Beach Days

 ASOS Dress / Target Shades

Last week, I spent a few days in Southern California with my cousin visiting from New Zealand. We went to Ocean Beach in San Diego and Venice Beach. I restrained myself and only brought one swimsuit and one pair of sunglasses, but mixed it up with different accessories (my new Ben Sherman men's hat) and cover ups (like this lightweight printed dress).

Ben Sherman Hat via Nordsrom Rack / Target Shades / Necklace truche on Etsy / Old Navy Swimsuit

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.

Arrested Fashion: Fur

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. I've already taken a brief look at the Bluths and leather here. Today we'll be looking at the Bluths furry fashion highlights, plus a look at my vintage fur and my fur philosophy.

Our very first meeting of Lucille Bluth: "You're going to be splattered with red paint, so that's going to distract the eye"- Michael

Whole Earth Festival

The Egghead sculpture with his huge beanie for the weekend was the best part!

So this afternoon I headed on over to the Whole Earth Festival  on campus. My plans to meet up with some people fell through, so I enjoyed a bit of hippy watching and took a few pics to share with you guys.

After the jump, more festival, food and fashion!

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

Style Icon: Eminem

"I want to be remembered as a fashion icon because man, do I know how to f*cking dress." (See the video)

It's rare the the internet disappoints me.  I do feel however that not enough has been said about  Eminem's recent wardrobe transformation. For those of you who don't know, I love Eminem. Yeah I know it's weird for a bourgeois feminist with a gay best friend. But there you go.  I think he's a brilliant storyteller.  From a physical perspective, he was one of my favorite heartthrobs as a teen. Here's an example of his fine vintage self.

 

Even back in his baggy sweats period, I always appreciated his comparatively mild bling.  If bling is a sign of how successful a rapper is, Em was always so big that he didn't need carat weight to prove his clout. Look at him compared to Busta Rhymes here:

Since their collaboration on Stan at the Grammys, Elton and Em have become friends. You can read about Em's raunchy wedding president to Elton here.

After the jump, we'll look at his recent style transformation.

More hats...

Dress by Lithe from Anthropologie

An antique hat for spring

 Old Navy Top

Style Icon: Lucille Ball

 

My I Love Lucy Period corresponded (lead to?) my hat collecting period. This was in 1st and 2nd grade. I successfully petitioned for my first bedtime extension specifically so I could watch the first couple shows on Nick at Nite. Head on over to this post of more glamorous photos of Ms. Ball. Then, click through for an outfit I created inspired by her Vitameatavegamin ensemble.