The Luxe Mix

I’ve had my eye on a few bags from Gustto over the past year but never could get myself to pull that dangerous trigger on my very dangerous plastic gun. I patted myself on the back when I saw the same bags on sale one season later. Gustto bags just seem to veer on the overly complex side, with just a few too many embellishments and unbalanced proportions. One bag in particular had all these metallic and mirrored things sewn onto the bag. It gave me flashbacks to when I used to wear lots of metallic and mirrored things myself. I’m glad only a few of you have known me long enough to know I’m not joking. Anyhow, I was naturally drawn to these somewhat gawdy bags but got over them pretty quickly.

Then along came this clutch from Gustto and suddenly I’m pulling out my gun again and checking to see how many bullets I have left. Will you guys weigh in here? I think Gustto got it right this time, kept it simple and clean. It looks so comfy to carry. I just want to tuck it under my arm and stroll to Peets and meet Choxie Snoops for a cup of Jo.

Gustto Berlina Clutch in White

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I was hunting suits at Neimans over the weekend. Lately, I’m get the feeling my luxe for less threads don’t cut it for important meetings with customers and days for presentations. A little voice was telling me wearing a power suit from Theory was going to help me stop saying umm and uhhh and look like a million bucks! So off I went to Neiman Marcus in Palo Alto, my go-to-default shopping destination when I’m too lazy to make it up to San Francisco. I had 8 or 9 things balancing on one arm while fingering through the rest of the racks, silently cursing the sales girls for not coming to my rescue and off-loading my load. It was a busy afternoon or maybe it was my sloppy flip flops but no body wanted to help me that day! I finally made it to the dressing rooms with about a dozen or so things and proceeded to slip in and out of my suits. During my private fashion show I peeked my head out to call for a sales girl to grab me another size and that’s when I caught sight of this hottie named Rexy. I kept wanting to call her Sexy Rexy. Take one look at her picture and tell me she doesn’t belong in a magazine or on TV!

We got to chatting about Rexy’s hair. It was stylish, edgy, original (This picture does not do justice)… I got her secret but like my hair would ever look like that! According to Rexy, she curled her hair with hot rollers, then took them out and pinned the curls to her head with bobby pins. Went to bed and woke up with awesome hair! She fixed a few strands in the morning with her hot iron.

What I liked so much about Rexy was that she embodies strength, beauty, brains, and confidence all in one. Her easy and carefree spirit was a refreshing breath of air in the uptight environment NM can be. We chatted at length about her passion for hair, makeup, and fashion. Somehow between all her jobs she is getting ready to launch a swim suit line (that she designed) and when it debuts you’ll be sure to find it here. I love the look Rexy puts together here — tube over a white-tee. I like to do this with a white tee and tube top too + jeans. It’s a great look to dress down but still look put together.

Go Rexy!

It was Friday night and I was late coming home to meet my husband so we could go pick up my sister-in-law at the airport. On my drive home from work I was doing a mental scan of my closet trying to imagine what I was going to throw on in 30 seconds or less. I kept going back to my skinny indigo jeans (which have become my second skin) and my knee high vintage boots from Modern Vintage. When I ran in the door my husband gave me the "I can’t believe you’re late again we are leaving now" look so I double stepped my way to my bedroom and started to frantically throw clothes on. It’s these urgent moments where I normally throw on my go-to (pre-selected) "uniforms" but I wasn’t in the mood to wear one of my recycled looks again so I went for it, grabbing the first satisfiable top and jacket in first view and here’s what I ended up with…

What happened later still makes me laugh as I think back. As my husband and I were making our way to the baggage claim area to greet my sis-in-law, we were standing on the moving walkway looking at each other. I thought he was looking at me lovingly but then suddenly he burst out in laughter. I was like what. He said "You’ve got a lot going on tonight". A lot as in I had too much going on with my outfit and that I looked ridiculous! I got a good laugh out of that then he escorted me to the bathroom to take a closer look at my fashion faux pas. I did look a little over the top. Under my husband’s careful direction I proceeded to tie back my hair and zipped up the jacket (the pic was taken after that).

I still think I look "ok". Maybe a bit glammed out for the airport but I think I’m good for dinner in the city, no? If you don’t take risks you’ll never get past boring!

Jacket: Forever 21

Tissue Turtleneck: Myong-Dong Shopping District in Korea (I got this for $10!)

Jeans: Armani Exchange

Boots: Modern Vintage

As I’m getting older (and hopefully wiser) I get more attached to what I like. Especially when it comes to shoes. One of the best purchases I ever made was my Chanel Black Patent Leather Peep-Toe Ballerina Flats. I find every excuse to wear them regardless of how it may or may not match what I’m wearing. It’s true shoe friendship! No matter what I believe in them and stick to ‘em.

So when I found the high heeled sister to my Chanel Peep-Toe Flats I surrendered without a fight. Normally I fuss and stall for hours if not weeks over a shoe purchase. This time I also got lucky since they had just come out and all sizes were in. I got them in black as you can see down below. Actually they are more of a deep indigo blue with faint specks of iridescence and glitter but it’s so faint you can barely tell. You can’t see them in the photos but a gold Chanel logo adorns the back of the heel. It adds kind of an old lady touch to the shoe but I was willing to overlook that.

Size

Sizes run a little big. I got a pair in 6 when I usually can wear a 6 1/2 in most open-toe shoes. I did however have Philip (my shoe guy at Neimans) stretch mine out a little with the shoe stretching machine they have in back. Has anyone ever seen one of these in action? I haven’t but I’m a little scared to see what they actually do to the shoe! I guess it’s best we don’t know

Price

I can’t recall the exact price but they were under $600. I hope.

Colors

I saw them in black (dark blue) and this orange hue below. I’d really consider getting them in the orange if they weren’t so pricey.

Comfort: Fairly Good

I can certainly get through a full work day and even squeeze in a dinner or quick walk to the market in these. But adding anything more to my day (like a stroll through the mall and a long walk through a parking lot) and my feet feel like they will explode into a bloody mess. I think it’s the sharp angle of the shoe. These are not platforms so the angle is pretty steep, forcing a lot of pressure onto the front balls of my feet. This is not to say they are any more uncomfortable than any of my other heels, thus the decent rating.

Actually this was Friday, last week. Why am I wearing curls? I had to look fabulous for my night out in LA! My husband and I took a road trip down to LA, and left right after work. Knowing I’d have a long drive ahead of me and no time to get ready, I set my curls in extra extra tight the night before. It takes considerable time to curl my hair — about an hour but I was able to do this in the bathroom while watching Lost with my husband at the same time. When I woke up the next morning I had to revive a few curls back to life with the iron but overall not too bad.

I’m wearing a grey sweater (Forever21), skinny indigo jeans (AX), and my patent Chanel peep toe heels (post coming on these new loves of my life soon).