Handmade clutches

People who have secret lives pursuing their passions inspire me – and my friend recently introduced me to a D.C. local who is a full-time consultant and designs clutches on the side. Her line (called Gigee Marie) of really cool, simple bags can hold all your stuff, plus they’re handmade and extremely affordable! I’m writing a story about her for Refinery29 and wanted to share my favorites (Photos via Tinacious Me, Gigee Marie)

Vintage blazer

My blazer collection is growing – I picked up a few great ones at a thrift store a few months ago (including an amazing plaid and velvet one that will probably take me a year to figure out how to wear). I love vintage blazers because the tailoring and details are so much better than what you find at the standard ready-to-wear stores today – the key is to find ones with excellent tailoring and quality fabrics. And learn how to cut out the shoulder pads – I use a seam ripper and lots of confidence.

I found this one a few years ago and love the long length, simple tailoring, patch pockets and washed, worn linen fabric.

See by Chloe silk dress, vintage Saks Fifth Avenue blazer, vintage cowboy boots. Photo by Lauren Altmin.

White shirt and jeans

A white button down works great with funky accessories and bright heels – I want to copy Nikki Reed’s outfit! I love Brooks Brothers non irons for boys (in a size 16).

Current/Elliott skinny leg jeans, $140 / Zara shoes / Calypso St. Barth leopard handbag / Yellow gold necklace / Brooks Brothers Regular Fit Irish Linen Short Sleeve Sport Shirt

 

If I had the space

 

… I would fill it with art like this! I stopped by the home of D.C. interior designer Barbara Franceski to take some pictures for a story I am writing about her and was so inspired by her place – specifically her art collection. She mixes modern pieces (like the Rothko-esque one above) with traditional oils in ornate frames, unfinished sketches, and mixed media. She finds art everywhere and fills her walls like a gallery. I love the proportions and new ways of mixing textures (like feathers in the bathroom and linen on the walls), colors, and patterns. 

Below are some pictures of my favorite ideas: A canopy bed in the center of the room with minimalist plant stands as side tables; a TV hidden by a huge canvas (can you see it on the left side of the fireplace? Genius!); a REAL zebra rug underneath a distressed table painted in Italian; and a floating table that is actually a planter, turned upside down and screwed to the wall. 

 

 


More leopard



 

These leopard jeans just keep on crawling out of my closet. Maybe I am subconciously overwearing them to justify the purchase. But really, leopard is a neutral. Just like all animals, they look better dressed up. That’s why leopard + stripes work so well together. And leopard + plaid, leopard + polka dots, leopard + florals, etc. I also love these leopard jeans + oversize sweaters/tees + boots. The only rule I have about leopard is that you can only wear one leopard thing at a time and trust me, its not an easy rule to follow.

 

Current/Elliott leopard jeans, Trouve shirt, Tahari heels, Coach bag. Ugly toes, my own.

 

Photos by Lauren Altmin

Booty Booty Yeah

There are so many things that I want to say about booties. Sometimes that makes me feel like I should be paying more attention to world events, learning how to invest in a mutual fund, etc. Instead, I decided to make collages of many ways to wear booties. Exhibit A (above): This tunic dress and oversize chunky knit sweater would ordinarily be an outfit that belongs in a library. But as soon as you add leopard booties, it instantly becomes sassy, fresh, and appropriate for Friday night.

Oversized cardigan; Tunic; LOFT high heels; AllSaints leather clutch purse; Sonia Rykiel rhinestone bangle

Exhibit B (Above): Show up wearing velvet pants and a horse sweater and you are already cool but how about those high heeled hiking boots?!!!

 

Joie Sweater; J.Crew pants; Seychelles high heels; Clare Vivier clutch

 



Exhibit C: Last but not least, booties for work. Glitter might not be business professional but with a wool pencil skirt, serious bag, and tights, they work. On a side note, I am hunting for a camel car coat that kind of looks like a men’s jacket in the picture above.

Joie long sleeve shirt; Long camel coat; J.Crew tall skirt; A|X Armani Exchange opaque tight; BCBG Black boots; Seiko vintage watch

From my collection of bootie pictures, these are the best ones.

Madison Harding pointy toe boots; Michael Kors boots; Chelsea Crew faux leather boots; Rebecca Taylor platform boots; Western boots; A Détacher leather booties; Wanted black boots; ASOS biker boots; A.P.C. stacked heel boots



Vintage Chair Makeover

The chair above is the “After” – I love the dark wood, antique carving, and storage space beneath the chair for my magazines and books! This chair had lots of potential but badly needed a shower and a new seat. Below are the “Before” pictures and the easy (and inexpensive) process to recover these chairs from ugliness.

One of my dirty secrets is how much I love Goodwill. Sometimes I mean to go to Safeway and end up walking around looking at used furniture. On Saturday, I found this pair of old, distressed folding chairs with great wooden bones and terrible outfits. I bartered them down to $10 apiece and lugged them home.

Recovering basic wooden chairs is relatively easy – these seats were held into place with 5 screws each. After I detached the seats, I flipped them over and used needlenose pliers to pull out the staples, removed the old fabric, and and washed down the wood.



A half yard of scrap fabric from JoAnn cost me about $3 and was enough for both chairs – I loved the houndstooth pattern in baby blue and cream. Instead of bothering with a staple gun, I picked up some Fabri-Tac to glue the edges of the fabric to the seat, waited for it to dry, and then screwed the seats back to the chair frames. Voila, new chairs – and they cost me $26 and 45 minutes.

Bar Cart

 

 

I finally have my bar cart (I’ve been hunting for the perfect one since I discovered this picture). I decided to go with a small tea cart that doubles as a side table to save space. It worked perfectly! I bought the antique brass cart from a little old lady on Craigslist. The bar tray is an old bamboo tray from Target (that I plan to paint hot pink when I find time) filled with assorted Homegoods tumblers, shot glasses, and a fantastic stainless ice bucket – plus some party supplies. I ordered a matching stainless bar shaker set on eBay (for $0.99). I’m using the top of this cart to display an antique camera and long lens, Restoration Hardware sterling silver candlesticks (that I found at a consignment shop for $1 apiece) and an orchid that I shamelessly copied from my friend Michelle.

Fancy flannel

 



This skirt is actually a strapless Leifsdottir dress that I wore to a wedding and have been wanting to wear again but how often can you wear a shimmering snakeskin dress? Maybe its because I live in a 375 sqaure foot apartment and I am trying to get more use out of my closet (as in, things don’t deserve to be in there unless I use them regularly) but lately I’ve been trying to find ways wear all of my fancy dresses casually – nothing dresses down an outfit like flannel, an oversize sweater, a men’s shirt, or a sweatshirt. And another bonus: My skirt collection got bigger and cost me nothing.

 

Myne flannel shirt, Leifsdottir dress, Coach purse. Special thanks to Wes for taking these pictures even though he is generally opposed to blogging and me taking pictures of myself, and specifically opposed to this outfit.

Marimekko For Your Walls

I discovered Old Town Alexandria-based interior designer Barbara Franceski after reading about her home on Apartment Therapy, and called her to see if she’d let me write a profile about her for Refinery29. She’s giving us a tour of her home for a story in November and I asked her for DIY ideas to include. She sent me this picture of a marimekko fabric stretched over a canvas that I fell in love with! Even though we aren’t doing the DIY feature for her story, I wanted to share this genius (and simple) idea.

This can work with any fabric – choose a large piece you love (find swaths at Joann, the flea market, Etsy, or eBay), and pick up an artist’s stretched canvas at Michael’s (or Amazon.com). Stretch the fabric over the canvas, staple in place, hang on your wall. Beautiful! I love it above the lucite table with simple frames and the tufted ottoman.

Photo by Angie Seckinger, courtesy of Barbara Franceski