nevernude

1 Gina platform sandal $450GBP

2 Derek Lam silk ruffle a-line tank $1,590

3 Topshop oversize slouch tee $18GBP

4 3.1 by Phillip Lim tapered silk trousers $290GBP

5 Lanvin ballet flats $349 EUR

6 Acne Bagera dress $335

7 Sergio Rossi slouchy leather boot $990

8 Herve Leger Melanie bandage dress $1,650

Lately, I'm entirely taken with the idea of nude, buff, and beige clothing. Unfortunately, my skin has a lot of yellow undertones to it, and the wrong color can make me look like I'm suffering from a particularly stubborn case of jaundice, especially in the winter months when I'm lacking a healthy tan.

Nonetheless, I'm no nevernude (like Tobias Funke) and I'm still willing to give the trend a try for spring, provided I find some truly well-made pieces that won't break the (perilously empty) bank. Clearly, none of the gems in the collage above fall into that category. So sad...

I did, however, manage to shop today at my favorite thrift store, Black and Brown. I have a great little symbiotic thing going where I'll sell back some of my clothes and use the store credit to come home with new goodies. Expect an outfit post tomorrow, but here's what I adopted:

This totally adorable, slightly tacky 90's dress with chains in the back and Chanel-esque pearl buttons. 

This oversized red sweater that makes me feel like I'm wearing a fashionable bathrobe. AND it has pockets, AND it was $9.
This oversized cardigan. I really bought it because the putty grey color reminds me of the Cushnie et Ochs FW09 collection. Now I need tights and a skirt in the same shade.
That's all! Now hopefully I can coerce my boyfriend into taking some uber artistic shots of me in my new duds tomorrow.

shopping my boyfriend's closet

FMC motorcycle jacket, Bloomingdales men's plaid shirt, Forever21 l/s tee, J Brand jeans, DIY studded Zara booties, vintage bracelets, Timex watch

I am a very lucky girl. Not only do I have a boyfriend with impeccable taste, but he's also very close to my size. Thus, closet-raiding is something I treat myself to on the regular, and on any given day I might be wearing one of his perfectly cozy grandpa cardigans, a tweed fedora, or any other tidbit I manage to excavate from his labrythian closet. My latest acquisition is this plaid button-down he got at Bloomingdales a long time ago when he was still a wee lad. Lucky for me, it no longer fits properly over his big man-muscles, so its new home is in my closet. Love, no?

Oh, and I hope everyone managed to catch the cycle 12 premiere of ANTM (America's Next Top Model for the uninitiated). I hadn't realized how much I missed hearing Tyra talk about herself and dispense life advice until I gleefully partook in the two-hour viewing last night. Ty Ty baby, don't ever stop being exactly who you are.

ghd (good hair day)

Seeing as how I'm wearing the most boring outfit imaginable today (jeans and a grey t-shirt...snore) I thought I'd do a hair post. Now, anyone who knows me knows that my hair is the bane of my existence. It's unnaturally fine, and pretty thin on top of that. In addition, I've had incidents with unexplainable hair loss (i.e. chunks falling out that actually left a bald spot) so I'm always watching it like a hawk waiting for something catastrophic to happen. But its actually been pretty happy lately, and today I treated it to a home made hair mask that I swear works wonders, especially for fine hair that tends to be a little oily and prone to buildup. I got the recipe out of an old issue of Bazaar and I've used it a couple of times. If you're ever bored at home and want to try it out, here's the 'recipe':

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons vodka

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 avocado

Mix ingredients together as well as you can (otherwise you'll have avocado chunks in your hair that can be pretty hard to get out) and apply to clean towel-dried hair. Leave on for at least 15 minutes (the original article suggests 30, but by that time the avocado/vodka mixture is usually dripping down my neck) and shampoo and condition as usual. Voila! The vodka is the really essential ingredient for me. It removes oil and product buildup and leaves my hair so shiny and full of body! It's as close to "hair commercial-hair" as I'm going to get...

new shoes (shhhh...)

Ok, I caved the other night and did something very, very, very bad:

Before you judge me for being a blight on the economy and a waste of hardworking taxpayer money, let me just be clear about two things: first, I may be indirectly funneling taxpayer dollars into a pair of shoes now and then, but if anything I'm the solution the economy needs right now (just give me money, I promise I'll spend it) and secondly, they were only $15. 

I have discovered amiclubwear, a website whose design aesthetic falls somewhere in between Hot Topic and Wet Seal--on cocaine. In short, it's the most brilliant source ever for flashy whore shoes that won't set you back more than $25. I would be happy to take any of the following styles home with me:

clockwise from top left: Black gladiator wedge, $12.99; Beige oxford peep-toe, $5.99; Peep toe ankle strap platform, $24.99; Buckle platform ankle boot, $34.99; T-strap platforms, $25.99; Platform peep-toe heel, $19.99 

I ended up choosing these gold stunners though because I love the crackled metallic finish and the little platform in the front. I want to wear them with thick woolly black tights and an airy white minidress that I don't actually own at this point in time...I better look into that.

stud-ing

You'll never believe it. I suddenly got this totally unique idea to add studs to a pair of old Zara boots that haven't gotten any play for the past year or so. I know, I'm so innovative! I predict copycats springing up all over the blogosphere within days. Just know this: you saw it here first.*

*note sarcasm

Oh, and here are a couple of pics of what I wore out to my roommate's birthday on Saturday night. I figured if there ever was an appropriate time to dress like an 80s hooker/Kelly Bundy impersonator, it's when you're going for karaoke in the Castro. No one bats an eye.

tank: H&M

skirt: vintage

belt: vintage (mom's)

shoes: Pour La Victoire

bra: Urban Outfitters corset bra

on right wrist: Lisa Levine bracelet, Timex watch

on left wrist: vintage silver cuff, Urban Outfitters leather cuff, necklace worn as bracelet

earrings: gift from Morocco

necklace: skeleton key on vintage silver chain

rings: Forever 21, vintage