Tag: style

Mighty Closet: Mai Le, Outfit 3

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Here’s what Mai wears out to hear live music — a short skirt because she knows she won’t be sitting much anyway, and extra comfy shoes for the same reason.

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Her V-neck sweater is Comme des Garcons for Play. It comes with the creepy little heart.

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I’m pretty covetous of Mai’s pink sequin skirt, though I doubt I’d get the use out of it she does. For example, I’d wear it on New Year’s Eve; she wears it grocery shopping.

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Who makes a sequin skirt with pockets? F. House, a Ho Chi Minh City-based designer — Mai spent several months in Vietnam recently. The skirt is a sample that never went into production.

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Mai’s shoes are by Ann Demeulemeester. Great for travel, and for round about the cauldron goings on.

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And again, a little something happening at the heel.

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Her bag is also Comme des Garcons. It’s a Beach Ball Handbag and has big leather knots on either side.

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Mai did her hair in about fifteen seconds by rolling it up from the bottom and securing with bobby pins. I don’t know why more women don’t use bobby pins anymore. They make it so easy to pull your hair back in an interesting way.

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Mai loves to jump in photos. She’s an instigator of jumping photos too. Tomorrow, join us for Mai’s Secretary About Town look.

Mighty Closet: Mai Le, Outfit 2

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This is Mai looking suspicious in what she describes as her first date outfit — first dates put me in a dubious frame of mind as well, my friend.

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Her versatile gray jacket with red detailing is by Grey Ant, which is based in L.A.

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The purple tights are by We Love Colors, and her black platform wedges are from Loeffler Randall’s Summer ’07 collection. Shoes that offer a compelling view as you walk away are the best kinds of shoes.

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Cute right? This view is undoubtedly wasted on Mai’s dates, however. In my experience, very few guys are looking at your shoes as you walk away, even if you’re wearing wooden wedges topped with a metallic insole.

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This is Mai humoring my request for a cheesy ’80s pose in celebration of her vintage Laura Ashley dress. It’s violet jacquard with a drastically shortened hemline and big ol’ sleeves. Mai favors volume or detailing in her sleeves, and if you ask her opinion while thrift shopping “great sleeves” is her highest praise.

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The vintage belt is part of Mai’s signature Superhero Prom Queen chic. Every time I see her, I kick myself for not wearing more belts.

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As you can see, Mai’s style is refreshingly eccentric. I don’t know anyone else who dresses like her, so I find her pretty inspiring. We were at a bachelorette party in Vegas a few years ago, and she wore a full-on ’80s prom dress out clubbing — massive sleeves, zero irony. Knowing Mai will be in a crowd of friends means I can wear something outrageous without worrying that I’ll be alone in my exuberance.

Mighty Closet: Mai Le, Outfit 1

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At last, a new Mighty Closet! Did you think the day would ever come?

This is my very fun, multi-tasking friend Mai Le, who blogs about street style over at Fashioni.st. (The Masons have been featured on Fashioni.st a few times over the years, and now it’s Mai’s turn in front of the camera.) In addition to blogging, Mai is an artist who makes excellent plushies, and her interest in the emerging San Francisco street food scene led her to launch banh mai, a Vietnamese sandwich delivery service. She is the best dressed sandwich maker on record.

The Wild Oats denim jumpsuit she’s rocking above was only $5 at the Alameda Flea Market, and this outfit is the kind of thing she’d wear to make and deliver sandwiches.

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These are three stacked vintage belts, two leather and one twine. You never know when a jumpsuit might fall down.

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Mai’s squared off rings are both from Oakland Museum of California annual White Elephant Sale, which is legendary. Her Mary ring is so Gillmore Girls.

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The Rodarte-inspired fishnets are from Etsy, and as you can see, Mai is very serious about her shoes. These are Martin Margiela nail heel booties. I’m not totally sure about the mechanics of walking in them, but the nail is an accurate representation of how I feel about stilettos.

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A view from the back gets you a better look at that heel. Here’s a pump from the same season, and the over-knee version.

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Mai’s eyeliner is Nars kitty and her lipliner is Nars dragon girl.

Tune in tomorrow for her first-date outfit. Actionwear!

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.