Once again the seasons are changing and I am starting to put away my tank tops and sandals and pull out my sweaters. And like every year I am thinking of what I want to update my wardrobe from last year. Here are a list of a few of things I am considering….
A great weatherproof, super warm coat.
Taking the bus to work totally sucks when it turns cold and rainy (or snowy!) here in Seattle. Last year I got a down coat for Christmas and while it was warm it wasn’t really weather proof, and as a result did not survive to be worn again this year. I need something industrial strength yet still stylish. In the movie “” Renee plays a very stylish big city girl who is forced to relocate to very cold Minnesota for work. Since she is super stylish and is filmed wearing NorthFace coats, I am guessing there aren’t any designers that have made ultra-warm outdoorsy coats (well I haven’t found one). So I am leaning towards NorthFace or Patagonia (and designers, if you hear me, please see if you can’t make something both cold weather functional and more stylish–please!).
And if I didn’t have to buy one of these more functional cold weather coat, I would be longing for a bright yellow or red coat.
Here are the two options I am considering:
North Face Parka
Patagonia Parka
A fur (faux, of course) vest.
Rachel Zoe totally inspired me on this one. In fact she did almost a year ago! I love the way she styles the flowly blouse boho look with a cute furry vest. I have a cute cropped vest that I love but it is actually hard for me to wear–I think it is much better for women a little less curvy on top. However, I think I could definitely work a longer version!
Here are 3 great options (all of which I would love) — the first is Joie “Mongola” Faux Fur Vest ($318 from Bloomingdales), the second is a fur vest from Rachel Zoe’s Collection from QVC ($79.80, was $106), and finally Damselle Faux Lynx Fur Vest ($98 from Nordstrom)
A cute pair of booties
I have one pair of black leggings and a pair of black “patent leather” leggings (they aren’t real leather, just look like it) and I heart the look of leggings with ankle booties. Heart. I want to get a cute pair of booties and some leggings (and then probably some tunics) to wear this winter. Although leggings (like skinny jeans) may not be the best look for my body type, so I may end up just wearing the boots under wide leg pants and jeans (at least you can get leggings real cheap so I can at least take this look for a test drive).
Here are a very cute pair (and they are flat!) in blue suede ($50, marked down from $75) — I just love the color. It would look great with all black outfit. The one downside is these would be so hard to dress up — even with black pants and a black top I am not sure it could be made into a work-ready look.
Blue Suede Boots (very Elvis)
And I love this pair from nine west. ($109) They have a super cute zipper in the back, and the gray color is a such an awesome neutral. And these could easily been worn to work, or with jeans, or with a skirt, or with….(lots and lots of options).
Gray Leather Booties
These boots are so tough ($121)! I love all the little zippers. They have a great edge to them and would look so fabulous paired with anything floral (very ironic — and I love any style that is contrasty like contrasting colors and styles, etc). Although I should caveat that I probably won’t buy these (as cute as they are) because I own one pair of Report shoes, and even though they are beautiful they are so uncomfortable I have only worn them once. Maybe if I could try them on I might reconsider, but it isn’t worth the hassle to order online.
Zipper Booties
Anything else?
I also want some more chunky knit sweaters, maybe some embellished flats, and I could use some more stylish tops. But the other thing I want is to keep saving my money — unemployment is still high and it still isn’t clear when the economy is going to recover. Soooo, who knows what I will end up actually buying.
Happy shopping!
my functional shoes
So I am having a bit of a fashion crisis at the moment.
About a year ago I posted about my plans to transition to take the bus instead of paying the outrageous parking costs. Well it was a successful experiment as I am still taking the bus, and I really like it (for the most part–touching the hand rails and seats still grosses me out and I will never grow accustomed to it).
However, I have started to notice that my fabulous style has declined dramatically:
- I used to always wear high heels–now I still wear high heels in the office, but have opted for a more “functional” shoe for my commute (these tend to be flip flops, flats, or ugg boots).
- These new “flat” shoes have resulted in opting for shorter hem pants, or pants that can get a little bit wrinkled or dirty (from sitting on the seats and walking through the city).
- I have to carry a big 15 inch laptop (== heavy && doesn’t fit into the cute purse-like laptop bags) which means I can’t take my super cute handbag.
- I also bring my lunch (another good way to save money and watch the waistline) but it is another thing that has to be carried (and has the potential to leak–especially salad dressings or fruit).
- Since I live in Seattle (where it is frequently quite cold and rainy) I have been opting for more “functional” jackets than my very pretty stylish coats of the past (that just don’t work that well to keep the elements at bay)
This makes me sad because I have gone from glamorous to frumpy in a short few months. What made this all hit home was as I was walking into the office one day this week I saw a guy I used to to be a coworker of mine, and I was so ashamed of how I looked I hid.
Literally, I ducked behind a mailbox and hoped he didn’t see me.
He did; and we talked (I made the excuse I dropped something by the way when he looked at my skeptically bending behind the mailbox), and since he is a guy he probably never noticed what I was wearing. BUT, it hit a point home–I really need to do something to address my sloppy “bus” fashion–and pronto.
Ladies, the next time you are on a date don a red ensemble. Based on a study done at the University of Rochester men are more attracted to women wearing the color red. Men tend to percieve women in this color to be more desirable of more sexually attractive.
I don’t own anything in red except for two pairs of shoes. This means it is time for me to start looking for a hot red date dress 
Some of us girls could always use a little more help.
On a side note, I wonder how this would impact business or the work environment. They say that more attractive people tend to be more successful–so if you have an important business meeting would wearing red make a difference? Perhaps, although it may not be a “good” thing. Of course this begs the question “Is being feminine and sexy an advantage or disadvantage in the work place?” That is a question I wish I knew the answer to…..
Interesting food for thought.
Source.
One of the things I read when I was perusing Rachel Zoe’s style tips, was that one way to jazz up any outfit is with the right jewelry (so obvious I know). But one of the ways she suggested doing this on the cheap was with cute vintage, or inexpensive resin or acrylic bracelets. So recently Hautelook had a sample sale for Amrita Singh’s jewelry (although her site has some great bargains if you miss the sample sale) and I decided to buy myself a few little bracelets. I spent about $125 and got myself a whole slew of things (on Hautelook their shipping is $11.95 so you really have to order at least $100 worth of stuff to make it worth it in my opinion).
I will be sure to update this post on quality etc, since I have never bought this brand of jewelry, but I figured they must be alright since so many celelbrities are caught wearing them and the designs are always featured in magazines. Here is a peek at my purchases:
Last night I was on my way home from Seattle Geek Girl Dinner and I decided to drop into Target to pick up a teasing brush. While I was there I decided to shop a little and hit up the clothing (it is a recession and Target is cheaper than Nordstrom) and Christmas (because I love the holidays) departments. I was so happy to discover Target’s new Limited clothing line. It is some special edition Target clothes and all the pieces seemed well made and looked really high quality. Since they had just come in that morning (one of the helpful Target employees informed me) there was actually some cute pieces in my size–I was thrilled.
I bought two tops–one for a pretty purple top with lattice cut outs for $24.99 (and it really looks expensive) and one for a long sleeve black jersey top for $19.99, and I wore the purple blouse to work today and everyone kept telling me how nice I looked.
The have the collection online here.
If I can only have one item for Christmas this year it would be these YSL Ankle Booties. I am currently in the market for a cute pair of shooties or booties to wear with tights and skirts (my favorite “right now” fashion trend) so when I spotted these YSL booties I immediately started crushing. I have never worn YSL shoes so I have no idea if they are comfortable, or even wearable, but they are platforms so they have to be a little more comfortable than straight up stillettos. Of course at the $1,070 price tag I hope they are comfortable. They come in patent leather, and croc embossed leather (I want the black patent leather ones). I have included a picture of the booties below!
So right now Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft are having a “Friends and Family Sale”, these typically mean that friends and family get the equivalent of an employee discount for some point of time (and in Ann Taylor’s case that means 30% off). Ann Taylor makes great “grown-up” clothes that are well made and almost always work appropriate. Whenever I shop there I feel like I am actually adult–it is the opposite feeling I get when I shop in Forever 21.
So even though I have been super busy at work and haven’t had any time to go shopping, I spent last night relaxing with my laptop doing a little bit of online retail therapy. I have really been into boots and tights lately (particularly because I just bought two pairs of knee high boots–and decided to keep both pairs), so I have been shopping with an eye for skirts and dresses I can wear to work. [I am also on the lookout for some booties but am trying to keep my spending under control.] Thanks to Ann Taylor’s special discount I scored some great finds all for under $150 including tax and shipping–so now when the package arrives I will have 3 new things to wear with my boots.
Here is what I purchased:
When I first started dating my boyfriend my good friend took him aside and said “You have to buy her some real jewelry–all she wears is that cheap fashion stuff, she needs real jewelry.” Well part of the reason I never bought real jewelry was because I had a hard time spending a lot of money on one little thing. Of course if you buy nice jewelry it can go up in value and therefore be like an investment (and hell, given the economy and recent stock market performance you would have been better off buying diamonds than stocks the last few years) but I still have a hard time buying expensive pieces. One place I have found though, that I just love is Swarovski crystal jewelry.
When I first heard of Swarovski it was in reference to those little crystal figurines you find in old people’s collections of cats, deers and bears. Although over the last few years Swarkovski has been heard in compbination with fancy designer clothing, as the little crystals that adorn on all kinds of dresses, tops and accessories. So I was a bit surprised to find out when one of my fabulous friends was wearing this cool chain pendant and she told me it was from Swarovski–I had no idea they made jewelry. Well they do, and the best part is that it is chic, glittery and won’t break the bank. Plus a lot of the designs are so basic and sophisticated they make great gifts (especially for mothers and grandmothers). The jewelry comes in the sophisticated navy boxes, emblazened with the Swarovski label and logo–very classy.
Here are some pictures of some of my faves (you can buy all these pieces online):
Rachel Zoe. I seriously love her. She gets lots of criticism in the media–she has a famed fued with Vogue editor Anna Wintour, and Perez Hilton, one of my favorite celebrity bloggers, often writes posts about her that are less than flattering–but I love her. Besides being an entrepreneur–she started out as a fashion editor at YM and then went on to start her own business as a stylist to the celebrities–she is so stylish and fashionable.
She recently had her own reality show, the Rachel Zoe Project, and though I only got to see one episode I really liked it (and her clothes and style were amazing). I hope there is a second season. In the episode I saw she wore a fur vest and lots of chunky jewelry–now I am craving a fur vest. I also hope it comes out on DVD so I can watch the other episodes. Lately all TV shows come out on DVD, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Rachel Zoe also collaborated with Judith Leiber to design a handbag line (they are a bit out of my price range though — they retail $1600+), and there are rumors she is going to be designing a more affordable line soon.
Handbag from Rachel Zoe Collection
If you want to get a little piece of Rachel Zoe’s style you can also check out her picks for Piperlime (Gap’s online only store for shoes and handbags). She has a little column where she picks out shoes and bags from their selection–and I love almost everything she picks. She even offers fashion advice for user questions like “How to wear booties”:
I would try cropped jeans that are slightly baggy or slouchy. They can be rolled up and paired with shooties or booties. Jeans that are very tapered and skinny look great too. They are almost like tights or leggings and add a bit of that 80s trend.
I also think booties look great with skirts or dresses and tights myself
Here are some pictures of Rachel Zoe from fashion week so you can get a glimpse of her style.
With the economy being what it is, I had resolved to start saving more and spending less. However I haven’t been particularly good at sticking to my mantra. I bought this amazing dress, and I have no idea where I will wear it. In fact, I don’t even know why I bought it, other than it was really pretty (an impluse purchase). At least is was a good deal (about 40% off). Maybe I can wear it to a holiday party this December. Anyway, here is a picture:
While I can’t justify my frivilous spending (although it is a very pretty dress), I will admit that I am saving a money taking the bus. The bus started out as an experiment to prevent paying for parking (my employer used to subsidize our parking). I figured if I drove my car (there aren’t any convenient busses close to my home) to some place other than downtown I wouldn’t have to pay for parking. Parking is about $170/month (and that is the cheap parking) so it isn’t exactly cheap and I got a *free* bus pass, so that part of my commute doesn’t really cost anything. Now the driving portion of my commute is shorter, so I am also saving money on gas (I used to drive 16 miles each way, and now I drive 15 miles total). This means I am cuttting my gas bill by more than 50%. I used to fill up my tank about every two weeks or so (at about $50–depending largely on gas prices) so it is saving me about $50 per month (plus the cost of parking)!
So at least I am saving a little bit of money (and I am also helping the world by driving less and using public transportation, which is always a good thing). The other benefits of riding the bus is more time for reading, being able to decompress on my way home from work (this was harder to do in stressful traffic), walking a little bit more on my commute (which burns extra calories), and having a set schedule (I generally catch the bus around the same time, and leave work around the same time). The last one on the list has probably been the best thing since it has forced me to schedule my time and manage my days more efficiently–I really do feel like I am getting a lot more done. Who knew having a schedule would help so much with being organized and improving time management?
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