Yellow with Envy

There are a few colors that I just cannot wear. I wish that I could but they just make me look sallow and jaundiced and, well, horrendous.

Orange is one but another is a bright golden yellow, like the Pantone color of 2009 - Mimosa.

I had not thought about this for a while but I was watching Dangerous Liaisons today and I was reminded about how I would kill to be able to wear the classic combination of rich yellow and deep black, as Glenn does in this scene.

I also loved Gwyneth Paltrow's Parisan outfit in View from the Top.

But a movie that really kicked off the love for this color combo was a very bad made for TV movie, Tears on the Rain, featuring a very young Sharon Stone.

I love the dress, the embellished gloves and you have to love the matching hair ribbon.

Of course all three of these ladies are blonds and, since I would also look horrible as a blonde, it isn't going to happen.

But if you can rock this color, I will try and be happy for you and not jealous.

I love this coat which, surprisingly, is from Victoria's Secret and pretty inexpensive at $129

I could probably get away with wearing these Oh Deer! Toffee "taxi" shoes. They are sold out now but I think that you can find them around.

Or I can get a pair of yellow gloves like Ms WendyB and wear them with a black coat. and boots.

If you can wear this color, share how or what you wear.

Hopefully I have better luck with 2010's color!

Making Waves

Back when Victoria's Secret used to have somewhat decent clothes and cool sexy but not totally trampy shoes, I got these Colin Stuart boots. What's funny is that I think they are totally tame just with a really interesting detail...



But back when I worked for a certain corporation that had a "Look Book" these were considered "crazy!"

Why?

Because while the front half of the boot is a simple black knee-high boot, the back half is a pale suede with criss-crossing black straps.



I think from farther away it looks like the boot is completely open in the back and that the straps might be lacing up my legs (Yes, I am totally pale enough that this could be considered a feasible scenario. And yes, I might be crazy enough to wear boots like that to work... maybe...).

Inevitably when I wear these, and they are not my "everyday" black boots, I will get a startled question about if they are tied up the back. At this certain corporation I even was asked if they followed the dress code guidelines.

They did. And I would know because I pushed those boundaries almost everyday and carried around a copy of the code about shoes. Funny aside: when I started there you HAD to wear pantyhose (and this is in FL, people!) and you couldn't wear shoes like mules or open-toe shoes, but you could wear slingbacks. Then they loosened up the restrictions a bit. You could wear mules and open toe shoes and sandals but you still had to wear hose. We're not talking cute funky tights and heels, we're talking "flesh-tone" pantyhose with sandals.

Um... ew...no.

Anyhow, these definitely make people take a second look, if only to try and figure them out. I love the color of the suede and luckily haven't marked the heels up or anything. Knock on wood.




I think I've had these about 5 or 6 years now. I <3>

Since they are a bit flashy I tend to wear simple outfits with them. We're not talking hot pants and spandex or anything. Usually a streamlined skirt and top.

Oh, the rule that I had to be sure I was complying with: the tops of your boots had to be covered by the bottom hem of your skirt. No, I'm not kidding.

I think I may have been off of that an inch or so.... ; )

Week In Review Once More

This has been another crazy week at work. I feel like I've barely had time to breathe or sleep. So I'm just now getting to writing up the week's outfits! It hasn't been too cold this week but it has been blustery and rainy.

Monday I wore this black swing jacket (over a black cami) from Target with my denim skirt. I took this pendant from Etsy off of its chain and used it as a brooch on my collar. The military style of the pin, as well as it's colors of gold and enameled red and white, went well with the shoes.


11-10-08 by Princess Poochie

The focal point was all about the shoes. I know I had been debating whether I would keep these or not because the shoes from this brand tend to be a bit stiff. But in the end, I did. I just love the mix of colors and materials from the metallic edges, black sequins and red suede heel.



One this that did help is that I wore them with black opaque tights. I wore the tights to help keep warm and dress up the denim but they sort of toned down the shoes so the sparkle was more subtle. Wearing the shoes with the tights made me forget that I had found them less than comfortable.



On Tuesday, I was looking for an excuse to wear the JCrew acorn bracelet that had just arrived from eBay. I had really really wanted this when I first saw it in the catalog and the store but held out and then it sold out. Luckily I found it on eBay and for even cheaper than the store! Score!

The dress is the black v-neck Target dress I've worn a million times now and, since it's colder, instead of a cropped cardigan I added a long boyfriend cardigan (also from Target) and cinched it with a wide brown belt. I also have this necklace with a large chunk of agate as the pendant that I wore as well. I think I need to somehow alter this dress. It's a little loose now and the neckline is getting a bit low. I need to figure out if a few hidden stitches will take care of that.


11-11-08 by Princess Poochie

The focal point was the bracelet and I supported the brown of that with the belt and these shoes. I have these Manolos for a few years now and they are one of my favorite shoes. They are the perfect shape and height and such a neat pattern. I could walk all over town in these and be comfortable.




Okay, this is going to be such a let down, especially since I made such a big deal about teasing you with them... but I finally wore the Chanel two-tone tights and mary janes! Talk about burying the lead. I can't believe it has been since August that I've had these and haven't had an opportunity (or made an opportunity) to wear them. That's just crazy!

I was going to do a whole big reveal of unwrapping the tights and the shoes. I did put a whole set on Flickr, so they are there if you want to see more shots and bigger.

One of the things that held me back was what would be the inaugural outfit to pair them with. In the end I took inspiration from one of the runway outfits.


11-12-08 by Princess Poochie

I loved a number of the styles from the show but this one seemed very accessible, so I started there. I wore the tights and mary janes and then pulled out a denim skirt and my JCrew charcoal wool v-neck sweater. Very simple and straight forward.



Here are a few of the shots, but definitely check out the Flickr stream, there are just so many more there.



These tights are very cool in person. The illusion element of the two-tone is very strong. What's hard to tell from the runway pictures and even mine are that the front part of the tights is more of a flesh tone rather than a taupe. And they are not sheer at all. So the tights are very thick and soft. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but still neat. And when you move from the side or turn around the transition is quite unexpected.

I haven't seen a competitive pair in exactly the same way yet, although I'm sure they will come up sooner or later. Someone did share with me that there are a pair at Urban Outfitters that come close. The pair there are opaque black on the back and then a sheer black on the front. I don't think the effect would be as strong but could be good if you were looking for another option.

Oh yeah! And the shoes! They are very interesting. Graphic. Unique more than stunning. There is a lot of craftsmanship in these shoes. I did find a contender for the black pair (which I've worn a lot) that mimics the style but if you were to hold both pairs up together you do see the difference in the work. And that is not always something I find to be true, especially as luxury companies attempt to boost their profits by skimping on quality.



Thursday I figured I might as well keep the crazy legwear thing going and maybe even push it even more. So I decided to wear my knee-pad over-the-knee socks from Hansel from Basel which I just love. I mean, I love these some much I got them in 3 colors. I had skirts all planned out just to wear with them.


11-13-08 by Princess Poochie

Yes, the focal point was the socks, which I wore with a flippy black Old Navy skirt and my Facade patent mary janes, but I have to show you this top.

I bought this at least 4 or 5 years ago at Anthropologie and, because it is a knit, it may be reaching the end. But it's just so cute. Sort of, saucy librarian-esque.



The inset panel is a sheer polka-dot fabric with a ribbon tie of the same and the buttons are tiny porcelain with flowers. The top is actually more red than it appears here so it has that red/white/black graphic element to it.



Finally Friday arrived! Thank goodness! I did have a client meeting so I toned it down just a bit. I had bought the sweater and the skirt in the picture but the sweater was an angora mix and finally pilled up so horribly and was so fluffy it had to go. But I still love the skirt. It's a purple tweed pencil skirt with great button detail and kicky pleats in the front and the back.


11-14-08 by Princess Poochie

The skirt was from Victoria's Secret from its "not-totally-trashy" collection. I was going to wear a slim v-neck knit top but for some reason I couldn't find it and ended up wear the Target Behnaz Sarafpour lace front cardigan again. I'm trying to reserve this so it too doesn't die an early death from over-wearing.



The skirt and slim cardigan have a retro feel to them so I thought I would wear a wiggly peep-toe stiletto with them. I have the Louboutin Yo-Yo Zeppas in black suede which I felt was a good texture to go with the lace and tweed elements in the clothes.



Whew! What a week. I'm exhausted. I have a party to go to tonight so now I have to think of what I'm going to wear to that.

Some folks asked if I have links to where I have bought some of my clothes. If I have a product image in the outfit collage, you can click on that and Polyvore stores the link. But if I just have a photo or you can't find something, let me know and I'll give you the info. I do tend to keep things, especially shoes, for a long time so eBay may be your best bet. Either way, let me know. I'm happy to help!

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit

Yeah, I was supposed to be off today. But hey, I'm dedicated. When a client has a meeting, you go to the meeting, right? So, in spite of technically being off work and it being a Friday and Halloween, I still made the effort and dressed nicely for an hour and a half.

I recently rediscovered this really cute pencil skirt (actually from Victoria's Secret) when I switched around the closet. I should wear it more because I love the button detail running down the back. The top is a black embellished cardigan. Since it was cold out, I wore tights and a vintage cape and off-white gloves.


10-31-08 by Princess Poochie

I love vintage gloves. I have small hands so I can usually fit in to most of them so I have a whole hatbox full. These are plain leather and were really inexpensive, so I don't have to act all precious about them.



The cardigan I had on is the black version of this one. It's from the Behnaz Sarafpour Go International collection from 2006. I really liked this collection and this cardigan is one of my favorites. I wear it a lot. The black lace on black is a neat textural element.




The Focal Point

I think I mentioned that I have a ton of tights. I think I will need to wear tights every day. These are a neat pair. They're black and cream herringbone with a claret floral pattern running up the side. The shoes are a pair I've had for years. I have these in black also. They're Aerosole's Sixty Chic and may be the perfect pumps. I didn't realize until later that they were possibly Celine or Vivier knockoffs. I don't care, they're so comfortable.



I had fun wearing my cape and gloves. The hubby said I looked like I was from Nanny 911. Not quite the look I was going for, but on Halloween I guess I didn't look too out of place.

But what will I do when I wear it later?

Ensemble du Jour

So, yesterday's ensemble was kind of "safe" compared to today's - not that I'm pushing too many boundaries! Geez!

It's that darn Target! I really need to stop going in there but I had to! And of course, what would it hurt to look around for a few minutes, right? Well I wandered in to the sock department and there were more cute soooocccckkkksssss! Sparkly Silver and Gold! Whoo Hooo!

The Outfit
Sparkly silver top (more sparkly!), dusky purple skirt from VS, Silver sparkly socks (of course) and a dark grey cardigan from Target. To really amp up the sliver, I paired the sparkly socks with the burnished metallic silver Miu Miu double strap mary janes



Cardigan -



Oh yeah, and a stack of these bling-y bangles, also from Target -



The Focal Point
SIL-VER!!!!!! (in my best Yukon Cornelius voice) -





My legs lurv the sparkles!

They're nauseous. I'm nauseated.

I just received my Victoria's Secret Shoe & Accessories Fall 2007 catalog and I have to say I am shocked, appalled and sickened.

When did VS descend into a horrible swirling miasma of bad taste and whorish-ness?

I used to like Victoria's Secret. They used to put out CDs of classical music and had cute night clothes. They had pretty suits and shoes that had a "designer" look but at a price I could afford. Now it's over-priced and tacky as sin. I mean, they make Fredericks look classy. I know they don't make these shoes, but they picked them, forced a gorgeous girl to wear them and pretend she feels sexy in them, and then tried to brainwash us into thinking we would look hot in them too. That is just wrong.

Grab your Tums or Pepto-Bismol, it's going to be rough:


Naughty Monkey Embellished boot - $149

Is it just me or do these look like an insane mix of spats and gaucho boots. They are designed to cut you off perfectly at the worst part of your leg.


Bronx over the knee scrunch boots - $285! $285!!!! WTF?!?

If you get this catalog, they model is wearing them on the back cover. These boots look like a dirty oil rag crossed with a shower cap. The elastic at the top is wretched.

Block heel boots - $139

These are the stumpiest, clumpy shoes I have seen. They look as if they had to force them on you and then strap them to your feet so you can't take them off like you get strapped down for electro-shock therapy. The turned up toe shape looks are some form of deranged gnome shoes.

Mid-calf buckle platform boot - $99

I'm choosing to ignore the tacky "metal" platform on these boots. I don't even think my toes will turn up at that angle. How can you even walk that way?

Hale Bob Braided Sandal - $129 (on sale for $99)

Who is Hale Bob and why is he trying to make us wear some sort of pinata on our feet? I don't think even Charo would have worn these. Okay, maybe she would have but I'm not Charo... are you?

JLo Lace Up Booties - $115

Is JLo so insecure that she needs to drag us down by getting us to wear these hideous creations or is this something she actually thinks looks good and her bad taste is disguised by a very smart stylist. Why can't we get her stylist to design/approve something instead?

Rebel High-heeled sneaker - $49

Sneakers with heels are wrong. I don't care if you look like Posh Spice or if the Spice girls are coming back. No excuses!

Sam Edelman Strapped Booties - $170

These were not good looking even in the original Balenciaga version. Even the petite Miss Olsen can't make this look good. I'm sure plastic and fake suede will not improve the design of this shoe.

Sam Edelman Gladiator Platform Wedge - $109

Sam Edelman should be shot!

Sam Edelman Over the knee sweater boot - $220

I'm serious...shot! These go over the knee, have KNEE PADS (hmmm... why would we need those???) and are sweater-y at the top.

Victoria's Secret buyers - what the hell are you thinking?