Prada Spring 2011 Stripes

The Scene


During our fall trip to NYC, my mom and I met the baby girl I used to babysit when I was a teen and she was a tween.  She is now bicoastal (a dream) so we caught up with her for brunch at The Dutch. Had been hearing about the SoHo spot from fashionistas and foodies alike so I knew it'd be perfect for a girlie pig/gab fest. 

The Food

Started with TDF biscuits slathered with butter and honey. 

Shared the two fried eggs, hominy grits, chorizo and salsa verde. Muy delicious. Not as greasy as it sounds.

    

And finally the Eggs Okonomiyaki, a Japanese egg pancake with pork belly and shrimp. Finger-like bonito flakes move and curl on top, beckoning you to get your grub on. Crazy creepy and craaaaaaazy tasty. Never eaten anything like it. Highly recommend if you are the adventurous type.




A+ brunch with A+ company.

The Outfit

Elizabeth and James top
Forever 21 skirt
Vintage trench

The Accessories
Rebecca Minkoff bag
Prada sunglasses
Abate for Payless heels
Forever 21 bracelets and earrings

The Grade
B+

The Commentary

Built the outfit around these sensible, stripey kitten heels.

Sadly after a few hours huffing around NYC even they weren't sensible enough. F to being an Angeleno without a car service. Had to change into super not fierce ballet flats.  Dowdy-ied up the cool striped skirt and poppy top combo.

Bought the skirt because it cost less than 20 bucks and approximated the Prada Spring stripes that I'm still loving.  Endless possibilities with this skirt. And love the thirty something appropriate length.

Love Spring 2011 so much that  on my last day in NYC I couldn't resist these stripey Prada sunnies from the same season at Century 21. Not the most flattering on my huge face but I don't care.

I fear I'm two pairs deep into a bonafide Prada sunglasses collection (read: obsession.)

The Inspiration

On My Promotion, New Bag and Blogging

Gawd, I've missed bloggy blogging. The last few weeks have been bananas. Mostly consumed with first preparing for and then surviving and finally recovering from 10 days in NYC for work. And somewhere along the way, when I wasn't quite expecting it...I happened to snag a promotion at work. Woop woop.

Ended up being PURRfect timing. Meant I could do a little celebratory shopping during my Big Apple trip. Work hard, shop hard, right? Meet one of the delish products of my celebration at Bendel's: Rebecca Minkoff's bow crossbody bag. I luvre her mucho. Still hearting all things crossbody. Think the look is young and hep and forces me not to schlep so much shit around.  Makes me think about what I need more carefully.




Which brings me to an interesting/awkward/important subject that I feel like addressing so indulge me, por favor. A few weeks ago at a lovely dinner with new blogger friends, we discussed how blogging has become big business with many of the well-known fashion bloggers getting agents. During that dinner, I was also made aware of  bloggers sharing stories about going into debt to keep up appearances on their blogs!!

 Both stories didn't sit well with me. In fact, they've been making me feel a little weird about blogging. I mean, I get it, blogging IS weird. It's this weird exhibitionist thing to do that's very "HEY LOOK AT MY LIFE." And, yes, there's a natural fit for brands to position products thrown in the mix. So I get where the pressure and the perception and the commerce and the marketing all converge for the perfect pretty profitable storm.

One real issue for me is that blogging feels like it's shifting from a place of self expression and authenticity to a place that's focused on pushing an agenda or keeping up with the Joneses. Makes me sad that plaforms that can be so empowering for real women are morphing into just another commodity...just another place to inflict glossy veneers of fakeness on each other that create separation not connection. Or even worse: maybe blogs are influencing a new generation of women to think that having things is more important than having things to say. God, I hope not.

That's why I  just wanted to say that blogging for me remains about having a creative outlet, about creating a place where I found my voice again...as a storyteller and yes, fashion lover. In blogging as in life, the goal for me has always been to share and learn. I want to inspire and be inspiring. Not only with how I dress but by how I go about being a smart, funny, driven, crazy and imperfect woman on the planet. 

And I suddenly feel the need to be more explicit on a topic that not enough women talk about openly: fiscal responsibility. I think it's important, if you are reading my blog, to know that I work hard for what I have. I have had a job since I was 14 years old. I have also had a mortgage and a 401K since I was 23. I have had a Mr. Diabolina for quite a while too. And while he is a BFD professionally and will spoil me on birthdays and holidays, the majority of things I feature on this blog, were bought for me, by me, in cash money, honey. No credit card debt or daddy of any kind required.

The life that I blog is the culmination of 18 years of hard work in school and a decade of busting my ass professionally. Plus, there's a healthy dose of luck thrown in there too. I am lucky to have been born to a woman who is extremely smart about managing AND enjoying her money...and who taught me to be the same way. Lucky to have found a partner and a core circle of friends that I have known for more than a decade, who are ambitious and make me want to do more, be more.

And, say what you will about this point, but I feel lucky to have been born in this country. Despite the shenanigans in DC and on Wall Street and our culture of consumption, this is still one of the best places on earth to be a woman with a plan. Period.

Often, while I blog, I marvel at the opportunities I have and think about my cousins in Guatemala. They are so educated and so hard working and yet they struggle so fundamentally to get ahead. They live in a country that just doesn't afford them the opportunities we have here. That the luck of the draw can determine the trajectory of one's potential seems so crazy unfair to me but I am crazy grateful for the hand I drew and I try to give back.

So that's a whole lotta rambling about the perception and realities behind blogging. I don't know that any of this matters to you. But it matters to me that you know I think about it, the responsibility of all of it, not just the pretty pictures ;)




The Inspiration