Morocco

Just need a top hat and we're good to go.

Blouse - vintage Escada

Vest - vintage Bobbie Brooks

Trousers - Yves Saint Laurent

Belt - Salvatore Ferragamo

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Alright, what would you do in this situation?  Take a look at these two pieces, both from Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer 2009 RTW collection.  First, this cap-sleeve dress, made of luxurious liquidy viscose that drapes perfectly over one's body.
The gathering of material to one side makes everything a tad asymmetrical and slightly off-kilter.  That coupled with the eyeball-melting print and bright saturated colors keeps the eye moving.  I really love this dress.  But we're not quite done.

Here is a 100% cotton, oversize tank top from the same collection with a very similar design on front and back.
You won't be surprised at all to learn that the dress costs over three times as much as the tank. I have justified many times in splurging on a dress because a dress is an entire outfit: your top as well as your bottom.   But this time I really can't.   Not when there's Cher concert t-shirts to save up for.

Images via net-a-porter and style.com

Very Metal

I'm not a knee-socky person, but when you have to brave chilly breezes and cover a nasty bruise, they are my go-to solution when I'm sick of long pants.

Cardigan - James Perse

Tanks - James Perse 

Skirt - vintage

Belt - thrifted

Socks - Hue

Shoes - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Let's Hear it For the Boy

My birthday is in a few weeks and the other day Ted asked me hypothetically what I wanted for an in-your-wildest-dreams birthday present if money was absolutely not an issue.  So I just blabbered the first thing that popped into my head: this.   And he, genuinely puzzled, said: 

"Huh.  What's that?  Is it like a merkin, only moreso?" 

No baby, it's not.  But, I give him an A for effort.

Camouflage

In the past when I have worn this dress I have used tricks with belts and pins to hoist the bottom half up higher because I think the actual length is not all that flattering.  

On Monday I banged my knee straight on into my bed frame and aside from all the wincing and moaning and groaning I had a large bruise forming by the day's end.  Today the bruise is about the size of a silver dollar so I decided to wear this dress in it's natural state and have it drape over my knee to cover the bruise, simply using a belt to create a waist instead of alter the length.

Dress - Marc Jacobs

Cardigan - James Perse

Belt - Salvatore Ferragamo

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Film at Eleven

Blouse - vintage

Trousers - Chloe

Belt - Salvatore Ferragamo 

Necklace - H&M

Shoes - Jimmy Choo

Hot Time, Summer in the City

This weekend, my boyfriend Ted and I celebrated his birthday. We kept things pretty lo-fi San Francisco style.

A table for two at a cozy cafe made for a nice light lunch. 

The day of the Giants game was wicked hot, but very fun.  

I don't know how Ted wore a long sleeve shirt the whole time; we were downing snow cones and ice water left, right, and center and I would have sat there in just my bra if I wasn't such a wuss.

Enjoy this lovely photo of yours truly in a vintage Giants shirt along with a cameo from Ted's thumb. 

The only In-N-Out in the city and county of San Francisco is at Fisherman's Wharf, one of the worst places in the world.  Imagine Disneyland, but with no rides, lots of panhandlers, and seagulls so big they could swallow a toddler.  Undeterred, we ventured forth for the vegetarian noms.

Sunday afternoon we packed up the hippie-tastic afghan that my grandma made during the Nixon administration and headed over to Dolores Park for a picnic.  But I had an ace up my sleeve.

Here's a tip for fooling people: if you can swing it, always have a purse that can easily hide a ton of food.  I have a special black doctor's bag shaped purse I take to the movie theater for this very reason, and this brown one (from Marc Jacobs AWF 2005) held the afghan, some magazines, as well as a container of strawberries and ten mini cupcakes.  Unbeknownst to Ted, a bunch of our friends joined us on the afghan and helped us eat the cupcakes.  He had no idea. So, lesson learned: Big purses = magic.

Last photo via Minnie

Country Mouse

Shirts - thrifted

Jeans - Rock & Republic

Necklace - H&M

Shoes - Lanvin

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Up until the part where I froze my honey-baked ham to the point of no return. 

Sweater - Burberry

Tank Tops - Banana Republic and James Perse

Skirt - vintage

Necklace - H&M

Shoes - Jimmy Choo

Girl Time

Well, minus one girl.  My sister's baby daughter was due yesterday and I went to down to San Diego to visit her over the weekend.  That baby was a no-show.  Rude!

Hard as it may be to believe, there really is only one kid in there.

This expression is always on my sister's face 93% of the time: non-plussed, with a hint of sleepy.

We had tea at this fancy yet oddly provincial place.  Imagine if Anne of Green Gables crawled into a Neiman Marcus bag and then exploded.  Throw in some year-round Christmas decorations and there you have our tea house in a nutshell. 

There was also this weird park with a sculpture garden that featured lots of gigantic glass serpents.  Here's me paying tribute to Carol Channing and Sammy the Snake's famous duet.

Lots of mirrors, too.  Reminded me of some Willy Wonka fever dream, but with giant snakes.

As I mentioned, the baby is yet to grace us with her presence.  The custom announcements I made are lying dormant at the moment.  You can only write so much on one of these things before the kid is actually born.

On the flight back, I came across an ad in a magazine that coincidentally featured the very purpose of the vacation I am taking next month.

Ahem.

BRB

Whenever my silver metallic duffel is stuffed to the gills, it reminds me of a giant burrito.

Which is another way of saying: I am taking a short trip, and shall return soon. Have a wonderful weekend.

Coffee, Tea, Juice, Water?

Cocktails are available for four dollars.

Blouse - vintage Escada

Skirt - Banana Republic

Scarf - vintage

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Yes! I Mean, No!

This Louboutin design is familiar to me. Recall very recently a vertiginous high heel coupled with the ruffley fluff affixed to the instep, from the very same designer. In that instance, the material was frothy and petal pink, not unlike organza or tulle or cotton candy.

Here we have a very similar silhouette, but in completely different material. Python, to be specific. Witness how that one difference rearranges the entire DNA of the shoe, takes it to something you'd wear to a wedding or Mother's Day brunch to a very different place.

Some find this creation, the Dillian, to be hideous. I don't. I'm quite fond. And for a paltry sum of about $2,785 (perhaps the price point is where the disapproving commentary stems from) they could be yours.

Dark Matter

Cardigan - James Perse

Blouse - Tory Burch

Pants - Yves Saint Laurent

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Ginormical Yard Sale!

Sunday morning saw me heading over to the Mission for an epic yardsale.

But first, while leaving my neighborhood, I walked past My Dream Car.  A white Porshe from the seventies.  Take careful note. 

God.  Damn.  Can't you just see me behind the wheel, pulling into the In-n-Out drive-through whilst blasting some yacht rock?   I mean, I know I can.  Okay, where were we?  Oh yeah, the Mission! 

My friends Sharon and Ian are leaving the country (but not forever) and are selling off as many of their possessions as possible.  I got to their yard sale (which was actually on the sidewalk) about two hours after it started.  I could see it from a block away, it was that extensive.

Oddly enough, one of the first things I noticed for sale was Ian's Courtney Love wig in a pile of t-shirts.  Can you see it? 

I call it the Courtney Love wig because, well, that's precisely what it is. 

Anyway, that's a side issue.  

Upon my arrival, Sharon handed me a bottle of white wine and told me to open it for her, which I promptly did. Sharon's a librarian and works with zillions of children every day so she's pretty good at giving orders.

It seems like everyone had a beverage of some kind or another in their hands.  I was not about to let Sharon feel left out.

See?  As for me, I had shopping bags in my hands, and at the end of the day, here's what I hauled to shore:

From left to right: 

1. blue and white scarf

2. Giants t-shirt from 1987 

3. Girl Scouts blouse

4. skirt that Sharon's grandmother knitted 

5. my favorite Aveda hand lotion

6. black nail polish 

7. 49ers t-shirt from 1987 

8. three dinosaurs 

9. a hole puncher (I actually do need a hole puncher!)

10. an equestrian patch

11. two CDs that I used to own and now do again

12. weird little girl figurine 

I hope the Courtney wig went to a loving home.

I Believe It Is Called Al Fresco

Blazer - vintage

T-shirt - vintage

Tank - James Perse

Jeans - Stella McCartney 

Shoes - Marc by Marc Jacobs

It's Not My Fault, It's How I'm Programmed to Function

It's close to one in the morning and I am unwinding from the Lily Allen concert from earlier in the evening.
She played the Warfield downtown, and Lee, Genevieve, and Annie and I stopped by Farmer Brown for some chow before the show.  This was very exciting for me, as it was the first time I've had real food since Friday morning (for reasons why I've been subsisting on mostly liquids for the past two days, click here).  I may have looked a bit off chewing my cornbread on just the left side of my mouth, but I felt like such a grown up eating grown up food, especially since I had my head tilting so far to the left my ear was touching my shoulder. 

Lily was a total peach, and played a fun, energetic show.  She wore these little sequins hot pants and black tights, and when she came out on stage at the top of the show, she also wore a matching sequins blazer.  Seeing her in such a glittery costume coupled with her new shorter, shaggier haircut, her strong resemblance to my girl Liza Minelli took my breath away.  Coming from me, this is the highest of compliments I could possibly pay someone and I'm sure Lily will see it as such.  (Because she totally reads my blog.)

Anyhoo, I was super pleased with the choice in outfit that I made.  The one thing I would have done differently was worn higher heels but since I'm already six feet tall I have a built-in advantage at seeing over the tops of peoples' heads at shows.

Dress- Marc Jacobs

Belt - vintage

Cardigan - James Perse

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Venturing Forth

Went out into the sunlight today with a slightly puffy post-surgery face.

Sweater- Trovata 

Shirt - vintage

Jeans - J Brand

Belt - Eugenia Kim 

Hat - Levi's

Boots - Fiorentini Baker