luxury items

Chanel shoes (secondhand), vintage Lucite and plastic bangles, vintage Monet necklace, Seiko watch, vintage ring

Miu Miu pumps

As I try my hardest to avoid cheaply made, chain store clothing bought en masse to soothe some kind of psychological deficiency, I'm turning more and more to consignment shops and sale sites to buy a few, quality pieces in their stead. I've been finding some great designer items bought on the cheap(er) thanks to local sample sales, consignment shops, and of course, the greatest store on earth, the World Wide Web. The Miu Miu pumps on the bottom are from Shop Hers, a new curated ecommerce site where you can buy and sell gently used designer pieces. All items are shipped to the Shop Hers HQ first to ensure authenticity, and then shipped to the buyer. There are some dangerously inexpensive Chanel bags on there. Inexpensive, meaning of course under $2K. Let's hope tax season brings with it a bounty of returns.

Céline (not dion)

 Céline blouse, T by Alexander Wang sweater 

When I bought this vintage Céline blouse from Joy Bianchi's House of Helper's Couture, Joy taught me how to tie the neck sash with the collar up to create a kind of turtleneck ascot look. She told me her mother always used to say that for dinner parties, it's important to get dressed 'from the waist up.' I suppose this advice holds true for work wear as well, since you spend most of your day trapped behind a desk or at a conference table. I like to think this little peek of snaffle-printed silk lends me an air of blue-blooded authority, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

duly noted: Edwardian dresses

Vintage Edwardian dresses via Neon Navajo ($175), VeraVague ($350), Decojumeau Antiques ($125), and Neon Navajo ($200)

Blame it on Downton--I'm suddenly noticing the postwar white cotton ankle skimming dress like, everywhere. BCBG's FW 2013 collection showed a fairly modern version paired with the Fall '13 topper of choice, a wool beanie. An unnamed street style subject paired hers with Charlotte Olympia kitty flats and a classic Chanel bag. And hours of etsy searching has unearthed a few lovely options-- the only catch being that most of them have 22 inch waists and hefty price tags (especially for the sturdier pieces). I may be able to save up, but it's unlikely that I'll ever squeeze into something that small without a can of Crisco, a pair of forceps, and an iron-clad pair of Spanx.

big puffy hearts

wearing J. Crew dress, vintage Monet gold chain

I'm so glad those awkward grade school days are over when you had to give every kid in class a valentine's day card so no one felt left out (Lisa Simpson, I know you feel my pain).  Adulthood brings with it some pretty awkward Valentine's day traditions as well (edible arrangements, edible underwear, $600 Eres crotchless panties) but for the most part, as long as you've got dinner plans and some decent wine, it's smooth sailing.

Hope your day is filled with bon bons and whatever else floats your boat--and if you're feeling really randy, how about this dildo-shaped $10,000 chess set courtesy of Kiki de Montparnasse:

Schwing!

Joy Bianchi's Helper's Couture House

Took a long overdue trip (pilgrimage, really) to Joy Bianchi's world-famous 'Helper's House of Couture'. I had long heard the rumors of the appointment-only Helper's House with its veritable treasure trove of donated vintage designer items, and it did not disappoint. The foyer is all Chanel costume jewelry, the dining room is filled with $10-$99 pieces, and the living room is chock full of vintage shoes, bags, and signed jewelry. Upstairs is an entire room dedicated to black tie formal wear, a small room with seriously drool-worthy vintage furniture, and a bedroom filled to the rafters with dapper men's clothing. To say I was overwhelmed by the entire thing would be an understatement. I pretty much ran around like a madwoman with my pupils dilated and my palms sweaty. I was afraid I'd wake up and it would all be just a dream.
I tried on a deep purple Alexander McQueen dress that could have stopped traffic (and my bank account) but came home with this most magical of items--a vintage Céline blouse. Oh be still, my beating heart:


I want Joy to adopt me and I want to look exactly like her when I grow up. The thick rimmed black glasses are her signature. I also had to snap a picture of the beautiful Camellia she had in her hair--and a picture of her as a young woman on the wall:

And here I am with Joy and my friend Laurel, who I am eternally indebted to for showing me this place. You rock, Laurel!

More items from the shop (ahem, Alaia) after the jump!

2 easy pieces

You know what your Monday needs? Pictures of me pretend-reading and staring into the upper right corner of the ceiling:

Really though, I'm just showing off the lovely doily on my back courtesy of my sister (thanks, Rach!) from my favorite vintage store south of the Mason Dixon line, Lili Vintage in New Orleans. I was having trouble styling it until I realized it doesn't need any styling at all. Any item of clothing that would be quite at home in the Dowager Countess of Grantham's drawing room can stand on its own.

Also very happy I finally caved and got these Sam Edelman suede ankle boots. As predicted, they've become closet MVPs because they're insanely comfortable and go with goddamn everything.

this is 30

wearing vintage I. Magnin jumpsuit via What Poppy Wants, vintage necklace

Don't think its really necessary to offer up some kind of treatise on aging and turning the big 3-0 because I'm not  the first person to reach the milestone and I haven't done that much aging yet. Luckily, I'm not terribly age-phobic, and thus reaching this somewhat arbitrary touchpoint between "adulthood" and Adulthood isn't much more frightening than changing the side I part my hair. Nonetheless, the 30th birthday, through social construct, biology, or a combination of both, seems to loom large in the minds of most twentysomethings. I keep getting asked, 'Do you feel older?' 'Can you believe you're 30?' to which I say, 'I always feel older than I was yesterday,' and 'yes.' I also like to remind people that the alternative to getting older is...not getting older. And no one wants to be dead!

Anyway, long story short I wore the most magical item in my closet out on my birthday and it in no way inhibited me from doing high kicks because it is a JUMPSUIT. So I did high kicks all night and wore plastic animal noses, because sometimes getting older is cause for a little regressive behavior.

2013

I'm not 100% sold on dressing up tonight (it's going to be cold, my feet will hurt, etc.) but luckily I don't have very much in the way of shining metallics and sequins, so the selection process will likely be not that difficult.

In the meantime, I dredged up some looks from New Years' past. That 2010 looks is SO painfully 2010.

2010: Zara shirt, vintage bandage skirt and bag
2011: Vintage dress, belt, necklace, J. Crew headband
2012: Anthropologie pants, Madewell blouse, vintage shoes

santa tracker

wearing J. Crew dress, Uniqlo tights, Banana Republic jacket (super, super old), infinity scarf from Ross (no label), vintage necklace and bangles, Pixie Market shoes

It's the most wonderful time of the year--unless there's a tornado ripping through your local high school. No tornadoes here in California, just a rainy-ass day that bothered me not one bit because I spent it in my pajamas by the fire with my family and boyfriend and Kobe. Got some nice things too, including a Clarisonic (aka a Sonicare for your face) that I can just tell is going to do wonders on my winter-ravaged skin. Later I'll be making pot du creme and stopping by a friend's house for a Christmas birthday celebration. And tomorrow, it's Boxing day! Which means I get to eat Trifle and wear a paper crown. It's not a bad life. Hope yours is chugging along in the same vein.

festive threads

pants via Anthropologie, vintage shell top, Mossimo turtleneck, Sigerson Morrison heels, vintage Bally bag, vintage Monet enameled chain link bracelet, J. Crew headband

With holiday party season in full swing, it's wise to have a few sparkly and/or gilded items hanging around in case you're ever in need of a last-minute cocktail party outfit. This leaves more time for actually celebrating and less time spent in stockings harrumphing over the fact that you have nothing to wear. Also, this headband thingy has become my favorite updo tool and go-to hairstyle for holiday parties. Instructions on how to create this style can be found here. The best part? There are no pins needed. I swears.

gone country

wearing vintage shirt, UO jeans, Pixie Market shoes, Faulenciaga bag

Cowboy shirts: so much less offensive than Native American war princess headdresses. Yeesh. You'd think people would know better by now. You'd also think I'd know better than to wear a wool gabardine shirt to go wedding dress shopping with a friend, but apparently I don't know the meaning of wool gabardine. Anyway, FYI, it's quite warm.

Special photobomb appearance by my friend Annie, who obviously didn't take note of the fact that I was posing and walked right into my photoshoot. Probably because I pose a lot sans camera.

historically accurate

wearing vintage dress and necklace, Chanel shoes, vintage turquoise and silver ring

Inching my way through season 2 of Boardwalk Empire has got me craving lots of filter-free cigarettes in gold cases. Also, the clothes are nice. Channeling the beleaguered Mrs. Schroeder here in this lovely vintage frock, an accidental find from the weekend's Halloween costume hunt. It's not my Halloween costume but it so totally could be. Too bad I'm going to wear it as not a costume. You know, like on a regular Tuesday. 

blue angels

wearing vintage top, Zara pants, Boutique 9 sandals, H&M cuffs, Christian Dior sunglasses

There isn't much anything better than sitting around in a park on an early fall day in San Francisco. I had the pleasure of experiencing just such a day a couple of weekends ago when my sister and her boyfriend were in town from New Orleans. This was armageddon weekend in SF. It was a...penta-fecta (if I may coin a term) of the Giants playing at AT&T park, The Castro Street fair, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Fleet Week, AND the Blue Angels air show. This resulted in a grand cluster fuck of people in nearly every corner of the city as well as a dearth of transportation options. I think it took me 2 1/2 hours to get home on the bus. Good thing I saw my sister SO IT WAS WORTH IT.