daily outfit: necessity, trench coat

When in doubt, throw on a trench:

Spice it up with great accessories:

A trench coat is definitely on my list of "must-haves." It is instantly classy and classic. It is one of the few pieces that can be both casual and formal, depending on what else you pair with it. Go buy one immediately...and, I will admit, this is something to buy NEW. Yes, new. Even though it is a classic piece, there are "updated" versions with newer silhouettes.

When wearing such a classic piece, I'm always sure to let my style shine through with the accessories. I LOVE these gloves, which are more decorative than functional. It's hard to tell in the picture, but they are navy blue and cream stripes.

trench: banana republic (fall '07), NEW
pashmina: catherine's closet, honolulu, $20
gloves: catherine's closet, honolulu, $12
boots: louis vuitton

fall: vintage jackets and designer shoes

I woke up today and autumn was miraculously surrounding me. It's been a while since I've had to do any seasonal dressing, so it's taking me some time to get the hang of it. But one thing I know for sure...it is time to bust out some of my favorite vintage jackets which I had no chance of wearing in Hawai`i. And to top it off, what goes better with a vintage jacket than a great pair of shoes?

Hope you enjoy (I'm wearing black leggings, black AA tube dress, and a vintage belt, $1.39):

jacket: leather "patchwork," central union thrift, honolulu, $5 (yes, genuine leather for FIVE dollars!)
shoes: prada

jacket: 80s teal suede, Goodwill Outlet, Seattle, $1.39 (per pound)
shoes: christian louboutin

jacket: rabbit fur (don't get all huffy...there are way too many rabbits anyway...and besides, it's second-hand so it's recycled fur), Salvation Army, spokane, $15 (it was on sale from $30)

shoes: gucci

ps. honolulu is the BEST place to buy great outerwear for CHEAP (duh)

Store Story: Teen Challenge, Sprauge

Visited the Teen Challenge Thrift Store on Sprauge. From the outside it looks pretty small...

But it is actually humongous once you get inside. I loved the vaulted ceilings which added a rustic garage sale touch.

There was not much organization to the racks, but if you have the time to work through them, it doesn't really matter.

Each rack has a size/price list in the middle, and each garment has a color tag.

The tags then correspond with a 'tag sale' which is pretty generous.

The system may sound confusing...which at first it was, but what I soon realized was that everything was pretty cheap, and the best thing to do is grab it all and then do your totaling at the register.

The Harry Potter fan in me wanted to buy this Hogwarts lunchbox,

and I LOVED this bowling bag, which I would use as a regular bag (sans bowling ball).

But I didn't buy either as I thought they might be a little too hard to translate into wearability. I did buy a pencil skirt for about 45cents (on sale) and a great pair of brazilian clogs which are way too big for me but I had to own them anyway. I'll probably give them to my sister-in-law.

shopfrugality tip: body type

Well dear readers, it has been a while since I've posted a tip, so here's a basic one I hope most of you already know: know your body type and what works on you.

My basic rules of fit:

1. If it's too small, don't buy it, wear it, go near it. I know it's tempting to buy the one-day-I'll-fit-into-them jeans, buy most likely you won't and it won't help your self-esteem staring at them. There's nothing more unattractive than a woman busting out of too-small clothes. Don't be disillusioned...if it doesn't work on you, it doesn't work on you. There are some things that only Kate Moss can wear.

2. Learn the art of illusion. If you have a bit of a belly, don't buy clothes that show off your stomach. Learn to highlight parts of your body you love (collar-bone, tiny waist) and camouflage the areas you don't love (arms, belly, thighs). If you're a bit on the heavy side, the best thing to do is create a waistline, not hide it.

3. Too-long on too-short is not good, and too-short on too-long is not good. Fashion is always in favor of the taller woman (that's just the way the industry works) but remember, it's always about proportioning clothes to the proportions of your body. Women with long legs but short torsos need to think about proportions just as much as women with short legs and long torsos.

4. You have a top half and a bottom half. Again--proportions. Throwing on way too many things that busy up the body will only turn you into a blob. When dressing, make sure you can tell where your top ends and your bottom begins (think strategically placed belts and hemlines).

5. God (or whoever you believe in) made your body the way it is. Don't dwell on what you don't have, be happy with what you do have and make the best of it. The easiest way to learn to dress your body correctly is by understanding it and appreciating it.

6. Break the rules. I'm 5' tall, but lord help me, I'm going to wear tent dresses that overwhelm my frame if I feel like it! If you absolutely love it, go for it! No one became a fashion icon by following the rules all the time.

Funky Things I Own (but hardly ever wear)

These outfits are inspired by my aforementioned hair cut and nail polish. Most of these items are "funky" things I hardly ever wear...but hope to start wearing some day. Sometimes these outfits work, sometimes they don't. This was basically a fashion exercise for me to "shake things up" a bit.

Unfortunately, if you haven't been able to tell, my picture quality has gone down. I was using my mom's awesome camera before, but post-move I had to resort back to my camera which has a hard time focusing when the lighting is off.

all these values are estimates as some of these items I purchased years ago)

dress: value village, seattle, $6.99

blazer: salvation army, honolulu, $3.99

broach: garage sale, honolulu, $1

boots: central union thrift, honolulu, $2

tank top: club monaco, new

skirt: value village, seattle, $3.99
shoes: bottega veneta, new
necklace: garage sale, honolulu, $10 (I struggled for a long time over whether or not to buy this piece)

top: awesome fringe sweater, garage sale, honolulu, $1

skirt: AA tube dress, new

clutch: goodwill, honolulu (waialae), $4.99

necklaces: silver, fighting eel showroom, honolulu, $10; gold (with glass orbs), rummage sale, honolulu, $2

Preface to Funky Things

There are a few guaranteed things that make me change my style choices. The first is a great new haircut (which I got two days after my wedding) and the second is awesome nail polish (I found the most to-die-for color which I'm currently obsessed with). As you have probably already seen the cut, I figure I should post a picture of the nails:

The nail polish is OPI "you don't know jacques" from their paris line. It is the most perfect somber fall matte-grey color which I think should replace black nail polish all together. I'm in love.

ps. I also purchased a color called "midnight in moscow" which is basically black infused with metallic flecs of russian red. But, I've fallen so in love with jacques that russia will have to wait...