What Would Joan Collins Do?

This look strikes me as somewhat Dynasty-esque. I think it's the puffed sleeves and nipped waist.

(title inspired by Bevin B.)

Blouse - vintage

Skirt - Lela Rose

Necklace - my godmother

Shoes - Jimmy Choo

Stud Farm

I fought the good fight against the eighties-inspired trend of spikey studs on footwear but in the end there is but one word left for me to say: surrender.
All these tasty little darlings are courtesy of Mr. Louboutin, and I wave my white flag in his general direction. These shoes slay me.

Tie One On

Blouse - vintage Escada

Trousers - Marc Jacobs

Scarf - Pucci

Earrings - my godmother

Shoes - Manolo Blahnik

Penny Loafers at the Pool? Sounds Good to Me!

I don't know about you but there is nothing more I want in this world right now than to be a symbol of elegant leisure.

You know?

Really though, sometimes old ad copy cracks me up. And makes me wonder how ads from today will look forty years from now.

Marc My Words

Dress - Marc Jacobs

Sweater - H&M

Belt - Salvatore Ferragamo

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Irony

...is when you take a boatload of clothes to a resale/second hand shop, and are totally sure they'll take at least this one specific thing, but in the end they take everything except that one thing.

Purrrr...

Top - American Apparel

Skirt - Lanvin

Necklace - vintage

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind

Dress - Marni

Belt - Salvatore Ferragamo

Stockings - DKNY

Shoes - Jimmy Choo

September's Issues

You know that documentary about American Vogue that is out right now? I saw it this weekend and I adored it to no end. Usually when I see a film I like to go into it knowing as little as possible. I like the element of surprise and getting swept up in the twists and turns as the plot unfolds. This film was a rare exception in that I watched every clip and read every review I came across beforehand. My anticipation and excitement overshadowed my need for any spoilers to be kept a secret.

And I mean, what is there to not get excited about? This film was touted as the most honest peek up the pants leg of Vogue that has ever been presented, chronicling the creation of their September 2007 issue from conception to print. The staff of Vogue, especially it's Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, seem to be opening themselves up to the rest of the world more and more often these days: the 60 Minutes interview, Letterman, even Features Editor Sally Singer's appearance at the Commonwealth Club earlier this year shows a noticeable departure from the closed-doors, tight-lipped operation of exclusivity of years past.

Since there are already so many reviews out I'm not going to waste your time re-hashing the story behind this doc but I will say that pretty much every minute was a delight. Many of the usual suspects from the magazine are featured prominently or at least make appearances. It's interesting to see, as a result of editing and how the story of the creation of that particular issue played out, who ends up with a lot of camera time and who makes little more than a cameo. One noticeable instance was Editor-at-Large Andre Leon Talley, who has maybe sixty seconds total, and was played for comic relief more than anything else. Watch also for Singer, Sarah Brown, a slew of other staffers, and even a few glimpses of Hamish Bowles, who says nary a peep.

Maybe it's the point I'm at with my own personal work life, but more than anything else, I saw this film as a study of office culture. In almost every scene, we observe people working, and interacting with each other for work purposes. People who are so different from one another but who walk across the same piece of carpet every day for a common purpose. It's work. There are collaborations, disagreements, setbacks, victories, problems with the copier, deadlines, Blackberries, and lots of meetings. Similar situations are played out in countless offices across the world every day, it just so happens that this particular group of people work at an extraordinarily famous office producing an exceedingly glamourous product, and finding the place where exclusivity and accessibility meet. This is The September Issue's acheivement: shedding light on a world that so few see, and showing universal truths about office culture, whether you walk the halls of your workplace in Payless or Prada.

Ten Years

Poppy, September 4 1950 - September 15 1999

I miss you every day.

One. Big. Dark. Room.

I guess I was channeling Lydia Deetz today.

Dress- vintage

Necklace - vintage Bakelite

Stockings - Hue

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

(PS, this is post #1,000. Time flies when you're fawning over shoes and Cher on the internet.)

Paradise City

T-shirt - vintage

Cardigan - Steven Alan (mens)

Jeans - Habitual

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Hurrr Trim

Just a teeny bit off the bottom. I'm still growing it out with the ultimate goal of being way long.

Fashion's Night Out, San Francisco

In a move to put apparel and retail at the front of everyone's minds, American Vogue, the CFDA, the City of New York and NYC & Company organized a massive, world-wide evening of parties and events with the goal of making fashion enthusiasts in major cities around the globe open their hearts (and wallets) to the industry.

In a major fashion capitol like New York City, it meant a Rodarte trunk show (literally out of the trunk of a car) at Opening Ceremony, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen serving drinks at another event, models DJ-ing in-store dance parties, or the Rag & Bone boutique being transformed into a neighborhood pub. From the smallest studio to the most huge department stores, countless businesses played their part and people came out in droves to check things out, sip the bubbly, network, and ultimately support the industry that is the second-largest employer of the population of New York (finance is the biggest). Being that the east coast is always four hours ahead of us, I saw news reports and Twitter feeds about the goings-on while I was still eating my noodle salad lunch. Everywhere I turned, it was wall-to-wall blurbs and updates about Fashion's Night Out. The fact that everyone was already in New York for Fashion Week (which begins Friday) made it seem like The Place to Be all the more.

Here in San Francisco, our level of participation in Fashion's Night Out was more of a whisper than a yell. Neiman Marcus threw a dazzling yet tasteful affair from 6-9PM, replete with DJs, snacks, and opportunities to chat with textile designers and stylists while taking a whiff of new fragrances passed around by Neiman Marcus sale associates. It was like being at a five-story cocktail party where absolutely everyone was dressed to kill. I wore something a little more bold than I normally would when going out - a vintage liquid-metallic mini dress, my new Fenton necklace and my gold zipper earrings, but I never for a second felt over the top or out of place. I had my first genuine red carpet moment as well and got my photo snapped too.

Feeding into a girl's love for feeling glamourous can sure put her in the mood to spend her money. Which is definitely what happened to me. The smallest gesture, such as picking up a Louboutin and admiring it immediately made a sales person appear at my side, asking my size. He was totally no-pressure about it, but I gracefully thanked him for his offer and made my exit from the shoe salon.

This is not to say that I walked out at the end of the night completely empty-handed. And not to be all "I-came-I-saw-I-got-the-t-shirt" but...yeah. I hope this becomes an annual event, and that San Francisco can make a bigger splash in years to come.

Spot Cleaning

Blouse - vintage

Skirt - Lanvin

Necklace - vintage Bakelite

Shoes - Manolo Blahnik

Things to Do While Waiting for a Train

The walls at the 16th and 24th Street BART stations have always appealed to me.

If you ever have to do some waiting on a BART platform, I highly recommend bringing some reading material.
I had WWD Accessories on my lap, and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw these show-stoppers from Balenciaga. What may sound like random combinations (red, cream, black, a spike heel, a platform, a cap toe, velvet and mesh) completely makes sense when it is put together this way.

So. Ferosh. Watch for them this fall. (I know I will.)

Jolly Rancher

Blouse - Roberto Cavalli

Trousers - Banana Republic

Necklace - thrifted

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Open Toes and Pencil Heels

This is a combination that I am becoming more and more crazy about. They're not the first two things I think of when the idea of practical footwear comes to mind, but if I were to only write about practicality this website's postings would be quite sparse. Instead, let's take a gander at these amazing offerings from Givenchy:

I'd do these with bare legs, a teeny black dress and some sort of structural metallic topper (in an alternate universe of my own creation it would be a Balmain blazer but there are a million other possibilities). A pedicure in almost any color popping out of the toe area is a little detail that could really tie it all together. Something a little unexpected - maybe white? The older I get the more I see how little details really mean so much.

And speaking of the unexpected, Mr. Manolo Blahnik has never been one to shy away from unconventional combinations. First off is the open front lace-up of which I spoke of earlier. But then you add snakeskin and a rubber hiking boot type sole underneath those sky-high stilettos and suddenly all bets are off. At what event, in what situation, in what galaxy would it ever make sense to sport this footwear? But I think that's why I love them: it gives you a place to dream of a moment where you could rock these things without question. I know, if given the opportunity, I would.

Hazy Sunday

Cardigan - James Perse

Tanks - H&M, Banana Republic, James Perse

Jeans - Rag & Bone

Necklace - Fenton

Shoes - Lanvin

It Was the Third of September

The day I'll always remember!

Blouse - vintage

Sweater - Burberry

Trousers - H&M

Necklace & Earrings - my godmother

Brooch - vintage

Shoes - Lanvin

I'll Fly Away

Those round frame sunglasses from Proenza Schouler are starting to grow on me.
I have to admit that earlier in the year they gave me a Dwayne Wayne vibe, which I balked at and shied away from. But recently something changed for me, and now they have the air of something an explorer from the 1920s or 30s would have perched on the bridge of their nose as they scan a map of the Alps.
And although when one thinks of someone who flies a plane, one may think of aviator frames, I think of Amelia Earhart, and the round-ish framed goggles she was often photographed with.
Because if one thing is for sure, swimming goggles on a ski hat in a cardboard plane are just not worthy substitutes, despite what my eight year old self may have to say.

Bubblegum Baubles

Blouse - vintage

Trousers - Banana Republic

Necklace - Kenneth Jay Lane

Shoes - Jimmy Choo

Big Honking Necklaces

Is that a blatant enough title? I mean, sure, there are bigger necklaces in this world, but for me, Catie Nienaber, wearer of tiny jewelry, lover of many, having something larger than a string of dental floss around my neck is a major step.

I journeyed through my early and mid twenties wearing little more than a jelly bracelet. Jewelry was just not on my radar. I think it stemmed from back in the days of my wild misspent youth when I had multiple orbital piercings and didn't want what was in my ears to clash with anything else that might be deemed an above-the-waist accessory. But as time went on I felt like I was missing out on all the fun stuff, and after a while, big piercings began to feel like having a uniform every day that I could never take off, a hindrance that thwarted my budding sense of adventure. So one day, a couple of weeks before Christmas in a public restroom, I stood over the sink and pulled the piercings out. They haven't been back in.

Lately, I've wanted to dip my toes (neck?) into the sparkly waters of statement jewelry. Necklaces seemed like the most logical way to go.

This piece from Kenneth Jay Lane reminds me of bubbles from under the sea.

This yellow necklace (which I paid a dollar for at a thrift store in Chicago) may seem pretty tame, but when I bought it a few years back it was a major departure for me because it was so big and colorful and far beyond anything that had ever been around my neck before (I mean, not counting all my Fazz from when I was ten.)

Gold jewelry from H&M tends to turn my neck green, but you can't beat the price.

This chain piece from Fenton can be the focal point of a simple ensemble...

...or piled on with my Appetite for Destruction t-shirt for a decidedly different vibe. Add my gold zipper earrings and I'm all set.