Happy Feet

Here's an outfit that I put together specifically for comfort while walking to work. For the walk I wore my Bastien short boots, and packed the ones you see here (which are comfortable, but not 3 miles' worth of comfortable) in my backpack for swapping once I got to work.

The Bastiens have been getting a lot of wear lately, so much so that I recently went scouring both the internets and the stores in search of some additional walking shoes, because even the best pair can't be worn every day for 3 (or more likely 6, because I often walk home too) miles of walking.

I ended up with a pair of Ecco boots, which have the bonus of being waterproof, and a pair of Romika short boots, which pretty much feel like slippers, only with really good arch support. Both meet my criteria of being cute enough to wear with most outfits during the walk, or even for the whole day if I don't feel like carrying extra shoes. My feet are happy.

Dress: Red Dress Shoppe
Cardigan: H&M
Tights: Sock Dreams
Boots: All Black

Office Girl

I was happy to pull out these under-worn shoes and give them a spin; they have sort of an early 60's office girl vibe that I thought played well with the vintage-styled dress. In order to add a little color and contrast to the outfit, I used the colorful patterned scarf as a belt.

I'm hoping to finish the second installment of my San Francisco Travel Guide very soon, but as you might imagine my time and energy has been limited lately. It's coming soon though, I promise!


Dress: Red Dress Shoppe
Cardigan: Max Studio
Scarf (worn as belt): vintage
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Tsubo (a gift from Sal)

Thigh High

Thigh high boots -- holy crap, am I really this trendy? Well, it turns out that I am and I didn't even realize it until a few days ago. This is actually just my trusty pair of Modern Vintage boots that I've worn about a million times, only it recently dawned on me that I could flip up the folded cuffs and voila! I've got my very own pair of thigh high boots. I've had these suckers in my closet for a full 2 years, that's how ahead of the trends I am.

I wore this outfit for Girls' Night Out after yesterday's Libby Smith ensemble. As you can see, the only piece that carried over from day into evening was the vest. The real star of the show was the boots, of course, and I wanted to take a moment to elaborate on why I think a pair like this is a worthwhile investment.

This season it appears that thigh high boots are going to be all the rage, but before you run out and snap up a pair, it's worth considering how versatile they'll be once the trend dies down. I've seen very few pairs that are under the $200-300 range (and far more pairs that are well above it), and if you're going to drop that kind of coin on a pair of boots, it's worth having a style that won't look outdated after just one season. These Modern Vintage boots turned out to be ideal because the cuff can be worn in multiple positions: just below the knee, folded further down for a classic equestrian look, or flipped all the way up as I've shown here for an above-the-knee length. For me it was just a lucky break, but if you're in the market for thigh highs this season, you have an opportunity to make a solid investment with versatility and timelessness in mind. This is yet another way to avoid buyer's remorse!

Boots with foldable cuffs abound this season, but I thought I'd share a few of my picks from Amazon and Endless that I think would function well as either a cuffed equestrian or a sexy above-the-knee:


Pura Lopez L101-B, $398
Pour La Victoire Rena, $209

















Apepazza Cagliari, $329
Via Spiga Brook, $256

Introducing Libby Smith

I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Libby Smith. Libby is one of the beautiful new shoe styles from John Fluevog, and she captivated me when I wandered into the Haight Street store a couple of weekends ago. Libby fills the wardrobe gap of "green, low-heeled boots" that I had been trying to fill for ages, and she's got just the sort of Victorian vibe to compliment so many of my current styling tendencies. I was particularly smitten with her navy blue buttons, which compliment the 2-tone olive green leather so beautifully. Libby, you are a most welcome addition to my wardrobe.

I slapped this outfit together in the morning before work, and in retrospect I feel like the tights were a bit much given the busy print of the shirt. But the weather was still chilly, and lacey olive tights were the best I could come up with on short notice. Whatevs; I never worry too much about such things because I never repeat outfits anyway. I had a reason to wear the new shoes, and that was good enough for me. However, I have mentally added non-patterned olive tights to my shopping list for the next time I place an order with Sock Dreams.

Vest: Steam Trunk
Shirt: La Redoute
Skirt: Noa Noa
Tights: Biella
Shoes: John Fluevog

The Final Countdown

You can tell I was feeling more than a little cheeky when I took the photos for this outfit. The reason? I was listening to a whole playlist of 80's music, and when I was shooting this one it was "The Final Countdown." I'm not exactly sure why a hair-band rock anthem made me want to strike such saucy poses; perhaps it was because I was remembering the time I drunkenly karaoke'd that song in Tokyo at the insistence of my friends. For the record, my vocal range is nowhere near high enough to sing that song; nevertheless I belted it out and even jumped up on the table to sing it while pumping the air with one raised fist. I blame jetlag.

Ahem. Let me tell you about the outfit, shall I? This top is really tricky to work with because the color is exceptionally bright, and I have absolutely nothing else in my closet that is even close to this shade. I wanted to avoid pairing it with black because I feared it would make the green look garish, so I went with a navy backdrop instead. The green actually has quite a bit of blue in it, so the combination makes sense. Since I didn't want to bring in an entirely different third color, I mixed up the outfit a little by blending different shades of blue.

The sweater clip is one I made ages and ages ago, but until now I hadn't found a use for it. With this outfit it was an absolute necessity; the flower detail on the top prevents the cardigan from being buttoned, but I really needed the cardigan to stay closed so as to hide the incredible tackiness of my bra straps hanging out. Have I mentioned that I abhor strapless bras? The reason is that I don't have a whole lot to hold them up, so I find myself having to hike them up several times a day; as a result I often seek out creative ways to wear regular bras even with strapless or halter-style tops.

By the way, if you'd like to make a cardigan clip of your own, this excellent post from Kasmira will show you how it's done.

Cardigan: H&M
Top: Red Dress Shoppe
Skirt: Moon Collection
Shoes: Paolo

Dye Another Day

Remember this dress from several months ago? Back then it was a drab oatmeal color and a size too big. Since then I've had it altered to fit me and dyed it a fun shade of green, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. It has much more of a mod trenchcoat feel to it now, which I tried to play up here by adding the vintage 60's shirt.

The dyeing process was a lot of work, but well worth it for the excellent results. The dye I used was a fiber reactive dye from the Dharma Trading Company. The dye only works on natural fibers, so it colored the linen fabric beautifully while leaving the off-white topstitching, plastic buttons, and nylon lining intact (as a bonus, it didn't stain the sink either). This gives it a very professional appearance; in fact, you'd be hard pressed to discern that it wasn't made this way originally. Click the picture at left if you want a close up of my handiwork -- the pop-up photos are all zoom-able too.

Before I started this project I knew literally nothing about dyeing clothes. For instance, I was completely ignorant of the fact that there were several other supplies I needed besides just the dye (shame on me for not reading the directions before I ordered the dye!). Thus, I ended up having to place 2 orders, one for the dye and one for the soda ash, Calsolene oil, and a few other things. However, now I've got all the stuff I need to do lots more dyeing, so with the exception of different colors I'm all set for whatever other projects I want to try. I'm thinking this will be a great way to transform pieces that either are a light color and getting dingy, or that I'm just tired of. Just as a simple coat of paint can completely transform a room, a different color can make old clothing new again.

Shirt, dress: thrifted
Boots: Bata
Brooch: vintage Trifari

Riding Habit

This skirt has an interesting history. I bought it a couple years ago, when bubble skirts were first emerging as a trend. Originally the plaid top layer was gathered in, tucked under and sewn to the bottom ruffled layer, giving it a bubble shape. But as much as I adored the crinkly plaid fabric and the ruffle-hemmed lining, and as cute as the skirt looked in the online photos, the shape just didn't suit my figure when I put it on. Having ordered it from La Redoute in France, I was loathe to try to send it back, so it just hung there in my closet after I wore it maybe once. A few times I pulled it out and tried to work with it, but it just didn't look right no matter what I tried.

Months and years went by, and there it hung. Finally I decided to try to unload it on eBay, figuring that at least if I recouped a little bit of money then I wouldn't feel so bad about the whole episode. But the skirt didn't sell, and so it then sat for several more months in a seldom-used drawer. Last week I opened up that drawer, saw the skirt, and had an epiphany: I would simply cut the two layers apart and hem the skirt, thereby losing the bubble shape and reducing some of the fullness.

An hour or so of cutting and sewing later, I was finished, and lo and behold, it worked! The fullness is now concentrated at the bottom hem instead of around my thighs where it had been before. Though the change is subtle, to me it makes all the difference in the world, and I'm now thrilled with how the skirt looks and feels. Pairing it with my brown boots and saddle belt brings out the English riding habit vibe that made me love the skirt in the first place.

So what would I have done differently? Well, I think I would still take a chance and order something I loved, even if I was certain I wouldn't return it if I didn't like it. What I would change is not to be afraid of exploring other options for the item if it didn't work out, even if those options included taking the scissors to it. I could've foreseen even when ordering the skirt that changing it to a non-bubble shape would be a super easy fix; a few moments spent thinking about that when I placed the order might have spared me from living with a mostly unworn item in my wardrobe for far too long.

Lace top: Dark Garden
Olive top: Susina
Belt: Audra Jean
Boots: Bata