Fun Filled

Here's a skirt-based outfit that made the grade for the walk to work. The skirt is dense and holds its shape well; thus there's no need for a slip, either for opacity or to prevent the skirt from clinging to my legs. To me that makes a world of difference, because half slips make an outfit fedl like they're in need of constant adjustment. You've got multiple waistbands to deal with, and then you have to make sure the slip isn't hanging out at the bottom of your skirt hem or twisting around in some awkward way. I want to start experimenting with full slips under a skirt and top, because I think that might be a better option. There are so many things you never notice about outfits until you have to walk a long way in them.

I've had a fun-filled couple of days. On Thursday night Mark and I attended the annual holiday party at Anchor Brewing Company, where we ate delicious food, sampled the new Christmas Ale, and even got some VIP access into the distillery and the rooftop bar (thanks to my fabulous inside connection). Reporters from the Celebrator and 7x7 Magazine were in attendance, so who knows, Mark and I might even end up in their pages.

On Friday I had the pleasure of finally meeting Lisa, aka LPC, in person for lunch downtown. She is vibrant and intelligent and a delight to talk to; I felt like I'd known her for years. For all her talk of being a Sturdy Gal, I suspect she has a big streak of Arty Cousin lurking just below the surface, so I'm looking forward to going shopping together and seeing how much of that comes out.

On Saturday Mark and I attended my company holiday party at Foreign Cinema here in the city. I wore my Valentino dress with Wolford tights and Miu Miu shoes, a combination I've been wanting to put together for quite awhile. And yes, I was too lazy to take photos.

I'm headed off on my trip to Germany and France today; see you next week!

Jacket: thrifted
Skirt: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Boots: Ecco
Necklace: Wendy Brandes

Fluttery

This outfit felt very elegant to me, and it was the first time I've worn this skirt with the top tucked in. I wasn't sure about wearing it this way because the top part of the skirt is so clingy, but the striped pattern as well as the angled panel at the waistline is in fact very figure-flattering. Adding the fluttery top and elastic belt also helped to give my waist definition. My legs felt a mile long with my waist being moved so far up my torso.

Top: Asos
Necklace: from a glass shop in Venice
Belt: Red Dress Shoppe
Bangles: Amrita Singh
Ring: Manu Lizzaralde
Skirt: Anthropologie
Shoes: Fly London

Dubious

I hope all my friends here in the States had a fun Labor Day weekend. It was a little bittersweet knowing that the man was burning and we weren't there, but I had a great weekend nonetheless. I spent the last few days up in rural Oregon with my family, where we were joined by Jess as well as her mom. The weather was gorgeous, and we had a lot of laughs and drank a lot of wine. A few days in the country is definitely a lot more relaxing than Burning Man, that's for sure.

This outfit was my first attempt at wearing these flats with tights. Not being a flats sort of gal, I wasn't even sure if they could be worn this way. I think the outfit turned out alright overall, but I'm still a bit dubious about the tights/flats combo. It felt a little strange somehow, I think because I'm not used to seeing so much of the tights pattern stretched out horizontally; with heels, the tights make a longer, straighter line when I look down at my feet.

What do you think? Do you wear flats with hosiery?

Shirt: Target
Capelet: Forever 21
Belt: Red Dress Shoppe
Skirt: Anthropologie
Tights: Sock Dreams
Shoes: Born

Arachnophobia

Thanks so much for all your words of encouragement and understanding. Taking a few days' break was exactly what I needed, and blogging will probably continue to be less frequent for awhile until things settle down. I haven't been photographing my outfits every day, mainly because many outfits lately have either been repeats or just truly aren't that exciting. It's been nice freeing myself from what was beginning to feel like an obligation; setting up the camera and taking photos takes time in the morning, and lately I haven't had much of an urge to deal with it, especially for outfits that I wasn't too excited about.

It doesn't help that we're having an absurdly cold summer, which is ironic when nearly everyone else in the northern hemisphere is melting in the heat. Cold, foggy mornings aren't very inspiring for summertime style; sandals are left languishing in the closet, and jackets and boots are getting way more rotation than they ought to be. And because I work in shitty South San Francisco, I miss the few hours of sun and low wind that we get in the city after the fog burns off in the afternoon and before it rolls in again in the evening. On my work campus a freezing, awful wind just blasts through all day long, making it miserable to go outside even when it looks sunny and beautiful.

There's one upside to a cold summer, though. At this time of year we typically start to see big, creepy spiders in areas that have a lot of landscaping. And because the area around our house has a lot of plants and trees, we tend to see many of those big garden spiders, some of which will occasionally make it into the house and terrify both me and the equally arachnophobic Mark. Not this summer though; I've only seen a few spiders this year and the ones I've seen have been pretty small. So Mark is getting off easy this year, because at one point I put my foot down and declared that as the man of the house, it is his responsibility to put the spiders outside, like it or not. Was that a strike against feminism? Well, I don't care; what's important is that the spiders go back in the garden where they belong.

Shirt: Target
Scarf: Banan Republic
Pants: Cynthia Steffe
Shoes: Born