{ torture }

my friends over at coach (a much-beloved partner of this site) sent me this jacket a few weeks back ~ presumably to torture me. its leather is so perfectly buttery, its sleeves are so splendidly fitted, and it is so, so infuriatingly WARM!!

{ poppy 'tyler' leather moto jacket, courtesy of coach // sam haskins prints via art basel, 2009 }

honestly, i can't remember the last time i was so anxious to wear something. and yet, the weather just won't permit it. i've tried cranking the A/C and rocking it around the house; i've tried it in movie theaters and chilly restaurants ~ but i'm not kidding anyone. its time has not yet come. so i stare at it on my bedroom mannequin, or pet it idly while watching netflix, and i dream of how happy we will be together next season.

have you too already found something special for fall, that you just can't wait to wear?

{ costume of the day } freaky friday

{ vintage anne klein sunnies, the glamourai for shrimpton couture moroccan cross necklace, day in the life top (courtesy of modcloth), 12by12 harem pants (a favorite from last summer), vintage gold necklace (worn on wrist) and ring, poppy crystal cuff (courtesy of coach), philosophy di alberta ferretti mesh & suede shoes }

it is muggy and intermittently rainy today ~ a fact i didn't realize until i was halfway out the door this morning. obviously, i had to turn back around and do a shoe switcheroo, but first took a moment to make photos in my building's weirdly luminescent lobby. my super was so confused: "yo, you going out or not?!" apparently unexpected rainstorms don't cause most tenants to break into impromptu photoshoot mode. oh well, happy friday everybody!

{ costume of the day } the scarf dress

shortly after i posted about craving caftans with which to beat the heat, i ordered this fantastic, filmy little scarf dress from forever21:
it seemed like a sweet summer solution. but when it arrived, i realized i wasn't crazy about its sort of scratchy, faux-boho braided leather straps...

...so i swapped them out for my own mixed chains:

et voila!
obviously, i was inspired a bit by this project. i enjoy clothes, i adore jewelry ~ and i especially love the two (even better) when melded together!


{ zanzan sunnies, the glamourai earrings, rachel rachel roy jacket, customized forever21 dress, vintage belt, poppy crystal cuff (courtesy of coach), vintage chain bangles, alberta ferretti shoes }

i wanted to give you the link to buy & redo this dress for yourself, but unfortunately it's already sold out online. so, i'll do you one better: check back tomorrow for a long-overdue DIY ~ turns out it's insanely easy to make one of your own! stay tuned, and i'll show you how! WAIT NO LONGER! the complete DIY is HERE!!

{ a new lease } on legs

back in the 80's, when i was a young mutt, oshkosh b'gosh was the peak of children's chic. every mom of the era ~ including mine ~ was hellbent on getting their offspring into those overalls and dungarees!
but i had a mind of my own ~ and an impressive lung capacity to boot. i would scream at my poor mother "I ONLY WEAR DRESSES!" and so it was.

so it has also been for most of my life. mummy dearest wanted to start me off on trend, but my dye had long been cast in another direction. stiff, biped duds have never really been 'me'; i might as well have been born with webbed legs.

since i started this blog, i've begun getting box after unsolicited box of jeans in the mail. i truly appreciate the sentiment, but am almost always unsure of what to do with them.

in a way, i actually envy girls for whom throwing on jeans is as routine as brushing teeth. truth is, there's no other garment that causes me more dressing-room anxiety. i find them very hard to wear! how do you make them elegant? breezy? soft? textured? glam?!?! i'm much more at ease in charmeuse and chiffon.

and yet, i guess there's an ornery little girl still living inside me, who needs to rebel against my own norm now and then. so, every once in a while, i sneakily slide on a pair of jeans, strut around feeling brassy and bold... and then slither back into my gauzy, girly stuff, feeling just as empowered as before ~ if not more.


{ antique aquamarine spider earrings, the glamourai riverbed bib necklace, nicole miller blouse, gifted rich and skinny jeans, vintage turkish ring, poppy bag courtesy of coach, pierre hardy for gap shoes }