Monday, August 29. Worn to work and to a very fun post-work gathering at The Standard, featuring one too many mojitos (which is just the right amount.)
Dress - Taylor / Cardi - J Crew / Jewelry, Bag - Kate Spade / Sandals - Jack Rogers
After a weekend of hanging out in sweatpants and watching movies in my apartment, I felt like I needed to get my head back in work mode with something dressier. Cocktail dress at the office it is!
Tuesday, August 23. Worn to work.
Shirt - Bally, sample sale / Pants - Zara / Necklace - Target / Bracelet - Milly / Belt - vintage, used to be mom’s / Heels - Bally
I was feeling something a bit more streamlined, something far from my usual penchant for bows and ruffles. This Celine inspired look needed some texture in the way of a beaded necklace and python sandals, so I’m calling this look “minimalist safari.”
p.s. So maybe I’ve been catching up on Secrets from a Stylist? But really, I’d like to see Emily Henderson style a room as minimalist safari. I’d probably want to live there.
p.p.s. Sorry for the overexposed photos. My camera wasn’t cooperating :/
Monday, August 22.
I’m not afraid to admit my fashion mistakes, and this jacket’s fit is a bit questionable to me. I just don’t think it looks good within the context of this outfit - a cropped jacket like this flatters my figure better over a high waisted bottom. I wore it open for the rest of the day, which is an improvement, but I’m still gonna file this one under “oops” and move on.
Jacket - c/o Talbots / Jeans - J Crew / Jewelry - Kate Spade, Rachel Leigh for Target, gifts / Aviators - Canal St vendor / Boat Shoes - Sperry
Thursday, August 18. Worn to work and to the Ippolita fall preview. Summer is coming to an end, so my outfit strategy here was “wear all the colors while you still can!”
Cardi - J Crew / Button Up - Lilly Pulitzer, thrifted / Skirt - J Crew Outlet / Necklace - handmade by my friend Linds / Bangle - Kate Spade / Sandals - Bally / Bag - Bally
Now, on to the jewelry!
Ippolita is the self-named line of an Italian fine jewelry designer. She uses yellow gold, rose gold, silver, and even resin to set semi-precious and precious stones in her signature, organically shaped bezels.
I loved the classic Glamazon collection, featuring hand hammered pieces in solid gold and silver.
I also styled a model with Ippolita jewelry - of course I gave her a stack of gorgeous bangles! I would’ve worn the bangles with the huge resin stud earrings I tweeted about, but I decided to go for excess with her look.
Thanks to Ippolita for having me!
Saturday, August 13. Worn to the Guggenheim Museum for an afternoon of art. I’d never been to the Guggenheim before, but it really fantastic - the Frank Lloyd Wright designed building draws you in from the beginning and it’s the perfect size to see in a day. The main rotunda housed a retrospective of conceptual Korean artist Lee Ufan’s work, which was fascinating, and Matt enjoyed the Kandinsky, but my favorite piece in the museum was an installation by Hans Peter Feldman. Feldman was awarded the Hugo Boss Prize, which recognizes an outstanding contemporary artist. The winner receives a prize of $100,000 and a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim. So, good ol’ HPF decided to pin $100K in one dollar bills to the walls of the exhibition hall. Imagine walking into a room entirely covered in ones! When I walked in, I laughed. I love art that provokes a reaction in the viewer, and you can write him off as being a goofball, but this piece caused me to think about it’s meaning more than the Picassos downstairs. Read more about Feldman’s ideas here.
Denim Shirt - GAP men’s, swapped / Shorts - J Crew / Necklace - H&M / Bracelets - gifts / Cross Body Bag - Kate Spade / Sunnies - thrifted / Boat Shoes - Sperry
I was going for (what I hope) is grown-up field trip chic. Cool enough for modern art, proper enough for the Upper East Side, comfy enough for a 30 block walk through the park on the way home.
p.s. If you like all of this art chat, check out Artfully Awear. Ariel blogs her amazing daily outfits and relates each of them back to an artist’s works. Very intelligent and always funky chic!
Sunday, July 31. Worn on a little bit of Sunday shopping. Didn’t buy anything. Wah.
Linen Sweater - J Crew, thrifted / Button Up, Shorts - Lands’ End Canvas / Boat Shoes - Sperry / Bag - Bally / Bangles - gifts / Aviators - Canal St vendor
Slowly but surely I am catching up to present time. Hope you haven’t missed me too much!
Hi there! Congrats on your new job! Sorry for taking awhile to get back to you on this. It’s not such an easy question thinking about that second layer of one’s wardrobe - what are the next must-haves after you’ve got the basics covered? Especially if you’re in a client-facing role, possibly in a creative industry like mine, where you have to be on all the time.
First, check out a similar reader question I answered about beginning a grown up wardrobe. Now, when upgrading from student basics to an office friendly wardrobe, you have to start thinking long term. Invest in quality shoes and a good bag (I’ve recently converted to the Church of Cross Body, especially if you’re lugging all your junk around like I am!). If you skimp there, it’s the most noticeable. Then think about basic garments that have serious outfitting potential - such as a red silk secretary blouse that can work equally well with 70s-esque wide leg trousers, with a chic pencil skirt, or with skinny jeans. Try these go-tos in saturated colors like turquoise and magenta for extra interest. Statement jewelry is another easy way to punch up an otherwise basic work look.
Here’s something else to help you started - the items I’m looking for this fall. This shopping list of classics-with-a-twist will take me through winter, plus I’ll go back to them each fall, over and over. (Even the weird citron silk shirt. I have a thing for that hue!) Making a list each season definitely helps me focus my budget on more meaningful purchases.
Inspiration only - these puppies are expensive. I mean, Ralph, cut me a break on these boots. I want to cuddle with them when I sleep at night, but $1100?! Masochistic readers can click through for the itemized list.
If you have a fashion dilemma or just want to say hi, shoot me an email or use the ask box!
Saturday, July 30. Worn to dinner with Matt. After reading this New York mag article about the best cheap eats in Queens {we live in Astoria - outer borough, represent!} we decided to make their list our to-do for the next several months. Our first stop was the aptly named Spicy & Tasty in Flushing, a neighborhood that boasts the second largest Chinatown outside of Asia. For our first sampling of Sichuan cuisine, we tried the critics’ recommended dishes including beef tendon (I tried it…but predictably didn’t like it), sesame noodles, dumplings, twice sauteed pork and smoked tea duck. I really don’t care for americanized Chinese food, but this stuff I can get on board with! Since I’m super behind on my posts here, I’ll tell you about stop number two from this past weekend - Nepalese and Tibetan food at Mustang Thakali Kitchenin Jackson Heights. We likened the cuisine to Indian food, but with slightly different flavors. So far it’s been a lot of fun exploring the neighborhood and trying foods from such far flung locales.
But y’all came here for the clothes, not descriptions of food, right?
Gingham Button Up - old choir outfit / White Jeans - J Crew / Belt - J Crew / Jewelry - all Kate Spade / Aviators - Canal St vendor / Handbag - Bally / Boat Shoes - Sperry
Hipster filter effect courtesy my iPhone plus a sunset.
Wednesday, July 27. Worn to work.
Pink Button Up - Lilly Pulitzer, thrifted / Skirt - Rodarte for Target {used to be a dress} / Belt - J Crew / Necklace - gift / Bangle - Kate Spade / Sunnies - thrifted/ Bow Flats - Bally
My coworker jokingly asked me if I was going to a garden party in this outfit. I’ll take that one as a compliment!
