Psychedelic Night Out

Oh, hey there.

I'm currently exercising the strength of Poseidon to keep myself from opening a glistening, beckoning, seductive, bottle of wine.

At first I thought, "It's Wednesday. I'm young. I chatted politely with a crackhead on Lankershim blvd like a true lady. I. deserve. that. glass. of. wine."

But, then, with the steely determination that only comes from the looming disaster of bikini season, I thought, "Crack open a bottle of water and call it a party sugar buns."

So, here I am... doing that.

It's wild... and also completely irrelevant to this post... but hey- remember this bad boy?

Well, psychedelic flower dress had quite the night on the town.

Together we went to my friends' birthday party at Casa Escobar. If you haven't been there I would like to tell you that it occasionally smells like a sewer and there are sticky booths and Mexican blankets hanging on the walls.... and I love it.

I love it so much (especially after a couple patron + pineapples) that I decided to take you on a tour of Casa Escobar's highlights.

First, I modeled the lovely vinyl booths. These puppies stick to your thighs faster than carbohydrates:

Next I wanted to share the beauty of the plastic flowers:

Last up, the Taco Bell bell:

I have to tell you, this dress was just a happy dress and it had some standout qualities, the most important being the crotch accenting flower. 

You don't believe me? 

Who wouldn't want a flower accenting their lady bits? It's a real man-getter. 

Evidence of man-getting:

Okay I paid him. But you know... in theory. 

xo

dress- vintage (from Cuffs); purse-vintage Chanel

Coachella & What Happened To Me

If you're thinking I want to revel in how cool I am since I spent the weekend with all of my besties in fringed hippie wear in the desert sweating out alcohol to the beat of techno dj's then you're definitely wrong.

I do want to tell you, however, that Coachella helped me realize I'm old. 22 and old.

They always say the older you get the younger "the youth" looks (as in, every time you drive past a high school you wonder why they've let preschool aged hobbits run around campus...) but I never truly realized I was a cranky old lady until this weekend.

I spent a good forty percent of my internal thought process (though it was a thought process slightly inhibited by dehydration and a generous supply of vodka) wondering how in the hell fourteen year old girls got out of the house in rave wear and decided to twirl their unable-to-see-an-R-rated-movie butts around Coachella on psychedelics.

Of course I expected to rub elbows with those on the extreme party train, but something about seeing high school freshmen in such a state had me spending half of my time wondering whether I should get them a bottle of water or a better set of parents.

Aside from this tumultuous mental preoccupation I also had a spanking good time and enjoyed myself enough to come home with a raging cold and a minimal tan despite valiant efforts (I had more important endeavors to tackle than acquiring tan lines... like mispronouncing band names, spending hundreds of dollars on frozen foods and wondering which pair of sandals would make me want to cut my feet off the least on the walk home).

I, figured, since you saw me spend enough time talking about what I wanted to wear to Coachella in this post, that I might give you a glimpse of what actually happened.

Day 1, Or "The First Day Jessica Wore A Hat."

I was nervous about this deal:

But I soon realized I was with some dude in a golf visor so I couldn't go wrong:

Day 2, Or "Fupa Inducing Denim Jorts Hit The Town."

These bad boys were a creation that long existed in my head and finally manifested the morning of Coachella as I distressed my denim on the balcony of our villa.

I had started a post on the process of how to distress denim but alas I'm a failed blogger and got more concerned with crushing the mint for my cocktail than continuing to document all of the steps.

Essentially what happened is this: I went to Salvation Army in Santa Monica; bought ugly, baggy, 80's men's jeans; cut them to my preferred length; had my tailor take them in at the waist (I need a sewing machine and the ability to do this myself... baby steps towards domesticity); cut horizontal slits; used tweezers to pull out the blue threads (which run vertically in denim, whereas white threads run horizontally); and went out looking like this. You can only see one of the distressed areas but you can use your imagination.

I was also excited about this shawl from Crossroads.

Because, of course, I felt like Stevie.


Day 3

I don't have anything life altering to say about this except that Planet Blue's Precious Hands handbags are the perfect Coachella accessory.  I also thought you might like the teal short shorts to my right. Contrary to what you're thinking they're not actually stolen from my closet.

Did you make it to Coachella this year and live to tell about it? Tell me about your escapades in a comment...

Outfit Logistics:

Day 1: Hat- Urban Outfitters; Glasses- H&M; Leotard- American Apparel; Skirt & Bag- Forever 21; Belt- Vintage. 


Day 2: Shawl- Vintage (Crossroads); Sunglasses- Forever 21; Top- Thrifted; Jean Shorts- Thrifted/reconstructed; Purse- Vintage 


Day 3: Tank- I forgot, but a longer top I cut into a crop top so I could be extra slutty; Skirt- American Apparel; Purse- Planet Blue; Belt- same as above

Fit To Be Tied

Sunglasses- Chanel; Necklace- Banana Republic; Shirt- Anthropologie; Dress- Thrifted (Crossroads); Shoes- Jessica Simpson Dany Platforms; Bracelets- Vintage & Nordstrom

This title is a little deceiving. I'm not currently mad as a hornet (two idioms in one post! yipee!) but I did tie my shirt in a knot... over my dress... so... there's that.

Anyways, I have to tell you about my new favorite thang, Crossroads Trading Co. Perhaps, you've already visited one of these amazing outposts (there's a bunch throughout the west coast) but I'd never heard of them until my sage, Miss B Jones, did a post on the Orange County location.

The whole deal, essentially, is you can buy, sell or trade clothes there (trade just sounds fun... like beanie baby bartering). I, having the tendency to hold onto clothes forever, naturally went with sole purpose of "buying." Which I did, very happily.

I hit up the Santa Monica location last weekend (wearing 5 inch high heels... why?!@?!?#) and in just a few minutes my arms were lost under a pile of awesome vintage and formerly loved dresses. I was a little overwhelmed and went to my comfort zone (dresses) since it was my first time but the whole store was brimming with cool items.

I spent an hour and a half, giddy as a schoolgirl, and walked out with 2 dresses, a skirt and an awesome Stevie Nicks-esque shawl thing for under $60. No typo.

One of my finds was this leopard print slip dress which I layered under a blouse for an evening showing of Bill Cunningham New York last night. There's approximately a million and three ways I could wear this dress so don't be surprised if you see it pop up again.

And, if you're wondering about the documentary, it was interesting, funny and smart. There were a couple of dry moments but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it and left feeling inspired. Bill's the sort of guy that tells strangers when they have spinach in their teeth and I just wanted to hug him.

Nighttime Dress Gets Daytime Treatment

Shirt- American Apparel; Dress- Some Boutique in San Clemente; Purse- Vintage (London); Belt- Vintage; Scarf- Vintage (Grandpa); Sunglasses- H&M 

We all know I'm a bit dress obsessed and one of my favorite things to do is re-purpose a fancier frock for daytime. This dress is super "here-are-my-boobs" on its own, but with a casual tank and scarf its suddenly daytime appropriate.

I've also been pretty obsessed with coral pouts for the past month and this Revlon "Kiss Me Coral" lipstick is one of my favorites.

I'm running out the door to Vegas with five girlfriends right now and I'm consumed with the fear of what I forgot to pack (as always). I might snap some pictures in the midst of the mischief making so stay tuned.

Wishing you a magical weekend. xx

Happy Pants

 

Top- H&M (this week); Pants- Tory Burch; Shoes- Jessica Simpson Dany Platforms; Purse- Vintage Coach; Necklaces- Vintage. 

Some pants are just happier than others.

These previously mentioned, Austin Powers-esque pantatlones are the happiest of the bunch. I never thought I'd be slapping a bright floral print over my bum, but something about these Tory Burch wide legs just did it for me.

I always know a piece of clothing is meant for me when I can't stop dancing in the dressing room. It's like you feel a piece of your personality manifested in fabric and you just think "this is so me."

Anyways, before I get philisophical about some groovy pants I'd like to apologize for the quality of these images. This photoshoot sprung up unexpectedly around 1 am and consequently features a lovely accessory- an unnecessary glass of pinot in hand.

You might see this pants in better lighting sometime, so consider this a sneak peek.

And, if you've been on the emotional roller coaster of "The Bachelor" finale and would like to talk about Emily and Brad... I'm here for you.



Interesting pose number 1, titled: Someone was getting groovy (baby) next door.

 

Interesting pose number 2, titled: Wilting flower in hotel hallway. 

All About The Coat

Coat- Vintage, (Bungalow Antiques); Jewelry- Vintage; Sweater- H&M; Skirt- H&M; Tights- DKNY; Boots- Bakers; Glasses- H&M 

Despite looking like an angry gremlin in the above picture I'd like you to know that I'm in love with my coat. Some items of clothing just speak to you (in my experience they often speak in glamorous accents) and this lovely suede coat happened to do just that.

If you follow any of my stories for Agoura Patch you might recognize the coat from this piece I wrote on fashion inspirations for 2011. Well, I happened to shop on the job (shocking, right?... you've also witnessed shopping on the job in this post) and picked this puppy up from Bungalow Antiques in Agoura.

I tend to spend hours there, trying on vintage baubles, flipping through yellowed books and sifting through items to decorate my (still mental) apartment.

If you'd like you can also see this outfit in action because I snapped these pictures on my way to go film one of my stories for Calabasas Patch. I'd just like to warn you ahead of time, that despite some very incriminating evidence in this video I am not 7 feet tall. Lily (the sweet as pie and utterly adorable buyer at Dungarees) just happens to be fairy sized. She was also on "Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami" when she opened their Miami Dash. Recognize her?

Wishing you a happy Monday evening. As always, my heart is fluttering with happy thoughts about "The Bachelor" tonight. Though I usually hate reunion tell all's it should be fairly entertaining to watch the ladies try and explain their drunken tears (has anyone else noticed that the Bachelor producers/bartenders have a verrrrry heavy hand?).

xx.

An Old Lady's Skirt And A Field Of Mud

 

Glasses- H&M; Fur- Vintage (Grandma); Necklaces- Vintage; T-shirt- Calvin Klein undershirt (Dad); Sweater- Abercrombie & Fitch (High School collection); Belt- Vintage; Skirt- Consignment, from Address Boutique

If you ever happen upon a deserted lot in your suburban California neighborhood, the best thing to do is force your seventeen year old brother to snap photos of you; they love it. 

Yesterday I donned this layered ensemble for an afternoon of filming a fashion segment for Patch. It had been raining on and off all day and in between menacing gray clouds there was a respite of bright sky that was Santorini ocean blue. 

I picked up this hunter green maxi at Address Boutique in Santa Monica last week. As far as consignment stores go this one was a gem, with tons of top tier designer pieces. And, as a warning, it's the kind of place that assigns a "personal shopper' to you (which if you are like me, you do not necessarily like) and has no dressing room (think baring your hanky panky uncovered butt to middle aged women that think you should date their nephew...). But, if you're prepared for this, it's worth it. 

Take a peek at this prairie shoot and tell me your thought on fur with t-shirts. I tend to think it works but I also wear fur when I'm in my pajamas watching Gossip Girl so my perception can be a bit off.

 

 

 

 

PS you might recognize the awesome stone necklace from my Patch story on vintage shopping locally. I shopped on the job... woops. 

 Photos by John Hagy

Orange Picking

Top: Ancient Hardtail; Skirt- Thrifted (Goodwill); Belt- Vintage; Shoes (last seen here)- Stuart Weitzman

I haven't had a middle part since second grade. It's been something I've constantly coveted ever since I knew who Gwenyth Paltrow was but I have a stubborn side part that just wasn't into being persuaded.

This week I took action. I declared it middle part week, pinned down stubborn strands and took no prisoners. It's day two right now and I'm feeling a bit more in control. I will, naturally, let you know how this exhausting battle pans out.

In other news, I bought this skirt from a South Central Goodwill a few years ago. I like its ethnic print and think it's just a little bit ugly... in a good way. I threw it on recently with a Hardtail top from seventh grade (that makes it practically vintage... right?) that has 70's-esque fluttered sleeves.

My favorite thing about this outfit is the rustic hues which just remind me of the 70's. Any favorite ways you're channeling the decade at the moment?

An attempt at orange juggling:

The (clearly unamused) audience:

Flirting With Fur

 

Turban (seen here and here)- ASOS; Fur- vintage; Sweater- your guess is as good as mine; Belt- Neiman Marcus; Dress- Planet Blue; Tights- DKNY; Boots (seen here)- Baker's. 

I know what you're thinking: enough with the damn turban. I agree... but can't help it. It makes me happy and makes my ears feel special and loved.

Aside from the headwear, there's nothing I love more than a good touch of fur. And with brutally chilly weather earlier this week I found the need to pile on as many luxe layers as I could find. I decided to put a sorority invite dress to use as a flirty skirt worn with cashmere and fur. I edged it up just the slightest with boots and a studded belt.

Let me know some of your favorite ways to make a fancy frock daytime appropriate... or don't. Let your sartorial secrets fester inside of you like bedbugs eating away a mattress.

Cashmere Bum

Sweater- Vince, Dress- Zara, Bag- Vintage Coach, Shoes- Stuart Weitzman, Turban (last seen here)- Asos, Glasses- Topshop 

When I'm feeling lazy there are two things I undoubtedly always want to wear: flowy dresses and cashmere.

This week I'm in a post holiday funk. I'm depressed Christmas is over, I'm in denial that I don't get to enjoy my beloved (college style) four week break and I'm all confused about packing for my trip to Texas... well, I was confused... now I'm sitting on top of an overstuffed bag  praying that I was smart not to bring my heavy coats.

I'm not quite sure about Texas. The first time I visited Austin this June I came back feeling like a blimp after consuming every fried food imaginable and eating amazeballs catering on the set of True Grit. As I head to Dallas for the first time I'm expecting more of the same- as in, fried food, men with cute texan accents, and big everything. With packing, mourning the death of Christmas, and meeting my best friend for coffee on the agenda today I needed a comfy, mellow outfit... so this happened.