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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

When Movie-Inspired Hair Goes Wrong

I love the girl who cuts my hair. She's great, she's very affordable, I'm always happy to see her, and we've gotten to the point that I can sit in the chair and she knows what to do. She gives me tea, we talk about life, all is well. This summer will be three years since I started seeing her for my hair, and I won't go to anyone else.

We both know that we love the Jean-Seberg-in-"Breathless" haircut, as below, as she is My Ideal Style Icon in so many ways:

Jean Seberg in Breathless
I love having it, she loves cutting it ("I saw you were scheduled for today and I was so excited to get to cut your hair!"), and it works out perfectly. I get compliments, and I give her card out.

There's a catch, though -- she's so good, and now she's gotten so popular, that I have to wait longer and longer for haircuts. Three weeks ago, I tried to get a haircut scheduled for the next week before I left on vacation. No go. I got pushed back to this week. The last time I got my hair cut was in early November, and so I've just been getting shaggier and shaggier.

Due to this, I unintentionally have a new movie-beauty icon -- this guy:

Edward Freaking Cullen.
Yeah. My hair has decided that it wants to be Edward Cullen's hair.

This is not okay with me.

It's particularly bad on waking up, especially if it's the second day after washing. It stands up if I run my fingers through it, and it definitely stands up if I brush it up.

I kid you not -- there is no product, just brushing up my less-than-clean hair:


BAM. RPattz hair. (And fake-Wayfarers, because vampires and hipsters are pretty much the same thing.)

But maybe you're having a hard time seeing the resemblence? Here, I've fixed it:


There we go. (Also, how awesome is my bubble wrap calendar in the background? SUPER-AWESOME. My mom knows me so well.)

My haircut appointment is today, and I'm pretty relieved.

(EDITED TO ADD: Dang it! She's rescheduled! I'm stuck with RPattz hair until Friday! I jinxed it!!)

But if I get jumped by a pack of teenage girls before then, well, you can see why.

images from imdb.com, twilight-review.com, and periodicstyle.blogspot.com

Saturday, January 23, 2010

She Talks Like A Woman and Walks Like A Man

I am a woman on a mission, in search of the world's most perfect men's-tailoring inspired flats that are neither frumpy nor impossibly girlish. Just functional, fabulous, powerful shoes for your workaday businesslady. Inspired by the lovely selection of vintage and reproduction saddle shoes at Muffy's and Re-Mix Vintage Shoes, I've been poking around looking at my options...we're talking all wingtips, spectators, creepers--generally, leather lace-up flat shoes with men's detailing! I want to look like a Savile Row lady, what else could you want?

-Every time I peruse the shoe section at Nordstrom Rack, I stop and try on the variety of Jeffrey Campbell flats. Jeanne, Kati and I all own various versions of the Steppin heels, I nearly wore mine through after six months working in New York! I find the laces on those to be quite slippery and the heels have worn down to the point that it's a little unsafe to wear them on cobblestones for balance's sake, but I still love them to pieces. Mademoiselle Robot interviewed the very Jeffrey Campbell, making us love her and the brand even more.

-Speaking of Jeffrey Campbell shoes at Nordstrom Rack, I came across a single pair of his Driggs lattice-woven, lace-up flats in a size too small this past summer and I have been DYING TO OWN THEM in a size 9 ever since. Of course everyone else had the same idea and now they have disappeared completely, even from the internet. Come on!! How great would those look under some lovely slacks for work? Some wool socks to keep your feet warm and you're good to go in the winter, cropped pants and a gingham check blouse for spring/summer, it's the look of effortless cool that I aspire to achieve someday. Even my favorite shoe-store-blog, Williamsburg's Shoe Market covered these as part of their menswear detailing for ladies' shoes bonanza.

-Free People, bastion of faux-hippie high-waisted shorts and shredded babydoll dresses surprised me with this lovely pair of buttery leather lace-up wingtip shoes. Give me a pair of these, some navy tights, a corduroy skirt and a warm sweater and I'm a happy girl. The leather laces look just as slippery as my Jeffrey Campbells, but a little double-knot never hurt anything.

-San Francisco's local fabulous shoe purveyor Shoe Biz has the F-Troupe contrast oxfords in black and grey canvas, I love the clean, simple lines. Very Fred Segal, I feel like I could find these in some amazing Japanese men's style magazine with funky scarves and knit caps. An alternative is the Gaga-tastic Kenndy [sic] loafer by Sam Edelman. Those would make any woman look HARD. AS. NAILS. and badass as hell.

-If you've ever been to your area outlet mall, you've seen the Bass stores. At first glance, they appear to cater solely to the hunting-hiking-rough'n'tumble crowd, but if you are savvy they are a great source of hardy work shoes for women as well as men. ShoeBiz surprised me with the Bass Burlington oxfords, clunky but superbly functional!

-The other day, I tried on the Steve Madden Tuxedo in black and white with high hopes, doesn't it look like EXACTLY what I would want? Unfortunately, like every other Steve Madden shoe, these are crazy wide and both the sole and outer leather so thin you'd quickly wear through the entire shoe.

Well, my search continues for the perfect menswear-for-women's-shoes. With a perfectly pressed pantsuit for work, or opaque tights and a mid-thigh-length skirt, you'd be the smartest dressed woman in the room, no high heels necessary! What aspect of menswear do you wish you could bring over to the misses' department? We've taken over three-piece suits, fedoras, neckties (just a little), the boyfriend jean and tee-shirts since women started wearing slacks almost a century ago. Perhaps a pocket square is next for me...if only my suit jackets had front pockets!


Images from FreePeople.com and ShoeBizSF.com

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Vacation Time = Swimsuit Time

ModCloth Bathing Beauty Retro Swimsuit in VioletJust in time to save me from my January ennui, I am headed out on vacation next week! Yes, I'm heading down to Puerto Vallarta for some sand and sunshine with the boyfriend. I've never been, and I'm excited to take some time to charge my batteries.

The other night, after telling my coworker I was headed to the beach, she asked, "have you bought a new swimsuit?"

You all know I'm a sucker for a new swimsuit just like I'm a sucker for boots and coats, and because I'm a sucker for boots and coats, that's what I've been focusing on lately. I haven't been thinking about swimsuits at all. Tisn't the season, and all. But now I'm thinking, well, yes, I do kind of want a new swimsuit...

But where does one buy a swimsuit in January? According to Karen, the bikini displays are already out at Nordstrom, to which I say WHAT. And, of course, swimsuits are available online, but considering my flight takes off Monday, I'm not willing to risk the shipping not arriving in time. That said, I am mighty, mighty tempted by the Esther Williams Bathing Beauty Retro Swimsuit as sold by ModCloth. I love the Esther Williams swimsuits so, so much. And apparently Delia's Swim 2010 section is live. In January.

I realize that I could just head to PacSun and check out their swimsuit selection, which is always cute and leans to the surfer-chic look that I enjoy. How cute is this buffalo plaid bikini? And if I strike out there, I might have to see what American Apparel has... but I swear, some of those things are NOT swimsuits.

Seriously, though -- I know the retail seasons are screwed up (I think coats are already on sale for "end of season" now), but will I actually find swimsuits in San Francisco, The City With No Summer Except For Maybe A Nice Couple of Weeks In September and October, in January?

The truth is, of course, that I don't need a new swimsuit -- the ones I have are fine, cute, and still fit. Also, this way I can hold off and wait until it's really truly swimsuit season and have the full variety/availability (and budget, ahem) to shop...

I'll catch you on the flipside! Don't do anything I wouldn't do while I'm gone...!

image from modcloth.com

Friday, January 08, 2010

Music to Run To

Urban Ears from Moxsie.comI'll admit that I'm totally not feeling inspired lately. My entire wardrobe has got me bored to tears, I've been limited in what I can eat the past week due to the stupid wisdom teeth coming out, and as much as I want to buy new clothes, nothing has been fitting right. I'm in a general January funk.

Part of the reason why I'm in this funk is that I'm not really being active -- I'm not working out, I'm not roller-skating, I'm just kind of tired all of the time.I need to take it easy and let myself heal, but it's boring and I'm getting antsy. But I'm getting ready to start up again at the end of January, and I think I want to start running. I've never liked running (true story: Karen and I became friends over a mutual hatred of running in middle school gym class), but I absolutely need to work on my endurance. And with my boyfriend being a runner (he ran the Kauai half-marathon last year), it seems like a good idea -- he can give me tips and help me out.

And so I've been looking into music -- particularly podcasts -- to help get me going. I've never really been a podcast subscriber -- I don't know why, but I never really got into it! Way to be two thousand and late, J. Still, I can appreciate a good mix of music, especially if it's already fully set and timed for you so you don't have to stop and flip through to the next song (which is always my problem).

Since I'm really just starting running, I knew that there was the training program Couch to 5K, where you ease into running and gradually add time and speed. To go with the program, there's a Couch to 5K podcast with high BPM techno-y workout-y music and Robert (the podcast creator) letting you know when it's time to walk, run, rest, or cool down.

While standard workout music is fine, I had a feeling I would want something a little more indie rock, and so I found the Jogtunes Indie podcast. And when I found it in iTunes, I followed the "You might like..." links and discovered Indie Soup Runner, which is really cool and has all of its playlists available for you to pick and see which ones you want to download. (I recommend "Angry Rock Chick", because YEAH.) If you find that their websites are a little hard to navigate, because, well, we do, I highly recommend subscribing to them in iTunes and pulling them directly from there.

And don't forget: Kati did a workout mix as her first Lab Accident (I MISS YOUR MIXES, KATI) -- You Know You Really Were The Bomb.

So now I've got some awesome new music on my iPod, but I have a complication in that I'm very picky about headphones. I have tiny ears and earbuds just do not stay in. I hate them so much that when I was asked "hey, can I borrow your iPhone earbuds", I said, "I honestly have no idea where they are." I have a pair of ladybug earbuds that I use reluctantly and with the child-size buds (!), and a pair of behind the neck headphones that hurt my ears after too long. It's not ideal.

However, I could make an exception for the rad and vibrant Urbanears at Moxsie.com. I don't plan on running outside much, so running in the gym with a big colorful pair of headphones would be fine with me. I'm also craving the Heartbeats designed by Lady GaGa and featured in the Bad Romance video. They're enough to make me reconsider the whole "gah I hate earbuds" thing. (And they come with three sizes of buds, for the tiny-eared like me.) Either way, I will have to think about it.

How are you feeling this January? Are you feeling listless like me, or are you revved up for the new year? What's your favorite way to work out, if you're into working out?

image from moxsie.com

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