New Glasses / Tom Ford Cat Eye Frames

I have beginner's luck.

Recently, I learned how to play Blackjack. By the end of the evening, I had kicked my husband's (read: teacher's) ass and had doubled my "money".

Similarly, with big purchases that require commitment, in the end I tend to go with the first thing I tried. It happened with my wedding dress, my car, and most recently, what I'll have on my face for the next few years. I tend to gravitate immediately to what I end up eventually purchasing, but not before trying EVERYTHING else to be sure.

As with most things, I went in with one thing in mind (conservative, metal Tiffany & Co. frames with a hint of embellishment) and, clearly, came out with something else entirely-the Tom Ford Cat Eye frame. (TF5189 to be exact.) I tried on frames for at least half an hour, and everything seemed to be reminiscent of what I already owned (black, plastic Shanghai Tang frames--which I still love!). These wild things were the first pair I tried on, and what I kept coming back to. At first, I was astounded by how good they actually looked. Then, I had to convince myself to not just think outside the box, but to get rid of the box altogether. "I couldn't..." I thought. "Or, can I...?"

And so, I did.

Thus far, the public approval rating has been high! My husband would likely rather I had chosen something else, as he asked me when the moon landing was scheduled to occur, but I think they're growing on him.

Maybe in 10 years I'll look back and wonder what the hell I was thinking, but right now I'm happy for the throw-back vibe they lend my overall look.

A Single Man

Recently my husband and I were watching a rerun of the Oprah show in which Tom Ford and Colin Firth were promoting their movie, A Single Man. My husband turned to me and said "I wish I could dress like that everyday." And I replied, "why not?" One of the things I love about my husband is his sense of style. This is not something a lot of (American) women say, nor is it something I thought I'd ever be able to say. Working as a chemist, he doesn't dress up every day, but when he gets the opportunity he seizes it. Those opportunities have been increasing as of late, and his appetite for stylish clothes has increased accordingly.

I've always loved clothes and fashion, even if from afar in my pajamas, so I feel incredibly lucky to have married a man who not only encourages, but participates in, looking stylish and enjoying some of the finer things in life. I can take him to a dressing room and he actually has the ability to give me solid advice on what looks good on me. He really does have impeccable taste, so this post is to celebrate him and kick off some future posts on menswear inspiration.

While we have yet to watch the movie together, I can already predict that I will like it based on these themes alone: period piece, 1960s, directed by a man credited with reinventing GUCCI, set in California, Colin Firth. Finally, there is this quote from Tom Ford's interview with Oprah on his switch from fashion to movies: "Fashion is a reflection of where we are in contemporary culture, but it moves, moves, moves. It doesn't last," he says. "In film, you create a world that's forever sealed. It lasts forever. You can put in an old movie from the '30s and you're emoting and living and breathing with these people. And if you're someone who likes to design things, build things, create things, that's as close as you get to, you know, being God in our world, and it's permanent."


How many fashion designers could make that leap so successfully? Not many.

 If only I could get my hair like this without a Bumpit...

(Image: Gentryman.com)

 (Image: Zimbio.com)

 Color-blocked deliciousness 

(Image: Flix66.com)

 How I picture my future-professor husband will someday dress on the job.

(Image: BrandsandFilms.com)

(Image: Zimbio.com)

 (Image: FilmmakerMagazine.com)

(Image: Londonoa.com)

Send in the Gowns - LA Times Magazine

I love this article from LA Times Magazine on some of the greatest gowns in film--complete with video links. 

Send in the Gowns - LA Times Magazine

I believe my favorite goes without saying...

She's Climbin' in Your Windows...

A couple of weekends ago, I made an impulse purchase or two on a Friday night before bed. Coincidentally, my husband was out of town. (While the cat's away...) And in the morning when I rolled over to read my Blackberry, I had an "I bought what?" moment. Let's ignore the fact for a moment that I may need rehab and rejoice in the fact that I bought a hot Kate Spade purse via the sample sale for $145. That is with tax and shipping my friends. Its sticker price was $325. Pretty sure this is what Diana Ross meant when she was singing about her Love Hangover.

Normally, I don't impulse shop. You can ask anyone that's shopped with me. I'm a hem-hawer and I usually have to make many trips to the mall because I find myself saying "why didn't I buy that?" But I've wanted a Kate Spade for YEARS, so I'm happy to finally have one. Anyone remember her boxy Sam bags? Those were also in the sample sale, and I was tempted, but I feel I've outgrown them...oh, if only I'd gotten one in 1995.

But regardless, she's here...and she's hiding under my side of the bed. She's a little to fall/winter to make her debut, though I should take advantage of using her during this rainy west coast weather. However, she's quite large, so I'm not sure the "this old thing" line will work. Hide your cards, hide your wallets...UPS, is coming for YOU! (I had this shipped to work...sneaky trick I learned from my best friend's mom who was my high school teacher.)

So, aside from this rehash on old news (to some of you), I wanted to mention that katespade.com is AWESOME and has free (or super low) shipping. I usually get free shipping, but for the sample sale, they charged $5 shipping.

That's kate, hiding at my job.

Style+Stereotypes

I was turned on to the Minneapolis-based blog, alreadypretty.com, by a friend who has an upcoming style session with the author, Sally. I've really been enjoying the blog, but today's guest post from writer and vintage clothing enthusiast Andrea Eames was a good one. We always hear that we are judged, whether or not we like it, based upon our appearance. We usually take this to mean that we will be judged negatively if we don't put effort into our appearance, but what happens when we are judged for actually putting forth a lot of effort? I think this quote sums it up nicely: 
"I found that, almost exclusively, vintage and style bloggers are strong, thinking women who use clothing as just one more way in which to express that strength and those thoughts."


Since I've been struggling with preemptive fears of judgery, this post was a great reminder to say eff the critics.


Check it out!

Trina Hat?

My husband just said the Trina hat (photo posted in the last entry) was "so-so." I look good in hats though! Indecision, indecision.
Opinions?

Neglectful

I've been neglecting this blog for the sake of other things. New Twitter account. And time, a general lack of it. And email. Lots and lots of email, in which I've been "shop talkin" with the ladiezzz. I think I'll bring the shop talk here.

It never ceases to amaze me that a great majority of my lady pals (who come from all backgrounds and walks of life) enjoy fashion, shopping, and cosmetics. While society would like us to believe these topics are petty and unimportant, I have gone down the road of neglecting my appearance...it was not a happy time! I'm glad to say I'm back in action, even if my husband, the same husband that didn't appreciate my slump-chic clothing, doesn't thank me for the spending! (Though, I have it documented that he said he doesn't want to know what stuff costs when I shop. Fair enough!) So naysayers be damned, I LIKE CLOTHES. There's a reason we're among the world's worst dressed, and those Juicy-assed pants aren't the only culprits. Far too many American women sacrifice their appearance for their kids, hate their size and promise to buy themselves clothes on a skinnier tomorrow, or let the same society that feeds them heroine-eyed, pre-pubescent "models" tell them that fashion is not important. I, for one, am tired of falling victim to the "I'm fat and therefore can't look cute" trap. Call it superficial, call it whatever, I'm done with listening to naysaying dialogue of society, or the fat devil on my shoulder.

Pep talk, done. On to the shop talk, ladiezzz. My coworker turned me on to Trina Turk, a California designer whose multiculti and retro pieces send me into a Saturday-morning-cartoon-commercial-break-"I want that"-tantrum. It's always a bright spot in my day when said coworker sneaks me a Trina link to say "look what I got/want." (Said coworker has lots of pretty Trina items in her wardrobe.) I got to perusing, and fell in love with this ensemble.

The necklace, on sale, was sold out on the Trina site, but I found it on Bloomingdales.com ON A BIGGER SALE with an extra 15% OFF! Trina Turk under $100? Huzzah! I even logged in to my Delta SkyMiles account to earn roughly 300 frequent flier miles on the purchase. DAMN I'm good. The hat may be in my very near future...have to pace myself!
I'm an accessorizing fool, and I'm giddy with my first Trina Turk purchase!

Even I'm not buying it.

I'm all for impractical fashion. If I could, I'd be sporting six inch heels with the best of 'em. I get the whole fashion as art and inspiration for what becomes available to the masses. I'm an envelope pusher, so I like it when it's done in the medium of clothing.
But this is for the birds. Quite literally. Like, I was attacked by a swarm of them. And I paid over $1K to dress like it. The grand total for this piece of shit? (Really, what else can I call it?)

$1625

Soldiers, save your fatigues, your look is hot this season!

This Yahoo article calls out the bullshit. Take out the trash, we're not buying it. And I love bags, especially impractical ones. But any old fool can grab a Hefty from under the sink and call it a knock off to those handbags.

My husband had a TShirt like that once. It had a dinosaur on it and a strategic hole over the nipple, dangerous when you consider he works in a lab. I should post it on Ebay for $2,000. His, after all, has a dinosaur on it.

Speaking of my husband, his largest complaint about America is that we dress like crap. And it's totally true for a large majority. (Though I argue that if our comfy clothes were as chic AND comfy as saris, we wouldn't have this problem.) When we're in my hometown visiting, I enjoy watching the look of torture spread across his face as he spots a 20-something with Spongebob Squarepants sweats in public, on a Sunday afternoon. (Michigan, I'm calling you out, though I have seen this look before in other places! You can do better, mitten state!) I can only imagine the look on his face if I came home with a $900 pair of grey sweatpants and said "but, darling, they're Michael Kors." For a guy that shells out the negativity on Project Runway, Michael missed the mark on this one. Is this some attempt to appeal to those hurting from the recession? To make the upper class fit in with the masses with recession-chic clothing? (I digress but that's been my favorite blurb in the news about the recession, how the upper class has "cut back" because overspending is seen as "gauche." "Well, I was going to get a Ferrari, but I didn't want to seem TACKY.")

I'd rather see six inch heels and dresses I'll never be able to afford...or fit into. Some of us poor, chesty women enjoy the Picassos of the runway, whether or not they'll grace our closets. Back to work, Kors.

Happy Spring

Each St. Patrick's Day, I bust out this purse given to me by my late grandmother, the person that gave me my shopping gene. She always believed auctions, variety stores, and garage sales were full of treasures and because of that, I can't pass a dollar store without thinking of her. I often find myself saying "It was only $1!" to my husband, which was her Eureka cry after finding a random marabou-covered item or knick-knack.
Embarrassingly enough in my childhood, I somehow gave her the nickname "Cracker." Though I eventually started calling her Grandma (probably when I learned "Cracker" is somewhat racially charged...) her kids always called her Annette. I have few memories of my dad or his siblings calling her "mom," but I think Annette suited her. Certainly better than "Cracker!" Kids say the darnedest things...

Spring is the time I remember her most. Though she decorated for all holidays, I think she particularly loved Easter, garnishing the house with eggs and baby chicks. What I didn't know about her until she died, however, is that while she brought me a bag of marshmallow Peeps and chocolate bunnies, she brought an even bigger bag of Easter treats to our church for the kids of our Parish who were less fortunate. I didn't realize what a big contributor she was to our church's food bank. But I shouldn't be surprised, that was Annette. Always thinking of someone else.

"If you don't like it, you don't have to wear it," she reminded me when she gave me the purse, knowing how much I loved bags. And sure, it's no Louis Vuitton, but it's one of my most treasured bags because it reminds me that I am a bargain hunting, indecisive, holiday-decorating, Hershey's-chocolate-loving member of the Brown family...

I miss you, Annette.

Another Marchesa Plug

Marchesa seems to be a "maison" I am googling a lot lately and after yesterday's music post I was reminded that Marchesa dressed Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe (star of "Precious"). The size talk on the "fashion world" is a dead horse. Screw size issues, I don't care. Just dress to kill...

Even (awesome) femme blog JEZEBEL had to concur:

"Screw porn, Gabourey Sidibe's drapey Marchesa was a money-shot even on this red carpet."

Best Mash Up Yet

The Marchesa website, aside from hosting a smorgasbord of beautiful clothing, mashed up two of my favorite songs: Massive Attack's Teardrop and Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore.

Click to listen. It's track 1.

Genius much?