Personal Madness

I'm in love!

I had lunch yesterday with a friend and during our little post-prandial stroll we wandered into the Michael Kors store, where my friend pointed to this little number and said, "That's so you."

Wow. Really? I am a cheetah-print pencil skirt? Hot damn! I might not have put it that way myself, but it sure did appeal. I love animal print. I love pencil skirts. And I luh-huh-HUHVE me some Michael Kors, whose whole "Mad Men" sensibility this season is speaking irresistible words of love in the ears of not only me but all kinds of women all over the place, based on an unscientific survey of blog sites, fashion magazines, and store windows. Another great thing about this skirt was that it comes from the "MICHAEL Michael Kors" spectrum of Kors' fashion empire, which makes it terrifically affordable. So I was tempted by the skirt, but I was good -- I put it down, I didn't even try it on, and I went on my merry way.

Until a few hours later, where after running several decidedly UNglamorous errands and a long argument with myself, I headed back to the store and tried it on. The good news is that it fit me like it was made for me. It does amazing things for my backside, I gotta tell ya. The bad news was that that meant I pretty much had to buy it, because I could tell I was going to regret it for life if I didn't.

Last night I was attending a cocktail event whose invitation had specified "Business Attire." Well, bah humbug to that! What's the point of having a party if you aren't going to dress up? Of course, if one is planning to spend the evening in a roomful of suits, one's brand-new, STILL-unworn sequined dress is probably a bit overkill (DANGIT! Someone invite me to a fancy party!!!), but that doesn't mean you have to throw in the towel entirely. So here's how I played it.



Cashmere t-shirt and boyfriend cardi (not a set, but coincidentally and miraculously the same color, so they can be worn as one), black leather belt and beloved Red Quasar Stuart Weitzman pumps. I went easy on the jewelry, just a great bracelet -- the skirt is ornamental enough and I didn't want things to get too busy. I am also wearing Ormonde Jayne Tolu, which is my perfect cheetah-print pencil skirt perfume. I think it was a great outfit, and I was one of about six women in a roomful of hundreds of people who wasn't wearing black. (Which is why I always have such mixed feelings about the LBD.)

At any rate, I can tell you this skirt is going to pay for itself in wearings pretty quickly. It's a nice heavy cotton with just a trifle of stretch in it, so I'm going to be able to wear it year 'round. It's going to look as marvelous with a pair of boots as it does with the pumps, and I love pairing leopard print with a bright color like red. (Or purple!) Laugh all you want, but this is going to be one of the most versatile pieces in my closet, I can tell.

What's really brilliant about this skirt? It comes in regular sizes, Plus Sizes AND petites! Hallelujah and thank you, Michael Kors!!

I was thrilled with my new outfit, and felt very sexy secretary all night. The only thing I was missing?

Meow, indeed.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and a safe and happy Halloween!!!


PS... I've been tagged. Twice. I know, I know, it's taking me forever. I'm working on it, I promise!


Photo: GQ.com

The Moment Has Not Yet Passed

I think my Purple Moment is now officially a Purple Hour. Still on my all-things-violet-and-plum kick, which most lately extends to this:

Yves Saint Laurent GOLDEN GLOSS Shimmering Lip Gloss in 14 -- Golden Purple

I was at the YSL counter buying some Touche Eclat when this jumped out at me. SUCH a gorgeous color in the tube, and amazingly, it was absolutely gorgeous on me. Again & again I find myself wondering why I haven't been wearing more purple my whole life -- purple lurrrrrves a blue-eyed redhead.

Now, let me just say that I'm not a huge makeup person. I mean, I wear makeup, of course, but it's not my big thing. Most of what I put on my face, cosmetics-wise, can be found in the grocery store. Can usually be found in the grocery store, I should say -- right now they are & have been for a while out of my very favorite mascara

(Max Factor Lash Perfection, which I raved about here -- click photo for link)

One of the reasons I love this stuff, besides the formula being excellent, is that is has a great wand with little plastic bristles instead of a spoolie. Since they're out of it, I went with this

(Rimmel Eye Magnifier -- again, click for link)

which has a similar kind of wand. So far I've only used it once, but I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'll keep you posted. While I was at the YSL counter I got to chatting with the very nice SA about mascaras and she gave me a sample of the Diorshow Black Out which she swears by. I've heard lots of women swear by this one, actually, it always tops Best Of lists; but I have to say -- I didn't love it. This particular iteration of the DiorShow, the Blackout, evidently has actual kohl in it, which is cool in a Cleopatra sort of way, but may be what led it to flake in little tiny particles. I hate the little tiny particles. A lot of mascaras that bill themselves as "lash extending" have stuff in them -- like tiny fibers -- that eventually drops off my lashes and either gets under a contact lens or just looks sloppy. And forget those ones with the basecoat that you put on before color. Oh, waaaaay too much trouble, and all that "lash building" stuff just becomes a storm of tiny flakes settling on the skin under my eyes. Bleah.

So, yeah, while I'm not opposed to drugstore makeup, I do really swear by the Touche Eclat, which is a brilliant highlighter/cover up that does great things for my undereye circles. I have a very thin face and fair skin and this time of year when the allergies have kicked in I can look like I lost a tough boxing match a few days ago, but the Touche Eclat does a great job of mitigating that. Also, I'm semi-obsessed with the YSL Golden Glosses. (And also with their Touche Brilliance Glosses -- equally wonderful.) I freely admit to being a complete ho for lip gloss and lipstick, I regularly have to go through the makeup drawer and purge because lip colors are a fun, easy, often inexpensive way to indulge my consumer instinct. The YSL glosses are not, of course, what one would call a bargain, but they are really, really good, so I don't mind spending the money. They have gorgeous color, an excellent, not-too-goopy texture with some actual grip, and the sparkly bits are A) golden, as promised, and not silvery and B) teeny-tiny and not in the least gritty, which I absolutely loathe in a gloss. (I've tried the Chanel Glossimers, another big favorite of the Glosserati, and it made me do that compulsive lip-licking thing that Shine does when she's tasted something she doesn't like -- I couldn't get it off my mouth fast enough. Grit is bad.)

The color on my nails in the photo above is also a result of my New Purple Thing. It's OPI and the name is "We'll Always Have Paris," so you can see that it felt like Nail Polish Destiny when I encountered it. It's a great color for winter, but only when nails are short. Otherwise it gets a bit Dragon Lady. I think my next Violet Adventure is going to be eyeliner. That sounds like fun, doesn't it? Anyone who has any suggestions is welcome to give them!

Shopportunity -- October 24

Some coupon codes for you from

Which you could use on this little beauty (and I suggest that you do, because it's pretty spendy, unfortunately):

I'm not a huge bag person, but this one really appeals to me. It looks just right in the size/structure department. And yes, I'm still having my purple moment.


Or there's this one:

that you could use for this:

I'm really loving the whole boyfriend cardigan - boots - jeans thing right now. It's mostly what I want to be wearing.

And then there's an all-purpose one:

(Note: this one expires a lot sooner than the other two.)

You could apply that to this:

This reminds me a little of that Issa Lucky dress that Kristin Davis wore in the SATC movie that caused a stampede at Harrod's in London, only much less expensive. (Although in general I only buy Theory when it's on sale because I do find it terribly overpriced for what it is. It's nice enough quality stuff, great basics with a little bit of flair, but as they say in my neck of the woods, they sure are proud of it. Happily, most of the department stores are positively awash in the stuff, so there's always plenty left on markdown at the end of the season.) Great little dress that you could wear to work with a jacket & boots and then dress up for an evening cocktail party by adding strappy sandals & a blingy little clutch purse.

So, go!! Shop!!!



Late-breaking addition to this post! This weekend only, save another 20% off select merchandise at Pink Mascara!

ShopBop-portunity

Just wanted to let you know really quick:

SHOPBOP ONE DAY SALE! Save 20% on all Full Priced Merchandise with code TREATS2008! Code expires at 11:59pm PST on October 21st 2008.


Shopbop has great stuff, including these jeans, which I highly recommend:

J Brand 14" Cigarette Leg Stretch Jean

I have these jeans, I love these jeans, I will buy more of these jeans. I don't know what this company has done with their denim, but it doesn't get baggy. I has some stretch, yes, but you can wear the things all dingdong night without them getting Rhino Butt. You can wear them to dinner and sit in them for two hours and eat tremendous amounts of Mexican food and then when you stand up to go to a salsa class, they still fit the way they did when you put them on. And then you can wear them out again the next night and sit for a couple of hours drinking wine & eating a grilled vegetable panini and STILL no Rhino Butt. They are brilliant. My pair is in a wash called Ink, which is the perfect dark blue, slightly dressy denim. I love these jeans like a boyfriend.

Now, these are some skinny jeans, I know. And honestly, when I buy them again I think I'm going to go for the mid-rise version, because I am a long-waisted girl and the low-rise hits me slightly below my hip bones, thereby causing me to have to hitch them up every now & again, which I don't like doing. Not elegant.

At any rate, if you're looking for a more traditional fit in a jean, how about these?

J Brand 9" Midrise 18" Boot Cut Jean

Higher rise, wider leg. A little more forgiving. And speaking of forgiving, if you go to J Brand's website you will discover their Blue Label line of jeans, which are specially designed for the curvier figure. Now, you have to love that. There are some more trouser-y styles, and higher-waisted stuff, also, some of which is available on shopbop.com. Finally, the other thing I love about this label is that they don't do labels. No bells & whistles. There's no fancy stitching on the pockets or big embroidered logos anywhere on the jeans -- perfectly plain & unadorned, which I love.

See? Nothing to distract from your lovely butt.

Now. I know these are expensive jeans. (Although, apparently, these are far from the most expensive jeans out there in the world, which is just kah-razy.) I do feel bad about that. Yes, folks, I have gone over to the Denim Dark Side. I was turned by Broc, my Denimhead Guru Expert Sweetie-Pie here in Austin at Barney's Co-op, who has already forgotten more about denim than I will ever know. I went in & spent some time one afternoon sliding in & out of jeans that Broc picked out for me and it was a conversion experience. I feel really bad about that. I was the sort of person who swore she'd never spend That Kind of Money on jeans. And in my defense, I did buy them on sale. But you know what? The next pair, I might just buy full-price. Because while these jeans did not Change My Life, they did change the way I feel about wearing jeans.

And no Rhino Butt!!!

So, go! Shop!!!

It's Not What You Say...

Style Spy was out running some errands this Sunday when I walked past an Alfred Angelo bridal boutique and saw this t-shirt in the window.

Um, what????

Needless to say, this brought me up cold. I was a little distance from the window and there was glare from the sunlight, so the tiny pink ribbon on the shirt wasn't immediately visible to me. For a moment, I just thought I was looking at the biggest non-sequitur in marketing history -- a window full of enormous cake-like wedding dresses and one hot pink t-shirt inviting... well, the sorts of things one doesn't usually see at a wedding. And then -- just for an instant -- I had a flashback and the horrified thought: "Good lord!! Does everyone know???" It was too strange a coincidence.

A moment later, after I remembered that the world does not, in fact, revolve around me, I put it together: October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this t-shirt obviously is an effort to encourage breast self-examination for women. Which is very important.

(Very. Very. Important.

Not a little. A LOT.

And you should all be doing it regularly. Every. Single. Month. No excuses.)

And while I do understand that A) these are health issues that are important to everyone, not just women, and we should never, ever be afraid or ashamed to talk about them frankly and B) shock value can go a long way toward getting an important point across, I just... can't get behind a t-shirt that says "Feel Your Boobies." It's just a bit much.

On the other hand, I certainly would never want to discourage anyone from contributing to such a worthy cause in any way (And that being said, if you click on the photo of the t-shirt above it will take you to the site where you can purchase it. All I ask is that you are judicious about when & where you sport the silly thing. Your Sunday morning yoga class? Absolutely! At a sports bar where you went to eat wings and watch Monday night football? Not so much.), so I decided I'd bring you some other, more wearable options. All of the following items will benefit some breast cancer charity if you purchase them. Click on the photos for links.

I adore pea coats. What could be cuter than a pink one? Seriously, this is wonderful. Black Rivet pea coat, $74.99. Unspecified amount donated to Breast Cancer Awareness.

Nice cozy pullover, $35.99, unspecified amount to Breast Cancer Awareness.

Wacoal Awareness bra, $1 of every purchase donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation


Look! There's even shoes!!

And super-cute, useful ones, at that! Scoop navy flannel and black patent ballet flats: on sale for $96.22. One-half of the proceeds will go to Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.


eDressme.com is donating 15% of any pink dress (any!) to the Komen Foundation

This one's my favorite:

So elegant.

This one's also great, in a universally flattering style made of a lovely, forgiving knit.

Exclusive to Shopbop.com, this and several other celebrity-designed t-shirts. This one is from Nicky Hilton, believe it or not, and I happen to really love the design.

50% of proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Network.

Probably the one & only time I will ever recommend you buy a thong. From Hanky Panky, $2 per purchase go to the Komen Foundation.

Great-looking t-shirt with flattering scoop neckline and actual sleeves!! A t-shirt for a grown-up! Unspecified amount from each purchase goes to the Komen Foundation.

Scarves are The Thing this fall. Everyone but everyone has some fringe-y thing wrapped around her neck (even here in Austin, where it's still in the 80's most days). So, if you're going to be a Trendista (or you just happen to like scarves, which is also fine), you could do worse than one that provides a donation to the Komen Foundation.



Even something for the mens!

Very good-looking tie, with discreet pink ribbon. Also available in other colors, including full-on pinkety pink pink. One dollar from each item purchased September 15, 2008 through November 15, 2008 with a minimum guaranteed donation of $100,000 to the Komen Foundation.

My favorite:



Designed by Karl Lagerfeld, complete with questionably tasteful self-portrait (although who am I kidding -- that's why I love it) on the back. Over $35 of the purchase price goes to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund.


So, go! Shop!! (After you've done a self-exam, or scheduled a mammogram if you're due for one.)