Shine On

3.1 Phillip Lim dress. Judith Jack belt. Vintage costume diamond bracelet. Costume moonstone ring. Tory Burch sandals.
I'm only now beginning to realize the full extent of my dual fixation on sparkles & Phillip Lim. This embellished shift dress (adorned with rhinestones & white chiffon folded into triangles) is about as far into corporate fashion as I care to venture. I'm game to be girlish, gamine, or even gaudy - anything but boring.

Flower Power

Rebecca Taylor dress. Vintage costume gold necklace. Vintage costume pearl ring. Loeffler Randall sandals.
Who doesn't love a magenta floral chiffon dress for summer... or anytime of year? I bought this dress in the winter & couldn't wait to wear it, so it was my New Year's Eve 2009 outfit at a house party downtown.
More lovely jewelry unearthed in CT... The heavy breastplate necklace is a recent acquisition - the round pendant features a fish carved in high relief. I don't mind that the necklace is starting to tarnish green as it's turned out to be a good luck charm. Today for instance I ran into an old high school friend who invited me to her birthday this Saturday night. I'm starting to plan my party look... stay tuned.

Flapper Happy

Valentino Red dress. Vintage velvet headband. Vintage costume ribbon necklace. Vintage costume turquoise ring. Delman sandals.
The jewelry is courtesy of a local town fair in CT. Some naysayers may consider my black sequin cocktail dress overdressed for 9-5, but fanciness helps carry me through the day. Besides, as I ride the bus down Fifth Ave en route to the office, I think my whimsy helps buoy up The Suits as they prepare for work.
It's my personal belief that I was a flapper in another life (perhaps an intimate of Louise Brooks') - also a member of Marie Antoinette's retinue, a passenger on the Titanic... Athough I connect powerfully with certain personages of history, I don't think I had a starring role. We remember only certain bygone names, but perhaps it's the little deeds committed by unknowns that help pave the way for the larger accomplishments of their time.

Ring Around the Rosey

See by Chloe dress. Vintage costume bottle & stone necklaces. Vintage costume peridot & two braided bangles. Vintage costume diamond & Les Néréids crystal (a souvenir from my trip to Paris) bracelets. Loeffler Randall sandals. Vintage sunglasses.
This dress looks like separates, but I just pull it on & go - an essential quality on bleary-eyed work-mornings. I first noticed this dress when I was rushing through Bergdorf one day; later on I saw it featured in a magazine, which I took to be a sign I was meant to have it. I immediately called the store to have the dress shipped. I scavenged most of the jewelry in CT.
These sunglasses were my mom's. There's a photograph of her with my sister & me as children, standing on the Park Ave island near my family's apartment after a winter-storm. The three of us are bundled up against the cold in ubiquitous knee-high snowboots: my mom in these sunglasses & a camel shearling coat, my sister & me in light pink & magenta snowsuits respectively. My mom evokes an easy glamour - a look I've tried to cultivate ever since.

Pretty in Pink

3.1 Phillip Lim dress. Vintage velvet headband. Costume owl necklace. Kenneth Jay Lane flower ring. Loeffler Randall sandals. YSL 'Muse' bag.

I love a dress with pockets even though I don't usually put anything in them except my hands. Still, it's nice to know the pockets are there in case I can't fit everything inside my gigantic purse. Big bags hold my daily essentials, including a water bottle & book. I bought this headband along with two others at a local town fair in CT - it used to have a chin-length veil. This is the ring I bought yesterday. I either wear new things right away or save them for ages - there's no in between.

Sargent Pepper

3.1 Phillip Lim vest. Fruit of the Loom top. Shoshanna skirt. Vintage costume bottle necklace. Kenneth Jay Lane elephant bangle. Penny Loves Kenny sandals.
Recently I've been feeling vests - this one dresses up plainer frocks/tops. It was published in several magazines (including Vogue & Teen Vogue), but I bought it before I saw the editorials. It seems serendipitous to buy something & later read its magazine coverage. I bought this necklace at a CT tag sale. The pink Paris perfume bottle is a pin I clipped onto one of the chain's links - I bought it at a local town fair.
Sundays are when I get my nails done for the week. I ended the weekend with a bit more shopping (hark the siren call of a sale): I bought a Bally brown suede flower-embroidered bag & a Kenneth Jay Lane flower ring reminiscent of Victoire de Castellane's designs for Dior fine jewelry.

My Mom's Birthday (May 31)

3.1 Phillip Lim jacket & dress. Costume elephant/evil eye necklace. Amethyst (a souvenir from Bubby's trip to Israel) & diamond (a gift from my dad to mom) rings.

This jacket is my raîson d'être - I wear it like a sweatshirt. I love sparkle & this is one of two sequin jackets I own. I've come to terms with some of the sequins inevitably falling off - instead of focusing on the loss, I prefer to think of it as leaving a trail of fairy dust in my wake.

My Birthday - Age of Aquarius (March 21)

Vintage coat. See by Chloe dress. Costume evil eye (a souvenir from my sister's trip to Israel) & Les Néréides crystal (a souvenir from my trip to Paris) bracelets. Amethyst (a souvenir from Bubby's trip to Israel) & diamond (a gift from my dad to mom) rings. Gucci shoes.

My uniform is a fancy dress (the fancier the better) & flats - they help temper the look. We went to see Hair on Broadway that night & I borrowed my mom's brown crocodile Mary Jane heels & some of her jewels for the occasion.

Blue Skies

3.1 Phillip Lim dress. Theory belt. Vintage costume gold & Jessica Kagan Cushman 'Do You Have Any Idea Who I Am?' bangles. Delman shoes.

Here's my first posted outfit! My sister gave me the Cushman bangle for my birthday one year (she was inspired by the annual list I create for such purposes). Today I went to Bergdorf... There are many great boutiques in NYC, but Bergdorf Goodman is an institution. It's always been my favorite - my mom has taken me to lunches in the store since I was a little girl & I've shopped there as soon as I could fit into the clothes. Bergdorf is starting to receive the fall lines & I scooped up a Phillip Lim blond chubby I've had my eye on. Most people have strong sentiments about fur... Personally, I don't eat animals (I'm a vegan), but I wear them.
Mr. Lim is one of my favorite designers. Since this is my first entry, I have a couple of outfits to add retroactively that are representative of my look... check them out above.