Desperately Seeking Inspiration

Blazer: Victoria's Secret
Dress: Marshall's
Top: Ralph Lauren
Oxfords: Vintage

Another nautical outfit. I simply adore this sailor top.

When I'm feeling uninspired, I like to take the bus to Downtown and window shop. I know a lot of people say Downtown SF is a great place to shop, and it is...if you have money. There is a good mix between high-end and low-end stores (from all those designer shops to the three H&M stores), expensive department stores (Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, etc.) to the more affordable Macy's. Bloomingdale's is one of my preferred window shopping stores, since everything is so beautiful and wonderful yet terribly expensive. I like exploring the hat section and touching all those lovely cashmere/wool hats and trying them on, knowing I'd never be able to afford a $300 hat ever (that's like a million years in MyPoints emails). But right now I'm trying to save enough MyPoints to get a Bloomingdale's gift card for this hat:



There's also a reindeer antler one, but I really like the pom-poms on the hat! They're thick and well-made; if only I could make one like that...

I also like checking out all the designer clothing for sewing inspiration and ideas. Plus their window displays and decorations are beautiful, and they just set up their Christmas section so it's fun going downstairs to explore.








Another fun place for inspiration is the Kate Spade store at SF Centre. I love looking at the clothes in person, trying on the hats again, and touching practically everything. You can imagine how excited I get holding a $400 purse and practically screaming...inside (imagine what holding a Chanel bag must be like). Even browsing the website is exciting! My only beef is that the people working there stare at me like I'm going to steal something. They keep asking me, "Are you finding everything okay?" every thirty seconds; yes, I was finding everything "okay" until you started bugging me again. Then I glance at the general direction of the store clerk and find them staring me down like I was some criminal. If I was going to steal something (which I would NEVER do!), I would probably try to remain as inconspicuous as possible and not wear butterfly tights and loud colors and carry a big ol' H&M bag full of stuff (not hot merchandise of course!). Imagine what she would say to the police: "Some girl in butterfly tights and loud colors stole everything in the store!" Then they would roam the streets of SF hunting me down only to find me in the most obvious place ever: a Muni streetcar, my getaway vehicle. Way to go, Kate Spade sales clerk. My lame attempt at sarcasm.

Ugh and here comes another irritating moment: I was at Walgreen's looking for Mint Meltaways (only the most delicous and nostalgic mint chocolates that remind me of my childhood...remember Jen?) when I found a whole bunch, screamed and jumped up and down, got weird stares from everyone around me, and grabbed four boxes (I only had $10) and went to pay for them. Then the lady sales clerk couldn't get the price of the box from scanning it, so she was asking everyone how much it was and everyone said it was $2.99, but I insisted they were 2 for $5 because the price tag on the shelf said so. Somehow, she couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that an item could actually be $2.99 AND 2 for $5. Honestly, it was like working with a child...or a senile old person. Not to be rude. Well, a little rude. Because I was irritated. Because I was standing at the counter for twenty minutes haggling over the price when it would have taken two minutes to show the lady the price tag on the shelf, except she was too lazy to come out from behind the counter. Maybe she was embarrassed of her shoes or something, or maybe she was wearing an alcohol bracelet on her ankle, but honestly, I felt like I wasted all that time there when the solution was really quite easy. Maybe I should have gone over the psychological and profitable benefits of selling products for "$2.99 for 1 or $5 for 2" and how they would make more money by selling certain products for those prices. Anyway, looks like I'll have to go back because I got a $5 coupon for World's Finest chocolates, and they only have Mint Meltaways at that particular Walgreen's. So that's my angry rant which I'm not really angry about...just thought it was irritating and annoying and I just felt like typing about it. Funny how I went from a nautical outfit post to the economic benefits of certain selling tactics at Walgreen's. Sigh...

Awkward Secretary

Blouse: H&M

Skirt: H&M
Tights: Target
Shoes: Miz Mooz

I think my legs were crossed because I was trying to keep my balance...how strange. Anyway I don't wear pencil skirts often because of the tight fit on the hips, but I found this nice one from H&M. Besides, who doesn't want to be Joan Holloway from Mad Men once in awhile? Of course when I try to pull it off, I wind up looking kind of awkward, not like that secretary glam of Joan! I think I'm more of a Peggy...but Betty's wardrobe is my absolute favorite. I've been meaning to watch the series but I haven't had time. So far I'm on Season 1, Episode 6.





I always get really excited when I find a new Carpenters song I haven't heard before, especially if they are cover versions of other songs I like. For example, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was my favorite Christmas song a few years ago (the Bing Crosby version), and I was excited to hear Karen singing her own version. Here's a little blurb by Richard as to the history and details of the song, as well as a clip:



"Karen would sing the work lead while we did the rhythm track and some of the orchestra backing. The beginning right after the intro and the first part of the first verse, the track is from one take. It was then edited onto the bulk of another take; and, in the bit of track on the beginning of one take, Karen either misplaced her music or she was preoccupied, and ended up singing 'hmm, hmm night wind to the little lamb', instead of 'Said the night wind to the little lamb.' The only way I could do it, because it had 'hmm hmm' was for me to sing, 'Said the night wind to the little lamb, do you hear what I hear' and then continue it with Karen." -Richard Carpenter

Pictures from here.

Channeling Mary Richards

Dress: Jonathan Saunders for Target
Scarf: H&M
Tights: Target
Shoes: Miz Mooz

Boots: Nordstrom

So I've been slowly integrating Mary's style into my wardrobe...or rather picking out pieces in my closet that represent Mary Tyler Moore best. Or I just wanted an excuse to wear this dress because it's totally similar to one Mary has. Yes, it's goodbye Blair Waldorf, hello Mary Richards!

Who Can Turn The World On With Her Smile?

Besides The Love Boat, my other new favorite TV show is Mary Tyler Moore, starring the lovable Mary Tyler Moore (obviously). Her role in this comedic series differs greatly from The Dick Van Dyke Show; for one thing, she is no longer the "Oh, Rob!" housewife, Laura Petrie. In this series, she plays the role of an independent career woman working in a newsroom full of men. People have often said she was one of the first to show women that they too can make a life for themselves outside of the house. Most shows from the 50s and 60s depicted women as a housewife waiting hand and foot for their husbands to return home, which wasn't terrible, but someone needed to showcase the independent career woman. Women like Marlo Thomas in That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore took their characters and related them to female audiences around the world in a comedic manner that was realistic but entertaining, paving the road for future shows like Ally McBeal and Ugly Betty, modern versions of independent career women.

Mary Tyler Moore plays Mary Richards, a 30-year-old woman who breaks up with her boyfriend and moves to Minneapolis to pursue a career. She lands a job at the beloved WJM-TV newsroom as an associate producer; the WJM-TV team includes her tough-but-lovable boss Lou Grant (Ed Asner, who voiced the old man in Up), the hardworking newswriter Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod; by sheer coincidence, I happen to be watching two TV series with this guy, and I adore him), and the daft-yet-impossible-to-dislike Ted Baxter (the wonderful Ted Knight). Mary lives at an apartment house with the screwy (not exactly ditzy...it's hard to explain) Phyllis Lindstrom (a pre-Dancing With the Stars Cloris Leachman) and the sarcastic Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper). To me, Murray and Rhoda serve similar roles as the quick-witted and sarcastic counterparts to the ditziness of Ted and Phyllis. But that's just me :)

I love the humor and the silliness of the show; most incidents are extremely relatable and normal, but the show takes these situations and puts comedy into them. Rhoda and Murray are my favorites because of their great one-liners and sarcasm. I didn't like Ted at first, but he sort of grows on you and you start to laugh at his silliness rather than his stupidity. And who could hate Lou? He tries to be tough but inside he's an old softie, and his paternal feelings and protection of Mary really show what a great guy he is. I adore Mary of course; she's the girl everyone wants to be friends with while she wants to be friends with everyone. I'm not too fond of Phyllis though; to me, she's a little annoying. I think the cast changes a little after a couple seasons (Valerie Harper left to pursue her own show Rhoda), and Betty White and Georgia Engel join the series. I'm still on Season Two, so we'll have to see what happens...but so far, I'm adoring Rhoda and Murray because they say the funniest things (especially Rhoda!).

One of my favorite parts of the series is, of course, the fashion. Mary has a fashion-savvy mind and her wardrobe showcases that. Her outfits are always modest and tasteful, yet incredibly chic and trendy. She wears shift dresses, shirt dresses, boots, heels, coats, hats, and more! And the best part of it is she recycles these looks every few episodes, so she winds up either wearing the same thing and looking just as chic as she did the first time she wore the outfit, or she remixes it with new accessories. Mary Richards is a style icon to all working women, showing that you don't have to wear a suit to look chic and professional at work. Her suits vary from the traditional black; she likes to wear interesting colors and jackets, accessorizing with a nice scarf in either her hair or around her neck. If you're ever stuck trying to figure out what to wear, Mary's classic style is always a great place for inspiration.

I just have to say I love Mary's door! I really want to try that this year!

I swear I have a shirt dress like that in the same color!

Same matching jacket and skirt...

With a different scarf!

Even when she's exercising, she throws in a little hair scarf!

Wearing her tan skirt in one episode...

And remixing it in another!

Theme song for Season One (personally I liked this one the best):


Mary's famous job interview ("You've Got Spunk!"):


Rhoda's best moments on Season One of MTM (my favorite is the one where she calls the police for Mary, as well as the chocolate one: "I don't know why I'm putting this in my mouth. I should just apply it directly to my hips."):


"Shut Up, Ted!":


Screenshots taken by me. Other pictures from Flickr and here.

Ten Things About Sewing and Me

Lately I've really been into sewing, ever since I made my Halloween costume. I mean, I usually tend to go in and out when it comes to sewing; one week I'll feel really up to sewing and into it, and then the next four weeks I'll feel too lazy and blah to continue. But for the last two or three weeks, I've been trying to keep continuously sewing, and I'm working on this red dress I posted about a year ago (wow I've been blogging for awhile...). So far I've made a bunch of mistakes (sewing pieces backwards and forwards, upside-down and inside-out; you name it, I've done it!) and it's taking longer than anticipated, but I really want to finish and do a decent job. Hopefully it'll be done within the next week or so. Right now I'm half-stressed/half-laughing because I accidentally sewed the pockets inside out (so basically the only way I can stick my hand into the pockets is from the inside of the dress). I think I spent like five minutes laughing at my stupidity. But it was kind of funny :)

Anyways, I thought I'd write a list of ten things about sewing and me, little sewing habits and tidbits, both good and bad (mostly bad):
1) Like I mentioned above, I take forever to finish a sewing project because my mood changes so much, depending on whether I feel like sewing or not.
2) I'm incredibly impatient when it comes to sewing. I rush through the sewing, do a really crappy job, scream and stress when I find a big mistake, and toss the project onto the floor...only to return to it a few minutes later. Yes, I seem to get really worked up and stressed out when it comes to sewing.
3) I have a very bad problem with fitting. Small on the top, big on the bottom...and patterns don't really agree with disproportionate girls. Not to mention, many times the measurements on a pattern don't even match the measurements of the actual pattern piece. What the heck...?!
4) I hate cutting patterns. Probably because I don't have a decent place to lay out the fabric except the floor, and that really hurts my back.
5) I like to organize my pins by color (O.C.D., anyone?). Seriously, they look prettier on the tomato like that!
6) I sing while I sew. Yes, sing. No, I don't sing in the shower. The last songs I sang were the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show and a Karen Carpenter song (one of them...). I also sing while I'm ironing...
7) I like to also watch TV while I'm sewing, so that could account for my incredible slowness when it comes to completing a project.
8) I hate sewing lining. Yet I hate not having lining in my clothes. So I almost always have to sew lining.
9) One of the best parts of sewing is completion; after weeks/months/years of hard work, I'm finally done! Now onto another stressful project...
10) If I can't afford something, I usually try to sew it. For example, I like to look through Modcloth's website and get some ideas and inspiration from there. Here are a couple projects I have in mind (some of these are old products from a few months ago, so they may not be available):


















It's quite easy to get carried away as you can see. Hopefully I'll be able to make some of these...and finish within the next ten years. We'll see :) Meanwhile I think my next project will be this brocade shift dress I saw at Nordstrom. I already bought this lovely cream brocade from Jo-Ann today for only $13!


Do you guys sew? What sort of habits and pet peeves do you have with sewing?

Channeling "The Edge of Love"

Hat: Target
Sweater: Gift
Dress: H&M
Socks: Target
Boots: BP Nordstrom

I simply had to play dress-up after watching all those lovely costumes from The Edge of Love! I've been pretty much living in this outfit; it's terribly comfortable, and I love the cozy knit over the summery dress. This outfit is pretty much perfect for the bipolar weather we've been having. And maybe running around some beach in Wales. Unfortunately it started raining today...so my legs are wet and cold :(




Pictures from here.

The Edge of Love (2008)

I finally got to watch The Edge of Love a few weeks ago, and I really like the film! It's not a war film, but rather a kind of love story; it's rather depressing and you really have to pay attention to understand the emotions of the characters. It's supposed to be about the poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) and his relationships, but I feel like it's more about Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley) and her relationships. Vera and Dylan were childhood lovers and they meet again years later during WWII. Dylan is now married to Caitlin MacNamara (Sienna Miller), but despite their rivalry over Dylan, the two become best friends. The trio soon become a foursome when William Killick (Cillian Murphy) joins them and marries Vera. Tension arises between William and Dylan over Vera while Vera and Caitlin's relationship is strained over Dylan. It's interesting to see how these actors and characters all interact. Vera and Dylan loved each other as teenagers, but as adults their worlds and views are different and conflicting; they try to love each other again, but Vera realizes she has grown up while Dylan is still living in the past. Vera and Caitlin also have an interesting relationship; their love of the same man drives them apart while also connecting and bonding them together. In a way, they grow to understand each other because of their love of Dylan. Vera experiences a mature relationship with William, and in the end she realizes she loves him in a different way than Dylan. Caitlin and Dylan have a playful relationship, but Vera's presence creates conflict between the two of them. And finally, Dylan and William never really become friends because of their conflicting love of Vera. I was rooting for Vera and Dylan in the beginning because I thought William was kind of creepy and scary, but throughout the film you can see the characters developing and growing; Vera has grown up, yet Dylan remains really immature and childish. In the end Vera was much better off with William, because personally I thought Dylan was a jerk. It's such a complicated yet simplistic film, with the relationships between these four people analyzed throughout the movie.

I really adore Keira Knightley and have seen most of her films (probably because she's done so many period pieces); but this is the first time I've seen her sing, and her voice is absolutely wonderful! Part of me is against a remake of My Fair Lady (no one is better than Audrey Hepburn...except for Julie Andrews in the role of Eliza, but I'm not going to open that can of worms in this post), but I can really see Keira Knightley in the role of Eliza Doolittle. She's rumored to be in it, and I hope she will be :) I seriously can imagine her with a cockney accent ("Aoww!") and singing "I Could Have Danced All Night." Here's a scene from The Edge of Love with her singing:



Like most fashion bloggers, I love the costumes of the film. The floral dresses, tweed skirts, chunky knits, and rubber boots are all so very wonderful, plus the 1940s suits and dresses and hats! And why is it that everyone in that film has a chunky mustard yellow cardigan? The costumes look so comfortable yet chic, and I can really see myself wearing some of these on an everyday basis.









Pictures from here.