in memoriam III

Alexander McQueen heavy wool skirt with zippers and leather trim.




Alexander McQueen wool skirt with zippers; American Apparel cotton turtleneck; flea market necklace; Design History knit blazer; Biba over-the-knee suede boots; Cecil & Jeanne gold cuff



i will be in ny celebrating my dad's birthday when this posts; hopefully i will have paid a visit to the McQueen boutique (most likely to ogle, not to shop.)

shoe love

i have been dying to wear these heels ever since i bought them several weeks ago but have not had the opportunity. there are still piles of snow everywhere from the recent blizzards which are slowly melting into dirty puddles. i would hate to ruin the light-colored leather. booooo.





with rain and more snow in the forecast for this entire week i guess they will have to chill out in their little shoe bags for a while longer. this is my first pair of Margiela shoes and i have to say i love the dust bags - they remind me of those shoe covers scientists wear in ultra-clean, like single-digit ppm dust, environments.




ITEMS (mouse over to view detailed picture)
Nom de Plume lace top (from Urban Outfitters)
T by Alexander Wang white pocket tank (from Petulia's Folly/Philly)
Rick Owens long open cardigan (old, from net-a-porter.com)
Les Chiffoniers stonewashed suede leggings (from kirnazabete.com)
Martin Margiela nude "nail" heel ankle boots (from yoox.com)
Hermes collier de chien cuff
sword pendant (from etsy.com)
vintage cross pendant (from Portobello market/London)

supersize it

this sweater is so big i have trouble making it work sometimes. unfortunately Missoni, and knits in general, are practically impossible to alter well. i should resist the temptation to buy items in the wrong size just to take advantage of a great discount. ::sigh::



and this bag looks much larger in pictures than it does in my hands - must be my napoleon complex. i love it though!

it came with an extra-long strap, a shorter strap...



... and you can take off the attachments altogether to turn it into an oversized clutch.



ITEMS (mouse over to view detailed picture)
Missoni ombre long cardigan (from Filene's Basement/NYC)
vintage Hermes collier de chien belt
Fendi nude oversized clutch
vintage necklace (from Pippin vintage jewelry/NYC)
Cecil & Jeanne gold cuff (from Cecil & Jeanne boutique/NYC)
Kier+J cashmere leggings
Love Quotes linen scarf
Chloe pull-on boots (old, from DSW/NYC)

in memoriam II

Alexander McQueen skull print t-shirt. skulls and butterflies, two recognizable McQueen motifs. i think that's part of the reason why i love him as a designer - he makes beautiful things with a touch of the macabre. rick owens is similar in that regard.




this t-shirt is the only thing i have ever been able to afford at the actual Alexander McQueen boutique in the meatpacking district, and it was on sale at that.





Alexander McQueen skull print t-shirt; Rick Owens leather skirt; Ann Demeulemeester biker jacket; H&M denier 40 tights; Rick Owens ankle boots; rings by Elizabeth & James and Iossellani

in memoriam I

Alexander McQueen trench. now more than ever, my favorite jacket.









Alexander McQueen trench; American Apparel cotton turtleneck; Comme des Garcons silk tunic; Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse leopard scarf; Lee Angel necklace; Armando d'Alessandro over-the-knee boots; JCrew coat; Prada quilted evening bag; Sermonetta leather gloves

deja vu

a familiar formula...

2009:



2010:



one great thing about blogs (or other some other form of a virtual closet) is that you can always look back for some ideas if you ever get stuck on what to wear.


ITEMS (mouse over to view detailed picture)
T by Alexander Wang striped top (from Barneys Co-op/Philly)
Prada mohair vest (old, from eBay)
Go Green by Phillip Lim oversized cardigan (from Barneys Co-op/Philly)
Vanessa Bruno Athe wool shorts (from theoutnet.com)
DKNY wool leggings
Portolano extra-long cashmere scarf (old, from Filene's Basement/NYC)
sword pendant (from etsy.com)
Chloe Paddington brown boots (old, from yoox.com)
Autumn Cashmere fingerless zipper gloves




**edit** so i spent part of this snow day catching up on spring and pre-fall 2010 runway shows (super late to the game, i know...) and look what i came across... marni pre-fall 2010... a familiar silhouette, no? hehe...

closet cleanout part one

these days my closet cleanouts are less about dumping old clothes than they are trying to figure out why i don't wear certain items as often as others.

take for example this Comme des Garcons dress, which i purchased a long time ago for pennies from a thrift store.



i thought about why i didn't wear it that often and came to the conclusion that it was a little big (it's one size larger than i normally take in CdG) and the length is difficult for me - i would have to wear heels all the time to balance the proportion.

i solved the dilemma by taking it to the tailor and hacking the hem up seven inches. now, rather than it being an awkward length dress, it is a tunic that i can use as a layering piece.



the seamstress did a fabulous job with the hem. she even kept the original style, which is quite a feat considering the delicate silk material.



i felt like i came home with a fabulous new purchase - i can see myself wearing this a lot more often now, in all four seasons.


ITEMS (mouse over to view detailed picture)
Nom de Plume by Yaya lace bustier (from Urban Outfitters/Philly)
Comme des Garcons silk tunic/dress (old, from Housing Works Thrift/NYC)
LNA zipper back leggings
Hermes "collier de chien" cuff
Rick Owens ankle boots (from brownsfashion.com)




also, in my last post someone had commented that a certain Paola Frani skirt seemed to have disappeared from my wardrobe...



i loved that skirt! but back in the day when i was a poor college student i thought i could save on dry cleaning by hand-washing it in cold water. big mistake! i have held on to the skirt despite its sad shrunken state, so if anyone out there has a miracle formula for unshrinking silk chiffon, do let me know :-(


*** last week i finally debugged the javascript i use for the rollover images, so now i can have more than one post on a page. it took a few trials and errors, so i apologize for messing up feeds and bloglovin updates! but pat on the back for me for figuring it out - programming was my least favorite requirement back in college!

the dark side

so it occurred to me the other day, especially after reading comments on the short questionnaire i filled out for fashionjinx, that my style has taken on a "darker" turn since my stylediary days. the word "grunge" and better yet, the phrase "dark edginess," have been thrown around.








while i don't mind it in the least, it just happens to be the style i am into at the moment, this upcoming weekend i vow to wear lacy/pretty/girly/softer things. this might be a little difficult with a big snowstorm predicted for friday evening, but i'll try!

"dark" is ok to describe my style - "predictable" is what i want to avoid! stay tuned...


(this was last Saturday's outfit: DRKSHDW fur-lined hooded sweatshirt; Rick Owens cashmere poncho with leather neck; Current/Elliot jeans with zippers going down the sides; ivory button-down shirt from Scoop; Mended Veil "snake biting crystal" necklace; Rick Owens boots; Chanel quilted purse with charms; and the skull ring was a new purchase that day, it is by Iossellani)

office space

i did a good job of documenting my weekday outfits last week since i received a few requests for more work outfit posts.



look 1: i was running sooooo late that day, i didn't have time to iron anything so i threw on a chunky sweater to cover everything! Vince sweater, Gucci belt, Theory pants, Miu Miu boots, JCrew coat

look 2: the work version of a weekend look i posted on the blog recently. Dior Jeune Homme striped button-down; Prada mohair vest; Portolano scarf; Ralph Lauren belt; JCrew skinny gray corduroys; Clarks desert boots

look 3: Alara tuxedo shirt; 3.1 Phillip Lim wide leg pants (the hem is duct taped shorter because i wear the pants with heels when not for work!); Design History sweater (this is great - it's cut like a blazer but it's actually a knit, so it fits under winter coats); Loeffler Randall boots


one day i was so bored while waiting for the 2010 update to our CAD software to finish downloading - it took forever - that i snapped some pictures of my office.

since i'm one of the newer members of the team, i got the office farthest from the center of action (i.e., the kitchen), but at least i have it all to myself and i can play whatever music i want.

on my desk on a semi-permanent basis are a caliper, a calculator, black Pilot G-2 0.7 mm pens (my favorite), manuals for various software, an empty Dunkin Donuts coffee cup, as well as an ever-growing pile of unread publications like Design World and Technology Review, much like the ever-growing pile i have at home of Jalouse, L'Officiel, and Vogue Paris!