When I was 17 I swore off shorts and began to exclusively wear skirts in warm weather. Over a decade later, I’m considering swearing off pants for good. No matter what I decide, I’ll probably end up keeping at least one pair of jeans around, even if I only wear them in secret.

Lee Oliveira // Vanessa Jackman // Lee Oliveira // the Sartorialist // Lee Oliveira

I’ve been looking for a good summer sandal for a while – the kind you can walk all day in, and dress up or down. I love my Ancient Greek Sandals, but I’m in search of something with a little more support, and a slightly higher heel. The current front-runner are the Pour La Victoire’s, but who am I kidding – I love them all!

1. Madewell
2. Madewell
3. Cole Haan
4. Madewell
5. Pour La Victoire

The day before I flew to New York I was lucky enough to attend a pre-luncheon celebrating AAU’s fashion graduates.

1. A collaboration between fashion and architecture students was on display at the reception.
2. Drawings by Gladys Perint Palmer, the Academy of Art’s Executive Director of Fashion, lined the entryway into the lunch. She also has a book coming out!
3. Beautiful view from the top.
4. Dress – Anthropologie (on sale) // Shoes – Dolce & Gabbana (similar). They’re fine for a couple of hours and then man – they hurt! It’s a total bait-and-switch.
5. I got to meet both Max and Lubov Azria. They’re both so full of personality and joie de vivre.
6. Remember that time I got lost at Macy’s with Mayor Willie Brown? Well this time I finally got a photo with him!

1. Aurélie and Angelo
4. Atlantic Pacific
2. Trendy Crew
3. NuSophisticate

High-low hems always catch my eye, but they never look the way I want them to. During the heat wave we had a couple of weeks ago I tried out a new dress that I found when I was looking for something to wear to my friend’s wedding. Turns out, I loved it! I’m not even going to say how many times I’ve worn it since then…

Dress – Free People // Sandals – Ancient Greek Sandals (similar) // Necklace – Gift (similar)

Photos by Julia Ralston

1. Friday was epic. I went to the Morris-Jumel Mansion for The Loves of Aaron Burr: Portraits in Corsetry and Binding; the Metropolitan Museum of Art for Punk: Chaos to Couture and Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity (I liked the latter more than the former); AND to the Prada SoHo store to see costumes from the Great Gatsby on display. I also got lost in Central Park and walked 14 blocks south instead of walking a few blocks east.

2. Saturday I went to one of my favorite spots in all of New York City – the Highline! I love the concept – how they turned an old, elevated railway into a beautiful, elevated park. It’s so elegantly and expertly landscaped, and provides a beautiful way to observe the city. This statue is from a series called “Busted”, and was used with “modern printing processes” including 3D scanning!

3. The whole reason I came to New York – for a friend’s wedding! I love getting together with my college friends, and what better excuse than a wedding?!

Outfit #1: Skirt – Stella Jean // Top – American Apparel // Espadrilles – J. Crew // Necklace – Mira Mira // Bracelet – Stella & Dot
Outfit #2: Dress – Ace & Jig (via Mira Mira) (similar) // Shoes – TOMS (similar) // Necklace – Mira Mira
Outfit #3: Dress – Anthropologie (only available in petite online, but check your local store!) // Shoes – Diane Von Furstenberg // Lipstick – Givenchy Le Rouge

POSH: Sienna Miller in Burberry
PUNK: Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles (and a Philip Treacy mohawk)

POSH: Gywneth Paltrow in Valentino
PUNK: Julie Macklowe in Zang Toi

POSH: Carey Mulligan in Balenciaga
PUNK: Anne Hathaway in vintage Valentino
POSH: Emma Watson in Prabal Gurung

POSH: Giovanna Battaglia in Dolce & Gabbana
PUNK: Chloé Sevigny in Proenza Schouler

POSH: Jessica Pare in Jason Wu
PUNK: Hilary Rhoda in Wes Gordon

PUNK-Y: Christina Ricci
PUNK: Liya Kebede

Trick question. They’re both punk!
Anja Rubik, Gisele, both in Anthony Vaccarello

I was so curious to see how the supremely posh Vogue & Friends would turn out for this year’s punk themed Met Ball. Some people dipped their toes in the water, while others went all out. And some people (cough, Anna Wintour) didn’t even seem to try. But hey – that’s their perogative, and punk certainly isn’t for everybody. That’s the point! What did you think of this year’s Met Ball red carpet? Head over to my Facebook page to see more of my favorites.

all photos via Fashionista.com

This outfit is an unexpected study in contrasts: I’m WILD about this dress. The shoes however, I’m pretty lukewarm about. I love how they look – and I worked hard to get them – but I’ve never loved how they look on me – or with any of the things I own. I think their days in my wardrobe are numbered.

Dress – J. Crew (also available as a top) // Belt – J. Crew (similar) // Sandals – Surface to Air // Bracelet – Stella & Dot // Bangle – Kate Spade (similar) // Rings – vintage, Oscar de la Renta, Rocks Box // Lipstick – Givenchy Le Rouge in #307 Grenat Initié

1. Micah’s fierceness knows no bounds. (Raww Blog)
2. I’m on an open-knit sweater kick right now. (Sartorialist)
3. This photo inspired me to buy these shoes (during the Saks Friends & Family sale!). I just wish they didn’t feel so tight. (the SF Style)
4. I have this dress! I love it, but sadly it’s too tight right now. (Blank White Frames)
5. I don’t have this dress… but I would like to. Looks like a perfect spring/summer transitional dress. (Atlantic Pacific)

In San Francisco you can really never have too many jackets, and this army-green, cotton parka is the latest addition to my stable of outerwear. A few of my friends have this exact jacket, and several of my friends have something similar. It’s the perfect mid-lightweight jacket that layers well and looks cool with everything. Speaking of new things, did you notice the white pumps? I ended up not going with any of these, but with a pair from Zara that a friend spotted. With a heel height just over 3 inches and coming in at $40, that might be the quickest buying decision I’ve ever made.

Dress – Tracy Reese // Jacket – Aritzia // Pumps – Zara // Wing Ring – Anton Heunis via Moda Operandi

This weekend I went to American Apparel and stocked up on cropped white tees. I want this to be my new look! Basically, cropped tees over midi/maxi skirts, or regular loose tees over fitted pencil skirts. And fun shoes. I’m still in the process of paring down my wardrobe and only wearing what I truly love – as opposed to things that I think look cool, or even worse, that I feel compelled to wear just because I spent money on it. I’m in the process of researching which re-sale site is best for me, but when I get that all figured out expect a major closet dump!

OH and guess what? I switched up my nose stud for a hoop. Did that in Chicago after the Steve Harvey taping. So far I like it, except it’s totally throwing me for a loop when it comes to earrings. Basically, I haven’t worn any since getting it done. I used to wear hoops all the time, but it might just be studs from here on out.

Top – American Apparel // Skirt – See by Chloe (via the Outnet) // Sandals – Madewell // necklace – gift from a friend (via Anthropologie) // rings – Alice Temperly for Stella & Dot, vintage, Azil // Lipstick – Givenchy Le Rouge in #307 Grenat Initié

Soooo guess what I did last week? I flew to Chicago and taped an episode of the Steve Harvey Show! I’ll back up a little: most people may not know this about me, but I have big feet. Sometimes I wear a size 10 – even bigger in some international sizes. Enter Barefoot Tess: a website that caters to women wearing shoes sizes 10-15. And Steve Harvey: a guy who’s all about ALL women looking as stylish as can be, regardless of size (he has a clothing line, too). Steve Harvey invited Barefoot Tess to be on his show, and Barefoot Tess invited me! Along with eight other women, I modeled a pair of fabulous shoes that women with any size feet can wear.

A car service shuttled me from the airport to the hotel to the set, and it was so fun going through make-up and wardrobe. Plus, taping a talk show was such a cool experience! So much goes on behind the scenes that you never see when an episode airs. If you ever have the chance to be part of the studio audience – do it! It’s TBD when the episode will air, but rest assured I will post when I know it!

Ok, so I’ve been on a bit of hiatus. March was a really tough month for me. The shit really hit the fan in my personal life. I’ve been trying to be kind to myself – so I’ve been doing a lot of traveling to spend time with friends (the photo above is from a trip I just took to New Orleans), and spending less time on the computer. The break has been good, but I miss blogging. I feel like I may be finally climbing out of my funk, and I can’t wait to share all the stories I’ve been storing up!

PS: I was just featured in the April issue of Matchbook Magazine. Check it out!

As mentioned in a recent post, I’m going through a total purge phase. But that’s only half of it. Not only am I purging, I’m trying to really focus my wardrobe: what makes me happy, what do I look great in, and what is unique about my personal style? One definite answer that I’ve come up with is prints (obvs). And for some reason right now I’m obsessed with matching suit-y printed things. They’re great to wear on their own, but when you put them together – watch out! Major awesomeness ensues.

If you follow me on Instagram (or have looked at my right sidebar lately), you may have noticed that I’ve been taking lots of pictures of my shoes. One day I wore a pair of boots that I thought had a fun story, so I wanted to put them on Instagram. The next day I thought of something else to say about that day’s shoes, and it went on from there. Once I started doing that, I became so much more aware of how many shoes I have, and how many shoes I actually wear. Guess what I realized? I have too many shoes. It’s true: ~ 70 pairs! And I’m probably only interested in 20-25 of them. Plus, I have several heels that I can’t wear, wear; I have to put on flats and bring the fun heels to my destination. I’m great at rationalizing a gorgeous pair of heels when in fact they barely fit, or I can’t walk in them.

These realizations have steadily trickled in as I’ve been taking my daily #shoesnaps, but then a full-on purge phase hit me last weekend. Now it’s not just shoes. My closet is full of things I pretend like I’m going to wear, but that really I have no interest in. And they just take up precious space and distract me when I’m trying to get dressed. There are so many other things to whittle down and streamline! I want to focus on buying the things I love and that make sense for my lifestyle (maxi dresses/skirts, handbags, necklaces), and pare down the things I’m not actually into (heels, bangles (not bracelets – LOVE those!), assorted jeans and sweaters that will never again fit me). Every morning I look at my closet and can’t wait to pull out the dead weights…

It’s not that I’m done wearing heels – by all means no! I just want to remove the distractions and be (slightly) more pragmatic in the future. And I think I’ll be fine. I’ve already spotted my next great (yet practical-ish) pair of heels!

Mixing prints is something you can always do on your own, but I love it even more when it all happens in one piece. Hope you had an excellent St. Paddy’s day. I’ve had a rough couple of weeks and can’t wait to head to a friend’s bachelorette party in D.C. this weekend (cherry blossom season!), and another friend’s birthday party in New Orleans a couple of weeks after that. Sometimes you just gotta get out of Dodge!

Dress – Anthropologie; jacket – Michael Kors; boots – Betsey Johnson; tights – Hue; earrings – Adia Kibur; bracelets – Made (similar), Stella & Dot, Lulu Frost; rings – Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent.

Photos by Krystal Bick.

If vintage clothing is more your speed, the bi-annual Vintage Fashion Expo is happening this weekend. Join me there, too!

*note: if you would like to attend the Macy’s x MADE event, you must RSVP to the email address above.

“Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking.”

Gaaahhhhh I love Miranda Priestly and I quote her every chance I get (sadly, not often). But she is wrong, so wrong! Florals for spring are wonderful. Florals are always wonderful, it all depends on how you do it. Just keep your flowers fresh!

1. Something Else (via Need Supply) // $70.99
2. Maeve (via Anthropologie) // $138
*I have this dress and can vouch for its awesomeness.
3. Mother of Pearl (via Net-a-Porter) // $525
4. J. Crew // $49.50

1. J. Crew x Liberty // $150
2. J. Crew x Liberty // $129.99
3. KARL (via Net-a-Porter) // $59
4. Kate Spade // $318

I’m sure Miranda Priestly would approve.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a work event, forgot to eat dinner, and drank copious amounts of wine – but I didn’t feel it until I attempted to wake up the next morning. In that mental state I combined sequined harem pants with wedge sneakers. And voilà: hangover chic! Nike actually sent me these sneakers forever ago – right before the Nike Women’s Marathon, and it took me this long to figure out how to wear them. I’m thinking they’d also look cool with skinny jeans, but I don’t really have any right now (but that’s another story for another time).

Sweater – T by Alexander Wang (similar); tank top – BCBG Max Azria; pants – Zara (similar); sneakers – c/o Nike (similar); sunglasses – vintage Chanel; necklace – J. Crew; rings – Kate Spade, Azil (similar/one I’ve been lusting over).

Photos by Klassy Goldberg

It’s hard to tell, but the dress has sequins all over so combined with a sparkly necklace it was a very shiny ensemble. I actually wore this outfit on my birthday a couple of months ago (just never posted until now), because I figured if I were ever going to get away with so much daytime bling, my birthday would be the day to do it!

Dress – J. Crew (similar); cape – Anthropologie (similar); tights – Hue; shoes – Max Studio; earrings – Love & Luxe (similar); necklace – J. Crew (similar); bracelets – vintage bakelite via Métier, Anthropologie; rings – Oscar de la Renta (similar), c/o Rocks Box.

Photos by Krystal Bick