skull-and-bones bow tie

after emily's whimsical birthday bash, i lost 3 of my bow ties that i doled out to my fellow brethren. i need to replenish that collection. this would be nice & an upgrade.

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trend: slouchy work boots & dresses

i know a good pair of riding boots and cute summer dresses are trending right now for the ladies. even taking those summer dresses, adding tights, and a cardigan aid in an easy transition for a fall outfit. however, i'm not sure i how i feel about the slouchy worker's boots flapped over and paired with a dress.

once wed posted a photo from feather love photography with a beautiful bride at a legit location. the bridge had a pair of comfortable boots on as she strolled down the aisle.

[caption id="attachment_491" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="photo credits: the feather love photography"][/caption]

jcrew featured a lady rocking a similar pair of these comfortable shoes paired with a sweatshirt dress.

i can dig it.

jcrew july 2010 shoe flop

i stopped by jcrew after i got off work today to browse their new clearance items. i picked up another one of the vintage dyed t-shirts that they sell for $30 bucks a pop, for $7. however, as i was thumbing through their catalogue, i found a couple of things that made me go, "hrmm..." also, i'm not quite sure why jcrew is so easy to pick on.

and sometimes i wonder what were they thinking when they decided to buy for their store.
this has almost become a regular thing around my blog. these are women's shoes that i found browsing through their july mag.

women's grommet macalister boots. uh. what?



it looks like stella b zotis got a hold of these. remember her from season 5 of project runway. the "i love leather. leather & grommets" lady. yikes, jcrew.

a touch of red

my two dear friends got married this past weekend in paola kansas. the wedding photos haven't been released yet, but here is a shot of their engagement photos.
so beautiful.

[caption id="attachment_478" align="aligncenter" width="376" caption="nick & katie, photography by the smiley face collective."][/caption]

the ceremony  & aisle set up was extremely unique because the alter was placed in the center of the room, with chairs surrounding the couple & respective bridal party + groomsmen.

i added a little pop to my sports coat. remember those little felt flowers i made & attached to headbands. yeah, i had one of those little guys laying around. with the slip of a gold safety pin. the red flower added a nice dandy touch to compliment my strip of red in my fedora.

billykirk & hammerpress

Looks like Hammerpress was influenced by BillyKirk's medium carryall bag. I just love the mustard color & leather details.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Billykirk Medium Carryall"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_400" align="aligncenter" width="417" caption="Hammerpress Tote"][/caption]

I'm still going to go for the Hammerpress bag since, it's only $60 and not $320 like the Billykirk one.

garage sale treasures | 6/5/10

On Saturday, my friend Katie informed me of a sale happening in the West Plaza neighborhood in Kansas City. I found a ballin' leather dossier/clutch on Mercer Street from a very nice lady who held it for while I ran to the ATM to fetch some cash.

Although I'm not in need of a pencil holder, I am in "need" of that dang leather clutch that I've been searching the women's purse racks, tables of backpacks, and shelves of traveling bags for. And this weekend I finally found that is more suitable, fashionable, real, and masculine than the last one.

Funny that I should mention Coach bags on my last post and now I'm like every other college freshman girl at sorority recruitment with their Coach bag ready to take on the world, or just  swarms of upper-class white girls.

But Jeff, why are you wanting this dossier, or clutch, or man purse?
Well,most of my bottoms, jeans & shorts, are tighter fitting and they just look funny with my car keys, iPhone, wallet, 0.38 pilot pen, and dairy relief pills clumped in my slim-cut BDG shorts or Urban Slim-Fit J.Crew khakis. So  I thought of a solution. A nice dossier to hold my belongings and planner. It's like a fanny pack, or one of those Mountain Smith bags that HYC's* love to tote around, but sleeker & more professional? Plus it totally looks like a planner or one of those nerdy and weird trapper keeper things for Bibles.

Great find, no? and only $2. Isn't there a lifetime warranty on Coach leather-ware? I could send this bad boy in and get it fixed up.

*HYC: Hip, young Christians. They love outdoor performance gear.

thrift store finds 5/29/10

I've been on the search for a dossier, a man clutch, or would you say, organizer. I found one tonight, however, when I came home tonight & tried to slip my Moleskine XL planner into, it wouldn't snap close. Oh well. It's still great, leather, and was like 2 bucks. Here is my inspiration.



Here is what I found:

So, do I buy a new $18 Moleskine planner for it to fit into my 2 dollar dossier? haha.
I also snagged a pair of Havaianas, which were at Cargo Largo with the URBANOUTFITTERS tag on it marked down to 9.99 and almost bought them. However, at the thrift  they were 3.99 for a brand new pair with the original tags still on them. Holla.

I'm not sure where this place is, but it's real wood and was only a buck. I hung it up on my growing wall.

This photograph of my room is poor quality and angle. Uh, and to think, I wanted to be a photographer at one point. Whatever.

As you can see, I've collected various frames, photos, and items and nail them to my wall in attempts to create art. We'll see where it's at in a couple of months. It's a process yanno, and I've only been a recent jobless, college grad for a bout 2 weeks.

look for less: jcrew sutherland trench

J.Crew Sutherland Trench Coat: $198.00 (link)
I went thrifting in KC over spring break which resulted in finding this gem. Great condition. I also had my grandma (whats up 25% off senior citizen discount!) come with me.
$18.00 + 25% off = $13.50

fedoras 040410

I'm usually hesitant to try out different styles of hats, however when I got my hair cut, it was game on.

I like fashion, band wagons, and accessories, so hopping on the fedora bandwagon was my next stop. Why not? Urban Outfitters, J.CREW, & other places had picked up on the trend.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="291" caption="$38.00"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="291" caption="$34.00"][/caption]

Yet, I found one at Target and snatched it for nearly half the price.  Target. $14.99

[caption id="attachment_264" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="Target Straw Fedora $14.99"][/caption]

cargo largo find 03.26.10

Last month, I got a sick pair of leather Clark Wallabees for dirt cheap at Cargo Largo.

[caption id="attachment_259" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Emily on the left, mine are on the right."][/caption]

Yesterday, as I was rolling into Kansas City for Spring Break. I stopped again at Cargo Largo...and found these.

Sperry Original Top-Sider Chukka
Regular: $110.00
Cargo Largo: $25.00 + 30% off =  $17.50

like and laugh

i like this:

i'm a fan of women in brown boots. (oncewed)

& i laugh at that:

When white people harvests a crop it’s known as “berry picking” or “pick your own fruit.”  Under these conditions, white people are expected to work leisurely with no real expectations and then they pay for the privilege to do so. In other words, berry picking is the agricultural equivalent to a private liberal arts college. It’s no surprise white people like it, because much like a liberal arts degree it feels like you’ve done real work when you really haven’t. #Picking your own fruit, SWPL

jcrew mens shop march 10 fail

soccer shoes, really jcrew?
sambas.
is your target audience 7th grade boys?



stan smith sneakers? i've never even heard of these before.
maybe these will go great with my jean shorts?  yikes. (not cut-off shorts/jorts, those are for hipsters. but actually purchasing shorts made out of denim.)



at least i did not see any cargo shorts. phew.

(jcrew)

what is "raw" denim?

Raw denim is denim that has not been washed after originally being dyed, and has never been treated with chemicals. Most raw denims are dark in color and really stiff, but you just gotta break them in.

If you are not the kind of person who likes neither the idea of having an instruction manual for your jeans nor having to work at getting them broken in, do not buy raw denim jeans. For those who are willing to work at it, the end result is both gratifying and rewarding. After six months of wear, your jeans will show lines and creases at natural places on your body and will tell a story about you. They will fit you better than any other pair of jeans you have ever owned previously and like life’s battle scares, you’ll be damn proud of the story behind every rip and hole in them. (source)

they are quite the investment yet it's a process that is rad to see. i own a pair of adriano goldschmeid teddyboy slim raw jeans. i noticed certain marks and grooves on how my body contorts with my jeans. i sit often times with my legs criss-crossed-apple-sauced, or at least one half up in my chair where creases now reside. of course, you have your typical blown out wallet pocket.

so next time you're at a hipster dive bar & you see a hipster dude that isn't wearing his favorite dark washed american eagle skinny girl jeans in a size 4 with stretch, he is probably wearing nudie jeans. & they cost him a pretty penny at that-- with his arm twisted, he opted out on this month's tattoo even though he probably wasn't going to pay for it anyway since 2/3 of his band members are tattoo artists.

jcrew jan 2010 mens shoe fail

take 3 shoes for 3 different occasions and meld them into one. one part driving moc, one part frye harness boot, & another part clark desert boot. and you get the quoddy ring boot. it's ugly.

+
+
=

quoddy ring boot. i'm not sure whatjcrew  was thinking in their merchandising process.

diy: crocheted head bands / earwarmers

i accidently crocheted a beanie way too tight, way too soon. so i ended up with a very small beanie. i split them in half & voila! 2 headband/ear warmers!



i literally found this beautiful gold felt in a "FREE" stuff box outside of a boutique in downtown columbia. i snatched it & started dawdling around with. a nice braid did the trick. the first one i used a single stitch & the 2nd one i used a 3 stitch process. :)

cargo pants, really jcrew?

november 2009 men's shop jcrew:



cargo pants. hrmmm... i don't own a pair of cargo pants & i don't recall ever recall owning a pair that latest longer than a week. after i realized how awkward they are for me-even cargo shorts, i threw in the towel. they may be "functional" & have huge pockets (ie: store items when you're outdoors, *gasp*) but other than that they look bulky and aren't very flattering. have you ever tried running/briskly jogging/power-walking in fully-loaded up cargo pants or shorts? it's nearly impossible. it's like having full cans of paint dangling above your knees. and you're running.

i remember when i had cargo zip-away pants in 7th grade. right after gym class, i would put my zip-away pants on and go to lunch. i would then proceed to make a scene out of zipping off the leg sleevesof my pants, transforming these wretched pants into comfortable, breathable shorts because lords knows after gym, your calves just cannot be contained in canvas sleeves. (note: no armpit hair was present, not until 2004)

great colour scheme

-the Sartorialist

the only thing i don't like, personally, are sweaters. i prefer cardigans. i find sweaters to be oppressive & when you're on a college campus that regulates the building temperature between "hell" & "sauna," shedding layers is necessary and frequent. layers, layers, layers.