It didn’t hurt to wake up today so it must mean that I finally got some rest last night. So without further distraction let’s get to today’s FIMTSO business at hand: the all-American jean jacket. I’m sure if you look hard enough, you will find one hanging in your closet somewhere. Although I usually prefer to reach for the leather version, I’ve always had some kind of lightweight jacket handy in case the night gets particularly chilly after the sun goes down in LA.
Recession be damned, consumers are still having a love affair with denim as it truly is a guilt-free pleasure. There has never been so much choice for you and me. Thirty dollars will get you a trendy cropped jean jacket from Forever 21. Move the decimal point a couple of places to the right and you can get a Helmut Lang one lined in mink.
In today’s outfits, I’m mixing items of all price points as usual. I’m also including the workhorse of all my bags, a black classic flap, in all of the looks to show why it’s my new go-to bag.
Test Item: GAP 1969 dark rinse fitted denim jacket.
Business: It still feels like a misnomer when i see “business” in front of denim. But in many work places you can blend denim into your business wardrobe. Here, I’m actually doing denim on denim by pairing the jacket with a Chanel sleeveless denim shirt in a lighter wash. I love the fringed hems peeking out from under my GAP jacket. But since blue-on-blue gives me, well, the blues, I thought a pop of red in the McQueen chiffon scarf might be fun. White tailored slim pants and blue python heels finish my outfit.
Casual/Play: I seem to recall seeing a picture of Sharon Stone wearing a jean jacket over a floor-length black skirt for a formal event once. I don’t think I could pull that off, but I will suggest that by changing a pair of shoes you could easily go from day to dinner.
First, a very simple look: linen sundress in any pop of color and matching flip flops (yes, those Liberty ones!). Grab your bag and sunnies and head for a day at the beach, zoo, or antique stores:
If I have a long day that also involves dining out (without time to go home and change clothes), I’d just swap the above dress for a black one and bring two pairs of shoes. The black Fendi flip flops are comfy for the day, and the red patent Dior heels will be a bit dressier for dinner out:
Let’s take another look at those shoes, shall we? If I can’t do a dress for whatever reason, I could easily switch it up by wearing a plain Chanel white tank with a pair of black skinny jeans under that jacket. The same two pairs of shoes I use for the look above can also apply to this breakfast-to-dinner outfit:
Hope you are all still enjoying these FIMTSO entries. Drop me a note if there’s a test item you’d like to see featured 
.
Tags: Chanel, denim, Fendi, FIMTSO, Forever 21, Helmut Lang, jean jacket
I’ve been kicked around the last few days by what I first thought was a really bad case of allergies that turned out to be a nasty cold (let’s hope it doesn’t morph into the flu tomorrow). But whatever it is, it’s pretty miserable. So around 2am this morning, when the meds were NOT working, I was thinking about the different looks for today’s FIMTSO test item. And for once, counting clothes instead of sheep did not work.
No surprise then that I’m sleep deprived and cranky today. So I’ll just give a quick Project FSK update today, and, fingers crossed, tomorrow I will hopefully be lucid enough to talk fashion!
The stray still comes for an early breakfast and (usually) a late dinner. Once in a while he has to fend off this racoon that didn’t get the memo about Project FSK not applying to any furry animal except kittens:
I know it’s always the same racoon because s/he has no tail, and all the other racoons that have ventured to my backyard come with bushy ones. Nature freaks me out!
If I stop leaving food out, I can stop nature from visiting my patio. But when I see Coco (yes, I’ve named him finally!) sunning lazily on a Sunday afternoon I don’ t have the heart to stop:
The worst thing you can do to someone (moi) who has shopping A.D.D. is to put a lot of bright patterns in front of them, scatter items of such patterns throughout the store, and then send them on a wild goose chase. And so began my scavenger hunt of Liberty of London items at a few Target stores near me these past few days. After I blogged about this collection last Saturday I didn’t know how well this collection would go over and thought I had a good backup plan with their online store. Unfortunately, a lot of the items sold out online by Sunday afternoon (it was released Saturday midnight), so instead of shopping with a few finger clicks, off I went on foot.
By the time I finished the second Target I had already lost my mind. You have to know that these stores are quite big and congested on weekends. And instead of putting all Liberty items in one central location, they display them in various departments throughout the store. This is where cloning would have come in handy to save me a lot of time; instead, I had to dart all around the store to see if anything was left. And as I am easily distracted (grrrr), it was quite a crazy zigzag through Target that I was able to find a few of my favorite things.
After a while it was clear that there were about 4 or 5 patterns that were repeated for clothes, household items, gardening tools, stationery, and other accessories. Part of my problem was also that I couldn’t decide which pattern to stick to. You see? This is exactly why I heard Imelda Marcos whispering in my ear again (When in doubt, buy it all. Mouhahahaha):
Except I bet Imelda had help and never had to lug all this stuff to her car.
Anyway, I don’t want to further incriminate myself so I’ll stop the photos here. Suffice it to say I have more gardening tools than I know what to do with, especially since I don’t do much gardening. And in my defense I was shopping for others as well. Exhibit A is this adorable dress for my niece (and no, I did not get a matching one for myself) whose mom does not have a Target near her:
All I can say is by the time I reached the third–or fourth, I’ve lost count–Target, I had just a few must-have items left to find and willed myself to find them; no other distractions allowed. But if you’ve been to a Target recently, you know that they dull your senses (and logic) because they put the snack bar right by the entrance. All that awful junk food smell would wear anyone down, including Mr. Spock. And it happened to me. I heard my determination falter as I got a whiff of the food. Give me Liberty or give me…popcorn?
Zac Posen for Target arrives late April. Does anyone know where I can get a clone by then?
Tags: Liberty of London, Target
Even in health-conscious California it’s not so easy to live a vegetarian lifestyle. Sure, it’s easy enough to find one or two items on any menu when I try a new restaurant in a carnivore’s world (and it’s definitely still a carnivore’s world out there), but most likely my choices are limited to salmon a la something or to a hybrid from the kitchen where the chef substitutes shrimp or portobello mushroom for a meat dish. This all gets old real fast. But it’s either that or drag everyone else to only seafood restaurants when I go out…and great seafood joints are actually quite rare.
So when there’s a really good vegetarian restaurant, where I can eat EVERYTHING on the menu, I have to write about it. I’m talking about Bo De Tinh Tam Chay, a pleasantly zen vegetarian restaurant in a mini-mall next to a large Asian supermarket chain.
My mom and aunt had tried to take me here before but we came during the lunch rush right around a Buddhist holiday and did not want to wait 40 minutes for a table. This time I came for an early lunch and got a cozy booth near the window. I ordered hot tea, and instead of bringing out the usual pot and teacups, they surprised me with a glass of hot chrysanthemum tea with Goji berries:
The menu is crazy extensive and it seems like every Vietnamese (meat) dish you can think of is available, even when you tell yourself it can’t possibly be the same with meat substitutes. But fancy mushrooms are cleverly dehydrated and marinated to taste like fish and boring tofu is magically transformed into pork or duck. Through creativity and incredibly sensitive taste buds, the chef delivers a great dining experience to both vegetarians and carnivores alike. Well, I don’t know if all carnivores can get used to the texture/taste of tofu faked into meat, but for this vegetarian who’s spent a good 20+ years picking peperoni off of pizzas and chicken out of tortilla soups, it was fabulous to just dig in without asking: is this meat?
BTW here are pics of the Bún chả giò bì (vermicelli noodles with shredded pork, egg rolls and vegetables)
and phở áp chảo (pan-fried rice noodles with beef):
There is a small waiting corner near the front door where you can relax with books about Buddhism, and down the other end of the restaurant is a food-to-go area in case you just need a quick hit of tofu or don’t have time to dine in:
I’m so coming back here. Next time, bring on the BBQ ribs!
Tags: Bún chả giò bì, Bo De Tinh Tam Chay, chrysanthemum tea, Goji berries, phở áp chảo
So this affair I’m having with Target is not quite over yet, because as soon as the excitement over the JPG collection dies down for me, the store releases its collaboration with Liberty of London. If you are a textile fanatic (like me), you would know the happy-mad world of Liberty, where all kinds of whimsical prints can be found. When paired with a mass retailer like Target, Liberty’s funtastical art can be slapped on all kinds of things, from dresses to accessories to teapots to flip flops.
When I wandered into a Target yesterday looking for allergies relief (btw this allergies season is already feeling like the worst one for me) I had just managed to score a few items. I’m going back later today once I’m out of my fog to see if I can’t find all the things on my wish list!
So here are some cute prints I found yesterday–the sundresses are actually in girls’ sizes…will look in the adult section today:
The first pic in today’s entry is of a cotton sateen floppy hat in the lovely b/w print that’s repeated in tons of things, including this cotton wrap:
And I simply adore these note cards:
Do people not write anymore? I’m just as guilty since I’m much better at emails, but once in a while I like sending handwritten notes just because–no surprise–I’m a terrible hoarder of stationery:
Anyway, will be back with more pics after my next outing!
Tags: Liberty of London, Target
