In a continuing what’s (hopefully not) becoming a trend, another belated post.
Last weekend, I attended my very first auction, at Sloans & Kenyon Auction House in Chevy Chase, MD. Up for bid were over 600 lots of vintage/couture fashion and jewelry. My mom had already scoped out the pieces earlier in the week, and had a list of items that she wanted to bid on. I dragged myself out of bed and went along for the ride.
As you may have gathered from my absence here, I’ve had a rough couple of weeks. But in times like these, I’ve found that you can choose to wallow, or you can attempt to fill a void with your favorite vices. Mine happen to be food, friends, and obviously, fashion. It’s not exactly a healthy prescription for my bank account, but they don’t call it retail therapy for nothing.
Last weekend, my mom and I visited Inga’s: Once is Not Enough, an upscale consignment boutique on MacArthur Boulevard, in the Palisades neighborhood of DC. We’ve been coming here for years together, both on our own and with anyone we deem worthy of indoctrination into our imaginary club. But this place is certainly no secret– in fact, it’s kind of a DC-fashion institution. Though slightly off the beaten path, both natives and out-of-towners make up the hordes of loyal customers who comb the racks religiously, some on a weekly basis.
Lancome Hypnose Mascara and Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in “Lucky.”
There are few things I hate more than waking up in the morning, bleary eyed and disoriented, and stumbling into the bathroom to stare down my naked, makeup-free face.
Now, I enjoy putting on makeup as much as anyone else who also happens to enjoy it. But one of my complaints about doing so during the work week, at such an early hour, is that it all seems for naught. I follow a pretty strict regimen, but an hour-long commute complete with train-switching and bus-catching can take its toll on all my hard work before I even set foot in the office.
One area that I never have issues with, however, is my eyelashes. I’ve been told since I was thirteen by everyone from dental assistants to bus drivers that I have good lashes. They’re long enough to almost touch my eyebrows, and they curve upward instead of sticking straight without the help of a curler. What all these fools don’t know is that without the help of mascara, my eyelashes are actually thin, sparse, and not very dark—albeit long enough to put in a ponytail. Continue reading
Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Dress: Necessary Objects (Piperlime), Bag: Gucci (ebay), Scarf: unknown, Earrings: Urban Outfitters (old), Bracelets: Lou Lou, Ring: House of Harlow (ebay), Booties: DV by Dolce Vita (Piperlime).
Today I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather to get some final wear out of one of my favorite summer tunic dresses. We went on a long walk this morning through Mount Pleasant, the neighborhood where my parents lived when I was born. The first time Chris and I went exploring there, we unwittingly happened upon my childhood (infant-hood?) home. I thought I recognized the area for some reason, so I called my mom and she informed me that we were standing right in front of our old house. Spooky. Continue reading
Tee: Obey (Zumiez), Pants: Seven7 Jeans, Bag: Yves Saint Laurent (consignment), Shoes: Belle by Sigerson Morrison, Necklaces: unknown brand and Stella & Dot, Earrings: Ralph Lauren (Nordstrom Rack), Ring: Lou Lou.
My boyfriend and I took our annual summer trip this past weekend, and chose to visit my favorite city. He’d never been before, and I was dying to drag him around and impress him. Beware, this is a long post. Continue reading
If you’re into pretending your office is a ’70s clam-bake. Which I clearly am. It’s Labor Day weekend, duh.
Top: Yumi Kim, Jeans: Buffalo by David Bitton (Loehmann’s), Wedges: Stuart Weitzman (consignment), Sunglasses: Tom Ford (consignment), Bracelet: Tahari (ideeli), Rings: Melinda Maria (maxandchloe.com)
So we’re getting ready to go to Boston for a wedding tomorrow, and I’m spending the evening packing up all of my beauty “essentials.”
The quotes denote sarcasm here. You’ve probably already guessed that these things are not actually essential to surviving a weekend.
But, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent a number of years trying to figure out the way your skin and hair behave, and have settled into a comfortable routine. I’ve spent a good amount of time battling with my skin—since before high school—and have only recently begun to feel like it’s calming down and becoming manageable. Part of it is probably aging, but naturally, I don’t want to rock the boat by changing up my regimen, even for a few days. Plus, I’m really high strung about this kind of thing and love carting around a bunch of crap. I am a Taurus, and we love stuff. Continue reading
So, I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here.
I guess the impetus to create this blog was borne of my frustration with the limited perspective offered by so many others (as well as the encouragement of a couple of friends). Lifestyle blogs are popping up everywhere, and I’ve gotten great recommendations and useful ideas from many of them. But something about this post-GOOP girl-blog era we’re in doesn’t always sit right with me, and I’m attempting to understand what it is.
There’s obviously no right way to be female. But for whatever reason, this surplus of blogs featuring recipes for vegan flourless ricotta truffles and glossy photos of women with perfectly coiffed hair and Louboutins giving their dogs bubble baths in claw-footed tubs… makes me feel like I’m failing in some way. Am I supposed to want these things? What if I don’t even DIY that much?
Don’t get me wrong—I am, by most standards, pretty feminine. I’m incredibly good at slathering products all over my face, finding bargains at consignment stores and on ebay and virtually anywhere else. I love putting together “eclectic” [read: man repellant] outfits that my boyfriend hates. But, you won’t see me staging a photo shoot in a field of wildflowers and acting like, hey guys, this is just my life.
I’m not exactly sure what this project will turn into, but I’m thinking of just letting it develop organically. I’ll tell you honestly what I’m into and why, with no other basis for my authority on beauty or fashion than the fact that I spend a lot of time and money on both. Hope you enjoy.
KATE NISHIMURA 