An Outfit (Deconstructed)...

After last week-end's initial assault on the closet (and subsequent goodwill-bound pile of cast-offs), I'm now moving into a phase II with my wardrobe, honing in on the things I haven't worn in a while but am still loathe to part with.

The fine-tuning is the hard part (it's easy to do a first pass/toss), as it requires more discipline that I'm usually accustomed to showing in matters of clothes. It requires some level of ruthlessness and lack of sentimentality even.

But I want to get this process right. I want to open my closet and love everything in it (and more important, I want to open my closet and have the desire to actually wear everything in it). Imagine one of those women who is incredibly stylish and consistent and sort of seemingly effortless...say, Sofia Coppola. You know she has a laser-focused closet -- In another words, I bet she doesn't have some totally ill-suited colorful print frock hanging in there (unworn) just because she went through a phase where she "thought" she should be wearing more whimsical clothes. Right? Right?

I thought since I was digging deep here, I'd use my outfit posts to "test-drive" some of the pieces in question... (kill two birds with one stone if you will). The oldie but goodie (I think) in this ensemble is the Miu Miu top/dress thing I got a few years ago at one of 4510's crazy amazing sales. It's unique, with some cool seaming on the sides, but it's not necessarily easy. The cut makes it interesting but somewhat challenging to wear, so it's languished in my closet for the past year.

But today I'm bold, and the top comes out of hiding...I'm feeling like this one might be a keeper. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

The Details:

• Top -- Miu Miu
• Skinny Cords -- Gap
• Shoes -- Chie Mihara
• Necklace -- Vintage
• Clutch -- Clare Vivier
• Josie's Dress -- Liberty of London for Target

An Outfit (Deconstructed)...Some Newness

I haven't done an outfit post in a while and thought it would be fun to start pulling together ensembles with some of my new acquisitions (especially in light of the fact that I'm now keeping such good track of them and all)... In this instance I'm sporting the Valentine's gift from hubby (sweater) + new jeans and new (vintage) bag.

This was also my attempt to determine how many different shades of brown(ish) I could combine at once without spontaneously combusting... I managed to fit in twig and chestnut and caramel and gold.

I'm living on the edge here people.

The Details:

• Sweater -- J. Crew
• Necklace -- Laura Lombardi via Pretty Mommy
• Purse -- Vintage Coach via Dear Golden
• Jeans -- Gap
• Shoes -- Prada

Some Beauty Products...

I've been thinking about doing a post sharing some of my favorite (for lack of a better term) "beauty products" for a while...

As much as I'd like to be able to claim that I'm a low-maintenance gal that eschews make-up in favor of a bare-face, well... I can't. I like products. I always have. One of my most fond childhood memories is watching my grandmother (with whom I was extremely close) getting ready for work in the morning. Perched on her little bathroom vanity, I would study her intently as she carefully lined her eyes and powdered her nose. It was mesmerizing.

I was also endlessly intrigued by my mom's groovy homemade masks, which she would apply after holding her face over a big steaming pot of chamomile infused water on the stove, towel draped over her head. It wasn't long before she had me steaming my face too. I think I was about nine. My mom is an licensed aesthetician now and is a wealth of info about awesome skin products. She's way in the know.

In college, I worked at The Body Shop...I was in "product" heaven. And then after I graduated (mind you this was in the mid-90's when the best prospect for college grads with English degrees was working at a coffee shop), I moved to Boulder and worked as a make-up artist at the Chanel counter in the mall until I landed my first "real job".

So I have a history with make-up (and moisturizer and hair stuff and perfume)...how could I not share what I love? Also you guys have asked. I think one of my most frequently received e-mail questions is: "what are some of the products that you use?"

So I'm going to tell ya. Here goes...




Skin:

• I wash my face with just a gentle Aveeno cleanser...nothing fancy. But, at night I use it with my Clarisonic face brush, which I am kind of in love with (not to be overly swoony). This little gadget makes my skin super-soft and glowy. It was worth every penny.
  
  
• After I wash my face at night, I mix together a little dab of Tazorac (a super-strong, prescription retinol) with a couple of pumps of Bliss anti-aging serum. It's really lightweight (I can't use heavy moisturizers) and makes my skin glowy...I'm big on glowy. If I'm feeling especially dry, I might also use a drop or two of Dr. Hauschka Normalizing Day Oil.
  
  
• Around my eyes, I've been using a little dab of Creme de la Mer from a sample I've been desperately clinging to forever. This stuff is amazing, but crazy pricey, and I have two kids to send to college. I'm not sure what I'm going to do once my sample is empty... I'm open to eye cream suggestions friends.
  
  
• For body, I swear by Kiehl's Creme de Corps. It's super moisturizing (which is good since I am currently seriously lizard-like) but not greasy at all. Greasy = Bad.

Make-up:

• My #1, all-time favorite product is Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude. I can't say enough about this stuff. When I'm about half done with my tube, I go buy another one, as I have this sort of irrational fear of it disappearing. It's not really foundation (which scares me) but more than moisturizer. And, again, makes me glowy. (I know, I know, it can't be helped.)
  
  
• I wish I was one of those girls that could pull-off that awesome orangy-red Nars lipstick that's all over the place right now. I love that look. But sadly it doesn't work on me...at all. My look is more smoky/sooty eye. I know it's crazy, but it makes me feel a little rock & roll, which is kind of necessary for a working mom of two living in middle-America.
  
  To do the smoky eye, I smudge Laura Mercier powder eyeliner in Ebony Black over my lash line (top and bottom) with a brush, put a sweep of Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige on my lids and then a coat or two of Benefit BADgal Lash mascara in black. It's a pretty fool-proof enterprise.
  
  
• I also use a little Nars blush (this shade, which I refuse to write on my blog) and for lips pretty much just lip balm, as I reason (and I know this is cliche) that with the sooty eyes, I have to have way low-key lips. Right now I'm using Primavera Neroli Cassis lip balm that Nicole gave me, but if I'm going out, I'll use Bobbi Brown Glitter Lip Gloss in Nude.

Hair:

• On the hair front, I'm digging Kevin Murphy Hydrate Me shampoo and conditioner for my ombre (read: trashed) ends...it's smells a little like patchouli, so there's that whole hippie-vibe thing going. I only wash my hair every other day, so I use his hair powder on my roots on day two to avoid channeling Johnny Depp.
  
  
• And now that I have the effortless bangs, I just blow-dry my hair with a round brush and go...totally easy.
  
  

The Extras:

• I hardly ever paint my nails, but when I do I've been using Chanel Particuliere...I use it on my toes too. I always paint my toenails.
  
  
• I love Yuzu Rouge perfume by 06130, and I'm also a big fan of Stella by Stella McCartney.
  
  
• And last but not least, every single day I take 2000 milligrams of Omega 3&6 fish oil, 1000 milligrams of vitamin D and a multi-vitamin. The fish oil is a miracle...it's made my skin and hair better, and I just feel better when I take it. I also drink the most disgusting concoction of all-time every morning -- 1 cup of organic cranberry juice blended with a scoop of Garden of Life Perfect Food Super Green powder. It is truly foul, but it makes me feel like a super-hero, so I'm strangely addicted.

Ok that's it...whew!

Now your turn...what products do you use, what do you love, what can't you live without??

The Zen of Calligraphy, A Wise DJ and An Outfit (aka My Alt Summit Recap)

pretty business cards gathered at Alt...

There are so many fantastic Alt Summit recaps floating around the interwebs, filled with all sorts of goodness, so rather than rehash what's already been said (and likely better than I could say it), I thought I'd just share the things I can't seem to get out of my mind since coming home:

1. Calligraphy is akin to meditation -- On the first day of the summit, I took a calligraphy class from the lovely and incredibly talented Melissa Esplin, and it was a revelation. Let me just say, no matter how easy Melissa made it seem, calligraphy is hard. It takes work, and I'm not very good at it (not surprising given my DIY track-record), but the act of working at it is quite possibly one of the most relaxing things I've done in a long time. You can't really think about anything else while you're trying to get those letters just right; it sort of puts you in a trance. Incredibly therapeutic that calligraphy... I'm hooked.
   
   (I also had the pleasure of sitting next to the totally fantastic Alexis in the class... we've been blog friends for a while, so it was the sort of surreal experience of meeting someone for the first time, but having the most natural, "I've known you forever" conversation.)
   


2. Creative geniuses know when to unplug and use their hands -- On day two I attended a session on events for the sole purpose of getting inside the brains of event super-stars Jordan, Ashley and Britney (of my rainbow cake inspiration). I wanted to know how they come up with all their brilliant ideas. I was heartened by Ashley's tales of making lots of "ugly" things along the way to coming up with the final perfect execution of an idea and her declaration that to foster creativity you have to "walk away from the computer and make things with your hands". Obvious but so often (by me) ignored.
   


3. Green hair is not stupid -- I expected a lot of things out of Alt, but one thing I didn't even remotely imagine would happen was that I would get some spot-on parenting advice from a wunderkind DJ. On day two, DJ Spooky gave the lunch keynote and was fantastic and brilliant and a little crazy (in the best possible way, as most brilliant people are).
   
   During the Q&A, an attendee asked him how his parents influenced and cultivated his desire to learn, and he shared a bit about his upbringing (his parents were academics and political activists) and how he was constantly challenged and expected to "challenge back", to form arguments, to know what he believed in and why. He also said that his mother told him, "Dye your hair green but don't ever do anything stupid"... Quite possibly the best parental line ever. It's all about putting things in perspective. Thanks DJ Spooky.
   


4. I believe in women -- I am heartened by what I saw go down last week. There was a palpable energy, an amazing sense of rooting for each other and the genuine feeling that there are more than enough opportunities available for everyone to get in on the action. It's a powerful thing when women bond together and support each other like this (and the men too...there were a few men in attendance). It reminds me of a post I wrote last summer and specifically this Michele Oka Doner quote originally found by my beloved Karey (my Alt roomie and partner in "crime.")
   
   "Evolved women have begun to form a collective awareness of how to support one another. It goes way beyond 'what dress am I wearing tonight?' I really like women. I've learned how to negotiate a world filled with intelligent and attractive women, giving everyone their due."
   

from left: danni, melanie, me, liz and amy after our panel ...


And now (as promised in the post title) a little bit of an "outfit deconstructed"... Since I forced you to take a peek into my pre-Alt packing process, I thought it only fair to show you an outfit I wore last week in its entirety.

Here's what I sported on day one...


(Note how much attention I'm paying in the calligraphy class. I really, really wanted to get it right... oh and look at how lovely that sweet Danni is in her fab yellow skirt...)


The Details:

• Striped "dress" -- Chance
• Skinny grey cords -- Gap
• Black "paperchain" necklace -- J. Crew
• Heels -- J. Crew
• Nail polish -- Chanel Particuliere

Honor Your Stuff...

I don't think you are defined by your stuff.

(Although, admittedly, my fondness for peeking into a stylish person's closet/home/drawers via The Selby or Jeana's genius series to try and get a better sense of them is pretty strong.)

But I do think your stuff is a significant component of who you are. It has to be recognized. I think there's something good in having a (healthy) reverence for the things that you own. You, after all, spent hard-earned money or time acquiring or making those things. They should be treated well, respected...honored.

You know one of my resolutions this year is to purchase fewer things. And (because I'm a girl that likes structure and rules) I hope to do that with two "guidelines" in mind.

• End 2011 with less stuff than I started with.
• Buy only things I know I will have for at least five years.

See, I'm not sure I've been honoring my stuff in the past. I have impulse shopped (a lot), tossed things that were slightly downtrodden, purchased essentially disposable shoes at Target ad nauseam just because I was jonesin' for something new.

I believe when you buy only the things that you really love, things that are made with integrity, things that are high-quality, beautiful and meaningful...you will have them for a very, very long time. I believe these types of things are worthy of display (I'm not sure I'd necessarily put my new Celine wedges on my bookshelf, but that photo above has me seriously considering it).

Most of the time it costs more to buy these types of things (quality and our rampant discount culture are generally incompatible), but not always...I have found many of my most special, most lasting things on the cheap, at estate sales or thrift stores. Similarly, there are things in my closet that, with the proper care, have lasted years despite their lowly providence (i.e. a Banana Republic skirt that I've had for 10 years (!), have had tailored three times, and still wear every.single.week.)

I am digging this new site the Coveteur big time, because it reminded me yet again of the specialness of the things you own...especially when you acquired them with purpose. It gives those items a story. That's a good thing, an essential part of our own personal histories, a little archaeological exploration of our lives.

...and barring all of that, the site is just really freakin' cool, yes?

all photographs by Jake Rosenberg via The Coveteur...

A Few Random Bits...

Or maybe I should have titled this post "A J. Crew trifecta", as that's what I'm pretty much giving you guys on this fine Friday.


Oh J. Crew...you know how we ladies love to get a peek inside a handbag. I mean there's nothing better than a little good handbag voyeurism, yes?? And that particular handbag makes me want to buy a new handbag even though I really don't need one. (Yes, I realize I just used the word handbag four times...it's the end of the week, I'm losing my steam a bit.)

But I want it in black.

Ok then there's this really killer dress, posted especially for my friend Jane who is currently experiencing a bit of a funk due to the cold and grey upstate New York weather.

Janey, I'm thinking this can be our Seaside uniform...

And last but not least on the J. Crew front, my friend Lucia told me about this New Yorker profile of Mickey Drexler from last fall. It's a great read...totally fascinating!

Have a splendid weekend friends!

An Outfit (Deconstructed)...

I haven't done one of these posts in a while...truth is I've been a bit disenchanted with my closet of late. Nothing in there is very inspiring. I'm bored with my clothes. Does this happen to you?

But in the past few days, the tides have turned a bit. And it's been due to, wait for it... the bangs (or the "fringe" as my friends in Australia and my bestie Karey refer to them).

Yes, the bangs are causing me to look at my closet in a new way. The pieces I always reach for when I'm getting dressed somehow skew differently now that the bangs are in the picture. I'm now digging into the recesses, trying new combinations, wearing things I haven't worn in ages (but have somehow mercilessly been spared from my Goodwill rampages), like that ancient black jacket above...it literally had dust on the sleeves. Sad.

Bangs as a "wardrobe refresher." Who knew.

The Details:

• Jacket -- Vera Wang for Kohls
• "Slummy" T-Shirt -- Alternative Apparel via Pretty Mommy
• Jeans -- Gap
• Wedges -- Martin + Osa (I miss that store...)
• Necklace -- Madewell
• Bracelets -- Madewell + Vintage

p.s. Madewell is fast becoming my new favorite store for jewelery.

p.p.s. Notice how the bangs are slowly becoming side-swept...the full forehead action didn't last long did it?

A Question, Some Internet Loveliness and The Joy of Clementines...

First the question...

Let's say there was a certain necklace that you'd been "stalking" for a while...now let's say that you're on the site where said necklace is sold doing some last minute Christmas shopping for your two daughters when you notice that the necklace is hugely on sale.

Hugely.

Would it be bad to throw it into your shopping cart as a gift for yourself even though you're supposed to be buying gifts for other people?

Just wondering, because I may have done that. Maybe ;-)


And speaking of gifts...I pulled together a little gift guide for iVillage a couple of weeks ago (above) and shortly after, I received a note from the (incredibly) generous Alice Q. Foodie wondering if I would like her copy of The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper (which was on my list), as she doesn't use it anymore.

I said yes (!), and she sent it my way (along with a pretty card and some sweet stickers for the girlies), and I've been buried in it ever since.

That Alice is awfully lovely + amazing, yes?

image via roland bello...and clearly it's one of my favorite images, as it's now been on my blog three different times (first here and then here)...

And finally there are the Clementines...the ones that we wait to buy until December 1st every year because it makes them feel special and rare and slightly unattainable in an age where nothing really feels rare or unattainable anymore.

I wrote about the special things we save for the holidays over at Say Yes to Hoboken for Liz's fantastic "Blognog" series today...

Is there anything special you save for December?

A Few Random Bits...

So I had to share the lovely little family "surprise party" that Audrey and Bryan orchestrated for me on Tuesday... Audrey picked out and arranged all the decorations (balloons and party hats and noise makers), and then made everyone hide when I got home from work so they could properly surprise me.

It was so perfectly sweet and mellow. One of my nicest birthdays ever...

And on the gift front, there was this necklace from hubby. Oh my, I love this necklace...


And lovely flowers...

And Handcrafted Modern from my parents (which you know I've been coveting madly). Friends, it is fantastic. Insanely stunning interiors, hugely inspiring. I would highly recommend it...

And finally (and admittedly completely random), the opening line of this week's Goop made me giggle out loud (and confirmed my massive girl crush on Gwyneth...)


"I don’t know how it is where all of you are, but I am freezing my ass off."


Just sayin.

p.s. Happy birthday lovely cousin Erin!!!

A Few Random Bits Before Thanksgiving...

First up...if you happen to have come into possession of a lovely clutch of Meyer lemons and by some chance decide to make Alice Waters' (27 step) Meyer lemon cake, just don't accidentally use whole wheat pastry flour.

I may have done this...and it may have made my otherwise lovely cake taste "earthy" (not in a good way) and odd.

Just trying to make sure it never happens to anyone else. I'm here to help friends.

Next, a reminder that the Debbie Carlos poster giveaway is still in full swing. You have until this Sunday to leave a comment. I'll announce a winner on Monday.

Then in some post turkey day shopping news, hij kids kicks-off their annual Thanksgiving sale on Friday with 25% off the entire site. The sale runs for a week with code "thankful".

And

If you're in Dallas, pop by Little Bean on Friday for some bubbly, sugar cookies and 15% off the entire store. You can also shop the sale online with code "give15".


And finally, but certainly most important, some Thanksgiving thoughts from my dear friend Philip who is no longer with us. I shared this last year too...but it's just too good not to make a yearly appearance.

*****

We are about to celebrate one of our great American holidays, Thanksgiving.

This celebration leads us to give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy in this wonderful country of ours. We have a great deal to celebrate this year. We have our family and good friends to thank for getting through another year.

We are blessed for being here in this country, enjoying a multitude of advantages .We have bountiful food, freedom of thought, religion and politics. We have our health and many intangible things to be thankful for.

As we sit down to our Thanksgiving meal to celebrate the start of our holiday season, let us not forget the wonderful privileges that we enjoy.

We must always enjoy our family and friends around us, and never, ever give up an opportunity to hug and kiss someone we love, each and every day.


Have a wonderful, lovely, simple, cozy holiday friends!

An Outfit (Deconstructed) ...

You know this quote, yes?

"Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes."

Henry David Thoreau

Well, I've never been able to quite get the hang of that one...

No, I pretty much always *think* I need new clothes. Especially when I'm going somewhere that feels a little "out of my wheelhouse", say...a special event, a somewhat fancy place, dinner with a group of people I've never met. The irony is that in most of those situations (especially that last one) all of my existing clothes would be perfectly acceptable, given no one in attendance would have ever seen any of them before. But I'm not exactly reasonable when it comes to pressure dressing.

The dress in these photos was a result of one of those semi-crazed, event driven, sartorial quests. We had a party to attend that was:

• not in my wheelhouse
• at a somewhat fancy place
• and filled with people I'd never met before.

Clearly I needed something new to wear...

So I snapped up this number from Anthro, paired it with those Marni heels (which I had yet to wear) + a fun necklace and proceeded to the living room to hang with the girlies a bit before we had to leave. After about five minutes in the get-up, I decided I was uncomfortable, didn't feel like myself, and had to change immediately (never mind that we needed to leave for the event in approximately 2.5 minutes). So I ended up throwing on a black dress that I wear all the time (this one to be exact) and calling it a day. Upon returning to the living room, Audrey remarked that she liked my earlier outfit tons better, and when I asked her why, she said (and I quote), "it's more colorfulish and patterny and not so black."

Umm...ok. I still wore the black dress.

But I couldn't return the one from Anthro. I loved it. Love. I loved it's patterny-ness; I loved the quilted bodice; I loved the pockets. I just figured I needed to wear it under less pressure, to something low-key, no big thing. So a couple of months later (and in decidedly cooler weather) I tried again and threw it on for a date night with hubby. I dressed it down with tights and a cardi (which, for me, was the trick). And now, just like that, it's officially in the rotation.



The Details:

• Dress -- Anthropologie
• Necklace -- Urban Outfitters
• Cardigan -- J Crew
• Tights -- Wolford
• Wedges -- Old Navy

An Outfit (Deconstructed) ...+ The Clothing Swap

in a somewhat unprecedented move, I am including my head in this photo so you can see my newly "bleached at the ends" hair. After all my incessant yammering about ombré hair, I thought it only fair to show you...

So this week's outfit is a pretty basic enterprise...it's a sweater dress...over jeans. (Dress over jeans, whoa, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone here friends.)

But this particular outfit is post-worthy (I think), as it serves three purposes:

1. I obtained that sweater dress in the clothing swap I hosted last weekend, and a few of you have asked for more details about said swap...
   
2. I'm wearing my (current) two most favorite necklaces, and I had to show them to you...
   
3. And finally, my besty Karey recently suggested I share more of my "everyday outfits", and this particular combo is a good representation of what I wear about 80% of the time. (Yes, I always wear heels of some sort...unless I'm at the beach. I can't help it. It's my thing.)
   
   
   

Ok so first the clothing swap party...I would highly recommend doing one, as it was incredibly easy to pull-off and (most important) really fun. Here's how things went down...

• I invited 15 of my friends (mostly Audrey's school friend's moms whose daughters also happened to be on the father/daughter camping trip) and asked them to each bring five-seven items of clothing or accessories that (and this is key) they still loved but no longer wear. These weren't pieces destined for donation, rather they were those things hanging in your closet that you can't bear to part with for some reason (you paid a lot, you love it in theory, etc...) but just never seem to wear.
  
  
• I also asked everyone to bring an adult beverage + a little snack to share with the other ladies. Little kids were invited too, so I made a few pizzas + a fruit salad and juice for the littles to nosh on, but adult food was pretty much covered by all the contributions.
  
  
• When guests arrived (I had them bring their clothes already on hangers) we displayed everything in the dining room. I had a rolling rack for the hanging items, and all the jewelry, handbags, scarves, etc...were laid out on the table for perusing.
  
  
• We then drew numbers 1-15 from a bowl and got to "shop" for one item from the dining room in order of our numbers lowest to highest. Once everyone picked an item, we started over, but this time we went in reverse order, giving everyone a chance at the prime goods. After a few rounds like this (and a few glasses of wine) it became a bit of a free-for-all... And it stayed surprisingly civil given all the good stuff up for grabs. Anything left over at the end of the evening went into a donation bag for our local women's shelter.

My haul included a fantastic black dress from Anthro and the Madewell sweater dress from these photos... Oh and it's possible I may have cheated a bit and took both items at once. But I'm not saying for sure.

I'm bad like that...

The Outfit Details:

• Sweater dress -- Madewell
• Jeans -- Gap
• Shoes -- Max Studio
• Circle necklace -- Bosquez
• Bead necklace -- Laura Lombardi
• Bangles -- F is for Frank, Ariel Gordon + vintage