Missing May

I swore to myself a second post would get put up in May and missed it.

The month included the magic mix of dinner and a musical -- The Book of Mormon -- with some good friends.

 My version of B&W dressing: Crewcuts boys' tuxedo shirt,
Pixie pant in leather tuxedo stripe, Daniele Ancarani mary janes,
vintage plastic and rhinestone clamper bracelet.

I brought "my book": the Kate Spade Learn The Hustle clutch.
We googled "do Mormons dance" and the answer was "yes."

I love the subtle details to look like a well-worn library item.

And found the laminated finish quite necessary in the ladies' room where a dry spot on the counter is not to be found.

Until the show, I had no idea a disco ball was prominent to the staging/lighting. Was I in theme or what? Or what!

As mentioned, the evening included dinner, the perfect place at this elegant hotel just across from the theater.

The dining room is lovely.

I didn't snap the above two pics, putting blogger cam on hold most of the evening but I did take a quick shot of my short rib tortellini:

They were marvelous morsels.

 

How was your May and what's in store for June?

Is your world finally getting more color?

♥

April in Paris

Natch, that'd be a good reason for falling off the grid if I was on holiday the entire month but nope. I was merely overcome by life.

So let's just have a dress-up salute to one of our very favorite cities.

And I just realized it was about 4 years ago when I first met

dear Dani when she was off to Paris. :)



The sweatshirt is the color of sweet butter. It was in Paris where I fell in love with the stuff. Now I have bread as an excuse to eat butter.

 This is the French print popover. I had sworn off popovers ...

unless it's an irresistible print. Oh well.

The ballet flats are to keep the theme but I am definitely swearing off these J.Crew ballet flats, the horrible hurtful things

are all wrong for my feet. Never again.

If I said the color of these trousers was Paris pink would you believe me? It's really iced quartz but in keeping with the theme ...

The girls' tee (size 14) is too young for me but I had to have it.

Fun with these brogue shoes from yoox.

More love for Paris via a linen T-shirt and trying to be

oh so cool with the jacket. Ha.

Tomorrow is May Day and I will be asking an SOS to survive it.

Not only will it be HOT but the low humidity and strong winds make for unfortunate wildfire conditions.

 

Did you know the Mayday distress signal may be derived from the French expression "m'aidez" meaning "help me?"

 

As my friend Wendy (who also loves Paris) says: stay safe out there!





If It Ain't Baroque

Don't fix it. So we repeated having dinner here.

A quiet moment here before the theater.

And once again it was a wonderful evening.

Notice all the curls and swirls at every stop?

Except for Gaston, who'd be obnoxious IRL but hilarious in the show. Well ... maybe his rippling biceps fit the theme too.

There were quite a few dressed as Belle in the audience.

But I wore my trousers in fabric fit for lavish drapes or upholstery.

And though we gave a standing ovation, we were suprised the cast didn't appear for a curtain call (slaps knee for Gigi).

 

So how goes it, has the first week of 2014 been a beauty or a beast?

Factory Commendatory

Before I could say highly recommend, the Factory classic button-down shirt in jeweled oxford sold out oh well and the Factory skinny cord in polka dot is just about gone. The polka dot cords are part of the Fall Essentials Sale of 40% off selected items good through Sunday, Sept. 29. If you use the SEPTSAVE code (10% off $75+, 20% off $125+, 30% off $200+) at checkout, there are some gems of a good deal.

Close-up of the "jewels" on the button-down.

The thin wale corduroy jeans are skinny. No need to size down.

In fact, I'm afraid of what might happen when I wash and dry them. Wearing size 25 here and thinking I should grab the size 26.

The material is 99% cotton, 1% spandex.

They don't get baggy saggy during the day ... yay!

But you cannot get undressed in a hurry, I had a tough time getting the leg opening over each foot pulling them off. 

Did I say they are skinny?

The Factory skinny ankle jean in classic rinse are not as skinny.

They're what I'd consider a comfortable, favorite fit and could very well become my go-to jeans. I don't have to worry whether it's one of my skinny days. I know they won't ride up or droop down.

They won't cut and bind (you're supposed to hear Brett and Dale Jr. say this).

And they're not distressed to look too casual.

I even feel tall (ha) when I wear them.

They're rough and tumble, earthy, sturdy and substantial.

I won't even care if I spill on them or sit on a dusty park bench.

Heck yeah, I love, love, love them. Especially for $33.25.

The Factory skinny jean in black can also be had for the same price. They have the same fit, and just like the classic rinse, they're

98% cotton, 2% spandex, but feel just a tad thinner.

With black stitching instead of the usual contrasting thread used for

blue denim jeans, they don't read as obvious jeans.

I think they're quite versatile and make great traveling pants.

The above were on the travel days for my recent business trip.

(The giant sequined heart is to cheer up the grumpiness that can be the airport crowd.)

(Better pics of the black skinny jeans since they're not off a hotel mirror.)
The shirt is the Factory two-pocket chambray shirt that has been around for at least a couple years, now better for me because it comes in XXS. Though it's not the fine, silky chambray of the selvedge chambray shirt, the rough and tumble, earthy, sturdy and substantial shirt has earned some love in blogland. What some said.

I've reviewed a few more Factory shirts that are part of this double whammy SEPTSAVE on top of Fall Essentials Sale. Just click on the Chambray-Denim Shirts tab at the top to see.

Happy shopping and happy weekend!

Bling Chambray

With my love for chambray shirts and sparkly things,

you know I had to have this -- the boy shirt in beaded chambray.

Good thing I got it during a recent promo since the 00 is now sold out.

 IRL, the shirt is a greyer blue than what's showing on my monitor.

It's nicely faded, thank goodness without the drastic contrast between light and dark I dislike. 100% cotton. Very soft. No pockets.

The shirt would not be particularly remarkable without the bling.

The "hand-applied clusters" are sewn-on rhinestones, see a close-up.

 Some have noticed each cluster looks like an angel

or guardian angel jewelry. What do you think?

I think it's a very good thing to have 20 angels providing protection.

I need all the help I can get.

Wearing with Liberty toothpick jean in June's Meadow floral and Valentina mirror metallic pumps.

 And it's a really, really good thing I did not buy this shirt from a store. Because I would have compared every shirt in my size looking for perfect angels to drive myself insane. (Do not go shopping with me for a stuffed animal if there are 78 of the same teddy bear available.)

Most of the clusters are a bit askew like this.

With a single shirt in hand, I decided they were OK slightly flawed.

Kinda like us humans.

 

P.S. See Gigi's excellent review of the shirt here.



For Your Eyes Only

No way would I be seen out in public in this getup. I'm only putting myself out there for you, my bloggy buddies, as another public service.


The ponte peplum top is OK but I'm talking about the girls' everyday leggings in big dipper. IMHO, wearing leggings as pants can be nearly obscene and here I am wearing them as crazy pants. Please know I'm only doing it to work in as many items from the Instant Gratification Sale as possible. Wearing girls' size 14; I'm XXS in women's leggings. They are plenty in the rise, the waistband is just a tad below my natural waist, and they're more than long enough as the hem is rolled three times here. I'm thinking you may see them with a red-and-white striped tunic come next July 4. Just warning ya.


Anyway, I got the leggings mostly to wear for doing housework with a work shirt. IRL, I'd have the sleeves of the selvedge chambray shirt rolled up. Again, the PSA is to show how long the unbuttoned sleeves are on somebody 5'2". For less dorky looks and more details on the shirt, see this post.

Back to the peplum top, think I remember quite a bit of blog love for it. Agree I like the substantial material, I like the fit. I like how the peplum is probably just right. But I don't like how I'll probably never wear it without something over it. Would the peeping peplum be a problem? What would you pair with it instead? While the arm hole is not too low, see how it lifts at the shoulder? With no bra strap holders that would've been a nice touch, I'd constantly fuss with it and drive myself crazy. BTW, the top has a heavy-duty full zip covered by a placket held down with a small hook in the back. It will take some blind luck to hook up or you'll need the help of someone with nimble fingers.

Nope you're not going to see me wearing the silk cami or the stretch suiting tee by themselves in pics or IRL. My favorite thing about the cami is the adjustable straps. The cami is great under sheer tops and as sleepwear for hot nights. As for the suiting tee ... anyone wearing it to work as a standalone top should be sent home, at least if wearing the white or mineral pink. Holy smokes it's extremely close fitting and the knit is sheer. It's fine and silky and feels like lingerie. I'm thinking it's a good layering piece for itchy sweaters or wearing under bare tops like this and this.

OK, I've got to get a move on if I'm ever going to finish ... a review/discussion/IRL of the keeper chambray shirt and faded chambray popover is at this post. More talk about the keeper is here. Next up is the oxford boy shirt in polka dot. It's a white shirt with subtle polka dots. I'll confess I have two of them. I wear it a lot.



Another classic is the merino tippi sweater, it's the sweater version of a basic T-shirt. I like it best with a basic T-shirt. See here.

 

 

It's late and I'm running out of steam, does anyone else do this ... hurry up and finish with a weak ending?

Girls' sequin-pineapple stripe tee and Nolita jacket in white pictured above. The 1035 trouser in superfine cotton chatted and pictured here.

 

I'll come back tomorrow to fill in some details. And show you the 1035 jacket in superfine cotton, classic ballet flats and western denim shirt.

I know, I'm such a tease. :)

--------------------------------

 

I'm back ... and if you didn't notice yesterday, they snuck in a few more items into the Instant Gratification Sale. One was the western denim shirt. I had planned to cover that in my never-ending chambray/denim shirt sMaCkDoWn, but I'll make a few comments now if it helps you one way or another while it's on sale. I know, some don't care for the western details and some worry about the snaps unsnapping too easily for a wardrobe malfunction. Personally, I love them and found the snaps to hold tight. Recall a western denim shirt a couple years ago getting complaints about it being shrunken and too short, that's not the case now. See SU 11 on left and the current one on the right:

Though not quite to the same scale, you can see it's now a darker wash and cut longer and roomier.

Speaking of shirts, here's the stretch perfect shirt. Especially for folks needing special sizing such as petite or tall, this is a great time to get it in basic colors that rarely go to sale. If you're wondering, the boy shirts are cut straighter (as the name implies) and the perfect shirts curve in at the waist along the side seams with vertical darts in the back to further trim the shirt.

I'd not likely have chosen my navy blue 1035 jacket in superfine cotton to wear with the crazy jeans and white shirt but for you, I had to today. It does wrinkle but I love the superfine cotton. The fabric is 100% cotton and woven in such a way you'd swear it contained elastane or spandex. I also love the heavier weight and drape of the material. One thing, because my mother taught me well, I rejected the white jacket since the lapel notches were not symmetrical.

It's now the classic leather ballet flats in a foot race to the finish line, ha! I'd ordered two pairs of the same size and while the admiral blue *seemed* to be the correct fit, the dazzling sun were definitely too big as I stepped out of them with every step. I say the blue seemed to be the right fit but I worry. Here's a tell-tale pic, see how shallow they are? Not much to wrap around your feet.

They do remind me of what I can remember of real ballet slippers from when I took lessons as a little girl. The real ballet slippers fit tightly so they mold to your feet as you dance, the better to point toes or feel the floor. As the leather stretches, the string that ends in the bow can tighten the shoe so it becomes like second skin. Well, the bows on the ballet flats are decorative and thus I worry I'll eventually end up stepping out of the blue ones as well. I'll try some a size down ... we'll see how that goes.

 

P.S. I wiped out at least an hour's stuff, either Blogger crashed or I clicked the wrong button. Think this is the last time I'll try a long and complicated post. Do these zillions of pics take forever to load too?