Weekend Style: The Best Kind of Exhaustion

As I put together the pictures from this weekend, I got tired just remembering. But it was the best kind of weekend. H and I had a solid date night, we had lots and lots of family time, and Mama got some alone time and some girlfriend time.

Now I need a nap.

1. Friday night, I used that sparkly liquid liner in one of my last birchbox deliveries. It was KISS/Motley Crue, after all. 2. KISS. 3. Ready for a Saturday morning swim.

1. The artist at work in her studio. 2. Mama time = new makeup, including 2 new Bobbi Brown red lipsticks. 3. Neon pink patent Sperry heels I tried to convince my girlfriend to buy at Loehmann's because they weren't in my size.

1. My girlfriend and I guffawed over The Most Absurd Label Ever. 2. Gold sequins (and the wrong undergarments). 3. Soft ballerina sparkle (that I wore to the show later that night with a New Red Jacket).

1. Gap 1969 ankle zipper legging jeans in tomato. Size 6. 2. A fantastic show, and humongous pride (Sheila was one of my dearest friends. She was the best. By far.) 3. Sunday morning.

1. Peach and blueberry picking at our favorite Virginia outpost, Hartland Orchard. 2. Stopping to smell the petunias in Middleburg, VA. 3. New skinny finds, old favorites that fit again, and a couple of pair I'm really hoping a good tailor can save.

Updated: The Beginning of the End

[No, I don't have time to blog. No, I don't have time to post. But I'm taking 5 minutes out of what will be an incredibly long day (last two have logged 13 and 14 hours respectively) to share. So pbbbbbbt! proposals!]

There are certain joys in life. One of mine is getting an out-of-the-blue email from Dariaux, with whom I probably share some blood somewhere. We're oddly similar - same likes, same outlook on life - it's eerie at times. Made my day when I saw her email pop in my inbox.

To: DC Celine
Subject: you'd understand
From: Dariaux

You are one of the few people I can share this with . . . just bought my first pair of Christian Louboutin shoes :-)

To: Dariaux
Subject: RE: you'd understand
From: DC Celine

Ahhhhh. Best part of that email? "First". Which ones?

To: DC Celine
Subject: RE: you'd understand
From: Dariaux

Pigalle 100 patent leather pumps.  Amazing.  Want more.

To: Dariaux
Subject: RE: you'd understand
From: DC Celine

Sigh. Don't tell me that.

To: DC Celine
Subject: RE: you'd understand
From: Dariaux

they had an adorable pair of fishnet/suede kitten heels but not in my size.  Oh, they let me try on a $5500 pair of crocodile shoes - gorgeous!

To: Dariaux
Subject: RE: you'd understand
From: DC Celine

where did you buy?

To: DC Celine
Subject: RE: you'd understand
From: Dariaux

At the Christian Louboutin shop in the Palazzo in Vegas. 


Updated 25 August 2011, after I sent a long-intended email with a snapshot of my new Oscar de la Renta sandals...


To: Dariaux
Subject: Oscar
From: DC Celine


The have red insoles rather than red soles, but still. 

Amazing.



To: DC Celine
Subject: RE: Oscar
From: Dariaux



very nice :-)   

I love these shoes. I want more.  Did I mention that they are perfectly balanced??



To: Dariaux
Subject: RE: Oscar
From: DC Celine


No, you didn't. Stop. Now I'll want some, and I'll have to weigh the cost of my shoes against my children's education or something. 

I love mine, too. I just don't want to wear them anywhere they might be harmed. First wearing I nicked the heel. Pooh.



To: DC Celine
Subject: RE: Oscar
From: Dariaux



I can't help it.  They are awesome.  Absolutely NO breaking in time.   I want more.  Grrr.   
I know the feeling.  I wouldn't wear my CLs outside for the first few days b/c I didn't want to ruin the sole . . . but that just got crazy, so I'm wearing them all the time now :-)



To: Dariaux
Subject: RE: Oscar
From: DC Celine



exactly. they were made to be worn. 

i just need a driver.

Style Dilemma: Belting it Out

Sorry. Couldn't help it. I'm exhausted. And punchy. So bad puns, well...

Anywho, Miss Scarlet posted a comment on the last Style Dilemma:

On the belt topic, though, I have trouble wearing belts to work because I am constantly adjusting them. I wore one over an unbuttoned cardigan one day and spent most of my time keeping it looking ok.

My dear Scarlet, I feel your pain. I have the same problem. The "belt advice" is all over the style shows, blogs, and websites. "Make an hourglass figure with a belt." "Accentuate your fabulous curves with a belt."

Yeah, well, only if you can a) find one you adore, b) find one that fits properly at precisely that place on your torso that needs a belt, and c) find a piece of clothing that won't bunch, twist, or slide underneath said belt, causing you to figdet with your clothing all day. Which just. isn't. chic.

A couple of ways I've gotten around it in the past - though, to be perfectly honest, I pulled my adored orange belt out of the drawer the other day to put over an easy vneck sweater, which should've worked, but didn't. At all. It bunched in the wrong places, and just made me look, well, thicker.

Tip: When you buy your belt, buy it on the larger side (no shame about what size is on the label), so you have room to adjust. You can always have a cobbler add an extra hole if you magically shrink, but better safe than sorry. That way you can belt without belting too tightly.

Tip: Also when buying, buy while wearing at least one item you want to belt. Same deal. You can test it out.

Tip: Try belting over a longer structured jacket. I have one tweed jacket that has a sort of safari-like structure, and it (when it fits over my darned chest, which it doesn't right now), of all my clothes, does the best belted. There's just not much to improperly bunch.

Tip: Avoid belting blousy things like they show in all the fancy ads. Most of us aren't rail thin, and blousiness is rarely flattering on anyone but. It might not make us look wider, but it has this nasty tendency towards schoolmarm. And not the "sexy schoolmarm underneath" type that ads try to convince us we should attempt.

Tip: If you're going to attempt the belt, and are a belting newbie, try first with a skinny belt. It's a little more forgiving, and definitely less overwhelming than a Big Wide Belt. And buy patent. In any color. Goes with everything.

Hope that helps, Miss Scarlet - send us pics, of course!

Will Forgo the Bad Pun for Butter

Seriously, these shoes are gorgeously amazing - and, oh, btw, ridiculously comfortable. And I'm in love.

Any line that names a color "Car Patent" is alright by this car-lovin' gal.

I so wish that Nancy Geist and Lee Riech had their Butter site up and running, and that I could find a pic of the gorgous peep toe pump that screams sleek luxury car. Part of their fall line, it's a classically styled pump with a little bit of "quilting" at the heel and around the toe box. It's a deep deep brown - almost black - with the barest hint of coppery flecks - just like you'd find on a metallic car paint. It'd make a perfect "new neutral" and go with Everything.

And I'm in love.

I should've put myself down on the list for a pre-order at simplysoles.com's preview and Meet the Designer (Lee and her lovely assistant took the train down from NYC) event Wednesday, but I'm just trying to be frugal.

But I do have that "if I think about it for days in a row, I need to buy it" policy, so...