no- no- no- notorious

 

here's a funsies little activity... hop on over couturious and you can play paper dolls with online models!

i wish i had a pizza had a bottle of wine

 

 

aaahh, the weekend. perfect time for relaxing in this laid-back-cool outfit. suits my needs for brunching, arts n' crafting (or rather, attempts at), reading, and of course. posing. too bad that's not what i'll be doing this weekend when i'm at WORK. thankfully, my boss gave me the day off on thursday in exchange for working on saturday. so i did get my perfect weekend 'fit did not go to waste. i know. you were worried. i'm still bitter though that the rest of the world gets a three day weekend and i get a one-day weekend. well, at least i have more than enough work to keep myself busy. 

wearing: burnout tank, citzens of humanity; skinny jeans, uniqlo; cardigan, aqua; shoes, jeffrey campbell; hat, gift from a kiwi houseguest; sunnies, from painted bird (or you can get them at shotwell); bangle,i think it's from a tibetan gift place in my 'hood); elastic bracelets; wholesale jewelry catalog; ring, antique.

title song by: girls. great weekend tune. btw.

paint a black hole blacker

i've been feeling lately that my wardrobe is a little stagnant...it's like everything i put together is one of the "go-to's" i mentioned earlier. that, and the fact that tuesday's sweater dress made me crave something loose and light, lead to me to this all-black ensemble. i was stoked to see that tieka had the same sort of conundrum on the same day AND that fabsugar is doing an all-month-all-black challenge!

wearing: shoes, zara from italy; tights, target; dress; forever21; jacket, target; headband, goodie. 

title song by: st. vincent

take two

i have a lot of "go-to's" when it comes to outfits...you know, things that you can throw on without much thought. well, i decided i don't like that strategy so much, so this year i resolve to make each outfit unique and special in its own right. this is the start of my more inspired wardrobe creations, and i love it! i tried to mix things up as much as possible. what do you think?

wearing: boots, sigerson morrison for target; tights, hue; skirt, thrifted; blouse, zara; sweater, h&m; coat, jcrew (yummy new christmas present from the 'rents!); necklace, antique (it was my great grandmother's can you believe!!?)

east coastin

 

finally! i'm clearing out the old memory card and posted the promised holiday pictures. matt and i took some lovely walks on the beach, which was weird for me since i've never been on a beach at the same time as snow. i was successfully winter'd out--tretorn boots, wool tights, winter coat, mittens, hat, scarf--and i must admit it was quite beautiful. ps, matt's fam got a new puppy and it just might be the cutsest thing i've ever seen.

wearing: boots, tretorn; jeans, rando brand from nordstrom; jacket,spiewak; plaid flannel, vintage wilkes bashford; hat, kate spade; mittens, gift from matt.

(amazing) photos by matt.

blog crush du jour

hi! remember me?? i'm al, and i write this blog.  i was on vacation for the last little while and even though i brought my computer along with me, i never ended up opening it once. oh well! i hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and new years eve! i spent the past two weeks with family and dear friends, and i can't think of a better way to have spent my time. i do have pictures though and i promise i'm going to upload them tonight!


in the meantime, i have been cruising the web in search of inspiration for the new year and to check out what i've been missing. i'm starting to feel about halfway caught up... inspiration is slowly creeping back to me, but i had to take a moment to share with you what really did it for me.


i've featured secondskin before (see, here) but when i stopped by most recently i was completely enamored! girl has been on-point with her outfits lately! i am seriously digging each one. she masters layers, colors, textures. im sure (or at least i would like to think) that i am not the only one to have blog crushes. right?? sometimes i just jive with one and want to sit there and read the whole thing. and sometimes that's just what i do. and sometimes i suggest you do the same!! 

http://secondskinstyle.blogspot.com/

who is your blog crush du jour?

business as usual

this saturday marked the first of many in the christmas party marathon. it was the 13th annual gingerbread party, where friends and family gather to compete against one another in a themed gingerbread scene contest. the older boys team (whom are now all 27 years old) have a pretty strong hand on the competition, but the older girls team (me and my girls!) are known for our attention to detail. this year, for second in a row, the dad's team made a surprising leap to the front with their take on the theme "business as usual". 

 

and you know me, i'm always on the look-out for stylish inspiration. well good thing for me i didn't have to look to far with maggie and rachel on my team. for these girls, looking this cute is just business as usaual. and now: maggie and rachel's signature styles.

on maggie

sweater, younger sister's from gap; jeans, just usa; blouse, weston wear;shoes, ambiance; earrings, etsy.

on rachel:

top, ambiance; skirt, american apparel; tights, kate spade; boots, frye; scarf, borrowed; bracelets, vintage.

best dressed

 this week's best-dressed blogger is brought to you by the letters l, e, o, p, a, r, and d. i've had the print on my mind since i picked up a little goodie last weekend (more on that to come) and it looks like i was not the only one. let's take a look at these lovely ladies' spotted SIGNATURE STYLEZ!

1. annabel from blushing ambition. my first stroll to this blog and there's a leopard outfit on the first post. was it meant to be? i think so. this bay area chick rocks the perfect everyday look with a bit of spice and the perfect amount of 'tude.

2. julie from orchidgrey.  this is julie's second appearance on the best dressed list, and really, is there any wonder why? this adorbs ensemble is perfectly proportioned, totally wearable with a hipster/classic vibe. props.

3. jen from jenloveskev. i love the bold graphic snow leopard look going on here! and the pose in the snow on the rock?! fierrrrrce. also, how is she possibly standing in the snow without a jacket and boots, even for one second? that alone will get you on this california-sissy-weather blogger's list anyday.

4. rumi from fashiontoast. my life would be COMPLETE with the addition of this ridiculous furry, printed oversize sweater. i'm pretty sure i would never take it off. probably the same with those d&g wedges, so i'd basically walk around in some rendition of this outfit everyday. is that wrong?

one of my most favorite things about doing these posts is discovering new blogs! two of these girls are new additions to my daily reads! i get really excited when i find new blogs to crush on....my inspiration keeps exponentially growing!! lovesit.

best dressed

let's take a look at the SIGNATURE STYLEZ of the best dressed bloggers this week!

1. advanced style. this is why i want to be old. becuause you can wear a huge faux leopard coat, bright green and pink sneakers (carolyn!! did you see?), leggings, and an old wacky purse and STILL get stopped on the street for a style shot.

2. style rookie. tavi just got back from a spectacular sounding adventure in tokyo and got to pick out her favorite peices by her favorite designer! i mean, how amazeballs is that? plus, she's 13!!!! and she's so stoked on the whole experience that you really just can't help but smile with her. not to mention, this blanket coat is the sickest thing i've ever seen and you should read all about it now.

3. whatiwore. jessica does it again! girl rocks the colored tights and darling dresses and is overall such a positive inspiration that again, it's just hard not to smile with her. this is the type of look i will find myself trying to emulate.

4. the glamourai. oh hi, can i have that outfit for the bazillions of holiday parties i have to go to? talk about perfect proportion, color scheme, warmth factor for holiday party-hopping!.

5. theclotheshorse. the only westcoaster in the bunch, rebecca introduces a more earthy vibe without being in the least bit earthy-crunchy. the outfit is so perfectly original and pulled together. also, ankle socks with tights?? interesting....will give that one a try.

there you have it folks! what do you think of my selection?? have a great weekend!

style chain!

good morning! today i am hopping on board with the style chain gang and reppin the 'belted scarf look'. first of all, i love this game of taking what you see and making it your own and then seeing how it compares to the inspiration. second of all, i kindof love this belted scarf look.

so i had my bro snap a few shots this morning since i knew it would be dark by the time i got home (i hatechu, winter) and i would like to say a few things. a) how do people take pictures so early in the morning? i'm like a space cadet before noon. b) this "shoot" was decidedly less goofy that the last time bro took pics. c) um i forget was (c) was because it's still before noon. 

the style chain gang: julie from orchidgrey; christina from secondskin; krystal from thistimetomorrow; indiana from adoredaustin; and now me! from signaturestyles

wearing: scarf and belt, vintage; sweater dress, h&m; wool tights, ogilvy's in montreal; boots, jcrew.

speedway meadows

saturday was my oldest friend's birthday and we celebrated with a old skool bbq in golden gate park. it was fun to hang out with all the homies, and see some old familiar faces (blast from the past times a million =  so much fun!). it was a beautiful sunny day, but that didn't fool me... i layered to the maxx to ensure i didn't get frostbite in the shade--what? i'm from california! i had a whole bag of layers actually and it proved to be quite helpful, thankyouverymuch.

 

what i'm wearing: jcrew cracked rainboots (they're ok for mud). hue footless tights. american apparel skirt. vintage plaid buttondown (brooks brothers mabes?). scarf from my sister-in-law, lord&taylor beige cashmere cardi, sunglasses from i don't remember. layers in my bag included: a thicker pair of black leggings. winter jacket. hat. gloves. two hoodies.

getting a crown today...hoping for some solid gold steez so i can have a legit grill(z)

best dressed

here's my round up of favorite outfit shots posted on the interwebs this week. it was a hard choice what with all the stylish ladies, but these 5 looks stood out to me above the others. also, maybe this is just me and the blogs i read, but was this a slow week or what?? it seems like everyone had a million things going on all at once, myself included. which is why i am beyond thrilled to not have class tomorrow so i can experience the saturday morning laziness i think i deserve.

in no particular order, i present you with some SIGNATURE STYLEZ

1. audrey from homerunballerina. loooove that fun skirt! the bright socks and pumps jazz it up but the black top keeps it from going toooo OTT (= over the top duhhhr)

2. Aimee from songofstlye. girl i would rock this outfit in a heartbeat! killer shoes (i want!), vintage tee, & blazer, black skinnies... the perfect recipe for a flawless 'fit.

3. erin from calivintage. another sfbayerrria blogger (see also, aimee from this weeks best dressed). this post was about "seasonal dressing" in our strange climate. i feel you girl, 60 degrees is faaa-reeezing.

4. jennine from thecoveted. this is homegurl's WEDDING DRESS! first of all, i love that this is her wedding dress. second of all, i love that she is wearing it not on her wedding day. also, love those leggings. sidenote, can we think of an abbreve for leggings? leggs? gings? get back to me

5.jentine from myedit. great work outfit. all the right parts put together to form a perfect whole. check out her blog for the deets shot, the ruffle blouse is pretty much t.d.f. (= to die for. geez do i have to tell you guys everything?!)

man-shopping

 

my dear readers,
i promised you man-blogging, and i slacked on that one. well not really me, but my guest man-blogger (it's ok i still love you baby). fortunately for all of us, a dear friend jumped at the opportunity to help out and wrote a charming essay about his experiences with shopping. i think it is quite helpful for all those daunted by the shopping process, men and women alike. and i think even seasoned stylistas could learn a thing or two from this insightful editorial. enjoy!
love, signature_styles 

Square One

image from jcrew.com 

Previous to a few months ago, I never felt it was cool to buy clothes. While looking good was vaguely appealing, it didn’t seem worth the imagined shame I would suffer browsing racks and magazines. I can only recall four distinct episodes in my life where I spent any time shopping. For a year in high school I knew the t-shirt racks on Haight Street fairly well.  I also collected a couple vintage jackets (one of which I still regularly wear). Senior year in college I went to B Brothers with my dad and got a gold-button blazer, two pairs of wool gab trousers and a couple ties for interviews. Post college I added to my work wardrobe with some more trousers, shirts, ties, a suit and a pair of shoes. Around the same time I used a gift certificate to get a pair of jeans and a herringbone coat with a sewn-in hoodie on Maiden Lane.
 
Until two months ago, those were the only jeans I owned. Around that time I decided it was time to start caring. The creator of this blog agreed to go shopping with me (I asked because I felt drastically unqualified to pick out any clothes on my own), and we picked out a second pair of jeans and the first t-shit I’ve bought in about 10 years (not counting the two I made for myself and friends). And I felt great about it. But I also realized how little I own.
 
So I’ve set aside some money in my budget and put together a bit of a plan, however misguided, to build myself a functional wardrobe. I’ve decided to start with my work clothes. An inventory revealed my blazer, four pairs of trousers (tan, olive, grey and charcoal), about 12 shirts (mostly blues), a black v-neck sweater and a blue cashmere v-neck. Shoes included cordovan tassel loafers and black lace-ups, and gold-buckle belts to match.
 
The results of my fist shopping trip were mixed. I picked up two sport coats at Macy’s (two-for-one sale), two pairs of brown trousers (light and dark), four shirts (RL and CK; stronger colors and patterns than my current, pale-ish collection), a pair of tobacco lace-ups and a matching silver-buckle belt. I also changed out my gold buttons for blue buttons and resoled by tassel loafers. All this was good. But there were some frustrations. One of the sport coats shed a button after three wears. The shoes are still breaking in. One of the pairs of trousers had to go back to the tailor to fix an unfinished hem.
 
But now that the issues are behind me, I am faced with a bounty of options in the morning. In some ways, I’m a bit lost as to how to put it all together. I also have some ideas for what’s next. Augment my sweaters. V- or zip-neck? Another pair of brown shoes. Chocolate lace-ups or brown Chelsea boots?
 
A significant change resulting from my increase in shopping (and browsing in preparation for shopping) is, as I walk around downtown, noticing what looks good and what doesn’t. I’ve never paid attention before, but it really is a lot of fun.

 happy monday! have a great week everyone!!

(and wish me luck on my root canal, yikes!)

sunday styles

watched the niners game (we lost), crafted it up (0 for 2, but maybe one will come out ok), joined chictopia (friend me: signature_styles). outfit post and craft pics to come soon...after my nap. have i mentioned i've been exhausted lately??

UPDATE!!! took a nap (second of the weekend), ate a delicious homecooked meal, and now i'm ready to share!

comfy sunday outfit: leggings, vintage buffalo plaid top, vintage  patterned sweater, minnetonka moccs. warm, stylish, and cozy!

so i attempted the textured container DIY project from ps-i made this and this one turned out alright. i took an old edamame container and some puffy paint, dotted it up and spray painted! i think a bottle might look a little better but this one serves the purpose..and looks good with those bangles! i also tried the 'summer scarf' with an old tee and it is very reminiscent of a lion...oops!

enjoy the last few hours of weekend!!

lesson #1

the first (and in my opinion, only) rule in fashion is...have fun! fashion is all about expressing yourself letting your true colors shine. it shouldn't be worrisome or hard to figure out...just get out there and have fun! to illustrate my point i'm going to share the following "photoshoot" with you, dear readers. i hope you enjoy!

despite the fact that i wanted to crash tonight after a lovely dinner and stroll, i knew i needed to put together a blog post so i could start of my monthly challenge on the right foot. so i set up the camera and timer and all that and gave it my best shot. after fumbling around with the zoom/focus i enlisted the help of my brother to take some outfit shots. this is what happened:

one decent (if that) outfit shot, which lead to...

...silliness, which lead to...

...funny faces, which lead to...

...picking up the dog (don't worry, cody loves getting picked up), which lead to...

the dog making funny faces too!

so as you can tell it was pretty hilarious and fun and i still got to a)share my oufit and b)check off another day on the month of posts! c'est parfait, non?

check out more silly pics and outfit deets after the jump!

all hallows eve

since h-dubs is on a saturday this year, it's basically a two-for-one deal. we have two days and nights to dress up. which is perf for someone like me who has some issues with decision making (see, rainboot posts). i like to do it up, and then do something easy, and maybe squeeze in another costume if i can. this year i have three tentative costumes (work, class, and saturday night). last year i only had two, one of which is pictured below:

me, as karl lagerfeld.

so not to toot my own horn or anything, but this costume was amazing. i completely rocked it. unfortunately by then end of the day i thought i was going to asphyxiate on the pounds of baby powder that i dumped in my hair. so when i got home from work (oh, did i mention i wore this work and was pretty much the only person dressed up?) all i wanted was to shower and put on something more natural. for the party that night i wore a nuditard and a wig and was eve. it was great. nuditards are super comfy, full of shock value, and a great investment piece. for anyone without a costume at this stage in the game: go get a nuditard and thank me later.

have fun this weekend and be safe kids! i'll post my trifecta of costumes by the end of the weekend!

the new 'do

 for those that know me this will come as no surprise: yesterday completely overhauled my hair. i went from strawberry blonde to dark brown in the course of an hour and a half. i don't know what inspired this change but i love it! i feel like a different person. my hairdresser is SO fantastic, he makes every color look like my “natural color” (whatever that means anymore). i love how instantly the dark brown changed my complexion completely! my eyes all of a sudden pop with green! my co-worker said i looked super tan! my skin tone looks much more even! it’s such an amazing and fun transformation…maybe that’s why i do something like this 4 times a year.

so…what do you think? i love to hear people’s reactions to things like this, and don’t worry I won’t be offended if you like other colors better. i’m pretty used to that too.

also, socks with open-toed heels? totes digging it! are you? 

 

cashmere tee: isaac mizrahi. skirt: jcrew. socks: brand?? purchased at loehmans. shoes: nine west. bag: comptoirs des cottoniers.

ps. not so into these pictures. what a horrible background. might stick to laundry room photoshoots from now on.

jessica z

my girl jZ dresses to impress everyday of the week. here is but a sampling of the outfits she throws together...from monday meetings to thursday wrap-ups, she's got it covered. and without any boring fallback outfits (trust me, her 'fallbacks' are way too stylish).

 

isn't she just the cutest?

thanks, jess!