Sunday Brunch

One of my last sets of Summer 2009 pictures (maybe I should save a set for the bleak days of January?), these are pictures from a brunch I went to with my parents and sister, plus lattes later with my friend Mel, who is a make-up artist for MAC. Oh, for those hot summer days. Weather.com has generously given me the temperature at 41F. Brr. Sadly it isn’t supposed to be much warmer in California! Sad day.

Dress: Maggie London, Shoes: Michael by Michael Kors,  Necklace: : Cancer Charity Shop

Tunic: Nordstrom BP, Jean Shorts: My Sister’s, Necklace: Cancer Charity Shop

43F Feels like 38F

Up until last week, the weather was really nice and now all of a sudden it seems like England has remembered it’s supposed to be winter soon and London has been FREEZING. Okay, maybe I’m a wuss (I’d like to think otherwise, though!), but yesterday it was 38F, feels like 30F, with a 8mph wind! Brrrr! Needless to say, I’ve quickly swapped my trench coats and leather jacket for some proper jackets. Today wasn’t nearly as cold, thankfully, so I got my pea coat out for the first time in awhile. I love peacoats, thought I’m not sure if they are the most flattering shape on me. Due to having large shoulders, I have to buy my jackets much bigger than I would a shirt or a dress, which means they hang a bit off me, but this coat is so cozy and warm and there is something delightfully rustic about the wool and the plaid. Sometimes I wish I’d gotten a gray coat, but then I see pictures of this jacket and it makes me smile. Perhaps when I’m at home I will do the rusticated country version of this outfit with Wellies instead of over-the-knee boots.

Pea-Coat: Boden, Cardigan: French Connection, Shirt: Kors by Michael Kors, Jeans: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Boots: Steve Madden

I was supposed to lunch with my friends today, but one of them had a horrible hangover, so we postponed it until another day. I’d washed my hair (as you do) before going out, but when I got back in, I decided to put it up and tried out this bun that I read about last night. I mean, buns are pretty no-brainer, but I enjoyed the look so I thought I’d give it a whirl. My hair is getting ridiculously long (this is the longest I’ve ever had it) and desperately needs a trim, especially my fringe which is about 1-2″ longer than it should be and hangs in my eyes like a sheepdog’s.

Mmm, delicious coffee! What could be better then that on a cold day?!

Christmas in July (July in Christmas?)

Unfortunately, my tiny closet of a room, despite having a small built-in shelf, has defeated me in all my attempts to take pictures of my outfits in any semblance of attractiveness or photographic merit. So I am resigned to waiting till I go back to California next week and get my tripod. Until then, enjoy this outfit from July/August of this year. I’m really excited to get those shoes back on my feet, as I foolishly did not bring them to England!

Top: Nordstrom BP, Cardi: H&M, Jean Leggings: H&M, Shoes: Charles by Charles David, Necklace: Cancer Charity Shop

Sewn at Home

My sister made this blouse for herself, but unfortunately when she finished it, it ended up not fitting right. She had me put it on to show off how ridiculous it was, but it actually ended up looking cute on me. Sadly I lost about 10lbs between these pictures and when I went to sew buttons onto it, and now it doesn’t look as good, so I just left it buttonless and forlorn at home.

Shoes: Michael by Michael Kors, Legging Jeans: H&M, Shirt: Sewn by my sister, Sunglasses: Nordstrom

P.S. Expect some more current outfit pictures in the coming weeks now that my black eye is gone!

Black Eyes and Broken Hearts

I currently have a lingering black eye from two weekends ago, so I haven’t been taking many pictures of myself. Ergo, I am going to post some backlogs of old pictures from this summer that I never got around to posting.

I thought these would be apt because I dressed up as Lady Gaga for Halloween (my friend’s camera died, so I’m not sure if there are any pictures) and these were the shoes I wore. This isn’t really a summery outfit, but I was test driving my then-new jacket for fall. I do not regret buying a leather jacket AT ALL. I wear it pretty much daily when it isn’t rainy, which hasn’t been very often lately, even in London!

Wearing: H&M Headband, Nordstrom White Button-Down, Nordstrom Leather Jacket, H&M Acid Wash Legging Jeans, Michael by Michael Kors Heels, H&M Necklaces, Essie Nail Polish.

The Hangover

I’m supposed to be packing for London, but all I want to do is take a nap.

Legging Jeans: H&M, Top: Nordstrom BP, Necklaces: H&M, Dragon Sheets: Garnet Hill Kids

Alterations

I bought this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress in June for half price. It was one of those items that doesn’t have real sizes, just S, M, L, which can be difficult if you are between sizes as I am. So I bought it in the Large, just to be careful (Marc by Marc only runs through size 12 US and they alleged a Large was a 10/12). It fit okay when I got it, but I’ve lost some weight over the summer, just enough for the dress to go from comfortable to baggy and too-big.

Thankfully, I have my own in-house tailor, aka my mom. I cannot stress the importance of getting clothes properly tailored, especially since a few stitches can make all the difference. I almost always get my jeans and trousers shortened because I have short-ish legs and an inch can make a BIG difference between sloppy and chic. A lot of department stores will do the alterations for you, sometimes even for free, and I really think it’s worth it. Just taking the sides in on this dress made the bodice fit better, the straps fit so they weren’t constantly sliding down my shoulders, and the zipper stand up better (it wasn’t interfaced and is a little heavy for the silk jersey). Unless you’re really good with a sewing machine, I recommend having a professional do the alterations because you risk ruining expensive fabrics if you don’t sew them properly.

Dress: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Shoes: H&M

The Ugly Truth: Jeans

I am supposed to be packing and getting ready for London. That headache + work + excessive heat are, in part, to blame for my lack of updates. I have been super stressed about moving. Also, kinda hot and lazy. I promise to do better in the future though, and my current goal, starting possibly next week is to update 3-4 times a week with 2-3 outfits and 1-2 Stuff I Like posts talking about trends or random clothes or collections or bloggers/blogs I like.

Today’s entry is sort of a combination of Stuff I Wore and Stuff I Like. Since I’m jetting off halfway around the world, my very generous mother told me to buy another pair of jeans. I don’t know if it is because I am Californian, American, or just a personal quirk, but I love jeans and I wear them pretty much daily, especially when I feel lazy, which is ironic because jeans are harder to make chic/nice-looking than a cute dress, but old habits die hard. My problem, however, is that I am VERY PICKY about my jeans. I don’t like some cuts. Okay I don’t like MOST cuts. You will rarely see me in anything besides skinny-cut jeans on this blog. I do own one pair of really cute trouser-cut jeans and a pair of bootleg jeans and oh god I am suddenly realizing they may not fit any more as I recently have lost weight. Whoops!

Image: The New York Times

But on to my dilemma. I hate buying jeans. When you have a super-long waist, relatively small-ish hips, and large, musclar thighs it sucks to buy pants. Add short calves into the mix and it’s a reciepe for disaster. The knock I have to make against skinnies is that they have a tendency to give me thunder thighs, which is truly unfortunate and I am wont to look like Tweedledee or Tweedledum in a particularly ill-fitting pair.  However i love the look of them and the bonus fact that you can’t stomp all over the back of the hems and ruin them like boot-cut jeans.

Until recently, I owned a variety of brands of jeans, mostly culled from Nordstrom’s BP Juniors’ department or from Gap. In 2006 Gap had some LOVELY skinny jeans, but they seem to have only stocked them for a short time, and I was, as I will soon be, studying in England so I only had the two pairs I bought at home during Christmas break. Needless to say I quickly wore through them. Last Thanksgiving, however, I girded my loins and begged my mother to buy me some jeans that weren’t full of gaping holes in the thighs and/or from the juniors’ department, whose jeans are cut for twiggy toothpick legs, not, shall we say, a more womanly thigh. I still feel somewhat weird about buying jeans that go upwards into the $200 range, but after several exasperating trips to the mall/Target/wherever, I bit the bullet and ordered some designer jeans.

Best. Plan. Ever. Coincidentally, there were a pair of Marc by Marc Jacobs Chrissie Skinny Jeans on sale only in my size the day I was shopping on Nordstrom’s website in vain hope of getting a pair of un-predistressed, un-bedazzled jeans for less than $150.  I snatched them up, dubious they’d even fit, but oh how they fit! I have expanded my collection now to four pairs (though I must admit the original pair are on their last legs having been worn pretty much daily for 6 months before I bought a second pair).  I have them in three washes, including a light wash that I just received in the mail last week. They are delightful.

I must add a word of warning, though, if you buy these pants, which is to CHECK THEM VERY CAREFULLY FOR FLAWS. One pair I received had flawed threads in the leg and another a flawed button for the fly!

Jeans: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Monocle Necklace: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Chain Necklace: H&M
Tee-Shirt: Hanes Men, Shoes: Nordstrom BP, Sunglasses: Marc Jacobs

Jeans: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Plaid Shirt: Kmart Men’s

As always, click the image to enlarge.

P.S. I bought a remote for $20 for my Digital SLR and OMG WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO BUY IT?

P.P.S. Please feel free to share your woes about jeans in the comments. Misery loves company.