Mighty Closet: Margaret Stewart, Outfit No. 2

Chalk is hilarious!

Actually, this is the first outfit we photographed, and Margaret wasn’t totally at ease yet. So I think I’d just asked her something penis-related in the above photo. For whatever reason, male genitalia references really throw my friends for a loop. Also, this totally counts as Margaret’s casual wear. I told you she was a fashion superstar.

Shirt by Banana Republic.

Penis.

How great is this photo? Oh, Isabel, you’re always in the right place at the right time. Margaret’s skirt isn’t vintage, by the way. Shocking, right? She purchased it in Boston, and the brand is Â½ Un-Demi. That crisp tie in the back kills me.

These are Margaret’s Lego earrings. I suspect she bought them as a nod to all the engineers when she was working at Google proper. Also, because she’s a nerd. (Fist bump, nerds.)

The earrings are by *eo*ware.

These shoes? Yes.

I’m hideous at shoe shopping, so I try to drag Margaret along when possible. She’s responsible for my pink boots, and my bronze cowboy boots. She’s always right when she insists you buy something.

These straw-soled wedgies are also by Banana Republic.

This is where the sexy part of secretary comes in. She’s erasing so. very. slowly.

Tomorrow she uses a cosmetics bag as a clutch. Be still my heart.

Mighty Closet: Libby Nicholoau

This is my dear friend Libby Nicholoau. If she looks familiar, you probably recognize her from our trips to Argentina and Mexico. Libby is the Gallery Director for the Shooting Gallery in downtown San Francisco, which features a lot of Low-Brow, Urban art, so her closet reflects the gallery’s independent spirit.

Libby is the girlfriend I consult when I need to know whether my beloved jeans have become mom jeans, or whether you can guess which year I graduated from high school just by looking at my dated shoes. I have to press her for an opinion, because her Southern manners prevent her from volunteering the information, but she’s never steered me wrong.

Right now, Libby’s working hard to establish herself, so she prefers to spend her money on travel and bar tabs. She buys most of her clothes second hand, and trades key items with roomies and friends to help keep her outfits looking novel.

These are four outfits she loves, plus her favorite cocktail look:

Believe it or not, this is office wear for Libby. Most of her clothes are day-to-evening, so she can leave the gallery and head straight to art openings or drinks with friends. Skirt by Paris L.A., purchased at Buffalo Exchange.

Shirt is Xhileration by Target, purchased at Goodwill.

Libby got this chain at a thrift store, the pendant was a gift from mom, and the vintage key was a party favor from our Mighty Haus shindig last year.

Libby bought her Steve Madden shoes at a Shoe Pavilion liquidation sale, “There was a line out the door, and when I figured out what was going on, I was like YES!” She loves these American Apparel tights, which she often borrows from a friend. “Jillian and I trade. We have openings every month, and art fairs three times a year. It’s fun to put together a new outfit for everything; everyone’s so creative about what they wear. I feel like I work on stage sometimes. You’ve gotta have costume changes!”

Here’s Libby just before she heads off to meet friends at a cafe in Paris. We should have posed her on a bike with a baguette sticking out of the basket.

The scarf has more pattern to it than you can see in the photos — she’s good about combining patterns in non-fugly ways. Her skirt is by Paper Doll L.A. and was purchased at Buffalo Exchange, where she got this whole outfit, except for the shoes (Goodwill), and the vintage scarf, which I gave her.

Incidentally, the scarf is by Colette.

Soft ruffle tank top is Aviva. Nice to have a basic piece with that little unexpected touch of femininity.

Perfect sling-back peep toes by Nicole. Vintage straw bag.

This is Libby’s favorite outfit. She says, “I love a tunic with leggings. I feel so confident and comfy. Plus, I can wear it anywhere without worrying too much about the scene.” Headband by H&M.

Vest is H&M, as is the necklace. Top is Forever 21, purchased at Buffalo Exchange.

The stud-inspired bracelet was on loan from Libby’s roomie, Jessica.

These ankle buttons on the leggings are killer, and I like them pulled down over the backs of her shoes. Libby got the leggings second hand at Crossroads, but they’re made by Effie’s Heart.

Suede wedges by Chinese Laundry, purchased at Goodwill.

I actually bought this H&M tent dress when I was pregnant, and almost never wore it. Libby had borrowed it once, and I felt silly in it, so I asked if she wanted it. Needless to say, she rocks it completely differently than I did. She wore this outfit recently to a California Academy of Sciences Nightlife event, and apparently it was a hit with the boys. Smart guys love Libby.

The belt was a gift from her mom.

The feather earrings are from Buffalo Exchange.

The hair was my doing. I think I got the idea for a bobby-pin headband from a scene in Amelie.

Shoes are B.C., purchased at Goodwill.

I so wish I’d gotten a better picture of these much-loved tights. So great.

Space cowgirl! This is another work-to-evening outfit for Libby. The tunic is H&M via Goodwill, leggings are American Apparel.

The belt is from a thrift store in Virginia, Libby’s home state.

I think I want some feather earrings. This shoulder duster is also on loan from Libby’s roomie, who got it somewhere in the Mission. Good on the dance floor, bad in a cat fight.

She has no idea where she got the ring.

Boots are Corsina, purchased at Buffalo Exchange.

Here’s Libby’s little black dress. It’s from H&M, as is the chunky bracelet.

It has little pleats on the upper back. Aww.

She got her galleon necklace at a tradeshow at 111 Minna, but sadly couldn’t recall the artist’s name. If you know, fill us in.

Libby says, “I got these shoes at 9 West for a Shepard Fairey opening, and I wear them everywhere. I can go dancing in them, which says a lot.”

And there you have it! I forgot to take a photo of Libby’s closet, which is too bad, because she has an entire clothing bar dedicated just to scarves. Next time. Thanks for playing model for me Libby, you’re a peach.

Mighty Closet: Aubrey Sabala

Remember the post about what I packed on my trip to New York? That was fun. So much fun that I wanted to do more. The problem is, I don’t want to show up places feeling all cute and have people be like, “Yeah. I already saw that dress on your site.” (Sad trombone.) So I thought I’d visit a few of my stylish friends and take photos of their favorite outfits. Aubrey Sabala is my first Mighty Closet guinea pig.

Aubs throws parties for Digg, where she works as the marketing manager. She’ll be in New York shortly, organizing a shindig for 3,000+ people, and she’s also planning a big birthday blowout for herself and a friend while she’s there. Speaking of which, how much do you love friends who just take charge of their own birthdays, instead of pouting that no one ever remembers their special day? You love them a lot, that’s how much.

Anyway, her entire enormous closet is filled with dresses. She never goes anywhere that requires pants, and I’m pretty sure she works out in cocktail attire. So you know, owning no pants is madness in San Francisco. It’s seriously cold here, especially in the evenings, which is Aubrey’s favorite time of day.

I asked her to show me four of her favorite outfits and her no-fail cocktail outfit, which just happens to be a genuine Little Black Dress. Here are the results:

This is what Aubrey wears when she’s taking her scooter out for soda pop with the gang. (To the best of my knowledge Aubrey doesn’t actually own a scooter, but I encouraged her get one.)

This is the forlorn bag I forgot to include in the photo. Sorry, little bag.

Sundresses and cowboy boots is one of Aubrey’s favorite looks. This is because San Francisco hills laugh at you if you try to wear heels.

Also, if you wear heels, the homeless people assume you’re a tourist and they hassle you because they take you for an easy mark. Same story if you wear shorts. No one here wears shorts, because all of us know that the weather could turn on you at any moment (except Aubrey who is clearly a mutant freak with no nerve endings). And then you’re freezing your ass off in Union Square with aggressive panhandlers yelling at you, and you have to go buy a pair of cheap San Francisco! sweatpants, which only exacerbates the problem. But I digress.

This is Aubrey’s favorite dress, and she’s right about that. Flattering, baby. She usually wears this with cowboy boots too, but she agreed to change things up to give the natives a thrill. We were outside for about two minutes taking this photo, and she was hooted and honked at no less than three times. That’s a good dress.

How cool are these earrings? Aubrey said she never wears them, so I put them in my purse before I left. Aubrey, I stole your awesome earrings as punishment for neglecting them. I’m going to take them out and show them the world, show them what it means to be loved.

She loves this green dress, but rarely wears it either because she has to pair it with 15″ heels so it doesn’t drag on the floor. Tailors, ladies! Fifteen bucks and it’s a whole new dress. Because seriously? You’re not gonna hem it. Don’t kid yourself.

Aubrey laughs 99 percent of the time. She was really trying to put on a solemn face for the sake of fashion, but this is the real Aubrey in action.

I’m such a sucker for a lariat necklace. Almost no one wears them, which makes them even better.

Aubrey has that kind of enviable straight hair that will do a spiky chignon with four bobby pins. Speaking of which, please ignore the pins I neglected to tuck.

The aforementioned uncomfortable shoes.

This is Aubrey pretending to chug a bottle of whiskey. She’s wearing her all-purpose Little Black Dress, and holy crap it’s a good one. (J Crew, you do this so right.)

I love this photo. It’s so nightcap.

Closeup of her chunky bracelet, which is actually a twisted necklace.

Adorable, harrassment-attracting patent leather shoes.

I know, that was exhausting. Thanks for being so game, Aubs. Especially considering the aftermath. Hoo-boy.

So! That’s my very first Mighty Closet. Was it good for you? Let me know if you’d like me to do anything differently next time. Do you want brand names, even though a lot of the stuff won’t be available anymore? Links to similar outfits? Stories behind the outfits? Photos of exceptional lingerie drawers? I live to serve, so let me know.