fitforafemme.com

Hello!

Happy Oscars!

Happy Spring Forward! (Almost forgot, didn’t you?)

How handsome does the tomboy look in her vintage bowtie and sweater vest?! GAH!

It’s been an exciting weekend. I had a fantastic dinner with my BFF on Friday night,  traipsed 3.2 miles with the tomboy through the Castro and Mission in yesterday’s gorgeous sunshine, went dancing to the ladies of the 80s at New Wave City and brunched at noon today with a dear friend in the lovely Noe Valley. And if you want to hear a dirty little secret, I’ll tell you one (well, two):

1. I let the tomboy pick out my dress. I can’t believe it’s supposed to be worn this way!
2. M & I redressed in last night’s outfits for a FFAF shoot because we didn’t have time to last night!
3. I was forced to wear tights because my bruises from self-defense fights last weekend are still quite prominent and nasty looking. In fact, just yesterday I dubbed the one just above my left knee “the eye of Sauron.” It’s very serious!

I had a lily in my hair last night, but the rest is basically the same. Anyway, we were hoping that you could help us. The tomboy needs a new pair of glasses, and she tried some on yesterday but just isn’t sure. She is also convinced that Tom Ford frames are going to be the answer to all her prayers (not that she prays). Take a look at the three different frames below and let us know which ones you like the best in the comments section!

A NOTE FROM SKINNY: Greetings, FFAF readers! It’s a very exciting day, because I’m posting the very first ever guest FFAF post from a dear, dear friend, the lovely Kelly Alice. One of the things she loves to do is sit in bed at night and catch up on all of her favorite fashion magazines or blogs, until she’s sleepy enough to retire. The other night, she told me recently, she’d drifted off and her sweet and lovin’ tomboy came to bed, and in her sleep she said, “I want to start a fashion blog.” “Oh, yeah?” said her tomboy, Fancy Pants, “Who will be in it?” “Me and my friends!” Kelly Alice replied, and vanished back into dreamland.

Of course, Kelly Alice doesn’t remember this at all (I never remember the things I say in my sleep, either, but M sure does!), but she DOES remember waking up determined to whip up a FFAF-esque post, which she sent to me right away!

This is her awesome post. I’m sure you’ll all welcome her warmly and find her to be just as smart and kind and adorable as M & I do! Enjoy!

KA’s CONFESSION: I know that I wear the same things/styles over and over again and could never justify a style blog, but I do love them so (especially FFAF)!  Just for fun though, I did a little photo spread for you from this morning. I now realize how much work goes into your blog. I didn’t have the time to take many shots, then I had to download them from the camera, and then edit the photos…phew, I’m tired just typing all this! How do you muster up the time and energy to do this every day? I salute you! Maybe one day I’ll create a blog that incorporates all the things I love (food, fashion, travel, the damn cats). Who knows, maybe it will be fun!

I hope you’re enjoying your little west coast cold snap!  I have to be honest, it becomes very hard to stay fashionable when it gets truly cold here in Boston (the kind of cold that makes it hard to breathe!). Here are some of my winter weather femme fashion tips:

• buy boots in half a size bigger; wear warm wooly socks tucked inside when wearing dresses and skirts
• use MAC Prep + Prime to keep make-up in place after tucking on hats and wrapping around scarves all day
• wear silk long underwear under clothing – it makes a world of difference, feels so nice against the skin, and is so smooth you can barely notice the extra layer (especially under office clothing!)
• when expecting to be outside for longer periods, put disposable hand warmers (found at sporting goods stores) in shoes, gloves, or on the nape of your neck

Also, I know you can hardly see it at all in the photos, but my latest eyeshadow obsession is MAC’s Vex.  I have been wearing it every. single. day. for weeks since I’ve bought it!

(Skinny here again: I hope KA does start her own blog one of these days, and in the meantime she can guest post here as often as she likes! Also, she is maker of the amazing almond marshmallows and awesome mix CDs! Here is the video for my maybe-favorite on her November mix. It’s way fun and happy and sexy.)

CONFESSION: In spite of the fact that this dress is super fun, I’m getting the distinct feeling that old 2009 isn’t going to go without a fight. You know what, 2009? EAT A BAG OF DICKS AND GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD TRASH! I’m not scared of you. You, my friend, are on your last wonky leg. (No offense to bona fide wonky-legged pups – they are precious and deserve nothing but endless love.)

Perhaps that’s a bit unfair. 2009 wasn’t exactly bad, I mean, it wasn’t full of absolute misery and suffering, not at all. It was simply a year of bipolar highs and lows, and I am only saying, “We had a good run, 2009, you taught me a lot and I don’t regret the stellar changes and growth you saw me through. But you were a little unfair, a little hysterical, you threw one too many hissyfits and, in the end, you just weren’t there for me. You were kind of a cocktease, also. Your upside just isn’t good enough, considering all of the risk.” Harsh? Perhaps.

C’est la vie! 2010 is a fresh start. Go on. Touch me.

CONFESSION: I know the rainbow heart print is a bit twee, but the button-up backline sold me on this dress. It’s a fairly well-made H&M number that I scored at a local thrift store for $5. It’s sweet and comfortable, and I love that it can be belted or not, paired with sky high heels and a skinny, studded, layered belt to punk it up a bit. Or not. (In fact, I’ve got a pair of killer moto-chic heels headed my way that I can’t wait to pair with this dress.)

SCENT: ARE WE READY FOR THE LAST OF THE LAST? I can’t say how pleased I am to be done with this sad, trashy collection of Victoria’s Secret fragrances, I honestly can’t. A friend of mine tweeted today about the arduous task of finishing a book she disliked. She started reading it in March. I think she read a bit of it each day. That’s torture. It’s exactly how I feel about this little scent experiment. Thank heavens it’s over with and I can now return to reviewing sniffs worth their salt.

Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy: I spritzed a bit on, turned to M and said, “Sweet, sharp floral…” and she added “…with citrus!” and sure enough, it’s described as a “sultry blend of sensual vanilla orchid, sparkling clementine and juicy blackberry.” It still smells like shitty potpourri and continues to on the drydown. I fail to comprehend why all of their scents are pitched as hyper sexy, alluring, come-fuck-me irresistible when they couldn’t be further from it. It’s so bad I can scarcely take satisfaction in the fact that I was right – and I love being right – the quality and caliber of their fragrances parallel the quality and caliber of their lingerie. I was open to being proven wrong or humbled, alas.

In summary, it’s all very black and white, kids. Like so:

PS. ZOMG, someone hold me back before I ruin everything I’ve been working toward and DYE MY HAIR these 84,000 colors:

Confession: My new best friends are designed for ballerinas, but I am fancy enough to kick it. I needed change for the parking meter at my threading appointment last night, and instead of popping into the bar or a restaurant, I wandered into a sparkly dance boutique. Ooh. I grabbed a pair of awesome tights/leggings that seem extra durable and came in the prettiest shade of cornflower blue for $13, and saw a display case with these enormous, monster-sized hair pins.

Bunheads hair pins. It was love at first sight. I held my breath and took the plunge, hoping against hope that elaborate french twists and the like could be mine, at last. My hair has just enough Asian-y slip and impossible thickness that regular bobby pins and clips are a joke. I got the 3″ pins in brown and they are AMAZING. Seriously. I used four for a messy chignon and a tidy bun, and I am totally, totally shocked that they hold all of my hair in place. At $6 for one dozen pins, they’re a steal.

I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before!

*Boots by Charles David. Too lazy to change in .JPG!

When: TGIFriday, Jan. 9th, 2008.

Femme What: Sheer floral t-shirt by Shameless, black jumper by French Toast, vintage silk polka dot scarf, rand-o tights and necklace-cum-belt from unmemorable origin. Black leather and wool sweater by BCBG Max Azria and boots by Lamica.

Femme Scent: Caron’s Coup de Fouet – Eau De Cologne Poivrée. It’s described as being a unisex fragrance, a “refreshing fragrance on a base of rose and carnation, accentuated with a hint of pepper.”

The intensity is overwhelming at first application. It’s spicy, almost tangy and thick with cloves, even swerving for a few moments dangerously close to potpourri. All this underneath a cloud of something medicinal. It does dry down into something much softer, and the floral gradually undulates, but all so stubbornly. The staying power is good. M said that it smells like a “scent blocker” – like it’s hiding something else, or used to cover up something. The translation is “crack the whip,” which I rather like, but this merely makes me feel perplexed, but in a sort of rabid, obsessive way.

Maybe they meant it that way. Caron, cracking the whip at all the femmes since 1957! Word.

Femme Confession: I’m seriously having some critical and urgent hair dysmorphia, y’all. M is sick of me whining about it. She’s given up trying to reassure me that my ends look just fine and simply rolls her eyes at me and tells me that I have mental problems and might want to seek help. My friends coo reassurances. I, however, continue to jump into pools of harsh light like a spastic frog or insect, grabbing a lock of hair and staring unblinking and with disgust at my split ends. It’s fucking untenable. I recently gave a lovely FFAF reader a list of salons in our area without so much as skipping a heartbeat and my BFF is absolutely thrilled with her new hair, which I helped to advise yesterday. I, however, remain homeless, salon-wise.

YOU CAN’T HELP SOMEONE WHO WON’T HELP THEMSELVES. CRY.

Tomboy What: Brixton ‘Hooligan’ plaid hat (which everyone loves and tells me they love it, including total strangers in the elevator), awesome almost-worn-in RVCA jeans, brownish-green hoodie from Express for Men, blue T-shirt from the GAP and brown boots by Aldo.

Tomboy Scent: John Varvatos Vintage cologne. Do you want to smell fancy and ruggedly handsome, like a polo player or a fighter jet pilot? This is the scent for you! Not too clean, not too dirty, definitely handsome, but a quiet handsome, not the chatty, attention-whorey handsome! Top notes and description as follows: “Brisk Moroccan coastal plants spiked with piquant fruits, cinnamon tree leaves, pepper, lush florals, smooth woods, and Turkish tobacco make this scent truly unforgettable.”

Tomboy Confession: I sneaked out for a fancy hot dog for lunch today, even though it takes me forever to get there and back, because they are THAT good! It pisses me off that they are so far, and that they only accept cash and that it’s in the middle of a stupid mall, BUT I STILL GO THERE! Today, I find that prices have gone up some 25% for a hot dog, but you know what? I will probably be going back sooner or later. Sucker!