nine to five

And now for the latest installment of "dirty mirror, messy closet" work outfit pictures...

L: AKA shirt // D&G pants // Gucci belt // Michael Kors pumps
M: Michael Kors sweater // Benetton skirt // Delman pumps
R: Nili Lotan shirt // Helmut Lang pants // Louboutin shoes // Urban Outfitters trench

L: Jill Stuart jacket // James Perse tee // Prada cashmere skirt // Michael Kors pumps
M: Ralph Lauren linen blazer // Steven Alan shirt // Rag & Bone pants // Tod's loafers
R: Diesel blouse // Benetton pencil skirt // vintage belt // Michael Kors pumps

familiar territory

I had a request for a new work outfit post, so here it is. Pictures are awful, but I don't have time in the morning to do a proper set-up (or clean my mirror - ick! Sorry.)

For work outfits that are far more superior to mine, I would highly recommend my new favorite blogger, The Working Girl, Esq. She has an amazing wardrobe for both work and play, with coveted designers like Thakoon, Theyskens Theory, and Prada. Even if I didn't have a dress code I doubt I would be as corporate chic as she! Very inspiring, do check her out.

1: Rag & Bone shirt // jersey pencil skirt by Velvet // Louboutins
2: Theory shirt // Grifoni pants // Trina Turk trench // Tod's loafers
3: Theory shirt and pants // Furla belt // YSL ankle boots

Ralph Laurent shirt // Grifoni pants // Tod's loafers // Zara coat // Gucci belt // APC men's bag

casual friday

Here is a selection of my work outfits from the past month.

On the far right is an outfit for casual Friday. I had not been able to participate in casual Friday that often because my jeans were either skinny and too tight to wear to the office or boyfriend-fit with too many holes in them. Several weeks ago I decided to do something about it and bought a pair of jeans appropriate for work - still on the slim side, but not so baggy as to look sloppy. These are actually just skinny jeans which I bought 2 sizes up from my regular denim size. They are by Resin, from Barneys. I have a similar pair by Diesel that is a darker wash, so between the two I'm able to take advantage of a few more casual Fridays. It's a nice little perk, it makes the weekend seem that much closer.

too long; didn't read

ah, so tired. today is the first time this week i didn't come home from work only to do more work! t.g.i.f. tomorrow, that's all i'm sayin.


Theory button-down shirt // Theory pants // vintage leather jacket // Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse scarf // Lanvin shoes (not to be confused with the errant Lanvin ballet flat in the corner! ;-)

i thought i might take advantage of this (most welcome) downtime to answer some recent questions...

Q: why are your weekend outfits so different from your work week? do you work in a conservative environment? i work in education, and i must admit to loving my work week outfits so much more than my weekend outfits. so it is surprising to me to see one of my fav fashion bloggers (::blushing::) have the complete opposite experience.

A: i'm an engineer, and yes we do have a dress code, although it's not very strict. i pretty much interpret it as "shirts with collars + no jeans." i'm totally okay with dress codes. it's like back in the day when i had to wear a school uniform - everyone else complained, but i loved it. that's an extra 15 minutes of sleep when you don't have to think about what to wear! i think a Devil Wears Prada sort of situation where i had to look chic everyday (Paris Vogue team, i'm lookin at you) would be a nightmare actually. i have to commute outside of the city for work, so when i'm stumbling in the darkness of the early morning, the last thing i want to do is come up with a cute outfit. it's not everyone's cup of tea, but i take comfort in the fact that all i have to do is pick out trousers and a button-down shirt and i'm out the door. i know i'll always have the weekend to wear whatever i want, just like those precious "first fridays" at school when you didn't have to wear your uniform. it's probably also why i'm generally overdressed for the quotidian things i do on the weekends. there's another advantage to having separate wardrobes - i extend the life of my weekend clothes by not wearing them so often. all the clothes i love would be in dire condition by now if i wore them as often as my work clothes. everyone's situation is different of course, but i don't feel like my self-expression and creativity are stifled by boring work wear. if anything, unless you work in fashion, when someone's handing you a paycheck every week you want to be known for your work not your flair. as you can tell from my latest post, i'm into this whole fashionista-secret-identity thing... i don't think my co-workers would recognize me if they saw me on the weekends! luckily the chances of that happening are slim to none, as they are probably holed up in their basements all weekend playing World of Warcraft, not partying in the city. lol. love you, nerds.

reality check

oh, the irony. one day last week these were the only two things in my mailbox - the new Barneys shoes & handbags catalog, and some news about my retirement fund. cruel, huh? at least the universe (or the mailman) has a sense of humor. i'm sure the TRowePrice ram breathed a sigh of relief when i didn't find anything in the catalog i couldn't live without.

may as well stay on topic and post a work outfit, seeing as i'll be working for the next 40 years until i reach retirement age...


Costume National one-piece shirtdress; Christian Louboutin wedges; Prada bag

i absolutely adore this Costume National dress/one-piece suit, which i purchased many moons ago. i don't wear it as often as i would like because
1) whenever i deviate from my usual trousers + button-down shirt combo and wear something dressier at work, people worry that there's some big meeting they aren't aware of. i should totally mess with them one of these days - "you mean you weren't invited to this very important meeting today?" j/k, i'm not that mean...
2) the skirt part does not have a back slit so it severely restricts my movement; i have to climb stairs bow-legged and forget about trying to board a bus - i would have to request for the driver to "kneel" the bus toward the curb like they do for the elderly and handicapped! but it's such an awesome piece of clothing and i love it, even if it takes me twice as long to get anywhere because of the half-strides i'm forced to take.

still staying on topic, here are some looks from the Barneys house collection which i would love to wear to work. the pants in the third outfit are perfection:



let's see, if i wanted to update my work wardrobe with these pieces it would cost me roughly $7500 pre-tax (and that's not including the shoes!) while i would much rather have the clothes, i think i ought to put that money in my retirement fund instead. thanks for the ideas, though.

no summer

::sigh:: so while the rest of the fashion blogosphere post about trips to florence and greece, or 6-week travels around the globe, i am stuck at work. i don't think i will be able to escape for a real vacation until after august, but i do have a few long weekends between now and then to look forward to.

now that the sun rises earlier and sets later, i am able to snap marginally better pictures of my work outfits:


Polo Ralph Lauren polo shirt; Calvin Klein trousers; Tod's loafers; Lauren by Ralph Lauren belt


Theory shirt; Mauro Grifoni trousers; Tod's loafers; Prada nylon bag; Furla belt


Steven Alan double-gauze shirt; Theory trousers; Tod's loafers; vintage Gucci dragon belt; Mulberry "Alexa" bag

and here is a closeup of the dragon belt, for pret-a-porter p. it is actually "borrowed permanently" from my mother's collection. i suppose it's not a very good closeup of the actual belt buckle, but they are two dragon heads.





for those of you lucky enough to still have summer breaks, enjoy and make the best of them!!!

super score

i was too busy to snap any outfit pictures this weekend. fortunately for times like these i have a few old outfit pictures sitting pretty in my hard drive that i never got around to post. here's one of them:



ITEMS (mouse over to view detailed picture)
Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse leopard scarf
Yves Saint Laurent upside-down Eiffel Tower logo tee
3.1 Phillip Lim wide-leg trousers (old, from Barneys Co-op sale)
Ann Demeulemeester cropped biker jacket (from Bergdorf Goodman sale/NYC)
Christian Louboutin patent leather leopard print wedges (very old, from Barneys clearance/NYC)




thank you to everyone for your suggestions for work shoes! i did like the Dandy Slip-Ons that a few of you recommended, but i was too unfamiliar with the brand and quality to drop that kind of dough on them. i was glad i didn't because on a recent trip to Woodbury Commons Premium Outlets in upstate NY, i nabbed two pairs of Tod's loafers from the clearance rack - the cost of both pairs together was less than half of one pair at full retail! SCOOOOOORE!!!



i am all set for spring work footwear now.

before and after

here's what i look like on a typical weekday morning, nice and neat and ironed:



and here's what i look like by the end of the day:



hehe... i get a lot of requests for more work outfit posts, but i have to space these out since my work wardrobe is nowhere near as extensive as my "play" wardrobe




i need some spring work shoes. i'm thinking topsiders or boat shoes. i love Tod's driving mocs but don't feel like spending $400. suggestions? do we like these?

Gentle Souls "Lucky Bet" loafers; Sebago "Hanover Classic" loafer

bonus feature

i've created a new page - if you look right above my blog list there's a link labeled "Outfit Archive." it's a handy thumbnail view of all the outfits i posted on my blog. i had a eureka! moment while i was creating a new "summary" post, i thought a new page would be a better way of summarizing outfits. if you click on a picture it will take you to the original blog post. eventually i hope to create a page for my old stylediary outfits.

and now for some work outfits... which are not included in the archive, but you can filter them out via labels...



left: AG Jeans "Angel" bootcut corduroys; Rugby Ralph Lauren Cashmere sweater; Zara cotton vest; Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse scarf; Stuart Weitzman waterproof boots

middle: Steven Alan plaid shirt; Prada mohair vest; Grifoni navy cotton slacks; Clarks UK "desert" boots; Ralph Lauren belt

right: Design History knit blazer; James Perse t-shirt; Portolano cashmere scarf; Clarks UK "desert" boots; Istvan Francer wool pants


fun anecdote about the Istvan Francer pants in the right-most image above. i found them a long, long time ago at a random sample sale in soho. they are the most perfect-fitting pants i own. i remember searching frantically for more information on the designer so that i could buy more pants, but i gave up because there wasn't much out there. i found out, just recently actually, that he is the design director behind Theory.

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!

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!

it's off to work i go

some recent work outfits...



i do get tired of wearing the same seven? eight? pairs of pants, but the weather is still too warm to add my wool pants to the rotation. i should really update my work wardrobe, but that's no fun, especially when there are boots! and cashmere sweaters! and jackets! to buy for fall...

work fashion math.

i haven't done one of these in a while, but then again my work outfits are more formulaic than they are interesting. i hate spending money on work clothes, even though they constitute like 71% of my weekly outfits. i end up wearing the same things, i just rotate tops and bottoms. so theoretically in order to have 260 completely different outfits, one for each workday for a year, the minimum you would need is maybe 10 bottoms and 26 shirts, or 13 bottoms and 20 shirts. and say you owned 5 sweaters, you would need even less than that - maybe 5 bottoms and just 10 or 11 shirts! but that would mean doing laundry more than once a month, and that's just not happening in my world...





kind of makes you wonder at how much stuff we are all amassing needlessly...

typical

- work nine-to-five(thirty)
- quick outfit change
- fairway supermarket (harlem - gotta love the COLD ROOM!!!)
- cook
- eat
- will probably stay in tonight, unless i can convince someone to see terminator salvation with me
- sleep





i know most bloggers have way more interesting weekdays, but this is my life right now.


(theory buttondown, furla belt, d&g pleated trousers, louboutin wedges; american apparel tee, current/elliot jeans, alaia studded boots)

saturday to-do list

it's always a challenge to dress in this type of weather, with intermittent drizzle and very little sun. you can't wear nice shoes, but there's not enough rain to break out your rainboots. the rain isn't quite strong and steady enough to break open an umbrella yet you don't want to ruin your hair.

so today i decided i needed a cute little rain hat a la paddington bear (seen here exiting buckingham palace with a pal):



not quite sure where i'll start my quest, maybe in those outdoorsy shops like EMS or barbour or something... i want something in bright yellow, but classic paddington red would do nicely as well.

haven't quite decided what to wear today, but in the meantime here are some random office outfits from april...





and of course as i'm finishing up this post it looks like the clouds are breaking and the sun is peeking out. i'm so confused...


(pic from bbc.com)

weekdays march 2009

some recent office outfits. i'm a prepster at work. apologies for the dirty mirror, i think they only clean it about once a week.



a lot of Theory involved, including a pair of black pants which i did not realize were so ill-fitting until i looked at these pictures. i like Theory for work though, you can always find it in discount stores like filene's basement. also my iPod and Dunkin' Donuts coffee in the first picture - two things that make my rush hour subway commute a little more bearable. add my wallet, crackberry, one or two flash drives, benetint lip balm, kiehl's eye stick, snacks (usually fruits and mini chocolove bars), and a folder or two of random documents and you'll get an idea of what's in my bag.

random work outfits

prompted by brookandlyn's comment on my last post, here are some random work outfits from my archive of photos for posting on thefashionspot. they have since taken down the mirror in this private bathroom (i'm not sure why - i few tenants have moved out of our floor in the building since the downturn so maybe they moved it to a different floor that has more tenants), so i haven't taken any pictures recently.







p.s. lots of items in this post, but if you're curious about anything in particular, just ask.

p.p.s. if you asked me a question via comment, i probably replied via comment as well so just check the post comments! thanks.