30x30: day 9 - dessert and fighting SAD, not in that order

Imagine the joy I felt when I found this B.T. cookie brownie lurking in my bag after the long flight from JFK to Beijing. Made minutes away from my old house in the Main Line, these are the brownies that I used to buy from the Swarthmore Co-op when I wanted dessert but was too lazy to bake. Not too sweet, dense, and perfect with coffee. 

The weather has been SUCH a drag. This is what weather.com looked like last week and this is still what it looks like this week. Rain rain rain rain rain. My reasons for never moving to Seattle seem to have been foiled by the spring season in Wenzhou. 

What's worse is that not only is it raining everyday, but since I left the fur liner for my Barbour at home, it's still too cold to wear it. In the meantime I'll just continue looking at these photos from A Common Thread.

In reality I've been living in my new favorite t-shirt: a Smashing Pumpkins "The world is a vampire" shirt from their '96 store. It was an early birthday present from my friend Nate and the best thing ever.

I find myself gravitating towards more witchy-goth styles than I ever did when I was in college. I think it's because in college I was surrounded by mostly tomboy-ish styles and thus wanted to wear heels and fitted waist vintage dresses all the time. Now that I'm surrounded by frou-frou girly outfits everyone, all I want is to wear head-to-toe black and leather boots.

Last Friday I found myself in something a little brighter than usual, mostly because I hadn't gotten around to wearing this Zara dress since I bought it.

grandma's handknitted red cardigan // zara camel dress // OTK 5050 boots // gifted scarf

In other retail therapy news I bought a clear snap-on macbook case and a new umbrella to replace the old one that has held up through everything in the past 4 years. My life is exhilarating, I know. 

tabi tabi tabi aka i want to look like a disco faun

Maison Martin Margiela tabi boots. One of the most controversial shoe designs in fashion history, imo. Well, not the traditional Japanese shoes the design is based off of, but the 1K designer version. A few years ago I hated them but in the past year the ugly-chicness of them has grown on me exponentially. Especially when worn by people like the late Daul Kim. 

Rei Shito, a long-time subject of The Sartorialist (who I don't read anymore but it's the only source for these photos), rocks them in all silver. And gold flats. I actually hate ballet flats and have sworn that I'll never wear shoes without at least an almost 1" heel again, but these are so fantastically weird that I'd wear them to death if they were ever gifted to me. 

The particular pair I've fallen in love with is black with a leather covered silver heel. Like disco shoes you'd wear in the woods, pretending to be a faun in search of Mr. Tumnus. Look at the tracks they make in the snow! In my mind I imagine Scully and Mulder coming across these tracks and Mulder saying, "they appear to be animal but the weight distribution is all wrong!" 

All black would be good too. Or these, with a wooden heel. I would wear them all year round. Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call...

Is it just me or would they even look good dressed up with some fur? 

Keeping my eyes peeled on ebay. Now that I've completed all purchases on my list for this year, this may be the dream item that I'll buy before my next birthday. 

OH YEAH. Bjork wears them too. 

 

she's out there wandering like a restless spirit

To anyone who's made his/her way to this site because of my tumblr or google searches involving Twin Peaks, you must be kind of disappointed. I'm sorry :( It's been months since I've posted anything related to TP, unless you count instagram shots of donuts (to be fair though the jelly ones really would've made Agent Cooper pretty darn happy I think).

So what's new? Well I've got screenshots for Season 1's episode 4 all queued up, so expect an episode recap (finally) sometime in the next few days. Also, my birthday is extra special to me because it happens to be the day that Laura Palmer died and the day that Special Agent Dana Scully was born. So 2/23 as a set of numbers has tons of cosmic resonance in my mind. Can't believe I lucked out that way.

It was on my birthday that my friend Alicia and tumblr star extraordinaire brought my attention to the blog Cherry and Cinnamon, which now has Twin Peaks fabric for sale. I am so so so tempted to buy a yard of the dancing midget print in cotton voile so that I can use it as a scarf. But the question is: black or white? I'm leaning towards white so that it can be a nice spring-summer scarf. I also particularly like the Red Room print with blood splatters because let's face it, without them, it's just like every other trendy chevron print that's been all over Apartment Therapy in the past year.

Somehow in my search for photos of Twin Peaks fabrics I also stumbled upon the etsy store boxartig. These mini dioramas bring back so many memories of my love for science class diorama projects. I wish I still had my desert biome diorama somewhere. I wish even more that I still had my scale to size model of the Colosseum complete with removable arena floor so that you could see the underground chambers. And you could flood it for those epic naval battles. Ok so I was kind of an overachiever, but that aside, what's not to love about these adorable little tins, affectionately named "dodos" by the shopowner?

"Lydecker"

"Red Room"

"Wrapped in Plastic"

Well, they're just a wee bit out of my price range and shipping from Germany is a little whack, so for now I'll just admire them from over the internet, and maybe consider making one of my own if I have time. 

30x30: day 5 - 23, notes on denim

Vintage paisley dress // OTK 50/50 boots // Spiewak coat (not pictured)

Wearing my new over-the-knee boots, which are pretty much like the Stuart Weitzman 50/50 boots but made for short asians so they don't go that high up the leg. They're super comfortable and lightweight and the next best thing to wearing leather pants. Next to figure out is how to get any sort of jeans/pants under these things. 

Today is my 23rd birthday and I've been thinking about denim. Obsessively. Perhaps excessively. The above is a pair of jeans that I've had since mid-2006. If I had to throw away all pairs of jeans in my closet save for one, these would be the ones I'd choose. Can you guess where they're from? Old Navy. Yeah, so I know a lot of denimheads out there are probably cringing right now, but these jeans that cost me a total of $20 have held up through 6 years of weekly, sometimes near daily, wear. I try not to think about the fact that they were probably unethically made :( I have washed them numerous times since I didn't really start reading up on raw denim til a couple of years ago, but they still have some nice and subtle "fades." The stitching is intact everywhere--no fraying, no holes. The leg is slim and the fabric is thick/holds its shape well, making them much more flattering than jeggings imo. Minimal with no back pocket stitching or labeling. Most importantly, from wearing them in at sweaty basement parties to biking the streets of Copenhagen to sleeping in them when travelling, they've broken in and fit like a glove now. Not too tight, not too loose, pretty much perfect. They faded a bit too much from the last time my grandma washed them in warm water (with good intentions) without my knowing, but I've gotten over that by now. 

I had the foresight to buy a second pair of these jeans, The Diva, after wearing the first pair for a few months almost every other day (on sale for $10). The second pair is sitting in a drawer at home, waiting to be broken in if I somehow lose these in a woodcutter or fire or some other unfortunate event. It's nice having this safety blanket, but I still have been on the hunt for true blue raw denim over the past couple of years. Trying out a pair of A.P.C. jeans is first on my list, and I just bought a pair in the Original Standard cut because I want a looser straight leg fit and a higher rise (the Divas are lowrise and sit at the hips). Anxiously awaiting the end of March when my dad comes bearing them and the Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Core Faridah circa 2007 that I've been dreaming about and finally purchased as a birthday present to myself. So that's two more items off my wishlist, leaving just the Frye Engineer boots now. 

I love that breaking in denim is all about commitment and utility. The below are some images that I've saved in my inspiration folder from one of my favorite blogs, A Common Thread. I know the jeans in the last image aren't A.P.C., but aren't they just perfect? 

Ok, and one more from Selectism! 

30x30: day 2, perfection

Spiewak coat // Gap wool blazer // Vintage striped t-shirt // Gap trousers // Suede sneakers

This post is an amalgam of a post I started a few weeks ago and yesterday's 30x30 challenge outfit. Because who doesn't like putting all her eggs in one basket? The Gap trousers are from when I was in 9th grade and I haven't been able to wear them til now after the inevitable freshman 15 in college. They are skinny/straight legged, but flare out just slightly at the bottom, kind of like Isabel Marant pants. They're a little too low-rise for my taste now, but I like that they are still a solid pair of trousers after all these years! Goes to show you that sometimes quality for certain brands can really be hit or miss.

I should also note that the above outfit was directly inspired by this one, from Jak and Jil, although not executed with quite the same finesse.

I've long realized that the "perfect" wardrobe probably doesn't exist because humans are of course imperfect. What I'm striving for these days is equal parts harmony, utility, and love in my clothes. In just the first few weeks of the new year, I've already had plenty of temptations that were sure to make my goal to purchase less than 12 items impossible. The items that I've given into are not so much temptations as they are things that I've been planning to buy for a while now.

The first is a new winter coat (pictured above), because I've been growing a little tired of my J. Crew one which is too fitted for proper layering. I saw this Spiewak coat online and didn't think much of it at first. I liked the color and texture, and the knit collar, but the shape didn't seem like quite the Isabel Marant cocoon shape I was looking for. However, when the price dropped to say, how much I've paid for 3 overpriced mediocre cappucinos in China, I had to try it out. 

Despite my disappointing purchase from Net-a-Porter, I decided to give ordering trousers online another try. I bought 2 pairs of A.P.C. during the last days of the NAP sale, but much to my demise neither pair fits. I probably would've returned the chinos anyways because they're quite thin and the color is a bit off, but the mustard corduroys were beautiful and of course they don't have the next size up for exchange (ironically the chinos do). So back they went! 

In truth I really didn't need said trousers from A.P.C., since what I really wanted was a pair of grey wool trousers. It really took a lot to find a pair with all of the specs that I wanted: 100% wool or a wool/cashmere blend, front slant pockets, two back pockets, belt loops, slightly tapered (but not too tapered) at the leg, medium rise, and a 26-27" inseam. A pair of J. Crew pants fit all of these criteria and look good uncuffed or with one or two cuffs to boot. They are unlined but I actually like them that way. Thanks ebay!

I went outlet shopping with my parents on MLK day and almost cried when a pair of Dries Van Noten sandals (like the above but in the black colorway) marked down from $850 to $300 were an additional 70% off but a little less than half a size too small. They felt fine sitting down, but my feet definitely felt scrunched when standing up. I almost bought them anyways but knew that I'd probably only wear them once or twice. Whilst browsing pants I found a pair of Current/Elliott trousers that were a heavyweight, but very soft, cotton in a nice medium grey. I tried them on and they fit perfectly--a perfect upgrade from the very tight American Apparel high-waisted twill pants that I'm not letting myself wear anymore. Edit: I'm finally publishing this post a few weeks after it was started and find now that these pants are way too loose in the waist, as in they can't be worn without a belt. So these are going on my list of things to sell after the summer...

Purchase #4 is the one that came from left field, and yet it is my favorite of the bunch. From a pool of 19 people on the Laws of General Economy I was the lucky buyer of the Mina Stone Hera dress. When it arrived in the mail I literally ran inside to try it on. It fits like it was made for my body and indeed makes me feel like a goddess. The 100% silk is exquisitely died and has a nice weight to it that doesn't seem to wrinkle easily. The cutouts are wonderfully placed without revealing too much. Just looking at it makes me happy. Indeed it's love! And I owe it all to the wonderful Lindsay, who certainly made my day by parting with the dress. Sadly I didn't bring this dress with me to China, because I didn't think the silk could handle the smog clouds. 

I also bought two pairs of new eyeglasses from Lookmatic via Refinery29's Reserve Deals, but I'm not counting them as part of my 2012 wardrobe additions. One does need to be able to see, right? So I'm putting them in the same category of purchases as new running shoes (that my mom gifted me).

So this brings my total purchase number to 8, as I've also bought the Velour Agatha dress in rust, Alexander Wang Julia oxfords in espresso/black, Aldo Netz in taupe, and red leather Converse Chuck Taylors...that's a lot of shoes, but I've pretty much halved the number of shoes I have down to less than 20 so I'm justifying it to myself. No regrets in 2012?

So that's technically 2/3 of my yearly purchases all within the first two months. If I take out the Current/Elliott pants and that I'll probably end up reselling one of the three pairs of shoes, that still leaves me with half of 12. To be honest there's not much left to buy on my wishlist, and I've already got a 50+ list of things to purge which will bring my total 2012 purge to around 100 items. 

For the record though, here's what's still on my wishlist:

1. slouchy black leather carryall, particularly the Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Faridah/Core

2. A.P.C. raw jeans 

3. Frye engineer boots - 12R black (but really considering the 15R too) 

30x30 remix challenge

It's a week before my 23rd birthday, and I've decided that it's time to further assess my closet by undergoing the 30x30 remix challenge started by blogger Kendi Everyday. The idea is to take 30 items from your closet and only wear those 30 items for 30 days. Since I'm basically living out of two suitcases right now, 30 items is roughly half of what I have available, so it wasn't that hard to whittle down my list. Items in red are items that I am considering giving away or selling after returning to the states, and hopefully this exercise will help me decisively conclude what goes and what stays. I'll try to update once or twice a week with outfits and thoughts. 

The list*:

Spiewak herringbone coat	Black velvet long sleeve dress	Grandma's breton sweater
Barbour Beaufort jacket	Zara camel pleated dress	Cashmere black turtleneck
Shearling leather biker jacket	Vintage paisley dress	American Apparel sweatshirt
Gap grey wool blazer	Vintage green floral skirt	American Apparel breton
Taupe suede ankle boots	Gap black straight trousers	Zara drop-shoulder breton
Black suede ankle boots	J Brand “major” navy pants	Vintage striped t-shirt
Black suede sneakers	Levis medium-dark skinny jeans	Vintage denim shirt
OTK black leather boots**	Levis black skinny jeans	Vintage black blouse
Fjallraven Kanken	Grandma's red cardigan	Vintage mustard blouse
Black suede carryall	Grandma's green cardigan	J. Crew striped button-down

*Excludes sleep wear and gym wear, and also a parka + LL Bean boots in case the weather gets nasty again.
**I should be receiving these boots in the mail either today or tomorrow, so I'll decide then if they stay in this last or not. 

I just received this suede waterproofing spray + cleaner in the mail yesterday. This Sunday morning was perfectly sunny for such a satisfying activity. Too bad the sunshine is only going to last another day before another solid week of rain. Thank god this stuff works though!