Filed under: anthropologie, handbags, ootd, shoes, shopping | Tags: balenciaga, chanel, chie mihara, travelling
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Ooh, these pictures are almost two weeks old but I keep delaying posting them for various reasons (read: mostly laziness). Which doesn’t make a lot of sense, because I am excited to share the things I got in Europe, and I also have realized after doing a string of non-outfit posts how much I really secretly enjoy posting outfits-of-the-day! When I started this blog I rarely posted OOTDs — maybe only once every couple weeks — because I only had my phone’s shady camera to take pictures with. Now my outfit picture taking is only limited by my own time and effort (and how early I decide to wake up in the morning), so I do it far more regularly. I think it makes me enjoy blogging a bit more since I’m showing off a bit of myself instead of (just) my consumeristic desires. And hopefully you guys enjoy reading more now, although if you have secretly hated them feel free to voice off :)
I have become a serious sweater dress addict this season. And more specifically, an Anthropologie sweater dress addict. They’re just such an easy, pretty way to keep warm during the fall and winter. This season alone I’ve bought the Fall Foliage Sweater Dress, the Florry Sweater Dress, the Amarena Sweater Dress (in two colorways no less), the Lolland Sweater Dress (okay this is a lie, I just WISH I had bought it — if anyone sees this in a Small out there, *please* let me know), and now the Simply Lovely Sweaterdress. This dress is really super soft and cut so nicely — the shawl collar in the front is so pretty and flattering. And I adore the cerulean color. I learned recently through Jinah that the dresses’ label, Isabella Sinclair, was another designer capsule collection for Anthropologie by Trovata’s Janel Mcarthur. I wish this collection had been more heavily promoted in the same way that say, the Ruffian collab was; I definitely would have paid more attention to the pieces while they were out.
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Anthropologie Simply Lovely Sweater Dress, Anthropologie Snakebite Belt in Brown, Sutton Studio Cashmere Ruffle Wrap, HUE Semi-Opaque tights, Chie Mihara Kerin Heels
I stole this ruffle-y shawl from my mother’s closet. It is a little out of my typical style comfort zone, but it was a comfy low-effort way to keep warm. Oh, about the dress: I do have to say, while it’s still very lovely, it pills and sheds like craaazy. I found blue fuzz on everything while I was wearing it (and days after), from the waist band of my tights and belt to the couch to the carpet to my boyfriend’s hair. The pilling is so bad on the side of this dress you can even see it in these pictures. Still, I did enjoy wearing it even I if I had to pick up after myself all day!
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Here’s an outdoor picture where you can actually see my shoes, which are my first European reveal! These are the Chie Mihara Kerin Heels, a.k.a. the Anthropologie Stacked Smoke Heels (only in navy instead of gray). I loved these shoes for a long time, but of course Anthro would only offer them up to a size 10, and in Chies, I’m more comfy in a size 42 than a 41, which would translate to a 12. Amazingly, I found them last month, in a 42, on sale of all things, but they were being sold by a small British shoe boutique. They only shipped to the UK, although that was okay, I was going there in a few weeks and could have it shipped to my hotel! Unfortunately, even when I called and pleaded with them over the phone, they demanded a British billing address for credit card payments. Hrmph. Fortunately, Boyfriend came to the rescue, getting one of his internet-friends to coordinate ordering them for me. Yay. And so they were waiting for me when I arrived at my hotel in London. And I looove them. Here are a gratuitious amount of pictures:
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Pretty! Oh, and speaking of pretty, and pretty blue things, here’s my second little reveal, a Balenciaga City bag with giant covered hardware in Cyclade:
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To tell the truth, I really only intended to get a wallet from Balenciaga, but I was feeling pretty sorry for myself after being stuck in a hotel room for so long that I may have had a lowered resistance to pretty things. Also the girl helping us in Balenciaga may have been the only truly sweet and accommodating sales assistant we encountered in all of Paris — the rest of them definitely acted like they were doing us a favor by speaking with us, but she was really kind and patient and not even mildly pushy, sweetly making suggestions and bringing out things from the back to show me. So I kind of felt obligated to give her business!
I’ve always been curious about the City style from Balenciaga; B-bags were my first really fancy designer handbag indulgence (and, for that matter, my first really fancy anything indulgence). I acquired two Days and a First a couple years ago, but since then have sort of been dabbling in other brands. However, I really do love the Balenciaga style and their soft leathers, and the vibrant colors they come out with each season are just captivating. When pushed for a preference, my boyfriend said he really liked this Cyclade colorway, new for 2010, so I ended up getting the City in that color, rather than the Outremer I was also waffling over. And of course, I had to get that wallet I came in for too….
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And now we come to my most prized possession, which will be rebelliously breaking today’s blue-reveal theme. My little (“little”) Chanel buy. I’ve wanted a Chanel classic flap for several years now. I used to be kind of puzzled by the fashion world’s attraction to them, but over time, and especially after learning more about Coco Chanel herself, I’ve become just as enamored as the rest of us. I kind of see them as being totally iconic of Parisian chic and class and confidence. Who wouldn’t feel glamorous yet refined with one of these on their arms? So on my last day in Paris, I went to the Rue Cambon Chanel boutique, excited to finally lay my hands on one and hopefully bring it home with me. Unfortunately, the sales woman (who made me feel like I was the biggest inconvenience in her day btw :( ) practically laughed at me when I asked after one in Fall’s turquoise shade (I didn’t dare ask about any other jewel tones after that), and told me that all of Paris was out of the black in the Jumbo size that I wanted. She tried to cajol me into getting a Maxi, but even with my tall frame, it was a little ridiculously big on me. After vaciilitating a little (Should I get the Maxi? Should I compromise and get the Jumbo in beige?) I sadly turned away. Perhaps my dream of purchasing a Chanel flap in Paris would never be fulfilled.
BUT, of course, my story does not end so tragically. If you remember, after Paris, we stopped at London, and our hotel happened to only be two streets away from the Chanel boutique in Kensington. We stopped by the day before we left, and YAY, there was one in stock. Well, the sales assistant made it seem like the biggest tragedy in the world that they only had one with silver hardware and not gold, but I wasn’t too picky, I still bought it without hesitation and LOVE it. Here are some more gratuitous pictures of me holding it in various stages of adoration:
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Even if I didn’t get her in Paris, she still feels pretty darn special to me! So there you go, my shopping tale came to a most happy end. With Gabrielle on my arm (so I have coined her, after Coco Chanel’s proper name), I finally feel like I have a “grown up” and sophisticated sense of style. She completes me. (Even though my Balenciaga is currently the bag in rotation because I’m a little too scared of wearing her outside. But she completes me when I stare at and pet her admiringly :) )
Well, those are most of the heavy hitters out of my European purchases! There are some other small things like shoes and clothes that I’ll show later, and oh the macarons from Laudree are long gone because you better believe we devoured most of those in like two days, but these are the things I bought that still kind of make my heart flutter when I look at ‘em. Totally (well, kind of) worth 6 days of sickness on vacation to obtain :)
I just remembered I hadn’t posted about my Paris shopping yet, and so many of you have been asking me, oops. I have a bunch of photos that I don’t have time to upload at the moment, but here’s a tiny peek for now:
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Lanvin ballet flats! In a beautiful icy blue turquoise. You may remember this is the exact color I was dreaming about in my Paris Fantasy Shopping Wishlist post before I left. To be *practical*, I probably should have gotten a neutral color like black or brown, but I couldn’t help scooping this shade off the shelf the minute I saw it and beckoning the shop assistant to look for it in a 42 for me. ”A 42?” said the woman, wrinkling her nose. ”I don’t think we have those, this is a very new shoe, from our resort collection, etc.” she continued, but she went and looked. And she returned, miraculously, with one of those beautiful pale blue boxes in her hand, and a set of beautiful blue shoes nestled within. I put them on; they fit like a glove. I walked in them; I felt like I was treading on clouds. The shop assistant watched carefully, perhaps smiling a little despite herself at the expression of glee on my face. Still, I was cautious, that sense of practicality was nagging at me. ”Do you have these in any other color? Black, perhaps?” ”No,” she replied, “these are the only 42s we have in Paris.” Well, that was it, I was sold. Clearly a sign from above that these shoes, in this very shade, were meant to be mine, and they were promptly bought :)
Haven’t worn them yet, waiting for spring to bust them out, but that hasn’t stopped me from staring at them admiringly yet! Check back later today for some bigger reveals…
So, back in the early days of this blog I used to do Anthropologie reviews a lot more often, because, well, there weren’t really any other bloggers modelling Anthropologie at all! (At least not regularly.) Now there are lots of helpful bloggers in the game however, and, additionally, Anthro has opened up their website to customer reviews, so I’ve been growing very verrrry lazy about things since there’s already such a great pool of resources out there. I actually even had a post ready in December with about 15 – 20 reviews of new arrivals that I just never got around to hitting publish on because I didn’t feel the motiviation, sigh. And also, to tell the truth, I’ve gained some weight in the last year and I’ve been less fitting-room happy as of late since I feel fat and while it’s always depressing when your normal sizes don’t work, having to document it all in written form is even more so!
However, a commenter reminded me the other day that there are still not as many curvy Anthro reviewers out there, and so I thought I would try my hat at some reviews again. They are helpful to me to write at the very least, because sometimes I forget exactly what I thought of an item by the time it finally goes on sale :) I have one large set of reviews today today, and there will be another post at the end of the week. Also, now that there are other bloggers reviewing this stuff, I’ve added links in each of my reviews to other women modeling and talking about the same item, which hopefully helps my readers out! (If you’ve reviewed one of these items and I don’t mention you btw, please let me know and I’ll be happy to add a link — sometimes my memory/search skills are a bit rusty…)
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Openwork Vines Skirt (#023030)- $128
I love this romantic, lace-adorned and bow-bedecked skirt, it’s just so pretty. The outer layer is a pretty sturdy white crochet layer over black, with a shiny little cummerbund waistband with a bow on it, and a soft black lining. It reminds me of this fall’s Lacemaker Skirt, but a little more up my alley since the crochet layer is a bit less stiff and it’s a nice neutral black instead of mustard. The fit is pretty generous, true to size to maybe a little bit big; my tummy these days should mandate a size of an 8, but my old size of a 6 still managed to zip up easily and felt pretty comfortable. See it also on Anthroholic here.
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Speckled Ink Dress (#03000) – $158
This dress was an unexpected love for me, but a major love nonetheless. When I initially saw it, I thought it was such a pretty modern Grecian look, but also that the draping at the chest meant an automatic no-no for the busty. However, it really all depends on the way you let the fabric fall, I think this could suit a variety of figures. Another thing was that I imagined the dress itself to be a heavy thick jersey for whatever reason, but the material is actually quite thin and light, really very soft and comfortable. And it still somehow miraculously manages to conceal any lumps or bumps underneath. All the draped lines in this dress are so beautiful and flattering; they really draw attention away from any one problem area and make one look slim and lithe somehow. You have a couple different options how to wear the bodice; some looked questionable on me, but the two ways above (closeups of each below) seemed pretty flattering. I took a medium in this dress. See it also modeled at: The British Anthropologi(e)st, adiaphane, and Effortless Anthropologie.
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We Love Vera “Monet’s Garden Dress” (SKU #17564899) – $168
Ah, this is the We Love Vera dress that I raved about in my London Anthro post. Thank you so much to commenter Karen who told me it was available at the Santana Row store — I stopped by right after work just to try it on. And it did not disappoint, it is just so beautiful! I love the sketchy watercolor print, and best of all, it even has *pockets*! Be still my heart. The size 8 fit okay on me, but I had a little trouble getting the zipper up so it was a little boobalicious on me, I should probably go for the 10 for modesty unless I manage to go back to my normal weight. However, if you are slim up top, I would say go with your normal size, no problem. The dress still isn’t listed on the website, but in my head, I’m calling it the Monet’s Garden Dress (not that Anthro ever listens to my name suggestions, even when Kim of Anthroholic and I both independently coined the Golden Fields dress the “Snow White Dress” — I still maintain that that was a better name :) ) and I have listed the price and SKU above. See it also on VJ in LA.
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Reed Shirtdress (#933208) – $118
I never paid much attention to this dress in its previous solid incarnations, but the new plaid colorways released recently really caught my eye, particularly this blue pattern. It is so wonderfully vintagey, I love it. So much so that it’s a little old-fashioned perhaps, but still pretty. However, the dress runs VERY small to me. I had heard if you were busty to size up, so I automatically picked up a 10 off the rack instead of an 8, but really I needed a 12. It was too small around the ribs for whatever reason, too revealing at the chest, and the arms felt tight as well. Still, despite the demoralizing number, I still covet this piece ;) It’s a really nice every-day dress. See it also modeled at: Anthroholic, VJ in LA, Bonjour Its Jinah!, Wardrobe Review, and Effortless Anthropologie.
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Blooming Sapphire Wrap Dress (#033044) – $148
Sigh, so I always find Moulinette Souers dresses to run small on me (could explain the Reed Shirtdress catastrophe above), and this was no exception. An 8 here was far too small around my ribs, and consequently this dress was uber-revealing on me since it would only wrap so much. I should have known to size up I guess since when I was a 6 I always wore an 8 in this brand. Anyhow, fit issues aside, I was still not a fan of this dress. Not because it was too short, as some reviews on the site has mentioned (and since I’m 5′9″, I was surprised, as most Anthro dresses really *are* too short on me, but this hit a few inches above me knee), but because it has this empire-waist that flares out way too high, creating a baby-doll/maternity-wear effect on me. Not flattering. Too bad, because I love the bold color and the print, and I think the little flutter sleeves are too cute. See it also on: The British Anthropologi(e)st.
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Fifth Form Shift (#03002) – $128
I thought this shift was super cute with the stripes and the little bow at the belt and the pockets (!), and it is really really adorable. The fit was a little off to me though. While it was perfectly fitted on top (maybe even a little roomy), the bottom half was a little clingy for me in all the wrong places (well, mainly the hips). However, if I sized up, the top would be too loose I think. Hrm. Usually I have the opposite problem! But anyway, it looked great on Roxy in her true size, so give it a try!
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All Seasons Shirtdress (#030013) – $98
When I saw this online for the first time, I felt it was a little plain for my tastes, yet something about it in the cream colorway (it also comes in yellow and navy) drew me to it irresistibly and it gained an immediate spot on the top of my wishlist. There’s just something so sweet and vintagey about the placket and tiers and the bottom of the dress, and those big side pockets are so innocent and playful. In person it did not disappoint either: it was very cute and very comfortable! And it’s miraculously pretty reasonably priced. My normal size 8 fit fine, and was maybe even a little roomy, so I would say try sizing size down, especially if you are not busy. See it also modeled at Effortless Anthropologie and growing up anthro (I’m not sure why the link isn’t working at the moment, but I know she’s worn this dress a couple times!).
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Layered History Chemise (#053148) – $88
This one’s new on the website today, and I’m glad, so I didn’t have to title this “Mystery White Slip” :) I love the old-fashioned/Arthurian look to this piece, it’s very romantic. A bit sheer and not overly soft, and also a little pricy, but still pretty. I’m trying on a S here, which is too small for me at the chest, so size up accordingly if you are endowed.
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Free Flow Tank (#013042) – $78
I pretty much only tried this top on because I saw how great it’s been looking in Kim of Anthroholic’s outfits lately! Also, we all know I’m a sucker for a bow. However, I think this top doesn’t really do any favors for the broad chested; the top ruffle is enormous compared to the lower ruffles, and so it just makes the top of my chest look enormous as well. (FWIW, I tried it on in a small.) I was also surprised at the material for the price quoted; it was a rayony/spandex blend, very stretchy and smooth — the artificial-blend fabric should have put this one closer to $48 in my opinion. Also, the ruffles don’t continue all the way around to the back, which greatly displeased me. Hrmph. Still, this tank seems to be quite popular, and if you’re interested in knowing more, take a look at it on: The Chloe Conspiracy, this, that…and whatnot, kelinda.KELINDA, Effortless Anthropologie (and Lauren’s guest post there), Wardrobe Review, Ginger Girl, The British Anthropologi(e)st, and of course, Anthroholic.
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Vanilla Bean Blouse (#013052) – $128
Oh, this top is so pretty! Cream with delicate black polka-dots, a little ruffle neckline, flowers on the shoulder, a cinched/darted waist, and a black bow to tie it all up. It would be great over jeans and skirts, either over, as above, or tucked in. Very comfy and very flattering too, though it always annoys me how Yoana Baraschi’s tops are priced so high when they are made from polyester. It’s also a little too sheer for my tastes, so in general I would advise you to wait for sale time. I took a 6 in this top, though I normally size up to an 8 in other tops of this brand. See it on: VJ in LA, Anthroholic and Effortless Anthropologie.
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Hidden Hue Blouse (#013173) – $128
Reviews on this have been pretty negative, but I quite liked it. I’m just a sucker for lace and subtle sparkles I guess. While the material is not of the highest quality (nylon/rayon — and because of that, I would definitely wait until the price came down), the fit is quite nice, and the overall effect is very romantic and pretty. The pop of blue in the zipper (which goes all the way down the back — awesome!) is a fun detail, though I don’t know how I feel about the blue fabric shoulder pads — maybe they can be removed? This picture is quite bad (and I would definitely wear it over a cream camisole and not the black tank I had on), but I felt very beautiful in it. I’m wearing an 8 above, which zipped up very easily. Also see it on: Likely Badger, fashion, food…and other assorted frivolity and Lauren’s guest posting at Effortless Anthropologie.
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Pratia Tank (#013074) – $68
Here we have the Pratia Tank, which I kind of hated. Don’t get me wrong, I love the little flower embellishments, but the material felt thin and looked sweatshirt-like to me (maybe I would have fared better in the white colorway?). It’s double-lined to make up for the thinness of the fabric, but that, combined with the double hem, made this look incredibly bulky and shapeless on me, no thanks :/ Perhaps it would have been better if I sized down from a S to an XS, but I don’t have a lot of hope. This tank reminds me a lot of last year’s also-beautiful-except-for-the-questionable-cut Pleated Petal Tank, which I have, but can only wear with a belt. Perhaps this tank would also fare better with something to cinch the waist. Read more opinions at Effortless Anthropologie and VJ in LA.
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Celebratory Blouse (#013133) – $78
This blouse is oh so cute — little dots of confetti sprinkled on a navy background with red piping and buttons. It reminds me a lot of a confetti-like Ric Rac top from 2005 that I have and love, but that one was a little less delicate and didn’t feature ruffles! The blouse is a little sheer, so plan on wearing a camisole underneath, and a bit short, so I don’t know how well it would work over pants (unless you had a long camisole?). And again, I’m a little shocked at the price point — the material is so thin on this one, it should definitely be more around $50 in my opinion. It runs a tad bit small at the bust if you are well endowed — my normal blouse size 6 experienced a little puckering at the button placket, I should probably size up to an 8.
That’s it for now! More Anthro reviews later this week. Hope these helped you guys out :)
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Here’s my outfit from Friday. I was feeling a little low-energy and schlubby and I think it showed. Incidentally, since the power went off at 6 AM and didn’t come back until after I left, I had to dress myself in the dark, which I think also showed :)
I don’t usually like to wear crewneck pullovers — I find with my bust they just kind of make me feel frumpy. Instead you will usually find me always gravitating towards cardigans. I think the line they create down the center, breaking up the chest, is just so much more flattering. However, while in London last week, I kind of fell in love with this gold-beaded cream sweater I saw at Topshop. Since spying the beaded mint Leifsdottir cardi from last Spring’s collection, I’ve found that any sweater with vintage-y beaded embellishments has been pretty irresistible to me, and this was no exception. So I wore it happily, even though, for whatever reason, this whole cream-pullover-with-pink-flared-skirt-and-pastel-heels ensemble made me feel kind of like an ice skater and/or like I was twelve years old!
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Topshop sweater, Anthropologie Dancing Dots Skirt (Fall ‘08; also worn here), American Eagle tank, Hue tights, Jessica Bennett Kosta heels, Rachel Leigh ‘Over It’ magnifying glass necklace.
Since the sweater is on the thinner side, I also pulled out this Forever 21 jacket to make sure I was warm enough for the arctic chill of my office. I think it was originally offered earlier this fall, but it was so popular that after it sold out, they decided to bring it back again. You can see more shots of it on the lovely Gigi and Ginger Girl, and, if you are interested, you can buy it here. I love the ruffle-y bottom; it almost makes up for never being able to own the amazing tiered ruffle bottom trench Burberry trench that Robin has been wearing all this season on How I Met Your Mother. *Thank you* by the way to whichever commenter told me to watch that show just for the amount of Anthro worn; not only is it hilarious (and Neil Patrick Harris, oh my god, amazing), but it features so much Anthropologie, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Diane von Furstenberg, my heart hurts.
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Forever 21 Ruffled DB Zipper Jacket
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Robin’s Beautiful Burberry Trench — picture courtesy of Laundry on Sundaes
Filed under: anthropologie, dresses, shopping, wishlist | Tags: travelling
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Sweet reader Kimberly wrote to me just as I was leaving to Europe that I must go visit the Anthropologie in London on Regent St. I’m really glad she did, because otherwise I might have listened to the tiny voice of reason in my head that said, “Don’t you visit this store like every other week (minimum) in the US anyway? Shouldn’t you spend your time exploring actual British things?” But fortunately I overruled that voice, as well as my boyfriend’s minor eye-rollings, and I trekked out there on our last morning there.
I have to say, the Regent St. Anthropologie is one of the nicest I’ve been (though granted, I’ve probably only been to six or seven stores, and none of the glammy New York ones). Bright, open, spacious, well-stocked, beautifully decorated — it’s three floors of Anthro-heaven.
The entire store is set against a backdrop of a lush, green living wall of plants that looks incredibly pretty and cool. There’s a giant staircase on the first-floor embedded with little glass circles that goes down one story to the basement (home and sale) and up a second story to more clothes.
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Me posing against the plant wall (In a Milly jacket over the Anthro Florry Dress — my BF asked if I felt self-concious or extra-special wearing clothes of the brand I’m visiting, but this happens too often at Anthro for me to even notice anymore ;) )
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I didn’t take too many pictures because I’m always afraid of sales people thinking I’m a crazy stalker person (which, okay, when it comes to Anthro I sort of am), but I did manage to capture the above shots sneakily on my phone. Though all the sales assistants seemed very nice and sweet and non-pushy, so they probably would have been okay with me doing it :) Overall, I have to say that I was really impressed with the selection of clothes and jewelry (I didn’t see any shoes, but I wasn’t looking for them, and I admit I didn’t pay too much attention to the home section) — there was a lot of everything, there was a huge variety, just as much as my larger stores back home, and in fact more. Almost everything that I had been curious about on the website was readily there for me to inspect, and they had a bunch of new arrivals and even pre-website-arrivals in stock. There was also more Leifsdottir than you could shake a stick at (my local stores usually have a pretty paltry stock), and the sale selection — marvelous! The area dedicated to sale merchandise – a nice well-lit room and then a whole outer section — was about 1/4 size of my Palo Alto store, and there were multiples of everything in stock. There were a bunch of things that were on sale at the time that weren’t in the US yet — off the top of my head, I remember noticing the Koi Suwannagate Castle Spire Sweater Dress, the Gathered Lace Blouse (both of which are now on sale in the US, for what it’s worth), the Fold & Flutter V-Neck, and the Precious Stones Dress (it had just arrived in the new arrivals section on the US website about two days before, so I was shocked).
That said, there were a number of pieces that had gone on sale in the US long ago and were still full price in the UK. And uh, full price in the UK translates to much higher than it does in US dollars! For instance, I saw a bunch of Diaphanous Tunics in stock, marked at ₤88 pounds ($137). These were originally $88 back home, and went on sale for $40 at the beginning of December. I loved this shirt, so I snapped up one in all three colors back then, but even so, I only payed $131 for all of that (if you factor in California’s aggravating almost 10% sales tax), less than a European woman has to pay for the price of one top. And so the story goes throughout most of the store; Anthro really marks up for import to Europe.
Kimberly had mentioned that the store had some exclusive European designed-pieces, but it was a little hard for me to pick them out since there were a lot of things I had never seen before, but it turns out that most of them ended up launching on the website within the next week or so. I did notice these two dresses by Minna however, which I am fairly certain are not and probably won’t be offered on the North America site:
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I am kind of in love with the one on the left, which had a beautiful print of bunches of peas pods and flowers clustered together.
I also really liked this necklace, which I am fairly certain is probably not a European exclusive because it seems like a typical Anthro piece, but I haven’t seen it in the website yet, and it’s not in any of my stores. It’s just a big carved medallion with little rhinestones inset in it, but for some reason I heart it. Has anyone seen spotted it in their local stores yet? I want!
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The most beautiful piece I saw in the London store however, was this dress, by We Love Vera:
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I sincerely hope this is not a UK exclusive, because if it is, I will cry. I want this dress so bad it hurts, and I am kind of kicking myself for not getting it right there and passing because I thought I could get it for a less inflated price in the US. It is sooo freaking cute. We Love Vera always does this best prints, but this is extra-beautiful, even for them. It has just the most lovely scenic Monet-garden-like print on it that is so delicate and pretty, but at the same time really brightly colored and fun. The moment I saw this dress I started rhapsodizing out loud to my bewildered boyfriend on how I would wear it all spring with a little yellow cardigan and cobalt heels — or a cobalt cardigan and yellow heels, or an orange cardigan and forest green heels, or anything and anything because no combination can destroy this dress’s cuteness. Sigh. So anyway, I will be stalking the website daily until this little baby shows up, or otherwise curse my fate and consider buying another ticket to London just so I can snap it up. (Edit: Several nice readers have kindly informed me that this dress is indeed in US stores already! I kind of thought it might be since We Love Vera is an American-based brand, but of course I couldn’t help getting anxious about it all the same. Anyway, freak out over :) )
Anyhow, enough rambling for now. Bottom line, if you happen to be anywhere in England, stop and visit the store, it’s a treat! And if you want more British Anthropologie peeks, visit the aptly named British Anthropologi(e)st!
Filed under: anthropologie, dresses, jcrew, ootd, shoes, skirts | Tags: travelling
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So, here’s a roundup of some of my outfits that I wore while I was in Europe! To tell the truth, I don’t have many pictures since I was in vacation-mode and not really in outfit-of-the-day picture-taking-mode, and there was also that pesky thing where I spent more than half of my vacation sick so I was just wearing pajamas and nightgowns most of the time, but I figured I would show you what photos I had at least :)
I already posted what I wore while traveling here, and when I landed and got to my hotel, I had to make a quick outfit change before I headed down to dinner at Le Cinq, e.g. the meal of doom. But at least I looked pretty eating my overpriced fancy food-poisoning-inducing dinner! Here are some shots in the hotel bathroom, the only place I could find with semi-decent lighting….:
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Anthropologie Florry Dress, Forever 21 Caplet, Ruffian x Anthropologie Mise en Scene Luxe Dotted Tights, Sam Edelman Hope Pumps, Forever 21 Bow Necklace, Anthropologie Cosmic Headband
I never really considered this dress (although it was mentioned in Lucky as a dress to help disguise wide hips, and oh boy, do I have those, but the product shot made it look hideously wide itself), but I stumbled upon a lone return in the midst of my store’s sale rack a few days before leaving and I couldn’t resist snapping it up once I spied it in person. It’s beautiful and flatteringly cut, but most awesomely, it’s a sweater dress, which means it nice and warm on its own, no heavy layering required. I do have to say though, while the bodice is quite pretty, made from two criss-crossing strips of wide scalloped fabric, it is *very* low cut. I had to wear a camisole underneath for decency’s sake.
I felt pretty glam and luxe topping off the dress with my new favorite faux-fur caplet, and I didn’t yet even realize how Parisian I was being, as I only saw later how prevalent furs were in the city. Seriously, you can’t pass more than 10 women (especially in the nicer neighborhoods) without stumbling upon one with a giant fur coat of some sort. I just hope the attendant didn’t recognize the “Forever 21″ label on my jacket as he took it from me, which would have totally ruined my cred. Oh, and I completely the whole outfit with another F21 piece, this darling little rhinestone bow necklace, which I felt added just the right touch of sweetness:
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Here I am in the Tuilieries garden, and then the Square Rene Viviani, right across the street from the Notre Dame, and home to the oldest tree in Paris. If you couldn’t tell from the pictures I posted already, I pretty much lived in this Anthropologie / Tracy Reese Birling Ruffle Coat, which proved both cute and sufficiently warm for the mid-30’s weather. I happen to be wearing the Anthropologie Hidden Sprigs Dress underneath, not that one can really tell :)
And, there ends the Sunday that the food poisoning spared us because it was still taking time to ramp up before its crippling strike. Then, for the next three days, I pretty much wore this:
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Anthropologie’s Inari Chemise, which helped me look pretty(ish), even if I didn’t feel it.
Oh here we are on Wednesday afternoon, when the thought of having being in Paris for 5 days now without having once been shopping (the stores were closed on Sunday, I had no choice!) started slowly maddening me, and I was starting to feel guilty about cooping up boyfriend, who had already recovered. So I convinced myself that I had also recovered, downed a couple of crackers for sustenance, and proceeded to stroll down the Champs. Where I almost threw up said crackers 20 minutes later. And by the time I got to Chanel I had a dizzy spell and we had to turn back without me even getting a chance to ask the saleswoman if she had my precious 2.55 in stock. Boo.
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Anthropologie Freshly Fallen Coat, Target “Swan Butt” tiered ruffle skirt, Leifsdottir Beaded Pointelle Cardigan, Cuddl Duds Crewneck, Miu Miu Bow Bag in Zaffiro, MP Cotton Lined Wool Tights, Poetic Licence Garden Delight Flats, Urban Outfitters Wool Lady Gloves, Anthropologie Cosmic Headband
When I wasn’t wearing my Birling Ruffle Coat, I was happily prancing about in Anthropologie’s Freshly Fallen Coat, which I miraculously was able to score on sale; I think I got the very last M in stock in the website the morning of the price cut. From the reviews, I expected to be swimming in it (I wear S – M in coats, depending on the cut, and people said this ran very big), but it fit fine, and proved wonderfully soft (it’s a felty type material) and fairly warm. And of course, beautiful! I loved the rosette and ruffle detailing on the neckline, which has somehow held up wonderfully and has not gotten crushed, even now, despite multiple trips in my suitcase. I wouldn’t say it’s super high-quality though; the boyfriend immediately noticed the edges of the ruffles were somewhat raggedly cut and had started to fray mildly — frowny face.
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Anthropologie Always-A-Lady Skirt, J.Crew Cashmere Turtleneck, Anthropologie x Ruffian Mise en Scene Lacy Floral Tights over MP Cotton-lined Wool Tights, H&M Cap, Me Too ‘Limit‘ Ballet Flats
Yay, here I am Thursday morning, finally feeling somewhat better. I had some slightly more stylish color coordination going on top here at first, but I swapped out my cardigan and top for a turtleneck and a beanie cap (with a scarf and coat on top later too naturally) since I wanted to keep extra warm for the bike tour I was about to leave for.
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Anthropologie Freshly Fallen Coat, Anthropologie Flight-of-Swans Dress, J.Crew Cashmere Turtleneck, Plush Fleece-lined tights, H&M sparkly white wool cap, Urban Outfitters Gloves, Me Too ‘Limit‘ Ballet Flats, Miu Miu Bow Bag in Zaffiro
Here we are Friday morning, where I hurriedly try to cram some shopping into our last half-day before we had to catch the Eurostar to London. I got up bright and early so we could be ready to hit the boutiques at 9, only to find out nothing was actually open yet. So I just hung out moodily outside YSL (though I am still uncertain if this is an actual boutique or a corporate office, they appeared to have no merchandise inside) and took some pictures instead.
I took the trouble of packing the Anthropologie Flight-of-Swans dress in my suitcase, which, like any big poofy party dress, took up tons of room, but I convinced myself I needed it for one of our fancy dinner reservations, like Tallievent. Of course, I ended up having to cancel ALL the fancy meal reservations I made in Paris, so this got absolutely no use. I was determined to make this volume-hog of a dress work though, so I tried to layer it appropriately so it would pass as a more casual daytime dress. I think it sort of worked. At the very least, the outfit passed the warmth test.
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I went to my hotel room and packed until the shops opened. I wore the other volume-hog in my suitcase, my boots, so I would not have to pack them, and decided to get rid of the cap because it looked kind of dumb and was not adding a ton of warmth. After a some mad-dash shopping at Ladurée and Balenciaga (oh Ladurée, had I known *just how delicious* your macarons were, I would have bought so many more of them), I attempted to find the cute jeweler Miss Bibi, who claimed to have a shop in the Palais Royal. But hrm…it was no where to be found. Oh well, some more scenic picture taking ensued. Then, we wandered up to the Galeries Lafayette and then took the metro back to our hotel so we could catch our train (which we totally missed by all of like 30 seconds, doh. I still blame our taxi driver though for taking a dumb route). We got to our London hotel, and I ended up wearing this outfit to catch a performance of Wicked that night (sans boots, which started to kill me after 7 hours of wear, and my feet didn’t recover for like 4 days. Tsk tsk Frye).
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J.Crew Claudine Ink Dot Dress, J.Crew Cashmere Crewneck Cardigan in Heather Hydrangea, Anthropologie x Ruffian Luxe Dotted Tights over Hue Semi-Opaque Tights, Boyfriend’s Belt, Poetic Licence Garden Delight Flats, Balenciaga City w/ giant covered hardware in Cyclade
All right, there’s a reason I called this post “Anthropologie does Paris,” because I this is one of the only outfit pictures I managed to snap in my stay in London, and also, while the rest of my outfit details are littered with Anthropologie this and Anthropologie that, this one shockingly features no Anthropologie in the main component, just my other beloved standby, J.Crew (though I am wearing Anthropologie tights, had to throw them a bone somewhere of course ;) ). Sorry Anthro! You can see in this picture though, by the way, a sneak peek at one of my Paris purchases, a shiny new 2010-hued Balenciaga!
So, I have a few what-to-wear-in-during-a-Parisian-winter-visit reccomendations/ observations, if anyone else is interested. Of course, a much better source would be, I don’t know, anyone who has actually ever lived there, but I myself had a hard time finding too much definitive information myself while researching the trip, so I thought I would share:
1. Almost everyone really does wear black, or at least very muted tones like navy, brown, sometimes olive. But mostly black. Pops of color, if present, are usually found in scarves, bags, sometimes shoes, and the occasional coat. It was somewhat hilarious to be sitting on the metro and realize that my bright red coat was the only non-monochromatic thing present in the entire car. Even my white coat stood out like a beacon, and certainly my colored cardigans, my pink-floral skirt and my turquoise shoes all attracted the eyes of locals.
2. Local eyes are definitely probably on you, no matter what colors you wear. I actually didn’t notice it too much myself, but my boyfriend would describe how he saw a lot of women we ran across give me the head-to-toe once-over, examining everything I had on, probably forming some judgement in their head. Parisian people are very fashion conscious, put themselves together pretty deliberately, and I think expect others to as well. So try not to fall too much into tourist-sloth.
Those two points above said, wear what you want, seriously. I love color, and while I brought and wore more black/neutral pieces than I wear on a regular basis back home, I still just wore bright and jewel tones pretty comfortably because I am pretty confident about my style and usual mode of dress, and felt a lot more secure in it than I would have had I made myself adopt some foreign wardrobe of all black clothing. So wear what makes you confident and happy and no one will think to judge you, it’s all in the attitude! Furthermore, Parisians may be style conscious, but I admit I wasn’t half as scared / intimidated by the women I ran across as I expected to be. I had sort of envisioned a whole city of chic, impeccably turned-out, immaculately groomed citizens, but let’s face it, Parisians are normal people and the vast majority of people you will run across (if you do not spend all your time on the Rue Saint-Honoré at least) will look like your run of the mill city population. A little more style conscious in general perhaps, but not intimidatingly so. Once in a while, I would see this amazingly fashionable woman passing by (and quite a few in the George V) who would make me stop and stare, but it was more of a rarity really. And, I admit, one of the specific people who caught my eye and made me stare in admiration was a girl non-chalantly donning a stunning forest green peacoat, in a sea of otherwise boring black, standing out gorgeously to me, and I think to everyone around her as well.
3. Stay warm, of course. Paris is around 35ish degrees in January, not freezing (although I think it was snowing earlier in the month), but no California-winter either. And yet I didn’t feel like wearing pants or jeans, which I usually avoid at home too, because I really just don’t feel stylish in those anymore. So I decided to stick to my usual skirts and dresses, but I carefully packed a bunch of black thermal camisoles I had bought at Marks & Spencer when I used to be at Oxford, and array of warm tights, and experimented with some Cuddl Duds thermals (which I had heard a lot about) to layer underneath my shirts and sweaters. They all helped a lot, so that just one of my regular coats and scarf and gloves on top was usually enough to keep me warm — the only part of me that got cold during my trip was my face.
The wool tights are probably my favorite cold-weather-weapons, I ended up buying three different types and test-driving them for my trip. The first was the MP Cotton-lined Wool-tights — these were very warm, but not *quite* up to my 5′9″ stature, even in the Large size, since the crotch sagged a little bit after a little bit of wear, and eventually (I’m not sure totally how, but it might have been because I was riding a bike at the time), the crotch just ripped completely half-way through my trip. Very embarrassing. The second were Smart Wool tights, which I ended up not actually bringing with me, since I wore them at home and found them utterly confusing. For one thing, I could not figure out how I was supposed to put my feet into the tights, since the logo had to appear on the top of my foot the way the heel-molds in the tights were knit. Also, they didn’t have sufficient stretch in them to feel really comfortable putting on — I think my thighs were a little too big for them, even though I was in the size and weight requirements. That said, they were nice and toasty, if not completely comfy and a little itchy. The third were the Plush Fleece-lined tights. These are the warmest tights I’ve ever worn, and so soft, just amazing. They’re not particularly slimming on the legs, since the fleece lining does add some bulk, but who cares when your legs can’t feel any chill? However, they are SO not cut for taller girls, within 5 – 10 minutes the crotch would sag down to mid-thigh. With some stretching, they got a little better, but still, bad news. I may have to try the leggings version to avoid this problem. I think skinny or shorter girls should definitely pick these up though! If you are interested, Plush doesn’t have a stand-alone site, but their tights and leggings are sold at Shopbop, Bare Necessities and Anthro, among other places.
4. Avoid sneakers (these will call you out as an American right away, and they are rarely pretty) but bring well-soled, comfy shoes that you have *test driven* for long walks and stretched out beforehand! Paris cobblestones can be killer on soles, and all the walking you do makes heels not a great idea to wear for too long. I kept those two things in mind, but still made the mistake of bringing several pairs of ballet flats that I had worn a couple times and found decently comfy, but whose comfort did *not* hold up after an hour or two though and had my feet crying in pain. They either pinched, or just didn’t have enough padding at the bottom of my shoe. And I wore those 3″ heeled Fryes boots I talked about above for about 6-7 hours, which ended up KILLING my feet, and one of them ached until the end of the trip, sigh. The most comfortable shoes I ended up bringing and wore at every opportunity were:
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Poetic Licence Garden Delight Ballet Flats and Me Too Limit Ballet Flats
The Poetic Licence flats were surprisingly the most comfortable, and of course they are so cute, but wearing green shoes wasn’t really an option with every outfit. The Me Toos killed me at first (even wearing them at home) because the top of the shoe and the back were so stiff that they cut into my feet, but I had the foresight to line them with moleskin before my trip (I highly recommend you do this on any shoes that give you blisters instead of just abandoning them), so they were acceptably comfy most of the time, though after a whole day of walking they began to get a little pinchy at the sides.
5. My last observation, in this VERY long post — apologies! — is that shiny, quilted puffer coats are EVERYWHERE. Seriously, if a woman was not wearing fur, she was wearing one of these. I guess people have to stay warm, and apparently these are acceptably fashionable over there, even if the look is sort of scary to me. It sort of made me start to understand though where Chanel got the idea for their otherwise-questionable Cocoon bag collection….
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Why Lily, why?
Anyhow, that’s all for now! Thanks so much for reading my diatrible. I’ll probably have one more trip post to wrap up (shopping related of course), and then I can move on to more exciting things :)
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Ah, okay, finally ready to give a European trip update! It took me a little while since, well, the trip didn’t really go the way I (meticulously) planned and I haven’t been excited to rehash it — the first night in Paris, we had an extravagant meal (that cost more than a lot of my handbags), and because of it, the next night, my boyfriend and I promptly came down with a case of food poisoning so bad that we were stuck in our hotel room for the next three days. It was so severe that the first day I was vomiting up water. At one point, on the third day, I tried to force myself to go out because I thought I was feeling a little better, and I almost threw up in the middle of the Champs-Élysées. I mean, I was seriously .5 microseconds from doing so (my boyfriend ran and miraculously found a plastic bag for me just in time too), but the thought of my dignity completely collapsing by throwing up in the middle of a bunch of French women on the Champs-Élysées was enough mental ammunition for me to force it down. (Sorry if this is all TMI.) Then, I had a dizzy spell and almost fainted in the Chanel boutique. Suffice to say I didn’t push myself to get better after that. And *then*, my last two days in London, I got sick *again*. I accidentally took an 8 hour “nap” our last day and was half-delerious with fever the morning we left. Sigh. Still, not to say that trip was a total disaster — we did have a few fun days when we were feeling better, and it was nice to spend a last week or two with my boyfriend (who just moved to Japan yesterday, sadface).
Anyhow, I have a few trip pictures for those who are interested, although I’m pretty dubious about people being interested in total strangers’ sometimes somewhat-trite vacation photos. You may have noticed by the way the little guy hanging out in my pocket in my “Travelling Garb” post, who is also perched on my shoulder above. His name is Mr. Cuddles and he lived for a long time on my boyfriend’s desk at work. I decided this was probably pretty boring to him, and, like the gnome in Amélie, he should get to see the world. So here is our vacation (mostly) through the lens of (or at least with the lens focused on) Mr. Cuddles. All pictures are enlargable!
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Mr. Cuddles waiting to board, his seat on the plane, and journeying on the Eurostar
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Mr. Cuddles travelling on the Paris Metro
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Mr. Cuddles amongst vegetables in the Bastille Open Market
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Rollerblades are strangely enough *everywhere* in Paris. We saw tons and tons of people using them throughout the city. This particular shot was taken as we were walking along the Left Bank, and the whole street was temporarily shut down for a little bit to allow a long parade of rollerbladers to skate through.
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Mr. Cuddles with some after dinner chocolates Le Cinq sent us home with; lunching at a cafe in the Tuileries Gardens
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My boyfriend and I are big music lovers: the first time we hung out together was at an Air concert. So I thought it would be exciting to see some shows in the foriegn cities we were visiting. The first was Emilie Simon at the Casino de Paris (amazing show, though almost every seat was taken 5 minutes after the opening act started, sooo different than American venues), and Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) at the Union Chapel — a beautifully lit little church — in London.
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Mr. Cuddles with us at a late night meal at a French McDonalds (we came back hungry after our Emilie Simon concert, and unsurprisingly there were no other reasonably priced options on the Champs-Élysées at almost midnight). I have to say that European McDonald’s are about 20x nicer than any McDonald’s I’ve ever seen in the US! It’s crazy.
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Notre Dame Window
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Mr. Cuddles and I standing on the Pasarelle Solferino, the pedestrian bridge crossing the Seine. There is quite an impressive collection of “love locks” hung to the side of the bridge by passersbys.
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Mr. Cuddles enjoying various views of the Eiffel Tower
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In front of Les Invalides (Napoleon’s tomb, among other things), and a bad hurried sneaky illicit shot of me in Lanvin before the burly security guard at the door immediately stopped us. I wish I could have gotten an actual photo because the jewel-toned displays inside that store were simply breathtaking.
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On Ponte Alexandre III (the “Kissing Bridge”) with the Grand Palais in the background (home of many Paris runway shows)
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Nestled amongst the famous floral arrangements in the lobby of the George V
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In front of the glass pyramid at the Louvre
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Mr. Cuddles in the forecourt and I in the garden of the Palais Royal
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A yummy weekend brunch at The Breakfast Club in London, a tiny little restaurant where almost every dish is named after a movie title
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We took biking tours of London and Paris which were the highlights of both cities for us — I highly reccommend doing something similar if you want to get to know either place. Anyhow, I was excited to get the innocuously named “Tinkerbell” as my bike in London, although she proved quite feisty and broke down twice. I had to switch with my boyfriend (who had “Jude Law” — should have known to do this sooner) near the end because Tinkerbell eventually insisted in only letting me ride her in third gear.
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Eating at a tiny pub outside Trafalgar Square
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So, now for the the lowdown and reviews of where we stayed. The budget for this trip was a little bit of a gift and it was incredibly excessive for what any normal person needed to stay in Paris, so I had the luxury of making it a once-in-a-lifetime kind dream vacation and booking some really nice hotels. In Paris, we stayed at the George V, whose prices are seriously insane, but like I said, it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deal, and I’ve heard about this hotel all my life, so why not? It’s supposed to be the epitome of Paris luxury, and how could I say no to that? Well, it was certainly nice, but I would seriously never stay there again, gift or no. For one thing, as I mentioned, the prices are completely *criminal*. Our daily breakfast bill alone usually came to 90 – 120 Euros, and you should keep in mind that I was mostly unable to eat due to sickness, so all I was ordering was a glass of orange juice and maybe a bagel. A bowl of red berries (essentially just a small bowl of strawberries and raspberries) had a price of 32 Euros — that’s over $50! Fortunately, I booked through a special partner travel agent who was able to get breakfast comped every day (please let me know if you are planning on staying at a Four Seasons at any point and I can point you in his direction; he also got us a room upgrade and a welcome drinks and other things that are not standard), so I didn’t feel too guilty, but really. Craziness. Still, I’ve never had better pain perdu (French toast) in my entire life, and every morning they served us a little complimentary pot of crème brûlée at the begining of the meal that was the definition of heaven:
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We were upgraded to a Premier room (basically the nicest room you can get in the hotel without actually shelling out for a suite), which was certainly nice, but had this slightly stuffy air to it that I think is part of the definition of French luxury,even if it’s not really mine. It was not also quite as big as I expected from the description/cost (though I will admit that the bathroom was almost as big as my room back home…). Here are some pictures of Mr. Cuddles hanging out on the bed and in the sitting area:
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I think the part about the hotel that really left a slightly bad taste in my mouth though was that the hotel absolutely refused to take any responsibility for the awful food poisoning incident. We at at Le Cinq the first night, which is the hotel’s own restaurant, and has 2 Michelin stars. Now, I don’t know *exactly* how much our meal cost, because somewhat hilariously/insultingly I was given the “female menu” which had no prices on it, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that we’ve never spent so much on food in our lives. We opted to splurge on the gourmet tasting menu, which, oh my god, we did not know what we were getting ourselves into, because the meal ended up being what felt like 12 courses and lasted FOUR hours, despite our best attempts to shovel food into our mouth near the end so we could finally go to our room and collapse into a sleepy heap. (This seems unappreciative, but I was pretty game until hour three, at which point my stomach felt like it was going to burst and my eyes were involuntarily shutting themselves.) Anyhow, my boyfriend and I don’t share food for the most part, and that is the only time we ate remotely similar things, so the fact that we both came down with food poisoning the next night (my boyfriend normally having a scarily robust immune system too) seemed extremely suspicious. The hotel ambassador seemed very nice about it, but eventually drew a hard line that the restaurant could not be responsible since no other guests complained and that we should have had symptoms the next morning if it was their fault (I am pretty certain from what I remember of my biology degree that that’s not actually true….). They sent us some “sympathy flowers,” but that was the extent of it. I didn’t make a fuss about it or anything, but I still thought they could have accepted or pretended to accept some responsibility. If I had eaten at some dive on the street, or even a restaurant that cost 30, or 50, or even 100! Euros, I would have been like, okay, and just shut up and accepted it in my mind as something that I might have deserved. But to eat at such a prestigious restaurant, and pay such a price, only to be stuck in the hotel room for the next 3 1/2 days and basically have my dream vacation ruined, totally sucked in my mind. At the very least they could have picked up the 200 Euro (!) tab the hotel doctor charged to see me for 15 minutes I think. Anyway….lesson learned. Next time we’ll stay somewhere else, but it was interesting at the very least to have the experience of staying there…
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Our “apology” flowers, and some shots of the insanely gorgeous vases of flowers that appeared on our table and in our bathroom every day…you can also see a shot of their famous lobby floral arrangements earlier in the above montage as well…
On the other hand, I *loved* the place we stayed in London, a small boutique hotel right outside Belgrave Square/Hyde Park Corner called The Halkin. The aesthetics were totally sleek and modern and right up my alley (see the shot below of the curved hotel hallways, with the doors inset virtually seamlessly into black fabric walls, and a picture from the hotel website showing a room similar to ours — bright, clean, polished and sophisticated) and the hotel staff fell all over themselves to make us feel like VIPs — all for a price much lower than the George V (though to be fair, it was certainly not cheap either).
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Anyhow, this post has grown gargantuously long, so I’ll stop for now. More later on what I wore (hint: all Anthropologie, all the time), reccommendations, my London Anthro visit, and some shopping reveals. Here’s a teaser on the shopping front :)….
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I was feeling mopey and bored and sick Friday, so of course I turned to Zappos.com to cheer me up…I just couldn’t resist these shiny red shoes:
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These are the Kate Spade Kylie pumps, and I love them. They are the bow-adorned red heels I have been searching for all my life (or…for the last year). Their silhouette is perfectly sculpted, they are comfy for their height, and in general they are oh so pretty. Like most pair of Kate Spade shoes, they run half a size big on me, but I couldn’t find them anywhere in this color in a 10.5, so heel grips and an 11 will just have to suit me for now. If you are interested, they are sold in the red at Zappos, as well as in black, a nice plummy purple, and camel. They will run you full price there ($298), but if you want them a bit cheaper, you can order them from the Kate Spade site itself, which is having a 20% off promo (use ‘dontfret’ at the checkout), although they are not available in the red. They can also be found in limited colorways at Endless, Neiman Marcus (which has it in beige as well), Bloomingdales, and Plaza Too.
For a slightly cheaper thrill, you can also try these Bow Peep Toes from Boden ($148):
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They are a little less formal and constrained than the Kate Spades — they have a bit of quirk to them that makes them a little more fun and nautical and almost pin-uppy. Ummm…personally, I kind of want both at this point! :) Is anyone familiar with Boden’s shoes’ fit/quality?
Anyhow, happy Monday everyone! I have to enter the grind and get back to work, but hopefully I’ll still be able to crank out some posts on a regular schedule this week.
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Ah yes, happier times, at the beginning of my trip, when everything looked rosy and exciting and non-sickness filled! Okay, to be honest, I still enjoyed my vacation a lot, even though I spent over half of it being ill and curled up in a whimpering ball. But I was curled up in ball in Europe with my comforting boyfriend and not at boring home or work sans-boyfriend, and that’s all that counts, right? Anyhow. Since two weeks is a lot to summarize, I thought I’d break down the trip into a couple posts, the first being one on travel wear.
I got my start as an airplane traveller at about the age of one or two, and after that, all throughout my childhood, my family constantly dragged me on trips across the globe, so flying became old-hat pretty quickly. As soon as I was old enough to be able to pack for myself, I found that in selecting outfits for the journey, I kept only one thing in mind: warmth. Because airplanes can get sooo cold, and not even piling on all the woefully-thin airline-provided blankets and socks available will allow me to sleep comfortably. Of course, aiming for warmth (especially for 10+ hour journeys) also usually meant aiming for slobdom — jeans, maybe with tights underneath if it was extra cold, sneakers, turtlenecks or long sleeved shirts, my fleeciest sweatshirts and thickest, baggiest pullover sweaters. It recently occurred to me though that I have become somewhat more fashionable than I used to be in my youth, or even more so than I was just two or three years ago (I didn’t start this blog because I thought highly of how I dressed in any way really, I did it to share real-life reviews, keep better tabs on my shopping habits and keep track of what I wore, but I think it has helped develop my own style quite a bit), so perhaps I could maybe morph my standard traveling uniform into something slightly nicer and slightly more me. Especially since I would be arriving in Paris, that oh-so-chic city, and having to head straight to a terrifyingly-snobby-sounding hotel — sweatershirts and sneaks did not sound like they were going to be making the cut.
So, my jeans got thrown into the corner and I decided to try working with a dress instead. A dress isn’t the sort of garment that really screams “warm,” but I do wear them year-round, rain or shine anyway, so I knew I couldn’t be too hard. I had patiently stalked this lovely rust-colored sweater dress from Anthropologie all fall, and it finallly went on sale in January and arrived the day before I was leaving, so it seemed like a sign of sorts that I should wear it. It was fairly toasty on its own, and with a thermal vest underneath, some fleece-lined tights on the bottom, and a scarf and my trusty cashmere boyfriend cardi (this Joie piece was fairly expensive, but the cost per wear on this baby is mere pennies at this point) over everything, it was perfect. In fact, on the plane ride, I actually got fairly hot and abandoned the sweater and the scarf altogether (though they were much appreciated again when we disembarked). I added my favorite boots to the outfit, partly because the chocolate brown went nicely with the rest of the rust-and-gold color scheme, but also because they were the most bulky item on my packing list and I didn’t want to waste the suitcase space ;)
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Anthropologie Fall Folliage Sweater Dress, Joie Chastity Cashmere Boyfriend Cardigan, Plush Full-Foot Fleece-lined Tights, Frye Ava Tall Boots, Abercrombie & Fitch Scarf, Rachel Leigh ‘Over It’ Necklace, Anthropologie Labyrinth Headband, Colonel Littleton personalized Camp Bracelet, BCBG Engraved Hoop Earrings
Ha, I eventually put my hair down because I think the hoop earrings and the necklace kind of conspired to make me look like a gypsy or fortune teller when they were so prominent! Still, either way, better than the slob-uniform of journeys past.
Some better pictures of my accessories:
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I didn’t do it intentionally, but I ended up combining my very favorite earrings, necklace and headband all into one outfit (probably because I don’t have many gold-toned accessories and have to really like the pieces to buy them!). I lost the headband almost immediately in the taxi on the way to the hotel and was so distraught that I ordered another one of of Anthro’s website when I got to my hotel room.
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This is a personalized name-plate bracelet from Colonel Littletton, a company who doesn’t really make jewelry actually, but instead totally hardcore-and-kind-of-awesome leather goods like saddles and belt and outdoorsy cowboy/explorer things. They have a very good sense of humor about it all though, and some seriously impressive customer service. Anyhow, I was searching for a birthday present last summer for my beloved friend Jessica, who always says nice admiring and complimentary things about all my ridiculously frivolous clothing and shoes and jewelry, but herself lives the most un-frivolous lifestyle, doing things like volunteering for a year in Cambodia, working on an organic farm, saving the world, the at kind of stuff. So I didn’t know what to get her that was sort-of-girly-and-cute but she could still wear in her everyday life. I finally found this leather bracelet though, and thought it might be kind of perfect. It’s sort of outdoorsy and rough-and-tumble and respectable, but yet has a little femininity to it. I got one made for her and me both. I’m not sure if she actually wears hers really, but I’ve been enjoying mine at least ;)
More updates to come, including: sickness stor(ies) revealed, more travel photos and tales, exciting shopping victories, and my visit to the UK Anthropologie (yes, I’m a total dork).
Filed under: anthropologie
Anthropologie Whorled Roses Tank ($88)
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I think this top may have officially pushed me over the edge of the rosettes-trend — too much, too many, they’re everywhere! Specifically on this top. However, the worst part about this Yoana Baraschi blouse actually is that I keep reading the title of it as the “Whored Roses Tank” instead of “Whorled Roses.” My mind clearly lives in the gutter, and yet it is not entirely un-apt.
Oh, and yes, I’m finally back from vacation as of yesterday, but still recovering from the second of two trip-related illnesses, boo. More later! Thanks for all the comments and emails in my absence :)
