Dying for Dear Creatures Autumn 2012

I've always loved Dear Creatures, but this year's Autumn collection takes the cake! They've brought together several things that I absolutely love: primary colors, 60s Mod, school girls, and cats!…And made a fantastic collection out of them. They sure know how to make my wallet cry tears of joy!

 Have I mentioned how much I love their model? She just so naturally gorgeous.

*images from Dear Creatures

The collection features a lot of great dresses that pull inspiration from the 60s, but with a modern fit. They've put together the perfect color palette to help us forget all about Summer. With Fall brings the return of the collar. It's time to retire the statement collar necklaces of Spring in favor of these school girl classic collars. I haven't quite decided which pieces I'm picking up from this collection, but I really do want it all!

Weekly Want: Suede Sidewalk Skimmers in Crystal Blue

For the past 5 years, flats have been my footwear of choice. But the number one problem I have with them is how easily I wear them down. Most of the time, I don't think it's a quality issue…I just think I walk a lot. I'm always hesitant to spend more than $50 on a pair of flats because I know how quickly they'll wear down. But that doesn't mean I can't admire them from a distance. I'm still on my bold color kick and being that I can't resist anything from Madewell, these sidewalk skimmers do the trick. They're just perfect shade of cobalt blue! And they're made of suede too!

Available at Madewell for $98

Madewell was Made for Me.

Last week I received a catalog in the mail from Madewell. I almost entirely forgot that I had requested one in the first place. But upon first sight, I was instantly in love. From the typeface choices to the styling, I knew that this was a brand I can stand behind. And then, I found out that they were part of J. Crew. I don't necessarily hate J. Crew. I just remember some of the animal rights controversy they were involved with in the past. But Madewell is a very different brand and demographic than J. Crew. It has a very uniform and utilitarian feel to it. And I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt since it was just PETA that gave them hell in the past for where they got their fur and wool. (Sure as a cat owner and animal lover, I'm not cool with animal cruelty. But PETA hasn't exactly exercised favorable behavior either.)

Over the weekend, I met up with my bff Nisa who currently works at American Apparel at the corporate level. Nisa and I have been wearing American Apparel since our high school years and we remember when they used to only have 5 products. And whether or not a shirt was printed on American Apparel used to be the deciding factor in which online stores we would support. Well fast forward about a decade, and American Apparel is now this huge ever-expanding thing that just doesn't know when to stop (even when they're in financial trouble). Vintage watches & eyewear? Beauty products? WHAT?! We went from owning just a few American Apparel tees to wearing American Apparel every day. I wear at least 1 article of clothing from them every day. Nisa, for obvious reasons, wears American Apparel head-to-toe every day, but she was wearing them long before she got the job.

But what we laughed about over lunch was how we're still stuck on uniforms. We both attended Catholic school for 12 years of our lives where we had to wear uniforms every day. And every since we graduated from high school, we've managed to create our own uniform from pieces of different brands. Nisa has a rule about wearing mostly oxford shirts and cardigans. I have a specific color rule: I own mostly white, greys, black. With the exception of darks. So I can have color, but they have to be the dark shades of colors. So colors like navy, forest green, deep purple, burgundy, etc. Sure, some people think our wardrobe is boring, but it suits us just fine. The case we make for it is that everything in our closets will always match. We never have to worry about getting dressed and having our clothes not match. We can seriously be blindfolded and pick stuff from our closet and everything will match.

So what does Madewell have anything to do with this? Well Madewell looks like the next logical wardrobe upgrade. This year I'll be turning 25. I'm starting to hit that late 20s/early 30s age where I'm starting to transition out of young adulthood. And as comfy as an American Apparel V-neck is, it's not always going to be the appropriate choice. I've been looking to upgrade my everyday uniform from V-necks and jeans to casual button-ups with jeans. It's only been a matter of finding something I really like.

Here are some of my favorite looks:

And last but not least,

 this is my absolute favorite outfit!

At Your Local Japanese Bookstore

I went to Kinokuniya for the first time at Weller Court in Little Tokyo.
And I realized that I should go to japanese bookstores more often, considering there's one 5 minutes away from my house in Santa Ana in the Mitsuwa.

I picked up a copy of Fudge. They called themselves the "New Type Fashion Magazine for girls." I've forgotten just how freaking amazing Japanese fashion mags are! and naturally I picked this up because you know, I love military-inspired, fall/winter wear, and understated femininity.

Feast your eyes on some candy.















And the best part about this was that it only cost me $9.66 after tax, which is cheaper than most of the graphic design magazines I read.