This time last year I was frantically chasing down ready-to-wear on sale. This year, I am more or less sidelined because even the items on my Chanel wish list turned out to be not so exciting (or cute) once I saw them in person. Interestingly enough, some of the things I’ve liked most are not the tweed jackets but basics that I can wear on the road, such as this slouchy beanie and scarf set
and a cool black turtleneck with leather strips on the sleeves:
One of my favorite things to wear is a simple pencil skirt. This fall JCrew did a whole slew of knee-length pencil skirts in beautiful tweeds, and I lucked into finding them all on sale last week at 60% off! More on the topic of skirts in the next entry…
On one of my insomniac nights last month I customized these Converse sneakers at their website, and 4 weeks later they showed up. The monograms turned out to be bigger than I anticipated, but I love the patent leather:
The grey pair matches my tote:
Did you notice the Missoni for Target pouf in the photo above 
? Speaking of which, I’ll close out today’s entry with a pic of my velour hoodie/shorts set:
I promise I’m finally done with the Missoni hunt!
Tags: Chanel, Converse, JCrew, Missoni for Target
There have been a lot of stories in the news lately about the downsizing of America, and I don’t mean corporate America. Small revolutions are on the rise around the country, led by women on a collective fashion diet. Blogs, websites, and even parties have popped up like rehab mushrooms for people learning to make do with less. Women (and I suspect some men) are finding liberation in de-cluttering their closets and devoting more time to other endeavors instead of hitting the stores on-line or in person. It’s safe to say consignment stores are the true beneficiaries to this new movement; they now have an endless stream of inventory from people who are clearing out their closets as well as a growing clientele of people who find second-hand items more fitting for their slimmer budgets.
My FIMTSO series was started more or less along the same thinking, as a way for me to maximize what I already have in my closet instead of cramming more stuff inside its bulging walls. I’ve not quite figured out how to go cold turkey with shopping, but since FIMTSOing in February of this year, I’ve definitely learned to buy much less impulsively. It’s made me rethink each buying decision; if I see something I adore but can’t visualize at least 3 different looks with it, I would have to pass. I know a lot of you are already very smart shoppers and way ahead of my learning curve, but I’m a serious addict on a slippery slope journey to rehab. I’ll let you know if I ever kick the habit. You know what they say, once an addict, always an addict. Unfortunately for me, couture is no less potent than meth–but boy oh boy, what a high!
Test Item: theory caramel corduroy pants.
Work Look: For a day/work look, I’m pairing the pants with a dark red Gucci shirt, Valentino slingbacks with mink flowers, and Chanel brown bowler bag.
Weekend Look: For a more casual weekend outing, I’d wear the pants with an army green BR tank under a JCrew dark olive jacket. Dark brown Converse laceless sneakers and dark brown Chanel tote finish the look. I would wear this ensemble to a basketball game or to loiter inside my favorite stores. See what I mean about addiction?
Night Look: Sometimes I wonder if I do have a split personality. A very big part of me loves sequins, and I’m sooo not a sequins kind of girl. But let’s just leave that between my therapist and me. For a night out, I’d up the sparkly quotient with this coral sequined JCrew cardigan over a slinky flesh colored tank. The coppery coral Manolos in an exotic skin and Chanel matte gold 2.55 flap finish my look.
Tags: Chanel, Converse, FIMTSO, Gucci, JCrew, Manolo, theory, Valentino
When it rains here, we Angelenos (1) call in sick (cough, cough), (2) videotape it for posterity, and/or (3) whine that it’s raining even though the meteorologist tells us we need the rain. I was born in the tropics and grew up in Texas so I’m no stranger to rain, but all these years of dry LA living has brainwashed me and I always find myself unprepared for anything but sunny skies these days. So when a reader suggested a challenge for a rain wear, specifically to run errands in, I was wondering how to even FIMTSO such looks without a single umbrella in any of the pics…I think all of my umbrellas are either somewhere in the car collecting dust or in my carry-on waiting for a trip to a wet destination!
For today’s episode, I’m going to do something a little different. Instead of featuring one key item in all the looks, I’m going to make the rain be the common denominator for the various looks.
Test Item: Rainwear
Look 1: Rain usually happens during the “winter” months here in LA, and that’s when I can break out one of my favorite Chanel pieces: it’s my navy tweed trench from the 08C season worn over the 08A navy/gray striped turtleneck. Skinny jeans and navy leather converse complete my outfit. I know I’m in LA and we love to show off our pedicures here, but if it’s raining, you’ve gotta cover your toes!
Look 2: The weird thing about winter here is that it actually makes sense to wear puffer vests. It’s not quite cold enough to wear a puffer jacket, so if you remove the sleeves it’s just the right amount of coverage–ha! I love this hooded black vest from the GAP over white long-sleeved ts and cropped corduroys to show off my rain boots. Chanel always gets black/white right!
But if for some reason the vest is too thick or I’m not in the mood to look like a Michelin gal, I would wear a black leather jacket over a long-sleeved hoodie tshirt with the above outfit instead:
Look 3: The truth of the matter is that when it rains and you are schlepping around running errands, you just want to be comfortable. No fuss, no muss. So if it’s Sunday and raining, you will find me in jeans, lace-free sneakers, and a fun t-shirt (I love Harajuku Lovers tees). Then I throw on the lightweight Prada hooded windbreaker/quasi-rain jacket just to keep the rain from hitting my arms and torso. I find a bold print in the jacket makes everything more fun to wear!
Look 4: If it’s raining and not super cold, I might venture into girly-girl territory and wear this dark rinse short denim sundress with navy sneakers. The Marni rain jacket keeps me from the rain and baring my shoulders too much in this strapless number. I know what you’re thinking…who in their right mind would wear a light colored rain jacket? Well…this is la-la land after all.
But look closer, at least the jacket is utilitarian. Do you see how the hoodie has a bill, like with a baseball cap?! And the Mossimo dress has tuxedo ruffles in the front!
So this FIMTSO begs the question: just what is the right bag for rainy weather? I’ve yet to solve that dilemma…
Tags: Chanel, Converse, FIMTSO, Gap, Harajuku Lovers, Marni, Mossimo, Prada
A reader suggested that I FIMTSO something green, and I thought hmmm, that’s a random color. Then I peeked inside my closet, and lo and behold, I actually have a whole green section in there! From shirts (mostly courtesy of Etro)…
to shoes….
to outerwear to handbags…oops, I forgot to take the tissue paper out of the bag for this photo, but I have to stuff these pythons like that while storing them.
In fact, I seem to have a prolific green safari/army bunch going in the outerwear section of my closet, but I rarely ever, almost never, wear green. I think, like most people, I just like looking at the color green but can’t quite make it work with my skin tone. Yet her request intrigued me…then it dawned on me. Why not wear green as an accessory instead of an item of clothing? We should be able to FIMTSO accessories, too, right?!
Test Item: pear green python Desmo hobo bag. I am almost certain I bought this bag because it weighs less than air.
Look 1: The easiest trick in the world to wear an unusual color is to pair it with black. So here is the green bag with a theory stretch linen strapless sundress and the Chanel Aloha sandals. I said it before but I will live in these sandals this summer!
Look 2: The second easiest trick in the world to wear an unusual color is to pair it with white. I think you see where I’m going with my tone-on-tone palettes! This time the bag is paired with white denims, white Chanel tank, and a GAP dark rinse denim jacket. I know I seem to have Chanel separates up the wazoo, but if you look closely, they are usually very basic pieces that will not go out of style. Ever. And even if they did, I would still wear them until I can amortize them to death!
Look 3: But where is the creativity if I can’t get outside of my comfort zone of black and white? So here is the bag with J Crew light taupe linen pants and Tory Burch brown print lawn cotton shirt. I love wearing sneakers with linen pants so I’m throwing into this mix a pair of dark chocolate leather Converse. I think all I’m missing are a Panama hat and a mint julep.
All right, readers. Who’s got another challenge for me?
I’d hinted that I’ll be in different climates on this trip, and as it is winter time for most of us above the equator, I’ll be bundling up for most of my trip.
Look 2. CHANEL 07A black wool peacoat with white piping, 08A grey muffler with chain link logo, black converse sneakers, and large black camera bag.
Tags: camera bag, Chanel, Converse, muffler
