answer to the previous post: neither.

So, I ventured out in search of the boots. I went to a new F21 since the one nearest to me sucks. It just opened and oh man, it was insane bananas. They took an out of business department store and turned it into a F21. 2 floors. 5+ dressing rooms. 2 escalators. only one small section of men's; the rest was packed with women's. It was ridiculously overwhelming. I think that it was my first & last trip...gave me a headache and they didn't even have the boots. They had a similar-silhouette boot minus the studs, and oh man did I come to the realization that my legs canNOT pull off that height of boot. The top hits right where my calf muscle sticks out and completely stumps my leg. As mesmerizing as studs are, I just can't handle these.
Instead, I'm trying to find a more affordable boot for the quality on Etsy. Here are my top picks so far:

here.


here.


here.


here.

My new ultimate goal: to build a boot collection as awesome as Betty's.

brown or black?

Buying that jacket at Target seems to have set off a spending binge. I am filling up internet wishlists with reckless abandon. I have become completely obsessed with these boots and don't know if I can resist. I am very torn between the brown & the black...I have 2 pairs of black boots...over-the-knee and ankle boots...so these would fit in the middle. On the other hand, I have no brown boots (or shoes, really) and even though I own a ton of black, I actually like the look of brown boots with black clothes. Hmm. What to do.

Since SPRING BREAK (!) just started I might try and head to my local F21 and try to scope these in person before I make a commitment.

boots, $36.80 at F21.

second chances

One year ago, I found the holiday sweater of my dreams, online. (Pictured at the end of this post). I waited around, looked in the physical store, and ultimately missed my chance. I honestly thought about the sweater a few times since then...and then today, it appeared again...


here in gray, navy, or red.

Exciting! This had never happened to me before...almost always, once something I loved is gone, it is gone for good. The holidays feel infinitely far away, but the air is chilly and I am in dire need of warmer clothes. This sweater may very well be part of cold-weather wardrobe additions!

hey hey fall break

Today after all my classes, research, and a long walk home, fall break finally began.




Dress, F21
Coat, Old Navy
Leggings, generic
Boots, Target

...now-noticeably-filthy mirror, ikea

The dress is a lame/tired trapeze shape, but looks a lot better with the coat on top. And I would highly recommend these boots, which I wore for the first time today. I put them on at 7:30 this morning and wore them up through my mile walk home without a single pinch.
After I made some pumpkin cookie bars and pumpkin bread, my only other big plans for break include sleeping in and doing lots more research!

wearing today...outfit catch-up

I committed myself to take pictures of my outfits every day, and have succeeded at about 20% so far. Oops. And funny enough, I just happened to document the (only!) 3 days that I wore jeans!


Confession: I still like Kenley. Yes, she talks too much sometimes, but I love her style, her clothes, and she's been my favorite from the beginning. I wore my headband the day after Kenley wore hers...when she got totally torn apart and snipped at Heidi.
Headband, F21
Beaded shirt, Urban
Jeans Levi's
Shoes Urban
Jacket Old Navy


Sweater, Target
Tee, I'm Your Present
Jeans, F21
Brocade flats, F21


Today...Blazer, Savers
Blouse, Express
Jeans, Express
Booties, Report

I think this is the last day I'll be able to get away with not wearing a coat. It is getting so chilly. I am not prepared!

shopaholic

Before getting ready for my one-person LOST party, I ventured out for some heavy-duty facial sunscreen to prepare for the upcoming UV-onslaught that is lifeguarding in Florida. I had to go to the mall, so oops, I just happened to slip into F21 to see what's up. Whoops! I didn't mean to buy that cardi, jeans, and 3 pairs of hosiery. In my defense, they were very cheap and very interchangeable.

I found it...it actually exists...That's right, a long, slouchy, grandpa cardigan for under $50!!

It may not be as soft as Gap's or Urban's, but it was only $15 and nice & warm. I also picked up some dark gray skinny jeans for $20, and some tights & knee-his. They must have just gotten in a new shipment, because they usually NEVER have any tights left. I found a duplicate of these chevron tights modeled by sexy Johanna for only $6, along with basic black and sheer black patterned tights a la Blair.

Another Gossip Girl-inspired item I and almost bought, but I passed it up for now:
This is Serena from the Thanksgiving episode, and I have been obsessing over her jacket ever since. F21's version might be the only one I could ever afford, but I couldn't decide if it just looked too fake.

And will it go out of style soon? I am still tempted.

pre-christmas bits

I'm getting very excited for Christmas Eve --in my family, it is our "big night" with a king crab-leg feast, lots of homemade drinks & treats, and opening presents (except Santa's, of course).

I started getting in the real holiday spirit during my final mall trip, where I picked up these little pre-christmas goodies:


I got 2 of the little French penguin mug/plate sets from Anthropologie, where they were 1/2 off. While there I also picked up this little papier-mache box, which is perfect for keeping my stray jewelry from being strewn all over my dresser (also 1/2 off).



These silver brocade shoes are from Forever 21 -- I know! -- for only $20. I just had to have them, though. My Nana had shoes exactly like these from the 50s. The only problem with hers is their AAA narrow width. My slightly-wider-than-average feet can't handle that, so I'm glad I found these shoes that give me fond memories of dressing up in Nana's fabulous vintage party clothes.

I wore them out last night to see Sweeney Todd. It was incredibly enjoyable. I loved the songs, they had a lot of very subtle humor. There was a couple sitting in front of us who obviously weren't expecting a full-blown musical, and walked out after about the first 10 minutes of solid singing. I think it's the kind of movie that you really have to see in the theater- the dark, convincing atmosphere is best experienced when larger-than-life. If you go see it, be sure to watch for Mrs. Lovett's "By the Sea" montage. Hilarious.

I of course have to work tomorrow (dreading it), but hopefully you don't. Have a great Christmas Eve, everyone.

christmas shopping

with a free day on my hands, I made a trek to the mall for the little odds & ends that would signal the END of my Christmas shopping. What trek it was-- my usual 15 minute drive time took almost an hour, and even singing along loudly with The Clash, Led Zepplin, & Timbaland would not ease my creeping road rage.

On the bright side, I was in and out in about 2 hours and my Christmas shopping is completely done. For some reason, the whole mall smelled like gingerbread so it made things a little more bearable. I had to stop by Forever 21 to see if they had the moose sweater (they didn't), Urban Outfitters for my sister's stocking stuffers, and Neiman Marcus for stuff to pamper my main squeeze. My outfit today was definitely inspired by the Blair look on Gossip Girl, but I of course kept my own style so that I wasn't running around looking like a complete Blair-wannabe with my curled hair, headband, collared shirt, skinny jeans, and leopard print peep-toes:



I tried on a topper that would go with a prep school ensemble, and loved it:


But again, I could not justify a purchase only a mere 3 days before Christmas, especially one that is slightly too heavy to be useful in Florida.


And although I did not find the moose sweater of my Christmas dreams, I found another ugly sweater that is still on my mind-

old man stripes, orange mixed with gray and brown, two different patterns; it is great. If my Christmas bounty doesn't include a sweater, I'll probably be back.

I have to admit that I spent a little bit of money on myself today, just not on any clothes, to congratulate myself. I got a surprise last night in the form of my LSAT scores, more than a week and a half before scheduled arrival. They weren't tip-top Harvard-worthy, but they were certainly okay (possibly worthy of the majority of schools numbered 15 and higher), and I feel immense relief. I think I can now say with (cautious) certainty that I will get into a law school. I found a few little treasures that are in no danger of encroaching on my Christmas list gifts, and I'll be sure to post them tomorrow.

Good luck to anyone who dares venture out into the surely crazy crowds tomorrow!

ew. ew.

Does anyone else hate all the old navy commercials this winter? The new one is so bad (besides the puppies) that it just makes me angry:



The entire store is one nautical-fest right now, with bright spring colors. It doesn't feel like Christmas at all in there. And rugby polos a la Abercrombie '03? I don't get it.

EDIT: the bow tied onto the basketball?? doesn't it totally look CGI'ed? lol.

I can't decide, though, if it's better or worse than last week's commercial:



Yes, that is a shirtless guy playing with a baby. Plus, 3 girls hanging out, one in her underwear. I'm sorry but I can't stand that pants-less model. She is up all over the store and I'm sure she's beautiful, but the art directors just make her look insanely creepy/alien-like (and not in a good Gemma way. Just a bad, scary alien way). It doesn't help that the clothes she's wearing are, um, butt ugly. I don't know if I've just been around them now for too long, but I can really see how shoddy the quality is in that store. There are a few exceptions here and there, like that Mike & Chris knockoff or this blouse, but everything else just falls apart so quickly, some of it even disintegrating right in the store. We have loads & loads of cotton sweaters that already have gapes between the weave and they stretch out as soon as you try them on. Their pants fit horribly, their "dressy" fabrics are thin, bunchy, and wrinkly, and they try to portray a whole image of good quality.

I understand that some of it will work in a pinch, and sure, it's an okay place for athletic socks, undershirts, and dog toys. But the more I'm there, the more I realize that it's just not good clothing. It seems like the company was on the up-and-up, with better things flooding the store during the last couple years, but maybe it was just a phase. I don't know why this makes me so angry, but I just feel like so many of the customers are getting ripped off. Plus, at every turn there is an associate cramming a credit card down your throat. Can't be a pleasant experience.

Could it be that I am almost cured of quick-fix shopping? Well, maybe, except for that Forever 21 moose sweater, haha.

hang up the mistletoe

yowza! I have got to pick up the pace if I'm going to make it to 100 entries by 2008. I guess I've been caught up in the craziness of trying to get awesome, unique gifts for everyone I know, and the depression of working everyday at a job that I hate. Yes, it's official, I hate my job. I came to this realization after hours of fantasizing about walking out in dramatic ways, or being fired and getting to act like a martyr.

Little girls, if you are reading this, never, EVER think to yourself, "oh, I'll be perfectly happy going from an honors political science student to a retail worker, at the command of people who have never gone to college. It is, of course, only temporary." Trust me. (This is not an insult to non-college-goers, but I have put my whole life's energy into my education, and it kills me a little bit each day to be at a job that utterly wastes it).

I have been trying to come up with subtle ways to let my headmaster troll boss know that I loathe the ground they walk upon. Maybe I should wear the same outfit every single day?

day 1.

day 2. what, my smile doesn't look sincere?

day 3.

day 4.

day 5.


This is the best I can come up with so far. I know, I know, passive-aggressive is not the way to go. But until I find a new job that also has full health insurance, I don't want to completely burn my bridges by voicing my true feelings. (If anyone else has retail horror stories, we should totally commiserate and share the gory details).

Sorry for the grim posting, but I have some fun ones coming up! It's the end of the year, so everyone knows it's time for YEAR-END COUNTDOWN LISTS!

Also, I have finally given up my desperate attempt to find a semi-formal party to attend, the sole purpose of which was to find a reason to buy a pretty dress. Instead, I have focused on finding a family-appropriate outfit for our gathering-round-the-piano, presents-opening, and Apples-to-Apples-playing festivities. I am thinking this sweater with my new velvet pants:

Yes, I am so predictable. I absolutely adore anything holiday-kitschy, and I am notorious among my friends for having one too many shirts or accessories with animals on them in some shape or form.

I better decide quickly...only 2 weeks til the big day!

shopping + 12 x 12

Today was my first real day off working retail in over 2 weeks, so what do I do?

Go to the mall.

By the end of the excursion I was kicking myself for the idea, but I did find some good, uh, finds. I am really trying to stay away from Forever 21, but I stopped in to see if they have any of the stretcy $4.80 plain t-shirts that I love (they did!) I noticed that they converted a huge part of the store into Twelve by Twelve, their new "line". It is trying to be more design-forward and the prices are much higher than traditional F21 stuff. From far away,it looks very similar to Zara. But up close, you definitely know you're at F21. The fabrics aren't improved; the endless jersey dresses are just as chintzy and clingy as the other dresses that I always pass up. I think they just added some extra embellishment to their regular clothes then doubled the prices. Some of the outerwear was ok, but nothing you can't find at every other clothing store right now. The one item that stood out to me was this trench:

I saw a cute girl trying it on and it fit nicely, but for $80, I'd rather buy something, um, not from F21.

Then came literally hours of birthday-gift searching for mom (finally ended up withthis and this from Banana Republic). Then, of course I had to stop in to Anthropologie to see some of the sweaters in my previous post. First off, that beautiful dress I wanted is no longer drool-worthy.

The top half is cute; the bottom cheap-looking (lace over flimsy polyester). And it isn't exactly flattering, ick (is my arm really that huge? yikes).

The sweaters, however, were super adorable.


If there was ANY way to justify spending $98 on a sweater when it is still 90 degrees outside, that first baby would be mine right now. The second had such cute detailing (close up here), but the neckline is just a little wrong: the square shape shows the corners of my bra, but an undershirt would ruin the look.

Lastly, their clearance section wasn't the usual disappointment. There were some cute vesty things that I would wear over a t-shirt to make it interesting.


At $20, I had to have one. Which one do you like better? I went with the neutral one. I will wear it to my painfully less fashionable place of employment tomorrow and probably get some raised eyebrows from the polo wearing crowd.

Must go watch Gossip Girl...even my man is SO addicted (but would never admit it)! To be fair, he is flipping to the world series during commercials :)

*EDIT* holy crap, Vanessa is SO not supposed to be a homegirl! or so creepy/annoying!