Fighting It Off

Oy. I had a crabby day today. No particular reason -- I'll chalk some of it up to hormones and some of it up to the relentless heat and some of it can probably be attributed to various & sundry low-level family agitas that are keeping my brain a little busier than I'd like. But it was just a crabby day -- I pretty much hated everyone who crossed my path, which made me miserable. I had a bright spot at midday, when I had a lovely lunch with a dear friend who gifted me with fantastic early birthday presents, but after we parted things got prickly again. I dunno, whaddaya gonna do? We all have 'em, right? Bad days?

By the time I got home this evening I was well & thoroughly sick of myself. I needed cheering up. And what cheers me up best of all (besides my friends & loved ones & this goofcake:)



are pretty things from my closet. So I came home & put on this:




It's just a slip -- a sheer black slip with lace inserts. It's not fancy or expensive -- it's Vanity Fair & I got it at some department store, but it's pretty and it makes me feel sexy. Like Sophia Loren, except without the boobs. Or the Italian accent. Or the mesmerizing cat eyes. Or the electrifying sex appeal. But still... sexy for me.

And then I put on these:



These are the newest beauties in my collection. Ooooooooh, boy, are they fantastic. They're Alaia -- satin with pink croc heels. I was parading around in them at the Neiman's outlet last weekend where they were having a ferocious sale and I had just about decided I couldn't live without them when I rounded the end of a rack of shoes & nearly bumped into a darling friend who wrestled them out of my hands (once I'd taken them off) and insisted on treating me to them as an early birthday present. (Such treats, I assure you, I do not deserve.) The shoes are described as gunmetal gray, but they read as black. The toe is perfect -- exactly in-between round and pointed and thus will never go out of style. The ankle strap is also perfectly in the ankle strap sweet spot -- not so skinny it's too dainty and not so wide it's bondage-y. Very sexy, that ankle strap. I really think everything about these shoes is perfect and destined for immortality. An ankle strap d'Orsay pump can never be wrong. J'adore beaucoup ces chaussures. They've been living on my bedroom dresser since I got them because I want them to be out where I can see them instead of hidden away in the closet.

I've topped the ensemble off with this

(click photo for a link if you think this would cheer you up, too)

Wonderful Kenneth Jay Lane enamel flower pendant that was still another early birthday gift, from my lunch companion today. (It's not even August yet & I'm already cleaning up in the birthday gift department! Lucky me!) I developed an immense crush on this collection of Lane's when I first encountered it this spring, and my ardor has not dimmed. So now I finally have a wonderful piece of it and it's making me smile all over. This is a happy, happy piece of jewelry -- the pendant is about the size of a golf ball, and I'm going to wear it all the time, I just know. Flowers! And sparklies! And tiny little ladybugs and butterflies! Rarely do I run across things this sweet that are not twee.

So, there you have it. The at-home sartorial stylings of a cranky fashion blogger. Do I look ridiculous? Oh, undoubtedly. Do I care? No, not at all. I feel pretty in my pretty things. And what's even better, these pretty things were gifts from people that I cherish. So not only do I feel pretty, I feel loved.

Now, that? Is some good fashion right there.

How about you guys? Do you have anything in your closets or drawers or jewelry boxes that's a sure-fire mood lifter? Tell me about it!