Style Envy: Gwen Stefani, Part II

A few weeks ago, I was in Vegas for the BDay party for one of my fave lawyerly girl friends.  I had a free afternoon when everyone was off hitting the blackjack tables, so I engaged in the holy union of two of my fave vices:  shopping while day drinking.

90% of the reason I make an effort to swing by the H&M at Caesar's Palace every time I'm in Vegas is because that one in particular has this amazing in-store DJ who is always on point.  While waiting in the check out line, said DJ played a medley of Settle Down/ Looking Hot/ Hella Good.  This prompted a full-on No Doubt singalong courtesy me and the five comparably inebriated girls behind me in line. If any of you ever see this floating around YouTube, let me know. I will laugh so hard.

That really inspired me to bust out my No Doubt catalog once I got home from the trip.  I found this album called "Everything in Time" on Spotify, which is a fairly recent release of B-sides.  It is so good.  Really heavy on the early reggae influence, which I think is when they sound the best.  I think this one is way better than most of their real album releases.

Which in turn, inspired me to put together some of my more Gwen- inspired outfits again.  Pics coming soon. Gwen= my fashion hero since I was 13 years old.

Mmmmm, Donuts

Somehow, it sounds dirty when anyone other than Homer says that.

I'm cleaning out pics on the iPad and found this long lost one in my backlog of pics.  I thought this was a fitting ensemble for the Simpsons show at the Hwood Bowl this past summer.

[You might think this occasion is the only event in which a donut-print bodysuit is appropriate attire.  Not so.  Wore this again the next morning for the Dunkin Donuts opening in Santa Monica.  I win at life.]

Happy Travels

Turkey Day in Turkey this year!  It was rad.  We stayed in the Sultanhamet district, which I thought was a bit like Paris mixed with Brooklyn.  It was such a different scene, so ancient and beautiful and contradictory.  It was a little frosty the entire trip, so I bundled up and hopefully looked halfway chic doing so.  Here's a shot I really dig:

[Photo cred:  Alex @thewanderlustguy on Insta.  Bag- Longchamp.  Pea coat- Thread & Supply.  Scarf- H&M.]

And then of course I started memory tripping on past trips abroad.  Here's a hotel lobby shot I dug up from Barcelona back in March of 2013:

[Chambray top- Express.  Bag- F21.  Skirt- Bluefly.com.  Leopard flats- H&M.  Watch- Marc by Marc Jacobs.]

Speaking of cold, here's one from Paris around the same time.  It's my fave city (after home sweet L.A., of course), and I loved the serene beauty of the snow cover.  But I think I will stick to spring and summer trips there from now on.

[Pea coat- Guess.  Scarf- Nordstrom.  Jeggings- J Brand.  Riding boots- Vince Camuto.]

Wide Leg Pants, Part II

I NEED a pair of satiny light beige (or light rose pink) high-waisted, wide leg pants, similar to either pair below.  I can't find them anywhere.  Gods of fashion, is that too much to ask??!!

[This is prob not most peoples' first thought when they look at this pic, but where the heck did she pick up those awesome pants?]

[I made the horrible mistake of waiting for these to go on sale at Nordstrom.  Once they went on sale, my size had sold out.  Frugality may normally be the name of the game, but I def dropped the ball here!]

Style Envy: Diane Kruger, Part II

OMG.  I am still in love with everything this woman wears.

Fashion DIY: Gray Suede Boots

I picked up these sassy gray boots from Steve Madden last year.  I like the unique triangular shape to the heels.  However, I'm not crazy about the foldover design.  Because the lining material on the inside of the fold is different,  it's not a matter of just unfolding it.  So I took these to my shoe doctor in Westwood, and he told me these are a total tear-apart project, as he would have to cut off the top part at the ankle, flip it and reverse it.

Yes, he inadvertantly quoted a Missy Elliot song.

I visualized the process as he explained it, and told him it's cool, I got it.  The boots used to look like this:

Here is what they look like now, after I did my cut-off, flip & reverse magic:

I cut the material off at the ankle, turned it inside out (so the lining would be on the inside), then used fabric glue to attach the top parts to the shoe part.  I'm stoked on this.  Will update with what I decide to pair these with!

Spice World

Working through my backlog of pics I've been meaning to write about.  Here's one taken earlier this year when I was narrowing down outfits to take on a Vegas trip.  I had actually picked up this dress on a previous Vegas trip, at the Express in Caesar's Palace, because this reminded me of the little Gucci dress worn by Posh in the Spice World movie.  Girl Power til the end!

[The dress didn't make the cut.  Maybe next time.]