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Archive for March, 2012

IFB Interview: Blogging And Mamahood

Click over to Independent Fashion Bloggers to read an interview on striking a balance as a mom and a blogger, and how new parenthood affects everything from personal style to time management.



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March 31st, 2012 | Baby | No Comments »

In Bloom

Yeah, florals are an obvious pick for early spring. But there are so many fun ways to take the old standby of floral-blouse-and-jeans outside the box. This look, for example, feels very non-boring to me.

Let’s take a look at why!

1. Boyfriend-style, cuffed jeans rather than the more expected skinny or bootcut pair.

2. Extra-boho details on that gorgeous Sanctuary blouse (crochet and blousy sleeves).

3. Mixed patterns (snakeskin with florals? Why not?).

4. Extra pops of color, like that grass-green purse (by the way, the Foley & Corinna Mid City remains one of my very favorite picks for an everyday go-to bag. If you’d like to wear it year ’round, I’d suggest red over black or brown – it’s so much more interesting, and goes with more than you’d think).

5. A mix of rugged and uber-feminine jewelry, like a leather multi-wrap bracelet and a delicate Art Deco-y gold necklace.

So anyway, this is what I wore during the second segment we filmed on Wednesday.

Want to see what else I wore?

PJs.

But that’s another story.

Segment wardrobe provided by: Sanctuary (blouse), Kyler Designs (necklace), LyraLoveStar (cuff), Blush Lingerie (PJs).

Shoemint heels, GUESS by Marciano sunglasses, Paige Denim boyfriend jeans, Lulu’s leather wrap bracelet, purse c/o Foley & Corinna.



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March 30th, 2012 | Style | 3 Comments »

Something Else I Never Wear, And Wore On Wednesday

This.

(You’ll understand what’s going on in this photo, what with the hat and all, when you see the segment.)

And, well, I don’t have many reasons to wear bathing suits generally at the moment, it being March, but what I’m talking about in particular is this retro-ish Freya suit (I wish you could see the cut better in this photo; it’s similar to this one). I love those high-waisted bottoms and fuller-coverage tops when I see them in magazines, but I always thought they would look sort of frumpy on.

Ding ding ding! Style Evolution Moment #2. (Two in one day!)

As it turns out, I felt way better with a touch more coverage than I ever have in the littler bikinis I usually gravitate towards: sexier, more elegant, and even…oh, dear…a little more age-appropriate.

Oh, and?

There was this one time that I was swimming on a beach in California with a whole bunch of people whom I really didn’t know very well – they were mostly friends-of-a-friend – and decided to try to body-surf a wave. And you know how body-surfing never really works, and you mostly just end up dog paddling frantically while the wave moseys right on by?

Well, this time it worked.

And I found myself careening towards shore on the crest of a wave – it was all much more “terrifying” than “exciting”, have to say – and was shortly thereafter deposited onto a very hard patch of sand directly in front of all those people whom I did not know very well. Oh, and then? The wave decided to just go ahead and take my string bikini back out into the ocean for safekeeping.

So I was bikini-less, in front of a really enormous lot of people (did I mention that there were a lot of people?), and doing this weird little flailing-burrowing thing while I tried to hide myself in the (inch) of water remaining on the sand after the wave washed back out.

It was not my finest moment.

Anyway, this is all to say that these events likely wouldn’t have transpired had I been wearing a slightly more reasonable swimsuit.

Like these.

Product info after the jump.

(more…)



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March 30th, 2012 | Style | 2 Comments »

Itsy Bitsy Bedroom: Maximizing Your Small Space

Q. Hey Jordan,

I’m getting ready to move into a new place, and our landlord gave me one set of dimensions for the bedroom…but upon moving in we have found that it is actually a few feet smaller in both directions. I know you have experience with small living spaces, so I figured I’d see whether you have any tips for maximizing storage opportunities but still keeping the room inviting and not overcrowded.

Thanks,

Rachael

A. You’re certainly right – while our present apartment (pictured above) has a fairly roomy bedroom by NYC standards, I have plenty of experience living in small spaces. In our last apartment (the one in Hell’s Kitchen), you had to actually sit on the bed in order to open either our dresser drawers or closet doors. That was fun.

And although right now our place looks like an episode of Hoarders, what with the boxes that I’m stockpiling for moving day (if it ever comes), baby stuff, and props and such for Jordan In The House, it…well, it usually doesn’t. I’m usually pretty good at keeping even the smallest spaces nice and orderly.

How?

I’ll tell you!

1. First, every single piece of furniture must have drawers, or at least some kind of storage space. Do not buy adorable minimalist nightstands. Buy ones with drawers. Do not buy one of those very chic beds that sits right on the floor. Buy a nice high one that either has drawers you can leave exposed, or at least a space that you can stuff things underneath (packed away in soft bins) and then cover it all up with a (non-ruffly) dust ruffle.

2. Look for interesting storage solutions for every room in your home; the more space you have to keep things, the better. Rather than a coffee table, try an antique (or faux-antique) box that opens to store things like linens and extra pillows. And for extra seating, pick up one of those ottomans with storage space inside. (L to R: Home Decorators Storage Ottoman, Pottery Barn Nightstand, World Market Storage Coffee Table.)

3. De-clutter, but if you must clutter, clutter neatly. Display only what you must, and stash away all your extra bits and bobs in pretty boxes or trays.

4. Think outside-the-box. If you spend a lot of time in your bedroom and don’t want the bed to take up all the available space, a gorgeous day bed might be the perfect option for you.

5. Let no space go overlooked. I stack my luggage one inside the other so that the pieces don’t take up too much room, but make sure that even if you only have one large rolling bag, you use it as extra storage space (for things you don’t use often, like out-of-season clothing or bedding).

6. Make the most of your closet, adding a row of waist-level rods (so that shorter items can be hung on both levels), shoe organizers, and tiered racks for things like ties, scarves, and belts.

7. Don’t let that laundry pile up. I know, if you’re living in a city and need to cart your laundry down the block to get it done, it can be easy to let it go. But a huge heap of dirty clothes is the quickest way to make your room feel cluttered.

8. And when it comes to decor, try sticking to a simple, calming color scheme, and investing in a couple of pretty mirrors for your walls.

Clutter: gone.

Related:

College Apartment Decorating Tips

Small Space Decor

Decorating Narrow Spaces



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March 30th, 2012 | Home | 3 Comments »

Flashbacks & Full Skirts & Frizz

So I left the apartment on Wednesday morning feeling Pretty. Freaking. Chic.

Completely fabulous ’50s-style wrap dress with a full skirt and gorgeous jewelry? Check.

Red lips, all done up with my favorite tips? Yup.

Elegant, retro updo? Oh, yes.

And THEN.

Oh, humidity. Oh, how you undo me.

You see, I had forgotten the cardinal rule when it comes to hairstyling…and on the very day when I advised a reader not to do the same. The rule: do not get into fights with the weather, because you will not win. On days when just stepping out the door turns your clothing soggy, the only way to roll is by embracing – and then working with – all your lovely natural texture. Choose the right products, and then go to town with what you’ve got. Braid it, twist it, turn it, work it…but don’t wrestle with it.

I wrestled.

And I lost.

And so what I ended up with was half-wavy, half-straight, and all kinds of messy. (I put it in a topknot after taking these shots.)

But you know…that weird little twisty thing my bangs are doing looks…sorrrrta ’50s…ish?

No?

Never mind.

Isn’t that dress pretty great? I’ve had it for ages, and actually have a sort of funny/sort of sad story about it.

I bought it years ago, to cheer myself up during a time when lots of things were going wrong in my life: my relationship was in tatters, my career wasn’t exactly blowing anyone out of the water, and I felt generally lonely and desolate. I definitely couldn’t afford it – it’s DVF, so it had to be in the $400 range, even back then – but it just made me feel so…I don’t know, capable. Like a dress that a woman who could deal with things would wear. It made me feel like the kind of woman I wanted to be, and at that time I was willing to grab onto anything that might make me feel that way, even if that thing was only a dress.

And so I brought it home. And then just a couple of days later – before I’d even gotten the chance to wear it – an acquaintance sent me a link to some red carpet photos of a movie premiere taking place about ten minutes away from my house featuring my live-in boyfriend of nearly two years, whom I had thought was out of town, and the woman who, as it turned out, he was also in a relationship with.

So that was a nice surprise.

And?

SHE WAS WEARING MY DRESS.

No joke. The exact same one. And the worst part?

She looked so much better in it than me.

More than that: she looked poised, elegant, pulled-together, successful, and more or less exactly like the woman I had hoped to look like when I bought it. Let’s not forget that she was also at the premiere of a movie that she had acted in with my boyfriend…so she also happened to actually sort of be that woman.

So I spent many months picking up the pieces of where I had thought my life had been headed, and figuring out which direction to turn in next, and most definitely not wearing that dress, because every time I looked at it I thought of my (now ex) boyfriend and his new girlfriend.

And really, I had nowhere to wear it to anyway.

But something I’ve learned in the years that have passed since: You don’t need to have the perfect place to wear a dress to in order to put it on. And you don’t need look like the most perfect person who ever wore a thing to wear it. Your hair can be sorta weird because you spaced on reading the weather report before leaving the house that morning. You can forget to shave your legs, and be too pale, and have a wrinkle or two in your skirt, and maybe have chipped nailpolish and dry feet and circles under your eyes because you got up early just to drink your coffee all alone in the quiet.

And you can still feel Pretty. Freaking. Chic. Because being totally pulled-together? That’s for red carpets. It’s for show.

Clothing is for you. For real. And that dress was – is – for me. The real me. Frizz and all.

On me: DVF wrap dress, necklace c/o Stone Savant, Mikimoto earrings, Lena Erziak purse, Chinese Laundry heels, GANT sunglasses, vintage Seiko watch.



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March 30th, 2012 | Best, Style | 17 Comments »

Amazing Things I Saw Yesterday

The coolest barstools ever (at Red Tail Lodge, in Vernon, NJ)…

and paradise in a pod (at Grand Cascades Lodge, also in NJ).



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March 29th, 2012 | Lifestyle | No Comments »

Up In The Air

What I wore during the first JITH segment we filmed on Wednesday: a dress (part of a spring styles collaboration with Very.com), in a silhouette that I have quite literally never worn before…and now plan to wear a lot. I usually go for either no sleeves or 3/4 sleeves over short sleeves, rarely cover up all the way to my neck, and generally don’t favor fitted on top/flouncy on the bottom. But that dress I wore last week, with its nipped-in waist and full-ish skirt, inspired me to experiment.

As it turns out, I really like this look. It’s just as comfortable as the more potato sack-y stuff I usually wear, and felt a lot more elegant.

And even…dare I say it…more flattering?

I remember when I was twelve or so, and all about the Paris Blues bellbottoms (remember those?), saying that I would never ever evereverever be caught dead in “tapered” (by which I meant “skinny”) jeans. The horror! And my mom said, you know…styles change. But NO. I WOULD NEVER CHANGE AND WOULD NEVER EVEREVER WEAR TAPERED JEANS AND YOU COULD NOT MAKE ME. Ever!

Well, we know how that went.

And when I was eighteen, I swore up and down that my low-rise jeans would be dragged from my cold, dead fingers, because there was no way that a high-waisted cut could ever be flattering.

Hmmm.

And then there was that time that Francesca made me throw away my Western-y button-downs partly because they were ugly but mostly because I had been wearing them nearly every day for a good year and she was probably sick of looking at them, and I almost cried, because I couldn’t imagine ever thinking that they weren’t just paisley, pocketed style perfection.

But once that habit was broken, I realized that there were lots of other tops in my closet just sitting there, waiting to be worn…and if I was telling the truth…well, those shirts were kinda ugly. (And also kinda awesome. Just saying.)

Anyway, this is all to say that I am someone who gets very worked up about my commitment to one look or another and simply can’t imagine ever changing my mind. I usually wear dresses like this…so it was a little tough to imagine what this blue, buttoned-up dress would look like on – forget about how I would feel in it.

But I felt great. 

Sometimes being open to a little style evolution is just what you need to keep on moving in the direction you want to go.

Segment wardrobe provided by: Very.com (dress), Timo Weiland for TSUBO (shoes), Alexandra Satine (handbag).

GANT sunglasses, vintage belt.



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March 29th, 2012 | Style | 3 Comments »

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