There are some things that you rarely use, but are just super cool to own.
Like, say, a black, floor-length beaded gown that's really better-suited to the Oscars than anything that your real life actually involves, but that you found about a decade ago on Fifth Avenue for 80% off because some beads down near the hemline were missing and thought, "hey."
Or a bedazzled mask.
One of my favorite nail looks is a simple black manicure (usually Essie Licorice), but I’m the first to admit that it’s not the most exciting choice in the world. Sure, black nail polish used to be kinda unexpected (back in the ‘90s, at least)…but now it’s made the jump straight into “classic” and is about as earth-shattering as pale pink.
But the black manicure they showed on the Kaelen Fall 2013 runway? That was something else entirely. It was like a mashup between a straightforward black manicure and a traditional French one, and incorporated matte and glossy finishes to create a look that’s simultaneously elegant and – yes – a little bit edgy.
Also? The look was apparently inspired by The Craft. Obviously I love this.
It's strange: when I lived in L.A. "laid-back" is not a word I would have used to describe myself. I mean, I definitely did my fair share of pool-lounging during the years that I lived on the sunny side of the world, but the pervasive sense of not being where I wanted to be, not doing what I wanted to be doing colored every single day so thoroughly that it was often difficult to see the beautiful things that were all around me. I tried to see them...I just wasn't always so successful.
Experiencing L.A. nearly a decade (!) later - and from a whole different perspective - is another thing entirely.
You know how they say that women who have gone through childbirth experience a kind of selective amnesia about the truly atrocious parts of the process that enables them to even begin to conceive of doing the whole thing over again? Well, I don't know if that's necessarily true for everyone - I've got some crystal-clear recall going on, thanks - but that's sort of how it felt hanging out in L.A. again after all these years.
When I called Kendrick and announced that I had gotten another piercing, his response was to tell me that I am no longer allowed to hang out with Francesca, because every time I do (lately, at least), I arrive home with another hole in my body. (I think he was kidding; he seems to be both mildly wary of my newfound interest in piercings and also kind of into it.)
Last time Francesca visited me and we got a couple of extra hoops in our ears at a little place in Tarrytown she told me about this amazing tattoo parlor on Melrose in LA, Body Electric, that sells super small-gauge gold and rose-gold hoops and custom fits them to suit your ears, and so obviously that was on our list of must-go places for the weekend. We both replaced our silver hoops with gold ones, and then I thought...
what the hell.
One more won't kill me.
On Sunday, October 27, I'll be a panelist at the Simply Stylist New York event hosted by HauteLook and E!'s Catt Sadler. The event will offer attendees networking opportunities and fashion industry advice from co-panelists such as beauty expert Jay Manuel, reality personality Lo Bosworth, and US Weekly Fashion Editor Sasha Charnin-Morrison (I'm been a huge fan of hers for years; so excited to meet her)...plus fun gift bags, breakout sessions from more industry insiders, and a cocktail party.
To learn more about the event and pick up a ticket, click here.
