Can I please escape this last day of the week in my poofy princess skirt?
A mom-pants look for Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day all you badass mommas out there!
OUTFIT DETAILS: J. Crew jacket; Vince tank; Dylan Lex necklace; RetroSuperFuture sunglasses; Gap pants; Kate Spade shoes; Celine bag; Alexis Bittar bracelets
Back to Basics
I’ve been going through a bit of change in my on-duty life over the past few weeks. I started a new job that is full of opportunity, but in typical startup-fashion that opportunity comes with a bit of growing pain and discomfort. I know that the “juice will be worth the squeeze” when it comes down to it, though.
When I have disruptions in my life, I have this awful tendency to forget the discipline and order that I need to keep me healthy. So some of the great habits I had been working towards earlier in the year have fallen off a bit in the past two months in favor of working late nights and weekends.
As I’ve been searching to get more equilibrium back in my life, I’ve sort of rediscovered a great, reliable old friend in The Gap. When I was growing up, The Gap was THE cool place to shop. At the time, Austin didn’t have major department stores or high-end boutiques, so mid-market darlings like Abercrombie, Old Navy, and The Gap were our venues. Somehow, in recent years I’ve completely forgotten about my bread-and-butter brands in favor of building my closet up with high-end labels.
When I popped into the store to pick up these joggers, I did a bit of browsing and found so many other great items (which will all be making appearances later), including a really nice oxblood leather skirt. I put together a Pinterest board of some of the women’s items that I snagged recently. Here, I’m just putting a bit of polish on the sporty joggers by wearing them with mesh shoe-booties and simple jewelry.
OUTFIT DETAILS – T by Alexander Wang Pocket T, Gap twill joggers, Renvy booties, Givenchy Pandora bag, Gillian Julius bracelet; NARS Cruela lip pencil; Ray Ban sunnies
Follow Designer Off Duty’s board Spring Picks from Gap on Pinterest.
Feeling Spring
I’ve been really ‘feeling Spring’ over the past week while the sun has been shining bright in San Francisco. The temperature hasn’t quite caught up to the sun’s enthusiasm, though. So I’ve been searching for outfits that will keep me warm when I venture outside but also be light enough that I don’t feel too swaddled.
Layering my Everlane sleeveless turtlenecks over tunics and jogger pants has been the perfect option for me. To get just a bit of polish, here I’ve chosen a silk jogger with leather striping and paired them with a high-heeled bootie.
OUTFIT DETAILS - Velvet by Graham & Spencer Tunic; Everlane Chunky Knit Sleeveless; Vince Joggers; Calvin Klein Platform Booties; Jewelmint Rings; & Other Stories Clutch; NARS Roman Holiday Lipstick
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