I’ve made it pretty well-known that I need help. So I finally made it official and put the word out that I’m searching for an intern. I’m thrilled and super lucky to have found Ashley Castanos, who is not only working towards her master’s degree in fashion journalism at Academy of Art, but shares my deep love of a hippie wedding dress and the California modern bohemian aesthetic in general. And the bonus is she has worked as a professional model and is a champion thrifter. So I though I’d take advantage of all of the above and have the extremely freaking talented Molly DeCoudreaux shoot Ashley wearing some of her all-time best thrifted and vintage finds (mixed with some new pieces, of course!). Ashley braved high winds on a precarious rooftop and managed to look gorge despite it all. Read on for more about Ashley and the secrets of her thrifting success! [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Academy of Art University,
Ashley Castanos,
outfit post,
San Francisco,
thrift shopping
When you buy a laptop in this day and age, you’re purchasing a device in which you will store your entire life. It’s your communications center, media hub, endless and constantly-growing photo album, your potential first novel, your ever-expanding music collection. And you want to be able to access any part of your life without waiting around for things to get started up. You want to switch between tasks in a flash. The battery has to last FOREVER. Or close to it. And you want it to weigh next to nothing, so you can grab it and go anywhere.
Intel’s Ultrabook has all this and much more. And I got to thinking, it’s a lot like personal style. We want fashion to be easily adapt to changing situations and last forever. So over the past week or so I documented some examples of the parallels between the Ultrabook and fashion around the San Francisco Bay Area where I live. Check out my Instagram photos in the gallery below! [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
glam,
Instagram,
Intel,
sponsored post,
Ultrabook
UPDATE: I forgot to tell you guys what’s in it for you!! Every time you vote in the Naya contest, you’ll be entered to win a free pair of Naya’s Palomi sandals, which are pretty much the perfect summer sandals. 
And read on to find out about their eco-friendly attributes. But wait, there’s more! If I WIN the styling contest, I get FOUR pairs of Naya shoes to distribute to my readers. Go on now, get voting!
Naya, a line of super comfy and environmentally friendly shoes, asked me to style a pair of their footwear to participate in a friendly little contest between bloggers they chose from around the country. The contest went live today! Vote for me, please? [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Alice and Olivia,
contests,
environment,
Mara Hoffman,
Naya,
platforms,
shoes
Photo by Anna-Alexia Basile via Refinery 29
Have you guys noticed how much more fashionable San Francisco has become since Refinery 29 made its debut here just about one year ago? The impact is undeniable: there are more fashion events, more stylish ladies and lads roaming the streets, and a major proliferation of fashion bloggers. The SF editors (the lovely Katie Hintz-Zambrano and Angela Tafoya) threw a super stylish bash to celebrate the local site’s first year on Saturday night at Haus of Hipstamatic. Naturally, it was packed with super-chic party-goers: R29 contributors and subjects of the site’s coverage. This party was seriously so much fun. I danced up a storm (though my little dust up paled in comparison to some peoples! ahem Joanna Riedl), and hung with some of my fave San Francisco ladies. Thanks for an awesome night, Refinery, and I can’t wait to see what your second year brings! Also, thank you Ana-Alexia Basile for taking this photo of me! Check out all the Refinery 29 party pics, and browse Digital Style Digest’s as well!
Photos by Molly DeCoudreaux
The first time I met Mira, I knew we’d be friends. Or I should say I really hoped we would. She had the Cat Power Pandora station playing in her Mission boutique, Mira Mira, and I wanted to buy every single thing she had chosen to sell in her lovely shop. Including all the jewelry in the cases and the art on the walls and anything else not nailed down.
I fell in love with a simple black silk blouse by Gat Rimon, a label I’d never seen before. It was that blouse you could wear with everything from a pair of torn up jeans to a fancy peplum skirt. But what made it unique and wonderful was the barely noticeable leather trim at the collar and single chest pocket. I told Mira that detailing was the clincher, I had to have it! “That’s undone done!” she said. I liked the sound of that and asked her to explain what she meant. And when she did, I realized it was a mantra I’d already been living with since the first time I purposely scuffed my too-bright white new tennis shoes as a kid. Now it had a name! (Read all about it in my interview with Mira below, and check out our photos from an Undone Done instructional session!) [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Ace & Jig,
Mira Mira,
Mission,
San Francisco,
Undone Done
This dress is everything I would typically never wear: sleeveless, high-necked, patterned with large flowers, tea-length. The wrap part, OK that’s pretty me. Still, when the lovely sales girl at Shareen Vintage in New York (stand by for a post about a fun fun fun day spent there) pulled it for me I thought: I will eat my shorts before wearing such a thing. Then I looked in the mirror and realized I had to eat my shorts. It just goes to show that sometimes trying on clothes can completely transform how you perceive them on the hanger. And that sometimes you should be sartorially open minded. Also, these photos were taken after Shadin’s engagement party and I may or may not have been slightly tipsy. Hooray for the wedding this weekend! Click for more photos and outfit deets!
Tagged as:
American Apparel,
engagement party,
Hawaiian,
outfit post,
platforms,
Robert Clergerie,
vintag,
wrap dress
You could say Pinkies has always been there for me. When I moved to Moraga in 2002, it was the first time I’d lived outside of San Francisco proper since I moved to the Bay Area in 1992. WHERE WILL I GET MY NAILS DONE was an important question. Happily, the very first Pinkies is located in Lafayette, right next door to Moraga (both cities are in the East Bay for those of you who don’t do the bridge and tunnel thing). The short drive was well worth knowing my mani/pedi would be professional and pretty. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
nail art,
nails,
Pinkies,
San Francisco,
sponsored posts
On Wednesday, as you may have read previously on these pages, I was part of a video shoot with Guess and Glam in downtown Manhattan. I had never done such a thing and had no idea what to expect. I must confess I was terribly nervous. But I survived, and it was actually extremely fun. I mean, hair and make up done, plus lots of attention thrown in my direction while I talk about clothes and accessories? All of it fueled by pastries, coffee and mimosas? I’m not sure why I was worried. The best part (and if it’s better than mimosas you know I mean business) was meeting four wonderful and talented bloggers who were also part of the shoot: Tiffany of I Am Style-Ish, Ashley of Pursuit of Shoes, Ann of Holier Than Now and Cult of Pretty, and Sophie of Hip Girlie. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
accessories,
Cult of Pretty,
glam,
Guess,
Hip Girlie,
Holier Than Now,
I Am Style-Ish,
Pursuit of Shoes,
video
There’s nothing like getting dressed after a day in the sun on a warm weather vacation. That post pool/beach break when you shower off the salt, sand and/or chlorine, you’re a little bronzed and hopefully have time for a little nap so you feel rested and ready for food, drink and fun. That was my state of my mind in the photos you see before you. I also may have had a cocktail. Alas, why must vacations come to an end? [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
beach,
H&M,
J Crew,
jewelry,
LF,
metallics,
Nine West,
pool,
resort,
San Diego,
sun,
vacation
