Got Gucci?

Last week, I was sprinting down Fifth Ave and came to a sliding stop right in front of the Gucci store. I usually don't pay attention to the ready-to-wear collections of in-my-dreams labels like that (a pair of wedges are as crazy as I'll get), but I have this newfound affection for mixing prints and not-so-newfound affection for color-blocking. So I stood outside and threw a temper tantrum to my wallet and we both agreed that I would like to be able to pay for my kids' college educations one day. I want three kids. That's going to be somewhere around $600K, not counting for inflation and whatnot, and a $3,000 silk t-shirt dress will not pay for their meal plans. Unfortunately. So this happened:

 Gucci silk dress, $1,990; gucci.com. Madewell silk dress, $168; madewell.com

 Gucci silk dress, $2,995; gucci.com. Diane Von Furstenberg dress, $375; dvf.com 

Gucci silk dress, $1,700; gucci.com. DKNY silk crepe de chine dress, $345; dkny.com

Which is your favorite look-a-like? Lucky for my savings account, I'm hankering for that little Madewell number...

Fancy Pants

Yesterday, I wore a snappy pair of vintage-print Diane Von Furstenberg corduroy shorts. (Yep). (You read that correctly). They're the sort of things that I always want to buy but never actually buy, although apparently, the chances of me saying no when they're hanging on a sample sale rack are nil. So they became mine, and naturally, I layered them over a pair of warm black tights. The thing is, I've never loved the look of tights under shorts. Personal opinion: the pairing looks inappropriate and a little off-kilter. However, I wanted to wear these shorts so badly that I would've put them on over ski pants. The kicker: the shorts didn't look terrible. I wore them ("they" in question being black with pink polka-dot clusters)(yes, you read that right)(no, I'm not blind)(come one, guys, Diane Von Furstenberg always creates baller patterns!) with black tights, a black silk tee, and black flats.

This brought me to my conclusion that as long as the color palette is subdued and the shorts are somewhat fancy (patterned, sequined, not denim), they're a-okay with tights. And then I saw the above picture, and now I'm dying to throw denim shorts over tights and top them off with a cozy sweater and an awesome pair of boots. It's like fashion schizophrenia. So help me: where do you stand when it comes to winter shorts?


[photo cred here]

Paradisiaque

A little escape now and then should be mandatory. So should this Diane Von Furstenberg bikini.

This weekend, I watched l'Auberge Espagnole, a French film with Audrey Tatou, and decided that for my last quarter at Northwestern, it is entirely necessary to take a class called Intro to Painting. I hope my parents understand — then again, I'm graduating with a B.A. in English Literature and a minor in Drinking Tea and Correcting Everyone's Grammar, so it's becoming increasingly difficult to alarm them at this point.

I also wrote a guest post for Long Distance Loving; Alison is one of my favorite bloggers and quite possibly the sweetest person on the planet. Head on over if you'd like to see my spring picks for New York (home) and Chicago (home away from home)(until June)(crying)(freaking out about the future)(guh!)(and now job-hunting)(crying some more)(scrambling for my stash of dark chocolate with almonds)(calming down)(breathing). Phew.

Anyway, how was your weekend?!

[photo cred to 1 and 2]