Ruthful

It's been so warm! I haven't lived someplace warm in the Bay Area for 10 years. Also megadrought be messing with everything. Trying to adapt my style.

I got this taupe corduroy Ruth skirt taken in, and I'm trying to work out a top for it. The 6 buttons in front are a dusty violet. Hopefully it's cute without being too schoolgirl.

 Top: Cop Copine (thrifted)

Skirt: Ruth (thrifted)

Shoes: Rieker Anti-Stress (thrifted)

Hat: Jeanne Simmons (Distractions on Haight)

Bib necklace: Betsey Johnson (TJ Maxx)
Coat: Live a Little (thrifted)

One thing that has expanded my wardrobe options is my sweet new ride. I lost my car in a flash flood last November; I moved my bicycle up here with my stuff in January, then it got stolen within a week.

No more wheels I cannot physically pick up and carry everywhere with me! This little scooter cuts my morning trip to the station in half and more importantly, lets me wear shoes I couldn't walk over a mile in.

People stop and watch me as I go past. Maybe they're wondering at a grown woman scooting by on a child's toy, but they are probably admiring my style. I am quite possibly the most fashionably hatted individual in all Millbrae.

This necklace is so bling. It dances right up to the edge of garish for me, and then stops and demands I love it.

Cop Copine Mechanism

  Quick casual weekend outfit post while I'm taking a break from studying papers so boring they literally put me to sleep. Twice.

Top: Cop Copine (thrifted)

Vest: Last Kiss (cheap junior store, old)

Jeans: Levi's junior bootcut (thrifted)

Fedora: Stacy Adams (online, old)

  I styled my Cop Copine shirt again. Tried it with my Last Kiss faux leather vest for a more modern casual look.

Another closeup of the sleeve, since I can't get over how much I like 'em.

  In the top photo, I'm holding a piece of biltong in my hands. I was trying to bribe the large dog on the next balcony that was growling and barking at me. The owner shouted at him to stop, but I knew he just wanted to protect his pack. He wasn't interested in the meat, though! Have you had unexpected problems crop up while taking pictures of yourself?

Cop Copine Out

  The weather's been gorgeous! Can't miss your 1/2 hour shooting window though, or you'll end up sort of red, like I am here.

Shirt: Cop Copine (thrifted)

Vest: Forever (thrifted)

Skirt: Ann Taylor (gift from Megan Mae)

Gloves: River Island
Pointelle tights: Hue (eBay)

Earrings: unknown, very old

Lightning boots: Naya (gift from Dad)

  Hope this isn't too similar to the last time I styled this skirt here. It lends itself perfectly to dark neutrals, okay? :D Since I am wearing my Naya boots that I wear in every other post, I am linking up to Citizen Rosebud's Shoe Glitterati.

  I really like this unique shirt by Cop Copine. It's got a knit body with a cowl neck, then button down fabric sleeves with slightly puffed shoulders, followed by cuffs and more knit fabric down at the wrists:

 There are even little cufflinks of buttons knotted together! ... well, one fake cufflinks. They were missing on the other side, so I made another pair out of the smallest round pearl buttons from my button box.

  I randomly found a missing vintage earring today, which is great! I found it while searching for my missing lipstick, which did not turn up. |= Soon I will have to issue a missing makeup report, because my pink eye shimmer is also missing, and it's simmering on the back burner of my mind, slowly driving me insane.

  This is perplexing me because I'm a reasonably clean person and I live in a tiny apartment. Too many things! Has anything you own gone missing lately? Does it ever turn up in the most obvious place, leaving you feeling asinine and/or infuriated? Does it also drive you to distraction when you can't find something?

Orange is the New Black Widow

  First up, dear readers: if you're interested in entering the Couturgatory giveaway, leave a comment in this post with a valid e-mail address. I need an e-mail address to contact you if you win! If you forgot to put one, just leave another comment, and of course if you're not interested in entering but just want to say hi, you can leave it out. :D

  You can enter until Saturday, November 9th 11:59pm Pacific time. Then I'll draw the winner!

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 We've had some November sun breaking through the cloud layer the last few days, and I am loving it.

Shirt: Rennes (cheap junior store)

Vest: Last Kiss (same junior store)

Trousers: Cop Copine (thrifted)

Bracelet: Foreign Exchange (old)

Boots: ALDO (thrifted)

  I got the shirt and vest at the same cheap junior store in Colma that was going closing up shop. I never thought of wearing them together until now. I think the shirt looks a little like a shop apron in front, and I really like how the backs layered over one another:

  I feel like a black widow spider, except of course I don't kill and eat my lovers, haha. (:

  I merely lay my eggs in their bodies so that when they hatch, my larvae consume the organs and eat their way out of the thoracic cavity. Technically, my hands are clean.

  Last Kiss is kind of a macabre brand name. Last kiss of what? Of death? Of fate? Of the dragon? (Go with that last one. I had a professor with a huge crush on Jet Li. I approve and she's an amazing teacher, to boot.)

  I mentioned making a Facebook life event before to commemorate hemming some complicated pants. These Cop Copine ones are the second pair I was referring to. They look simple, but the cuffs are sewn in place with an invisible stitch, and I was worried when I cut the fabric that I wouldn't leave enough to fold under, hem, then fold back up and invisible hem. You can still see the line where I pulled the cuffs back to do the stitching.

  I've been wearing these ALDO platform boots a lot, and I never have a good, close shot of them. Reader Sue mentioned having wide forefeet, and when she mentioned squished toes, man oh man did I relate. I found these at the thrift shop and although they are only M width, the squared high toe boxes fit great. They're my go-to boots now for when I need to be on my feet for a few hours.

  Sometimes "wide shoe" labels can be misleading, because our feet have so many dimensions. People can have collapsed or high arches, high insteps or flat ones, edema or bony feet, wide forefeet and/or midfeet, or anything in between. I've learned through trial and error at 6pm.com that Naya width C is the exact width as Fitzwell EE, for example. (I have multiple pairs from both companies, and placed sole to sole, they line up perfectly.) They both run a little narrow for me, but because they are all leather they stretch out over time. Or around a big rock, which is what I use when I get impatient/uncomfortable.

  And since my feet are very wide at the toes (think bear claws) but bony at the heels and skinny on top, David Tate WW shoes are comical on me. It's like someone blew up a balloon around my foot and I have a fascinating empty space all around between me and the shoe. I'm assuming those fit feet that are wide in the up-and-down sense as well as the side-to-side. They *were* one of the only sandals that ever let all of my toes roam free, though. Sigh. Maybe I could buy them again and inject them with foam that would harden around my feet and make the perfect fitting, if really ugly shoe.

  My friend Ally has mentioned difficulties finding size 12, and I have the opposite problem where many companies carry 6-10, and I'm 5.5. What are your shoe fit problems?

Dusting Off the Duster

  I got a full night's sleep yesterday, but I didn't make up the sleep deficit from the previous night, so I woke up stiff and cranky. It was almost another zero-point fashion day, but I tried to spruce it up a little.

  I started with my comfortable Flynt jeans and a Cop Copine white cotton shirt that's cut kind of like a dress, with puffed shoulders, a round scooped neck, and a tie in the front.  Then I added a pinstripe vest and duster coat.

  I've had this duster for years but am only now figuring out what I might wear it with. I think the problem is it is brown, while the rest of my wardrobe is composed of greys and blues. Funny story: I found the pants that go with this jacket in a Japanese thrift store, over 5,000 miles from where I found the coat:

  Same buttons, fabric, and everything. They were about $12 and I didn't get them because my apartment's too small for cool story memorabilia the size of pants, but it was pretty sweet finding them. Then I went to a Mister Donut and had a long think about globalization the rest of that afternoon.

  As for the outfit, I think the shirt knot, the vest, and of course, the Western-inspired coat all tie together for a last-minute Western theme. I thought about wearing boots, but I was too tired to wear anything but my New Balance running shoes. My platypus feet and I love them so much.

  I'm still working on how to take photos that aren't either completely washed out or dark beyond recognition. Also, my tripod is coming tomorrow! I'm very excited about this.

Coat: Diesel (Crossroads)

Shirt: Cop Copine (thrifted)

Vest: Triple Five Soul (clothing swap)

Jeans: 7 For All Mankind Flynt (thrifted)

Shoes: New Balance 1122 (Dad)