60s Velvet

The other day I went to my friend Ari's art show at FFDG art gallery in the mission. It was full of great prints from different artists. I actually ended up purchasing a print that featured a photo of me from this day in Golden Gate Park. It was a lot of fun, and I'd highly recommend that you check out Ari's art and prints. She has an etsy shop as well as a tumblr featuring her work. She's a very talented friend of mine!

Since moving back to the Sunset about a year ago or so now, I still forget that it's much warmer once you pass the Divisadero border. Without thinking I threw on this black velvet dress, black tights, and my sandals because it was so foggy when I left, plus I threw on a big coat. But of course once I got to the Mission I realized it was actually really warm. Luckily I was able to take off my tights and carry the coat around.

This black velvet dress is a favorite of mine that I sadly always forget that I own. I got it at Idol Vintage on 16th at Valencia. If you've never been there you have to check it out. When you first walk in it looks like they only have costumey stuff, but they really do have some gems. They're also so friendly, and the woman that works there always gives me a discount because I go in so often. I had been about to leave the shop one evening and then saw this dress hanging on the wall in there. It fit perfectly, so obviously I went home with it. The lace detail on it is so lovely.

Wearing

60s Velvet Dress: Idol Vintage

Black "Issa" Sandals: Sole Society

Karen Walker Resort 2015

Karen Walker always has the greatest resort collections. Karen Walker Resort 2014 was a favorite of mine, so it's great to see another stunning set of simple but chic looking dresses and flowy tops with shorts sets. I'm going to be heading to Tahoe in July, and this collection is exactly the kind of stuff I wish I had for the trip. I always appreciate the simplicity of her lookbooks. The nice wooden background with the same pair of cute shoes and sunglasses in every photo allows you to truly appreciate each look. This is most of the collection, but I left a few out. Check it all out here.

I also love the cat details. I have a confession to make, though - I don't actually like cats. I know, I know, every blogger likes cats, right? Well, while I'm usually friendly to my friends cats, I am not a fan otherwise. However, I still enjoy some good pieces of cat clothing/accessories. Sure, I'd prefer it be wolves, but cats still seem to be having their fashion moment.

Knee Highs

Ok, so I know I already did a post on Gwen Stacy and all of her perfect looks from The Amazing Spider Man 2, so I won't repeat anything, but there was a particular look of hers that featured a pair of sheer polka dot knee high socks:

I personally wouldn't do the brown boots with this outfit, however I love the knee high socks. Knee highs are an item I used to wear all of the time. A few years ago I worked at Ben Sherman, and was really into dressing and being as mod as possible. At some point I got it into my head that knee highs were mod. Now that I think back, there's nothing that's actually that mod about them, but I would always wear a black pair. 

A year or so after that, thigh high socks became popular. I think that's why it was so refreshing to see some nice sheer, polka dotted knee highs again. I've been wanting to get myself a pair for summer to wear with sandals and flats. I do love the contrast of her navy (or black?) pair with the white polka dots, but I personally am loving this powder blue pair from American Apparel (below). They come in navy, black, truffle, and "wild dove," which is the powder blue pair I was referring to. For $8 I don't see anything stopping me from getting a pair. 

Wild Dove Sheer Calf-High Polka Dot Sock

Nintendo at E3 2014

I went back and forth with whether to do this post. I know this is my blog and I can post whatever I want to, but I did ideally want to keep this blog for personal style related stuff only. However I also feel like in order to accurately represent me, I can't not share my thoughts on Nintendo's E3 presentation this year. So I'm going to post this, and if you don't care about gaming, feel free to skip it. I will say that I have a dream that one day fashion and gaming will join each other hand in hand. I mean hey, there was that one time Prada used Final Fantasy characters to model their clothes.  And I've always admired how rookie mag seems to be a resource aimed towards that fashion blogger crowd, but also discusses gaming (and much more). So baby steps, right? I'd like to think the fashion lovers and gamers overlap at some point.

For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you're aware that I practically live Facebooked (the Facebook equivalent of live tweeted?) Nintendo E3 the other day. I always look forward to E3 each year, and this was the first time in a long time that I had the day free to watch live. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a huge convention where gaming companies share the games and consoles that they've been working on. I grew up as a Nintendo kid, and while I do play on other gaming systems, it's Nintendo, and specifically Zelda that I look forward to each year at E3. The past 2 years, Nintendo has been quite underwhelming. Nintendoland and the Wii U were in the works, and neither had gained any credibility. So finally this year I was given some games to look forward to, and a reason to finally want a Wii U. I'm going to share the top 5 upcoming Nintendo games that I'm most excited about. In no particular order:

1. Yoshi's Wooly World


This game looks so amazing. Its been a really long time since we've seen any Yoshi games, in fact the last one I bought was Yoshi's Story for the N64 when I was in the 4th grade. I love how this looks like a mix of Yoshi's Story and the superior Yoshi's Island from the 90s. Plus the yarn aspect gives it a fun new twist. Kind of like what Paper Mario did with the Mario franchise. I'm crossing my fingers that it's as good as it looks. I love that like fashion, gaming seems to take what was good about the past and modernize it. Similar to how old trends are brought back and made cool again, concepts from old games are still utilized and modernized, and this is a perfect example.

2. Hyrule Warriors

Upon first sight of this game, I wasn't expecting much. But now that I've seen more gameplay, I think it looks pretty cool. This game is essentially just the game Dynasty Warriors, but with Zelda characters instead. It has been declared separate from the official Zelda timeline (I'm a huge Zelda timeline nerd). Series producer Eiji Anouma states that Hyrule Warriors "exists as a separate dimension," and is not an existing part of the main canon timeline. So the characters are all from the past Zelda games, and it gives the creators a way to explain why these characters are all together fighting alongside each other. I don't think it will be the best game I've ever played, but I think there's something fun about combining characters from other games and having them team up. I mean hey, that's how Super Smash Bros. has succeeded so much over the years. 3. Mario Maker


Here's another game that I thought would be incredibly boring. But leave it to Nintendo to demo their games in an intriguing way. This one kind of reminded me of the game Mario Paint, which was a SNES game released in the early 90s that allowed you to create pictures, animations, and music using Mario characters. Mario Maker allows you to create your own Mario levels, and the part I loved is that you can choose to play it in multiple Mario modes. Your created course can look like NES Mario, or it can be displayed the way that the newer Wii Mario games look. It's really awesome, and surprisingly looks like it would be fun to play with friends, creating courses for them to try to beat and vice versa, as opposed to my original assumption that it was more of a single player game. 4. Legend of Zelda (Unnamed) 

THIS. This was everything I was looking forward to this year. And of course it ended up being one of the shorter, vaguer trailers of the event. This created all kinds of drama, with people arguing over whether the video features Link, or some new mysterious female character. It has now been confirmed that it is in fact Link, and this is actual gameplay, not just a pre-rendered video. I'm in love with what I've seen so far, and now it's just a waiting game. The concept of Hyrule being an open world waiting to be explored is something I've crossed my fingers for year after year. Twilight Princess was nice because Hyrule field was larger than it has previously been, but this, this is complete freedom. There is no linear path to take. Everything has to be discovered by exploration. I can't wait to see more of this game as it unravels. Skyward Sword, the most recent installment in the series, didn't impress me (I could write a whole essay on that, don't get me started). Aside from beautiful cut scenes in Skyward Sword, parts of that game just didn't seem complete to me, and I wasn't a fan of the animation or character representation. However, I have a really good feeling about this new one.
5. Super Smash Bros. 


Rather than show any specific trailers for the new Super Smash Bros., I wanted to share the first ever Super Smash Bros. Invitational. They had a pre-selected group of people, including some Super Smash Bros. champions of the past, play a Super Smash Bros. tournament live with the new game. It was so fun to watch, and I think it best represents the new game, as it shows actual gameplay. Super Smash Bros. Melee will always be my favorite of the series, I really don't care for Brawl, but this new one looks like the perfect combination of Melee's speed and movement with Brawl's improved graphics, new items, and beautiful courses. This is another one I have really high hopes for. As far as the new amiibo concept, which involves saving data for each character in an actual action figure that you can touch to your Wii U pad to use, it seems like a cool idea, but an idea that I'll be too lazy to bother with. Although I wouldn't mind just owning the action figures. I also wasn't wowed by the concept of letting Mii's play and fight in the game now. That kind of defeats the reason that I play Super Smash Bros. Aside from all of that though, I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Black and Orange

Yesterday was another warm day in San Francisco. It was nice because I was finally able to take my new sandals out for a spin. I'm not someone that likes sandals, so finding a pair like this that I actually look forward to wearing is a pretty big deal for me. I think it's the block heel and nice sturdy leather that makes them work for me. The heel height is also nice, as it's flattering, but not too tall that it's uncomfortable to walk around in. And they match anything I wear.

I always love to throw on this orange 'Banana Split Shirt' in zebra print. Its little collar is so perfect. And whenever I wear orange I seem to always want to match it with black. Perhaps it's my love of Halloween, or maybe it's my love of the San Francisco Giants. Probably a combo of both. But seeing how well the Giants did this weekend, and have been doing this season, I think it probably has more to do with them. (Go Giants!)

Wearing

Banana Split Shirt in zebra print: Family Affairs

'SOLT' Cream Cardigan with Silver Piping: Thrifted

Black Velvet Skirt: Forever 21 

Black 'Issa' Sandals: Sole Society

Lavender Circle Sunglasses: H&M

Pieces I Pine For

As that one woman in Napoleon Dynamite once said regarding that ship in a bottle, "I want that." It seems there is always a list going through my head of what I wish I had the money to purchase at the time. I mean duh, I'm sure everyone has this list in their heads, even if it isn't specific to clothing. Anyhoo, please humor me in letting me share some pieces that I wish I had the money to afford at the moment, in no particular order:

1. These lovely Miss KG Norelle Cut Out Pewter Flat Shoes $123.85 - I used to be what one might call a "gold person," meaning that I preferred gold clothing (or jewelry, or shoe accents) to silver, but I think I'm starting to switch teams. Or appreciate both, at least. These shoes are perfection. Straight up.

2. The Rue St. Vincent coat by Family Affairs $184 - I've always been a massive fan of Family Affairs since first laying eyes on their pieces from Spring 2011 that popped up on a few blogs I was reading at the time, and always try to save up for at least one piece from each collection of theirs. Hopefully if I can save this coming month, I can obtain this cotton candy dream. 

3. This ASOS Reclaimed Vintage Pink Hawaiian Top and Skirt set $60.97 (top) $66.69 (bottom) - Not only have I been trying to find the perfect vintage or vintage inspired Hawaiian print dress, but I've also been a big fan of the two piece matching sets lately. This would kill two birds with one stone. I'm not usually big on pink, but I love how tropical this looks. It also comes in this darker, more cliche Hawaiian print. I'd be happy with either.

4. This pair of Block Heel Patent Black boots from Zara. They're no longer sold in stores, but they're all over Ebay. Depending on how well you bid/search, the price can vary. I have a couple of pairs of boots from h&m that I love, but I really want a nice classic looking pair of boots like this. It's such a staple piece for a wardrobe. I love that the height isn't crazy, and that they would immediately make any outfit look chic. 

5. This silver Metallic Leather Coat by Marc Jacobs, only a whopping $1,595 - Seriously, I just laughed out loud to myself while I read that price tag. What's even crazier is that it's sold out at that price. I mean don't get me wrong, it's an absolutely stunning coat, but I think I'll settle for a knock off, or similar looking vintage replica. After seeing Alexa Chung sport this, I had already realized how much I needed a silver coat in my life, but then after just seeing X-Men: Days of Future Past, Quicksilver convinced me even further that a silver coat is a must have. I actually have found a similar looking one on eBay, but don't want to post it for fear of someone swooping it from me. We'll see if I end up going for it. I can assure you it's nowhere near $1,595.

Foggy Day

Ever since I posted that Kate Spade fall collection, I haven't been able to stop thinking about turtlenecks. The great part about living in San Francisco, especially in the Sunset District like I do, is that you can pretty much utilize your fall/winter clothes all year long. This makes it slightly less upsetting to see fall collections released in summer, when you can't really start to wear the looks you fall in love with. But as you can see, I threw on a turtleneck with one of my pinafore style dresses and remained nice and cozy in the foggy weather.

The dress is another great find from No Shop. I swear, every time I visit that shop I find what I'm looking for. I had gone in specifically looking for a pinafore style dress to layer with some of my silk blouses, and fell in love with this one. I don't remember the exact price, but I want to say it was $30 or less. It's a navy corduroy-ish material, and is covered in these gold medallion looking things. I enjoy the print. (I'll show a close up of it at the end of the post)

These Sole Society shoes are favorites of mine. I had been looking for a pair of shoes with bows on the back in black. I happened to see this pair on the side of my Facebook in the ads section, and the block heel really sealed the deal for me. The only downside is that the bows aren't attached to the shoes, so if they untie, which they sometimes do, I could lose the bow fabric. I need to either sew them on or glue them, or something. They just got more of them in stock, and also added them in red and a beautiful blue, plus all of the other colors they originally came in.

Wearing

Black Turtleneck: H&M Divided

Navy Printed Pinafore: Thrifted No Shop

Black 'Opal' Bow Slingback: Sole Society 

Vintage Black Satchel: Coach via Ebay

Vintage Cream Coat: Thrifted

It's always good to stop in neighbors yards to pet their dog statues, right? Anyways, if you were interested in the close ups of the print on my dress, or the bows on my shoes, here they are: