lucilleduquette:

yes, i’m back again with the peep-toe boots, like a real hypocrite. i’m still looking for some leather to sew onto a sock, in order to make these look like regular, reasonable, non-peep-toe boots, but i haven’t had much luck so far. i think i might need some other kind of shoe in this color- that’s the part of the boots i find hard to resist. i liked the warm orangey tone with the cool pink skirt.

i really wish i owned a white wrap-around blouse. i borrowed one once from a friend, years ago, and have had an eye out for one since. i was especially wanting one to cover up the elastic waistband of this skirt, but then i realized this button down is baggy enough to make into a faux-wrap, where i safety-pin the front corners behind my back. i know this isn’t exactly rocket science, but i love the way it gave the super baggy shirt a little bit of shape. i’ll be trying this same thing with some of my boyfriend’s shirts.

elizabeth & james blouse, american apparel skirt, ann taylor loft scarf (c/o), prada boots, vintage jewelry

until recently my wardrobe has been sadly lacking in a versatile spring jacket. it’s important to have that extra layer to keep you warm when restaurants crank up the AC too high, or to shield your shoulders from the sun at the park; to throw on over a button-down at work, or over a baggy tee on the weekends. ideally, the perfect spring jacket is something you can ball up and throw in your bag without fear of it coming out looking, well, as if it had been balled up and thrown in your bag. 

at last, I think i have found The One in this ripstop military jacket from LOFT. i’ve already gotten a lot of mileage out of it, so I wanted to show you some of the ways I’ve been styling it.

Look 1: Date Night. this outfit is quite typical of my style- a floaty dress in a pale color, anchored with some heavier accessories. i especially loved the way this wrap-around belt, worn as a bracelet, complimented the style of my lace-up boots. and the fact that my new jacket toned down the sweetness of the dress, and coordinated so well with my beloved pistachio bag was just the icing on the cake.

Look 2: Art Exhibit i don’t mean ‘art exhibit’ in an annoying ‘i am SUCH an ARTIST’ way. what i mean is, i wore this to see a photography exhibit. but actually, i think this outfit is appropriate for most of the things i do day-to-day. i’m all about long skirts lately (no need for shaved legs!), and this one especially because of the sheerness and ruffles. 

all the layers in this outfit give me maximum body temperature control. First the jacket, then my new favorite layering piece- the racerback vest. you’ll be seeing a lot more of this on the blog! And beneath that, a basic slouchy tank (this one comes with a really cool detachable fabric necklace, which i’ll show you later). I also threw on a vintage necklace and gold bangle, and my pyramid cuff.

Look 3: A Walk in the Park. since i’m showing quite a lot of leg in my short-shorts, i like to keep my upper body well covered up. so i layered an older patterned shirt under my jacket. i was quite fond of the way the yellow bag looked with the green jacket.

look 4: Workin It! unfortunately not all of life can be date nights, art exhibit visits, and walks in the park. all too much of the time, i am dressing for a day at work. what I love about this jacket is that i can even wear it around the office- it adds bit of ‘i’m not a wall street drone’ flare to an otherwise dull blouse and pencil skirt combo. then on the way out of the work, i can un-tuck my shirt, throw on the jacket, and not feel embarrassed to meet friends for dinner without going home to change.

so there you have it! at the rate i am going, many more looks with this jacket will be showing up on the blog soon.

look 1: LOFT ripstop military jacket and wrap belt (both courtesy of LOFT), ny&co dress, ann demeulemeester boots, pistachio balenciaga city bag

look 2: LOFT ripstop military jacket, racer back vest, tank top, and pyramid stud cuff (all courtesty of LOFT), vintage skirt, necklace, and bracelet, loeffler randall sandals

look 3: LOFT ripstop military jacket and pyramid stud cuff (both courtesy of LOFT), free people shirt, old navy shorts, prada shoes, zac posen bag

look 4: LOFT ripstop military jacket (courtesy of LOFT), elizabeth & james blouse, uniqlo skirt, marni shoes, balenciaga day bag

ps, remember you can follow noel and i on Live.Love.LOFT this month!

at last, i have some photos to show you of the items i got from mimi’s brook and lyn closet swap! i had never been to a clothing swap before, whether in person or online, so i wasn’t sure what to expect. i wondered if i would like any of the items available. or if everyone in the swap would want the same few things… but mimi did a great job choosing the swap items, and in the end, the problem was moreso that i liked EVERYTHING.

the first item i HAD TO HAVE was this vintage oscar de la renta jacket. the entire thing is embroidered in very fine threads, so it has a gorgeous texture up close. i also like that it has a heart print, but in a somewhat abstracted way so it isn’t too cutesy.

when i brought home my swap items, excited as a kid on christmas morning, my boyfriend was not sufficiently impressed. he saw my perfect new jacket and said “well well well. what does my little high-school art teacher have here?” i may have mentioned before, but he likes to describe some of my looks as either “lonely librarian” or “high-school art teacher”. i’m not necessarily offended by either one, to be honest. 

so for this outfit, i tried to think about how a high-school art teacher might wear this very jacket. i put on my vintage fish perfume necklace, and then figured that wasn’t enough for an art teacher. so i added this big medallion necklace, which i think is from bcbg, but i’m not sure- it’s really old. then i piled on my everyday bracelets, plus a few extras… and voila.

i was a little stuck on what kind of footwear a high school art teacher wears. but since i was doing a lot of walking, i just chose these comfy chloe wedges.

if only i had some artistic talents, i’d be good to go!

since i’ve worn this jacket twice now, i figured i’d show you photos from both occasions. here’s a closer look at the jacket, where you can see the embroidery a little more clearly. it is amazing.

while my first outfit was inspired by my idea of an art teacher, this one was inspired by daphne of jolie-laide, one of my favorite blogs- she’s the original owner of the jacket. by the way, look HERE to see daphne wearing the issey miyake top that i contributed to the swap! those photos made me so happy- i loved that shirt, but could never pull it off, and seeing her looking so fantastic in it makes me glad i decided to give it up.

so anyway, this outfit is perhaps ‘loosely’ inspired by daphne, in that, i’m wearing pants and trying not to be overly girly. in planning what to wear, i thought to myself ‘WWDD?’, and knew that she would not wear the jacket with a poofy white skirt. since i don’t have many pants options to choose from, i went with these jcrew paint-splattered scout chinos (which, by the way, are $20 in the store as of a few weeks ago, and very comfy). i chose a bag that i know daphne approves of, and some shoes i think she would like… and then i cheated and put on a poofy white shirt with a big bow on it. oh well.

and like a real creepster, i am even wearing some ysl lipstick that daphne told me to buy! you can see it better in the 1st set of pics, but it’s a nice sheer red that seems to stay on all day, even through meals. 

here’s a closer look at my vintage ysl shoes- they are dark purple velvet. i love the idea of wearing such a luxurious, wintery fabric on a sandal. it doesn’t really make sense… in a good way. also, these are insanely comfy, and were insanely cheap. win!

so, there you have it. don’t forget to enter our sock theory giveaway in the post below, if you haven’t yet! i’ll be back on friday to post yet another of my swap goodies, and to announce the winner of the giveaway.

outfit 1: vintage oscar de la renta jacket, gap dress, vintage perfume necklace, bcbg necklace, vintage bracelets, chloe booties

outfit 2: vintage oscar de la renta jacket, elizabeth & james blouse, jcrew pants, balenciaga bag, vintage ysl sandals

i don’t know about you, but when i find a piece of clothing that i’ve been thinking about for a long while, i wear it ALL THE TIME. this is probably obvious considering the number of times you’ve seen me in my furry vest. now, let me introduce you to my new BFF: nude boots.

here i am, jumping for joy because i adore them so.

i love ankle boots, but often find them unflattering on me because they cut off my lower legs at their widest point. with nude boots, i don’t think it’s as much of a problem- they’re a bit more slimming.

another benefit is that they go with EVERYTHING.. or at least, with all the many, many colors i wear: black, grey, white, cream, ivory, etc. etc.

obviously my la perla robe is another of my clothing BFFs lately. and DIY ruching. i tend to ignore this Gap dress (which is really a beach cover-up) because it’s a little too sack-like. a couple weeks ago i tried stitching some ruching into the dress to give it more shape- i like it a lot more now.

i also added a cloth flower that’s been sitting around my apartment waiting to adorn something. i was inspired by bygone philip lim rosette dresses that i have always lamented not possessing, assuming them impossible to find. but JUST WAIT till you see what i post later in the week!!!!

anyway, back to the magical boots: they even make me feel more excited about wearing jeans, which are one thing i very seldom like to wear. this pair is my current favorite- they are from Pac Sun, and were my DIY project at the Weardrobe conference.

i sewed on patches from other pairs i had cut off at various lengths, as well as some denim donations from the Glamourai.

right now the back pockets are mis-matched. i’m trying to decide which one i prefer.

and yeah, i fully realize this skin-tight see-through shirt is not appropriate to wear ANYWHERE, but for the past month it has been my weekend BFF shirt. someone should hide it from me so i can’t even be tempted anymore.

outfit 1: elizabeth & james shirt, h&m sequin skirt, rachel leigh fish necklace, vintage michel perry boots

outfit 2: reworked gap dress, la perla bathrobe worn as sweater, target blazer, vintage fur scarf, vintage michel perry boots, ysl bow bag

outfit 3: lace free people shirt, DIY pac sun jeans, catherine malandrino cardigan, vintage michel perry boots, miu miu camoscio tie dye bag