I Cannot be Trusted at a Sample Sale

For realzy. I walk into a sample sale and it's as if I've forgotten how to say no to shopping. Well, I'm not so good at saying no when shopping in general, but I am really bad at sample sales. I think it's the combination of discounted designer goods, compounded by the frenzied feeling of "if you don't buy this right now you someone else will snatch it up and it will be lost forever" and the fat girl feeling of excitement when something fits.

What's that last one you ask? It's something I think we've all fallen victim to over the years - if it fits, we must buy it. We've all been there right? We go shopping with a friend and they drag us into a store where nothing even comes close to fitting us and then there's some stretchy dress or top which fits and you're so excited that it fits that you buy it. You like it because it fits, not really considering whether or not it's something you actually want. I can shop here too you think as the cashier rings up your purchase, I also belong. And then you go home and hang up the dress and it sits in your closet.

I've gotten over that "if it fits you must buy it" mentality. ..for the most part. Sometimes at sample sales I slip. Today's outfit is a perfect example of that.


I was walking in the West Village and saw a sample sign in the window and I unwittingly walked into the Rag & Bone sample sale, a line that I have only even heard of because my very fabulous co-worker dated someone who worked there. I walked in, did a brief loop around the store and picked up this gorgeous, cashmere capelet. Only $100, down from $595. And it fit. And it was gorgeous. And the material felt like heaven. And the buttons were burnished. But...it wasn't very practical. You can't wear a coat over it, meaning there's a very brief weather period where you can wear it. Not to mention it's hard to carry a bag while wearing it, all of which makes it not so useful in New York. But it's puuuurty.

So I bought it and in my closet it sat for months untill last week when we hit that perfect temperature where I could wear it without a coat, but wouldn't be too hot in it. I will say that once I finally wore it I got an awful lot of compliments and I think it's going to just live at the office so I don't have to worry about a coat...or carrying a bag. Isn't it gorgeous, if not at all practical?


I paired my capelet with some Z. Cavarichi jeans which you've seen before and a brown top that I got at Ross which you've also seen before. I kept the accessories simple, just some purple flats from Old Navy and gold, dangly earrings from Primark.


Photo credit goes to my co-worker Lena.

Learning to Embrace Baggy

I like defined shapes. I wear a lot of belts, cropped cardigans and jackets and form fitting clothes in general. Big, baggy clothes haven't really been my cup of tea since college. Although back in college putting on actual clothes and not just pajamas was a big step for me, so using that as a touchstone doesn't really mean much. One day I will scan some photos and you will all have a very big laugh at my expense.


This outfit represents me out of my comfort zone. I was planning on belting it till I caught a glimpse in the mirror (as I was crossing my room to grab a belt) and thought, "oh, this doesn't look half bad just as it is." And since I'm trying to try new things and go out of my comfort zone a bit I left the house sans belt. I will say it was a very comfortable outfit.



The top is via Re/Dress NYC and you first saw it in September (where I wore it with a belt) and the jeans you've also seen before, they're Z. Cavarichi via Ross. Since the outfit felt slightly masculine to me, I felt the need to overcompensate by having it unbuttoned pretty low and flashing some cleavage, and some bling via my H&M "pearls" and bejeweled flats from Nine West.


Photo credit and chartreuse shoe belong to the darling Ateqah.

No I did not get this top in India

I wore this yesterday and all day long people at work kept asking me "did you get that in India?" To which I replied "no, I got it in Mexico."

Back around Thanksgiving 2008 I was in desperate need of a post-election vacation so my friend Tom and I went on a roadtrip in Mexico. We spent too much driving in the desert... and not enough time doing this...


But I digress, back to the shirt.

I got the top in Mexico, in some random town in Baja and like many articles of clothing that we (or maybe just me) tend to buy while abroad it has mostly sat in my drawer and rarely been worn. I don't seem to know how to wear it - I've tried belting it and wearing a cardigan but yesterday I just decided to let it flow and hope that paired with skinny jeans it didn't make me look pregnant. I'm fat, I don't care about looking bigger than I already am, but I really don't like looking pregnant. But it's such a pretty top and the embrodiery is so beautiful that I just went for it, pregnancy look be damned. Plus, the white highlights my Mumbai tan.


I've paired the top with some skinny grey jeans by Z. Cavaricci via Torrid (oh how I longed for a pair of Z. Cavaricci's back in 5th grade, these are much cuter than the ones I coveted). The shoes are from Old Navy, the earrings are hand-me-downs from my dear friend Ateqah and the headband is repurposed from a cardigan.


Photo credit goes to Deuel...I think. This was just taken yesterday, I'm not sure why I'm losing my head so much but I am. Oops. I blame it on jetlag.

Just a little bit of whimsy

I love playing dress-up. Costumes, wigs, insane makeup, you name it, I love it. I wish I could wear a purple wig every day, but technically I'm a grown-up and such things are frowned upon in an office environment. That's why God made weekends, isn't it?

Today's outfit isn't terribly exciting. I wore it this past Saturday and even though I ended up having the loveliest day, I didn't have anything too special planned when I originally got dressed. The weather was so glorious that the outfit was based around the fact that I just wanted to wear a sweater coat as my sole outerwear. Can I just state for the record how much I am loving fall in New York this year. The weather has been just beautiful - sunny and crisp and not too cold. I've basically been able to leave the house with just a hoodie or sweater-coat for the entire month of November, it has been amazing. Ok, now that I've gushed over Mother Nature, on we go.

Like I said, the outfit isn't very exciting. I just threw on some jeans (Z Cavarrichi via Ross if you can believe it), a long-sleeved t-shirt (Old Navy) and one of my beloved sweater-coats (this one is cotton and it's from Banana Republic). As usual it's in the accessories that it came together.

I considered wearing sneakers, but instead decided to go for some cute, purple flats from Office that would dress up the outfit a bit. The scarf is from a street fair and the earrings are a present from Mirka and I don't know where they're from. And the ears...well here comes the whimsy.

As I was contemplating how best to accessorize, I reached into my drawer of bows and feathers and hair accessories, originally planning to grab a hot pink headband. I realize for many of you a hot-pink headband with a bow would already have been too much, but that's my speed. As I was searching through my drawer I came upon the ears you see me sporting in today's photo.

I'm sure it will surprise none of you that I found the ears in the children's section of H&M. I bought them a couple of months ago, fearing that if I didn't I would suffer from fashion remorse, but not entirely certain that I would ever wear them on a day other than Halloween. But I saw them in my drawer, realized how well they matched my outfit and put them on and ran into the living room to ask my roommate if they were too ridiculous to wear out and about, or if they were the perfect level of whimsy? She voted for perfect amount of whimsy and that's all I needed to hear. The ears were a go!

I don't think I would have ever even thought about wearing ears, if not for inspiration from Elie. She's been wearing ears anywhere and everywhere for years, although I think she may have retired them at this point. Let me just say they were a hit! People kept smiling at me all day and I got a bunch of compliments (I did also get a bunch of weird stares, but that doesn't bother me). And I wore the ears all around town - I wore them to the movies and to lunch and out to an impromptu party at my local bar and even in front of my best friend who does not understand my fashion inspiration, but loves me anyway.

Photo credit today goes to Joie who took my picture after we saw Precious at BAM. She appreciated my whimsy and let me tell you, we needed something to giggle over after watching Precious, a movie which the blogs I read have dedicated more time to in the past few months than nearly any other topic save for Palin bashing.

I interrupt this regulary scheduled broadcast

To announce that I am wearing pants right now. Not as in I woke up at 10:45 and had to roll out of bed to pick up my CSA by 11 so I grabbed whatever was close by, but as in I woke up this morning, showered, tried on many incarnations of an outfit and headed to work wearing jeans. See people I do own pants.

I also realized this morning that I kind of forgot
a) how to dress myself when I'm not wearing a dress
b) how to dress for the cold weather
c) what I own for the fall season

I think I need to reacquaint myself with my wardrobe this weekend.