The Shining

Many people associate shiny fabrics strictly with evening wear, and woe to those "fashion victims" who wear "too much" bling during the day. That kind of mentality is really a shame, since it seriously limits the number of times the shiny fabrics could be worn.

Functionally speaking, too much shine during the day can be a bad thing because it is literally glaring; one should not have to wear sunglasses just to have a simple conversation with a "radiant" companion. However, it is not hard to incorporate shiny pieces into the daytime rotation. I've done it quite a number of times in the past (gold lame shirt, satin strapless dress, lurex dress, gold lame shirt again):





The trick is to tone down the shine with layers and pieces that are decidedly casual and non-reflective, like cotton hoodies or t-shirts with sandals or flat boots. My latest experiment with this concept took place a number of hours ago, when I went out to an art show/fundraiser. I wore the shiny dress for the party, but I threw on a denim moto jacket afterwards so that I would not look overdressed in a cheap late-night food joint. I'm really liking this combination; come fall, I want to wear it with tights.

[Bubble necklace made by me, XOXO denim jacket (had it for years), Richard Chai for Target dress, rings from Etsy, vintage clutch, Givenchy wooden sandals]

Swap Meet

A couple of months ago, my roommate and I hosted a clothing swap. We put out a bunch of snacks (plus more contributions from the guests), a mirror, and some music on the stereo, and the rest took care of themselves. Playing dress-up had never been more fun.

At the end of the day, we all had an impressive haul. My roommate's new collection consists of a lot of my old clothes; she looks even better in them then I did. I in turn found one of my new favorites in the form of an old flannel shirt that she never thought I'd pick out.

On subsequent meet-ups, we would let out a delightful squeal as we see each other wearing clothes that we exchanged in the clothing swap. It's amazing how the same shirt or pair of pants gets worked into different styles by different people.

You can bet that we'll be doing this again.

[The bags of clothes ready to be picked over, plus a friend who already got a hold of my old yellow and gray sweater]



[Snacks galore!]


[My roommate's haul]


[That flannel shirt--paired with an old random belt, Theory blazer, F21 leggings, Maison Martin Margiela sandal-booties]


[My friend's awesome DIY shoe makeover--cute little bows + a pair of Payless shoes = major sweetness.]

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

If I look at things logically, I ought to have outgrown glitter and stars. However, sometimes I just can't help it.

I've been ooohing and awwwing over a pair of shoes with a martini heel and a pave-laden star on it, but the price was just prohibitive for a pair of shoes that better suits someone younger than I. After months of waiting, the price at DSW finally dropped to about 80% off retail, and surprisingly, there were many pairs left, including a pair in my size. Part of me thought that it is rather foolish to buy something that is arguably too cute for a grown woman. The other part of me thinks that I am still young enough to make them work, so why not have fun with them while I still can? The latter school of thought won out--carpe diem, right?

There's no doubt that they look cute, but to my surprise, these shoes can actually look quite glamorous, whether I'm wearing a vintage dress or a Casual-Friday-then-straight-for-the-weekend outfit. I think that they would be fairly discrete when partially concealed with a pair of long slacks as well. It's hard to go wrong with a black patent leather base, no matter what the embellishments are.

[Vintage look: hair flower from Arden B from ages ago, vintage dress thrifted from Goodwill, Liz Claiborne reversible belt, Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes.]




[Casual Friday: tweed jacket from Express (clearance + gift card = a clear winner), t-shirt from a dance club, Goldsign "Envy" jeans, Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes. Rings--rock crystal ring made by me, the other two are from Etsy.]

Liquid Silver

I wore this a while back, and thought it would make a great Fourth of July outfit...


[H&M jacket ($15 on clearance), Old Navy camisole ($3), dagger necklace made by me, Gap striped shorts, Pour La Victoire faux snake skin sandals]

...but the weather would not permit the jacket on the actual holiday. Time for Plan B. I resorted to something that was light and captured the spirit without the obvious color scheme. The hoodie is white, the sunglasses has blue frames, and the eyeshadow was a flaming copper red. Everything else sparkled like embers of fireworks.

[Marc Jacobs sunglasses ($15 from Loehmann's clearance), Ben Amun chain necklace ($7, also from Loehmann's clearance), Park Vogel sheer hoodie, Old Navy lurex racerback dress, Givenchy Gillie jelly sandals, silver nail polish for the toes.]


I just love fluid forms in bright, reflective silver--simple yet striking and sophisticated. In addition to the big chunky necklace above, I picked up a couple of smaller baubles. They are perfect for going with all the dark colors and simple pieces that I've been wearing for work these days.

[Argento Vivo sterling silver twist pendant necklace ($10 from Loehmann's. I wore it here, but it didn't show up so well in the pictures), Forever 21 plastic dome ring ($2.80).]