mission: je ne sais quoi en hiver

For those of you who don't know, my husband and I are travelling/wwoofing in Italy for 4.5 months. For 1 week we will take a trip to Dublin, and for another week we will be in...drumroll please....PARIS! Ahhh...Paris. I'm pretty sure that I was not born in Korea but in fact France as I have a strange feeling it runs in my veins.

Now, my adoration for Paris fashion is unmeasurable. And I'm not just talking about the major fashion houses...I'm talking street fashion. A guilty pleasure of mine is searching for blogs that feature Parisians in their everyday garb. The prospect of trying to match that "je ne sais quoi" look that a true native has (me a lowly american) is quite frightening...I figured I should get some practice.

Here is my basic equation for the epitome (my epitome) of french style:

Red Red lips (and big earrings):

Off-beat accessories like this beaded vest and fuchsia leopard print scarf:

And funky but practical boots (after all, I am still a tourist trudging miles around town):

Add a little snow (we will be there in February) and viola!:

So how'd I do? Could I be walking the snowy streets of Montmartre?

scarf: $3 goodwill
vest: $2.50 spokane vv
boots: $9.99 spokane vv

Mission: Holiday Bag

And here it is!

The ULTIMATE holiday bag.

Obviously this bag is not for the faint of heart. It is covered inch-to-inch in sequins and beads...and I mean INCH-to-INCH (see second picture...that's the bottom of the bag). I purchased this wonder for $6 which was WAY expensive for me. I had been staring at it for weeks at my favorite thrift store in honolulu and decided I'd better snatch it up before it disappeared and became another item in the catalogues of missed opportunities.

If you plan on using a bag this bold everything else is basic basic basic. It's the perfect touch of holiday for the LBD, or it can be worn with a cream color cashmere sweater and black miniskirt.

I love this bag.
but my husband always looks skeptically at me as I try it on with outfits...go figure.)

Mission: Holiday (part un)

Ho!Ho!Ho! The Holiday Season is upon us. Here are a couple of outfits in my go-to Holiday vein: Black and Gold. The main focus of this post is the clothes, so I purposefully left out bags and jewelry. The Holidays provide so much accessorizing fun, bags and jewelry each get their OWN post! Woo hoo for SPARKLE! Shoes are louboutin.

Outfit 1:

black DKNY tank $0.99 kalihi salvation army, gold accordion skirt $2.00 central union thrift, gold figurine belt $12 (trade) red light, vintage pink shrug $10 honolulu (palolo) garage sale.

Outfit 2:

black silk dress with all over gold beading $10 spokane value village veteran's day sale (orig. $19.99)

mission: school days

The beginning of school is rapidly approaching, and even though I am not returning, this time of year always makes me a bit nostalgic. Everyone knows the best thing about school starting is the new outfits and deciding what to wear on the first day! So here are a couple school inspired outfits. Hope you enjoy!

Outfit 1:

Under dress: american apparel (new)
jumper: vintage, salvation army, Kalihi, HI, $2
shoes: goodwill, seattle, $4
rosary: soon-to-be-husband's

Outfit 2:

tank: club monaco (new)
skirt: goodwill outlet, seattle, apx. $1
belt: esprit (vintage), Catherine's Closet, Honolulu, $25
shoes: Michael Kors (new)