Style

San Francisco, Style

Selfie Time: Spring is Here

 

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Spring is in the air in San Francisco, and I’m embracing it. I’ve been running regularly in my neighborhood (pretending I could make Bay to Breakers), taking long walks to the water during lunch, and making weekend travel plans (Tahoe, ho!). It’s sad to say, but my mood is heavily driven by the weather. Is it really so simple??

This week we had a super hot spell, and people were FREAKING OUT. Er… literally.  Yesterday and today on the way home I’ve witnessed strange incidents of aggression. Yesterday a homeless man started banging on the windows of the streetcar, yelling at another homeless man that had boarded the car. “That’s my blanket! Fuck you! I love it. You don’t deserve her!” Today two passengers got into a fight on the train and had to be thrown off. It’s that heat, man.

And you know it’s spring when men start yelling at you on the street. I try not to worry or plan my outfits based on fear of being harassed, because it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. I always get hit on when I look like shit or have been crying, honestly. It’s like some radar that creeps have for helplessness and disinterest.

Anyways, when it’s hot out you gotta be comfortable, so dresses and sneakers it is. My current favorite no think dress is this simple black dress from Uniqlo, which I wouldn’t really brag about except it is quite sturdy and cool, and it was CHEAP. Less than 20 bucks! Actually, everything in the Ines de la Fressange line at Uniqlo is super simple, but really quite nice once you try it on.

This heat doesn’t last much longer but I’m definitely going to milk it. Hope you’re having a hot one too.

Style

Selfie Time: Getting Old

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When J. Crew came out with the No. 2 pencil skirt a million years ago I wasn’t too excited. It was a pencil skirt, why was everyone freaking out about a basic and overpriced pencil skirt from J.Crew? It couldn’t really be all about the colors, could it?

About five months ago I was checking out the racks at Crossroads and found a wool No. 2 skirt. It was too small, but I tried it on anyways. The skirt was substantial, made of weighty and soft wool, and the color was a lovely lagoon green. It was 15 dollars, but damn it it didn’t fit. I really wanted it to.

I kept going back to Crossroads, but never ran into another one in the racks. On eBay the skirts sell for $20-100+ (depends on the material, “rareness” of the color, etc). If I had known this at the time, I would have bought that skirt and resold it online. But that is a story for another day…

As the years have passed I’ve found that I don’t have the stamina or patience to wait it out for specific items to show up at my local thrift shops. I did the math in my head and decided that if I was still thinking about that damn skirt  5 months later, I might as well just buy it. I got the double serge wool skirt in heather pine at 25% off, which is still too much, but I’m quite happy with the purchase. When worn in the right size, these skirts are deliciously flattering, warm and comfortable. I get the online hype, but still think J. Crew has really lost it with their pricing and general quality levels.

I’ve been playing around with different shoe and top combinations, and I think I’m going to go with this (blurry) look for the opera tomorrow night. I’m seeing Falstaff by myself, and it is supposed to be off the hook.

Anyways, what’s the point of these ramblings? Life is short. Buy the skirt. Go out alone. Dress up.

Shopping, Style

Selfie Time: J Crew Seahorse Print T Shirt Dress, Online Vs. Reality

The T-Shirt Dress in Sea Horse Print

On the Jcrew model. Impossibly cool and chic with a pair of sneakers and plain old sunnies.jcrewseahorsedress 

Cute pattern, right?

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On the petite fashion blogger, worn to work with a blazer in a corporate finance environment. Lovely and appropriate looking.

 

Casual and chic? Work appropriate? Sounds like a dare! Let’s buy it!

 

And here it is on regular old me, worn to work in a casual agency environment. It’s San Francisco, so of course I’m wearing tights and boots.

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I picked this dress up for fun in the last J Crew final sale. The allover seahorse print was just too charming, but like many others I was not prepared for the thinness of the material. I was too nervous about the  sheerness of the cotton (with or without slip!) to wear it as a dress, so a skirt fixed the situation. Still love the dress, but not sure about other modest ways to rework this piece.

Any ideas?

Style, Travel

Kate Spade Saturday Weekender Bag: Itching for a Trip

After about a month of hemming and hawing, I finally took the plunge and bought some luggage. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I got the Saturday Weekender.

While I was doing “research”, I could barely find any real life (non sponsored) photos or reviews of this bag. Very curious. Did no bloggers buy this bag? So I thought I might as well do a review.

I was torn on which size to get as the dimensions had me stumped for a long time:

  • Regular size: Height: 16″ Width: 19″ Depth: 8″
  • Small size: Height: 14.75″ Width: 14.75″ Depth: 7″

The small looked rather wimpy in the online photos, so regular size it was. Shipping was fast, and I was really pleased with the packaging. Like previous Kate Spade bags I’ve bought everything was carefully packed and protected, from the zippers to the straps. I’m sure I pissed off my coworkers as I was doing my very loud and very lengthy unboxing. I couldn’t help it- the bag was just so well packaged!

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It’s pretty big on me. Side note: I think the only time I see myself in a decent full size mirror these days is either shopping or in the work bathroom. This explains a lot.

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When I took it home, I did a test packing run. WHOA NELLY. This thing holds a ton when fully loaded! And yep the straps really do stand up.

What I Fit in the Bag:

  • 3 pairs of shoes (bottom zone)
  • 2 pairs of jeans
  • 8 shirts
  • 3 dresses
  • Underwear
  • Toiletries
  • Canvas jacket
  • Swimsuit
  • Water bottle

And there was still space for more. But to be fair, it was heavy as hell. Oh right, that’s why I don’t like duffles 🙂

Pros:

It’s a fairly lightweight bag.The bottom compartment is going to be awesome for storing my shoes and dirty laundry. The inside organizer is well thought out and detachable. The bag holds a TON. The zipper pulls are leather, which seemed strange to me at first, but then I realized that they don’t clink. Heaven. Minus points for the plastic zippers however.

Cons:

I knew this from reading the handful of reviews from the website, but it’s not completely obvious due to the dearth of photos- this is a floppy bag with NO structure whatsoever. It will never look like a cute half circle unless you stuff it to the heavens, and then it will probably be be too damn heavy.

While the bottom shoe/dirty laundry compartment was the seller for me, you have to have something in there or the bag collapses upon itself. UGH. Also, two of the side pockets are a bit too shallow to be useful. The only thing that I could think of to put in there is trash. I’m not so sure how comfortable this bag will be in handling real weight. This is probably nitpicky, but when I use the shoulder strap, the two handles hang very awkwardly upright since they are so stiff. I imagine this will lessen in time.

Looking back and knowing my personal packing patterns (minimalist), I should have gotten the smaller bag. Because no doubt that that bag could have held a ton too.

Verdict:

Despite all the cons I posted, I’m still smitten with the bag. Why? I have no clue. Love is strange like that. It’s just such an easy cheerful bag. Looking forward to taking it for a trip soon, perhaps this Saturday?

Shopping, Style, Travel

Luggage Lust Part II
Luggage Lust Part II

Yeah, I’m still daydreaming about luggage. We all have to have hobbies. Clockwise, from the top.

  1. This Po Campo bag is a really great copycat version of the Kate Spade Saturday  Weekender that I wanted. The leather is unfortunately “vegan” (PFTT BULLSHIT ITS PVC JUST CALL IT THAT) but it’s only 95 bucks and looks like it would double quite nicely as a gym bag since it has elastic straps for a yoga mat. Here’s a lovely review of the bag from a cute blogger with 180 style from me :).
  2. Here’s the Kate Spade version for comparison. Love that green. 150$
  3. More Kate Spade. Vintage inspired trunk wheeled luggage. Since we’re dreaming here. In real life that is 700 bucks and that makes me sad. The little pink Ni Hao luggage tag is cheerful at only 6 bucks. Sold.
  4. A simple and sturdy duffle from LL Bean Signature. 60$
  5. So of course I’m not a convert for duffles, but the other day I saw my boss’s Filson bag.  I guess duffle bags aren’t so bad if they look like that. Unfortunately Filson bags, like most beautiful things are PRICEY- 250+++. That’s not right!

If I get the Kate Spade Weekender, which I might, I’m going to write a review because there are basically no non-sponsored reviews/photos of the bag online. Did anybody anywhere ever buy this bag? What the heck. It’s infuriating.