freaky friday: because i never write on fridays

i realize that i have not written this week. without being too gross, this was due to a massive kidney infection complete with kidney stones that landed me in the ER and on the couch for much of the week. i am recovering nicely and hope to be back in top form very soon (i have a rathe unforgiving, slit-to-the-waist sequined gown i plan to wear for the entirety of halloween weekend, and a swollen midsection just won't do). in the meantime, my apologies for my extended absence, and i leave you with this exceptionally delicious selection from DETAILS magainze's pictorial on the double-breasted jacket (photographed by stephen shore, styled by paul stura):

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which i recommend you accompany with this admittedly hilarious and unfortunately all too true assessment on the progession of the style identity of the modern male, penned by the accomplished and clever mary hk choi, and brought to my attention by my good friend michael.

p.s. i have not been entirely unproductive with my time. during my sick leave, i found the most perfect leather miniskirt (with pockets!!!!!) from the loft, marked down from $128 to $39.99, a vintage cross-body leather purse (brahmin!!!!!) at the local thrift shop, and three designer bras for less than $20 apiece from my new favorite online haunt, asos (seriously decadent, easily addictive, and wallet-friendly--deadly combination).

thirsty thursday: "the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."

below please find the object of my temptation:

(so, i apologize in advance, but this is going to be a very brief thirsty thursday, as i've been feeling pretty under the weather all day and hope to be asleep in the very near future.)

my beautiful, talented, and amazing colleague anna walsh ordered a necklace online from alex and ani, a trendy retailer for fashion jewelry specializing in really unique, eco-friendly stuff. it's not the kind of thing i'd probably ever come across on my own or notice in a store, but the pendant anna ordered is just the right size, shape and length for someone of my (gargantuan) stature, and a bit too large and gaudy for someone of her much more delicate frame. being the friendly fashionista that i am, i asked to try on the pendant and see if i liked it enough to just pay for it and save her the extra return shipping cost; being the even friendlier fashionista she is, she offered to sell it to me at a discounted price. so, the question becomes, do i yield to the temptation of a bird in hand (which we all know is worth two in the bush, see below)?

wordless wednesday

i know this is repetitive, source-wise, but i saw this photograph and simply fell in love. those clothes! those shoes! that bag!

those legs!

tuesday shoeday: casadei saturn pump

i am a firm believer in the simple, the elegant, the understated. in a time when 13 year old girls all around my neighborhood were decked out in frilly, tulle-stuffed, sequin-encrusted nightmares for their bat mitzvah parties, i wore a 1960s jackie o.-inspired cream-colored dress and jacket combo with matching, low-heeled, square-toe pumps.

and i looked fabulous.

but there's something about crystal, the good stuff, the real sparklers, that makes me throw all sense of proportion out the window.

monday manifesto: is there such a thing as the "perfect pair of jeans"?

so remember last week when i said i'd be back tomorrow, but instead disappeared for several days into a blissful world of admittedly self-indulgent solitude? i'm sorry about that. part of that world also included not being able to locate an appropriate camera to photograph the ensemble that resulted from my thirsty thursday shopping spree, so i also apologize for that. and now that all my apologies are out of the way, let's get started on my monday manifesto about the eternal search for that elusive holy grail of wardrobe staples: the PERFECT pair of jeans.

now, i am not exactly a disbeliever in the idea of the perfect pair; i'd just say that i'm a bit more polytheistic about it. i believe in many perfect pairs: the perfect trouser jean with a flat-front, high-waist, and front seam; the perfect skinny jean, all washed out with acid and embellished with studs and zippers; the perfect casual jean, which is hands-down 7forallmankind's A-pocket in just about any wash or weight; even the perfect dress jean, in the kind of deep wash that will leave inkmarks all over your suede shoes and jacket (a rookie mistake that i've never made...especially not two or three times). i never really subscribed to the belief that i could have a very favorite pair, a desert island pair, a pair that, more than any other pair, i would rescue from a burning building. now, i'm not sure if this is just fashion folklore, but i read someplace that 7forallmankind came up with its name because, on average, a person (woman?) owns seven pairs of jeans at any given time.

that person is not me.

i probably own more than seven pairs of sevens at any given time.

i feel about jeans the way i feel about relationships; i can't possibly be exclusive and still get everything i need. i'm sure that with maturity and a shift in priorities, my opinion on the latter will likely change, but i never anticipated that i could consider a paradigm shift when it came to jeans. until today.

i don't think 7forallmankind intended to make a pair of jeans to end my quest for the holy grail, but while idly online shopping (not during work hours) today, i may have stumbled across The Perfect Pair of Jeans. and so i bought them. tell me you wouldn't have done the same.

what i love about a great straight-leg jean is that, when done properly, it is never the wrong jean to wear. i'm talking about a true straight leg, with absolutely zero taper or flare, whose opening could go both over and under a narrow, mid-height boot (think cowboy). it's not exactly boot cut, not exactly skinny--if goldilocks were looking for a pair of jeans, this would be the one she'd pick. it's juuuuust right.

ladies and gentlemen, i give you PERFECTION:

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yes, sweet, extraordinary perfection. these straight legs in valiant joan wash have everything you could ask for from a jean; perfect rise, exsquisite whiskering and fade, and the most crisp, delicious cerulean blue wash i've ever been lucky enough to slide my stems into. though i managed to snag these for less than the $189 price tag, i would have paid it without batting an eye. these jeans are perfection in every possible way; but if my apartment were burning to the ground, these wouldn't be the pair i'd grab on the way out. they would be the pair i'm already wearing.

thirsty thursday

indeed it was.

you must forgive me for this late, abbreviated post, but i found myself on the best impromptu playdate ever with my former boss (from my brief stint in women's retail)/current gay husband involving my two favorites things: unabashed amounts of shopping and delicious sour agave margaritas.

a more in depth pictorial due tomorrow, but for now, a taste of what is to come:

(drumroll please)

the freshwater double strand was on sale for a ridiculous price, and even so, my hubby hooked me up. i won't say what i paid, but i will say it was under $20. it pays to be married to management.

til tomorrow...

wordless wednesday

if you trust no one else, trust this guy.

(the very first) tuesday shoeday - frye dannika

last fall, i had a dream. a dream that was doubted by many a skeptical friend, but a dream that i refused to believe was out of reach. and this fall, that dream came true.

i am talking about the fold-over boot.

last fall i bought a pair of gorgeous leather over-the-knee boots from http://www.victoriassecret.com/ called the "devon boot." i bought them in a delicious brandy color, and wore them every possible way--scrunched, cuffed, and even pulled all the way up, as shown by the picture found on the website. around this time last year, though, the thought occurred to me that this boot would be even more fabulous if i could fold them right in half, the bottom of the cuff overlapping the heel of the boot.

in execution, however, this idea was far from ideal. the top kept falling down too far, and the inside of the boot wasn't designed to be showcased this way. also, the edge of the cuff kept scrunching down too far and dragging against the floor. basically, the boot wasn't having it.

i couldn't properly explain the idea to anyone else, either. people generally gave me the "are you out of your damn mind" look with which i'd become all too familiar when making my boots-over-skinny-jeans mission statement after my summertime european tour in 2004. it seemed i would have to be patient.

finally, this fall, the original boot experts the frye company have made my dream come true with their gorgeously designed dannika boot. this made-to-be-cuffed leather holy grail is the object of my most concentrated affections of late. the $588 price tag seems steep, but then again, these are the boots that cowboy dreams have always been made of, and are pretty much guaranteed to survive well into vintage heirloom status.

these boots are exactly why i've always thought that the holiday season would be MUCH more pleasant if we all simply spent $500 on ourselves and got together for cocktails and show-and-tell.