Practical Magic

Happy Halloween! Since All Hallow's Eve lands on a Sunday this year, much of the festivities took place last night. As usual, my costume consisted of regular clothing plus some props that I either buy or make.

I picked a tough assignment for myself this year. A couple of the props were easy to get, but the clothing part was a bit more challenging. I tried to find a cheap tuxedo jacket with long coat tails, but I had no luck even after hitting multiple thrift stores. As for the hat, I needed something that fits my small head just right; in the time it would have taken to drive around and find one, I may as well make one for myself.

Some people at the party last night thought I was a ringmaster...I guess they didn't see the magic wand, which lit up and doubled as a beacon for navigating with friends through a crowded venue.

[Old Navy shirt with ties, Development blazer, F21 sequined shorts, Falke fishnet tights, Marc by Marc Jacobs heels, top hat made by me, magic wand and gloves from Halloween costume store]





The hat tutorial will be posted next time. :-)

Holed Up

Just when I thought the rain stopped for good, it starts up again. Fortunately, before the rains resumed, I spent much of yesterday out and about and soaked in some sun along the Pacific Coast Highway.

I managed to hit two birds with one stone yesterday. Before heading up the coast to a friend's party, I decided to pay a visit to the LF Warehouse Sale, which I've heard about many times but never did go because it required a bit of a drive. It wasn't until yesterday that I had a good reason to be out that far west, and the trek was worth it. As it is often the case with warehouse sales, entropy rules the day, as clothing and accessories that were previously in nice neat categories become scattered all over the place by the end of the day. After an initial look at the jumbled mess and seeing many styles that just weren't mine, I didn't expect to bring home anything. However, the dressing area scored brownie points with me, and I did find a few gems after a little digging and making several rounds about the tables. $7 for a pair of Falke tights--not bad. Sweaters and jeans were also very reasonably priced, as were leather goods. I snapped up some tights, a shiny sequined scarf, knit gloves, a sweater, and a pair of high-waisted shorts.

This morning I awoke to a bit of sunshine and lots of clouds--the perfect shorts-and-tights-with-long-sleeves kind of weather. It so happens that 2 things I bought yesterday would work for that kind of a look. I left the house for a bit for errands, came back, and was holed up again when it started raining. When will it stop raining?

[Rebecca Beeson long-sleeve tee, Millau sweater (from LF Warehouse Sale), Car-Mar cuffed shorts (from LF Warehouse Sale), Target tights, Loeffler Randall studded slingbacks.]




It's funny how I love this sweater now, when I completely eschewed something very similar to this as a teenager. Oh, how times have changed...

Weekday/Weekend: Mack the Knife

"Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it … ah … out of sight."

Roughly-cut edges of drapey pieces are fun to play with--they add great dimension to everyday pieces. Overlaping drapery is even more fun.

The Marciano drapey sweater that I found at the Marciano outlet during the summer has been in the rotation quite frequently, since "Summer" this year in Southern California didn't get a whole lot of sun. More recently, I added a very soft Wyatt "Sharkbite" tank top to my collection. Although I intended to wear the tank top as a casual piece, it worked surprisingly well with the drapey sweater for work--the ensemble looked put together, creative yet sufficiently conservative, kept me warm, and was very comfortable.

[Weekday: Marciano cashmere-blend sweater, Wyatt "Sharkbite" tank (from Bluefly), Balenciaga skinny pants (from Barney's warehouse sale), Christian Lacroix gold flats (from DSW), Marc by Marc Jacobs pave pear watch (from Fossil outlet)].




Now that it is supposed to be Fall, scorching weather has arrived. The weather has been bizarre to the point that some people ominously refer to it as "earthquake weather"--as in the weather is so strange that the next "big one" is sure to hit soon. Fall started with hot weather, followed by a few weeks of light rain, pouring rain, thunder and lightning, flash showers, and cool weather, and is now back to hot weather again. Given that we are back to having hot weather, it was time to wear the Sharkbite tank as intended.

[Weekend: Wyatt "Sharkbite" tank (from Bluefly), F21 skeleton key necklace, Gap striped denim shorts, EQ IQ platform ankle boots, Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses]



Although it can be fairly hot, it is the right time to bust out the ankle boots. I swooped these off the clearance rack in Hong Kong last year from a Causeway Bay store aptly named "Sole Town," and am happy to take them out of the dust bag again. They are simple but a bit sassy, thanks to the high heel and the zipper/button detail in the back.

Hong Kong is definitely a great place to pick up interesting pieces. I got some pretty cool stuff last time, and I'm looking forward to shopping there again.