runway vs. real life

two years later and i still love this dress. it has held up well - no snags - despite its many nights out. raf simons for jil sander spring/summer 2008.




i wear it a lot in fall/winter, i love how it looks with tights.



Louis Ghost armchair by Phillipe Starck for Kartell + Pottery Barn furry pillow...


^^ if the gif animation doesn't show up, let me know. it should work, it even works on my blackberry, although it doesn't work on bolt browser.



AND MY BLOG IS ONE YEAR OLD TODAY! WOOHOO! thank you to all my readers for letting me have so much fun with fashion :-)

in chains

last weekend i finally went down to the craft store and bought chains for two pendants. it's about time i did, the cross pendant has been hanging on a makeshift chain, which is actually a thin cloth belt from one of my dresses, for over a year now.



i chose a thin yellow gold chain for the silver sword because i liked the contrasting metals. the chain for the cross pendant is a perfect match with its tiny opal beads - kind of reminds me of a rosary.

the folks at Beadworks were very helpful - they showed me how to crimp the ends of the chains and attach lobster clasps. i would have been lost without them. (d.i.y. is not my forte.)





The Row maxi dress (old, from Barneys/NYC); Ann Demeulemeester biker jacket (from Bergdorf Goodman/NYC); Alaia studded boots (old, from Bergdorf Goodman/NYC); Elizabeth & James knuckle ring (old, from Intermix/NYC); vintage cross pendant (from Portobello Market/London); sword pendant (from etsy.com seller sucarjoia)

wang wannabe

i loved the football/athletic-wear inspiration behind Alexander Wang's spring 2010 collection, but did not like the styling and execution as much. here's my take on the sporty look:



a high ponytail is the most appropriate hairstyle for this look, i think. (and also my hair needs a washing!)



drkshdw items all have this "tail" that i never know what to do with but i can never bring myself to cut it off...



a cashmere beanie completes the look.***



ITEMS (rollover mouse to view detailed picture)
drkshdw cropped sweatshirt
Rick Owens drawstring leather miniskirt (from Barneys sale/NYC)
Rick Owens ankle boots
Portolano cashmere beanie (from Filene's Basement/NYC)
Hermes collier de chien cuff
Marc by Marc Jacobs Latin rings (from MJ cheap accessories store on Bleecker St./NYC)
hammered silver ring (from the Met Museum gift shop/NYC)
Autumn Cashmere fingerless gloves with zippers




*** the artwork is framed photographs that my mother took of Jeanne-Claude + Christo's "The Gates" in Central Park. i'm planning an apartment/closet tour post sometime, i just have to finish furnishing my apartment!

work wear

haven't done a work outfit post in a while, probably because the "business casual" dress code (read: collared shirts and no jeans) is even more lax here at my new job than it was at my previous one.

i pretty much dress like a boy, which is fine, i'm one of only two female engineers on this project anyway, may as well fit in ;-)



- pants are usually: Theory; JCrew corduroys; or some random italian brand i find in the clearance section of yoox.com (these are usually cut narrower across the hips than american brands)
- shirts are usually: Rugby Ralph Lauren (machine washable! pretty rugged, they last forever); James Perse; Theory; whatever shirt i find that does not have bust darts (for some odd reason i've never liked bust darts)
- shoes are usually: my Miu Miu motorcycle boots with the harness taken off; Clarks UK's "desert boot", shown above

i really wish i could post more often than twice a week, but as you can see, i can only have fun with my outfits during the weekend!

www.res-pulchrae.com

i wore my new rick owens boots (which i LOVE!!! so comfortable) out in the rain yesterday to toughen them up a little. does anyone else dislike boots that look too new?

i also crossed off "perfect chunky gray cardigan" from my "needs" list, with the help of a gift card from christmas.

apologies for the grainy photograph. it was rainy and dreary yesterday and the light was uncooperative, i had to do quite a bit of editing for brightness.



i finally signed up for my own domain - www.res-pulchrae.com - though the old blogspot address should redirect here. i found out that my blog is the top search result for "res pulchrae" on google, so i apologize to anyone who tried to look up what the phrase meant and didn't get very far!

"res pulchrae" is latin for "a thing of beauty" or alternatively, "beautiful things."


ITEMS (rollover mouse to view detailed picture)
T by Alexander Wang pocket tank (from Petulia's Folly/Philly)
Rick Owens leather drawstring skirt (from Barneys sale/NYC)
Rick Owens ankle boots
Go Green by Phillip Lim cardigan (from Barneys Co-op clearance/Philly)
Autumn Cashmere fingerless gloves with zippers (gift)
Portolano extra-long cashmere scarf (old, from Filene's Basement/NYC)
sword pendant (from Etsy.com)
vintage cross pendant (from Portobello Market/London)

modus operandi

i was too excited to wear this outfit which i had come up with the night before that i neglected to check the weather report, which is my usual modus operandi when getting dressed.

i walked out the door and was greeted by a strong blast of icy wind. i had to turn back and add a couple more layers - so just imagine this outfit with a brown mohair vest and dark gray cashmere shawl wrapped around me like a cocoon (i was too lazy to retake pictures!)



there's no chronological order to my blog posts, by the way. this was from two weekends ago.

ITEMS (rollover mouse to view detailed picture)
vintage leather jacket (old, from eBay)
Dior Jeune Homme striped boy's button-down shirt (old, from eBay)
Les Chiffoniers stonewashed suede leggings (from Kirna Zabete clearance/NYC)
extra-long Portolano cashmere scarf (old, from Filene's Basement/NYC)
Hermes collier de chien cuff (consignment/Philly)
Miu Miu motorcycle boots (old, from mytheresa.com)

chrome hardware

yes, i realize this skirt makes an appearance on the blog about every other post but it happens to go with everything in my closet.





ITEMS (rollover mouse to view detailed picture)
Elizabeth & James knuckle ring (from Intermix/NYC) and inherited diamond ring
Vince short-sleeved cotton tee
DKNY wool leggings
Rick Owens leather neck asymmetrical cashmere poncho (from Barneys sale/NYC)
Rick Owens drawstring leather skirt (from Barneys sale/NYC)
fingerless lace gloves (from Intermix sample sale/NYC)
Hermes collier de chien cuff, silver on cream leather (consignment/Philly)
Chloe pull-on boots (from DSW Shoes/NYC)




and how do you like my chrome silver nailpolish, my new official weekend nail color? it's from cvs, one of those sally hansen nail pens. it's an affordable alternative to the chrome nail heat transfers by minx which i have been lusting over for some time. this nail pen is nowhere near as reflective or mirror-like as the minx ones - but it fills the void until there is a proper occasion and justification to splurge on the real thing.

drumroll please...

and the winner of the chanel charms giveaway is... drumroll please...

sigita!!

congratulations! i have contacted the winner, if you don't see anything from me make sure to check the spam/junk folder of your blog's email. i will send out the charms this weekend. thank you everyone for participating! i hope to have more giveaways in the future, although i can't promise they will all be chanel ;-)


and now since the show must go on, here's an outfit post from the weekend.

i had an unusually tough time picking an outfit on saturday - i think half my closet was on the floor by the time i was ready to head out. sometimes i think it's better not to have extra time to think about an outfit.



ITEMS (rollover mouse to view detailed picture)
drkshdw velvet skirt with frayed hem (from Century21/NYC)
T by Alexander Wang pocket tank (from Petulia's Folly/Philly)
Ann Demeulemeester textured wool biker jacket (from Bergdorf Goodman sale/NYC)
Isabel Marant braided scarf (old, from eBay)
Lee Angel rhinestone and ribbon necklace (old, from Loehmann's/NYC)
Alaia studded flat boots (old, from Bergdorf Goodman clearance/NYC)

new year

i went over my clothing budget by a couple hundred bucks due to some fabulous post-christmas sale finds, which is why i decided to spend new year's weekend in philly rather than partying it up back home in new york. nothing blows a budget quite like a weekend in nyc - pricey drinks and too many shopping temptations!




(Les Chiffoniers stonewashed suede pants; Ann Demeulemeester textured biker jacket; Rick Owens cashmere poncho with leather collar; Rick Owens ankle boots)

all were at least 50% off retail.

- i didn't realize my les chiffoniers pvc pants were such a wardrobe staple until i created the "2009 favorites" slideshow. i was elated to find these stonewashed suede ones on sale.
- this ann demeulemeester cropped jacket is perfect. i have been looking for a non-leather biker jacket that i could wear with leather pants (leather pants + leather biker jacket might be overkill.)
- the rick owens poncho is my favorite thing - it's rick owens, cashmere, leather, and 60% off - how could i not take it home with me?!
- i was ready to write off 2009 as a bad year for shoes when i found these rick owens ankle boots on sale online. i'm hoping that these work out so that i can have an alternative to my chloe boots, which have taken a beating this fall/winter (and i'm sure you must be tired of seeing them by now!)


you know you've made good choices when you just can't wait another minute to wear your new purchases. here's what i wore on new year's day...





so glad i decided to stay in philly this long weekend. i was able to relax and work on a few small projects.


i also discovered a great consignment store in philly - actually affordable and the people are nice (last time i was at fisch for the hip in nyc the salesperson assured me that 20% off the original retail price on an old, used hermes bag was a "bargain"!!) i snagged some great, classic pieces that have been on my wishlist for quite some time. these were about 75% off retail - amazing!!




while we're at it, here are some other great things about the city of brotherly love:
- the sandwiches (technically speaking, the "hoagies")
- people, both men and women, still open doors for you or hold doors open, and are on the whole less suspicious and more willing to strike up random conversations than new yorkers. i am still getting used to it.
- the atm machines spit out bills in other denominations besides $20. so if you want to withdraw $50, you can actually withdraw just $50, not $60 as would be the case in ny.
- one bag of groceries cost less than $40.
- no sales tax on clothing and shoes!! i am still amazed when entering my philly address for online orders that the "sales tax" column remains at $0.00. woot woot!


p.s. i know, long post - if you scrolled down this far, thank you.

does anyone want these extra chanel charms? they came attached to the bag but were too noisy for me. i kept two - the black and the white charms - but have no use for the rest. if enough people show interest we can do a giveaway - just leave a comment showing interest (i don't want to include any readers who don't want the charms) and a way to contact you and i'll pick someone at random next sunday. they're fun! the blue one also has "chanel" written on the back and the pink one has a little drawing and "ne m'oublie pas" ("forget me not" en francais) and the chanel logo on the other side. you can make a little charm bracelet or something...




*edit* hey guys - thanks for signing up! i'm excited to pick a winner! i think i will cut short the giveaway and pick someone by this thursday at the latest, instead of waiting until next sunday as originally planned so that i can mail the charms out by the weekend. i'll make wednesday, january 6th at midnight EST the cutoff time for posting comments.

i really wish i had more cool stuff to give away!