LXLS coat (c/o), ZARA dress, MANSUR GAVRIEL mini bucket bag
Thigh High Boots, AKA Mount Everest
MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA boots (38), ZARA dress (M), EVERLANE silk top (S), ZARA bag
The nice thing about thigh-high boots is that they are a great solution to short shift dresses in the winter. They're more polished than stockings, and make an outfit instantly modern. The downside about thigh-high boots is that they are deeply associated with, you know, prostitutes, and if worn the wrong way you are definitely dismissed as that pretty quickly. Even still, as a fashion fan, I think they're so cool. Like they are an accessory you successfully style and master when you really nail your personal style. I think I can do that, I say to myself. After all, some women pull them off with such ease that it makes me enthusiastic and confident to try. Now, I'm not a stick-thin woman, especially when it comes to hips, so my constant worry is that thigh-high boots will just emphasize the curviness of my hips. That's cool and what not, it is what it is, but that would make me feel so uncomfortable, as if I was a walking sex person. So my goal was to find a pair of boots with more clunky proportions to help downplay the sleek silhouettes which seem to make me uncomfortable at this point. In other words, baby steps.
Enter these Margiela boots. I'd like to think the strange texture and casual boot shape of these Maison Martin Margiela boots — FYI, acquired at a crazy 70% discount on Matches Fashion's epic sale after months on my wish list — offset all that overly sexual innuendo stuff that is implied by their crazy lengths. At least, I hope it does. I've really got nothing else to say about this outfit other than that. This is a work in progress after all. What do you think?
And note to self: get a better lint roller.
A New Way
I've been a long time fan of Tictail as my favorite platform to sell my designer clothes, shoes, and accessories. I've been using them for over a year now to help clean out my closet, but it turns out there's a lot of other people selling designer items and even quality custom pieces that I've completely been missing out on, too. Shops like The LXLS stand out in particular because of its highly curated inventory. They seem to carry everything I love to wear: lots of different monochrome textures, minimal tailored pieces by Ann Demuelemeester, Alexander Wang, and even their own impressive in-house line. This recent discovery is really key to my shopping habits because I think fashion can get too spendy, with each new season encouraging everyone to buy fast and move on to new trends quickly. It all amounts to a closet full of clothes that don't fully speak to my personal style, and to make it worse, those pieces are usually crafted from cheap materials and often poorly constructed.
So my new approach this past year has been to put a hold on impulse spending, and research some new ways to find my closet staples. My goal is to search unexpected sites like The LXLS or other resale sites for something specific, like a black sleeveless shift dress, armed with an open mind, the flexibility to tailor a piece down to my size, and the discipline to stick to what works truly works for my body and overall style.
LXLS coat (c/o Tictail), ZARA dress, MANSUR GAVRIEL mini bucket bag, EVERLANE loafers
So my new approach this past year has been to put a hold on impulse spending, and research some new ways to find my closet staples. My goal is to search unexpected sites like The LXLS or other resale sites for something specific, like a black sleeveless shift dress, armed with an open mind, the flexibility to tailor a piece down to my size, and the discipline to stick to what works truly works for my body and overall style.
LXLS coat (c/o Tictail), ZARA dress, MANSUR GAVRIEL mini bucket bag, EVERLANE loafers
Sick Sick Sick Days
I've been sick for the past four days with what feels like The Most Epic Cold/Flu I've ever had. I basically walk around my house every now and then after the umpteenth nap of the day and push shit around my house in an effort to feel useful, basically the equivalent of what I do with each bland-tasting meal I have twice a day. So enjoy this photo I snapped of my bag last week, when my brain functioned long enough to attach a faux fox tail to my Mansur Gavriel mini bucket bag.
I think it's kind of cute. Like those Fendi fur animals, but you know, a thousand times cheaper and more animal friendly.
Velocite
I think this jacket has always been pretty bad ass, now in a tan shearling combination it's even better. Too bad the price tag is absolutely outrageous.
Grandpa's Shoes
My everyday shoe for the past two months can be easily confused as my grandpa's shoes. You can always go to client presentations with Vans on, sometimes you have to look presentable. Grown up, even. Why not index way older then? I got them in one of J. Crews 25% off bonanzas, so when there is another promo I suggest snatching these up because the quality is real nice. Just get them one full size smaller though as they run real long. These are pretty similar, you know, if you wan't me to get a commission or whatever.
Dolce & Gabbana
What a lovely idea, infusing elaborate Spanish embellishments into traditional tailored pieces. It's overtly feminine but incredibly precise and bold at the same time.
Not a Shopping Blog
A few weeks back I got promoted to Senior Art Director at my company. I was elated. I've worked so hard for years to reach for this title bump and it was finally mine after a particularly grueling (but rewarding) year busting my ass, pitching clients, working weekends, and taking late-night cabs home.
So why are you even talking about it here? After all this is a fashion blog, Olga, STFU and get back to mindless obsessions and things you want to buy!
Well, no. I don't see things this way and I realized I have not been balancing things quite right lately. It dawned on me that my fun pastime of of documenting outfits and pretty things I like (aka posting to this blog) it sometimes feels that my blog could easily be confused for a shopping blog. That, my friends, is such a bummer. A shopping blog is all about "new in" posts and beautiful clothes and thing that often appear once and then never again. But then what?! I''m more interested in what happens to all those "new in" purchases six months down the road. Hell, a year down the road. New stuff costs money and sometimes it's exhausting reading the never ending tales of the more fortunate unicorns who seem to have endless amounts of it. This is not really jealousy, but more a slight outrage over the impractical nature of it all. Even more, I want to know what said closets look like. I bet there are clothes and shoes in the oven and even under the kitchen sink because there is no way new clothes and shoes every week would fit in a normal house. It's all become so unrealistic, people, and I just don't want to be a part of that perception.
Well, no. I don't see things this way and I realized I have not been balancing things quite right lately. It dawned on me that my fun pastime of of documenting outfits and pretty things I like (aka posting to this blog) it sometimes feels that my blog could easily be confused for a shopping blog. That, my friends, is such a bummer. A shopping blog is all about "new in" posts and beautiful clothes and thing that often appear once and then never again. But then what?! I''m more interested in what happens to all those "new in" purchases six months down the road. Hell, a year down the road. New stuff costs money and sometimes it's exhausting reading the never ending tales of the more fortunate unicorns who seem to have endless amounts of it. This is not really jealousy, but more a slight outrage over the impractical nature of it all. Even more, I want to know what said closets look like. I bet there are clothes and shoes in the oven and even under the kitchen sink because there is no way new clothes and shoes every week would fit in a normal house. It's all become so unrealistic, people, and I just don't want to be a part of that perception.
Ok, so you're not a shopping blog. What's your point?
My point is that hopefully a little more context will at least help my blog sound like it has the right balance fiscal responsibility and fashion obsessions. My point is that even if no one reads this at least my blog continues to serve it's main purpose: a self serving, albeit public, journal of my personal style. My point is I got a promotion and the temptation to buy something new to celebrate is very real. Join me as I try to avoid a large purchase in the name of celebrating my hard work, because although I love fashion I have bigger fish to fry: complete elimination of credit card debt. Buying a house wasn't easy and took a toll financially, but somewhere along the line I got a little too swipe happy and now I have to dig myself out of this hole.
Counterbalance
VANS shoes, VINCE dress, MANSUR GAVRIEL mini bucket bag
I love the idea of super feminine dresses, with flowing details and precious silk materials being counterbalanced by the masculinity and grungy look of skater shoes. I also enjoy the idea of actually being able to comfortably walk in my dress while running around town with my mom (who took these photos, isn't she talented?) This combination of sporty (read: slacker skater) and feminine kind of makes me feel like I'm revisiting my high school sartorial sensibilities. And you know what? I feel like I've gone full circle, experimenting up and down with the highest heels and what not, only to come back to what I've known to feel like the most me.
Wear this Now: Un-Skinny
Make no mistake, this is a dream closet scenario. I can probably stretch to afford one of the items and let my house rot, but what fun would that be? I can't live in these clothes, but it sure is nice to look at them.
Rill Rill
Who really needs gold and silver when you've got marble? I walked into Social Studies in Berkeley the other weekend and could literally not resist trying on (and dropping! ah! it fell on my shoe, it was all fine!) this amazing Rill Rill marble necklace. I'm really not one to shop at boutiques—I'm more of a browsing window shopper when it comes to little shops—but I felt compelled to buy this necklace the moment I tried it on and looked at it in the mirror. It is lovely. It's got a nice heft, which is to be expected from the two types of marble, that are constructed so beautifully on copper and leather fixture. I love how the minimal and classic look of marble contrasts so nicely with the handcrafted feel of the leather and copper straps. It's exactly the unique piece that I look forward to wearing with t-shirts and otherwise plain ensembles.
Weekend Muse: Andreea Diaconu at Stella McCartney
The less is more approach to makeup is really appealing these days.
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