lucilleduquette:

here we have my poor-man’s version of the marc jacobs runway looks posted here. i tried to maintain some of the sense of volume, and some of the colors. i wish this uniqlo skirt came in some bright shades, because i’d probably buy them all (i promise after today i’ll stop posting this skirt so much). 

anyway, i know this isn’t going to pass for MJ, but i was happy with the approximation, especially because everything was fairly inexpensive. the skirt is from the jill sander for uniqlo collection, and the shirt is h&m. the minute i saw it, it made me think of the marc runway show, but i can also think of a million other ways i want to style it- including a likely-to-be MDAL look with my high-waisted velvet shorts. 

i felt the need for a thick obi belt around my waist, but i don’t own one. the best i could do was cutting a piece from some scrap fabric noel gave me, and tying it around my waist. seeing it made me want to find a real obi belt. i know there are lots of google-able patterns for making your own obi belt out of fabric or leather with velcro, so i may give that a try. or, more likely, i’ll buy an obi belt on etsy or ebay out of laziness.

do you have any runway styles flagged for reinterpretation? 

h&m blouse, uniqlo +j skirt, vintage ysl sandals, zac posen bag

this post is actually coming from you live tuesday night.  this week, i’m off on a work trip meeting with customers, with no time to post during the day.  luckily, i was able to sneak in some photos of the event at cynthia rowley my dear friend annie had tonight. 

first of all, i was coming from meeting with a work client where the dress code is unusually stiff and conservative.  joelle and i keep a ‘work closet’ at our office filled with our most boring dresses, skirts and tops…so that just in case we accidentally forget to dress up, we’re plenty prepared for any impromptu meetings that we forget about.

this was a dress of joelle’s that i borrowed from our closet. i’m so freaked out by what is appropriate ‘business-wear’ (since i rarely have to do it) i put on this dress this morning, which was very fitting and curvy, but literally came up to my collarbone, and down to my knees.  for daytime, i covered it up with a very modest cardigan, a no-nonsense necklace, and some very sensible black wedges.  i got this ‘stare’ from my boyfriend though, and blurted out, “what??  do i look slutty?” i don’t think i could be any more wholesome if i was wearing a doily covered turtleneck with lace trim. 

going straight from work to the cynthia rowley outing, i needed some creative accessories to go from corporate-office-nun to something more presentable.  so i brought a pair of crazy heels, threw out the cardigan, and put on a much more dramatic necklace.  you could hardly tell that i’d been sitting in a room talking about the psycholinguistic value of making software more conversational just hours prior.

so the event itself was really great!  cynthia rowley is so sweet and charming!  she had some fantastic stuff in the shop and we had so much fun trying on everything.  in the end i decided on a cute red bow ring, and some nautical bangles.  (coming soon).  i also found a great pair of strappy sandals, but was saddened to find out they’re not available yet — coming soon for next spring! 

banana republic dress, michael kors heels, vintage necklace & bangle, marc jacobs bracelet, casio watch

last week, i noticed this cute, khaki colored shirt sitting in the ‘outgoing’ pile, leftover from a recent cleaning out of rick’s closet.  i immediately picked it up, put it on and swished around my apartment in my new shirt.  his reasoning was that it made him feel ‘too much like a zoo keeper.’  one zoo keeper’s trash is a another woman’s treasure. 

and keeping with the zookeeper/safari theme, i discovered that the shirt matches perfectly with this zebra skirt.  honestly, i put them all together because they were the lightest and coolest clothes i could find to wear in this sweltering heat. 

the bag was one of the items i picked up this weekend in a massive thrifting hunt all over long island.  starting out really early on saturday morning, we bounced around from town to town, seeking thrifted treasures.  i found so much good stuff!  this tooled leather bag was one of the, for only $5!  i’m sad that the weathered strap broke almost immediately after walking out of the door, and i had to make due with wrapping my camera strap around the flap….but i think i actually liked it better that way.

and i’m so excited about the other stuff i found, i couldn’t wait to share.  first, was this entire set of ….thrifted socks…in these amazing colors from the 80s? 50s? 60s? at first, i was a bit hesitant.  i’ve picked up questionable vintage things before, but socks?  but these were all packaged up…and still brand new in their little box, and how could i resist all of these colors! 

and some of my other finds….these amazing sunglasses for $5 a pair!  and this little leather pouch which i’m planning to make into a necklace.

and last, but not least…..in the past few months i became somewhat obsessed with typewriters.  once i found out that they sometimes type in cursive (!) i was on the hunt for the perfect typewriter.  i fell in love with the mint green hermes 3000, which is absolutely stunning, and can type in cursive.  i stalked some on ebay, but these things go for $300 - $400!  i ended up buying an adorable remington, that has the cutest cursive font (along with 2 other typewriters…eek!).  so, you could not understand how happy i was when we were at a barn sale and rick said, noel, come over here…..

….and there was an adorable mint green hermes rocket portable typewriter!  and for $20!  i snatched it up and literally skipped out of there.  it’s a little sad because it’s regular font, not cursive……but it is tiny and light and GREEN.  i’m planning to throw out my laptop and just take this thing to coffee shops.  people won’t mind my clacking, right?

h&m zookeeper shirt - men’s; h&m skirt, thrifted purse, belt & sunglasses, self-designed multi-chain necklace, thrifted frye sandals, marc jacobs braclet, popko glitter ring

it is super hot in nyc right now, and while joelle’s out covered in velvet and shawls, i’m taking a more practical approach and wearing the lightest, sheerest things i can get my hands on. 

this silk skirt, also worn here, is one that i took from a long frumpy length to a shorter mini length.  it’s a vintage one i picked up a while back, but i just noticed today that it’s made by pendleton!  who knew pendleton did silk??  AND it has pockets. 

and today’s post title is inspired by this lovely bag, a little vintage treasure.  when you’ve got things to do, this is obviously the bag to carry.  and obviously those things that i have to do is go grocery shopping, talk on the phone and sail on my boat.  

and finally, here’s a closeup of my lavender nail polish which i’ve felt sort of self-conscious about wearing while leading Serious Meetings at work this week.  although it’s kind of fun to look down and see 10 spots of purple. 

ok, a quick post because i’m ready to get out nyc and head for the beach.  have a great weekend!!

vintage pendleton skirt (modified), h&m tank, vintage heels, marc jacobs ring, superretrofuture sunglasses, necklace courtesy of loft, vintage skinny bracelet, f21 wide bracelet, fingernail polish is american apparel l’esprit

as joelle mentioned on friday, we spent the weekend out in the country lounging on the beach, eating lots of pie and doing a TON of puzzling.  and with perfect summertime weather, i wanted to wear something cool and airy….and put together this skirt and shirt which are very calivintage-inspired.

the shirt is vintage and skirt is something i picked up from the american apparel sale on gilt.  i wasn’t sure about the fit of the skirt at first, but then changed my mind when i paired it with the belt. 

although the shoes are by far my favorite purchase recently.  they are handmade by a little shop called golden ponies.  !  how often do you find a pair of handmade shoes??  and for much cheaper than you’d find oxfords in a store!  i think they are adorable.  they are pretty much like leather keds, and they come in an assortment of colors.  i started with the white, but am thinking about getting a few different colors. 

vintage shirt, american apparel skirt via gilt, golden ponies handmade oxfords, belt courtesy of loft, marc jacobs bracelet