Colleague (writing information on a paper pad): I need a system for this. Me: You need a device. Colleague: I need something to talk to, and it writes what I'm doing. Me: You mean..."Do What I'm Thinking"? Colleague: (nods) Me: I've tried that many times. It doesn't work.
Me: Why is it working? It works. Colleague: It never works. Me: Yeah, you're right. It works until you use it a few times. Then you find out it doesn't work.
J.Crew Alyssa Top in Mauve Morning
I got this, when the 'Crew offered one of their percent-off sales. Haven't worn it yet (sorry no ootd photo), but a few notes:
This thing definitely runs big. I tried on the white version at the b & m; size 6 fit me better than 8 (I wear a size 10 in the perfect and boy shirts). A nice feature is it fits over the bust without giant arm-holes. It's cut too low to wear as-is to work, but the Mauve Morning shade is formal enough to fly as business casual with a camisole underneath it (the white version seemed too casual to me).
I'm still irked at the idea of carrying only one shade in the store. The navy blue one looked pretty online, but do you want to fork over in the realm of Final Sale for something that may not look that great on? I was willing to take a chance on Mauve Morning, since it appeared one of those ubiquitous "J.Crew shades" (ex., burnished olive, mint green with a tad of blue, greys washed with blue and green, bright red-orange, etc.). The 'Crew excels at rose-brown blends (Mauve Morning is slightly browner and deeper than it appears on my monitor).
All in all—looks useful (I have a specific stash of work-friendly hot-weather clothes).
Idly craving...
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
at 8:10 PM (Pacific)
...a tee shirt. A white tee shirt. For a man, this type of thing comes bagged, with three tee shirts in the bag; for a woman, it's more complicated.
His:
Hers:
At least this is the shirt I'm idly craving—I haven't tried it yet. It's supposed to be fair trade; costs a bit more, but looks sturdy (the White Tee Shirt must be sufficiently thick so you don't have to fret about bra showing), has a scoop neckline—for this I don't want crew, but the scoop can't be too scoopy. Again you should not have to fuss over low necklines. The little cap sleeves look right (I really don't like elbow sleeves), and it has to be long enough to tuck in.
I tried the "little white tee shirt with sundress" thing recently in fact, with something like this:
I love this dress style, but unless you wear a strapless bra, your options are...ah...a racerback tank would work, with a racerback bra, but it can be a hassle. Hence the need for more than one slightly fitted white tee.
OOTD; Washington fun!
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Monday, July 11, 2011
at 6:21 PM (Pacific)
A statue constructed of beer and wine bottles
Top: J.Crew (lavender tissue tee with silk trim) Necklace: made by me Skirt: J.Crew Zafrina (the blue one worn here) Sandals: Cydwoq
Yes, it was cold in Seattle (though they have been getting better weather in general than we have)—and yes, I knew it was going to be cold. But it is a kind of deranged fun to wear summer clothes in Seattle in the summer. This is also the same rain jacket I wore when I lived in this area. It didn't rain but I was prepared!
OOTD; wardrobe randomness
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
at 8:36 PM (Pacific)
Top: gifted Cardigan: J.Jill kimono sleeve Necklace: tourmalines on gold chain, designed by my daughter :) (made by me) Skirt: gifted Tights: Wolford Boots: La Canadienne
This is one of my go-to outfits, when there's no fancy meeting to dress up for, but it's not Friday yet? It can fly with many different tops, jewelry and shoes; even the tights can go—I prefer them because the skirt is a bit short, but then I do have some of these to play with:
A Slip Shop (Etsy) is pretty cool; the ladies there will make you either a standard- or custom-length half-slip, with a variety of lace trims to choose from. I dithered between them and The Cotton Mill, where they'll make you a cotton half-slip to order (again with lovely lace trim options). A Slip Shop's nylon half-slip was more practical to my needs; it is a regular ol' half-slip, at the end of the day, and can function as such, and add length to skirts which need it.
This could be terrible news for your wallet, but ASOS is having a summer sale:
Naturally I noticed their cool web interface, where you can select your way handily through mammoth amounts of clothing. Mind you, I'm ratcheting down new clothing purchases, but I'm all for losing my ASOS virginity at these prices.
Hmmm...I'm shagged, actually. I'm converting my online add/drop/change program to be entirely online-submissible. It's a fairly interesting process, if only because you have to pretty much replicate what the currently-used PDF form does...without replicating the drawbacks of the form...and this form does everything for everybody.
General drool-o-rama
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
at 10:26 PM (Pacific)
Totally jonesing for this dress. It's a cotton print, and made in the U.S. When first I saw it, I didn't think of, well, jonesing for it, but the more you look, the more useful it appears. Cotton and sleeveless, yet work-friendly, with lovely black piping detail—not only does it have pockets, the pockets are even piped. In back there are rows of shirring to make more fitted, yet it's not one of those dreary butt-cupping things. I don't normally gravitate toward prints over solid colors, if only because most prints don't appeal to me, but this print looks special.
Dire Straits - "Romeo and Juliet" (1981)
Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start And I bet, and you exploded in my heart And I forget, I forget the movie song When you gonna realize, it was just that the time was wrong?
This is one cataclysmic song; it has something of everything: touches of country & western, lyrics from an early 1960's pop song, a reference to the Romeo and Juliet play itself:
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin Now you just says oh Romeo yeah you know I used to have a scene with him
...a dash of West Side Story, a description of a musician (Knopfler, presumably) writing the song and playing it, all within the song itself. It's just fascinating. I remember this song, of course, and had liked it...oh well, I suppose I'm just having an 80's moment.
Top: The Gap Cardigan: J.Jill kimono sleeve Skirt: J.Crew Shoes: Cydwoq Art
Still fiddling around looking for a brown casual jacket or hoodie of some sort. It's surprisingly obscure—there are plenty of dead brown models, but I'm jonesing for taupe, since that would be more versatile.
Top: J.Crew Lace-stripe tissue tee in Buff Cardigan: J.Crew Jackie in Dark Charcoal Sunnies: gifted Earrings: made by me (grey freshwater pearls with small aquamarines) Skirt: gifted (denim) Textured navy blue stockings Boots: Cydwoq Extreme
Been meaning for a while to take a "fashion blogger sunglasses pic." :)
I've now tried Leather Honey on shoe soles. It works fine on soles which have already been scuffed some, but makes virgin soles a tad slippery. Scuff first.
On the shoes themselves: it loosens up shoes which have already fully stretched out...which can be good (my Cole Haans used to feel a bit tight at day's end).
I've also tossed my first pair of Summer Soles, meaning they lasted over nine months. I do make a point of rotating my shoes to let them dry out, but the 'Soles were getting kinda raggy. They pretty much peeled right out, leaving a slight tackiness in the heel, which disappeared when I cleaned the inside of the shoe. Much impressed...but why don't they make some with anti-microbial properties?
ETA: I did get to tuck the Lace-stripe tee into something, finally: a high-waisted skirt (same one here but in taupe).
I got to try this (wouldn't you know it?) pretty much right away, when one of my stockings showed a pull—not yet a run, nor quite a hole, but sure to develop into one or the other.
This product smells strongly of chemicals when wet, but dries quickly. It's easy to use (as easy as clear nail polish would be). The advantages of this over clear nail polish are supposed to be: it won't stick to your skin, and won't dry hard. It did stick a bit to my skin (nothing a brief tug didn't fix). As promised, the product was perfectly flexible when dry.
Interestingly, it didn't quite dry clear. The area where I'd applied it showed a wee bit lighter than the stocking itself. It occurred to me perhaps I'd used too much. It just sort of melds with the stocking fabric, so you'd need only enough to cover the hole and ring of stitches surrounding it.
So far, I'm quite pleased. My next tests would be: a.) see how it fares after laundering the stocking; b.) try it proactively on not-yet-worn-out stocking toes; c.) see if I can use it to "glue" a fancy stocking in which I'd popped a stitch.
