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Life of Colleen: June 2010
Random wardrobe meanderings part 11
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
at 8:23 PM (Pacific)
 J. Crew Crinkled Chiffon Tunic in Orchid Shadow
Why are you so unattainable expensive? The concept is brilliant: crinkled silk, which requires no ironing; double layers of fabric, more durable and textured; a divine greyed lavender, sure to coordinate with just about anything.
But it's $88, available only from the catalogue or online, thereby opening a giant can of shipping charges, along with the sales tax. It would end up over a hundred bucks. Here I am, idly speculating how much it would cost to get such a shirt custom made.
Oh well, just thought I'd share.
 J. Crew Switzel Swiss-Dot Cami
Okay, no griping about slouching models. I like slouching models. Don't care if they want to slouch. :)
I'm undecided about this top, though it looks useful. If you imagine it with a cardigan, the ruffles in front would look nifty...and I'm generally sick of ruffles. It just doesn't strike me as classical. Would I want to wear this top ten years from now? I kind of would, but what I'm after is more of an all-over lace blouse.
 dotted swiss top
Argh! I just ordered this...it's hard to distinguish, but it is dotted swiss material. I had a sudden craving for dotted swiss (which also drew me to Switzel above). Now I see the entire online store is gone. Wondering if I'll ever see this shirt...
There are many white dotted swiss tops about, and they're lovely, but colored dotted swiss would be cooler. This also came in cream, and I was contemplating that, but, as I say, the store disappeared.Labels: indie, jcrew, wardrobe
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That's old business already!
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
at 10:29 PM (Pacific)
Labels: comedy, videos
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"Gibbs' Rules" of wardrobe development
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Saturday, June 26, 2010
at 9:30 AM (Pacific)
These are my personal rules, if you will, and consist more of a guideline than of actual rules. I don't want to spit out a load o' sanctimony here; what I've been doing is adding to this list gradually.
- Never screw over your partner. This rule supersedes all other rules. (Just kidding, that is an actual Gibbs' Rule.)
- Never shop at Banana Republic. The lasting quality of their clothing varies wildly.
- If you shop at a store and walk out without buying anything, twice, reconsider the necessity of returning to that store. Time is money.
- The first time you wear a new item, odds are good it won't look right.*
* Unless you are one of those meticulous people who actually try out outfits in advance, or one of those totally tasteful folks who buy classical apparel where everything just works.
Since I'm neither of those, I usually bring out anything new on a Friday, where it would fall under "casual."
Take this for example:
I have this in a greyish-brown color. It's actually a beautiful sweater, super soft and comfortable, yadda yadda, but it's bulky. I've been looking for years for tops, sweaters or dresses in a kimono style. There are plenty, but it's difficult finding nice ones.
I ran it through the dryer a couple of times; it did shrink, but didn't lose as much mass at the bottom as I would have liked. For some reason I kept thinking of that guy in the Fig Newton suit:
Okay, it's not that bulky, but you know what I mean.
Today I decided to be meticulous and try the thing out with a belt. Normally I dislike the trend of "open" cardigans--no buttons, zippers or other means of closure--because I find it depressing. When we outsourced all of our apparel manufacture to China, we got ton-loads of solid colors, no pockets, and now no buttons? how cheap can you get?
But it seems to work here. You just unbutton the thing, wrap it as if it were a kimono, and try it out with a belt. (So far, skinny belts don't work as well as wider ones.)Labels: wardrobe
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Punkin NYC Fall A-Line skirt review
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Friday, June 25, 2010
at 8:52 PM (Pacific)
I wore this today, in tribute to the beautiful autumn weather we've been having now that it's summer. :)
It's a pretty cool skirt. The design at the bottom doesn't show as much in the image, due to the dark background, but it's cut in a distinct arc...which gives it a mermaid vibe, without appearing flaky.
How did they do it? By using gorgeous material...mine is a very dark green, it's silky soft, and the double layer of fabric makes the skirt hang more heavily than a regular ol' cotton jersey skirt would. The two layers are finely finished with narrow hems. The extra lengths at the sides actually look better from the side, imo, because the effect is architectural.
Tweed waistband is nice and comfy, even when you're sitting on the rapid transit at the end of the day, at the end of the week, and your mind is yet wrapped up in finishing that last part of the last function in the last file, which would then need to be exhaustively tested, over three separate applications. Hm. It should just work, right? lol
This line is made in New York.Labels: indie, wardrobe
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 10
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Thursday, June 24, 2010
at 9:33 PM (Pacific)
Once in a while, I will kind of remember that I work in a male-dominated field.
I say "kind of," because it doesn't matter. People in my field don't care. I have rarely encountered another programmer, who was any good, who cared who you were or what you looked like. Actually I can think of only one, and he lost his job (instructor at my school). I suspect some of the grad students complained...he gave a guy I was tutoring an A+ (which he thought was ridiculous), and he gave me a B-. At the time I didn't care. How many employers ask what your GPA was? Is this guy gonna ruin my day? But, to this day, I can admit I never understood that instructor. A mediocre programmer can be prejudiced. A good one shouldn't be.
From the beginning, I consciously decided not to dress like a man for this job. To me that wouldn't make any sense. What would I be saying, that only men can be taken seriously as programmers? Exactly which part of being a man is necessary for you to write code? (I've asked my co-worker this question, but...remember? He doesn't care.)
Hermmm...I'm slowly winding down here. I have boatloads of clothes, collected over a period of time. I realize I've "organized" them around several neutral "families."
Neutrals are boring and nobody likes them, but so often it's the unseen parts of something that make it work.
I realized this a while ago, while looking for shirts. At the time, it was difficult finding a nice white shirt that wasn't completely dull. There were tons of colored shirts, it was tempting to buy those, but what worked best in many a situation was a white or off-white blouse.
So it's like...I have several grey items that sort of go together. They're not the same shade of grey, but then they don't have to be.
I have navy blue items, black items, brown items, and off-white items. I'm currently seeking an olive-green jacket or cardigan to go with the olive-green skirts I own.
Are you asleep yet?????!!! I told you this stuff was boring. Yet, once you have pieces in your favorite neutral shades, it's pretty easy putting together an outfit in the morning.
That's where you can bring in colored items, in your favorite colors. It's rather the equivalent of a man's "power tie." You've got your well-fitting neutral things on, so the colored items jump out at you.
Or you can go entirely neutral, which isn't as horrible as it sounds. Here the items have to be good quality, otherwise this look falls totally flat.
Okay, so today I had on one of these gabardine skirts:
...in grey. It's lighter than the swatch. And this:
A bit lighter. The two grey pieces don't match; it's not a suit.
Along with these, a greyish-green boatneck top, and this necklace:
...which I made myself, grey tights and Cydwoq boots.
That's it. I can't say it's a genius outfit, particularly, but it's comfortable and looks good.Labels: cydwoq, indie, jcrew, shoes, wardrobe
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 9
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
at 7:07 PM (Pacific)
I realize I never completed my "Gibbs' Rules of Wardrobe Development" (see Wardrobe natterings).
This came to mind as I contemplated the above top, since rule #2 clearly states: "Never shop at Banana Republic."
The top is currently on sale at $29.99 from $45. I really did consider buying it, and not just because they brought out the dishy model. (Darn the dishy models!--at their feet lie a thousand wallets torn asunder.)
The thing is, it just looks handy. Were it rendered dressily enough, in fabric, cut and color, it could function as an office-friendly top--just plunk a jacket or cardigan over it. Then, on the weekend, you could bring it out as a casual hot-weather top, with a skinny camisole under it to pop the floral cut-outs, or even just a nude bra (I'd have to see it, but it seems to me it would work).
Ah, but... I did drop into Banana on the weekend, and as usual ended up kicking myself. They didn't have this top at hand, and I found nothing else fitting-room-worthy. In fact, the overall lacklustre quality inspired me not to buy this tank online. sighs
The idea though, remains of interest...why not a dual-purpose top?Labels: wardrobe
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J. Crew Confidential
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Sunday, June 20, 2010
at 9:39 PM (Pacific)
 J.Crew Embroidered Zafrina Skirt in Stone Blue
J.Crack just put a bunch of stuff on sale, including this skirt. Whilst the pink version caught my eye originally:
 J.Crew Embroidered Zafrina Skirt in Bronzed Clay
...today the blue one did, at about half the full price.
On the 'Crew website, Zafrina is listed as 18 inches long, but I just measured mine (size Large) and it's a full 19 inches. Perhaps the Medium and smaller sizes are 18 inches. While I was at the shop, I tried X-Large as well to see if it was longer...not appreciably so, just bulkier and less flattering on me. The elastic in the waist is pretty relaxed, so you're actually using the drawstring to control where the skirt falls.
Hence, Blue Zafrina looks reasonably conservative, for being an embroidered skirt; it would work in a business-casual environment, as long as the rest of the outfit was simple and formal. It's a couple of inches longer on me than on the model.
While I was at it, I gave the formerly-$79.50 Linen Charter Skirt one last shot--it's now thirty bucks at my b & m.
 J. Crew Linen Charter Skirt in black
This time I did the "grab the biggest size, see if you can bring the hemline down" shtick, which didn't work. This skirt looks cute worn at waist level; bringing it down simply made it look less special and close to ill-fitting, and it was still too short anyway.
 J. Crew Cotton Pimm Skirt in Fatigue
Get away from me, you olive green skirt! On the not-on-sale side of things, this admittedly attracted me, purely for its color. I passed on it...what I want is more like an olive pencil skirt, or at least something longer.
I realize I bitch a lot about skirt length, but many of the cute skirts are too short for me. I know, they're not targeted towards my age group anyway...so I'll probably just keep on bitching, at least for skirts I can't finagle into longer skirts. :)
On a positive note, I am enjoying this olive green trend--yay! Green is one of my favorite colors...all kinds of green, but particularly green mixed with brown or grey.Labels: jcrew, wardrobe
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 8
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Saturday, June 19, 2010
at 8:38 PM (Pacific)
It is Saturday, the most hallowed day of the week, since I usually do laundry on Sundays. I, ah, slept half the day. I've been tired.
Oh, dang. I had to discover this shoe company. Apparently everyone else already knows about them--Aurora Shoe Company--they're popular in Europe and Japan, but the shoes are constructed here, of American materials.
 gratuitous Cydwoq shoe porn
May I say, I love wearing my American-made Cydwoq shoes. I get compliments on them, more so than on any other shoe since my old Cole Haans bit the dust (those were amazing little boots, all fine strips of leather woven together). I'm always proud to say my cool Cydwoqs were made here.
I only wish there were more American shoe companies, and that they would produce more corporate-looking shoes. I dig an eccentric or casual shoe as much as the next gal, but would be more than happy fulfilling all of my shoe needs American-made.
Back to Aurora...check this out: tiptoe #10
The first image I saw of these American shoes was taken in Japan! I felt funny embedding the photo here (professional photo), so made a thumbnail for it.Labels: cydwoq, shoes, wardrobe
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 7
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Thursday, June 17, 2010
at 11:30 PM (Pacific)
It's always nice to see something, well, olive green and irresistible. In real life this dress is in fact olive, and possesses the mandarin-ish collar I like. It's hella baggy, though not as baggy as this one:
...making it suitable for my "get a sack of a dress, doll it up with a fancy belt" concept.
I tried out the J.Crew triad here:
...where you combine white and ivory with a warmish-neutral shade (here again olive green) to draw the two non-matching shades of white together, so it doesn't look as if you got dressed in the dark, or own only one top and one cardigan, which don't happen to match.
Only I didn't do it with olive, but with a chocolate brown skirt. I love this skirt, because it's not only deep brown, but has a distinct cast of plum.
Okay! Now I have to finally confess, this has become a wardrobe/fashion blog. I've gone ahead and linked to some other wardrobe blogs I like, along with a lone makeup blog, jojoba's My Makeup Reviews.Labels: garnet hill, jcrew, jjill, wardrobe
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 6
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Sunday, June 13, 2010
at 12:35 PM (Pacific)
So often in life, the answer you seek is right in front of you. It's a matter of recognizing it, and doing something about it.
Hermmm...that was random. Oh well, this is a blog.
Above is yet another iteration of the J.Crew Jackie cardigan, and, normally, I'd have no intention of buying one in white. Nothing beats a white shirt, but white cardigans tend to be less useful to me.
What caught my eye was the composition of the outfit. Standard wardrobe advice dictates not to combine white with ivory...indeed, a white top/ivory cardigan would not have worked (I've tried it; it looks terrible). Yet, here, the pieces meld harmoniously.
I believe the key to be the olive-green shorts. I should say, I don't wear shorts, unless I'm at the beach or something. I told ya, I dress like a nun. But the color...the warmth of the olive suits the ivory, while olive's neutrality (bright green would not have worked) pleases the white.
Deep chocolate brown would have worked as well, but not as prettily, not for this model. The olive green makes her eyes jump out.
I knew olive green was the answer...mumbles, hides wallet...Labels: jcrew, wardrobe
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Aristoc Cotton Rich No Show Footsies review
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Friday, June 11, 2010
at 6:50 PM (Pacific)
Hermmm...I've worn these twice so far. Thought I'd sample the Aristoc version first, since a.) I like their stockings, and b.) of the better brands o' footsies, Aristoc has the best price.
Day One
The heels slipped off pretty much right away, and I speculated whether I'd spend the day treading on beds o' wrinkled footsie. But the slipped-off part of the footsie remained nice and flat under my foot. Overall they were comfortable, but if you'd wanted to cover your foot properly, you would have been disappointed.
Day Two
It was a two-pack. :) Besides, I'd gotten a pair of grey micronets in the same order, and was perishing to try them out, and disliked the notion of a micronet-clad foot sweating alone inside a pump. No way! Bring on the footsies.
This time, I sussed the small end of the footsie belonged on your toes. It's a bit counter-intuitive, since the thing resembles a ballet flat, but you need only the tiniest edge of footsie on toes; it's the heels that need extra coverage.
This time, the left footsie stayed put all day. Round about quitting time, the right footsie heel began to sneak down. All in all, a positive experience.
I'm wondering now if sizing up would work better...less tension on the footsie, likely without much added bulk.
And I'm game to try Falke's footsies. Spendier, but almost pure cotton (the Aristoc are a blend), along with an anti-microbial finish.Labels: shoes, wardrobe
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Office clothes for hot weather part 2
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Monday, June 7, 2010
at 7:40 PM (Pacific)
See Office clothes for hot weather
I still have the top (purchased almost two years ago):
Much as I like to diss Banana Republic (sorry, but I recall when their clothes were exemplary), this top has proven impossible to replace. Once in a while, I'll head on over to bananarepublic.gap.com, but, thus far, to no avail.
What to wear to work when weather gets toasty? It's easier than it sounds, but takes more planning than cold-weather attire, where you can simply throw on another layer.
I checked my closet last night and counted at least five tops that would work in what we (San Francisco Bay Area) deem "hot" weather. That differs from, say, what we called "hot" in the South. Your Southern tops would have to be sleeveless, white or light-colored, something it would be okay to get sweaty in...here it's more forgiving. You could go with short or even three-quarter sleeves, but I like to stick with light shades (feel cooler) and either styles that don't attract sweat stains, or fabrics you can Oxi-Clean if need be.
Once you have the five tops, and something to shlep over them (lightweight cardigan or jacket), that is most of it. You can toss a few light-colored, or lightweight, skirts or pants into the mix. Darker-colored linen or thin cotton items work around here, paired with a white or light-colored top.
One thing I'm trying this year is a sort of sack of a dress, styled up with a fancy belt. The dress has to be durable enough not to be frayed (for a silk dress, you'd want a sash instead). It's a simple look and can be changed up at a reasonable cost.
 image courtesy buloshoes.com
I wore my Cydwoq Category shoes to work today. I was going to break them in over a series of weekends, but was curious if the built-in holes ventilated your feet. Heheh...quite good actually; not as airy as sandals, but perhaps more season-spanning.Labels: cydwoq, garnet hill, shoes, wardrobe
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About the tag cloud....
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Sunday, June 6, 2010
at 9:27 PM (Pacific)
Just a note here: the tag cloud above no longer works. Sorry about that.
How can a tag cloud stop working? you ask. I never bothered transferring this blog to the (much better supported) blogspot hosting until now. It's been sitting on my domain since, ah, December 2002.
At one point I added a tag cloud to it. It was my own script, but then the blogger files were on my server. I see Blogger has their own stuff, which would entail trashing the current template and... I'll get around to doing it, it's just not a priority.
Edited: okay, it sort of works now. At least you'll get to the current label page.
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 5
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
at 5:50 PM (Pacific)
I can't wait to try these. I know, they're tiny cotton sock-lets; nothing more. You are to wear them with dress shoes, to discreetly envelope your feet in cottony comfort.
Naturally, I'm also thinking...what if they made these with cushioning on the bottom? or a non-skid finish, for heels? A Foot-Petals-meets-footsie kind of a thing? I'm fairly certain they already make something similar, but what I have in mind should be as refined as stockings.
I finally got these shoes, the Cydwoq Category, after thinking about them for at least a year, perhaps two. I now own several pairs of this brand, to the point I want most of my shoes to be Cydwoqs...with the odd Cole Haan, La Canadienne, and the shoe which shall take months to afford, Thierry Rabotin, comprising a minority of the stash.
I can admit what attracted me most about Category was the giant hole. lol! I tried these out in winter, with tights, and the hole barely showed, which I felt made them versatile. The hole is there to make you feel cooler in summer. It's also why I passed on the dishy Cydwoq Game boots:
I love the holes in back! But when it's sufficiently chilly to wear boots in the first place, you don't want holes in them!
Damn you, Van Helsing!
The same day I endeavored to ditch my wardrobe wish-list, I got a catalogue in the mail.
If the road to hell in software development begins with: "Wouldn't it be nice if...", the path to damnation in wardrobe strategy contains the following:
"There's a shop..."
"There's a sale..."
"I got a catalogue in the mail."
JJill has cranked out a new color story, featuring my favorite clothing shade of all time, olive green. I've already decided to try a couple of items, once they hit the b & m stores (JJill clothing imo must be tried on, since it doesn't fit consistently, and seldom looks the same in real life as it does in pictures).Labels: cydwoq, shoes, wardrobe
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 4
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Saturday, June 5, 2010
at 8:06 PM (Pacific)
Culled from craigslist:
I wash wool and cashmere clothes all the time < cool-water-NO-agitation > 05/24 19:57:27
Heat and agitation are what cause wool to shrink and "felt". If you don't agitate the wool and use cool water, there is no problem at all. I wash all my wool and cashmere this way; I let them soak in the washer and then go through the rinse and spin cycles as usual. I use Woolite. I do put them in lingerie bags to keep them from pilling and picking up fibers from the other wool and cashmere items. They actually come out much more soft this way than taking them to the cleaners. The cleaners use chemicals that seem to make the cashmere feel less soft.
I re-shape and then hang dry on huggable hangers. Works great for sweaters, skirts and pants. I live in a dry climate so they dry overnight in the laundry room. Also works fine for scarves, mittens, and blankets. Does NOT work for coats or jackets because the shoulders and/or lapels can get out of shape, so I leave those to the dry cleaners.
...
My wardrobe wish-list has been steadily dwindling, to the point it's next to depleted. Still, a girl needs to be surrounded by beautiful and useful objects...sighs...I'm still pining for micronet stockings:
These are the Falke version, and I'm not willing to pay Falke prices; my point is the subtlety of the pattern. If only it were easier to find stuff like that here, or find it anywhere in a range of colors. What's wrong with a simple nude micronet?
Something like this is always handy. The J.Crew "solid stretch shirt" caught my eye because it's made exactly the same as a man's shirt, rather than the usual tepid imitation. Only the dainty sizing gives it away.Labels: culled from craigslist, jcrew, maintenance, wardrobe
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Random wardrobe meanderings part 3
posted by Colleen Shirazi
on
Thursday, June 3, 2010
at 8:30 PM (Pacific)
If you're unfamiliar with Iranian food, the "ghormeh sabzi" referred to is a stew. You make it with lamb or beef, red kidney beans (not a lot of them, just some), leaves of green herbs such as parsley, the green part of scallions, cilantro, et cetera, and dried Persian limes. It's easily the most ridiculous thing you could put on a pizza, but an interesting observation of Iranian economy.
Just because my husband fancied Debbie Harry back in the day, shouldn't mean I can't put up something a bit cultural once in a while. :)
Punkin NYC
Even as I'm winding down, wardrobe-wise, I could not resist trying this line. This skirt in particular...who makes it in olive green? There are a gazillion black skirts, a bazillion in grey, but this line produces just about everything in a shade of dark green or deep red (my two favorite clothing colors), as well as navy blue, chocolate brown, some peppier blues, wine colors, prints, creams, pinks...
This skirt, the Fall A-Line, runs fairly large, at least relatively speaking. I dithered whether to try medium or large. There was a generic size chart on the site--yech! I prefer sites like ModCloth or Tulle, where they give you measurements of each size of each item.
But the large was available only in chocolate brown, whilst the more desirable olive green came in medium or small. I know, I could email the seller and likely get whatever I wanted, but something about the design struck me as...decidedly practical. If you observe the waistband, it could work higher or lower. There's no reason it has to fit exactly as it does in the picture.
Also, I asked my son. It's good having a consultant, particularly one who is opinionated and, well, blunt. I explained about the size large in chocolate brown and the medium in olive green. He immediately said I should get the olive green, since it was a cooler color, and the skirt could always be returned anyway.
Hermmm...it's a nice skirt, so far. It has a side zipper (wasn't clear from the listing whether the waist had elastic in the back), and it's neatly double-layered (a nice touch, with so many skirts unlined these days). The olive is dark, yet still distinctly green. I'm digging it.Labels: music, videos, wardrobe
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