Posts tagged ‘elizabeth and james’
The Emoji Factor
If you were to ask me what my life was like before the emoji keyboard, you would find me speechless. How I was ever able to communicate my thoughts and feelings without smiley faces, salsa dancers, and well-groomed poodles is beyond my comprehension. Who has the time to type out that they’re angry when all they really need to do is use the scowling cat emoji? Why waste your energy telling someone that you’re in a cab when there’s a taxi emoji that can do just that for you? And why bother writing out a grocery shopping list when you’ve got fruits, vegetables, and all kinds of prepared foods like pizza, fried shrimp, and half a loaf of bread at the tap of your finger’s disposal? I personally can’t think of a reason. In fact, I’d say that emojis have such a focal point in my day-to-day life that I’ve taken to looking to them for sartorial inspiration, which brings me to this very post featuring one of my favorite emojis, the eggplant.
Now, to be frank like a hot dog, I don’t really like eggplants. I find their texture to be too mooshy, their taste to be bitter, and I’m not big on the color purple. But there’s something about that emoji. Its rotund shape, swing in its hips, and fine, I’ll say it, phallic symbolism makes it relevant in practically any conversation.
How are you doing today, Sonia?! Eggplant. Did you see last night’s episode of Game of Thrones? Eggplant. Will you marry me? Eggplant.
And it goes one step further in being colorfully relevant for an outfit that doesn’t scream eggplant but were you to think about it a little more you might think, “Hey, she looks like an eggplant.” And I’m OK with that. Because regardless of my fruity appearance (yes, I had to use Google to find out whether eggplants are a fruit or vegetable), this outfit could really swing its way into any type of occasion just like the emoji.
Want to go grab a drink? Eggplant. Meet me in the office in 5. Eggplant. Let’s go dancing. Eggplant.
Equipment shirt | Topshop skirt | YSL heels | Tod’s clutch | Elizabeth & James sunglasses | Kenneth Cole watch
Should you find yourself not so inspired by the eggplant, then what I’d really like to know is which emoji I should dress up as next. I’m thinking the rooster head, but am open to suggestions. Just look at the gloriously colorful icons below!
// photos by Emily Malan
Teenage Dreams
All throughout high school you could find me dressed in flared jeans, oversize sunglasses, and some kind of vintage leather bag. (I wore shirts too, but they’re irrelevant here simply because they were belly-button bearing t-shirts that I stole from my friend’s little brothers.) Not unlike today, I was very much about the accessories — earrings, sunglasses, bracelets, and bags. And while I was content with my handbag selection, there was one bag that haunted my dreams like a lion after you’ve watched it rip it’s lunch to shreds at the zoo (anyone else have this experience? Anyone? Bueller?)
It was a vintage brown pouch with engraved floral detailing that I saw at a thrift store on Haight Street for the whopping sum of $250 — a price well out of range for my 16 year-old self. And so for over a decade my dreams have been haunted. Nights pained with regret, loneliness, and longing. Why hadn’t I just saved up the money and bought the bag? Was it really so necessary that I spend all my allowance on weekly mani/pedis and trips to the Urban Outfitters sale rack? At the time I thought it crucial to my well-being, but in retrospect no. Absolutely not.
As you may have imagined or noticed from the beautiful bag featured in this very post, my dreams have been rescued from torment. My saving grace? Patricia Nash; the creative mastermind behind this Marciano Leather Crossbody with the tooled floral detailing that caught my eye in the midst of my adolescence. (I was a late bloomer, which is funnily coincidental since these tooled blooms were late to joining my life as well. Ha. Get it?)
With a snap closure, interior pocket perfect for things like lipstick, hair ties, and lint, and a very reasonable price of $128, I’d say your dreams have been rescued as well, whether you knew you were having sleepless nights of handbag longing or not.
And with that I’ll just say that I was all too ready to slip back into my high school staples of flared denim and oversize sunglasses, since they really do just look so much better with the proper, vintage-inspired handbag. I skipped on the little boy t-shirt, though knowing my repetitive nature, they could easily find their way back into my wardrobe sooner than I think.
End scene.
Rag & Bone hat | Zara shirt | Textile Elizabeth & James jeans | Isabel Marant heels | Patricia Nash bag | Elizabeth & James sunglasses | 2Bandits & vintage bracelets
// photos by Emily Malan
Productive Procrastination
I have a habit of slipping into books. Be it a trash novel, a collection of essays, or a book filled with pretty pictures, I tend to procrastinate on things by telling myself I’m being productive with a book in my hand. Sometimes this “productive procrastination” does nothing for me; see the two weeks I spent reading all four Twilight books. Other times however, this welcomed idle time inspires me, and we all know that inspiration can only lead to productivity.
I’ve been in a bit of a rut with my wardrobe lately. I hate being repetitive, but the comfort of the same pair of jeans, boots, and sweater were starting to become all too appealing. On one of those more frustrating mornings where I stand in a towel with wet hair staring at my closet ready to burst into tears because I have “nothing to wear,” I flopped onto my bed and picked up a book stashed in a pile on my bedside table. The book was Gypset Style, a gift I received a few years ago but hadn’t flipped through since the first time I opened it. An hour later, not only was my hair dry, but I felt like I was as cool as Jade Jagger in all her kaftan and embroidered jacket glory. Reality check: I am nowhere near as cool as her, I was still in my towel, and my closet is a joke in comparison, but the idea lightbulb was there.
With a little help from my relatively new moroccan-inspired jacket, a new light was shed on my closet and I slipped into a pair of old palazzo pants as if they were the latest addition to my wardrobe. It’s not that I hadn’t thought of wearing them, it’s just that I couldn’t get previous palazzo pant outfits out of my head. Just like a chef looks through different cookbooks for new ways to prepare chicken, I look to picture-filled books for new ways to style my palazzos (among other things).
This is me having fun in my pants that are too long.
I can be serious too.
Chin dimples are also a great source of inspiration, just ask Rubens.
And I’m done.
Zara jacket | Vintage camisole | Elizabeth & James pants (these are also awesome) | Coach bag (she’s pretty too) | Proenza Schouler heelz | Ray-Ban sunglasses
// photos by Emily Malan
The Stigmas of the Turtleneck
Turtlenecks have such a stigma, and most of them for good reason. For one, their name screams awkward. TURTLE.NECK. Pretty sure turtles have no necks and if they do it’s a gross wrinkly texture that stretches and squishes like a post-holiday fupa. There’s also the fact that most of us were stuffed into turtlenecks by our mothers when it was cold outside and we were too young to know any better. And then of course there’s those girls who still don’t know any better and continue to style their turtlenecks in an almost offensive manner. For example, I once met a girl who wore a white cotton turtleneck underneath a flamingo pink flannel. Yikes.
While all these stigmas should remain in the forefront of your minds when approaching the controversial top, I’d also like you to consider that, when styled correctly, a turtleneck can be a one-way ticket to polished elegance like Diane Keaton is Something’s Gotta Give or Giovanna Battaglia on an almost daily basis. Turtlenecks of the thinner variety can have quite a nice slimming effect, especially when paired with a high-waisted pencil skirt or baggier trouser. Chunkier turtlenecks, as seen here, look best when styled with skinny jeans or some flared denim. The key is to make sure the neck area isn’t too tight — no one wants forced double chins — and that should you decide to pair your turtleneck with a flannel that you’re not also pairing it with awkwardly fitting bootcut jeans and sneakers. Feel free to agree or disagree, though.
H&M jacket | Vince sweater | Rag & Bone jeans | Kelsi Dagger heels | Coach bag | Ray-Ban aviators
// photos by Emily Malan
Bee to a Sandwich
Orange is a recurring color/theme on here, but I wouldn’t even consider it one of my favorite colors (for those of you wondering, my favorite color is green). There’s something about the inevitable orange pop(!) that draws me to it like a bee to a sandwich.
As I’ve mentioned, bright and bold accessories are a must for those dreary outfits (read: fat days when you want to wear black from head to toe). You may feel like shit about your look, but I guarantee people will notice your bright accessories before they notice your bland outfit (read: fupa). But back to the color orange…
The citrus color plays an integral role in our lives beyond the world of OJ (not Simpson) and vitamin C. Construction sites use the standout color to say “don’t fucking walk in here”; it’s become one of the two colors of Halloween and Thanksgiving due to the pumpkin factor; prisoners usually wear the color so they’re easily spottable if trying to escape; it’s the color of the California state poppy; Buddhist monks wear orange robes; orangutans have to wear the darn color every day; I could go on…
But obviously its most important role is providing my brain-dead, jet-lagged self with a pop of color for outfits when I have no energy to think past jeans and a white shirt.
Zara coat & shirt | Gap jeans | J.Crew bag | Nine West heels | DIY necklace (see how-to here) | Minusey & vintage bracelets | Elizabeth & James sunglasses c/o
