What a great weekend! November 23, 2009

I have had a rockin’ weekend. On Friday I was graced with the best Thrice performance I’ve seen thus far, Saturday was spent with my brother, some friends, and my cousin Nate, and now Real Salt Lake takes the MLS cup!!! To honor the men who made my weekend the best I’ve had in a long while I decided to style an outfit for the big boys. I will go more into the awesomeness of my weekend in later posts so keep checking the blog if you want to know more.

This sweater, can I just say, is drool worthy. It almost makes me wish I had a boyfriend so I could dress him in it. Almost. And the shoes are super rad, the perfect balance of edgy without being so out there that you look like you’re trying too hard. For those of you who think that v-neck sweaters should be worn with crew neck tees, I promise you that this is a myth. Men’s fashion is all about the details and doubling up on the v-necks is one detail that totally works.

the sweater and shoes are urbanoutfitters.com, the jeans are ccs.com, and the shirt is zumiez.com. Altogether the outfit costs 129.97

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&startValue=181&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=17000258&parentid=M_APP_SALE_TOPS&sortProperties=+subCategoryPosition,price&navCount=162&navAction=poppushpushpush&color=&pushId=M_APP_SALE_TOPS&popId=M_APP_SALE&prepushId=MENS_SALE

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=16804841&parentid=M_SHOES_ALLSHOES&sortProperties=+subCategoryPosition,price&navCount=138&navAction=poppushpush&color=&pushId=M_SHOES_ALLSHOES&popId=MENS_SHOES&prepushId=

http://shop.ccs.com/product/model:107199/sku:61-39067/?cm=&supercat=Clearance

http://www.zumiez.com/vans-stakeout-white-v-neck-tee.html

martyrtard November 18, 2009

Is it weird that this blog is not just about my fabulous fashion finds but about my odd, quiet, introverted life as well? I hope not.

So the other day as my boss was leaving the studio he casually mentioned that he was giving me a raise before heading out the door. It literally went like this:

“Hey, I’m taking off,” Karl says as he’s putting on his jacket. “Since we’re getting more business for the holidays I think it’s time to give you a raise. See ya tomorrow.”

All I could do was yell thank you from my desk as the door closed behind him. Unfortunately I had at this point already decided to quit working there. The reasons are as follows: #1 – I need a job that provides health insurance, #2 – I’ve got to get out of this tiny little place, and #3 – I’m sick to death of retouching and printing. Don’t get me wrong, I used to love this job. There was so much to learn and it felt creative for a long time but I have finally gotten to the point where I’ve learned as much as I care to and it’s become so mechanical I could do it whilst in a coma. I had been waiting to tell Karl I was quitting because I’m a chicken and I hate awkward conversations so when he announced that he was giving me a raise I was facing an ethical dilemma. Should I wait to tell him that I was planning to quit until after he’d called the accountant? Or should I tell him what I was planning and let him decide if he still wanted to give me a raise even though I would be leaving in six weeks? I was torn between manipulating the situation for my benefit and my overly stringent morals.

Most everyone I talked to said I should wait. In the business world you have to look out for number one, right? The problem is that I have never been comfortable with that. Meek, timid little me prefers to be a martyrtard (a passive aggressive person who thinks they are being a martyr because they are acting selflessly but because their selflessness is grudging at best they are actually just retarded) so I wish for good things but I’m never willing to do what it takes to get them. I admit that I was tempted to just let it slide but in the end I knew I would feel like a jerk if I didn’t tell Karl what was going on. I also knew that if he didn’t give me the raise I would end up resenting him and pouting around the studio but that was something I could live with. Being outright selfish I could not. The molly mormon martyrtard in me wins again.

So yesterday I finally got the chance to tell Karl my plans to quit and you’ll never guess what he did. He gave me the raise anyway. And you know what he said? “You’re worth every penny.” I almost cried. Yeah, I’m a dork.

To celebrate my raise I decided to include an overpriced pair of Converse in this outfit that have become the object of my obsession. I also can’t help but scream the praises of this dress. I want one in every color and then I want to use those dresses as wall paper, that is how much I love it.

The dress is from swell.com, the shoes converse.com, the jeans forever21.com and the layer tee is from target.com. Altogether the outfit costs $145

http://www.converse.com/#/products/shoes/allshoes/111186

http://www.swell.com/Sale/BB-DAKOTA-EFRON-DRESS?cs=WH

http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=btms_jeans&product_id=2068772490&Page=all

http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Black-Scoop-Neck-Tissue/dp/B002C449PO/ref=br_1_21?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=2182515011&node=2182515011&searchRank=salesrank&searchPage=3&searchSize=30&id=Mossimo%20Black%20Scoop%20Neck%20Tissue

snips and snails and puppy dogs tails November 15, 2009

I think there’s a misconception that little boys clothes aren’t as fun as little girls clothes. It’s true that you can’t put ruffles and glitter on a little boy (unless he’s a figure skater, haha) but what people don’t realize is just how adorable a little boy can look in a well styled outfit. The two most important things to remember are fit and trend. After all, if you can’t dress for the now when you’re little and go through clothes like tissue paper then when can you?

I wanted to do a dressier look with a sweater vest and bow tie and skinny, brightly colored jeans but dang it if kids clothes aren’t difficult to find for a good price! I think I better take up sewing before I start having babies or I’m gonna go broke. So here’s a casual outfit for all of you to look at. I didn’t include an undershirt but really if you want your boy’s outfit to look finished (and want to prevent him from getting too smelly) then make sure he wears an undershirt.

The flannel comes from tillys.com, the jacket oldnavy.com, the jeans ae.com, the hat gap.com, and the shoes converse.com. Altogether the outfit costs $103.99.

http://www.tillys.com/tillys/variants.aspx?prod=154225600&ctlg=030_Kids&cid=1196&source=1&size=

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=49811&vid=1&pid=698461&scid=698461002

http://www.ae.com/77kids/browse/product.jsp?catId=cat2110037&productId=prod4920457

http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=50297&vid=1&pid=688291&scid=688291002

http://www.converse.com/#/products/collections/kids/307527F

Pastel perfection November 12, 2009

Another outfit for my beautiful sister and this one actually includes an anthropologie piece for a wicked steal. I tried photoshopping everything together but the stupid models were all bendy in weird ways and it just didn’t work so… you all will just have to use your imaginations. The jeans will of course be tucked into the booties and I think a crocheted tam hat in navy would be grand. If you decide you want this outfit, Ali, I would be happy to crochet you a hat for your birthday.

The jeans are a great deal at just ten bucks from old navy so the outfit, despite its many layers, only adds up to $109.91.

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=&id=913450&catId=SHOPSALE-TOPS&pushId=SHOPSALE-TOPS&popId=SHOPSALE&sortProperties=price&navCount=135&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=024&colorName=BEIGE&isSubcategory=&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=E

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&color=04&navAction=jump&parentid=W_APP_SWEATERS&id=16674319

http://www.target.com/Merona-Ultimate-Long-Sleeve-Tee/dp/B002GVWD6K/ref=br_1_18?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=362544011&node=362544011&searchRank=salesrank&searchPage=3&searchSize=30&id=Merona%20Ultimate%20Long%20Sleeve%20Tee

http://www.layersclothing.com/morgan.php

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=51176&vid=1&pid=480941&scid=480941012

http://www.target.com/Xhilaration-Kandace-Ankle-Boots-Grey/dp/B001VSCHVA/ref=br_1_1?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=193178011&node=193178011&searchRank=pmrank&searchPage=1&searchSize=30&id=Xhilaration%20Kandace%20Ankle%20Boots%20Grey

Button, button, who’s got the button? November 11, 2009

Halloween is, in my opinion, the best holiday. I love autumn and the changing leaves, pumpkins and creepy house decor, but more than anything I stinking luuurvv scary movies. Unfortunately no one in my acquaintance really shares that love so it’s pretty rare that I can actually get somebody to watch one with me unless it is in the month of October. (and usually only after I annoy them to death with my high pitched whiny voice) This year I decided to watch Drag Me To Hell. It actually managed to get good reviews from some of the newspapers and the cover looked sufficiently creepy. It needs to be said that I am one of those people that craves all the spine tingling, hair raising moments that a movie can possibly offer. I want to be so scared that I leave the lights on when I go to sleep that night. So imagine my disappointment when Drag Me to Hell turned out to be a tongue-in-cheek gorefest that wasn’t even remotely scary. Instead it was more like a romp through a cheesy haunted house whose only scary quality was a series of loud noises. Basically the plot was this: a girl working at a bank denies an old woman who has requested a third extension on a house payment. Unfortunately this old woman turns out to be a witch who attacks this girl in an empty parking garage and casts a curse on her that will eventually send her to hell. And how does she cast said curse? By stealing this girl’s button. Throughout the whole movie I was waiting for that old lady to tauntingly sing “Button, button, who’s got the button?” But she never did. Yeah, that movie was so bad that it wasn’t even clever enough to do that. A missed opportunity.

Buttons have been on my aesthetic radar lately and unfortunately they are coming up short. So often they just seem to be a glaring celebration of the norm, ruining otherwise nice sweaters and jackets with their utter mediocrity. How many times have we seen plastic buttons that were made to look like wood, or metal, or worse yet are just ugly little discs done in the wrong color and size? I mean, the sky is the limit. You could really do almost anything you wanted with a button or fastener and yet most of the time buttons end up being (yep, you guessed it) a missed opportunity.

So maybe, with a little magic, an up and coming designer will happen on this post and think to themselves, you know what? This girl is right. (and amazing, and talented, and every good thing) Buttons are boring, buttons are ignored, it is time for a button revolution! Okay, so maybe a lot of magic. But it’s thoughts like this that keep me posting.

 

Accessory to murder… of an outfit November 10, 2009

Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t included any accessories in my outfits. I’m about to attempt to explain why.

Accessories and I have a love hate relationship. The stylist in me sees it as an opportunity. As with all elements of an ensemble I like to think about that perfect piece of jewelry that gives an outfit the little zing that sends it to the blissful realm of completion, but in real life I absolutely despise the idea of buying jewelry simply because it goes with an outfit. Sound a little… contradictory? complicated? schizophrenic? Welcome to my head.

The fact is that I have always felt that jewelry should be something you only buy for yourself if you love it deep down in your gut. Why? Because I’ve had experience with buying jewelry that served no purpose other than acting as an ode to the gods of trend and in the end I always find myself hating it. But the pieces that I love are ones that I’ve collected over time purely because they appeal to my aesthetic joy. And in my opinion that is a better reason to lay out my hard earned money than buying something just because it is of the now.

That being said, there are a few pieces that I’ve seen lately that actually manage to light the fire of want within me. Links will follow below.

And these are so expensive that I will never buy them, but seriously they are what my dreams are made of.

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&color=001&navAction=jump&parentid=W_ACC_JEWELRY&id=17061003

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&color=040&navAction=jump&parentid=W_ACC_HAIRACCESSORIES&id=17010935

http://www.swell.com/Girls-Jewelry/ZADS-PEACOCK-WOOD-BRACELET?cs=NA

http://www.nixonnow.com/womens-watches/

http://www.sundancecatalog.com/PRODUCT/Jewelry/Necklaces/47131.html

black and blue November 9, 2009

I hate crying, especially when I watch movies with other people. So when I was watching the documentary Young At Heart and found myself ready to burst into deep sobs as this beautiful group of elderly people sang a rendition of Fix You by Coldplay, I promptly began working on today’s post in order to distract myself from the building cryfest. That song always makes me tear up anyway and I’ve had kind of a sucky weekend so to see an old man who is connected to an oxygen tank sing it as he mourns the loss of one of his choir members was just a little bit more than I could handle. Luckily working on this outfit distracted me enough that I only let out a couple of tears which went unnoticed.

Anyhoopla, on a brighter note, I freaking love this outfit! I want to buy it and wear it daily until it is torn and frayed which will cause me to love it even more. I photoshopped it all together quick-and-dirty-like so you should be able to get a better idea of how it goes together, which I think I will do from now on.

The shirts are Forever 21, the moto vest and tights are Urban Outfitters, skirt is Charlotte Russe, and shoes are overstock.com. Total cost = $139.57

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&wishlist=true&color=01&navAction=jump&parentid=W_APP_VESTS&id=16586596

http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=top_dressy&product_id=2066645151&Page=all

http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3583037

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=16627945&parentid=W_ACC_TIGHTS&sortProperties=+subCategoryPosition,price&navCount=339&navAction=poppushpush&color=&pushId=W_ACC_TIGHTS&popId=WOMENS_APPAREL&prepushId=

http://www.overstock.com/Clothing-Shoes/Journee-Collection-Womens-High-heel-Multi-buckle-Boots/4239694/product.html

http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=top_casual&product_id=2069498502&Page=1

 

It’s all in the details November 7, 2009

I’m crazy for layering in every way, be it cakes, blankets, clothes or what have you. Thus when I saw some of the henleys and thermals at Free People in these fantastic colors and with awesome sleeve details I couldn’t help becoming obsessed with their unrivaled layering potential. Just one problem, the prices at Free People are insane. I mean who wants to pay 60 bucks for a thermal? So I got to thinking, how hard would it really be to replicate these looks at home? Just get a good, cheap thermal, some cool buttons or zippers, a strip of hemming tape and you’re good to go. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous you could even try dying them to the desired color. (I recommend Target for the thermal, they have some fun ones right now) Gotta love DIY projects. Particularly when they have the potential to make me this happy.

outfit #2 November 7, 2009

Am I totally alone in despising the time change? I hate driving home from work after the sun has gone down. I mean the weather is so freaking gorgeous but it already feels like winter because I am spending the majority of my existence under a crappy florescent light. I need to move to the equator.

Anyway, to cheer myself up I decided to do an outfit based around a Threadless tee that I am in mad mad love with. It isn’t on sale yet so I haven’t bought it but I will. Mark my words.

Altogether the outfit costs $115.27. In my mind the belt is worn over the sweater at the natural waist (the place on your torso where you’re the skinniest) but it could be left off as well.

Shirt is threadless.com, shoes and sweater are charlotterusse.com, layer shirt is oldnavy.com, skirt is downeastoutfitters.com, tights are ae.com and belt is forever21.com

http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3623477

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/product.jsp?catId=cat2930003&productId=2424_3084

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=7526&vid=1&pid=686591&scid=686591062

http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3711436&searchId=42456401003

http://www.ww.threadless.com/product/2079/The_Daydreamer

http://www.downeastbasics.com/wondertee-1.aspx

http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=FOREVER21&category%5Fname=acc%5Fbelts&product%5Fid=2066944302&Page=all#

outfit #1 November 4, 2009

I came up with this outfit for my sister who has decided that it is time to cast off the hoodies and jeans and go for a more grown-up look. Ironic that I am six years younger than her and giving her advice about how to dress more womanly, but also very flattering. She’s got great taste, FYI. She just wanted to see my take on the idea. She particularly likes anthropologie so I did some serious searching for sales items that had just that flavor. Love you Ali!

Layer shirt from jcrew.com, dress and belt Urban Outfitters.com, skirt target.com, tights barenecessities.com, shoes payless.com.

Outfit total price = $115.45

Here are the links:

http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?skuId=071052065&productId=65440&subCatId=cat10276&catId=cat10088&lotId=071052&category=&catdisplayName=Womens+

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&color=40&navAction=jump&parentid=W_APP_DRESSES&id=16612772

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&color=001&navAction=jump&parentid=W_ACC_BELTS&id=16893422

http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Catalogs/2009/FALLANDHOLIDAY/FALL/October/OctoberBig880/AllProducts/PRDOVR~18110/99101836411/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~15~P_saleprice|0~20+17+4294967167~15~~~~~~~/18110.jsp

http://www.target.com/Merona-Sweater-Skirt-Grey/dp/B002MBC4LI/ref=br_1_25?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=13161001&node=13161001&searchRank=salesrank&searchPage=1&searchSize=30&id=Merona%20Sweater%20Skirt%20Grey

http://www.barenecessities.com/HUE-Diamond-Control-Top-Tights_product_HUE10983_,search,.htm