I wear my garment so it shows.

A couple months ago, my darling little kitties shattered my full length mirror. I still haven't replaced it. I never really think about it when I'm out, nor did I feel it necessary to make a special trip for that sole purpose. That is, until yesterday. You see, I bought this lovely little blush pink dress for $5, wore it to brunch and on an outing with my friend Samara, and then realized...it's way more sheer than I thought. Though I wore it with the appropriate flesh tone undergarments, I skipped the slip. I caught a glimpse in a store mirror and realized I could completely see my rib tattoo. Which means, when in sunlight, it is probably way worse. Sure enough, I asked Samara and she agreed that it was a little see-through! If I had a full length mirror with which I could examine these issues, I wouldn't have left the house like that. But Kim is the only one with even a regular sized mirror, and her room is dimly lit.

Needless to say, purchasing a full length mirror is on this week's agenda. Until then, I will wear slips as a fail-safe. Hope everyone in my neighborhood enjoyed the underwhelming show!

Outfit Details:
inappropriate dress - H&M
Dainty and Demure top - courtesy of ModCloth
belt - from my mom's shop, Hourglass Consignment
pink socks - from my mom
Seychelles "Romance" boots - courtesy of Seychelles
Coach Madison Brynne bag - courtesy of Coach

Love love,
Keiko Lynn

Primary

Some readers have expressed concern over the lack of color in my ensembles, as of late. It didn't even occur to me until it was pointed out! I guess I have been gravitating toward more muted tones; I tend to go through phases. I felt like being very colorful, so I threw on some primary hues and MAC Russian Red lipstick. I always feel a little silly when I buy Forever 21 and H&M stuff second hand, but I really liked that this could be worn as a dress or as a vest, and that it was under $10.

One thing can be said about wearing bright colors: it makes it almost impossible to be in a bad mood!

Outfit Details:
Forever 21 wrap dress (worn as vest) and Calvin Klein heels - Beacon's Closet
Yellow satchel - courtesy of Cambridge Satchel Company
Walk 'n roll top and blue skirt (from last year; no longer available) - courtesy of ModCloth
belt - thrifted

Love love,
Keiko Lynn

Pander

Outfit Details:
Just Bright skirt - c/o ModCloth
MAC clutch - c/o Rebecca Minkoff
panda shirt - Forever 21
vest - Beacon's Closet (originally from Zara)(see makeup here)

I'm sorry for the absence and sincerely appreciate everyone who checked in with me. I'm alive! I'm just in Florida for my sister's baby shower and have been spending all of my time with family and none of it on the computer. What a nice change of pace. Everyone is sleeping, so I figured I would stop in and say hello.

Some of you might know about my panda obsession. It all started with Snowball and I've never outgrown it. Between gifts from family, friends and also from my own purchases, I have a pretty impressive/borderline crazypants collection of panda things. Also, one of my nicknames is Panda. Or Pander, depending on whom you ask.

Naturally, I had to pick up this shirt at Forever 21 as soon as I (or maybe Tessa) spotted it. If I didn't, what kind of Panda would I be? Not a very good one, I suspect.

like petals falling apart

Outfit Details:Alice Ritter sleeveless trench - Bird (SUPER on sale at the one in my neighborhood) On a sheer day top - c/o ModCloth (currently sold out:( )skirt - Urban Outfittersbelt - thriftedJoie platforms - c/o JoieFoley + Corinna mid city tote - c/o Foley + Corinnachain and ribbon bracelet - c/o Dana Mariahvintage roses bracelet - gift from my mom Rebecca Minkoff braceletflower ring - Forever 21K ring - hand-me-downlipstick - Urban Decay Crush

Growing up, I was always a bit of a hustler - but we'll go with "entrepreneur" because it sounds less like I was picking pockets and swindling innocent people out of their money. Whether it was drawing portraits of horses for boarders at the ranch (a veritable bargain at ten cents a piece), selling Airheads and Blow Pops, dog or bird sitting (I did both, regularly), cleaning stalls or making friendship bracelets, I always had sporadic sources of income. I also used to do extra current events projects and sell them to my slacker classmates. Unless, of course, Mr. Pressey is reading this...because if he is, I never ever ever did that.

The second I turned 15, I went and got a job at the mall. To this day, that was the only time I worked directly for a company and had a normal (albeit very tiny) paycheck. I traded the friendship bracelets and horse portraits for sewing, the homework for actual paid writing jobs, and retired from bird sitting as soon as one of the weaker baby birds passed away and wrecked my teenage world.

My point? There really is none, but upon seeing this young girl turn her hobby into an Etsy venture, I started thinking about my own youthful enterprises and became nostalgic. I wonder what younger-me would think about present-me making clothing (p.s. the new site and merch will be up at the end of the month!) and maintaining a blog. I never even thought I would wear dresses, let alone make them. Ugh, what a girl.

Truly, I think the thing I would be most surprised about is that the whole, "I want to be Paula Abdul" thing didn't work out...and that I'm not married to Leonardo DiCaprio. I thought at least one of those was a sure thing.

about town

Outfit Details:
dress - c/o ModCloth (last year - and p.s. I'm wearing shorts underneath)
vintage scarf - gift from my mom (tutorial here)
glasses - Guvnor's Vintage
Seychelles Chant heels - c/o Seychelles
Rebecca Minkoff hobo - c/o Rebecca Minkoff
vintage bracelets and necklace - Hourglass Consignment
ring - gift from Kathy

Getting ready to take Miku to the park, at the moment - I'm looking forward to having a day outside of the apartment. So is Miku. When I'm depressed, so is she - she'll lay in bed with me all day if that's what my activities are limited to. What better motivation than a cute little puppy face to get me out of the apartment and back to real life?

over and over

Outfit Details:
Chambray Rebecca Dress - c/o Fischer
Foley + Corinna Mid-City Tote - c/o Foley + Corinna
On a sheer day top - c/o ModCloth
platforms - Aldo
bracelets - Forever 21, Rebecca Minkoff, vintagerings - Forever 21, hand-me-down initial ringVersace frames - c/o LensCrafterslipstick: Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in F-Bombnails: Estée Lauder Hot Coral

Those of you who follow me on twitter or facebook have already seen them (I'm bad at surprises) but here are the new frames I picked up at my appointment with LensCrafters! I went in there with a pretty open mind but was pretty sure I would leave with something very different than these. I tried on several pairs but ultimately decided to go with something bold and bright. Since I already have a pair of black frames and they graciously fitted my brown vintage frames with my prescription, I figured I might as well go with something different. I've been loving the variety. Glasses are fun! Unlike braces, which I also wished for and ended up not loving as much. I hated my retainer even more, which is why I have crooked teeth but I digress.

Naturally, the first time I wore my new glasses, I paired them with a bunch of matchy-matchy items from my wardrobe because that's exactly what you're not supposed to do. Oh, they're reddish coral? I'll see that and raise you a matching shirt, bag, lipstick, nails and bracelet. I'm also that girl who listens to songs on repeat, so don't expect me to practice moderation. You're lucky I'm not wearing 50+ bracelets right now, because five year old me wore so many bracelets I had to walk with my arms held out. I broke up the colors with that little chambray dress by Fischer - an independent and local label I love. The designer sent Bobby and me a beautiful package of her designs and I have been wearing both this dress and this shirt a lot. I love classics that I can wear over and over. I can't wait to see what's in store for them in the near future!

The scent of roses and raspberry leaves

Outfit Details:
on a sheer day top - c/o ModCloth
shorts and wedges - c/o Joie
Mid-City Tote in Poppy - c/o Foley + Corinna
lip color - Laura Mercier lip stain in Hibiscus
glasses - Ray-Ban

Big thanks to my little sister, Tessa Marie (or Cheech, Monchichi, Chichi, Goose, Little One - I have so many nicknames for her) for taking these photos, as we were on our way back from getting our nails done. I rarely ever get my nails done, and I've literally had two or three pedicures in my life, which drives my mom nuts. I'm also extremely impatient and put my shoes on too soon, so I managed to ruin my toes before I even stepped out of the salon. Tessa must take after me, because the day she gets her nails done, she starts chipping it off. Like sister, like sister!

The haze clears from your eyes on a Sunday

Outfit Details:
Fly by Night dress - c/o ModCloth
Lela Rose for Payless flats - c/o Payless
necklace - Hourglass Consignment (my mom's store)
vintage silk scarf (worn as head wrap) - Hourglass Consignment
Cambridge Satchel - c/o The Cambridge Satchel Company (two years ago)bracelets - Nine Westglasses - Ray-Banlipstick: MAC Viva Glam (100% of selling price is donated to MAC AIDS fund)

Today has been a rather heavy Sunday; not particularly good or bad - just really heavy. Where did lazy Sundays go, and why didn't any of my friends become psychologists? They could've made a fortune off of me.

In awesome news, Cheech (for new readers, that's my little sister, Tessa) and her friend Ally are coming up to visit for a week, and I am over-the-moon excited. That is all.

Bond Street

Outfit Details:
hat - Gap (men's section)
sheer blouse - Threadsence
belt - thrifted
skirt - thrifted
sequin bra - c/o ModCloth
Seychelles Hawk Wedges - Giltmadison leather satchel - c/o Coach (from last year; no longer available)glasses - Ray-Ban
lip color - Laura Mercier lip stain in HibiscusBobby's outfit: a t-shirt, lots of tattoos.

Now that Bobby is only working one job (woohoo!), we have a lot more time together. Lately, we've been hunting for an antique sofa, with no success. I guess I'm used to actually being able to afford the kind of furniture I like, since Florida has an abundance of antiques and less demand for them. Plus, I have that nifty daughter discount at my mom's store, which is where I have gotten most of my antique and vintage furniture in the past. New York, on the other hand - they know what they're worth and they know they can get what they're asking. I have a select handful of shops that I frequent and I often pick up pieces from the Brooklyn Flea, but sofas are harder to come by. If you have any tips on where to look (in or around New York), I would love to hear them!