The Truth.

Last night I went to a party. It was all fun and games until Pete & Megan's "white elephant gift" chewed out of it's box and went running across all the other gifts. And, so Pete picked up the mouse and decided that he and Megan didn't bring two gifts after all, they only brought one gift to share.

Anyhoooooooo. As I was leaving the party I met a girl named Amy. (Well, actually, I had already met her before, but I re-met her). And, she said, "I blog stalk you." And, then she asked about this fashion-ish blog.

And, so I told her the truth. My mom got brain cancer, and so I went to the mall, A LOT! And, that's the truth.

Remember when I was supposed to buy nothing for a year? And, then I was only supposed to buy one thing a month? You see where it all went down hill? It always turns out poorly the moment I start getting crafty. (My diets all end the same way).

Remember when no one thought I could do it. You were right. All of you. I am REALLY not good at abstaining from South Coast Plaza or Fashion Island or the Irvine Spectrum, or....

But, here's the thing. That's what I was taught to do. It's how I learned to cope. It's a creative outlet for me (that may sound like an excuse).

It's a true story. The day my mom found out she was sick, she wasn't able to balance really well. And, her talking was a bit labored. She'd just returned from the Neurologist, who informed her she had a brain tumor. My oldest sister was over to check on her. She asked my mom if there was anything at all she needed, anything to eat, a ride to the store, anything cleaned. My mom denied all of her requests. But, she did mention that she needed Kimberly's help with something else. She said "I have these three purses, I just bought. I need you to help me decide which one to keep." My sister looked at her in what I can only imagine was sheer disbelief. After which my mom said "I know, I have a brain tumor. I should probably keep all three, right?"

See, it's genetic. It's in my blood. This love of shopping. And, I am a lot like Beyonce. The shoes on my feet, I bought them. The clothes on my back, I bought those too. And, I can afford it. So, I say there are far worse coping skills.

And, 2010 was all around rough.

So, I am contemplating whether or not I want to pick up my goal again next year!?! I think I will try it. The buy-only-one-thing-a-month version, though.

We'll see.

Meanwhile, I thought I would share that I am begininng to look a lot like... a Christmas present, right???

Sometimes I brush my hair. Sometimes I show up for work nearly on-time. But, I never do both. I mean never. And, today I did neither. So, Happy Monday!

What went wrong - shoe style?!?

I am 5'9 (well, on a good day). So, I don't need any really tall platform shoes, unless I want to tower over all my peers or maybe if I am looking for a job at the carni. Still, I love a little bit of a platform.

But, have you noticed that lately they are making shoes with such tall platforms that some shoes are starting to look like those shoes that people wear when they have one leg that is substantially shorter than the other???

I mean, that's not a good idea, unless of course you DO have one leg that is substantially shorter than the other, and then by all means sport that trend with pride. But, for the rest of the free world... yikes.

Fashion Fetish - Go Jane

A while ago I was turned onto this cute website that sells darling shoes for WAY cheap. Mind you there are some way crazy ugly looking striper shoes (actually a lot of them), but also really cute ones, you just have to look. They sell other stuff too, but I have only ever bought the shoes.

Now, CLEARLY these are not the most well made shoes that ever existed, but they are very chic and very inexpensive. I think the most I paid for any of the shoes I have ordered from there was like... probably $30. I own these:

And, if I could buy more, I would pick these:

Since I can't buy any, maybe some of you should. And, if you choose to, let me give you a special code. If you use PSW20GJ you get 20% off your order from mid-September to mid-October. (It's a code that they gave me in my People Style Watch Magazine for this month.

Fashion Fetish - Emersonmade

If I could, I would buy one of everything at this store:

http://www.emersonmade.com/

If Kate Spade and J.Crew had children, this is what they would wear.

I HEART Emersonmade. It makes me want to shop.

What went wrong?!? - Dear J.Crew

There are certain designers I LOVE. But, will probably NEVER buy, because of their ridiculously over-priced clothes - Jason Wu, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Oscar De La Renta, Alexander McQueen (well, if he were still here, sigh...) , Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Elizabeth & James, Carolina Herrera, etc.

Carolina

Jason

Oscar

D&G (the more contemporary version of Dolce & Gabbana) is another one of those designers. I love love love D&G! There is a D&G store just minutes from my house. Sometimes I walk back and forth by it, paying homage to its glory and fabulousness! But, never ever ever have I purchased anything there. Though, I did once try on a D&G dress when I was looking for something to wear to a wedding. I fell in love! And, as I am sure you've all gathered by now, I don't fall in love easily!

Whenever I see D&G I looking at it longingly, wondering if we will ever share anything beautiful... sigh... and then I walk over to J. Crew and settle.

But, it seems as if lately, I can't even afford J. Crew.

Lace Vest $495!

Sequin Pants (UGLY &...) $650!

Bazaar Shift Dress $600!

Sequin Tank $495!

What went wrong??? Somebody needs to remind J. Crew that they are just J. Crew! Who wants to do it???

Style Profile: Jackie - "the photographer extraordinaire"

I thought that I would make this blog a little more fun by adding little categories that break up the monotony of the photos of my everyday outfits.

One of these categories I call "Style Profile".

Everyone has his/her own taste, which is awesome! I love seeing how other people call attention to themselves. It's quite telling. I also LOVE to people watch. But, I don't often let my opinions on other people's style (or lack thereof) leave my head, though according to my siblings and closest friends, that doesn't matter, because everything I think is apparently written all over my face. Though, I thoroughly enjoy people who do.

This category will be solely devoted to profiling the likes and dislikes within the realm of individual style.

Be forewarned, it may get ugly.

Today, my style profile is from Jackie, my great friend, awesome co-worker and photographer extraordinaire (who refuses to be photographed herself). This was her take on the stylings of Kat Von D...

"That girl is a giant doodle pad, and she talks like a man".

Oh, I love that Jackie.

Last Week...

I took photos. Actually, Jackie took photos, bless her heart. She takes photos every day and not once has she told me I am nutty. Whatever crazy idea I come up with, Jackie is in! Love that girl! But, I never posted the ones from last week, because, well I SUPER busy. So here they are, the outfits of last week.

Not to brag or anything, but sometimes I buy things that are RIDICULOUSLY cheap (and sometimes not). But, I am only going to brag about the great finds I incorporated in my outfits, not so much the other more expensive treasures.

Monday - Skirt from Macy's - Around $18.

Tuesday - Plaid shirt from Nordstroms Rack - Around $14

Wednesday - Dress from the Loft - $10!

Thursday (and Friday) - Sandals - I LOVE LOVE these sandals from Target - $5!

Friday - Skirt from Anthropologie - $20

Wedding Wear

I went to two (2) weddings this weekend.

I wore this...



and, this...



I secretly love dressing up.

And, I whored this cute outfit out to my roommate...



and she wore it well.

Confucius say...

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Here goes nothing!

I am supposed to dress up (at least a little bit) for work. I am also supposed to get to work around 8ish. Most days, neither happens.

However, usually on Mondays it's easier for me to dress up. The reason for this is what I like to call a "Sunday/Monday". Usually, on Mondays, I wear to work what I wore to church, which is always at least moderately dressy.

Unfortunately, today I could not pull a Sunday/Monday because I pulled a Saturday/Sunday, having worn to church what I wore to a wedding on Saturday. Usually, I would not hesitate to pull a Saturday/Sunday/Monday (sad, but totally honest). However, the wacky wedding I attended on Saturday was for one of my co-workers. Thus, they already saw the outfit on Saturday. Drats. Jackie even saw it again on Sunday. Clearly, I could not wear it on Monday.

So, today, I woke up later than normal. And, didn't feel very formal. Or even semi-formal. This is business casual, right?!?

Also, I rarely do my hair on Mondays. Well, let's be honest, I rarely do my hair...


Hair thingy and necklac - Anthro (circa 2009)
T-shirt - French Connection (6 months old)
Belt - J Crew (3 months old)
Jeans - People's Liberation (2008ish - woot woot!)
Shoes - seychelles (2 months old)

Side note #1: I originally just took a photo of the clothes on the floor because I refuse to take a photo of myself. However, Jackie said she'd take photos of me each day. So, some days I will post photos. Some days I will just take pictures of the clothes on the floor. And, hopefully, some days I will actually be doing something and then I will just post those.

Side note #2: On my way out of the office today my co-worker Chris said "try not to buy anything on the way home."

Side note #3: My other co-worker told me that if I could pull off this one year challenge I would at have enough extra money to at least buy my own ant farm. Please bless! I would be so excited.

Clothes Whore (or is it Horse)?!?

Jackie is always calling me a clotheshorse. The other day, I referred to myself as a clothes whore. She giggled and said 'I am pretty sure it's CLOTHESHORSE, but if you want to be a whore, it's fine with me.'

Not that I intentionally called myself a clothes whore, clearly, I just got confused with the colloquialism. But, if I am being totally honest, clothes whore IS probably more accurate.

You see, a clotheshorse by definition is someone who is excessively concerned with dress. This depiction of myself would not be completely accurate... probably not even close, given my desire to hang out in my pajamas or running clothes and often wearing whatever is on my floor, without even an afterthought of accessorizing (or sometimes even matching).

But, a clothes whore... well, I can only assume that would be one whose clothes are worn far more by others than by myself. This would be VERY accurate, actually. I have clothes all over the globe. People are always wearing my clothes. I chalk it up to sharing my talents. Since, I SO love to shop. The wearing of the clothes is less appealing then the actually buying of them.

However, every single time I go through my closets in an effort to downsize (a.k.a. keep the closet rods from breaking in two), I determine that I actually like most of my clothes. I already paid for them, so why don't I just keep them.

Well, it's high time I actually start wearing them. And, so for this clothes whore, I am embarking on a new challenge - I am going to wear the clothes, shoes and accessories that I already own, only buying something new occasionally to whet my fashion palette.

Wish me luck!