Style Interview: Annameekee Hesik

In my last post, I discussed the book tour style of Young Adult author Annameekee Hesik. She's recently had her first gay YA novel, The You Know Who Girls, published. She was also kind enough to grant me a sit down interview (and by that I mean we emailed and facebooked). So get ready to have your face blown off by Fashion & Histrionics first ever interview with a live human being!

Fashion & Histrionics: First question on everyone's mind: What is your inseam? 

Annameekee Hesik: 34 inches. I have extremely long legs! 

F & H: Now the important follow-up: where do you buy your jeans? 

AH: Gap always has "long" in store and I appreciate that...but the quality is lacking (Intervierer's note: It's good I don't work for them anymore!)  I went to Banana Republic for my skinny jeans and I couldn't believe they fit!  (Note: thank goodness she picked another member of the Gap family)They sell "long" online and they are cute. I tried on MANY jeans at Macy's and  NONE would even go over my lady hips.  Forget you, Macy's!!

F & H: Any general style tips for your long-legged sisters? 

AH: Give up on dresses.  They never make them long enough and end up fitting me all wrong.  Get yourself a tight pencil skirt and do not be afraid of those heels! I had not tried on Skinny jeans until I was shopping last month. When I opened the door, the fitting room assistant did a double take and said, "Oh yes, honey. You need to get those." If you got the legs, go for it! (and add the heels for extra fun!)

Lots more fun after the jump!

Obsession du Jour: Squirrels

ASOS Sweater / Old Navy Jeans / Naturalizer Boots from Piperlime / Gap Bag

Today my Mom and I went to the mall to with a few goals: to go to Sephora and get new makeup for me, to go to Nordstrom and buy some gloves for her and to look for some aviators for me.  For this quest I decided to wear this whimsical squirrel sweater, perfect for the continued record chilly weather we're having in the Central Valley.

Last night I saw Zero Dark Thirty (I loved it!)  and even before I saw it I knew it would motivate me to renew my quest for aviators that fit me. However, after trying on all the Ray-Ban and other brand aviators at Nordstrom, I couldn't find any that I thought looked good on me. This is a problem I have with aviators. I desperately want to be cool like Joe Biden and Maya in Zero Dark Thirty, but whenever I go to try them on I feel like I look like a mean lady cop. Alas, the quest continues. Instead,  I ended up finally buying a pair of real Ray-Bans Wayfarers  And given my obsession with and collection of cheap Wayfarers, it was probably a wise choice to invest.   Additionally, I was proud of myself that I resisted buying this amazing pair of Chanel cat-eye sunglasses that fit my face perfectly. #firstworldvictories

Ray-Ban Classic Wayfarer XL in Tortoise

Obsession du Jour: MukLuks for Target

Belted Cowboy Boot in Adobe / Southwest Rain Boot in Wild Horses / Painted Desert Tassel Scarf

I just got a order from Target online with all three of these items. They are all from the great MukLuk for Target Line.  I love the great patterns and colors. I think I was craving the psychological warmth of western-style blanket patterns. I might be going overboard in keeping both boots, but when plus size gal finds boots to fit her calves, she jumps at the opportunity. Also, I haven't gotten a pair of rainboots in a couple years, and I love these, and they expand my collection beyond my black patent  Lacoste pair. For ladies in true cold weather climates, they also have several more fun winter boots that a French and Indian War Reeinactor (a real thing) could wear in the Vermont snow. Check the line out, and add a little Western / Native American / Cowboy Plains  pattern and color to your winter.

Here's the first outfit I wore with the cowboy boots for errands on a cold morning.

Old Navy Cable Knit Tunic  & Long Sleeve T / Gap Bag / Muckluks for Target Boots
Gas Station Sunglasses / Forever 21+ Leggings

After the jump, more outfit photos and my musings on leggings.

Obsession du Jour: Peplum & Polka Dots

ASOS Peplum Top /Alloy Jeans /  Gap Sweater / Converse Jack Purcell Sneakers

It twirls!

A Histrionic Holiday

ASOS Peplum (other colors available and on sale here)/  Old Navy Pleated Maxi /
ModCloth "Bollywood Starlet" Necklace  

If you know me and and/or are religious reader of my blog, you know I love holidays. Especially holidays that require specific attire and have prescriptive color palates. As such, it's hard for me to break away from the red and green. Instead of fighting the holiday cheer impulse; for my Christmas Eve outfit, I tried to mix it up with a lime instead of forest green. I paired this bold maxi skirt with a bright red top from ASOS, with the peplum hem tucked in.

 Velvet Gap City Flats

What I Wore: Holiday Party

ASOS' Curve line has so many cute and reasonably priced holiday dresses this season. Here's the one I ended up picking:

ASOS Curve

Unfortunately, I was too busy enjoying the party to get proper outfit photos. I wore it with a flower headband I just picked up at Old Navy. The headband isn't on the website, but I'm sure you could find it at your local store or something similar but unique at Etsy.

For shoes, I went with with red velvet Gap City flats from last season. The maroon version of Old Navy's velvet ballet flat would work, or a metallic gold shoe. 

Old Navy

What I Wore: East Bay Evening

Gap Shirt, Old Navy Plus Dark Wash Jeggings

Yesterday afternoon, I headed down to the East Bay (Berkeley and Emeryville) to catch up with my friend from my year in France, Katie. You can see us in the Côte d'Azur here. She was kind enough to take a picture of me in front of my old apartment (which happens to be for rent).

Since I was driving from 95 degree Davis to 65 degree Berkeley, I could wear boots and pants! This March I ordered my first pair of Frye boots. One of my personal (shopping) goals working for Gap Inc. was to get a deal on a pair of Fryes from Piperlime. This was a bit of a challenge since the pair I wanted were $218 (beyond my general shoe budget) and are mostly excluded from all our promotions. This March, however, during Give & Get (a thrice annually 30% off Friends and Family charity event sale extravaganza), they were not excluded! As for the rest my outfit, when it got chilly in the evening, I added a light denim jacket and a navy horizontal striped scarf. You know me and stripes this season.

Frye Engineer 12R in Gaucho

Before driving down to the Bay for the evening,  I spent the afternoon on the couch (with my Mom of course) watching Derek Jeter smash his way to his 3,000th hit. Said hit was of course a home run, and he went an unbelievable 5-for-5 at the plate, and basically single handedly won the game. I was so excited that I decided to break out my Yankee cap pendant (seen quite tiny above, larger below). Even if you don't like the Yankees, or don't care about baseball, you should read the article. It was a magical day.

Let's Talk About Stripes

Old Navy T/Vintage Scarf bought in Toulouse

I'm a big fan of stripes. I hate to call them a trend, since there is nothing more classic than a Breton-style stripe, but this season we are seeing a lot of fun permutations (thick, thin, pinstripes, chevron, color blocked, ombré, vertical, horizontal, and more!) worthy of your attention. There's something that can work on everyone. Here are some cute Ts and dresses to consider, plus some of (most of) the striped pieces in my closet.

Classic Blue & White:

Gap: Soft V-Neck Striped T (also in grey stripe)

Gap: Striped Cap-Sleeve T (also in lavender and orange stripe)

 Juicy Couture

Le Petit Bateau: Organic Cotton Marinière

Warm-Colored Warm-Weather Frocks

Forever 21+

Everyone loves a summer dress, especially me. While the occasional cool-colored dress has made it into my closet, summer is the time to wear a fun dress in warm shades.  Here are a few of my plus-size (a few standard size and maternity made it in there too!) suggestions to warm up your dress collection.

Corals & Pinks:

ASOS Curve: Sizes 16-22

Dorothy Perkins: UK Sizes 6-22

Forever 21+ Sizes XL-3X

Dorothy Perkins: UK Sizes 6-22

A Lightweight Scarf for Summer

I love bright colors in general, but especially during the summer. I got this Gap dress a couple of seasons ago, I wish I had bought it in every color. Forever 21 has a lot of cute and affordable lightweight scarfs this season that are perfect for adding a little flair to summer outfits and perfect for summer evenings when it cools down (to below 80).

Gap Dress

Forever 21 Scarf

A Gap Brand Work Outfit

 I've stopped working at the Gap call center, but I will start student-teaching this fall.  Here's a work-appropriate outfit I put together, that just happens to be (like most of my outfits) completely from the Gap family of brands.

Gap Skirt, Old Navy Belt & T-Shirt

Piperlime: Hive & Honey Necklace

A Black & White Floral Skirt + Michelle's Pearls

Gap Outlet skirt, Old Navy crochet detail tank, gifted necklace

My Aunt Gayle and Uncle Michael gave me this lovely pearl and ribbon necklace from Carolee.  Carolee also makes Michelle Obama's signature faux pearls.

Michelle 12 mm Two-Row Pearl Necklace

She wore them in her official portrait with a simple Marc Jacobs sheath dress.

Michelle 16 mm Pearl Necklace

On the night of Barack accepting the Nomination, in a Maria Pinto dress with Alaïa belt

High School Photo Class: Portraits

UC Davis Arboretum

After the jump, my portaits and more!

A few Mexican-inspired looks

Old Navy Maxi Skirt, Target Scarf,  Gap V-neck T

"You're the only person in the world who goes shopping for Cinco de Mayo. Mexican people already have appropriate clothes."

My best friend may be right, but after working on my gringa musings on Cinco de Mayo for tomorrow, I felt like putting together outfit incorporating some bright Mexican inspired colors and prints. I found this lightweight bufanda with an Aztec inspired print at Target and paired it with my favorite white maxi skirt.

 ON Gauze Top, Alloy Skirt (availble in XS-XXXL)

This second outfit is a bit more evening. This Gauze  top comes in a rainbow of colors, I chose the boldest, 'Warm Sunset'.  If you like this blouse, you may also want to check out the Trends We Love section of the site which lots of cute "Mexicali" pieces. Since Cinco de Mayo is an American holiday what's more appropriate than buying something Mexican-inspired manufactured in India at an Old Navy in Vacaville, California? Nada. Nothing is more appropriate.

I also think the outfit looks cute with my summer bag for this season (from The Sak)

The above skirt can also be worn as a dress. I defined the waist with a skinny gold belt (Old Navy) and added my Mom's necklace (Chico's).

Arrested Fashion: Penthouse Party!

You said you didn't have a family?

Back detail

I admire how often the Bluths throw parties. It is important to celebrate each other and life's little and big accomplishments. It also gives them plenty of occasions to dress up. After the jump, more Penthouse party pics and I recreate Lindsay's outfit.