diamonds & pearls...

The past few days I have been really into jewelry (costume, of course. Oh, and I apparently have a new & crippling addiction to chocolate ice cream. this sucks). Anyway, I am not a big jewelry person. I am extremely picky and usually stick to my same few pieces. I know that good accessories can elevate an outfit, but I just can't seem to buy things if I can't picture them with multiple outfits that I own. I like my jewelry to be a little bit unique but not crazy. So, I was browsing Betsey Johnson and completely fell in love with her new jewelry.





Ok maybe those pegasus earrings are a little crazy, but they're fun to look at. Am I too old for this stuff??

bag it

Today fashionista had an article about the rise in popularity of fake purses. Obviously, this trend is probably much more visible in a city like New York than it is here in Florida. Here, we don't have many super-fashionable rich ladies who wear enviable clothes from Chloe, Chanel, or Prada. Here we seem to have the tacky rich ladies with plastic faces, bleached hair, and lots of Louis Vuitton purses. So, I have always kind of associated Louis Vuitton with this image and it has never been desirable to me. The fakes are definitely even more tacky, since high school girls driving Neons always seem to have the multicolored Louis'. Don't even get me started on Coach or Dooney bags, which are so common (both real and fake) that they are just tired looking.

As for real, designer, non-logo'ed bags, I appreciate the good quality and craftsmanship. I don't like the idea of it-bags, because that is just a trend personified by overpaid celebrities and the rich people who want to feel on par with celebrities. I think Chloe and Mulberry and Balenciaga bags are beautiful, however I could never feel content with spending over a thousand dollars on a purse. I have struggled too much in life (financially) to drop so much money on one item...I would rather save it or take a vacation.

I do think fakes are lame and just for people who want to feel a certain status. People need to open their eyes and see the beauty of unique, non-designer label bags. A cute bag is a cute bag, no matter what the label says. You can find a gorgeous bag for under $300 that has great craftsmanship and materials. There are even great bags at Urban Outfitters. The bag I get complimented on the most is an adorable navy canvas bag from the store. They also have a great variety of non-leather bags, so you can look cute & cruelty-free too!



I think style is always more important than label, and I just wish more people felt that way about purses. I would love to see less plastic-looking "Goachi" and Louis bags, and more individual style choices.

oy, pt. II

Life has been so un-fashionable lately. I know my life is wonderful by comparison, but lately the bad luck has been almost unbearable. We just cannot get ahead. We are now living with my parents (ouch, but at least we have our own little corner of the house with private bedroom & bathroom), and this car crash fiasco is looking to drain all finances for years to come. The girl who was rear-ended is looking to milk this situation, and her dishonesty is maddening. I will not say details as she is suing our insurance. but, my man's car did not even hit her hard enough for his airbags to go off, yet she is claiming all sorts of outrageous medical problems from the crash.

Just to top it off, my truly, literally evil, ex-boyfriend is spreading hurtful lies about me still. When I say evil, I mean manipulating, emotionally abusive, brainwashing, gets-pleasure-from-hurting people, cheating, lying, pure evil. I broke things off with him, oh, about 3 years ago, and he is still looking for any way he can to hurt me. I never did anything wrong to him, except I guess bruising his ego when I moved on. I don't contact him or even have passing thoughts about him, but he still feels the need to drag my name through the mud to anyone who will listen. Asking him to stop would just make it worse (because he would get even more pleasure knowing that he's affecting me), so all I can do is try to ignore it. And, I can take my patented steps to emotional recovery!

Step one: get your hair done.
This never fails for me. My hair girl might be expensive, but she is one of my favorite people to talk to and always makes my hair look great. I am now much blonder (at least for the remainder of the summer) and feeling a little better.

Step two: mindless entertainment
I couldn't miss Posh's television debut tonight, and I'm glad I didn't. She has a good sense of humor, even though her image suggests otherwise. Turns out her public image is very calculated...hey, well at least you won't see her running around a la Britney. Wow, do I envy her shoe collection. And now I must go get the new issue of W and look at her pictures whenever I feel like an ice-cream binge. She is unbelievably tiny!
Note: when Posh is not available on tv, Degrassi is always a good alternative. Make sure you record as many episodes as you can, in case of emergency.

Step three: retail therapy of course!
But why oh why must the stores be torturing me with gorgeous fall clothing when it is still in the high 90's every day? I am drooling over thick gray tights and jackets, knowing that they would sit unused for months.

Since my emotional stress is especially draining this time around, I am wondering if I should break my self-imposed ban on credit cards. That's right, I don't own a single credit card. I realize I will probably need one for emergencies during the course of my adult life, but maybe I should start now. Those healing clothes are calling my name!

disappointed, again

Hey there, my local Target, what is up? You disappointed me today, just as you did with Patrick Robinson. I went to look at the Libertine collection today and they didn't have the black & white dress that I had my eye on. I wasn't too impressed with the rest of the collection, either. Nothing looked unique or fresh at all. The only dress there was the oatmeal-colored shirtdress. I tried it on (I don't know why), and I looked just like a big bowl of oatmeal. So bland and shapeless. I actually really love the new pictures of the upcoming Fetherston line. I hope it doesn't disappoint as well.

francophile

I love France. I love studying French, French culture, French geography, French history, French fashion. I fantasize about visiting France on a daily basis. I must have gotten the French bug from my dad, who lived in France for a couple years and will practice speaking with me (although I stopped studying the language 2 years ago, and I am sadly very rusty). My love has been reignited because I have been watching Le Tour, another interest I inherited from Dad. He has cycled for forever, and I grew up watching the Tour every year with him, even pre-Lance. It is just such a beautiful sport and the whole country is passionate about it. I love watching the peloton glide through the gorgeous scenery.




Today two French women came into my work, and I was so tempted to speak to them, even just a friendly "bonjour" or "merci beaucoup", but I am too scared that my accent is horrible and I would sound like I'm trying too hard. I need to make a plan about how I can keep studying French...and how I can get there! I am realizing that if I want to go anytime soon, I just can't buy anything at all, and I must save all the money I can. I am torn between my love of clothes and my need to travel! For now, to satisfy both, I will just have to browse the archives of dans Paris. Le sigh.

oy.

Pardon the interruption, as drama has temporarily replaced all the fashion in my life. One handsome roommate in a car wreck (everyone is ok), one crumpled up car, too many hours of searching for a new car, too many sleazy car salesmen, and 10-hour workdays have gotten the best of me. Just as soon as I feel like I'm on top of things, something comes along to screw it up. I know I have it so much better than many people, but it just seems the harder I work, the more frustrating that my life becomes.

So, the good news is that my sister was in town for a few days, and it gave me a much-needed excuse to go shopping (what better way do sisters bond?). I am finally in possession of some buttery soft jazz oxfords, which I plan on wearing everywhere (as soon as I can manage a day off!)

Here's hoping to make it through one week without a major disaster! I must go self treat my stress by browsing the newest lookbooks!

happy 4th

Happy Independence Day to all of us in America! Let's all take one day and forget the horrible things that our leadership has done recently (*cough*LIBBY*cough) and celebrate the good things about our country. I hope everyone has a great holiday today, filled with parades, root beer and fireworks of course. I have to work tonight, but my job is right in the midst of a huge celebration so it should still feel festive.

Hopefully everyone else has the day off...go to the beach in my honor!

justified

I had some time to waste today in the mall while I waited out a huge rainstorm. I wandered into Old Navy, because their window displays had some cute sweaters. I was surprised to see they already had a lot of their fall collection in the store. I headed straight to the trench coat that got me so excited from their tv commercial. It really is nice, it looks even better in person.



It is very soft, well-fit, and a great color. The problem is, do I need it? No. I just couldn't justify buying it right now. It is going to be 90 degrees + for the next 4 months or so, and I don't have any trips planned in the near future. But it is such a classic piece, should I just buy it and save it until someday that I happen to need it? Should it sit in my closet until I take that trip to Paris, who knows when? Luckily, since this is Florida in the middle of summer, the trench probably won't be snatched up immediately and I'll have time to consider it.

This brings up a question: should you ever buy clothes that you don't have an immediate need for? Should we just save our money and know that something similar, or better, is sure to come along? Since I am trying to drastically reform my closet and style, my answers should surely be "no" and "yes"!

bang-up job

Tonight saw quite the excitement around here. I gave myself my first ever self made haircut, but just on my bangs.

They're quite squiggly from being out in the rain, but overall I'm surprised that I didn't butcher them! Wow, bad angle for my roots. This is the most bangs I've had since grade 7, and I am slowly inching my way back to wanting a full forehead of them. Also still debating whether to go dark. I am craving change!

The excitement continued when, in a total geek-out moment, I decided to drag my handsome housemate out to see the 7-11 down the road that was remade as a Kwik E Mart for the Simpsons movie promo.

It was cute and gave us yet another sugar cereal to try. We are addicted to any & all sugary breakfast food!

Maybe tomorrow will be a bit more fashionable.
xx

love this look...

...but could never pull it off! I have seen this girl all over the (blog) place lately and I love her look.





The red hair, the knee socks, the babydoll dresses. Unfortunately, my legs don't look quite as fetching in knee-highs. I do have similar glasses, when I'm not wearing my contacts, but that's probably as close as I'll get!

images from dans paris, facehunter, and the sartorialist

weekend of the purge

I have been reading (and getting very inspired by) retail recovery and her other sites, 34 pieces and a perfectly small wardrobe. I have said before that I hope to build a wardrobe with a few interchangeable high-quality pieces rather than a bunch of disposable crap. This weekend I finally took a step in the right direction and got rid of a ton of clothes. I was able to sell some of my newer items to a consignment shop, and the rest went to Goodwill. My closet is looking better already! I am excited to start focusing on quality and fit instead of "is it on sale?" or "is it trendy?"

My trip to Goodwill also gave me a sweet surprise: a new couch for $20!! I know what you're thinking, that couches from Goodwill are disgusting and $20 for a reason. This one is such an exception though, and I'm so excited about it. I will give it it's own post later!