Tea and Sympathy

You got a sneak peek of my tea party outfit on yesterday's post; now you can see the whole thing! Oh, how exciting. You must be absolutely thrilled;) I can't seem to go to a tea party without dressing like some sort of cupcake (cupKeik?) or dessert. Next time, I might just bring Snowball the Panda and a throng of dollies. If you're going to have a tea party, you should always have some dolls on hand. But, I digress. On to more pressing matters:

I recently picked up a pair of the Steve Madden Caryssa platform pumps, while shopping at Nordstrom. I originally saw them on my friend Christine, and knew I had to get them in the "blush" color. Luckily, I had a handy little Nordstrom gift card and it was just enough to cover the entire cost. Gift cards are the best! In my haste, I failed to notice something in the store: the two shoes are completely different shades! I didn't even notice it until this day, while in broad daylight. I guess I have been wearing them at night, mostly, or just don't make a habit of staring at my feet for extended periods of time. Oh my goodness! How long have I been walking around with mismatched shoes? I must have worn them at least four or five times since their purchase.

What should I do? I imagine Nordstrom won't exchange them, since I've already worn them a few times and discarded the box. I'm not even sure if I still have the receipt. I'm pretty bummed, because I really adore the shoes - they're strangely easy to walk in and pretty comfortable (considering the insane height). I also love that they go with just about anything. I imagine the mismatched shoes were a quality control oversight, since no other reviews have cited this problem.

Haha...I just read over all of this complaining about shoes and I sound like a whiny brat. Woe is me!

Outfit Details:
Lace and jersey top with shoulder cutouts - borrowed from Kimberly
cropped lace camisole (underneath) - thrifted
bow belt - thrifted
Steve Madden Caryssa pumps in blush - Nordstrom
reconstructed ruffled tier skirt - original piece from my mom, reconstructed by me
nude fishnet stockings - gift from my mom

(Makeup Monday is still scheduled for today, so please check back later!)

Love love,
Keiko Lynn

pssst: Christine of My Style Pill is sponsored by Steve Madden and has a 15% discount code on her blog!

Edit: Steve Madden is helping me resolve the issue - they have been extremely helpful. A big thank you to my reader, Mel, for bringing this to their attention! The internet is an amazing thing:)

the whole universe will glow.

Outfit Details:
vintage chiffon dress - The Loved One
bow belt - thrifted
fuchsia heels - c/o Payless
Fuchsia MAC Clutch - c/o Rebecca Minkoff (they're having a huge sale right now on their site)
rings - Beacon's Closet and Hourglass Consignment
Manolo Blahnik for TOUS necklace - c/o TOUSglasses - Ray-Ban RB5226 - 2034lipstick - MAC pro longwear lip creme in Unlimited

It was fortuitous and quite convenient that we ended up in front of IKEA's brightly colored bordering walls on a day I chose to wear such a vibrant getup; it was unfortunate that I wore a chiffon dress on such a blustery day. I had more than one Marilyn moment, but I can tell you that mine weren't nearly as glamorous.

I guess I wasn't thinking of function as much as I was trying to find mood-lifting colors. I had to compensate for the gloomy weather with happy hues. It's just what I do.

Living On The Edge

First things first: can anyone tell me why my camera (nikon d50) is doing that (the black bar in the bottom photo)? There is tremendous light fallout. When I have the camera horizontal, it's on the bottom. When I have it vertical, it moves with the camera (so it usually makes the right side dark). It does it with both of my lenses, so it has to be the camera. It doesn't do it all the time but sometimes it ruins the whole photograph. It has been happening more and more often. I can't figure it out!

/tangent.

Do you guys like my bruises and Hello Kitty bandaids? I like to think my bruised up legs make me look super tough, but really I'm just clumsy. I think everyone else knows the truth, as well. Either way, the cute bow really balances the toughness of my battle scars. My good friend Samara (who just finished law school...yay!) bought me this adorable bow belt last week, and got herself a matching purple one. We decided to be awesome/lame and wear them at the same time for breakfast. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me - otherwise I would have gotten pictures of us being twins. Maybe now that she has some downtime (j/k...bar exam time!), we can plan another matching day.

I would say "Wish Samara luck on her bar exam!" - but she really doesn't need it. At breakfast, she was telling me how "over law school" she was. She said, "I don't even care anymore. Give me a B and call it a day."

"Oooh, what a rebel," I said. "I can just hear Aerosmith's 'Living On The Edge' in my head right now."

Outfit Details:
blazer - thrifted
t-shirt - H&M ($4.95! I should have bought more.)
denim shorts - thrifted
heels - Calvin Klein, from Beacon's Closet
bow belt - Anthropologie, gift from Samara

Love love,
Keiko Lynn

If you want a girl who's sentimental...

I know I'm a train wreck, and it seems like I'm always apologizing for one reason or another. I'm not even going to try and negate that, because it's the truth. Instead, I want to say how grateful I am to have such supportive readers. You all are wonderful. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I cried my eyes out while reading through the comments and emails from all of you.

It has been a really tough year, but I am okay. I just had an amazing weekend with my dad's side of the family and it really turned things around. Pop-Pop's funeral was so much more than that - it was a celebration of his life and the people he loved, which is the way it should be. Seeing my family was just what I needed. We were only missing a handful of people, which is pretty incredible, since our family is huge. I'll post pictures another day, but if you're friends with me on facebook, you can see them for yourself (I just posted a whole album).

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate your support, and let you know I'm still breathing. These photos have absolutely nothing to do with this post (although I did wear the same dress to the funeral), but I happened to have them on my camera and was excited to be able to post something a little more on task. They're obviously a little old (I'm still in Florida) but they're new to the blog:)

Outfit details:
Dress and blazer: H&M
shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
belt: Beacon's closet

Love love and everlasting gratitude,
Keiko Lynn

Sister, Sister

This was Amanda's first time at New York Fashion Week. I was a little bummed because I only got a couple of invitations to shows at the tents - and they were for the day before and the day after she was here. Although that didn't quite work out (we went to several shows and previews off-site), I was able to bring her to the tents (in the AmEx skybox, no less!) for an IFB hosted Q&A session with Fern Mallis, the Vice President of IMG and creator of NYFW. You can read more about the tweetup with Fern Mallis here. Big thank you to the amazing Jennine for inviting us (and for creating IFB in general, which is the lifeline of fashion blogs).





Amanda let me dress her in my own clothes, which was a ton of fun. We have completely different styles but were able to come to an agreement on this ensemble. I wish we would have gotten pictures of it without the load of things in her arm (and without the coat) but it was cold and we were in a hurry all day.

Amanda's outfit details:
1950s dress (underneath) - Beacon's Closet (I think? I can't even remember)
Early 1960s coat - Beacon's Closet
bow belt - thrifted
tights and shoes - hers
gloves - Hourglass Consignment (our mom's store)
bag - Coach
scarf - gift from my mom




These glasses were a lifesaver. My eyes were burning from the cold wind but sunglasses made the bleak day too dark. I allowed myself to wear them twice but then I just sucked it up and dealt with watery, burning eyes for the rest of the week. I should have bought goggles.

My outfit details:
blazer - thrifted
vintage slip
vintage 50s cardigan and gloves - gift from my mom
skirt - handmade, Postlapsaria
belt - Beacon's closet
tights - courtesy of We Love Colors
bag - courtesy of Coach
Blimey shoes - courtesy of Seychelles

Love love,
Keiko Lynn

Little Dolly

I feel rather guilty every time I visit my mom's store; she always loads my bag with vintage pretties and never lets me pay. My most recent trip to Florida left me with several pounds of clothing, accessories and a hat box full of vintage underpinnings still in their packages. I also picked up a few pairs of shoe clips, of which one pair is shown above. They're the perfect pick-me-up for any pair of shoes - you can wear them on the front or back, as shown. Considering how much I've been wearing my Seychelles Blimeys (they're so comfy!), it's about time I accessorize them a bit.

This was the last day of no laundry, which is why I ended up wearing another Postlapsaria dress. I now have a couple of loads worth of clean clothing, so I can stop cutting into my own profit. It's really bad when you actually go out and buy a ton of new underwear, just to delay laundry day. Really, I know that's too much information but it seems relevant to this topic. We'll go with it.

In other news, my little sister (who, at 23, is not so little anymore) Amanda is coming to New York for fashion week! I couldn't be more excited. Which brings me to this: NYFW Roll Call! Who will be here? Looking forward to seeing so many of you again - and meeting some of you for the first time!

Outfit Details:
Little Dolly Dress - Coming soon to Postlapsaria
bow belt - thrifted
tights - Gap
Blimey shoes - courtesy of Seychelles
shoe clips - Hourglass Consignment

Makeup Details:
Smashbox photo finish
concealer
MAC mineralize skinfinish natural in Light
MAC bare canvas paint
MAC blacktrack fluidline
MAC espresso shadow (brows)
MAC mineralize skinfinish in refined
random eyeshadow quartet (physician's formula? the label is gone)
Benefit badgal lash mascara
lipstick of some sort that Kim gave to me

Love love,
Keiko Lynn

Love and Marriage.

I'm channeling my inner Peggy Bundy. Can't you tell? I think next time I'll have to make my hair bigger (can someone please teach me?) and I'll need a bit more of a waist cincher, in order to do her justice. I've worn this Rodarte for Target dress twice now, but this is the first time I've taken a picture. The first time I wore it, I was freezing in St. Augustine - it was 30 degrees and I didn't even have tights on. I was in Florida; I didn't know it would ever be 30 degrees!

This time, I was smarter and wore the thickest tights I could find (they're warmer than pants, boys...several have asked me this) and also paired it with a coat and gloves (when I was outside). I was still freezing; I'm always freezing. My teeth chatter if the temperature drops below 75. Florida born and bred.

I took out the new Nikki bag that Rebecca Minkoff and Tweet My Bag messengered to me and I have to admit, it made me nervous. I don't have a lot of "nice" things. Therefore, I don't mind that I'm extremely clumsy and spill stuff, drop things and generally make a mess of myself on a daily basis. However, when carrying this Rebecca Minkoff bag, I found myself being extremely careful. Is that what you kids do with nice things? Or do you eventually get used to having them and let them get the usual wear and tear?

If you want to own one of these pretty, very nice bags (it has birdie lining!), join Tweet My Bag and upload a photo of yourself with your favorite bag (any bag). You'll automatically get a code for 25% off select Rebecca Minkoff bags and be entered to win a free one! They'll be giving away a new one each week, so start taking and posting your pictures now.

I'm looking forward to seeing how some of our other favorite bloggers' (The Glamourai, Cali Vintage and Fashion Pirate are among the lucky gals!) looks with their respective bags. I'll be retweeting their looks as they go up, so if you don't already have me added on twitter, follow me now!


Outfit Details:
Rodarte for Target leopard dress - Target
tights - TJ Maxx
belt - thrifted
shoes - Payless (by the way, boys hate these shoes but I don't care.)
Rebecca Minkoff Nikki bag - on loan from Rebecca Minkoff and Tweet My Bag

Makeup Details:
brows: brow pencil and MAC Espresso shadow
eyes: MAC Bare Canvas Paint all over lid, MAC blacktrack fluidline, stiletto lash mascara (gift from Tessa!)
face: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Refined (cheeks)
lips: MAC Viva Glam

-Keiko Lynn