fitforafemme.com

How did things even work before Google calendar? I mean, I’ve used Moleskine diaries more or less for the past ten years but I cannot recall the act – outside of business – of consulting it for my personal or social life. I know I’ve documented things in them (kept most of them, actually – I’m a bit of a packrat when it comes to paper) – but I certainly have no memory of coming home on a Friday night and musing over my entries to see what I had committed to that weekend.

This is all to say that last night at ten to eight, whilst standing in line at Trader Joe’s after happy hour cocktails, my phone alerted me to the fact that we had a show to be at in ten minutes. I was shocked. I’d forgotten about it completely! How could I?! It was Wild Flag! I love Wild Flag.

Long story short, we ended up with tickets to their show tonight instead – we’re lucky they’re playing two nights. I probably would have breezed through the whole weekend without realizing it if it weren’t for Google calendar (and my Android phone).

Or maybe I should digress back into good old pen on paper, after all.

Now to the outfit at hand. Say hello again to my awesome bear tights from Latvian designers QooQoo. The cold is sticking for now, we’ve got rain predicted all weekend, and I’ve got firewood (and books) stacked and ready to go just as soon as it starts to rain. Between that, a kettle of Earl Grey and pumpkin muffins baking in the oven, it’s going to smell like heaven in here very soon.

SWEATER DRESSES ARE HERE TO STAY, HOORAY!

Slow-mo hair toss.

The dress is H&M and I’ve got another in a soft, peachy cream shade. I cinched in the waist with an Yves Saint Laurent obi belt in black suede, and popped on my cuffed and studded black suede ankle boots by Trouvé. The fur collars are vintage, and the big black Union Jack bag in leather is from Betsey Johnson.

Let’s talk about nail polish! I’ve been doing all kinds of super basic but really fun nail designs myself. This set is all Zoya polishes: Cynthia (smoky, blackened peacock teal) with Jinx (warm, coppery bronze) for the tips. I love the color combination. The (truly, truly, truly) outrageous feather earring is from Macy’s and came in a pair, but it’s best to wear just one at a time. I got the nudie friendship bracelet from a lovely gal at Indie Mart here in SF, the ring from Pretty Penny in Oakland, and that’s it!

Have a cozy weekend, y’all.

/FFAF

I wish you guys could make out the meringue yellow stripes on this cozy t-shirt. They pop wonderfully, just not in this particular set of photos.

I was very proud of the fact that I managed a perfect French twist in the morning, out of the blue, but then failed at maintaining it intermittently throughout the day. Until it was dinnertime, at which point I furiously mashed about half a teaspoon of Jonathan Dirt Texturizing Paste into my palms, hand-teased my hair, and pinned it up haphazardly.

Here’s the AM version, as well as a photo of my super gross tape measure work accident:

As you can see, my office walls are painted all kinds of cerulean blue. This is awesome, except for the fact that they are naked. I ended up ordering an assortment of bright, bold wall decals designed to look like ornate, sort of vintage photo frames of all sizes.

Aren’t they neat?

After I determine how they’ll be grouped on the main wall, I am thinking of having our design department print out some choice words (like my title Maven, for instance) to put inside of the frames, in the mood of the whole Keep Calm & Carry On thing. They’ll be removable of course, which is great as I am fickle and like to change things around often. Where the hell was I going with this? Ah, yes. The hand.

Well, I was measuring the width and height of the wall with a new tape measure and at some point during which it was stretched out by 12′, it slipped and sliced my knuckle open. Bullocks. It bled copiously. My very sweet colleague had to go and fetch a First Aid kit, as we had zilch with which to treat my wound. I consulted a doctor friend and said, “It’s deep, like I can see meaty white stuff, but it’s mostly stopped bleeding,” and she said, “Oh, the white stuff is your fat, when was your last tetanus shot?” Super.

Do I look like a girl with lockjaw? Nah. It was my left hand, too, y’all! (Did we know that I’m a lefty? Well, now we do.) A LESBIAN WITH ONE HAND OUT OF COMMISSION MAKES TWO REAL SAD LESBIANS. Other than it, I’m fine now.

This post was named after this excellent little Trina Turk ruffled ponte jacket, which I’m wearing again today over a flowy silk dress and riding boots. I wanted to find a jacket that was very special and could spice up pretty much anything in my closet. I tried on a shimmery Valentino Red jacket I was in love with, but the 4 cut off the circulation in my arms and I was swimming in the 8 – of course there were no 6s to be found and I almost cried in the store.

Shoes: Vintage YSL
Wide-legged velvet trousers: Erin Fetherston for Target
Striped t-shirt: Michael Stars
Jacket: Trina Turk
Bag: Co-Lab by Christoper Kon
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban
Bangle: Pier One
Spiked freshwater pearl earrings: Banana Republic

Last night we went dancing at a party where they played lots and lots and lots of songs by Depeche Mode (and The Cure, which pleased me greatly). I wore a green dress with black polka dots. I don’t know that I’ve ever owned a great deal of green clothing, but suddenly it seems polka dotted numbers in green are a thing I do now. The mysterious Tommy has given me a ton of fantastic tips for my new and still very much a work-in-progress FFAF studio, but for now these and my in blessed natural night posts will have to do.

This outfit was thrown on in a great hurry on Thursday last week. I was going for easy. Here’s a blouse that doesn’t need pressing! I thought. These black velvet trousers will do just fine and I pulled them off the hanger. Try to at least look like you’ve put in effort, I scolded myself, and then threw on the vest. I am very lucky that high topknots are in right now, because like hell I had time for that malarkey. I hopped down the stairs putting in my earrings and shoved a fistful of bobby pins into my pocket to catch the strays.

Off I went to work, but not before M drowsily informed me that I looked like a fancy Puerto Rican girl.

Black velvet trousers: Erin Fetherston for Target
Blouse: Vintage
Vest: Hengst
Earrings: Claire’s
Bracelet: Modcloth (I think, hard to remember)
Shoes: Yves Saint Laurent

When: Friday, February 6th, 2009.

What: James Jeans, black turtleneck sweater by Dolce Vita, vintage cropped wool coat with ruffled collar. Striped scarf by FCUK, boots by H&M.

Confession: Since this morning’s exchange with a friend is AMAZING, I am sharing it. She has Sunday reservations at an extremely fancy restaurant in the wine country, where people wait years and years to get reservations. She needed a suitable necktie. I needed donuts. Enjoy!

Friend: i’m watching all movies i can with the french on now. it’s ridiculous.je m’appelle jaque sparrow!9:41 AM me: BRING US DONUTS! Did that work? Why are you doing that? Also, you have boots. Friend: it might. would you loan me a tie for sunday? me: DORK.9:42 AM Absolutely. I have a mighty special vintage Yves Saint Laurent. Friend: wow me: M has knives and guns. There are many more to choose from.Friend: what kind of donuts do you want?are donuts as hard to find as pixy sticks?me: French Cruellers – chocolate, if they’re there, or just two sugary ones and one each of maple and chocolate.No, two maple.9:43 AMNo chocolate. Og th eplain. No!They are easier.There is a donut place on Lala Ave. Friend: where on Lala? oh, and the stationary place is totally closed.me: Between Peet’s and the Laundromat. OH NOES!WHY DID THEY TAKE THEIR SIGNS DOWN?!That is so sad.Man.9:44 AM Friend: maybe they sold them. me: You are rad. Friend: i have filthy unwashed hair. i will need to feed a dog, put on pants, procure pastries. me: So, I’m not wearing a bra and look like a slob and have no makeup on.Yes and yes and yes.Friend: fine, then we’ll all be hobos.me: GREAT!Spectacular. Friend: okay then, see you in a bit. me: YAH! You are Lord. See you!

Yes, I spelled cruller wrong and yes, she arrived with a half dozen assortment of perfect deliciousness. No crullers, though. They were all out. Maybe I swabbed a little lip balm and mascara on before she got there; it was the kind thing to do, really. Even hobos deserve to feel pretty. I did not, however, put a bra on.

When: Saturday, Jan. 31st, 2009.

Femme What: Black velvet frock trimmed with embroidered ribbon, Free People. White tank by Mimi & Coco. Boots from Lamica, black ribbon headband from Target and skull-and-pearls necklace by Betsey Johnson.

Femme Scent: Vera Wang’s Princess, with notes as follows: Water Lily, Lady Apple, Mandarin Meringue, Golden Apricot Skin, Ripe Pink Guava, Tahitian Flower, Wild Tuberose, Dark Chocolate, Pink Frosting Accord, Precious Amber, Forbidden Woods, Royal Musk Captive, Chiffon Vanilla. I like this for a sweet and girly casual day scent that’s not too cloying or heavy. It’s nice and light, with enough going on to keep it from being boring and really good staying power.

Femme Confession: It appears, quite tragically, that I am not a fan of scotch. ‘Tis a pity! M brought a rather nice bottle home last night, along with heart-shaped chocolates from local chocolatiers Joseph Schmidt and wee tiles of solid milk and dark chocolate from Charles Chocolates! Perhaps it’s just the Islay variety – something in the peatiness, maybe – but not only did the taste not sit well with me, just the whiff off the cork made me feel boozy right away! Anyway, here’s an invitation to come visit us and help M drink this very lovely bottle of Lagavulin 16-Year Scotch:

Tomboy What: RVCA jeans, white guayabera bought in Old San Juan, PR. Mahogany Italian boots that are totally falling apart bought I have no idea where, vintage Yves Saint Laurent sangria tie with sea horsies bought at the bombass flea market.

Tomboy Confession: I woke up craving chilaquiles in green sauce even though I mostly only ever eat the kind in red sauce, so we went to Citron for brunch. They came with pulled pork and a very spicy salsa. I feel great about my breakfast, and am looking forward to the samosa parade later, and sliders tomorrow. The skinny one is not wearing underwear. There is scotch in the liquor cabinet. This sports weekend is going spectacularly!

When: Friday, Sept. 19th, 2008.

What: Royal blue silk dress by Kenneth Cole. James Cured by Seun jeans. (Mm, super dark dry aged denim.) Vintage YSL satin pumps in royal blue. My P&B scarf from Down At Lulu’s. Pretty mustard yellow leather bag by Emilie M / Beaded white clutch, vintage. Fancy feathered hat, also vintage. Pretty dangly earrings from boutiques in the East Bay and Old San Juan, respectively.

Confession: These royal blue Yves Saint Laurent treasures were sitting jauntily atop a hat box in the costume section of my favorite thrift shop. In my size. That was a good day. So was the day I found the little silk number you’ll see soon enough! Ach so!

Firstly, I’m sorry I’ve neglected the blog for a whole week! It’s busily exciting but not necessarily excitingly busy, you see. I promise I’ll be better this week. Really.

Secondly, did you ever, when you were young, wonder what on earth someone would need an outfit to go from “day to night” for? You know, in fashion magazines? Long before any real grasp of busy workdays and mundane routines and nightmarish commutes could settle into your wee brain? I did. I understood the concept, of course – change of shoes, bare some skin, add a bauble here or there, let the hair down – but why not just go home and change the whole bloody outfit, I wondered.

Well!

That was then, this is now. My day to night, yours for the taking: