While I’m still sorting through some technical difficulties with my travel photos, I’ll revive my old FIMTSO series with a recent “discovery” of mine. Not that I’m Christopher Columbus seeing the new world for the first time or anything because (very) small bags have been in play for quite some time now. I’ve always thought they were adorable, especially when casually slung across the shoulder or body…of a teenager!
We’ve talked about this before. Age is but a number and inappropriateness is a fleeting state of mind in the fashion world. If you can make something work, just go out and rock it and who cares what people say, right? Err…that’s what my heart says anyway. The head, however, is tisk-tisking away with snarky comments like Why would a full-grown woman carry a Barbie-sized bag? and Carrying a child-sized bag won’t make you look any more child-like! Sigh. I know, tough audience in my head. 
But I’ll let you decide after today’s FIMTSO. Does the heart know more than the head this time?
Test Item: Chanel mini classic flap.
Look 1: This is how I always envision carrying this tiny bag, with a fun summer dress for museum days or date nights. It is shown here with a Liz Lange (yes, from the maternity section at Target!) black maxi dress and Louboutin flats.
Look 2: What if I paired it with a more formal look? Here it is next to the long 10A coat, theory velvet pants, black Gucci tuxedo shirt, and Dior heels.
A little harder to wear it messenger-style across a big coat, but you get the idea:
Look 3: I know you were waiting for this look…I’m all about taking a tweed jacket downtown, so here’s the bag with an 09P jacket, black tshirt, capri jeans, and Chanel camellia patent slides.
Tags: camellia, Chanel, Dior, FIMTSO, Liz Lange, mini classic flap, Target, theory
It’s not the jet lag, double/triple security checkpoints at the airports, or even unpacking dirty laundry that bring you back to reality pronto after a long trip to Lalaland. It’s more about remembering where you put your car key or what your PIN number is at the gas station. That and going through a mile-high pile of mail (both snail and the electronic kind) to remind me that this life here in LA didn’t stop while I was wheezing through Europe.
Anyway, that’s my excuse for not showing up here in over a week. But give me a few days to catch up and I’ll have more stories from the road.
So, you ask, what was the first thing that I did upon coming home? Besides going through a few packages of goodies that were sent (I’ll post about these later as well) during my absence, I decided to see if I still remembered how to drive by heading to the nearest Target. But can you blame me? I’d been hearing from my friends about the Calypso collaboration at Target since May 1, didn’t want to have to order online while overseas, so I was giddy to go see the products in person.
But the giddiness turned into frustration as most of the cute dresses were sold out (and only petite sizes are available online) and I had to hit 3 stores to find the above elephant teapots. I think I stood there dazed and confused for ten minutes, unable to decide if the coral-pink one was cuter than the blue (I think that was really just a case of jetlag finally hitting me) and realized for $12.99 a piece I could get both ! I also went home with two pairs of batik flipflops…
and then went online to order a few clothing items. When they arrive, I’ll do a review here. So definitely no going overboard with Calypso as I did with the Liberty collab last year. But I hear Missoni is coming to Target this September…oy ve, that’s definitely trouble heading my way!
Today’s photos are for an overseas reader who wanted to see how the William Rast for Target jackets fit before she ordered them online. So here some photos of how the XS fits me:
I’m more comfortable with it unzipped:
And here’s the ruched twill one–this one doesn’t feel as tight when zipped, and I think it looks better zipped anyway…
Now, you all probably think I’ve given up on my trophy wife jacket, but I haven’t. I’ve just not had enough time to find the one key item I want to wear with it yet. But I’ll give you a preview of the Gucci runway shoes I’m dying to feature with it…
I know I can’t wear those shoes except while in my closet, leaning on furniture in there for support. But what can I say, it makes sense to wear trophy shoes with a trophy jacket, right?
Tags: Gucci, Target, William Rast
I have a confession to make. I’m a Justin Timberlake fan, and if he ever goes on tour again I might or might not have to rent a tween to take to the concert with me (I’m just here to chaperone, ahem!). In all the recent running around I forgot to blog about his label’s collaboration with Target. When I heard about JT’s venture into fashion with a friend a few years ago, I, too, was doubtful. But after checking out the William Rast gear, I was pleasantly surprised by some of their designs, especially the ruched leather jackets.
So when the William Rast for Target collection hit the stores a few months ago, I knew I had to get one of the cool leather moto jackets. The leather is buttery soft and the cut is so tiny that I might have to hold my breath to keep it zipped up.
And I adore the quilting on the shoulder. Yummy leather.
I like the jeans a lot, with cool whiskering behind the knees, but alas, they do not come in my size. So I choose a second jacket, this time a cropped twill one with ruching everywhere. Again, a teeny tiny jacket, but pretty darn cool on:
There’s even ruching in the back…how’s that for bringing sexy back? Sorry, JT, easy shot but I had to take it .
Tags: Justin Timberlake, Target, William Rast
Many people fall off the new year’s resolutions wagon by this second week in January, so along that spirit, in today’s FIMTSO episode, I’m cheating a little bit by featuring an item that’s new to my closet. Today’s test item is the something-something I alluded to at the end of the last blog’s entry. But I know that if you are like me, you already have a few black t-shirts in your wardrobe. And if you are really like me, you’re always searching for that next perfect tee, the one that fits just so and that you hope will not lose its shape after the first cleaning.
Test Item: CHANEL 10A wool black t-shirt with embellished trims. LOVE the leather braided into the trim!
Work Look: I’m pairing the tee with a black/white checked tweed skirt from the 09P season. The sweet grey ribbon trim on the skirt actually throws me for a loop each time I put on this skirt–do I match the shoes to the colors on the tweed or to the grey ribbon?? (And who else but Karl would put light grey on black and white?!) But today I’m finishing off the look with the patent black Manolos. Speaking of shoes, at the top of my buy list is a pair of black heels. I think I like the peep-toe, platform pair from Chanel’s cruise 2011 collection, but I’m also still gaga over the YSL pair I saw last week. Hmmm…
Casual Look: We love to layer in Southern Cal so it’s only fitting to slip a slim, grey cotton Mossimo hoodie ($15 from Target!) under my tee. The Gucci grey herringbone tweed pants and black Manolo watersnake boots complete my look. It’s my comfy-casual alternative to jeans and sneakers.
Glam Look: I’ve seen all the great American designers do this look, pairing a formal skirt with a simple t-shirt. So in this third combo I take my cues from Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors (and actually a nod to Ms. Herrera as well), and Donna Karan and pair the tee with a long, bronze, crinkly Nicole Miller skirt. This skirt was actually a dress that I had altered into a skirt (see before and after pics below). I must be in a reptilian mood because in this last look, I’m featuring the Prada python slingbacks.
Tags: Chanel, FIMTSO, Gucci, Manolo, Mossimo, Nicole Miller, Prada, Target, YSL
