mom jeans + puff sleeves – est. 2008
being back home for the holidays reminded me that i completely forgot to share these bbq photos from my last trip! i can’t remember if we were celebrating anything in particular, but my family decided to have a bbq and i actually remembered to bring my camera outside as we all sat around eating oranges and pecans waiting for the food to cook on the grill in my grandmother’s back yard.
with the holidays upon us, things have been just a little bit crazy around here! as soon as i finish writing this post, i’m jumping in the car to make the 7 hour drive to my hometown of redlands, ca where i’ll be visiting with family and working from the los angeles office for the next couple of weeks. it’s not quite a vacation because i’ll still be working, but it will be nice to have a change of setting and to be able to see my family when i get home at the end of the day. and i’m super excited to sit around the kitchen table with my grandma, mom, aunt, and sister to make tamales for christmas! yum!
but before i head out, i wanted to share part two of my series of outfits that i styled for ralph lauren denim & supply (you can see the first look here). these photos were shot on a sunny, albeit deceptively chilly, weekend afternoon. me and the boy headed over to blue bottle cafe in the jack london area of oakland for a nice hot cup of coffee and a stroll around the neighborhood. it’s an interesting mix of old buildings, some that have fallen by the wayside, and others that have been resurrected in the form of cool restaurants and fancy lofts. i like walking around and seeing the way the area has changed even in just the past 5 years that i’ve lived here. as we strolled around talking about nothing in particular, we could see the light bouncing off the side of this old brick building from a few blocks away and knew it would be a nice spot to hang out and goof off while drinking our coffee and enjoying the last of the light on a nice weekend day.
tunic: ralph lauren denim & supply sleeveless turtleneck sweater
coat: ralph lauren denim & supply cropped wool pea coat
skirt: lulu’s ma cherie skirt
tights: tabbisocks fleece lined tights
shoes: dvf felicity heels
bag: j.w. hulme mini legacy bag
lipstick: ysl rouge pur couture in le rouge
i can’t believe it’s been two weeks since i last shared a roundup of my favorite outfits around the web. i suppose life has just been a bit more hectic than usual with the holidays upon us. either way, i’ve still been sharing all of my favorites on tumblr, if you ever want to take a peek! and i’m still collecting a little stream of cycle chic photos on bikes + babes.
kaitlin of all this happiness.
coury of fancy treehouse.
street style by stylesightings.
street style by stylesightings.
rebecca of the clothes horse.
nadia of nadinoo.
ok, so i know this isn’t new, but since i was recently on the subject of badass babes in my recent post about teddy girls, i remembered that i mentioned some pretty cool inspiration from a recent issue of rookie mag and thought i’d share. the moment i laid eyes on this cool editorial, i was in love. the hair, the makeup, the styling! everything is perfect and i just love the free-spirited and super tough vibes of the whole thing. i suppose it’s kinda funny considering how proper and ladylike i’ve been dressing the past couple of years, but seeing images like these makes me think it’s time to get back in touch with my bad side, at least just a little.
photos by chrissie white for rookie mag. hair by angalina sandoval, makeup by angel dorr and lenaig delisle, and styling by elvia carreon. assisted by hy khong and modeled by justina, raton, tennessee, amanda, and jasmyne.
i mentioned one of my side-projects the other day and realized that it had been quite a long while since i’ve done a bikes + babes post. so i flipped through the archives of my new(ish) blog, bikes + babes to pull out some of my favorite photos of– wait for it– bikes and babes. but honestly, i’ve been posting so many photos up there that i feel like you’ll need to head over to get the full scope. so consider this your teaser and then head on over to bikes + babes!
from the top left: tara lynn of good night, day, zoe of lion heart vintage, street style by the locals, marie photographed by stockholmstreetstyle, cindy photographed by bike fancy, and harriet henderson photographed by anne bernecker.
today i’m excited to share a fun little series that i’ve been working on with ralph lauren denim & supply. you wouldn’t believe my excitement when they asked me if i’d be interested in styling three looks from their new collection! pretty exciting stuff! they had so much stuff to choose from, that it was actually a challenge to narrow it down to only three looks! for my first outfit, i opted to go for a very nautical look built around this pretty much perfect sailor stripe shirt. over the years, i’ve picked up a number of different striped shirts, but i’ve had a hard time finding one that fits exactly the way i want. it’s funny how such a simple item can be so difficult to find, but when i got this shirt in the mail, it was love at first sight. if you are still on the hunt for one like this, i highly recommend it.
anyway, there are a few more photos than usual because the weather was just so nice out and we were having a bit too much fun playing with the light as the sun set behind the oakland high rises near lake merritt. i love this spot because it’s such an interesting contrast between the urban setting to the west and such a lovely natural estuary to the east with pretty migratory birds floating around in the evening sky.
top: ralph lauren denim & supply striped jersey boatneck in cream/fresh water
pants: ralph lauren denim & supply boyfriend chino pant in luxury tan
jacket: ralph lauren denim & supply fleece velvet-trim tux jacket
bag: rebecca minkoff covet satchel
shoes: rosegold danielle heel
lipstick: ysl rouge pur in le rouge
forgive me, but i’m about to ramble on a bit before i get to my point… so for those of you who don’t know, i’m the resident tumblr girl at modcloth. basically, i gather images based around a theme of the day, which i then share on the modcloth tumblr. yesterday i decided to feature jeans as my theme and started to gather a few photos of vintage ladies wearing awesome denim. this of course, reminded me of one of my favorite photos series’ by ken russell featuring a group of teddy girls in the london in the 1950s. and once i get on the teddy girls kick, it’s all over. now i have officially reinvigorated my obsession with tough girl gangs and have been scouring the web for inspiration. it’s an especially fitting time for it because rookie mag actually recently had an issue on the topic, which has provided me with some awesome inspiration to add to my files.
anyway, while racking my brain for other cool editorials, i remembered this post on siri’s blog from way back in 2010 featuring this awesome editorial from oyster magazine (scans found here). i suppose the styling is decidedly more spring/summer, but i live in sunny california, so i’m pretty sure that i need to recreate these looks like right now. i’m especially smitten with the babe up top wearing a striped shirt, jeans, and little t-strap flats. and i’m also pretty enamored with a look featuring a pinafore with a button up shirt and neck tie.
and for a look back at some of my other teddy girl posts, here’s a little list to keep you busy:
ken russell’s teddy girls
teddy girl
young edwardian
paul smith spring 2012
it’s been a long while since i’ve written a cycle chic post here! part of this has to do with the fact that i started a new blog called bikes + babes. if you haven’t checked it out, then you should definitely take a peek at all of the pictures i’ve been collecting of bikes and babes.
having said that, i’m still excited to share some bike fun with you here today! public bikes had just introduced a new set of limited edition colors for their popular C7 and V7 bikes. they already come in a beautiful selection of colors (i personally own an M8 in powder blue), but for the holiday season, they’ve introduced a sleu of new ice cream-inspired colors to choose from including pistachio, blueberry, grapefruit, salted caramel, and lemon drop. they’ve made only 10 of each, so once they’re gone, they’re gone!
and if you need a little push in the right direction, you might like to know that they are offering free shipping with code “FREESHIP “ now through 12/11.
’tis the season for gift guides and shopping mayhem. if you’re wondering why i haven’t been sharing any gift guides this year, it’s because i’m a bit of a scrooge. i mean, i love shopping just as much as the next gal (probably a bit more, actually), but the holidays can be a pretty stressful time! but when lucky magazine contacted me to tell me about their gift guide for the vintage fiend, i was singing a different tune. i can’t resist a good retro gift, and clearly i love to shop for them. a quick look through the gallery, and perhaps my cold heart was warmed just a little bit by the simple red and green stripes on this classic gucci boston bag.
today i am so excited to share my latest giveaway in collaboration with curator boutique! i already talked a bit about this local designer in my outfit post yesterday, but for those of you who didn’t see it, i’ll give you the rundown: curator is a line of clothing designed and produced here in san francisco. all of their clothes are made with soft and sturdy garment-dyed cotton and they do their best to limit waste during production and use organic fabrics whenever possible. the result? very high quality and affordable locally made dresses that you can basically live in. and today we’d like to offer you the opportunity to win a $250 gift card good for anything in the shop! above are a few of my favorites, but you have to check out the shop because they have so much more!
to enter, simply visit curator and leave a comment in the section below telling us which item is your absolute favorite.
this contest is open to readers within the united states. only one entry per person. winner will be randomly selected and contacted via email on tuesday, december 13. winner will receive a $250 gift card to curator shop.
don’t want to wait? curator would also like to offer 25% off your order with code “calivintage” now through december 13!
EDIT: THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED. congratulations to our winner, taylor!