Shiny Shoe Sunday

One of the great benefits of California weather is that you can pretty much wear everything in your closet year round. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with daytime looks that incorporate cropped sweaters and crop-tops, making them more appropriate by wearing over a dress or tunic.

Here, I’ve worn an AYR shirtdress over my favorite Chimala jeans and added a crop top to define the waist. I put this look together specifically to wear with my new Sophia Webster x J. Crew sandals, which I just scored on super sale at J. Crew. Since the sandals are really reflective, I wanted a simpler, more relaxed look everywhere else. Also pictured, one of my favorite color combos of late: navy and coral (on the lips). 

OUTFIT DETAILS - AYR tunic; Nasy Gal Sweater; Chimala Denim; Sophia Webster x J. Crew Sandals; Everlane Petra Bag; NARS Niagara Lipstick

Short-Haired Blues

I’ve talked about uniform dressing and how important I think it is to developing your “lewk”. This outfit is definitely one of my uniforms – last year I wore this three-shoulder vest so much that people would comment when I wasn’t wearing it. I was like a child with their blanky. 

So I was naturally surprised when I reviewed my shots of this outfit and struggled to find even a single usable image that I liked. Could my passion for one of my beloved uniforms be cooling?!? After making several passes through all of my shots, I ultimately came to the conclusion that it’s my hair that I’m in hate with and not the look. You see, I shot these photos about three weeks ago – the day after getting a bleach and cut.

One of the challenges that all short-haired women will commiserate with each other about is the “haircut sweetspot”. I think women who have bangs also will know what I’m talking about. Basically, what happens is this:
- you go and get your normal haircut and feel for two weeks that your hair is too short and it makes your stupid face look too stupid  >:-(
- after two weeks and one day go by, you will be in love with your hair. It now frames your face just so, making you feel feminine again! 
- after four weeks and one day, your hair will be a poofy mess that you have no control of! It will form curly wings all over your head and try to fly off while you aren’t watching it! Bad hair, Bad!
- On week 5, you go visit your beloved colorist and stylist and repeat the process all over again. 

This is the short hair cycle. By the way, I think men always have short hair problems and that is why many of the ones I know go for a haircut every three weeks.

OUTFIT DETAILS - Harput’s Three Hole Leather Vest; Velvet by Graham & Spencer Long Sleeve Tunic; Helmut Lang Leggings; Express Sandals; Jewelmint knuckle ring; J Crew necklace; & Other Stories clutch

Tank Leather

Over the past two years I’ve been on a journey to drastically simplify my closet. The real catalyst for this journey was a space limitation that occurred when my sweetie and I moved in together. We went from living separately in large downtown apartments in Austin to living together in a small studio with a closet built for one. Since the move, I can easily say that my wardrobe is about 1/5^th the size that it was 3 years ago in Austin. But the simplification really has been a benefit, because it’s forced me to examine and define the way that I want to look and ensure that each piece that I buy will be a workhorse that supports that aesthetic. 

One of the ways I’ve been rebuilding my wardrobe around fewer, better things is to look for diverse pieces to layer over basics. I look for vests, tube tops, corsets, and tanks that can be layered in non-standard ways. Here, I’ve taken a leather tank top that I scored on super sale from (Kate Spade) Saturday and layered over a minidress. You could achieve a similar look by layering any structured top (like a brocade or leather tank, crop top, or corset) over a bodycon dress. Lately, I’ve been wearing this tank over long-sleeved tunic tees and shirt dresses. I think this pairing over an American Apparel turtleneck dress is a great pairing for date nights. For a work appropriate look, I just wear the same thing over cropped trousers. 

OUTFIT DETAILS - American Apparel Dress; Kate Spade Saturday Leather Tank; Everlane Clutch; Calvin Klein Boots; J Crew Necklace & Cuff; NARS Roman Holiday Lipstick

Sweatshirt Weather

OUTFIT DETAILS - Kenzo Sweatshirt; Everlane Shirt; J Crew Necklace; Renvy Skirt; Marc by Marc Jacobs bag; Maison Martin Margiela rings; NARS Timanfaya Lip Pencil

On Track

OUTFIT DETAILS - Sweater: American Apparel; Pants: Vince; Shoes: Renvy; Bag: & Other Stories; Bracelets: Giles & Brother, Linea Pelle; Rings: Luv AJ

Blue Red

Dreary weather here in San Francisco still. I usually dress pretty dark and designerly, but today called for a bright pop. For me, that usually comes from the lipstick.

I love this old Rouge In Love shade from Lancome. I fell for it when I saw Emma Watson wearing it in an ad. Advertising totally works on me. That or Emma Watson does.

I’m also practically living in the new Everlane cashmere tunics. I got this grey one and a black one. This is probably the first outfit I’ve shared with them, but I’ve been wearing them over dresses, tunics and pants, and as pictured. I can be very uniform oriented in the way I dress when I get in a rut, and these are quickly becoming my new uniform. I may order more, as back ups.

One of my favorite styling tricks is to vary the length of layers. Here what I’ve done is wear the shorter layer over the longer, boxier top to nip in the waist just enough to indicate the figure. I typically prefer to wear the shorter layer over the longer when I wear pants. Then I’ll reverse that for skirts, wearing a miniskirt with a longer cardigan, for example.

I wasn’t sure that the oxblood and the purple would play well together. Now that I look back on the photos, though, I would wear this lipstick + jacket combo again. Oxblood and purple both have blue in them, so I think as long as the rest of your face and outfit is neutral that it isn’t an overwhelming combo.  

OUTFIT DETAILS - Sweater: Everlane; Jacket: Theory; Leggings: Helmut Lang; Shoes: Express; Bag: Givenchy; Rings: Maison Martin Margiela; Necklace: Elizabeth & James; Lips: Lancome Rouge In Love