two for the clothes

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2010-12-10T15:29:00.001-06:00

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2010-11-21T00:36:00.000-06:00

back in black

2010-07-23T22:41:00.000-05:00

Picture-taking today started outside but I started melting pretty much right away so we moved the operation into my study room where I stood in front of the vent and mainlined iced tea. I'd probably have done better to bathe in the stuff for how long it took me to cool off. Actually all I had to do was go and change clothes, which I did, but first I wanted to document what I wore to go and politely ask the bank to reverse some recent overdraft charges to my account. I wanted something simple and conservative but also that I really loved and felt comfortable and confident wearing. P voted against this dress when I bought it, arguing that it just looked like a t-shirt, which he doesn't seem to realize is entirely the point. Whatever. My orange study-buddy gets it. He's all about fashion. And scholarship ~ here he's flipping through William Manchester's The Glory and the Dream. He suggests you buy it used, or borrow it from your local library.

(Joie silk dress, Frank Gehry for Tiffany ring and earrings, Movado watch, Marc by Marc Jacobs flats)

puppy love

2010-07-17T15:40:00.001-05:00

Just the one picture for today's post ~ one that perfectly depicts how we spent the morning: trip to the dog park, wander through the farmer's market, lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant and a stop-in at the used book store where I found one book for my dissertation and another entitled Fashion in History that deserves a post of its own.

More important, as far as P and I are concerned, is officially introducing our most beloved big dog, Tammy. We adopted her from the Animal Defense League of Texas, a no-kill shelter here in San Antonio, in 2007 after we came back from England the last time. My mother had started looking for a dog that summer and I was only too happy to spend my time searching Petfinder for her perfect pup instead of writing my dissertation (I found him, by the way). Having spent a few months looking at adoptable dogs online (and knowing my parents planned to keep the cat I'd rescued in college), I begged P to let me adopt a dog, which he agreed to do after I submitted my dissertation. Instead he broke his toe, ending our marathon training, and I suffered severe writer's block with barely a week to go before my deadline. One morning after breakfast, I prevailed on him to take me over to ADL just to see about a dog I'd seen on the internet who had a huge, fluffy tail. We went straight to the building she was meant to be in but she wasn't there ~ later we found out she had been moved to a more social building because she hadn't been eating. The volunteer we asked about her said she was "crazy" and that we didn't want a crazy dog. So we walked around a little longer looking at the other dogs and finally I agreed to leave if P would let me do one last pass through one of the buildings. When we walked in we saw a big brown dog in one of the unmarked pens that had been empty before (we got there when they were cleaning) and I fell in love at first sight. Our eyes met and she gave a little tail-flop at which point I dropped to the ground in front of the gate and told P to please go find someone who could show us this dog. He hobbled off (he was walking with a cane at the time) and after what seemed like forever came back with the same volunteer who informed us that this was, in fact, Tammy ~ the very dog we had originally come to see! The second he reached for the latch she bounced five feet into the air (she's nearly as tall as I am at full length) and wouldn't calm down. He put the kennel leash on her, handed it to me and walked away saying he'd warned us. Underweight at 52 lbs she was still incredibly strong and nearly jerked me off my feet (which she has done on other occasions) in her excitement to get out. She dragged me around for a couple minutes until I found someone who would let me into a play-area where I let her off leash. She ran around a few times then found an old tennis ball, and when P finally arrived I told him flat out, "This is the dog." We met her on a Friday but weren't able to bring her home until Monday because they wanted the vet to check on why she wasn't eating so we went to visit her Saturday and Sunday morning, playing fetch for at least an hour each time.

Monday morning she jumped right into the car for the ride to her forever home and we've been a family ever since.

(Target hat and t-shirt, Vince shorts, Birkenstock sandals, Coach purse, Movado watch, Ten Thousand Things earrings)

chop chop

2010-07-15T23:34:00.000-05:00

Right, so, yesterday was Bastille Day and even though I'm late posting these pictures, you can rest assured that I did in fact dress up specifically for the occasion in tricolor (and a couple of my favorite French accessories).

I wish I could say we spent the day munching on baguettes and pâté while watching fireworks over the Seine but instead we ran errands in the 95ºF heat. Hence I look like something of a melty mess ~ I'm working on it, I swear. I just haven't found the solution yet. (Hey ~ if you have any great beat-the-heat-and-humidity tips, please, send them my way!) In fairness, though, we had a lot of fun: got a haircut, popped into various random stores that we came across, and finally ended up drinking passion-tea lemonades outside Neiman Marcus (where we made some returns and took these slightly-over-exposed photos that I enjoy exaggerating)

The big deal in this outfit is obviously the skirt, and the big deal in the skirt is obviously the bow, of which I am inordinately proud (and probably not ever going to untie because I don't think I could do it as well again). I would also like you to know that I probably spent as much or more time ironing this skirt as I spent actually wearing it. It is also possible that my inexperience ironing exceeded the actual difficulty of the task (don't worry Dad ~ I took the plastic off the board first).

Now, I know I've gone a little bit overboard with the bag-on-table pictures lately (two is overboard as far as I'm concerned) but I wanted to explicitly highlight the incredible book I'm reading, A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel. It's a novel of the French Revolution told through the friendships of Camille Desmoulins, Georges-Jacques Danton and Maximilien Robespierre and it is very, very good. I started reading it just before we left London after having searched high and low for it on the Waterstone's 3-for-2 tables. Seriously, we went to at least three Waterstone's locations before finding a single copy on special at the LSE location, which happens to have the tiniest fiction section ever. (We also experienced our first-ever difficulty choosing a third book on that trip and ended up going with another pocket-size Moleskine just so we could get gone. This has never happened before, nor will it every happen again.) My obsession stemmed from just having finished her book Wolf Hall (also picked up on 3-for-2 by P the Camden outpost en route to a hair cut) which won the 2009 Man Booker prize and was so intensely intoxicating that I could not put it down ~ the best historical fiction I've read in ages. Tudor England and revolutionary France (respectively) are two eras that I haven't studied in any particular detail, but these novels have so piqued my interest that I'm paralleling them with Jenny Uglow's A Gambling Man (yeah, okay, it's Restoration but still Cromwells so I'm counting it) and Simon Schama's Citizens (of which we have, like, a zillion copies, for whatever reason). If you're into history, or books, or both, I highly recommend all of the above. Besides, it's summer ~ what else are you going to do?

(Loft tee, Thakoon x Target skirt, Coach shoes, Movado watch, James Avery bracelet, grandmother's vintage costume necklace, Target scarf, Longchamp bag and Chanel sunglasses)

deep in the [he]art of texas

2010-07-14T00:49:00.002-05:00

Hard to believe we've been back for two weeks and this is only the first post from Texas! Things have been such a whirlwind what with travel and moving and all, but as you may be able to tell from these pictures we are so incredibly happy to finally be back home (heat, humidity and all). I returned from New Mexico on Saturday, we spent Sunday visiting my grandmother and yesterday running errands so today was really the first chance we had to do something fun. Tuesday is late-opening at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) with free admission from 4 to 9 so we decided to head over and check out the Ancient Near-East Galleries (and take some pictures, naturally). The Gary Sweeney piece above is actually out in the museum parking lot, and it's one of my favorite of their assorted installations (the other being a Chihuly ceiling of which I was unable to get a good picture) because it simultaneously spreads the museum beyond its physical limits and contextualizes it in the architectural era of the surrounding neighborhood. Plus I just like it.

I hope you won't mind the excessive goofiness of these pictures ~ like I said, I'm really happy to be home. Ordinarily we're diametrically opposed to jumping pictures (as p has stated previously) but since I hit this heel-click I kind of have to share it. My outfit came together a little unexpectedly right at the point where I was about to give up and call the night off; it's a reprise of what I wore to have dim sum last week with my mother (but didn't get a chance to photograph) and I threw it on this time just as a demonstration but P said go with it, so there you are. The whole thing ~ dress, scarf and shoes ~ cost me less than $20 and I've worn each piece at least twice in the week I've had them, even though P dislikes the shoes (they're leopard print with gold-glitter polka-dots, go figure). The scarf is a relative of the green and blue ones I've posted previously with same wonderful, saturated color (and it was on sale).

Apparently people leave their entry stickers on the post of the pedestrian-crossing sign outside the museum. I love how it's sort of a community-art-collaboration-replaces-trash-bin thing (people also leave their gum, among other things).

Anyhow, welcome [to our] home!

(Target dress, flats and scarf, Hobo clutch and heirloom jewelry)

modern love

2010-07-06T11:55:00.002-05:00

All apologies for the absence of posts ~ in the past two weeks we've packed up our studio and moved from London back to San Antonio, whereupon I immediately skipped over to Albuquerque to attend the wedding of one of my dearest high school friends, leaving P behind to clean and tidy. Suffice it to say, outfits and photos haven't been all too much of a priority for either of us, at least until now, but a wedding is obviously something special and naturally should be treated as such.

The outfits in this post are actually out of order, as I wore this one to the Day-After-The-Wedding Brunch, but I was able to get more pictures of it so it goes first. I threw this on in the fifteen minutes between waking up and leaving my parents' house to have a pre-brunch coffee with one of the bridesmaids ~ a timeline that included feeding my mother's dogs (that's Monty gazing adoringly at me) and cleaning up one of their overnight accidents. It's the kind of outfit that I felt very glad to have pieces in place that I could just grab and go (two of which I acquired the day before the wedding after being stood up by said bridesmaid ~ thanks Amy!).

Which two, you ask? Why, the shoes above and the shirt below, of course! (The key pieces, naturally.) I cannot adequately communicate to you the limitations of shopping in Albuquerque, so I was more than a little nervous when I set out to find a top to go with one of the skirts I brought to potentially wear to the wedding. I did find a top (though I ended up going with a different outfit) but I also found quite a bit more, largely due to the spectacular sale going on at Ann Taylor Loft (40% off regular priced merchandise and 50% off sale items ~ INSANE). To be honest I haven't been inside an Ann Taylor in over ten years, and this was my first trip to Loft, but I ended up taking about a million things into the dressing room and having to rationally talk myself down on the number of things to purchase. I've had my eye out for a summery wedge to help ease me back into the world of heels, and these shoes fit the bill perfectly (in more ways than one). They're also a shoe that would never have made it out of the box if P had been there (partly because he doesn't like gladiator-styles and mostly because he hates gold) but his absence allowed me to indulge myself, which paid off in compliments from my friends at brunch.

Between the beautiful print and folded neckline this top was a no-brainer. The material is cotton and silk, and while I normally avoid the latter during summer for reasons of being a sweaty mess, the mix here is lightweight, slightly slinky and very breathable, plus the elasticized bubble hem keeps it breezy and comfortable for the high desert. I'm a little less optimistic about wearing it in Texas' super-humid heat, but we'll see ~ I may have found my new summer fabric.

Now the accessories (please forgive my self-indulgent tableau ~ I have a lot of time on my hands here). The sunglasses I wear pretty much all the time, and the bag I grabbed on sale in Heathrow because I had two suitcases as carry-ons for the flight home and wanted something to stash my book and lip balm in at my seat. I'm liking it far more than I planned to, which doesn't bode well for future purchases.

Finally, a quick snap of what I wore to the wedding, taken in the bathroom at the reception. Not ideal, I know, but I was kind of in a rush on the way out. I had no idea ahead of time what I would end up wearing so I brought five pairs of shoes, two skirts, two dresses and a couple tops, then went out shopping for more when I landed, but this was actually the outfit I had in mind all along and I'm really glad I went with it. Pretty and comfortable and great for a few hours of intense dancing with some of my favorite friends. The wedding was amazing, the bride was beautiful (the norm for her) and so much palpable love you couldn't cut it with a knife. Also the requisite wedding-party hook-up to make us all proud. I'm not usually a wedding person, but this was far and away the best I've ever been to. And I am so excited for the lovely couple (who should be off to Cancun any minute now).

(Outfit #1-Brunch: vintage Sunglasses, Loft tank, Seven stretch straight-leg jeans, Loft wedges, Longchamp bag, heirloom jewelry; Outfit #2-the Wedding: old Tahari top, Diane Von Furstenberg skirt, old Marc by Marc Jacobs flats, Hobo International clutch, pashmina from Istanbul, Frank Gehry for Tiffany Torque ring and earrings, James Avery bangle and Pianegonda ring)

Sympathy for the Detail

2010-06-23T14:55:00.000-05:00

So I must admit that I harbor a certain prejudice against vintage clothing. I don't know whether it grows from the gag response that the smell of mothballs induces, or because when someone mentions a vintage store the first thing that comes to mind is the episode of Seinfeld where George steals his father's old cabana clothes and sells them to make a quick buck. Of course, they are moth infested and the owner ends up burning them in the alley. Alas, poor George Costanza. When I have been compelled to enter, I have often found them staffed by dudes with ironic facial hair and women who think that bathing is done with pachouli oil instead of water. This motley crew can opine for hours about the superiority of a Phish groove to a Rolling Stones riff. Seriously? Almost as off-putting to me as the mothballs. But in the last few weeks I have been forced to reassess my long-held bias. The shirt I am wearing in this picture is one reason. It is a vintage Jil Sander which from the structure of the collar and the cut of the shirt must date back to the late 1980s, or early 1990s. Yet it still looks as sharp and minimalist as it did when it was purchased. It's un-pictured brother is in a soft, black cotton that looks like it could have been wardrobe in the movie version of Less Than Zero. Neither of these pieces of clothing would have set you back more than a meal at the McDonalds in Holborn. So if you are fortunate enough to live in central London don't let the first generation Sony Playstation in the window scare you away from the random Romanian Charity Shop.

(Jil Sander shirt, Armani Exchange jacket, Barking Irons Tee)

blustery sunday

2010-06-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

So, this outfit is pretty much the furthest thing ever from my typical Sunday morning coffee-run fare. Or any day, any time, any outing, for that matter. I am not a regular dress-upper nor am I a frequent high heel wearer, mostly out of sheer laziness but also because in London I walk quite a lot and don't want to destroy my shoes (whereas in Texas I have no good excuse). That hasn't stopped me loving and buying tall shoes, though, and so now I'm working on wearing them more frequently (and out of the house). I'm starting out with this slightly-less-high-though-deceptively-not-so-low-as-they-look-pair that I scored at the Selfridge's sale last week. I should probably mention that since it's been years since I wore heels on a regular basis I'm a bit out of practice with them, and am having to reacquaint myself with the world from on high. The learning curve is significantly more steep than I remembered.

(Paul Smith jacket, Target shirt, old Ferragamo belt, J. Crew skirt, Miu Miu shoes, Frank Gehry for Tiffany necklace and earrings, Movado watch and Navajo bracelet)

a dark and stormy mood

2010-06-18T10:11:00.003-05:00

Ok maybe not so stormy, just dark and grey outside. Neither pleasant nor inspiring, regardless ~ the kind of day where you run out for coffee, then run back home where it's warm. I'm wearing yet another too-comfy-for-words dress, this time from the uniqlo + velvet collaboration. I haven't worn dresses very frequently since I was a young child, but lately I've found these to be a very comfortable and versatile alternative to my regular jeans-and-t-shirts: I wear the exact same accessories and layers as I would otherwise, but just over one piece instead of two. This may not seem novel or innovative to anyone else, but it's been quite a discovery for me, and one that I think will serve me well when we return to the vicious Texas heat (11 days!).

(uniqlo + velvet dress, target scarf, dad's vietnam shirt, mom's old sunglasses, cole haan flats, movado watch and the usual assorted silver jewelry)

always off time

2010-06-15T16:43:00.001-05:00

This was sort of a last-minute-grab-and-go-I'm-late-for-lunch-and-my-hair-is-still-wet situation. The original outfit I had in mind was shelved on account of potential puddles which sent me scrambling for ideas on my way out the door. Isn't it convenient that the closet in our sardine-tin dorm-studio happens to be right in the entryway*? Changed shirts, grabbed the nearest cardigan and then had to step back to pull the door open. And run out.

So, right. The cardigan is giant ~ something like an extra large, but for things like this I never really think that matters ~ and the t-shirt is super, super-soft with this lovely asymmetrical hem that keeps me from mooning people whenever I drop something (which is practically every other minute). It is also, as you can see, very loose and roomy and thus very accommodating for my lunch of linguine and clams. P left the restaurant early which enabled an undisturbed pop-in at the charity shop next door, of which he was the primary beneficiary. But that's his story to tell.

(Mom's old sunglasses, Target scarf, Vince cardigan, Romeo + Juliet Couture tee, Seven straight leg stretch jeans, Coach purse, Movado watch, James Avery bangle, Navajo bracelet)

*five square feet of closet doors, main door and bathroom door = almost a hallway

short stack

2010-06-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

We took advantage of this morning's lovely sunshine with a long walk (right over to Selfridge's for the first day of the sale).

know when to fold 'em

2010-06-13T08:08:00.002-05:00

I don't usually go with P to do the laundry. Partly because the whole point is that he does it so I don't have to and can focus on my studies, and partly because I'm kind of insane about the clothes-washing-process and can't really handle seeing it done with anything less than my bizarre standards of precision, which our current laundry room simply cannot accommodate. Basically it pains me to be there, so I stay away and keep my mouth shut except to lavish him with praise for taking care of things. Believe me ~ I know how lucky I am ~ he also does all the cooking and cleaning (I strive to eschew traditional gender roles whenever possible).

I haven't very much to say about this outfit, other than I really loved it and it didn't photograph as well as I would have liked (notice how I passed the buck to the outfit, and not the photographer ~ aka myself). The dress is more comfortable than every nightgown I've ever known, and I would probably still be wearing it right now (three days later) if P weren't here to stop me. The socks were a particularly nice addition since I could pull them up above my knees for added warmth.

(Uniqlo x Costello Tagliapietra dress, J.Crew socks, Cole Haan flats, Frank Gehry/Tiffany necklace and earrings, Pianegonda ring, James Avery bangle, Movado watch, Navajo bracelet)

London Laundry Day

2010-06-10T14:51:00.003-05:00

(Calvin Klein Collection blazer, Calvin Klein t-shirt, Seven A-Pocket jeans, Camper Pelota shoes)

Having to live with a wardrobe that fits into a duffel bag necessitates regular trips to the laundry room. I try to do laundry on the same day every week to avoid a deficit of clean clothes. Of course, sometimes events completely out of control occur and my planned trips to the laundry room with my blue Ikea bags overflowing with clothes don't quite happen on the day I had planned. So I have the problem I had this morning: none of the t-shirts in my regular rotation were clean. No worries, I thought, I'll just dig out a plain white undershirt and wear it instead. Let it be said at this point, and as you can see in the pictures adjacent to this post, the shirts that I choose for this purpose are clean, white, and free of any random stains from my adventures in our mini-kitchen. However, this ad hoc clothing choice never fails to annoy my co-blogger who feels that this clothing option is unsatisfactory. Personally, I feel that the white t-shirt and jeans combo is classic. I'm not the Fonz, and jumping a shark tank in the parking lot of Arnold's isn't in my skill set, but I can see why he was always thought to be so cool in this attire. Thumb through any fashion magazine today, or even over the last fifty years or so, and I'll bet that you will discover at least one picture of the jeans and white t-shirt combo. It is timeless American style. I have paired my jeans and tee combo with a cashmere Calvin Klein Collection blazer. This is the first piece of non-LL Bean clothing that I ever ordered off of the Internet. The picture doesn't really do justice to the rich shade of the jacket, or its soft texture. What got me to take a gamble on this blazer was its clean design. Notice that unlike most blazers, it has no outside breast pocket, buttons on the cuffs, or back venting. It is a bit longer than a standard blazer, but that adds to its style. My favorite feature, though, is the pocket on the interior seam of the jacket. If it weren't for the zipper pull, you would not notice the pocket inside. So even on days that I can't find a better shirting option, the blazer spiffs-up the Calvin Klein v-neck tee beneath it, even though it came in a pack with eight of its brothers from Costco.

Click to check out the zipper in the seam

Defending my tee

c for coffee

2010-06-08T06:26:00.003-05:00

I'm settling in for what will hopefully be a major writing binge today and have already gone on what may turn out to be my only outing all day. Obviously this outfit is all about the details since it basically boils down to jeans and a t-shirt.

The stamped Navajo barrette kills two birds with one stone as both jewelry and hair-wrangler.

The green scarf is a really great lightweight cotton-linen that looks best rumpled, and I can't get over the color.

P has had a pair of these shoes for a few years and pretty much wears them non-stop through the summer, so I when I found these on sale I decided to see what all his fuss was about. Aside from being lightweight and comfortable, this pair has a black denim body which is unlike any of my other sneakers.

So there you have it. Thus concludes my excuse not to work.

(Blogging is SO important!)

(Target Scarf, Paul Smith trench, Current/Elliott The Skinny jeans, Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 shoes, Coach purse & Navajo barrette)

2010-06-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

There were some good things about the 90s. Grunge finally killed off hair bands, the internet transformed the world, and Martin Scorsese made Goodfellas. The same decade also had its failings. Vanilla Ice tried to sample Queen, the internet transformed the world, and Kevin Costner made any number of crap movies that should forever reside in the "Steal Me!" bins at Blockbuster. A far more tragic phenomenon, in my eyes at least, was the complete takeover of the workplace and casual trouser market by Dockers. I know they had a Levi's pedigree, and that led many people to believe that they were cool -- a way to flout the stuffy dress code without wearing 501s to work. And since their introduction in 1986, can anyone name an item of clothing whose brand name has become synonymous with the item itself? I must tip my hat to the folks who managed that ad campaign. "They're not just pants. They're Dockers." Having said that, if you happened to be a male who wasn't a little pudgy, the fit of the Dockers themselves left something to be desired. Those damn pleats. How could anyone think that those looked good? When I had to conform to the workplace casual attire of my old office, I instead opted for tropic-weight, flat-front wool trousers and a button-down oxford shirt. You can't imagine what a tempest in a teacup this started. I was actually accused of being a snobby dresser. "How could anyone not like Dockers?" I was asked. But I made money, and was right more often than my co-workers about fluctuations in oil prices, so I was left to my own sartorial eccentricity -- although people often wondered how I could possibly be comfortable wearing "those clothes." The chino therefore has always been a gap in my wardrobe that I never thought I would fill. Then I found these. Seven For All Mankind has cotton twill trousers that fit similar to their jeans and provide a happy medium between jeans and dressier trousers in my closet. They still have a style similar to jeans that might make them inappropriate for your place of work, but what genius in HR decided that Dockers somehow ARE appropriate?

Target shirt, Paul Smith tie, Seven jeans, Adidas shoes, Gap belt, RayBan Wayfarers

proof of life

2010-06-03T16:12:00.001-05:00

Ok, seriously, that last post was kind of really whiny, right? Oh poor me, I have nothing to wear! Wah wah wah, I don't have any new clothes. Even I don't want to read about it and I'm actually pretty annoyed with myself that I wrote it. Definitely deserved the stern talking-to I gave myself in the shower, from whence this outfit came. Here's what happened:

Yesterday, during my grump-tastic afternoon, I conned P into letting me pick up a few hair products from the Boots 3-for-2 shelf.

Because of this, I needed to make a good faith effort to do my hair.

At the point where I'm going to bother with my hair, I may as well go the whole hog so as not to waste a good hair day.

In accordance with Newton's 1st Law, I hacked the legs off my most beat up jeans so that I would have something new and different to wear.

And voilà! Closet QED.

(It helped that I'm obsessed with the detailed tailoring of this shirt and was happy to have an excuse to wear it in a dressed-down capacity.)

(Paul Smith shirt, Joe's Jeans cut-offs, Cole Haan flats, James Avery earrings and charm bracelet, Movado watch, Mom's old sunglasses)

on the ph scale

2010-06-03T03:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we dropped by the British Museum to meet a friend for coffee and took some quick pictures whilst waiting for her. I was in quite a mood before we left, feeling sort of dumpy and blah and ill-equipped for the radical change in the gorgeous sunny weather. The limitations of my London wardrobe are becoming more and more apparent now that I'm trying to compose regular outfits. I took most of my clothes back to the States when we visited in April to avoid having extra baggage on the next go-round and it appears that pretty much all I left myself here are a couple pairs of jeans and many different colors of my favorite Target t-shirt (seen above). While on the one hand this forces me to get creative about wearing the same things over and over, there comes a point when all my outfits start to look alike, and not in a good way. I'm also not allowed shopping at present, so no new pieces to break up the monotony.

So we'll see. Hopefully my creative juices will start to flow and the next 26 days will fly by fashion-wise. Hopefully. Otherwise expect to see a whole lot more this skirt and t-shirt.

(Vince cardigan, Target tee, J.Crew skirt, Coach purse, Frank Gehry for Tiffany Torque earrings, Movado watch, Navajo cuff & James Avery hammered bangle)

rainy days and mondays

2010-06-02T06:51:00.003-05:00

We picked up a celebratory pizza on Monday in honor of the bank holiday and P booking our tickets home (29th June!). Things are going to be crazy between now and then, so we need all the joking and good humor we can get, but I'm so excited I can barely contain myself (clearly). I can't wait to be reunited with our pets (especially my big dog!) and I won't mind having access to my full wardrobe again either. I love London so much and I know the second I'm gone I'll miss it, but I've been really homesick this year (no clue why) so I'll be happy to be done with that. I guess I'm just ready to move on?

Eugenia Kim for Target Striped Equestrian Hat, Target scarf & long-sleeved tissue tee, Dad's army shirt from Vietnam, Seven straight leg stretch jeans, Cole Haan flats, Ciao Bella pizza

a gift of lemons

2010-05-29T13:58:00.002-05:00

London is all kinds of cold and rainy and windy and gross today, keeping us inside and out of fashion.

We ate at this restaurant a few weeks back, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of this bowl of ill-attended lemons that were clearly meant to be decorative, not decayed. I might not have noticed if I hadn't been sitting right beneath them, but as it happens I have an aesthetic fascination with mold and rot which made this very much my kind of thing. A little bit along the lines of a 16th-17th century veritas still life, but by accident rather than design, and just the sort of thing I would love to recreate (as design!) in my home, but for P's penicillin allergy. Alas.

ps~now you can follow us with bloglovin!

2010-05-28T14:31:00.006-05:00

I find ostentatious, posed shots on fashion blogs annoying. Nothing will make me click an escape faster than a pastel-clad "model" that is casually leaping into the air. This doesn't happen in my neighborhood. This isn't the Mary Tyler Moore show. None of us would have been fodder for Herb Ritz's lens and I don't want to give the impression that these pictures are anything more than what they appear to be. This is a simple shot of me snapped in transit to the British Library. I am not about to do a soft-shoe routine. London is a great place to experiment with different looks because no matter how you choose to dress, you won't draw disparaging looks from passers-by. Today I am wearing a dark-wash pair of seven jeans, a cool tie that I found at the paul smith sample sale and my well-traveled onitsuka tiger sneakers and wayfarers. It's a very simple style. The tie jazzes up the oufit, and if you look at the detail shots you will see why. Not bad for a piece that was less than $20.

Zoom on this picture and check out the detailing. Notice the phases of the moon in the pink ring surrounding the moon and stars in night sky.

If you haven't been to London, one of the nice things about this city is the ubiquity of public parks. They make the grime and air pollution almost bearable.

(Banana Republic shirt, Seven Floyd jeans, Paul Smith British Collection tie, Gap belt, Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 sneakers, RayBan Wayfarers)

the elusive mr. p

2010-05-27T17:26:00.002-05:00

(Prada Sport jacket)

ain't no sunshine

2010-05-27T17:14:00.002-05:00

The weather today was not so nice as it has been, but the cooler temperature gave me an excuse to layer up plaid and stripes so I can't complain.

This jacket is another piece from the Paul Smith sample sale that I am really excited about. I loved the style so much (tails! epaulets! a mandarin collar!) that I snagged a heavier one in navy~they were the only two in the whole place and so well cut that I couldn't resist. This blast of cold weather has only served to confirm that decision.

P and I keep trying to figure out if we think it's a hybrid military-equestrian cut or what, but so far none of my google searches has turned up any promising cavalry uniforms. We'll keep looking though (we're both pretty nerdy like that).

These shoes were a bit of a trip as I haven't worn heels since maybe October. It definitely took a little while for me to adjust to being tall. Also walking in wet grass. Hopefully I'll do better next time.

(Paul Smith jacket, Vince cardigan, Target tee, Current/Elliott jeans, Sam Edelman shoes & Coach bag, heirloom jewelry)

the great outdoors

2010-05-24T06:11:00.005-05:00

The park looked so pretty this morning that after I finished photographing P's outfit I decided to wander around a bit and snap some pictures of whatever caught my eye. I'm a little embarrassed to confess that we've been London since October but have only recently begun taking pictures of this gorgeous city. Obviously beautiful photos of London abound so it's not like ours are needed, per se, but lately I'm really drawn to the idea of commemorating the city as we experience it every day. Plus there was a man mowing the lawn as I was walking through and the scent of fresh cut grass is so intoxicating. How could I resist?

I secretly love dead (or dying) flowers as much as fresh ones. The way these preserve their color whilst be walked on really appeals to me.

(I may or may not have lost my balance and trampled some flowers stalking this bee.)

I am not the most discreet person (see above re: clumsy) so I was really hard pressed to get a good picture of this man relaxing on the bench. This was the best I could do before he saw me.

the grey lady

2010-05-23T09:33:00.024-05:00

Even though the sun has finally come out here in London, I'm still down below in the dungeon working on my dissertation for a couple more months. The concrete wall outside my window isn't particularly inspiring, but these pretty cement-colored nail polishes certainly are.

Rimmel London 60 Seconds Polish #805 - Grey Matter; Miss Sporty Lasting Colour Polish #420 - New Black

a new look

2010-05-16T17:03:00.010-05:00

I made an actual effort to get dressed the other day, helped along by this pinstriped trench I picked up at the Paul Smith sample sale.

I wasn't very familiar with Paul Smith before we came to London, but his corporate headquarters is on my walk to school, and there's no ignoring an hour-long line along the sidewalk when it's 35°F outside at 7.00 am. After two rounds, I'm a little obsessed.

The clothes have beautiful, classic tailoring and wonderful attention to detail ~ check out the purple piping and the floral print upper lining! It's a bit cheeky and irreverent too: water-resistant pinstripes? Menswear-inspired, but it makes me want to dress in a very lady-like manner.

I also found this V&A edition of The Little Dictionary of Fashion by Christian Dior in the secondhand section of the bookstore. His advice is timeless and very good:

"Simplicity, good taste and grooming are the three fundamentals of good dressing and these do not cost money. First you must study yourself. Learn to know what suits you and what does not. And study your own needs. Find the colours that flatter you and emphasise your looks." (from the Introduction)

(Paul Smith Black trench, Target scarf, Cole Haan flats, Coach wristlet, vintage pearl and chain necklaces)

exam week

2010-05-16T12:07:00.004-05:00

Sometimes an encouraging shirt and sentimental jewelry can make all the difference.

(Gap for Whitney Biennial shirt designed by Kerry James Marshall, Seven for All Mankind straight leg stretch jeans, heirloom jewelry)