Mother, Tell Your Children Not To Hear My Words

While everyone else is posting sweet sentiments to their mothers today, I had a calm day of watching bike races and window shopping. I swear I'm not an ungrateful child! I've just got a super liberal mom who believes that Mothers Day is a bunch of greeting card industry BS. (I can certainly appreciate thoughtful ways my favorite bloggers have chosen to commemorate their moms though.) My own boys (also known as Wumpus and Henry) chose to show their gratitude by leaving a puddle of vomit for me to step in-barefoot, of course-as I was sleep walking to the bathroom last night. Cats, right?

Instead of brunch or whatever normal people do, Ray and I made brunch, watched the Giro d'Italia (tour of Italy cycling race), and headed to South Street for some thrifting. When I was a young teenager, South Street was the cool place to be. It was weird and eclectic and all the freaks of Philadelphia hung out there. Think of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. It was the best place to buy turquoise hair dye and skintight Dogpile stretch jeans, short of driving an hour to Amish-filled Lancaster to go to the Angry, Young, and Poor headquarters. As the years went on, rent increased drastically, forcing out the longtime shops like Zipperhead (made famous by the Dead Milkmen's "Punk Rock Girl) and making way for corporate vendors like Starbucks and the Gap, as they were the only ones who could afford such steep rates.

Luckily, a few stores prevailed, though most of the good shops are now located on smaller, less prestigious side streets. Ray and I walked around to my old favorite Phillly AIDS Thrift, where I scored a pair of tweed shorts for $3 and suede moccasin pumps for $7. I also checked out Retrospect, a vintage shop which has a much better selection but also tends to run a bit overpriced. I managed to snag a pair of moccasin wedges (can you detect a pattern?) for a reasonable $14. 

Given how casual a day it was, I opted for a very laid back look. Jeans and a t-shirt is about as basic as you can get, and it certainly didn't hurt to have to a scarf given how cold and windy it's been this weekend. I probably would have been better off wearing my hair down, but I wanted to show off the dye job my friend Lisa did on me last night! It's pretty subtle, but I like the unexpected streaks of red that just barely pop out. I'm going in next week to get a few more layers of red added, but I think it looks fantastic already.

Tank Top: Forever 21
Shirt: BDG
Jeans: Forever 21
Boots: Nature Breeze
Scarf: unknown
Sunglasses: Forever 21

Busy Signals

Talk about a crazy busy day, I took these pictures at 9:00 in the morning because I knew I wouldn't be getting home before 6:00 and then heading out straight after that. The majority of the day was spent with my mom, having a rare but much appreciated mother-daughter day. We don't have the stereotypical movie best friend relationship; we fought a lot when I was younger (read: a brat), so the fact that we get along now means so much more to me. I love seeing my mom as a real person and getting her perspective on what I'm currently dealing with in my life. She always has the best advice and knows exactly what to do. I guess that's where I get my tendency to over-prepare for everything.

She's also a great shopping partner. My 23rd birthday is rapidly approaching, and we went looking for a pair of running shoes as her present to me. I'm enjoying running at the gym, but who wants to stay inside when it's absolutely beautiful out now? Now that I've got my first real pair of running shoes, I'm super excited to take part in the Monster Milers, a local non-profit organization that allows you to take a local pound puppy out on your daily run. Not only does this provide the runner with some company, it also gets the dogs exercised and socializes them so that they're more likely to be adopted. After shoe shopping, we hit up a few vintage shops and I got some great finds, including a 1960s Elsa Schiaparelli original scarf. I'm still torn between actually wearing it or putting it in a frame and hanging it up as art. I have literally only ever seen Schiaparelli's work displayed in major art museums, so it's an incredible rush to realize that I now own one of her pieces.

On my way home, while trying to find parking, I actually ran into Hallie of Halcoholic right in the middle of a photoshoot with her husband, Bobby. So what do I do? Pull over, throw on my blinkers, and jump into the middle of the shoot. Of course. I can't wait to see how they turned out! Thank god I actually put some thought into my appearance today, instead of just wearing jeans and a v-neck like yesterday. Speaking of which, today is another dress as a non-dress. For reference, here's how I wore it a few weeks ago:

Oof, looking at that is making me miss my old camera. Luckily, I'll be researching cameras this weekend and hopefully getting an SLR as soon as possible, so my photo quality should improve drastically. 

Dress (worn as a shirt): Tea Party

Shorts: H&M

Tights: Walgreens

Shoes: vintage (Sweet Jane- Philadelphia, PA)

Sunglasses: Forever 21

Wrapup: 2010 Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Gala

The Met's Constume Institute Gala has come and gone, this year under the theme of American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity, and quality pictures are finally up on style.com! Much to the benefit of my laptop's keyboard, which was nearing its limit of being pounded on in a fit of frustration. All the heavy hitters of the fashion world were in attendance, exhibiting their creations on Hollywood's A list. Rather than bore you with a complete recap that countless other blogs will no doubt feature, I narrowed down my favorite looks.

Carey Mulligan in Miu Miu

This dress has been getting a lot of internet hate, but I don't care, I'm absolutely loving the mod feel. From her Twiggy-inspired haircut to the deep apron-like pockets, I love it all. And what would it be without Miu Miu's signature flower print?

 Chanel Iman in Michael Kors

A jumpsuit on the red carpet. A gold lamé jumpsuit on the red carpet. A super deep cut gold lamé jumpsuit on the red carpet. Dear god, I'm in love.

Coco Rocha in Zac Posen

This incredible creation looks as if she's literally wearing the ocean. Not in a bad way. In a "The Birth of Venus by Botticelli" kind of way.

Francisco Costa with Zoe Saldana and Diane Kruger, both in Calvin Klein Collection

Leave it to Calvin Klein to take something so potentially awkward as a plain long dress with long sleeves and make it look effortlessly chic. The fabric hugs their silhouettes perfectly and the subtle sparkle in Zoe's dress makes her skin absolutely glow.

Jessica Alba in Sophie Theallet for Gap

I'm not a big fan of Jessica Alba, but homegirl knows how to rock Old Hollywood like nobody's business. I'm not crazy about her hair, but the dress looks as if a single drop of paint dropped from the sky, covering her in silky goodness.

Alexa Chung and Phillip Lim, both in Phillip Lim 3.1

Of course Alexa Chung would go against the grain and opt for a tux, and of course she would look gorgeous doing so. It's unconventional, it's quirky, it's exaggerated. And it's so damn chic. I'm loving the neck-ribbon thing in place of a bow tie, which keeps the look very much feminine, rather than butch.

Rachel Bilson in Louis Vuitton

Talk about a flattering fit, this fits Rachel like a glove. Though she chose a vintage-inspired design, the dress remains modern with the contrasting thick straps and abstract floral print. Wisely, she kept the shoes and clutch simple, so as not to distract from the dress.

 Rachel Zoe in Marc Jacobs

Call me a sucker, but if you make it yellow, add a long train, and slap an oversized bow on it, I will love it.

Sasha Pivovarova, Sean Lennon, and Kemp Muhl in Marni

Weird, futuristic mod meets gogo? I don't even know how to describe this one, let alone identify exactly what I like about these looks. But I do, and they're fantastic.

Tina Fey in Yves Saint Laurent

Admittedly, when I think red carpet glam, Tina Fey doesn't necessarily come to mind. But you tell me if she doesn't look positively radiant here. The exposed zipper is spot on and the strapless jumpsuit accentuates her beautiful shoulders. Not to mention, she looks like she's actually having some fun out there. A smile is the best accessory.

Zoe Kazan in Peter Som

 I wanted to go out on a strong note, and seriously, how much do you love this dress? There's a lot going on, between the cut and fabric and multitude of straps, but it all pulls together into a frighteningly flattering look.

What were your favorite looks from this year's Costume Institute gala?

Like O, Like H

My apologies if this blog post sounds off...While taking pictures of my shoes, I placed the camera on the ground, set the timer, and swiftly wacked my head on the underside of my bathroom sink as I was rushing up to pose. Everything's a little fuzzy now. Good going, Jacobs.

Can you tell how excited I am about spring? Oh, you can! You say I went a bit over board? And what's that? Oh, come on, I do not look like the Philadelphia Ballet Company crashed into the floral convention in a massive accident that's being described on the evening news as "tragically delicate"! Yeah, ok, maybe. Whatever.

Little do you know, this skirt is actually a dress. I absolutely adore getting multiple functions out of garments. I actually hardly ever wear this as a dress though because, to put it bluntly, I look like a ballerina. Not like the dress is ballet inspired. It honest to god looks like a tutu, backless and all. Now the question is why I was so attracted to this tutu. I'm not really sure, but I've had it for about four years now and have only worn it two times other today. And one was as a Halloween costume. Guess what I was. I'm feeling this look is a bit more street appropriate, as I'll need to traverse Passyunk Ave tonight to achieve my goal of getting loaded on margaritas at Cantina Los Caballitos. Happy cinco de Mayo!

Tank Top: thrifted via American Thrift (Philadelphia, PA)

Dress: H&M

Shoes:  thrifted via Philly AIDS Thrift (Philadelphia, PA)

Sunglasses: Forever 21

Mexican Radio

I feel as if I haven't written in aaaaaaaaages! In actuality, I only missed two days. Sunday was too hot and humid to put on anything but cut offs and a wifebeater and yesterday I was stuck in a salon all day. It was supposed to be phase II of a hair modeling gig I'm doing as a favor for my mom's hairdresser. Let's just say....six hours spent at the salon only to leave (almost) exactly as I came in. The design didn't work as she planned, so she ended up dying my hair back, with the exception of a random streak of black-to-light-pink-to-red in the bottom layer of my hair. You can only see it when my hair's pulled back, and it doesn't look bad...just random. Still not sure exactly what she was going for. I'm undecided if I'll go back yet for round 3.

Now that the humidity level is below 90% and I'm not worried about getting hair dye on clothes, I could finally plan a fun outfit. One year ago-hell, six months ago- if you told me that I'd own not one but two pochos, I would have called you a crazy person. But I've got to say I'm really digging this trend. I typically don't have the budget to take chances on styles that may only be chic for a couple of seasons, but at $1.45, I could definitely afford to take a chance. And I'm super glad I did because this thing is incredibly comfortable! Unlike my other poncho, this is loose knit weave that provides more than modest coverage while still keeping me cool. I'm not sure if belting a poncho has ever been done before. By all reasoning, it shouldn't work, but I think it turned out rather nicely!

Poncho: thrifted (American Thrift- Philadelphia, PA)

Tank Top: BDG via Urban Outfitters

Shorts: Xhilaration via Target
Belt: Divided via H&M

Shoes: vintage Mossimo (Village Thrift- Pennsauken, NJ)

Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

Gimme Gimme Gimme, I Need Some More

Holy crap, how the hell is it May already? I feel like it's such a cliche to say that time just flies by the older you get, but here I am, ten days away from my 23rd birthday not even knowing where the past year went! It feels like only yesterday that I moved home from California. I don't know if I'm where I hoped I would be at this point in my life, and yet, I'm so much farther than I could have ever hoped for. One year ago, the majority of my friends were graduating from college, entering an awful job market while I had long been immersed. Now, I'm finally taking the steps to return to school on my own terms. I've got an incredible boyfriend and we're embarking on a real future together. I've never gotten along with my family better, and for the first time, I'm starting to see them as real people and not just my parents. I don't mean to get all mushy or off-topic, but sometimes I get so overwhelmed when I look back on where I came from and where I am.

Ok, ok, back to the fashion. This is actually an outfit I wore last night for an impromptu trip to Brooklyn to visit my best friend Lee for her birthday. I loved the pairing of all of my favorite clothes- my favorite band shirt, a skirt in my favorite color, my favorite no-fuss hair style, the tights that make my legs look best, and my favorite scarf. Seeing as how I only wore the ensemble for a few hours and didn't get any pictures at the party, I couldn't resist wearing it today and getting proper photos.

By the way, how incredible are these shoes? I saw them last week at Sweet Jane, but only had enough money on me to buy the orange frog-print skirt I wore earlier this week. I knew I had to go back and I'm so glad I did. They're super chic, easy to walk in, and about as comfortable as I could hope for in dress shoes. My only gripe is that there are no treads on the soles, so I've come dangerously close to penguin diving on hardwood flooring. At least I'll be falling in style.

Shirt: eBay

Skirt: vintage Bebe (Buffalo Exchange- Austin, TX)

Scarf: vintage Anne Klein (Antique Mall- Philadelphia, PA)

Tights: Walgreens

Shoes: vintage (Sweet Jane- Philadelphia, PA)

Sunglasses: Forever 21