An Outfit Bouquet For You

The pity about this whole thing is that you can't even see how insanely gorgeous the back of this Protagonist top is. It's like a mullet: from the front it's all business, but on the back it's all party. Work appropriateness varies with the application of a camisole (a nude one, me thinks). The white Mansur Gavriel bucket is just wishful thinking, since I believe the white leather would be the hardest to keep pristine. I just love how icy white it is in contrast to a stark black tailored Sportsmax pant. Accessories by Céline and Altuzarra.

Last Look

Crowd Funding The Nerve For Céline Sunglasses

For the first time since I could remember, I bought myself some new sunglasses without the use of a sale, a gift card, a self-employed RewardStyle link, or even a BlueFly or The Real Real to achieve a discount. Nay. Like some sort of rich person, I simply walked into Barneys one day and tried these Céline sunglasses on and loved them. It wasn't my intention, after all, I only went to Barneys to pick up some Oribe product (only one bottle of the Volumista because GURRL this line is pricey and we are not made of money), but apparently I wanted to be extra stupid and try on things I knew were out of my monthly budget. How could I not fall in love with these frames? They are a) oversized, which flatter my roundish/oval face, b) a sort of an aviator style that actually works for said roundish/oval face, c) tortoise shell, which I've been looking for ever since dropping my precious and super old (5+ years!) Karen Walker Number Ones into the Dominican Republican ocean. Did I mention they were Céline and I'm a vain person that occasionally gets sucked into labels? So I did the only thing there was to do after trying them on; walk out of the store like a financially responsible person. But not before taking a selfie and crowd funding the balls to actually go back and purchase the sunglasses. (Thank you all who participated — I hate and love you dearly...you know, like family.). So here I am, with my new favorite sunglasses in a super special plushy pocket of my purse that keeps them forever scratch-free and safe, and a happy customer. Can we be a happy customer at all times buying things full price? I doubt it, but every now and then it sure is nice to treat yourself.

Wear this Now: The Good Kind of 90s

TIBI mules (on sale!)

ZARA denim

T BY ALEXANDER WANG knit

RAY BAN aviators

Get the Look: Phoebe Philo

J. CREW sweater, THEORY trousers, ADIDAS sneakers

Anti Hoarding Behavior: Make Me An Offer on My Stuff

I love these items, but I haven't worn them in a while and I'm deciding to sell them. I had my fun, why not let someone else enjoy them? The money will go to reducing my debt. I just bought a house last year and I'm realizing that having all this stuff is just not necessary, especially if I'm not wearing all of it. Why not share the wealth? Want something real bad? Feel free to make me an offer on anything. 

SHOP NOW

The Ideal Maxi Dress Is Real High Maintenance

Oh, but it's beautiful. The dress in question is by Vince. It's silk satin, which means it sticks to your skin in static-heavy situations. And it's also not surprisingly dry clean only. It's worth the extra effort though, because in it I feel statuesque, put together, and real lady like. There are very few items in my closet that can achieve this with only one piece of clothing.

VINCE dress in blue (small) (in black) (on sale here), J.CREW hat, MIU MIU sunglasses, CELINE mules (IT 38)

This or That: Céline Satin Mules for $1000 or Zara's Satin Mules for $100.

I mean, the decision is a no brainer. You can buy the ones from Zara and be part of mule crowd, or you can spend all your money at Céline and know you have an authentic designer item that looks exactly like all the other mules from the 90's. It's your life. 

I had the luxury of finding these in store and ended up walking away with them half a size larger (which I recommend for a fit like Elin Kling in the right image). 

Get them at Zara here.

This or That: Céline Spring 2014 Jewelry or A Similar One and Your Rent Paid

The way I see it, you can spend about $1,000 on one piece of Céline Spring 2014 minimal earthy jewelry, or you can live within your means and buy a couple of gorgeous handmade pieces from Sew a Song on Etsy without breaking the bank. They have the same appeal, with the large chunky shapes and gemstones set in metal, but the price tags couldn't be more different. Sure, there are those people who'd rather die than wear a knock off, but let me tell you this now: Céline did not invent this style, so who cares if the label isn't embossed with a fancy brand name with an accent over the é. Here's what I think: I wouldn't feel the least bit bad about sporting one of these more affordable pieces to achieve the same look as Céline. I ain't made of money, and I'm willing to bet you aren't either. Plus, if you weren't wearing this type of jewelry before Céline rocked it down the runway, chances are it's just a flash in the pan trend for you and me both. Right? Right! So go ahead and browse guilt free. Tell me your favorites. I know what I want, but I'm waiting until my self-imposed buying dry period to snap up this one and this one.

Just in case you were wondering, other titles for this post included "Tickle Me Cheaper," "Céline on the Cheap," and  "This French-American Life." I think I made the right choice. Otherwise, you'd be browsing some other blog right now, getting conned into another pair of crazy ass 5" heels you don't need.

 Big shout out for Miss Moss for pointing my eyeballs in Sew a Song's direction. 

Wear This Now: Lean and Mean

Shop it:  1. SAINT LAURENT  (here and here)/  2. REPOSSI (similar here) /  3.  3.1 PHILLIP LIM    / 4.  ZARA   ( here and here) /  5.  NSF  (and here) /   6.  LANVIN   /  7.  CELINE     

Getting Dressed in 5 Minutes

You'll need:   KAREN WALKER  sunglasses  /  ZARA  skirt  /  ZARA  shirt /  MAY28th  watch  /  CELINE  sandals  /   FASHIONOLOGY  necklace 

Put it all together and you're pretty much in order for some ass-kicking in a business setting. Easy.

Zara Is Snatching Céline and Saint Laurent's Wig This Fall, Budget Conscious Women Drool

  
 Photos courtesy of ZARA  .

Keeping it Simple, Introducing the 12:04:Shop

"New in" is a pretty terrible way to start a blog post, in my opinion. I read blogs to be inspired by a point of view, and while that sure includes photos of new things I'm really more enthralled by the bloggers who show people how to put those hard earned new things to work in real life. Having an out-of-the-box post and then never seeing the new item again is really quite irritating, because I lose the feeling of "realness." Does this make sense to anyone else?

People who spend their time to visit my blog on a daily basis are very important to me, and I want to make sure I do right by your time by making sure I don't get caught up in the more frivolous nature of fashion: the over-spending, shop-'til-you-drop behavior that is pretty easy to fall into. I work a full time job that sometimes demands crazy ass hours, and in those crazy ass hours I feel a need to treat myself. This is where drawing the line between treat and downright overspending gets tricky. Although it's tempting, over-consuming just for the sake of having the latest does not interest me.  Yes, these Céline sandals are my new thing, which came with a hefty self-imposed guilt trip after just spending what I consider a small fortune on Balenciaga boots, but I purchased them with the intention of wearing them with everything. And when I stop wearing them with everything you'll see them up for sale on my shop because I'd rather have someone else enjoy them than having them sit in my closet, gathering dust for months after the initial love affair has passed. 

So my point is the 12:04:SHOP is my "new thing" today, not so much the shoes. And while most items in my closet eventually go to Goodwill,  the more special things like Karen Walker sunglasses and Marc Jacobs shoes I once was obsessed about will go to the shop. 

CELINE   sandals  /  ALL SAINTS   jacket (similar here)  /  WAYNE  dress  /  THIERRY LASRY sunglasses  /  MAY28TH  watch (c/o May28th)

Coming Soon: Styling Them Célines

Currently editing some Céline outfit shots from last weekend. This future post is in part dedicated to lifestyle guru Grant K Gibson, whose Insta-shoutout has given me inspiration to set the bar higher when styling these insane nude sandals.

The Girl Goes On An Adventure

1    ROKSANDA ILICIC top    2    ETOILE ISABEL MARANT shorts    3    WARBY PARKER sunglasses    4    ZARA shoes    5    backpack via ETSY    6   PROENZA SCHOULER clutch

This is the kind of thing I would wear if I was going to travel a warmer city abroad, or if my name was Natalie and I just got engaged to my longtime beau in a romantic 18-month round-the-world, life-changing, adventure. (Read their blog here, trust me, you will want to track their travels.). I'd carry a backpack because that's just my style: I carry a lot of things because I'm a what-if-worst-case-scenario kind of girl. But I'd also carry a clutch, and ideally i'd like it to be in the same color scheme of said backpack and hopefully with a cross-body chain. Don't know what's going on here to make me so attracted to brown plus black, but it seems to work for me. The formal bi-color top is a night time shirt dressed way down for day, but I love how easy it is to wear. Plus if you're investing in such a top, I would pretty much have to find reasons to wear it for other ocassions. The shorts are clean cut and can only be described as conservative — darling even, especially in a world where short shorts typically have frayed edges or pocket lining sticking out of the bottom. I say no to those for this hypothtical trip because we're going for a more refined look. That requires a kind of short that will not make people immediately label you as a vagabond (the backpack is already working hard to label you that anyway), so you have to counter that. Plus, they let sit at nicer restaurants with shorts like these. The brogues are a nod to the masculinity that I love to infuse into outfits. The patent keeps things polished, literally, which helps because you're wearing shorts.  

All I See is Dollar Signs

I am fully into house mode lately and the best part about it is that I am finding new inspirations for my wardrobe just by looking at the composition, architecture and styling of a home. I am heavy into clean lines and monochrome palettes, but the occasional girlish bow and detail is also welcome. It shouldn't come to any surprise that being heavy into clean lines and monochrome would not lead to adoring Céline. I have a renewed appreciation for the design restraint in the collections (these ridiculous shoes aside) I'm contemplating those Céline sandals for spring, but cannot get over how absolutely tight and unwearable that toe-strap is. You would think that for $850 the design of the shoe would be at least walkable. Sure, "a cobbler can fix that" the shoe lady with dollar signs for eyes assures me, but my friend's quizzical eye reaffirms what I already know: "Gurl, no." For close to $1,000 after tax these shoes have to at least achieve their basic function and that is be capable of providing me with a walking platform, because after all, they are just a pair of God damn shoes. Narrow footed women, congratulations. Go out at get them if you have the means. They truly are beautiful and would be super wearable...forever.

Turn up the bass with this song. Trust me.

PS. Seriously, these shoes? Christopher Kane tried it and also failed.

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