Weekday update #38: Anna Sui

Not much to say really except it's warming up nicely and I'm trying to wear all my wintry items while I can. Today's look is my tribute to Anna Sui.

(thrifted beaded collar; Victoria's Secret silk tuxedo shirt; vintage skinny belt; Banana Republic leather skirt; Nordstrom hosiery; Nine West "cowboy inspired" boots)

Sadly, the waist details, the best part about this dress, can't be seen in this photo. Essentially it's a silk trimmed piece with buttons that makes the dress looks like two very fitted pieces. When I bought this vintage dress, the label read "secretary wool dress." I had no idea what that meant, until I saw glorious Joan on Mad Men. I don't know if there is a specific type of dresses that the Mad Men wives worn (I guess those involved more puffy skirts), but the secretary dresses are perfectly awesome!

Weekday update #37: Lovely Rita Meter Maid

I encouraged gigi to get this suit she wore below based solely on description. Boy, was my advice sound! :) Doesn't it just look amazing on her? Me, on the other hand, had trouble getting excited about an outfit this morning. Dreaming of chiffon and lace, sunlight and flowers, I woke up to sub-zero temperature. What? Aren't we in March? I reluctantly browsed through the sweaters and decided on one of the softest, thickest, and blackest, like my mood. Not one to dwell in such a dark place, I brighten it up with a vintage fifties dress and the yellow BCBG I seem to be wearing a lot this winter. Maybe subconsciously I have always been trying to bring on the sunshine. Let's hope tomorrow will be a dream come true type of day.

You know I had so much fun invoking Joan Jett yesterday. I felt so powerful and I don't know, cool perhaps. I would not have even thought of her had it not been for the 'ole Ipod. So I decided to try that serendipity thing that C's always raving about. And since I had no idea what I wanted to wear today, I once again let a song inspire me. This morning, I chanced upon the Beatles "Lovely Rita." So Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, today's outfit is for you!

(Brooks Bros. skirt suit; pearl necklace; DKNY hosiery; Michael Kors lace up boots)

Weekday update #36: Snow Day!

We finally got snow in Atlanta, but alas, it's gone. Typically, we get a light dusting like every 5 years if we're lucky. But this time, some places saw up to 4 inches! I know those who live in snowy areas are just shaking their heads, but know that for me (a Georgia native) it was a huge deal. I just wish it could have lasted 72 hours at least. But just 72 hours.

Anyhow, when it's this cold, I like to wear leather. I use it as my excuse to be able to make my 8 minute trek to work. I'll use just about any excuse to wear anything leather if it's jazzy enough. While getting ready, I was listening to my Ipod on shuffle. By the time my make up was done, I was rocking out to Joan Jett! Joan, today's outfit is for you! "So put another dime in the jukebox baby..." :)

(Stelle by Gilber Gilmore jacket and vest; Brooks Bros. button down; Victoria's Secret leather leggings; vintage chain link belt; Cole Haan g-series boots)

P.S. - As a side note, C looks even prettier in person today. I just love this photo of her. It's soooo sweet, yet sneaky!
Gigi always gives me way too much credit for my outfit when she is the one rocking leather pants on a Monday! Lacking her endless layering skills, I tend to stick to my tried and true jacket and dress combination. Truth be told, for me, everything revolves around the dress. The jackets are bought and worn simply because I can't get away with walking around in shoulder-bearing dresses all day, at least not at work. Over time, I've grown to love the jackets too. Especially the ones with little details, like the white piping on this one. It makes me feel very fifties housewife. Although only in looks. Thank goodness, I don't have that "charmed" suburban life.

Weekday update #35: Wickedly Cool Laced Up Dress

I've had this jacket for three years and never wore it to work, thinking it too, what's the word, "shiny"? When I got this laced up dress, I also regretfully thought that it'd be forever restricted to the weekends, because the laced up details were simply too, what's the word, "bondage"? Well, this morning I had a thought, why not tame the extreme with extreme and the above combo was born. The jacket sufficiently covered up most of the lacing leaving only a small amount of detail peeking out. I'd like to think that the patterns on the dress drew the eye away from the sheen of the jacket. Is it toned down enough for work? Frankly, I probably don't care that much since I wore it. But you tell me. :)

A guy at work keeps calling me 'motorcycle mama' today. I am an aviator! Perhaps I need to wear my aviator sunglasses around the office all day...

I will tell you a funny story about this "vest" though. I got a leather jacket from Newport News for $9.00. I thought, what a steal. Yeah well, when it got to me, it was all wrong. It fit poorly, like a box and was god-awful shiny! I could have sent it back, but I would have paid more in total shipping than what I paid for the jacket, so I decided to keep it. Well, one day while watching America's Next Top Model, I saw a photo shoot of a girl in a leather military vest. Instantly, I wanted one, but didn't want to A) look for one and B) spend $$ on something I might wear. So I decided to get creative. I figured since I didn't like my $9.00 jacket, what would it matter if I had fun with it. And boy did I have fun. I washed it, beat it, kicked it, spit on it, ran over it with my car! (Just joshing, I didn't really kick it!) And then ripped the sleeves off. I even slept in it. Yes I did, but don't ask, please...

Making this long story short. One day, I wore my "refashioned" vest to the office. I got a total of 12 requests from colleagues and strangers wanting to know where it was purchased. Only one person believed me when I told them I "made it." I actually had to take the damn thing off to show off the ripped up arm holes. But it just goes to show you how funny people can be, as the person I showed quickly chirped, "oh, but that still doesn't prove anything because designers are making ripped up clothes now anyway." Instead of getting peeved, I decided to see the glass as half full. He called me a designer! LOL!

(Newport News leather jacket, refashioned into a vest by GigiV!; Topshop t-shirt; vintage Bill Blass scarf; Buffalo by David Bitton jeans; Frye boots)

Weekday update #34: She Hit Me With A Flower

Finally, a bolero I love! Today's look is inspired by Lucy Maud Montgomery's, "Anne of Green Gables." I have loved her stories for as long as I can remember. I used to have the leather bound books, but as the years went by, they fell apart. In the film version, the costumes are just to die for. Quite simple, yet very, very elegant. "Puffed sleeves are so fashionable now. It would give me such a thrill, Marilla, just to wear a dress with puffed sleeves." --Anne Shirley, with an "e!"

(Trina Turk wool bolero; Newport News dress; Issac Mizrahi boots)

Ten years ago, I spent a few summer weeks with an ex-boyfriend's mother, a very classy lady, who always seemed impossibly put together. She took a liking to the awkwardly dressed collegiate me and gave me a style lesson. She said "always buy quality pieces in simple cuts and colors" but "make them your own with one or two favorite accessories." For her, that meant a signature sundress, a simple yet brightly colored piece, a black cashmere cardigan, classic Ferragamo low heels with the gold bow detail, and a small strand of pearls just long enough to circle her elegant long neck. I thought of her this morning when I put this outfit together, mostly because she had given me the delicate necklace of floating semiprecious stones, which she claimed to remind her of me. Although I was far from being that elegant back in the day. I also thought of her because I am hopefully practicing what she taught me. The shirt, skirt, and shoes are all rather classic, but the belt and flower brooch combo is what speaks of me and my mood today, that of hopefulness for spring.

Weekday update #33: I'm Finding Out True Style Is Blind!

When you read gigi's blurb below you'll understand why I say that there is no method to this madness or mathematical theorem that describes my style mix. Rather, I live by the law of serendipity. Sometimes the right shirt falls on top of the right skirt. Sometimes the right scarf gets tangled up with the right dress. In all cases, I simply declare it a stroke of good fashion luck. :)

I've owned the "Lucky Shopping Manual" for some years now and just recently (about a year ago) acquired, the "The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style: How to Wear Iconic Looks and Make Them Your Own."

(http://www.luckymag.com/shopping/2008/10/lucky_book) This book got mediocre reviews, but I think that's because people were looking for a magic wand of fashion, and that just ain't gonna happen. There, however, may be a select few that are born with the gift of impeccable style, and the like. But that's a select few, I believe. The rest of us have to work at it. We have to try things out and see what works and what doesn't. Now mind you, I'm talking to those people who actually enjoy fashion as I do.

Today, I had an epiphany while scrolling through some of our older posts. I noticed that I can do menswear inspired fashion and not look silly. That note is going down in my fashion diary. That's a look that I can dress up or down and still look pulled together. Now, when I see things that are in that genre, I can confidently make a purchase and know that that item was a good choice. I got this idea from one of my favorite actresses, Claudette Colbert. She said her secret for her style was because she was fortunate enough to have lots of film footage of herself to scroll through. That way she could catch her "fashion faux pas" and not repeat them. Darn good observation if you ask me. Between our blog and the Lucky Guide, I'm gonna get this style thing down soon enough. I bet you think I'm quite obsessive, but there's a method to my madness. It's simple really. I want my closet to be compiled of various looks that will compliment each other completely. That means, that once I figure out my overall style, I can go to my closet and grab any A item (and I mean any!), add it to item B and know that I will always get C. In other words, I'm going to see my closet as one gigantic algebraic problem, a^2 + b^2 = c^2! Thanks Pythagoras!

(Stelle by Gilbert Gilmore vest; Brooks Bros. button down, vintage tie; BCBG skirt; Juicy Couture cuff links; Victoria's Secret hosiery; Michael Kors pumps)

Weekday update #32: Waist belt? Yeah or Neah

Thought I would give the 'ole waist belt over the jacket' look a try. It's not a bad look, but kinda confining for me. I would think I would be okay with this look considering my love of corsets. Yet I must remember nothing usually comes between me and my corset. Here I've got a jacket and a tee shirt to contend with. I'm not complaining, just taking notes. I think next time I will try using a skinny belt. Wait! I tried that look and didn't like it either. Perhaps my waist is too big. Or I'm obsessing over nothing. Either way, back to the drawing board! :(

(Calvin Klein wool Jacket; Topshop tee shirt; Linea Pelle waist belt; Sin wool knit pants; Spanx hosiery; Chie Mihara pumps)

Continuing with shirts from mom's closet, here is a white one with some delicate embroidery near the neck tie. For my height, it's almost impossible not to actually look like I am playing dress up with my mom's stuff without a belt. So it's a blessing that I love belts. Thin ones, fat ones, stretchy ones, studded ones, you name it, I love them all. This photo almost makes the mostly covered skirt look shorts-like, which is pretty cool, since I have been quite inspired by some stylish ladies sporting dressy shorts lately. Maybe I'll think about doing it, but it may be a long while before I work up the courage. I have shorts phobia from those cut up to there ones back in high school...