Cutout

This outfit wasn't particularly noteworthy, but I photographed it mainly to show you the back of this top, which I picked up at Saks Off Fifth in Minneapolis (I also bought another one in peacock blue). Because of the cutout in the back I figured it might end up getting relegated to weekend and after-work wear, however when I tried layering it over a tank I found that it worked perfectly well for the office. The tank covered up my bra strap but left enough skin showing to still be interesting.

As you can see, the rest of the outfit is pretty plain. But I like the fact that the neckline on this top is high in the front; to me if you're going to have a big cutout on one side, there shouldn't also be a lot of skin showing on the other.

Next week I'm heading back to France again for work, and this time I'm tacking on 2 weeks in the UK to visit friends and family. I'll have a few posts for you while I'm away, and I'll come back with a trip recap after I get back.

Top: Red (Saks)
Pants: Club Monaco
Boots: Ecco
Necklaces: Betsey Johnson, Defy
Bracelet: Leslie Danzis

School Marm

This dress is about a month and a half old, though I haven't gotten around to wearing it until now because we kept getting random warm spells just when I was wanting to wear it, and then I kept putting off ironing it. Finally the temperature dipped down a bit and I decided I just didn't care that it was a little bit wrinkled. All the stars were aligned.

I love the mix of fabrics in this dress, and that big wide collar is such a great detail. I think I might hem it about an inch or two though, because something about the cut combined with the length just felt a little... school marm, perhaps? I guess it might also have been the lace-up booties and opaque black tights that I chose to pair it with.

Which reminds me, I desperately need to restock my patterned tights, as many of my favorites are starting to get worn or develop holes. I feel like an interesting pair of patterned tights might have kicked up the sophistication factor in this outfit. Just in case, I'm still going to hem the dress.

Dress: eShakti
Bag: Foley + Corinna
Shoes: Tsubo

Details

I used to always assume that short boots shouldn't be worn with dresses because they can make the legs appear shorter. However, short boots have been so ubiquitous the past few seasons that I've gotten used to the look. I also realized something very important: I don't give a damn if my legs do look shorter. In fact, I quite admire the look of short, sturdy legs on other ladies, and it's not like I'm going to apply for a runway modeling gig anytime soon.

For this outfit I kept it simple and let the dress and boots be the focal points. There's a lot of interesting detailing on both, but they can get lost in all the black if there's too much else to distract the eye. I love wearing items like these in the daytime, when the lighting is ideal for picking up subtle details.

Dress: Escada Sport
Boots: See by Chloe
Bracelet, rings: Metal Pointu's (Paris)

Respectable

This was an outfit I wore for a recent Girls' Night Out. Laura had free passes to the Gaultier exhibit at the De Young museum, so we went to check it out one last time before the exhibit closed. This outfit was comfy enough to wear all night and walk around in, warm enough for the chilly summer evening, and just stylish enough to look respectable at a fashion exhibit.

Jacket: thrifted
Tunic: Asos
Pants: Club Monaco
Boots: Brako
Bag: Boktier
Necklace: Metal Pointu

Guilt by Association

This dress so perfectly fits my style, especially as it has evolved over the last couple of years. More and more I'm leaning towards outfits that have fewer items and less complexity, so a dress that has built-in visual interest and needs little accessorizing is perfect. I can throw it on in the morning, add a couple of foolproof pieces of jewelry, and go. The fact that it has some stretch to it and doesn't easily wrinkle makes it comfy and wearable all day.

I love how the shape of the panels at the hips hint at a peplum without actually being one. I love peplums on jackets and tops but I'm not generally a fan of them dresses or skirts except in rare cases. To my eye they often look like an afterthought, just stuck on there and interrupting the flow of the garment. Plus they just bring back way too many 80's flashbacks for me, like this purple number below. Not something I would've worn even in the 80's, but I suppose I feel a bit of guilt by association.




Dress: Helmut Lang
Necklace: Wendy Brandes
Bracelet, rings: Metal Pointu
Bag: Botkier
Boots: Brako

Low Key

This dress mainly gets worn on weekends because it's so casual, but this outfit was perfect for a low key Friday when not as many people are in the office and we rarely have meetings. I definitely wouldn't wear the dress to work without layering something over it, because it has spaghetti straps which I don't think are appropriate for any office environment, even one as casual as mine.

The shoes are the result of a months-long search for the perfect black wedges. I wanted something with little embellishment, a 1-2 inch height, and rounded toes. I must've ordered 5 or 6 pairs from Zappos, but only these fit the bill and all the rest went back. Gotta love Zappos for having free shipping both ways. 


Dress: Athleta
Cardigan: All Saints
Shoes: Cole Haan

{Style Panel} Black-on-Black...

Embracing the coming season's black-on-black, leather-hungry sensibilities might not be for everyone, but the girlie girls (myself included) of the world can breathe a collective sigh of relief � The trend is as flexible as it is fun!

To achieve a look that feels feminine yet decisively on-trend, I opted for a faux leather mini and a black, peek-a-boo cutout sweater. By keeping silhouette, proportion and accessories in mind � think statement necklaces and fun bracelets � I was able to embrace the trend while still remaining true to myself. Fist pump.

Outfit details: sweater- Talulah (Aritzia); faux leather skirt- H&M; loafers- Zara; necklace & ring- Forever 21; watch- Michael Kors; bracelets- The Bay & Michael Kors

Intentional Black

A long ago post of Sal's discussed being intentional with black, and that's what I thought of when I put together this outfit. Here I'm using it as a high contrast accent, letting it appear in small swatches but repeating it so that it doesn't look like I simply didn't have other items to choose from. In this outfit none of the clothing had any black in it but I really wanted to wear the sandals, so I chose a small coordinating handbag and necklace so that no single piece created a large expanse of black and yet they all worked together. Throwing in the brass and crystal bracelet kept the whole thing from being overly matchy.

Dress: Thrifted
Cardigan: Max Studio
Sandals: Michael Kors
Bag: Zadig & Voltaire
Bracelet: Leslie Danzis

Personal Flair

I was happy to wear this dress without anything layered on top, so that all the interesting details showed. However, since a dress like this can't be belted, or layered over anything, there aren't too many options for giving it a personal flair. I threw on some fun jewelry and thought, "This is all I can do; I'm just going to have to let the dress be the star and settle for a fairly tame outfit." Then I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror with my fab new hair color. An interesting dress, pink skull jewelry and peacock blue hair; that'll do, that'll do indeed.

Dress: Escada Sport
Jewelry: Betsy Johnson
Tights: Hue
Shoes: John Fluevog
Hair: Michele at Colorbox

Red Letters

This t-shirt just seems like such a natural mate for the blazer, and with the punchy red pants to pick up the red lettering in the shirt, the outfit just came together perfectly. I didn't actually wear these pants 2 days in a row, it's just that I'm not taking pictures every day anymore, which explains why I'm not posting as often anymore either. It's good though; the looser schedule works well for me and although I miss the more frequent feedback that posting every day brings, I also enjoy being able to just throw on a previously-worn outfit and get out the door some mornings. The blog archive is great for those days when I don't really want to think too hard about it.

T-shirt: Stacy Lomman
Blazer: Helmut Lang
Pants: Michael Kors
Boots: Brakko
Bag: Botkier
Rings: Metal Pointu's

Rolling

This is the last of the pre-scheduled posts that have been keeping the blog rolling along while I've been hopping from city to city. And, since I've now been blogging for a couple solid hours straight, I'm pretty much out of things to say. I'll be back in a few days with a report on the trip. In the meantime, here are my new bright red pants making their second appearance, again paired with black and neutrals.

Scarf: gift
Top: Express, also a gift
Blazer: Helmut Lang
Pants: Michael Kors
Shoes: Tsubo

Intense

Slim-fitting, bright pants have been on my shopping list for a couple of months now, so a couple weekends ago I set out to find a pair. The effort proved slightly more difficult than I had imagined. I had seen this very pair on the Michael Kors website, but when I popped into the store in the Westfield Mall, I saw that they didn't have any pants on their racks. I then headed to Bloomingdale's, where I proceeded to try on bright teal, coral, fuchsia, yellow, you name it... but they all looked monstrous. What I realized is that the colors I was trying all struck me as being great for a woman in her 20's, but on me they just looked awkward, and not really me. What I needed was what I'd been originally drawn to on the website. What I needed was an intense red, which was the one color I couldn't find on the entire vast, bright-pants-laden floor.

Frustrated, I headed down the escalator to make my way out of the store, only to come face to face with a whole section of Michael Kors clothing, and there, front and center, were the red pants I'd wanted all along. I knew exactly how I'd wear them for their first outing: as a splash of intense color behind high contrast black and white. A sophisticated color combination that still looks fun and springy.

I'll definitely be avoiding things like dizzy floral prints or flowy boho sheers when I wear these pants because I think that has too youthful/trendy an appearance for my taste, but paired with black and neutrals, this is a great way to work with a current trend while keeping it office appropriate and staying true to my personal style.

Cardigan: Survival
Tunic: Asos
Scarf: Alexander McQueen
Pants and sandals: Michael Kors
Jewelry: Metal Pointu

Low Maintenance

For this outfit I took one of my favorites from last year, and mixed it up a little by adding the tulle underskirt and skull scarf, and changing both the cardigan and the shoes. In fact the only items the two outfits have in common are the dress and the tights.

My new, perfect cardigan is exactly the right length and shape for an outfit with a 50's vibe. For the previous incarnation of this outfit I tied a long cardigan at the waist to achieve the same effect, and while I liked the look of it, the cardigan itself wasn't really designed to be tied, and required a fair amount of adjusting and readjusting to make it work. This version was low maintenance, which is always a good thing.

Dress: J. Crew
Cardigan: Survival
Scarf: Alexander McQueen
Tulle skirt: Noa Noa
Tights: Wolford
Shoes: BCBGirls
Ring and bracelet: Metal Pointu

Sharks Colors

For this outfit I wanted to bring in a little more of the teal color, but it was too chilly for just the fishnet tights alone, so I layered them over some sheer black pantyhose. I like the effect because it still looks semi-transparent, but the black underneath gave a little more depth to the teal tights and also made them more comfortable to wear. I don't really like the way fishnet tights feel under my feet, and these don't have the solid foot pads that prevent the feeling of having a pattern pressed into your skin.

I wore this outfit for a Girls' Night Out because Laura and I were going to a bar to watch the Sharks game, and teal and black are the Sharks' colors. They won that night, and I'd like to think my awesome tights layering had something to do with it. If they don't make the playoffs this year, it isn't for lack of fan support.

Dress: Escada Sport
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Boots: Brako

Thank You Gift

For the first time all winter it got cold enough to wear this boiled wool tunic. The boots have also been suffering from neglect, so I was happy to trot them out again for what may be the last time until December.

The pretty scarf was a thank you gift from one of my former employees, who I wrote a letter of recommendation for to help her get into a graduate program. Wasn't that sweet? Not to mention that it perfectly suits my style and is incredibly soft and comfortable. For me though, the best gift of all was seeing her get accepted to the program and start down what I'm sure will be a really successful path for her. Hands down the best thing about managing people is helping them develop their careers. It's also gratifying to see that despite the fact that Americans are getting ruder, and their kids are getting brattier, there are still young people out there who have great manners.

Tunic: Promod
Pants: Club Monaco
Boots: Bos and Co.

Smart Shopper

This dress was another purchase from when Sal and Mike were here, and it was also another item on my shopping list: basic sheath dress. It seems my tastes are shifting towards the simple and unfussy lately. This dress is utterly perfect: it has a good amount of stretch to it, the subtle darts at the waist give it shape while still being really flattering, and the asymmetrical pleated ruffle gives it some visual interest while still looking classic. I got this dress for a steal at Jeremy's, a local shop that sells discounted designer clothes. Many of their items are damaged, but this dress is perfect as far as I can tell.

When I got home from work I wore this dress, sans cardigan, to our neighbors' open house. This was no ordinary open house; it's a spectacular Victorian mansion, the gem of the entire neighborhood, and it's listed at $3.8 million. One dresses up for an open house of this caliber. Thankfully I was already dressed, so I waltzed on over and tried to look natural amongst people who actually have $3.8 million to spend on a house.

The next day our neighbor called to thank Mark and I for coming, and also to say how great I looked in my dress. Just as the open house was no ordinary open house, this was no ordinary compliment; when a sophisticated gay man with impeccable taste calls specifically to tell you how great you looked, that's a compliment to treasure up and enjoy for a lifetime. I'd gladly have paid full price for this dress to get a compliment like that, so you can bet I feel like a smart shopper now.

Dress: Escada Sport
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tights: Wolford
Boots: All Black
Earrings: Wendy Mink
Bracelet: Betsey Johnson

Restraint

This dress is the last of my Paris purchases, and it has a fun memory to go with it. I'd been out shopping all day and wound up over near the Centre Pompidou, where I stopped at a nearby creperie for a galette and a very large carafe of wine. Feeling warm and merry, I set out towards my hotel and along the way spotted a Promod store that was still open. Tipsy shopping ensued, and I ended up popping into a couple more stores and finding some great gifts in addition to this adorable dress for myself. Surprisingly, while at Promod I limited myself to just this dress and a few basic layering shirts including the one shown here. I tell you this showed remarkable restraint, given how fond I am of Promod and how many other cute, mod style dresses they had on the racks.

A few people commented on these boots when I posted them the other day. They're made by Brako, a Spanish company whose beautiful shoes are designed both for comfort and style. In fact I've made the 3-mile trek to work several times in these already and they're perfect for walking. I found them at a wonderful shoe store here in SF near Union Square, called Nobel Shoes. Brakos seem to be difficult to find this side of the Atlantic even online, so I'm happy to have stumbled upon them in a brick and mortar shop; a shop which incidentally I pass very often on my way to and from work. I expect there may be more Brako shoes in my future.

Dress, shirt: Promod
Boots: Brako
Bracelet, ring: Metal Pointu

Quick Conversion

One thing I've noticed since I've been walking to work is that I'm wearing pants a lot more often, I think because they feel less fussy -- there's no slip to deal with, or a skirt that's clinging to my tights, or blowing in the wind, or whatever. There have been a couple of times where I've changed my entire outfit once I got to work, but that involves a lot more hauling of stuff than I'm willing to do most days (especially since I often also walk home and thus have to haul everything for 6 miles). So my goal is generally to build an outfit where I can wear it mostly in its finished state, and change or add one or two things once I get to the office. Don't worry, I'm still looking for ways to make my skirt and dress-based outfits easy to wear for the walks, and I'll happily share any new tricks I hit upon.

This is an example of just the sort of quick-conversion outfit I'm after. I wore my Bastien short boots for the walk, and carried the tall boots as well as the white cardigan in my backpack. Then when I got to work it was quick and easy to convert the outfit for the work day.

Next week I'll be traveling to Germany and France on business (I know, I know -- what a sacrifice, right?), so I'm definitely going to be putting some of these new tactics to work for my travel outfits. In fact I think a couple of the pieces in this outfit will be making the trip with me. I'm going first to Dusseldorf and Strasbourg, and then spending the weekend in Paris before coming home. Dusseldorf and Strasbourg are for work, but the Paris weekend is all mine. Good thing I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet!

Tunic: All Saints
Knit pants: Club Monaco
Cardigan: 12th Street Cynthia Vincent
Boots: Modern Vintage
Necklace: Wendy Brandes

Spirit

I wore this to work on Halloween, so as to be in the Halloween spirit and still not have to deal with a costume. It was a good call, because pretty much no one downtown wore a costume, and also because this was way more comfortable. And yes, Halloween was almost a month ago and I'm just getting around to posting this now. It has just been that busy lately.

If you're in the US, I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend. I certainly did; we spent a lot of time relaxing for a change, and for Thanksgiving dinner Mark and I went to Harris's for some delicious steak. OK it wasn't exactly a traditional meal, but I've made up for it by spending the last couple of weeks warming up for International Pie For Breakfast Month with plenty of pumpkin pie. It's always Thanksgiving when there's pumpkin pie.


Dress: Skunkfunk
Tights: Sock Dreams
Boots: Modern Vintage
Necklace: Untamed Menagerie

Duster

I found this funky sheer zebra duster at a thrift store near my mom's house a few months ago when I was up there to visit. It was actually a dress when in combination with the long black liner that came with it, but I much prefer it this way. I made a couple of modifications: I hemmed it from straight across to the tapered hem you see here, and I added a pleat in the back to give it some shape at the waist. It was quite the boxy 90's shape before.

This was a perfect outfit for our gorgeous fall weather. It was warm enough outside to bare a little skin, but not quite warm enough to expose all the limbs in their entirety. Boots and socks and bare legs was just the thing.

Duster: thrifted
Dress: Max Studio
Belt: Lazarro
Boots: from Scoop in Copenhagen
Bag: Lucky