Colorful bridesmaids by elisabethcarr featuring J Crew dresses
This weekend one of my best friends, Jamie Lee, is getting married. Jamie has great style so it’s sure to be a beautiful event. She said the bridesmaids could pick any dress we wanted in any solid color. The above polyvore is a sneak peak at the outcome. I love the way the tones look together and can’t wait to see the dresses in real life. Mine is the green one. Congratulations Jamie and Vinny!
image: afterlifeboutique.com
Another vintage shop has popped up along the Valencia corridor. I think it will only take a couple more before we become a legit second hand mecca. After Life opened in May but I only just got around to stopping by last week. Owned by a brother and sister duo, the shop houses a pinball machine (+10 points if it lures my boyfriend), well-priced men’s and women’s garb, and one of a kind, reconstructed vintage jewelry by Danielle Teller (the sis) from her Adoura Demode line.
jewelry images: adoura.com
Check out this great Forum segment about San Francisco style featuring Candystore Collective’s Jennifer Jones.
For my last post about my vacation I thought it would be fitting to start where I began: the Mission. One afternoon in Paris I stumbled upon a boutique near the Place des Vosges called Delphine Pariente and discovered the French version of 18th Street’s BellJar (which, by the way, is in the middle of a big summer sale). It’s a beautiful store filled with lovely displays, antiques, gorgeous jewelry, and a mix of new and vintage clothing.The woman working at Delphine was so friendly and I wanted to buy everything in the store. However it was the end of my trip and my wallet was feeling light so I settled for these photos instead.
Pendant necklaces designed by Delphine Pariente
Vintage Celine handbag
Jordana introduced me to two great stores that are a must if you visit Paris: Kookai and The Kooples. Both lines are focused on not-so-basic basics. Kookai is pretty budget-friendly and there I found my French striped shirt. Kooples has women’s and men’s clothing. It’s pricier than Kookai but more fashion forward and edgy.
This morning I woke up to another cold, foggy day and decided it’s time to take a break from the Paris posts to share some of my go-to San Francisco summer fashion tips. We’ve all learned by now that fall clothes are year-round staples in our city by the bay, but I refuse to wear wool for 12 months straight. I like to pretend we’re having summery weather, to pretend like we actually have seasons. My main strategy is to wear light colored clothes and lots of layers. It really depresses me to wear a wool coat in July so instead I’ve been wearing cotton cardigans, lightweight jackets, and thin scarves.
summer layers by elisabethcarr featuring TopShop
White jeans have become one of my favorite summer clothing items. Every time I put them on I feel like I’m in Miami for a few minutes. Check out this Instyle Magazine slide show to find the best fit for your body.
Yes, they get dirty easily but I’ve found stains come out very easily with a little bleach or Oxyclean.
My final SF summer fashion tip is to grin and bear it until the sun comes out. I love skirts and dresses and I’ve learned to tolerate a little chill on my bare legs while walking to the Bart station by reminding myself that the sun will come out by lunchtime.
One of the highlights of my trip to France was hanging out with a friend from San Francisco, Jordana, who has been living in Paris for the last year. She was an excellent tour guide, especially when it came to shopping. One night we went out with a group of her friends and I found myself sitting next to the editor of a fashion magazine called Unfair. She told me I had to visit Colette—one of Paris’s premier department stores. She casually mentioned she had extra tickets to the couture shows in July if I’d still be in Paris. I left on June 18th. Le sigh.
Colette reminded me of the Co-Op department at Barney’s, only hipper and more expensive. They carry men’s and women’s clothing as well as a cool collection of books and knickknacks. Typically the store has no racks and the clothes are styled on mannequins. I happened to be there during their summer sale so they had rolled out racks and some of the accessories were slightly in my price range.
That’s a lot of fur, and I doubt it’s Grandma’s.
I loved these asymmetrical skirts paired with power blazers. I think this as a fab look for fall at the office.
Colette really won me over when I found their collection dedicated to the 75th anniversary of DC Comics. Designers like Sonia Rykiel and Karl Lagerfeld were commissioned to create some pretty awesome pieces like the Wonder Woman Dress and Green Lantern Gloves below. Ridiculous but amazing.
In the end I took home a beautiful scarf by a British designer named Jane Carr (no relation) at almost 75% off the original price. If I hadn’t stumbled upon the sale I never would have been able to bring home such a great souvenir. Even though Colette was incredibly expensive, it was a sight to see and I’d recommend it to any fashion lover visiting Paris.
I saw a lot of sheer in Paris. It was mostly in the stores, to be honest, but I did see one brave soul wearing this top and managed to slyly take a photo with my phone. She wore it with a black strapless bra, leggings, and a cute pair of converse-like tennis shoes. It took me a while to decide my opinion of the outfit, but in the end I think I like it. Not really the kind of thing you can get away with in San Francisco, but anything goes in Paris.
I’m back from France and can’t wait to tell you all about my Parisian fashion finds. I have yet to edit my photos because I started a new job this week so things have been a little hectic. I’m still at Salesforce but now working as a writer for the Marketing Editorial team. I promise to resume regular posts this week. For now I’ll share a few of the general trends I saw in France.
For the most part, what’s popular there is also in here—blazers, neutrals, oxfords, and trench coats were some of the major similarities. The weather in Paris felt very San Francisco while we were there. It was chilly some days, rainy some days, and sunny every once in a while. Even in early June many ladies were still sporting tall boots and scarves. I felt right at home!
The famous striped shirt was one of the more common trends. Not just for mimes, mon amis. They were everywhere. So French. So nautical. So chic. Many attribute their popularity to Coco Chanel. I don’t remember them being as hot last time I was in France 6 years ago. Perhaps we have Audrey Tatou to thank for a resurgence?
