My Antique Straw Hat

I was inspired the Royal Wedding today to share another one of my antique hats. This is the oldest one, and while I am no expert but I seem to recall the salesperson throwing around a 1910s-1920s date. The straw is very fine and delicate and it came with a hat pin, so either way it's the grand dame of the collection.

Old Navy Eyelet Dress

Click through for a couple of lovely close-ups!

Royal Wedding Style

Read more about the Queen's look

For starters, I thought the queen looked fierce in her canary yellow ensemble, and compared to the other guests her hat was relatively demure.

E! Online speculates that she was inspired by Grace Kelly

Hittin' the Town with Lindsay Bluth

Missing Tobias after striking out with Tom Jane

 I've already talked about Lindsay Bluth as one of my personal syle icons. The girl also knows how to dress for a night out. While she may not be successful in making her open marriage work, one cannot dispute her style successes. Here are some of her best going out looks, plus a couple outfits inspired by them.

Denim Geography: International Edition

Now that you've completed Lesson 1: North America, we continue our world tour through denim color names. We see denim rinses named after locales in Europe, Asia and beyond. Why do they choose these names? Some make sense, most don't. But if you like geography and denim, read on....

Europe

Santorini, Greece:

J Brand Aoki Boyfriend Jeans in "Santorini"

Citizens of Humanity Kelly Bootcut Maternity Jean in "Santorini"

Arrested Fashion: Leather

Much like robes, animal skin-based clothing is a staple in the Bluth family wardrobe. They maintain the illusion of their lifestyle by wearing lots of fur and leather.

One of Gob's signature pieces is his striped leather motorcycle (or in his case Segway) jacket:

George Michael's Campaign Video, wearing Gob's leather jacket.

The following exchange shows introduces the Bluths' opinions on cows:

Lindsay: Leather chair? So you're against stealing but skinning cows is cool?
Michael: Since when are you against leather?
Maeby:Yeah, you're not even a vegetarian.
L: I'm not against the insides, people need meet to survive.
Michael: You're aware they don't remove it from the cow surgically, right?

You can read more about Lindsay's eco-activism here. In response to her Mom's expressed opposition to leather , Maeby devises a plan of rebellion, "Let's see how she feels when her daughter is pro-leather":

Moo!?!

Maeby: This stuff's kind of hot, right?
George Michael: I hadn't noticed.

In a misguided attempt to impress his daughter, Tobias going shopping for his own leather ensemble:

Tobias: I'm looking for something that says 'Dad likes leather'
Salesman: Something that says, 'leather daddy'?
T: Oh, is there such a thing?

Look at us, who'd want to mess with any of us?

My adorable cousin & his new friend at the Gap

Photo and title idea courtesy of his mother. Thanks for letting me share!

Denim Georgraphy: North America

Naming jeans' colors is quite a hard business. Apparently, many color experts have just given up and chose nonsensical names.  I've recently noticed lots of colors named after geographical terms.  Most of the names tell us nothing about the color of wash itself.  That being said, I find it amusing to associate the jean's color with its namesake locale.

Sacramento, CA: To start off close to home, a pair I'm seriously considering trying just because of the name:

Old Navy Mid-Rise Denim-Bermudas in the color "Sacramento"

Yahi: An extinct Northern California Native dialect. The last known speaker was Ishi. I'm not going to go into Ishi's amazing story, but you should really look into him if you're not already familiar.

Speakers of the Yahi lived the area around what is today Butte county. Read more about them here.

Denim Bermudas in "Yahi", Ishi in 1914

Tie Dye for Summer!

Alloy Taryn Tie Dye Dress (available in XS-XXXL!)

Vintage Purse

After the jump, a couple more jewelry alternatives and another tie dye-inspired dress!

Robes and Slippies: Linsday Bluth Edition

In updating my definitive photo essay on the subject, "Arrested Fashion: Robes and Slippies", I realized that it was getting a little too long. I kept discovering more robes. In order to include them all, here's a second installment to the series focusing on the standout robes of Linsday Bluth Fünke.

Even though Lucille accuses her daughter of being a "stay-in-bed mom", Lindsay always stays elegant even when she's not quite ready to face the day. 

 

After the jump, lots more lovely Lindsay loungewear!

Happy Spring! Espadrilles Galore

Lacoste "Marthe"

Old Navy Canvas Wedge Sandals

Soludos makes this classic style in  a rainbow of colors and patterns for both Men & Women.
They are also available at shopbop.

Whether or not you believe that Christ was resurrected on this day about 1,980 years ago, we all have reason to celebrate! Easter marks the first real day of Spring (I refuse to accept the Vernal Equinox as a psychologically, religiously, or culturally significant day). This morning, after checking out my adorable Easter basket, I headed out into the backyard to capture some shots of my shoes among the spring blossoms.

This season, espadrilles are everywhere, not just just in our garden. They can be flats, wedges, sky-high platforms, open-toed, peep-toed, sandals, laced-up, with uppers in a variety of materials. I suggest heading on over to Wikipedia to read a bit about the espadrille. This blog has a condensed history and some great pics of celebrities in their espadrilles including JFK and Grace Kelly! This season, both Jennifer Garner and Kate Bosworth have been seen wearing their seersucker Soludos.

After the jump, another pair from my closet plus some more great styles.

Musings: Budget Gasoline

So I've been filling up at Arco recently since it's the cheapest station along my route. I have a lot of eco-guilt about my commute already, but I prefer the grossly negligent Brit twits at BP (Arco) than the actively evil Texas-based Valero. Valero was one of the oil companies that sponsored (along with some  help from the Koch Brothers) last year's failed California's Proposition 23. This was an attempt by the industry to roll back California's ambitious greenhouse gas reduction policy (one of the few good things that happened under Ah-nold).

In addition to being the lesser of the low-end gas evils in my mind, I love their new ad campaign "Straight Up Gas Institute."  It's like they're saying: 

Yo, no one likes buying gas, we don't even like selling that shit. But yous gots to fill up yo whip, and you not enough of a baller for premium Chevron wit Techron. At Arco, we keep it real. Straight up gas.

 I do have one current beef with my Arco station. It's pretty whack that they don't have the water, squeegees, and paper towels. Fer realz, the Corolla's windshield looks hella ghetto. You'd think they could afford it with their 45¢ per transaction convenience fee.