A SHOPPING PRO, EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO SWIMSUITS

Good morning Knuckles!

It's pretty obvious that I love to shop; I find it both fun and relaxing.  I can't really relate to women who don't like to shop, except on one occasion: SHOPPING FOR SWIMSUITS. Shopping for swimsuits is stressful.  It is even more stressful when you haven't bought a swimsuit in over 10 years, and since then you've had two kids.

Knowing the beach/pool are in my future this summer, I headed to Macy's to find a suit.  

The only thing worse about swimsuit shopping is when you walk into the section and a middle-aged salesman walks over and says, "Hello Miss!  Are you looking for something in particular?"  It is so embarrassing when old men say "Hello Miss!" 

I didn't want to openly cringe because he was genuinely trying to be helpful.  In fact, he started pointing to different styles, asking "Are you looking for a one-piece?  Two-piece?  Padded?  Cups?"  He pulled out a bunch of suits that I would never wear in a million years, and I could just feel the blood rush to my face and droplets of pure BO stream out of my pits. 

Anyhow, after an uncomfortable hour or so, I ended up buying the swimsuit below.  It's exactly what I was looking for, and it was on sale!

1) Cult Gaia Bardot Headwrap

2) Prada Minimal Baroque Sunglasses

3) DKNY Shirred Swim Dress

4) Moyna Hello Malibu Woven Tote

5) Keds for Kate Spade Lace Up Oxford Sneakers

I really love the rest of this outfit, particularly the turban.  And aren't the sneakers adorable?

I just realized this is my 100th post!  Wow.  Thanks for reading, everyone! 

Have a great weekend!

CHANNELING A BY-GONE ERA

My dearest Knuckles!  

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend.  Sorry for the brief absence in activity.  No reason, really, except that my allergies were acting up like a mofo and I was holed up in the house in glasses, sweats and t-shirts.  But I got straightened out after a visit to the CVS Minute Clinic and now feel like myself again.

(Sunnies, Times Square; dress, worn as a blouse, Asos; skirt, F21; belt, Banana Republic; purse, Elliott Lucca; shoes, Prada; earrings, Kate Spade; ring, purchased on MyHabit, can't remember the designer)

I love all the textures in this outfit, from the woven belt to the flowers on the skirt.  I also really love this retro hairdo.  I got my hair permed recently to give it some texture and I'm still waiting for it to relax, and if it's not pulled back I look like Rick James.  Superfreak!

Have a great week!

GOLD ON THE CEILING

Good morning Knuckles!

I'm loving spring metallics right now (accidentally typed "metallica," ha ha!), including this gold brocade skirt.

(Sunnies, Target; cardigan, Topshop; blouse, H&M; skirt, new, Pim + Larkin; cage sandals, Prada; purse, Dooney and Burke; necklace, Tuleste Market; bracelets, Asos, F21)

The cage sandals were from the Space outlet in Switzerland and I think they were 20 Swiss francs which is like 22 bucks (for Prada!).  The purse was gifted by Dooney years ago.  Back in the day a couple of my fashion school friends and I were picked as Teen Vogue It Girls and as a result got sent to Europe where we reviewed materials and shopped silhouettes with the Dooney team.  Anyhow, I have never once used this purse but I pulled it out in the spirit of Throwback Thursdays.  It reminds me of fashion school, of which I have fond memories of cobbling shoes and constructing box bags and being generally somewhat self-destructive.

The purse is still in good shape but doesn't it look crazy dated?!  Yikes!

Have a happy Thursday, Knuckles!  Just over a day until my favorite moment of the week: 7:25pm on Friday night!  Teen Vogue It Moms you know what I'm talking about!

CONQUERING THE WORLD IN AN OLD COAT FULL OF MEMORIES

Hello Knuckles!

There was a great article in the Sunday New York Times Magazine about how we are more likely to remember events from our 20's than from other periods in our lives.  That certainly rings true with me!  I have so many rich, hilarious, sad, scary, and awesome memories from my 20's.  But I also have a ton of very mundane memories, like the time I bought this coat.

I had just started working at an internet start-up which was located on Bryant Park.  After work I loved to walk along 5th Avenue.  The weather was getting colder and in the Prada store I noticed the fall coats had arrived, and after trying a few on I ended up buying the one below.  It was a WP (Whole Paycheck) purchase but I loved this coat, and even though it's super old and I've worn it a ton, it still looks and feels like new.

(Sunnies, Chanel; coat, Prada; sweater, H&M; jeans, Chip+Pepper; purse, Orlany; boots, Miss Sixty)

Until this weekend I hadn't worn this coat in forever, but I brushed it off for a trip to the Children's Museum:

(These two are going to rule the world one day).

Have a great weekend, Knuckles!

ELLO GOVNA

Hello Knuckles! 

 Fall is officially here!  The air is getting crisp and the September issues are out!

On Sunday afternoon I was perusing the New York Times Style Magazine Men's Fall Fashion edition, and one spread completely stopped me in my tracks: the new Prada campaign featuring Gary Oldman, Jamie Bell, Garrett Hedlund and Willem Dafoe:

Seriously you guys, I had to stop reading the magazine to look up the campaign online:

(All photos Tumblr; there are tons more and they are all crazypants AWESOME)

The colors, the clothes, the people, the poses... I'm totally obsessed.  It's steampunk Commissioner Gordon and the Green Goblin!

Prada posted a making-of video and it is mesmerizing.  It's what I imagine Queen Victoria's Next Top Model would've been like in 1862:


Anyhow, if Mr. Brass Knuckles showed up wearing any of this stuff I would probably make fun of him.

This weekend was all about enjoying the weather:

(I get a total kick out of this photo.  Most fashion bloggers get photographed against the most amazing urban backdrops; here I am with my STROLLER at the MALL, buahah!).

"Hey Brass Knuckles, what's that on the ground?"

(Top: sunglasses, Times Square kiosk; blouse, H&M; tank top, Hanes; belt, Banana Republic; jeans, Chip and Pepper; shoes, MIA.  

Bottom: sunglasses, Carrera; blouse, Express; pants, American Apparel; necklace, Tuleste Market; shoes, 9 West).

None of this clothing is all that sentimental.  The oldest thing is the silk floral jacket.  I bought it eons ago and it's always been kinda "meh."  It comes out every so often and... I am boring myself talking about it.

That is all, internets.  You may now return to more exciting and/or informative time-wasting.

AM I HIP ENOUGH...

For Warby Parker glasses?

I got my home try-on kit today:

Glasses, Warby Parker, $95

From top to bottom, and smallest to largest, I got a black Finn, Webbs in 2 colors, a Preston, and a Thatcher.  The ridiculously huge Thatchers are reminiscent of the red Sally Jesse Raphael-style glasses I wore in elementary school.

Being sunglasses, the Prestons are too hard to judge.  Unless they are completely ridiculous,

Pineapple sunglasses WTF?!, Asos.com, $20.87.

sunglasses generally look pretty cool.

The Finns and Webbs look okay, but really the question boils down to: am I cool enough to pull these off?

Gaah.  You are what you need to be, right?  My only lament is that these amazing Prada glasses were never made for popular consumption:

Prada, Fall/Winter 2010

A single pair was available on ebay exactly once, and sadly I was outbid.  Someone is wearing these glasses and staring sternly at this very minute.  These glasses = instant Jackee.

A friend texted me this photo of Jackee once.  I laughed so hard, milk shot out of my nose (not really, but you know).

Good night, little Knuckles!

MOVIE NIGHT

One of Mr. Brass Knuckle's and my favorite things to do is go to the movies.  On Friday, he really wanted to see the Avengers.

So for our movie date, I pulled out an old cowl-necked mesh top I got at Foley & Corinna on the Lower East Side, back when F&C was just a cool little boutique with color-blocked racks of gorgeous vintage clothes.

This top is basically see-through, and was one of my hardest working tops back in the day.  I used to pair it with boot-cut jeans from Express (!) and a pair of gold shoes that I bought at the Space Outlet in Ticino, Switzerland during my fashion days. I fear I shall never wear those shoes again, because sadly I think years of pounding the Manhattan sidewalk were not kind to them.

I wore this very outfit on one of the first -- and only -- times I ever hung out with a bunch of investment bankers.  We went to The Park when it first opened -- a ridiculous bar with a hot-tub on the roof.  No one was really impressed by anyone that night, if you know what I mean.

This top is too short to wear with jeans now (i.e., I'm too old for midriff!) so I paired it with high-waisted black trousers and an old pair of Prada shoes:

Mr. Brass Knuckles rarely calls me out when I'm being ridiculous, but I was wearing these shoes the first time he ever scolded me.  It was New Years Eve, 2008, and we celebrated at a Rubulad party where my band was playing.  Amidst the chaos of a) performing in costume, b) our sweaty, half-naked male dance troupe, and c) general mayhem, I lost one shoe.  I cried the entire way home (did I mention I had had a few cocktails?) until finally Mr. Brass Knuckles told me to let it go -- "IT'S JUST A SHOE!"  And then I realized how ridiculous I was being (though I still loved the shoes enough to buy another pair).

To this day, whenever I remind him of how low-maintenance I am he brings up this incident, ha ha!

The Avengers turned out to be great!  Especially since we smuggled in two 24 ounce Modelos  (notice the Binny's bag in the photo above). 

Afterwards we were supposed to head out for drinks but we decided to go home, watch Jimmy Fallon, and fall asleep instead.  That's Friday night in the suburbs, y'all!

Kisses, little Knuckles!