many days of fashion and another birthday

Sometime last week, I was shooting in the Muir woods/Mt. Tam area and sad this lovely fence to hop on. Okay, it took many tries and I’m really trying hard not to fall, despite my effortless look.

So what am I wearing? I got this awesome cardigan at the second hand shop, Crossroads for only $25 and it still had all the tags. The dress was a steal from T.J. Maxx at a whopping $20! W00t, indeed.

Shoot day two in the Tiburon/Mill Valley area will bring on my beaded, pink Express cropped cardigan and my coral printed, blue Anthropologie  dress. I got it on sale recently for $80.

Next up isn’t as interesting because I actually don’t know where I got everything. I think the jacket was a hand me down from a friend. (Hey, it’s new to me!) The dress underneath is, too. Then the tights are from J.Crew a few seasons ago. The boots are from Timberland last year, but I saw that Zappos is still selling them for $200 something. I got it for $180. They’re comfortable and cute without being too manly and gives you some height as well.

Birthday time! I’m wearing a Jessica Simpson dress that I got at Marshalls for only $25. They have these cute red heels printed on them. Which happens to match my shoes! Fancy that! I’m also wearing my brand new Marc by Marc Jacobs glasses that I got for $168 at Eye’con in Chinatown. Go there for some cheap glasses action. You can talk down the price if you have cash, too.

And here are those fancy red shoes from Nine West that were $90. Did I mention that the dress also had pockets? That is my favorite.

Sometimes a girl has got to jump for joy.

And this is a Forever21 dress for $20 topped with a cashmere capelet from Anthropologie for $50 on sale. Sometimes one needs to feel like a super hero on her birthday. My friend from ex-work for the cake for me. She’s so sweet.

And today, after a long,sweaty day of shooting, I had to buy this $80 cat dress from Anthropologie. I just had to as a birthday gift to myself.

slip ups

Yes, Anthropologie is my favorite store, so you’ll see a lot of outfits I wear from them. I saw this slip and I thought it too beautiful to pass up. I know that slips are meant to be hidden, but I couldn’t let something so fancy go to waste. It was long enough to go right under most of my dresses, so I could turn something somewhat ordinary to something a little more special.

 

Here I am in front of the cable car museum. I never would have known this existed if we didn’t park near here. And here’s a closeup of that lace.

fleet week and optics

My friends have been telling me forever that I should start my own fashion blog. I really couldn’t say why. I collect my clothes from all over the place. Whatever strikes my fancy, I’m all about. This outfit I’ve chosen was somewhat inspired by fleet week. I wanted a little red, white and blue. A splash of polka dots for some old school flavor. So what am I wearing?

A Guess candy striped shirt under an asymmetrical Anthropologie sweater with a lovely navy blue pencil skirt by J.Crew. The heels are from Nine West and the “Polka Dot Invitation Clutch” is from J.Crew. Unfortunately, I’ve purchased most of these things a long time ago, but you can still get your clutch in stores for $59.99. It’s on sale right now with an additional 25% off, so nab yours today!

Now you have a better view of my Guess top here. It’s also very flattering, considering I have no boobs at all. So the picture is a little fuzzy, but that’s because my optometrist took it. Different kind of professional. Which is clearer? A or B. This one… or this one. This one… or this one… I’m moving onto contacts.

Lastly, this picture was from yesterday. This is how excited I was for fleet week, coming down from a jump. (My friend feared for my safety, as we were on the roof and I was wearing heels.) Anyway, the dress is Free People, the shoes are leopard print Franco Sarto and the bag is from J.Crew. So let me tell you a little secret–I don’t always shop at the name brand stores of where these originate. The Free People dress I bought at Marshalls for $20, the shoes I got at Nordstrom Rack for, I believe $50 and the most expensive thing I was carrying was probably that leather bag from J.Crew, which I can’t even tell you what the price is right now because I can’t remember. I love shopping at the end of a season because that’s when sales are around. I almost never buy anything full price from Anthropologie because everything goes on sale. If it’s not on sale, I don’t feel like I really need it, but that’s just me. I know most of my friends aren’t this way.

I also super love thrift store shopping and my favorite place is Crossroads and they’re located all around the city. They are pretty selective with their clothes and most of the stores hang their clothes by color coordination, so I just go to the colors that strike my fancy. Another one of my favorite stores is Jeremy’s. There’s a location on 2nd street, between Brannan and Bryant. Their upper level has high end brands at discount prices, mostly because they’re last season’s stuff or they have twenty dresses of the same style and size. If you sign up for their email list, you can see when they have 75% off stuff! (Score!) I’ve purchased Free People sweaters for $5 and Anthropologie pants for ten. I shit you not.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “I really don’t want to search through tons of stuff to find the thing that I want.” I’m going to tell you right now that it won’t be the case. You know the stuff you like better than anyone. After a while, you start getting the hang of your style, the colors, the shapes and the fit. When I go shopping, I really lose steam in around two hours. Everything starts looking the same and I have that glazed over look in my eyes, kind of like I’m having right now writing all of this. Anyway, if you’d like to have a shopping buddy or see how I shop in San Francisco or you like my style or whatever, feel free to send a comment and I’ll do my best to help you out.

Also, don’t be afraid to branch out your style. Stop saying, “Oh no, that won’t look good on me.” I think it’s mostly that you’re not used to seeing yourself that way. If you think I’ve always dressed this way, take a look at these pictures I found of me about 12 years ago.

What was I wearing? Oh man. Baggy sweaters for guys. I think it was an Express sweater, even. Sketchers. I can’t even begin to start with that Conair phone I have peeking out of the side. I had to scan this picture, so you guys better appreciate it. Okay, so I drew in the mustache, but you get the picture. Those boots were mine, those pants were mine and I was really into wearing camo. Guh. Things have changed only because I said forget it, I’m wearing whatever I want and branched out. If I could go from these pictures to the ones from above, I’m pretty sure you can, too.

Oh yes. I can’t actually say fleet week without posting a picture that I took, right? (Besides, I need to wash your eyes from the images of young Amy.)