Tag: fashion

Packing Light: Dublin


This is every item of clothing I packed for seven days in Dublin. I’m doing a campaign for L.L.Bean’s Signature Collection and they sent me a giant box of clothes, so I’m wearing a few of those items below. That means you can actually obtain some of these pieces, instead of cursing me when I tell you that everything you love was purchased at a vintage shop in 2001.

L.L.Bean Signature Silk Habutai Dress Polka Dot

For example, this perfectly faded brown dress with polka dots? It’s L.L.Bean’s Silk Habutai Dress, and it’s so Little Orphan Annie. Except it’s made of heavy silk, but who says orphans can’t have nice things? Jerks, that’s who.

Anyway, as I mentioned recently, belts are a challenge for me. I’ve been trying to up my game on that front, so I bought a few from H&M and this is my first attempt. I felt so pulled together, ya’ll. The cardigan I’m belting here is also H&M, but it’s from the men’s section, which is where they keep all the good stuff.

The grey tights are Target, and the magic travel boots are from Argentina. They’ve gotten me through more trips than I can count.

Let’s get a closer look at those blue polka dots:

Hello, little buddies.

This is my travel outfit, hence the action pose. It’s a knit dress I got at a thrift store, worn with an H&M elastic belt and the aforementioned tights and boots. I also wore a grey sweater wrap that I didn’t get a photo of, but you can see it in my New York post from a couple years ago. It doubles as an airplane blanket.

I’m wearing the dress on the way back home too, so I’ll be washing it in the bathtub while I’m here. Airplane germs gross me out. Another reason to do a quick rinse:

This is the dress worn as a top. I’ve cleverly safety pinned the sides to the outside layer of my Express Ultra Skinny Stella jean pockets. You can also use extra large safety pins to do a gathering effect on the sides of your dress, which is slightly more labor intensive, but arguably more effective. There are those boots again. I love you, boots.

The necklace is also H&M, it makes everything a little more current. Unlike these killer sleeves. What’s up 1983? We miss your economy.

I borrowed this sweater from Bryan who got it at Macy’s a few years back. He never wears it, and it’s super soft. His loss. That’s an L.L.Bean Tweed Skirt and army green tights from Target.

The circle scarf is H&M, and I love how easy it is to mess with proportions when you’re wearing it. Also, coziness.

These are my Rudolf Dassler PUMAs, which I adore, so of course they rub away the skin over my Achilles tendon. I’ve been trying to decide whether I strictly need that skin, so I’ve taken to tying them lower. This frees up a lot of extra lace, hence the creative lace tying. I like the way it looks, so I’ve been doing that with all my sneakers now.

This is a packing minimization outfit. We’re revisiting the cardigan, boots, and jeans.

I forget where the shirt came from, but I bought it because I liked the gathering around the neck and cuffs. You have to iron it like crazy though, and I only seem to have time for that when I’m on vacation.

The hat is hand knit, I got it at a thrift store where I get almost all of my hand-knit items. For the record, if someone hand knits you something and you send it to a thrift store? I’m pretty sure you need to go to confession, or sacrifice a goat or something. Or at least learn how to knit things that other people can then throw away — full circle.

I try to pack PJs I can wear as clothes in a pinch, so this is a tank top and cropped sweats from who knows where. I wear the tank under stuff for an extra layer if it’s cold. The comfy pants are nice if I get sick and want to be cozy, or if my flight is delayed and everything I’m wearing is coated in airport goo.

Chic librarian is my preferred look, so this is my favorite outfit for the trip.

These are L.L.Bean’s Cuffed Cropped Pant. They are fantastic. I’d normally wear them with a chunky heel, but we’re walking on cobblestones in the rain here, so these are cheap, destroyable flats from Target.

The cashmere cardigan is from the Alameda Flea Market, the Peter Pan collar top was 99 cents on eBay, and the modernized cat-eye glasses are Dolce and Gabbana. The hair scarf is actually a belt from a polyester ’70s dress I got at a thrift store when I was in high school. Yeah. It’s time to clean out my closet.

Thanks to the team at L.L.Bean Signature Collection for sponsoring this post.
Next time I have a clambake, you are so invited.

Flashback Monday: Women’s Fashion Part II, Color

In an effort to gather all my writing in one place, every Monday I post articles that originally appeared elsewhere, or work that has been gathering dust on my hard drive. This piece was originally published by the The Morning News in 2002. Thanks to Rosecrans Baldwin, for the edits.

Black is easy. Black is mythic. It can make you look 120 pounds when you weigh 250. Black is the new…well, you’ve heard it. But do you own anything that makes you laugh when you put it on? Not even a pair of ducky yellow boots tucked into the back corner of your closet?

If not, you need more happy clothes. Even in big cities where women tend to be more adventurous with their clothing, you can count ten women in muted colors for every one woman wearing a bright blue raincoat or green trousers. This is why designers have such an easy time hooking us with their color du season. We’re starved for something juicy.

And you can be juicy. Oh, yes.

Now in Technicolor

Color gets you noticed, especially when everyone else looks as though they’re in mourning. Think of who gets photographed at the Oscars: Nicole Kidman in her chartreuse Galliano, Gwyneth Paltrow in her glowing pink Ralph Lauren, Kate Winslet in her flowering red Ben de Lisi. Remember Helen Hunt’s black Gucci cloak dress? Or Julianne Moore’s sheer black Chanel? Yeah, neither does anyone else.

Get some glad rags. If your closet lacks color, refuse to buy any more navy, beige, brown, or black until your wardrobe is more vibrant. You may hear the inner voice that your mother so cultivated, shouting, ‘A pink suede skirt? That won’t go with anything!’ Perhaps. But it will make you want to shimmy.

Don’t wear green if green makes you look dead. How can you tell? Stand near a window in the store so you can see the color and your skin tone in a natural light. Now hold the item in question up to your face. Do you glow a little, or do you look hungover? If you are hungover and you still glow a little, snap that baby up. Also pay attention to people’s comments. If they ask whether you’re feeling tired when you wear your green sweater, chuck it. If they ask whether you’ve just had your hair cut, buy some more skirts to go with your fabulous green sweater.

Eschew black for special occasions. Consider your little black dress a standby for events that catch you off guard, not a default. If you know a fete is coming, find an outfit that will own the room, something that snaps. This will make you easy to find in a crowd, which makes it easier for charming strangers to hit on you.

Invest in a bright coat. It looks fantastic with an all-neutral outfit, and can make even a T-shirt and jeans look stylish. A colorful coat also adds some flare to more conservative work outfits.

Wear more red. It’s the only color that’s both bold and classic, and every woman can find a shade that flatters her. If you’re not sure what looks good on you, go to an upscale makeup counter and ask them to help you find a red lipstick that works with your complexion. Once you’ve found something attractive, you can buy red clothing with the same base shades. Nothing beats a red dress for sex appeal. If you don’t believe me, lick your finger, press it to your hip, and make a sizzling sound. Now isn’t that more convincing when you’re wearing red?

Mix and Match

The best way to figure out what colors work well together is to pay attention to fashion spreads and imitate the combinations you like. Hard-and-fast fashion rules on what matches and what doesn’t are somewhat naive. Styles are in constant flux. While neon pink with lime green would have been fine in the ’80s, today it would be a cause for concern. Some basic guidelines:

Stick to two or three colors per outfit. The rainbow effect hasn’t worked since you were six. If you’re pairing solids, choose two colors and work with those, perhaps adding a touch of a third color in your earrings or with a pair of strappy shoes.

Dress in color families. When you’ve collected enough pieces in a single color family, consider wearing them together once in awhile. Of course, they should be shades that match, mint green isn’t so hot with olive drab, and they should also be tones that vary. Wearing exactly the same shade of a bright color from head to toe can be an assault on passersby, but pairing a barely turquoise angora sweater with a robin’s-egg wool skirt looks smashing. Avoid an undesirable schizophrenic effect by offsetting a monochromatic outfit with a swingy little jacket and shoes in neutral shades or accessories in a complementary, but distinctly different, color.

Pay attention to color tones. Pastels work better with other light colors, while saturated colors work well together. Pale pink is beautiful with beige, but dark pinks are nicer with a chocolate color.

Pucci Over Pinstripe

Patterned clothing isn’t nearly as versatile as solids. There are a few exceptions—pinstripes, Burberry plaid—but patterns are often a liability. They hang forlornly in your closet because they don’t go with anything; they’re the reason that your white T-shirt is always in the wash.

Still, patterns are fun, and fun is the point. So if you’re going to buy a few things that don’t match much, buy outrageous things. See that bright green ’60s print with huge blue barracudas swimming all over it? That’s what I’m talking about. See that little tank top with the giant spiky flowers in fuchsia, and red? There are forty others like it on the sale rack, because no one else was brave enough to wear them. You don’t have those kinds of hang-ups. Vintage shops and deeply discounted sales racks are the best places to find striking prints.

Those who feel exposed in a crazy, dramatic pattern can balance it with classic clothing in a conservative cut. If you’re not particularly adept at choosing colors that work together, select a neutral or a shade featured prominently in the pattern. Your new barracuda pants would look great with a slate gray T-shirt. Your floral tank would be sweet with a little red skirt.

Tennis Bracelets Are for Sissies

If you’re not a brave girl, or you don’t have enough extra cash to invest in a fuchsia section of your closet, start with accessories. You can dress as conservatively as you like and still look dashing if you wear bold jewelry. What do I mean by bold? Colorful, and big.

Find two or three bright colors that you love—a lipstick crimson, Tiffany’s blue—and begin to collect scarves, pins, and bracelets in those colors. Bright, dramatic jewelry is especially nice with clothes that take no chances. A beige T-shirt, jeans, and sandals looks ho-hum until you add a chunky orange necklace. Your little black dress stands out if you added aquamarine chandelier earrings or a pink tassel necklace that falls to your waist.

The extra bonus with dramatic jewelry is that you can always remove it and stuff it in your purse if you feel overdressed or silly. This is not as true of thigh-high leather boots that lace up the back.

Bold and Brave

Nothing looks good on a woman who isn’t brave, and it takes a brave woman to wear orange pants. Not everyone will like what you’re wearing, but a few people will love it as much as you do. Those people are the correct ones.

Fashionable women are willing to wear what other women won’t (yet). They have a sense of humor about what they put on their bodies, and they’re often respected less for their artistry than their chutzpah.

What the rest of us need to figure out is how to be daring without being reckless. Playing with color is the most foolproof way to do that. Next time, buy the pink suede skirt. It’s practical.

Flashback Monday: Women’s Fashion, Part I, Classics

In an effort to gather all my writing in one place, every Monday I post articles that originally appeared elsewhere, or work that has been gathering dust on my hard drive. This piece was originally published by the The Morning News in 2002. Thanks to Rosecrans Baldwin, for the edits.

Welcome to the first installment of the Women’s Fashion Guide. In this ongoing series, we’ll help fill in your wardrobe gaps, forgive your past sins, and encourage you to shine your stilettos.

This week’s article is about classic clothing. Recall your mother’s timeless refrains: ‘That won’t match anything.’ ‘That will fall apart in the wash.’ ‘That dress makes you look like a hussy.’

Mom was right. That dress did make you look like a hussy. Fortunately, your high-school crush thought so too. But mom was also right about sensible shopping. You could use a new pantsuit.

Building a Wardrobe

Thank god you were born a woman.

The sartorially adventurous man can have a red shirt made, perhaps purchase a loud tie. You, on the other hand, can pour yourself into a crimson dress with built-in panties and fish-scale sequins that chatter as you walk. You can halt conversation; you can smirk as gentlemen loosen their ties and swallow hard; you need never pay for a drink.

Wear what you want. Dive into feathery chiffon swing skirts, witty little gemstone bracelets, kissable cashmere wraps. Roll around in the delicate, glittering, unctuous glory of it all!

All right, now get up off the floor. You’re crushing your feather boa. Also, your closet is starting to look like the wardrobe rack for Moulin Rouge. Is it, or is it not true that you own seven brand-new miniskirts, but not a single pair of shoes that matches your interview suit? I thought so.

If you want to build a wardrobe, you have to start with the basics, clothes you can count on. Once you have some solid building blocks in neutral colors, buy the silly, sparkly separates and accessories that will keep your girlfriends from yawning. For now, we’ll focus on tried and true.

White Button-Down Shirt
If you’re a tall girl and you’re dating a skinny guy with a good tailor, you may be able to score one of these by batting your eyes and slipping it on. If you’re 5’3″ and your boyfriend is a linebacker, head to your favorite boutique and look for a crisp, white shirt made of 100 percent cotton.

Find one with darts that bring the waist in slightly. You need a shirt that looks good untucked: i.e., that doesn’t come more than halfway down your bum and isn’t too baggy—but can also be tucked in for wear with a suit.

Details will date the shirt, so find something that doesn’t have peasant ties at the wrists or prissy little flowers embroidered on the collar. Avoid shirts with breast pockets, that way you don’t have to worry about whether your bust line makes the pocket gape. The right piece will look as good with a business suit as it does with your white cotton undies. Press it until it crackles. Wear it with a pencil skirt for business or a plaid pleated skirt for pleasure.

Knee-Length A-Line Skirt
These look good on every shape and can be dressed up or down. Buy a skirt in a solid, neutral color and a fabric that will work in any season, like a lightweight wool gabardine.

Try a striped T-shirt, matching cardigan, and flats for breakfast with a girlfriend. Pair a black skirt with heels and something low cut for dinner.

T-Shirts
You’ll need one black, gray, or navy T-shirt and one in either white or cream, depending on your complexion. Look for a cotton/polyester blend: It will fit your curves better than a purely cotton version, it won’t look tired so quickly, and it will travel well. Find a thick, durable weave. Thin T-shirts wrinkle easily, and they also show every bump of lace on your bra.

When you find the right T-shirt, go back and buy two more in your favorite bright colors. They’re perfect for layering under a bulky sweater in the winter or for pairing with a pair of tidy, side-zip shorts when you’re out sailing. OK, washing the car.

Jeans
Pull them on; glance in the mirror. If your ass doesn’t look antigravitational in these jeans, if it doesn’t look like some other woman’s ass entirely, put them back. They should also break just-so over your sneakers. If you’re petite, consider having them hemmed by a tailor who knows that jeans should never, ever look like they’ve been hemmed.

Shop until you find the best possible pair. Can you heft moving boxes without displaying a porn-star triangle of G-string? Could you picnic with his parents in these jeans? Could you successfully accessorize with a tank top and a shot of tequila?

When you find the right pair, don’t agonize over the price tag. No matter how much you spend on them, it’ll still work out to about five cents a wearing. So buy the pair you want. Buy two.

Warm Sweater
If cream looks good on you, find a chunky turtleneck sweater in off-white. It goes with everything, and looks equally charming with a pair of jeans or with a skirt and boots. If cream makes you look warmed over, consider camel, chocolate, or black.

If you feel like something dead is wrapped around your throat when you wear a turtleneck, or if your neck is so short that you sometimes have trouble turning your head, opt for a very slight V-neck.

Slim Casual Pants
Think Jackie Kennedy, not Army/Navy. No pleats, no bottom cuffs, no cargo pockets, no kicky little waist ties. No. Find a pair with a flat front, one button, and one zipper. Go with a slightly tapered or straight leg.

You can wear them with anything, but keep them pressed. Pull them on when you’re running for bagels in the morning. For a well-scrubbed look, pair with bright, fitted V-neck sweaters, or a T-shirt and a front-zip, hooded sweatshirt.

Knee-High Leather Boots
Some women take to these, other women feel like hookers. Nothing is sexier or classier with a skirt. If anyone propositions you, your skirt is too short.

Trench Coat
Buy yourself a black or khaki trench coat and you’ll wear it everywhere but the opera. It looks great with jeans and winter skirts, and adding a colorful scarf will pull most looks together with minimal effort.

Find a coat that’s fully lined and impeccably tailored. If you can’t afford a new coat—and they can be expensive—you can usually find them at vintage boutiques. Vintage varieties have luxuriously deep pockets that let you shove your hands in up to your elbows. This is a rare and wondrous element in women’s clothing, so seek it out.

Dark Pant Suit
Why are most women’s suits a little Miami Vice? It’s a hundred times easier to find an affordable and flattering suit in lavender or sage than in black. But it’s worth the extra cost to own a suit that doesn’t make you look like an after-dinner mint.

Look for a single-breasted pantsuit with classic lines and trousers that you can wear separately. Search out light, seasonless fabrics like crêpe. Avoid odd, trendy buttons and synthetic fabrics. The pants should break over the shoes you’ll be wearing (heels or flats: choose before you buy) and the sleeves shouldn’t be too long or too short.

Little Black Dress
Cigarette holders have gone out of vogue, but as long as you can still order a good martini, you’ll need a little black dress.

Avoid ruffles, lace, multiple fabric combinations, and asymmetrical tailoring (a toga top, or a skirt with an uneven hem). The perfect dress should be comfortable, well fitted, and just the right length to hit the most flattering point on your let. Too-tight dresses sacrifice elegance. You’ll most likely be wearing shoes that hurt: do you really want to suck your gut in all night, too? Find something with both elegance and sex appeal.

In the dressing room, ask yourself a few questions. Do you feel calm? Slightly superior? Could you wear back-seam stockings without looking trashy? Could you make eye contact with a charming gentleman across the room, part your lips, and raise your eyebrows ever so slightly? If so, wrap it up.

What’s Left Unsaid
If you have to try on dozens of outfits to find one that looks handsome but still casual, you don’t own enough classic pieces. The above list is by no means complete. We haven’t even touched on wool pants, minimalist leather jackets, black heels that you can dance in, cashmere cardigans, and the multitude of accessories you should have in your arsenal.

Too many women waste too much time trying to look as though they’ve just thrown something on. With these pieces, you’ll actually be able to choose an outfit at one go, which gives you more time to decide which lipstick to wear.

Mighty Closet: Jaime Chen, Outfit 4

This is the kind of thing Jaime wears on a casual day out when she thinks she might run into an ex boyfriend. All right, maybe I’m projecting a little. Her leggings are Wolford.

The happy pink skirt is from COS in Copenhagen. Jaime is totally powerless in the face of unexpected pleats.

Her T-shirt is Vanessa Bruno; Jaime gives a thumbs up to their basics.

Her suede flats are Sigerson Morrison, purchased at Nida in San Francisco. I just realized that I’ve never seen Jaime limping in her shoes. Even on her wedding day, she wore a pair of flat sandals under her dress.

The girl with the comfy flats always gets the last laugh.

Tomorrow, Jaime’s cocktail look and final outfit. See you there!

Mighty Closet: Jaime Chen, Outfit 3

This coat is so Jackie 2010, it probably came with giant sunglasses and a pack of cigarettes in the pockets. Jaime got this at Helen Yi in Chicago, and it has some nice details.

I love necklines like this because you don’t need to bother with a scarf.

It also has nice deep pockets so you can leave your purse home too.

Here’s what’s underneath the coat. This is the kind of thing Jaime wears to a nice dinner or holiday party.

The blouse is Tracy Reese, also from Helen Yi. Ms. Yi knows her audience.

Jaime’s skirt is from Sabine Poupinel in Copenhagen, and it has surprise blue lining in the pockets. Colored or patterned lining just makes me feel more pulled together. Blue pockets are such an incentive to shave your legs.

Her wool tights are Wolford.

The patent wedge heels are from a Zara in Hong Kong. Brown patent is not something you see every day.

A lot of Jaime’s jewelry is sentimental; her grandmother gave her the pearls. Her earrings were a gift from her mother-in-law who received them from her husband shortly after she was married.

This is what Jaime does when you mention that she’s been scowling at your lens for the better part of an hour.

Ah! There she is.

On Monday we’ll be back with leggings. Leggings! Don’t try to resist, they are rad.

Mighty Closet: Jaime Chen, Outfit 2

Apologies for the post delay, yesterday was one of those days. Thanks for checking back.

Don’t mind Jaime, she’s just stepping out for a stroll through the open-air markets of Cuba.

It’s so easy for hats to look forced. Who throws on a fedora this effortlessly? Urban Outfitter models and Jaime, that’s who. Jaime does low-key sexy better than anyone I know.

Her hat is a Stetson, but was purchased in Copenhagen. Jaimes likes to shop when she travels — she worked as a consultant for years and is a travel enthusiast, so she has lots of trips under her (weathered leather) belt (purchased in Zambia).

Her J necklace was a gift from her sister Nancy, who wears the same necklace but with an N on it. Aww. Wearing matching necklaces is pretty much the best reason to have a sister.

Her black tank top is Banana Republic, purchased in a NYC Soho store circa 2001. Can anyone else believe it hasn’t acquired a giant stain in the last nine years? Clearly Jaime doesn’t eat spaghetti. The green cardigan is JCrew.

Her split skirt has a subtle stripe, it’s by waukerhaus and was also purchased in Copenhagen at a store called Sabine Poupinel.

The bag is Hermes.

Thought I’d just let that settle in for a moment. Jaime says she gets her more expensive clothes on sale, but the Hermes bag was an exception. She fell in love the first time she saw it, and worked up her courage (and presumably savings) for two years before laying down the cash. Now she sleeps with it and bottle feeds it.

By contrast, she bought her sandals from Ann Taylor twelve years ago and has had them repaired three times.

And that’s a wrap. Tune in tomorrow for a little more Subtle Sexuality. Jaime, take us out:

Yep. That’s still working for you, girl.

Packing Light: ALT Summit

I try to travel without checking luggage, and Packing Light is a series about what I pack to get that done.

I haven’t done a lot of winter suitcases, so I thought I’d do a post about what I packed to speak at ALT Summit. The jeans are from The Limited, and I need to imagine a gospel choir singing and Jesus rays breaking through the clouds as I type this next part: They were the first pair I tried on. I’m a size 8 to 10 in jeans, and the ones at The Limited have a perfect waist to bum ratio for my figure, so the waistline doesn’t gap. The boots are my magic Buenos Aires boots from the trip we took when Hank was a baby.

The undershirt is an acid yellow top I got at Old Navy in a frenzied stock up on layering pieces when they had the $5 sale before Christmas. I like to buy unusual colors so I can combine them with neutrals and have it look all artsy, which is what I’m going for with this grey Dolman sleeve sweater, also from a sale at The Limited (twenty bucks, baby!).

Laura took this lovely photo of me in my outfit for the “Old Hollywood” party. I took that to mean retro-Oscars, but most other ladies wore chic little cocktail dresses, which means I was grievously overdressed. Upside, I arrived after dinner and drinks, so I was mostly too illuminated to care much.

This is a cheap feather hair clip I often use to spruce up dress straps. It can add va-voom to the most mundane spaghetti strap number.

Update: I got the clip at a cheesy costume shop on the Haight, the one with all the wigs and spandex zebra print outfits. I looked for a similar one online but couldn’t find it. If you do, let me know and I’ll post a link in a later post. Also, this can get crushed in a suitcase, so I pack it in a hard-sided cardboard box that’s maybe three inches high.

My hair is getting too long for ponytails, it just tends to look scraggly, so this is my version of the quick updo. I twist back the front sections, then do a loose chignon in the back.

The shoes are a hand-me-down from my sister. I like the surprise lattice work in back.

I like to wear color when I’m onstage, so this is what I wore to speak. I got the Esprit velvet mini at a thrift store in college. Grey tights are from Target.

I got the shirt and belt on sale at JCrew and I wear them both constantly. The cashmere sweater is a vintage Pringle from the Alameda Flea Market (twenty bucks!). The brooch is by Elefante, e a Vida, and I adore it. Miriam’s work is my go-to gift for beloved girlfriends, all of whom I’m pinning one by one.

I got this fake fur jacket years ago at a thrift store in Sacramento. It brings back amazing memories of having breakfast at a sidewalk cafe on sunny winter mornings. My roomie at the time had a giant giraffe-print coat, and we’d wrap up so we could sit outside without waiting for a table. I swear I can smell mint tea every time I put it on, and it’s crazy warm.

Update: I wore the jacket and boots on the plane, so I didn’t have to fit those in the suitcase. Next time I’ll remember to include a shot of the case packed. I also roll my clothing to save space, though the long dress I just folded over and stored in a top panel of the case.

Leggings by H&M, as is the zip-front sweater.

These leg warmers are also H&M, and they are divine. They make it more feasible to wear leggings as pants, and you can really wear them with anything when you want to throw in a little trendy kick.

(Someone asked in comments what I’m wearing on my lips in this photo. I think it’s just Burt’s Bees peppermint chapstick.)

And finally, you must own one of these American Apparel circle scarves. I never take mine off, and there’s so many ways to wear it, I give a full-on infomercial to anyone who will listen. Sorry about that, Karen and Erin. But you love the scarf don’t you? I thought so.