cheer myself up on a dreary day. And tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer so I'm taking hope.


 Took the picture a couple weeks ago on a pretty sunny evening.

Skirts: Swingy, Pleated, Sheer

Everywhere I keep seeing variations on the springy-est skirt ever, and it looks like the perfect thing to wear every day (if only it were a little bit warmer!)

 Ha, I can't believe I got all those images to stack up. 1 - Alejandra Alonso in lookbook for Mango spring 2011 via fashion gone rogue via {this is glamorous}*; 2 - Mariechen W. from Berlin on lookbook.nu in American Apparel's skirt**; 3 & 4 - The Sartorialist; 5 - E. from Academichic; 6 - Valentino Paris Fall 2011 Ready to Wear via style.com via {this is glamorous}

*I love Mango. I think the first time I went in one of their stores (they're a Spanish brand) was in Aruba on a trip in high school, and I was smitten by their cool clean look and carried around their lookbook with me for way longer than was necessary.
**We all know how I feel about AA, but they're really into chiffon recently and I do like this skirt.

I actually have a knee-length gored (it's words like this that I've noticed are totally lost on boys or people who are not into clothes) swishy pleated chiffon skirt, though it's black. I wore it a lot last fall but its been awfully light-weight for the depths of winter. Maybe I'll break it out again in an attempt to force spring on Chicago.

Wish List for Spring

I know I talk about having everything I need, and not shopping, and so on, but sometimes there are a few (hopefully versatile) items that I really want! Most of these things would have been practical this winter but probably would get a lot of use in a Chicago spring too.
1. a solid-color maxi skirt

E., from Academichic, wears them really well, and she's the main reason I want one so bad. I actually have like 5 maxi skirts which is WAY too many,  but they're all spangled and patterned and asymmetrical and insane. I hold on to them, honestly, because they garnered compliments in Egypt (they love over-the-top, just like I do) and I refuse to admit that I'll never go back and don't need to hold on to a wardrobe that is perfect for a completely different continent than the one I live on.

Here's a super-blurry picture of one of them. I got this from my cousin who got it in a hippie store in Madison, and I wore the shit out of it in Egypt, tied it as a dress in Dahab, and sometimes wear it and the others in the summer here when I go dancing or just want to be a hippie.

Lauren Moffatt gets it right, even though these aren't solid colors, the high waist looks great and the patterns are subtle. I love her.

Anthropologie, via Academichic, and Nordstrom.

2. knit pencil skirts in dark colors like navy and burgundy
American Apparel was my original vision of what this should be, but I hate them and can't afford them anyway. Etsy is, suprisingly, disappointing, as what I've found so far have low waists and look not that well made. I might have to make this myself at grandmas.

First, American Apparel, and then a cute version from Pretty Birdie by Stephanie Teague on etsy, who is from North Carolina and makes (I think) really chic clothes with natural fabrics and dyes, like hemp, linen, and organic cotton. Unfortunately her pencil skirts are not stretch, though they are really cute, and they're really expensive. One day when I have money, she's exactly the kind of seller I'd give it to.

3. leggings or tights to go with navy skirts
I have a navy dress and a navy skirt, and I think navy looks great with my red hair, but I haven't worn them all winter because of my distaste for black with navy. I have brown tights but I live in Chicago and need something much thicker if I'm going to wear them all day.

4. a fake-leather jacket
Leather is soooo cool but gives me the creeps. I'd like to have a jacket in canvas or something with all the swagger of motorcycle jacket--assymetrical zipper, short waist, big lapels. I'd even take studs.

French Classics

I saw this book, by French model Inès de la Fressange, on the blog A Lovely Being, and images from RDuJour. It's already available in a French version, and an American version will arrive in April. Unfortunately, neither seems to have the clean cover style of the image above, which is upsetting because the cover alone makes me want to buy it. I read style books like this as a guilty pleasure, but unfortunately it is a pleasure that always lets me down. It's all very nice to think of dressing like an ever-classy Parisienne, or like Kate Spade or the people from What Not to Wear, but I don't, and I don't want to.
I guess the premise of the book is that it shows the French classics worn by mother and daughter, who is 17-year-old Nine D'Urso. Perhaps it shows that there is no age limit on being a sexy and sophisticated rich Parisienne? Please excuse my bitter tone.
It's not that I don't think this style is beautiful (except the yellow text boxes, which remind me of my old Spanish textbook). In fact, I think a variation on the classic French style might be a perfect solution for my need for a work uniform.
Maybe not the mini or the cargo, of course, but the stripes, simple shapes and colors, some nice jackets and good expensive-looking fabrics could elevate more a more casual style to be work-appropriate. No?
As soon as it's spring, I am going to wear white jeans to work. Is that ok? I have them, I love them, they love me... but I'm too much of southerner to not get heart palpitations trying to wear them in the winter. Also the slush would destroy them, and that would be sad.

I'm Too Sexy for my ... Job

Mosey suggested heels and form-fitting clothes, and an attempt at wearing make-up, as a way to look more adult and professional at work. I agree, for the most part. But, my work environment has a few strange requirements. I work with people, (not paper or computers) some of whom come from cultures more conservative than mine, so I feel a need to dress with careful modesty. I have actually been hit on by homeless people waiting to get into a clinic in the building, when I've worn more form-fitting clothing, which made me extremely uncomfortable. (This picture is actually a great example of my kind of failure of biz cas clothing-- technically it's a business-like skirt and a button-down, right? but the shirt is too thin and her hair is all "I just got out of bed" and when you're that tall all skirts look short on you, and it just comes off all wrong.)

I also do a lot of walking around including, some days, being outside and on public transit a lot. Often it is impractical for me to, say, wear boots for my commute and then change into heels, as I'll be running outside a couple times a day. So was wearing the life out of my black winter boots, but it came back to haunt me and they got soaked this morning and I was miserable. So I have a pair of flats I leave in my desk drawer that I can wear when I'm in the office.

And to make matters more awesome, the temperature in the building is insane-- one week we brought a thermometer and one office was 90 degrees. We were dying even with the windows open to the winter winds, and we asked for it to get fixed. Now it is chilly inside, sweater-weather chilly.

Soooo, I have found a few biz-cas outfits that really work for me. Corduroy, black, or khaki pants + striped button-down is one of them. Add a cardigan for chill, roll up the sleeves for the sauna rooms, and button up modestly. I dug a knit blazer out of the bottom of a stack of sweaters and it worked really well on Friday, over a nice-ish drapey top I got at Unique.

And sometimes, yeah, I try to wear makeup. But I don't really have that down, as my makeup routine is much more geared towards going out. At night I wear black eyeliner and mascara (I started wearing makeup on a semi-regular basis in Egypt, actually, where super dramatic eyeliner is The Thing), and sometimes some red lipstick to look retro. I own chapstick, a couple eyeshadows (gold and tan), a reddish lipgloss I recently stole from my cousin, and sparkly "golden sand" eyeliner. I also own concealer, which I do use pretty regularly, and bronzer and blush which I inherited from roommates and never never use. None of this seems particularly appropriate. So I've been going to Sephora after work and thinking about what I could buy that would be more versatile.

picture credits: via This is Glamorous, German model Julia Stegner by Tesh via Fashion Gone Rogue.

Inspiration: Dolce & Gabbana

I am really loving this look from Dolce & Gabbana, from the Sartorialist. I have been wishing for more gold earrings and these big hoops are simple but dramatic. I also like the clean, sexy silhouette, despite the fact that I have zero occasion to ever dress like that.
These weird images are from D&G's Spring/Summer 2011 ad campaign, the same as we saw from the runway shot. They give me a weird feeling, perhaps they play too much into the Madonna/Whore dichotomy or a hyper-sexualized portrayal of female jealousy. But anyway, I like the big gold earrings, the chandelier ones are especially cool.
The shirt in this photo reminds me of a still from The Leopard that is on the cover of the February schedule at the Siskel Film Center downtown. The print dress the actress wears in the film is less seductive, but it has a really fitted, pleated bodice with a little black drawstring around the scoop neckline and a full skirt. I really like this look, and think I need to add more fitted waistlines into my everyday wardrobe. This kind of fitted peasant top is so Italian-sexy, but it might be hard to find one that didn't look too costume-y.

What I actually wore for new years eve

So this is a two-days-later picture of what I ended up wearing for New Years Eve. We had a party at my apartment, not a big one, but I was still baking carrot cake and wearing what I'd worn that day when people started showing up, so I never changed. It was a bit too cold during the day to not wear tights, sadly, and just the right weather for a short-sleeved sweater, which is rare and must be taken advantage of. I did switch out socks and LLBean boots for the sparkly gold flats you can just barely see in the picture. Try to ignore my cluttered little room and poor quality picture, as these are taken with my computer and it's hard. I didn't take pictures then because I don't have a camera, but mosey requested one, and you know I can't say no. If you care, you can see behind me the lavender boxes that I painted and now use as a desk drawer/closet.

What did I wear? The sweaterdress and herringbone leggings come from Express but I got them at a yard sale, the sparkly flats come from Old Navy but I also got them at another yard sale. The top hat I swiped from a sleeping guy at a party I went to later on (party stories are much too incriminating to put on a blog...)! The dress was a funny shape-- pretty loose on top and tight on the bottom, but it's actually really comfy for a party. I still felt dressed up but everything stayed put and I stayed warm.
Haha, this is a ridiculous picture. I went to go get my driver's license this morning and should have made this face for the ID! Or this one (taken as my computer starts to fall off the stack of magazines on my windowsill):

New Years Eve: What to Wear

This Friday night is supposed to be warm (well, 50s during the day, but trust me, that counts as warm)! So I think I'm going to try to wear a skirt when I go out on the town, without tights. I know, bold move. I've been looking at these images for inspiration. Maybe I'll try out socks with heels?


Maybe not. I can't really see myself having a good time stumbling around on heels all night. It's supposed to be really rainy too. I looked at my closet and I think I'll try just a short dress and some sparkly flats (the rain will probably ruin them though). Bare legs is enough daring for one night!

But I do love that look with the short dress, tights, and gold flat brogues. They're all from Lauren Moffatt's Fall 2010 collection, which I found via This is Glamorous, and I seriously love every single thing on there and will be posting more. Well, all but the tiny one which is from Sally Scott's 2009-2010 Fall/Winter collection, which for obsessive referencing karma, I found via fieldguided.

Or maybe I'll go with thin tights (otherwise unthinkable on cold days) and a sparkly dress, like this one from Urban Outfitters. Wait, I don't have thin tights. But I do have lacy ones!