street style stimulus

look around! people are letting their fashion flag fly whether they are shuffling to work or pushing a baby stroller. your fellow human can be a great source of sartorial inspiration. Despite checking Style.com on a daily for trend forecasting and to peep what's new on the runway, i am generally drawn to street style because it is accessible and genuine. love thy neighbor is right!

i refer to Facehunter, for an arty, Euro approach and check the Satorialist regularly to see what the rich & high-end are rocking. lookbook.nu is quite popular these days too and offers an "everyman's" approach to styling.

However, my go to site that is somehow both inspired and down-to-earth is Style Arena. As we all know, the world is generally gaga for the Japanese aesthetic. Jeremy Scott hearts Shibuya, as does Opening Ceremony. Maybe it's their playfulness, maybe it's their obscene disposable income - don't know - but the Japanese sure know how to put it all together. Style Arena is so much fun for ideas and references - specifically the art of layering! It is updated weekly and archived beautifully. The best thing about this site is that you can look at outfits by neighborhood. personally, i'm drawn to the polished, trophy-wife look of Ginza ladies. what about you?


photo, Style Arena, Feb. 2010

bohemians, baubles & bong hits

when your parents met on an acid trip in a pigmy rain forest, i guess this some of the stuff you find in storage. above are a few of her favorite things, see more at http://hifivalentine.blogspot.com/
Clockwise from left: vintage eyeglasses, found at home in a box. Real leopard collar, thrifted in Texas for around $1. Whiting & Davis snake bracelet, St. Vincent de Paul, Austin, TX. Bargained down to $3. LSD pin and amethyst/silver ring were my dad's. Coral and brass necklace from a consignment store in Montrose, CA on sale for around $8. Woven stone necklace belongs to my boyfriend and is from Costa Rica.

funeral fashions

Yeah, I said it. Death is the one thing in life that is actually guaranteed and yet it always hits us like a racist joke said aloud at a non-profit meeting.
We can pray, hug, and look to our community for answers and for support.
But let’s face it - that leaves plenty behind to manage. Popping an Atavan 20 minutes before the rosary will leave you placidly bewildered but it’s gonna wear off before the memorial service. A Ketel on the rocks will make a nice toast and hell, it's kosher to slam ‘em back before noon. BUT, as the Pixies said, "where is my mind?” And for me, it’s on what I’m wearing.

For a funeral, I say wear black. This is not New England. I’m not Catholic or Episcopalian. I mean, I pray to the ocean. Or the moon. Or hummingbirds. But when it comes to funerals go for tradition. Its shows respect and when you’ve dressed like you thought about it, cared about it, it gives you a fraction more leeway to say little and drink more.
Ladies: This is when it’s ideal to wear, borrow or buy and vintage dress. Hardly anything you find from the 50’s & 60’s is going to be inappropriate for a memorial so it’s an easy way to shop. Below is a Jonathan Logan dress borrowed from my bestie.

If there’s lace, it’s a peep, not a show.

The length of the dress is going to be at or below the knee, leaving you obligated to wear any kind of super high heel you own. I liked pairing my funeral frock with a potentially hideous but current fashion world darling: the gray suede shootie. This one is by Sam Edelman. A nice heel keeps your very needed serotonin up throughout the event too because, well, they look pretty. Aesthetics win again.

Hate vintage? Well, that upsets me a little. Instead, try Calvin Klein – he did a sheath-y fitted, less-shouldery Victoria Beckam thing for like $150 and it was available at Macy’s.

One last thing, funerals are going to be a lot like the person's life they are celebrating. If your uncle loved Glen Beck, follow suit with your style. Now is not the time to let your lefty flag fly by wearing a hemp shorts jumpsuit or rainbow pantaloons. Show some respect.
For an open casket viewing, I wanted to be in something soft and warm - kind of like a big hug.

I chose this Jenni Kayne black cashmere dress, thrifted for an amazing $10 in Inglewood.

For a laid-back spiritual memorial held on a hot LA day, I chose something shorter and paired it with a nice flat.

black silk armani exchange dress, sale rack
white leather studded wrap bracelet, Burberry, from Nordstrom Rack
white leather flats, Sigerson Morrison, scored these at Loehmann's

the price of grief

No funeral to attend but a death got you down?? Then you are in a prime spot for some soul-quenching retail therapy. But buyer beware, you are in a vulnerable state. More so than when you realize, say, on a Tuesday, that you’re 29 and you're very likely going to stay a secretary and that you don’t even remotely know what Microsoft Office really even is and so you NEED some silky dress to reignite the fantasy that you may end up 1) a non-violent espionage-ess or 2) swept off your feet by an as yet undefined amazing dude. But I digress. Slightly. Point is: woman, you need to shop. You deserve to shop. But proceed with caution. Here are some loose rules:

1) Skip the shit-box thrift mission. There’s plenty of time for a super deal, but you don’t have the psychic energy to do it now.

2) Go to a favorite store you don’t often frequent because it's expensive. Most ladies have one of these. If you can make rent and buy it, well, swipe that card. You will be buoyed up by naughty joy, stomach turning “what-ifs”, and you will cave. You will relive that moment of guiltless abandon over and over. For about 3 days.

3) Skip the Barney’s warehouse sale. I know, I know, people say it's ah-mazing but I’m not floored. Maybe it’s the smell of blood and evil eyes that get me down. Maybe it's that I know their store employees stock pile the good stuff and buy it on time so it never even makes it to the sale. Or maybe I just don't get my rocks off spending $1,300 on a Lanvin dress that looks like a bedazzled bed sheet. Unless you have size 10 feet and are really into super modern “right-now” shoe shapes, I think you’ll be disappointed. I did land some J Brand skinnies for $96 but is that even amazing?

4) Go to Barney’s. What? She’s contradicting herself. I mean just to look and see what they think is happ’nin. It's fun because it's all kind of just out there on the floor and within reach. It's not stuffy and locked up like Neiman Marcus. Barney’s is the kid that knows the cool clubs with no sign out front and lives a posh life with mussed hair and eco-friendly furniture. Whereas Neiman's knows who to invest with and which board of trustees is accepting new members. Plus, visiting Barneys, you can practice your acting ($900 for a scarf, von-dah-ful!, but no I don’t NEED it). Your recon work is simple: note the trends and keep them in mind for step 4.

5) Consignment! Rich women are still rich. And they buy A LOT of St. John. But there’s lots of other stuff there too that you will probably love. Look for high-end & designer, fresh smelling, expertly cared for blazers, dresses, clutches and much more at these sparkly lady centers. They are always edited by season too which is handy if you’re shopping for a look (and if you want to score a sale item that’s not currently in demand).

6) Buy something you normally wouldn’t. Not like a sequined-harlequin-jacket, but different enough to be something you tend to avoid. Always buying sensible shoes? Get something painful and wickedly gorgeous. Into grays and whites because they make you feel clean and simple? Get a bright fuchsia blouse. You know, something that pushes your envelope a little bit. For me, I just bought a gorgeously tailored black tuxedo jacket. I pictured myself in it, my cleavage lit by candlelight, morosely smoking Gitanes. Or waltzing through a crowded New York City bar to my group of culturally diverse friends after the best day of work in my life. You know, I was FANTASIZING. But it worked and I love my new wardrobe staple.

7) Accept defeat. You may not find anything. Or you could make a terribly misguided purchase (a fake Louis Vuitton bag? Cashmere boy short underwear?) That’s cool. Life goes on honey. Until it doesn’t.