In the Bag

I love a good leather purse, and the trapeze tote is all the rage right now. I'm kind of an extremist when it comes to bags: I like either tiny ones that you don't notice while you're dancing (small cross-body styles, I'm looking at you), or gigantic ones that will fit two magazines, a book, and a teacup pig. These fall into the latter category, and after years and years of buying perfectly rectangular totes (I'm a girl of habit, apparently), I am craving an interesting, off-kilter shape. Seriously. This is what happens when you write about fashion for a living: you begin to slip things like "crave" and "need" and "Come to mama" into daily conversation. The trapeze tote is perfectly slouchy (all the better to pair with rumpled tees and skinny jeans) yet unexpected. Plus, it's so versatile. Here are my favorite styles:

Clockwise from top: J.Crew leather tote, $328; jcrew.com, Alexander Wang leather tote, $975; alexanderwang.com, Céline calfskin purse, $OutOfMyPriceRange; celine.com

Lacquer Up

One of my bosses went to a get-together at her daughter's classmate's apartment. This wasn't just any apartment—it was a sprawling, 5000+ square foot expanse (in New York City) (IN NEW YORK CITY) on Park Avenue with freshly lacquered walls. Naturally, my boss took pictures and shared them with me. We cried a little. Since then, I've been OBSESSED with lacquered walls and ceilings in the most saturated colors. Sunny yellow, navy blue, chartreuse green...I can't get enough. I think it looks especially gorgeous on the ceiling, but if you don't have enormous rooms, a coating or three on the walls will do.

Filing this under "Things to do by the time I'm 35 and when I get my own home and/or marry rich."

Photo credits: Apartment Therapy and Patterson Maker

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gong xi fat coi! (I say it "Ghun-hay-faht-choy," the Cantonese pronunciation). It's one of the eight phrases I know in Chinese, along with "More water, please" and "Good friend." You know, the really integral things.

To celebrate, I went out to Queens to have lunch with my extended Chinese family. Then I continued the celebration in similar fashion with a batch of brownies. (Obviously.) I decided to take the healthy leap and swap oil for unsweetened applesauce and eggs, for egg whites. The verdict? Brownies that were perfectly crumbly and light, chewy but not at all dense. I was most worried about the flavor, as I'm not a fan of applesauce in general. However, that was completely overtaken by all of the chocolate-y goodness, and now, I don't have to feel guilty when I eat two, three, or eight little brownies.

Have you ever used a healthier substitute in baking? I've heard nonfat Greek yogurt can also be subbed for oil, but I read that it's tangy and therefore works better in white-flour foods, like vanilla cake.

Photo credit: Vincent Van Gogh

Sheer Genius

I love a good pair of opaque tights—Wolford is my brand of choice, and though their tights are pricey, they're built like tanks and will hold up through an apocalypse. But aren't Clémence Poésy's sheer polka-dot tights so darn cute? They add such a fun, whimsical vibe to the rest of her outfit. Are you a fan of the patterned tights? I think this style is all I could pull off...

[Photo cred here]

Lazy Monday

Well. On that note, good morning and good night.

[photo cred here and there]

Pants on Fire

I received a pair of red J. Brand jeans for Christmas, waxed to look like leather (thanks, mom!). At first, I was perplexed. Then I got to work brainstorming.

VOILA.

Colored, leather-waxed pants (J Brand, $300) + neutral blouse (Kenny, $127) + statement wedges (Lanvin, $599) + delicate, feminine jewelry (Finn ring, $650; Alexis Bittar earrings, $345)  = YES.

I didn't use the exact style, as they've been long gone (my mom snapped them up in August after I stared lovingly at them and drooled on the floor of Intermix), but these can work with any colored denim. Navy blue would look awesome. Obviously, this is a pipe dream of an outfit, although those Lanvin wedges are shrieking my name. Come to mama, little wedges. I will love you and polish you and keep you clean forever. (Purring ensues).

How would you wear a pair of red nearly-leather pants?

Blue Morning

I love how New York City is cast in shades of navy in the early morning when I wake up and walk to the gym. I always imagine the city as a gritty steel color in my mind, but when it's 6 AM and the lights are still winking, it's something altogether a little lighter and fresh.

How was your weekend? I went upstate to the Hudson Valley, which manages to be pretty even in the dead of winter (if you consider 50 degrees to count as winter). I don't mean Poughkeepsie so much as the woods and hills and creeks around it. I figured everyone would be confused if I used the modifier "pretty" for Poughkeepsie. I've been reading The Marriage Plot lately. Has anyone else started reading it? I'm halfway through, but the references and obscure quotes make me feel so unread (and I was an English major) that I can't decide how I feel about it. There's also the part where I'm obsessed with an entirely different genre and set of writers (dirty realism from the 80s; Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel, Richard Ford, Flannery O'Connor). Are you thinking of reading it? I know it received a lot of hype.

[photo cred here and there]

Midwinter Style

Chilly weather can be the fast-track to a fashion rut. Cozy boots, long coats and dark colors galore define winter style, but lately, they seem like external manifestations of severe seasonal affective disorder. That's no fun. I stumbled across two options for spicing up cold weather wear:

1. High-top sneakers: I could probably get away with wearing these to the office. For those who don't work in an environment where things like snakeskin-print trousers are acceptable, they're ideal for running weekend errands. Why? High-top sneakers are surprisingly great at enduring all sorts of precipitation. My Nike Dunks made it through three Chicago winters. Just add luxe touches like fur and leather to keep them from looking too grungy.

2. Khakis: If winter's mild (read: not Chicago, but maybe New York), khakis are such a cute and unexpected alternative to denim and knit tights. Pair them with a short wool jacket and booties. Plus, I feel like so much winter style has a black or navy palette—brown's a little more fresh. To avoid looking like you're confused and think it's still October, make sure everything else is a warmer, darker tone.

Which look do you like best? (I'm all about #1 myself).


[photo cred here and there]