{ one look } four lenses

my last day in milan, as seen through four different photographers' lenses:






image 1: via mr. newton, image 2: via catching moments, image 3: via the photodiarist, images 4 & 5: via cafe mode, image 6: via the photodiarist in color

{ wearing: lanvin for h+m sunnies, rachel rachel roy earrings, helmut lang jacket, madewell blouse, kelly framel necklace, bordelle bra, dedegumo watch + gifted khirma eliazov and bulgari bracelets, camille zarsky clutch (recently seen HERE), missoni pants, stuart weitzman shoes }

{ after } the storm

{ vintage umbrella, kelly framel necklace, helmut lang blazer (last seen HERE), rachel rachel roy blouse, alexander wang shorts (last seen HERE), kelly framel wrap bracelets (coming soon), dedegumo watch, gifted tiffany tiger's eye clutch, chloe sevigny for opening ceremony boots }

in the end, hurricane irene passed rather uneventfully through new york ~ for which i am quite grateful (so many other cities were less lucky). also feeling pretty giddy about: this so-gorgeous silk clutch, scoring 3 great pairs of shoes at the barneys sale (these boots included!), and the fact that today is my birthday!! and my blog's almost-anniversary ~ you see, three years ago today, at my 25th birthday celebration, my friends dubbed me 'the glamourai' (they all got party names too), and the basis for this whole blog project accidentally began. who'd have thought we'd all be here today?! what a ride.

{ leopard lady }

{ karen walker sunnies, primary 'kelly' dress (you've seen me wear the exact same print HERE and HERE), rachel rachel roy clutch, sergio rossi shoes }

wore my namesake dress (double-wrapped and tied in the back this time) in its newest iteration (leopard print!), for a recent night out with my best friends and siblings at the darby ~ our current favorite spot for dinner and dancing in the city. the dress twisted and twirled in the most delightful way, and these tassel-trimmed shoes felt like just the right finish.

{ mademoiselle }

my locks have finally gotten long enough for me to curl ~ and now i can't stop! i love changing my hair because it lets me feel like i'm stepping into a new character, and this one seems softer and more lighthearted than ever before. which is sort of how i feel these days! style really is such a communicative medium.

{ gifted juicy couture sunnies (remember when i told you all about our love story?), vintage lea stein brooch from ebay, jf + son blouse, rachel rachel roy shorts (last seen HERE), vintage chanel bag }

{ love you } mean it

{ lanvin for h+m sunnies, vintage earrings, steven alan blazer, necklace from catbird in brooklyn, rachel rachel roy blouse (last seen HERE), gifted hobo bag (with self-added tassels and talisman), bvlgari snakeskin bracelet, michael kors watch, gifted rue de... jeans, l.a.m.b. shoes }

currently in austin, my beloved hometown, for the SXSW interactive/film/music festival. a little work, a little play, and lots of spare moments spent escaping to the superb patio of the hotel san jose ~ my longtime home away from home. see the last post i shot at this very special spot HERE.

{ so suit me }

yesterday's schedule included a few obligations that were a bit more uptown/corporate than my usual itinerary involves.

as such, i decided it was as good a time as any to wear my version of a business suit! this meant: an embellished bouclé jacket, a front-knotted top, draped wool-crepe pants, and frivolous felted pumps (maybe not the best choice for snowy streets, but that's why new york has car services).

perhaps it's not everyone's idea of boardroom chic, but it certainly worked for me!!

more than that, i think this ~ and all my more recent ensembles ~ demonstrates my personal embrace of fashion's sudden minimalist bent. i'm still mixing textures and prints, but keeping the colors more monochromatic, and enjoying simpler statement jewels than ever before. right now, that's just what feels right.

{ lanvin for h+m sunnies, self-designed jazz age carcanet necklace, elie tahari for neiman marcus jacket, rachel rachel roy shirt (last seen HERE), club monaco pants (seen in better detail HERE), juicy couture bag and gifted cuff, prada shoes (last seen HERE) }

lest you forget how cold it still is in new york, i wore this ensemble with the same coat you saw here thrown over top ~ but because i adore you, dear readers, i managed to shrug it off long enough to make these photos happen. see the full effect on facebook (where i always post surplus costume shots)!

{ late summer sunning }

here's a bit more of my weekend wear. despite being incontrovertibly excited for the coming fall, i've realized it's important still to celebrate the last remains of summer. i'll be missing it like mad in a few months! for now, i'm living in airy layers + flat sandals (perfect for strolling slowly through the park), but keeping a big scarf on hand for the chill that comes off the river at night. change is in the air.

{ drugstore sunnies, anemone cami, heritage1981 tank, rachel rachel roy shorts (last seen HERE), vintage + self-designed jewelry, follis bag, random scarf found in soho, ash sandals }

{ wish list }

today is my birthday! in celebration of the past year and in preparation for the one ahead, i think i'll cross a few things off the old wish list and treat myself to a some birthday bounty:



{ dreaming of: rachel rachel roy ear cuff, casadei leopard boots, miu miu pants }

any excuse to do a little back-to-fall shopping, right?!

{ costume of the day } wellie up

please excuse the overuse of umbrella-as-prop in these pics ~ it was really raining when they were taken! indeed, for the first half of this week, NYC was quite suddenly plunged deep into the midst of monsoon season.

my stylistic tricks for getting through such periods are:
[1] have a couple cute umbrelleries on call at all times (those cheapie-deepie, hook-beaked black numbers they sell on the street make bad weather seem even more grim!), and [2] wear something short enough to balance out the unfortunate loss of leg-length caused by unwieldy wellies (this tip has been passed down to us all via the commandments of kate)!

other than that, i'm just taking cues from dries (again), and testing out this fall's preferred palette and olive-twill trend!
{ jean paul gaultier umbrella, custom sunnies, the glamourai murky way necklace, vintage rings, rachel rachel roy tail-back blouse, anthropologie belt, forever21 skirt, hunter wellies }

{ costume of the day } variation on a theme

it wasn't until after the day had passed and i was editing this post that i realized how similar the contained ensemble is to this one ~ both feature little else but an ivory blouse and black shorts. and yet, in the details, they are so different. isn't that the amazing thing about classic, basic pieces? they can be interpreted, worn, and re-worn in a million different ways!



{ d+g sunnies, the glamourai crystallized corsage necklace, bb dakota tunic (courtesy of modcloth), j. crew belt, rachel rachel roy shorts, vintage bracelets & knuckle ring, verameat 3-finger ring, juicy couture bag, aldo shoes }

PS: i fully recognize the inherent irony in exalting "classic basics" immediately after posting THIS. but it was hot out, i had a business meeting, and just couldn't get away with full-on feathers.

PPS: ever wondered about the talented man who makes these costume posts possible? check out more of his work HERE!

{ costume of the day } dining dash

i've been impatiently waiting for an excuse to wear this dreamy dress {it first appeared in this post}, and a monday night dinner party at nyc-spot-of-the-moment the lion finally afforded the perfect opportunity! the fabric is beyond gorgeous ~ with nuance and details that are sadly lost in this light.


since the temperature miraculously dipped below 90, i couldn't resist pairing it with my current favorite blazer. i always love a great jacket, and this one is the perfect weight, the perfect length ~ and the printed lining seems to weirdly work with everything in my closet! i capped it all off with an enormous necklace ~ a must-wear for seated affairs, when you need {more than ever!} an ensemble that entertains from the waist up.
{ antique rayban sunnies, self-designed necklace, rachel rachel roy jacket, dress courtesy of modcloth, vintage belt & bracelets, vintage ring from india (via club monaco), reworked clutch, dolce vita shoes }

{ glamourai diy } the scarf-tan-ette

as promised in yesterday's post, i've got a fun DIY project for you today: how to make your own summery (caftan-esque) scarf dress!

like me, many of you probably have hoards of vintage scarves buried away in your closet, but you can't figure out ways to wear them. if not, they are super cheap and easy to find at your favorite vintage store/thrift shop/flea market. this is a great way to put them to new use!

you'll need:
- 2 silk scarves
- straight pins, sewing machine, thread
- 4 grommets
- approximately 20-22" chain (use old thrift store jewelry!)
- jewelry pliers to manipulate chain

the combination possibilities for this project are endless, but i decided to start with two scarves that were fairly similar in size (approximately 31" square), and in pattern (horse bit/bridle motifs). i also liked the neapolitan-ice-cream-esque palette they evoked together:

i chose to use the pink scarf on the top (front of dress) and the brown scarf on the bottom (back of dress). i began by pinning the two together...

... to create an hourglass shape:

please note two important things:
(1) you want to keep this shape a little over-sized (in relation to your body). this is a no-zip dress, so you must make sure it can slip on & off easily. laid flat, the measurements i used were: 17" at the top opening, 15" at the waist, and 22" at the bottom opening. consider this a size small, and add more or less room according to your own perfect proportions.
(2) the hourglass shape is not sewn in straight (vertical) alignment with the sides of the scarves ~ instead, it is placed at a slight (left-hand) bias. this is important to establishing the asymmetric effect of the finished product.

---

sew the scarves together along the lines you marked with straight pins (again, reference the picture above). a sewing machine is preferred for this step (i use a kenmore elite), but if you don't have one, it could certainly be done by hand.

next, mark on both sides of the dress (either with thread or tailor's chalk) where your straps will go. plan on placing them approximately 10" apart:

you can either hand-stitch your chain straps directly to these points, or install grommets to loop them through. in most cities, you can have grommets done at your local upholstery store. however, if you happen live in new york, take your dress to steinlauf & stoller on 39th street, where nancy will hammer them in for you at $2 a pop!

using either your grommets or a needle & thread, attach 2 chain straps (it's up to you whether these match or not). the shorter strap (to be worn on the right) should measure about 8.5" long; the longer strap (to be worn on the left) should measure about 12-13" long.

laid flat, the finished piece should look like this:
i used a light colored thread, so that you'd be able to make out the lines of stitching (look closely!). also, pay attention to how off-center the straps are ~ this placement is paramount to achieving the correct drape.

here's what it looks like in 3D:



{ my DIY dress is worn with: vintage YSL sunnies, rachel rachel roy ear cuff & blazer, earrings from etsy, vintage belt & bracelets, LAMB shoes }

have fun and let me know if you have any questions!