Halloween

Happy Halloween!!!

Cookies!

My friend and I cooked some yummy molasses
spice cookies this evening. They turned out really
well, moist and pretty with minimal effort.

Hollywould clutches

Sometimes a handbag is too much and all you need is a clutch.
These satin clutches by Hollywould for Target are both cute and
affordable (left, center, right). I can't vouch for their quality, but
they are definitely worth a look. I especially like the ruffly pink
one.

Cooler days are coming

California has started getting colder which means
it's time to stock up on sweaters!


One thing I really need is a new black cashmere
cardigan. I wear mine practically every day and
it has started developing a few small holes. J. Crew
is a great place to head for sweaters (cashmere
classic crewneck cardigan).


This hoodie is super cute too. The color is called
magestic purple so perhaps it's a bit more purply in
person.

Teapot

My brother got me this awesome polka dotted
teapot from the American Cancer Society store
in Oakland. Thank you bro!

Style Wars

I'm thinking about attending style wars at 111 Minna
on Saturday. From the description it sounds kind of
fun and Julie Fredrickson from Coutorture is going
to be one of the judges. Anyone want to join me?

"Straight outta NYC, inspired by MC battling, Victor &
Rolf/Martin-Margiela-style fashion, and mash-up DJ-ing,
Style Battling is competitive fashion, created live on stage,
in a matter of minutes, using anything from a pair of jeans
to an umbrella to a balenciaga bag. Competitors cut, tear,
burn, spray-paint, and otherwise destroy/rebuild clothing,
live on models or on people pulled from the audience. This
is The 8-Mile of Style. WWD meets WWF. "

Seen around the web this week

Sunshine and Shadow cardigan.


Mega Round Facet Cuff.


High Collar coat.


Hexagonal earring.

Cute Item of the day

This has to be the cutest laptop sleeve ever.... Monster laptop sleeve
from Barry's Farm.


They also have cute wristlets in a wide variety of fabrics.

Disaster Relief

My heart goes out to all the people affected by
the fires in Southern California. You can donate to the
Red Cross or send food or household goods to do your
part to help with disaster relief.

Drool worthy item of the day

I adore this high waisted skirt with pockets by
London based designer Pepa Delight. Susie,
from style bubble pulls it off with effortless
slouchy cool for traveling. You can buy it here
from EvaNewYork.

Anne Namba

Hello from your friendly neighborhood guest blogger! Like T, I'm also a nerd by day. Sadly, I'm also a nerd at night. There have been a few times in my life where I've felt truly chic though, and thanks to a last minute catastrophe, one of them was my wedding day. My dress was an Anne Namba made from a silk antique Japanese wedding kimono. If you look closely at the picture, you might be able to see an embroidered peacock on the skirt part. The fabric actually had beautifully detailed peacocks all over it, and had the most sublime pink sheen, almost like a pearl. The middle part of my dress was from an obi (a sash that holds a kimono closed). I just loved the swirling colors...so dramatic!

Outfit of the day

Sweater: cashmere hoody - a present from
my mom, brand unknown
Shirt: Threadless T - "Partly hungry skies".
That's the sun munching on a cloud in case you
can't see from the picture.
Jeans: Banana Republic
Shoes: Reefs - longest lasting and most
comfortable flip flops ever

Halloween Outfit

I think I'm going to be a Harajuku girl for Halloween...



I had a hard time finding a good definition of Harajuku style which
is sort of street subculture that started among the teens of the
Harajuku district of Japan. WikiHow gives a good description of
how to dress Harajuku style including mixing and matching fashions,
dressing in layers, accessorizing and playing around with your hair
and make-up.

Images from flickr.com (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom
right).



I'm going for something in the gothic lolita style. My plan so far
is to wear my black ruffly Alice Temperley for Target dress which
looks somewhat like a Victorian doll already, add some lace and
bows and maybe a crinoline underpinning. Then white (or pink)
stockings and a large bow for my hair. I could even carry my
black and white polka dotted umbrella... Next stop Target and
Hot Topic for accessories! I'll post a pic on Halloween.

Brazilian Fashion Buys

On our last day in Rio I finally managed to squeeze in a little shopping trip
in Ipanema where they have a wide variety of mid to high end stores. My
favorite shop was Contemporaneo, a very chic boutique featuring up and
coming Brazilian fashion designers. My husband treated me to these two
beautiful dresses. Above is a jersey dress from the Maria Garcia line
featuring an interesting tied neckline. I love how the deep V looks in back.


The second is a very short and sexy dress by Chita Brasil. I couldn't find
anything about this clothing line online, but I did find some interesting
information about Chita fabric. The print is definitely very lovely.

From Chita-Bonita's blog:
"Brazilian chita is a popular fabric that represents my country so well: it's
cheerful, colorful and beautiful! The 100% light weight cotton fabric traditionally
comes in big, bold flower patterns, rich in color and detail. But also in small and
delicate little flowers set up against a bright background. Recently this great
fabric has been "rediscovered" by brazilian designers and crafters, who crave
it's bold colors and funky vintage vibe!"

The Magic Flute

I went to see "The Magic Flute" performed by the
San Francisco Opera on Tuesday with a few friends.
It was a lot of fun, despite being super jet lagged!
The music and singing were beautiful, as were the
sets and costumes. The only thing I didn't like so
much was the ending. It seemed a bit anticlimactic,
and somehow most of the people in my group
actually missed one of the main characters dying...
Odd, but it was definitely a great night.

Naughty Secretary Club

Cute Picks from the Naughty Secretary Club:

Banana Rama Purse.



Pink Elephant bracelet



And a blast from my past, a Strawberry
Shortcake necklace.

Porcao

In Rio de Janeiro we ate at Porcao, a Brazilian
meat restaurant. At a churrascaria like Porcao
the waiters come around to your table with all
kinds of meat cooked on skewers and offer to
cut you off a slice or two. You have a little button
with green on one side and red on the other. As
long as it's green they keep coming... and coming...
and coming until you turn it over to the red side.
There was a humongous variety of different cuts
of beef, lamb, chicken, sausages and even chicken
hearts as well as a huge salad and seafood buffet.

Outfit of the day

Out for a banquet at a Churrascaria
(more on this soon).

Dress: Express halter dress
Shirt: the Gap
Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction -- these
type of platform sandals seem to be
everywhere in Rio. Good thing I picked
them up in the end of summer sales cause
I've been wearing them everywhere. They
are super comfortable and were 70% off!

Santa Teresa

Today we rode the tram in Santa Teresa. It was
great fun, but a bit scary. One especially frightful
few minutes were when we went over this bridge
which is barely wider than the tram itself and I
was hanging off the side in high heels!

(photo from flickr.com - Bondinho)

Gooooooool!

Yesterday we attended the most amazing
sporting event I've ever been to, the Brazilian
national football team vs Equador. Brazil won
5 to 0! 76,000 fans stomping their feet and
cheering. Fantastico! Here's a great video
of Robinho's magic feet.

Red Lips

I'm not much of a make-up girl, but I've
been looking for a good red lipstick. This
one by Peter Som for Lancome looks
fabulouso!

Drool worthy item of the day

Studded metallic clutch from Burberry...

Rio View

The view from our hotel window onto Copacabana
beach.

Rio Fashion

Sorry I haven't had much time
to post since I've been in Brazil.
One thing that I've have noticed
so far is that the men (and women)
in Rio tend to wear much skimpier
bathing suits than the guys back
home...

Oooh and blogger automatically
recognized that I was in Brazil and
now the whole blog interface is in
Portuguese. Pretty cool, if I only
knew more Portuguese.

Cute Item of the day

Daschund tote from Fredflare.com.

Copacabana here I come!

Posting may be spotty for the next week while
I'm in Rio de Janeiro for work. I'll try to put up
some pictures of brazilian fashion.

"Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes
goes - ah

When she walks, shes like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes
goes - ooh"

Ridiculous item of the day

Crazy looking shoes from Paris fashion week. Left Alexander McQueen,
right Antonio Berardi. I'm not even sure how you stay upright in those
Berardi shoes.

photos from nytimes.com

Drool worthy item of the day

I love the old school look of this coach messenger
bag. This photo is from instyle.com, but I can't seem
to find this particular bag on the coach website. :(
This bag is similar, but I prefer the smooth leather
and color of the one above... I suppose it must be
sold out.

Big Sur!

My husband and I are all signed up to run the BigSur Marathon in April!!! Woohoo! We ran it once
before in 2005 just before we got married and it
was a whole lot of fun. The course is absolutely
gorgeous!

Trends -- Hop on the bandwagon or whistle your own tune?

I tend to shy away from a lot of the biggest trends, but that's not to say that
I don't get carried away by some of the fun ones that come along. It really
all comes down to what you like and whether you feel good about how you
look in whatever you're wearing. Being confident makes all the difference!

Whatever you do, my advice is if you're going to go trendy go relatively cheap.
For more expensive pieces invest in something classic that's not going
to go out of style in 3 months.

Some trends I just couldn't bring myself to get excited about:


To uggs I say Ughhh... Cowboy boots -- only if you live in Texas ;),
and just say no to daisy dukes.

Some trends really seem to depend on your body type:


Trapeze dresses. These dresses look amazing on the runways
and on models, but is it just me or do normal sized people just
look like they're wearing a sack when they slip into one of
these? Skinny jeans probably look best if your legs are ....
well long and skinny.


Micro minis and ankle boots are hot right now, but
I'm just not sure about a boot that cuts your leg off
at that height. Anyone with a bit of calf might want
to stay away from these... Wow is it just me or are
a lot of these trends really biased toward the
extremely skinny?

Then there are some trends I couldn't help but fall in love with:

Metallics have been around for a few years now, but they still seem
to be going strong (Furla, Kooba and Calvin Klein).

Patent leather is everywhere at the moment and I just love it
(Kate Spade shoes, Chloe bag, Gap clutch).


Wide belts (Obi belt, Kooba belt, Linea Pelle belt).


Ruffles and frills... Alice Temperley for Target dress (I have this and
it's really cute!), and jacket.

Then there's my obsession with 40s fashion


Dita Von Teese pulls this off well with the pencil skirts, nipped in waists,
red lips and puffed sleeves.


Pencil skirts. I had so much trouble finding one of these
2 years ago, but now they're everywhere (Pinupgirlclothing
skirt, and high waist pencil skirt).


Long leather gloves -- especially to wear with all the 3/4
sleeve swing jackets that are all around right now (Banana
Republic gloves, and Echo button gloves).