fashion is spinach

Spring Wishlist, Part 5-ish: Nude Heels

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:58:00 +0000

I know a few of you (hi, Lydia!) caught my fashion segment on NBC-4 here in D.C. a few weeks ago when I declared that my number one must-buy for spring was a pair of nude patent pumps. (IMHO, a bright pink dress or breezy printed sheath can look totally different if you pair them with black heels vs. a light, neutral nude.)

I scored a pair of Brian Atwood pumps (similar to the ones above) during a super-sale at Hu's Shoes last year, but finally had to face the reality that 100mm pumps, no matter how pretty, are not viable daily attire. I've supplemented with the not-quite-as-statementy, but infinitely-more-comfortable Cole Haan "Air Lainey" wedges, below (on sale for $130), which are doing the job nicely and are definitely work- and walking-appropriate.

Which, slightly awkwardly, segues into my next announcement (drum roll....), which is that -- if you've missed my various Twitter/Facebook/other announcements so far -- I've resigned from the Post and accepted a new job with Ogilvy working on all things digital/blog-y/social media-related. I'm pretty excited to start next month, and not just because I now have carte blanche to ramp up the work wardrobe a bit. Expect more work-related "Wishlist" posts to come soon...

Gleek Out!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:54:00 +0000

The bad news: I'm sick. The good news? I got to catch up on some magazine reading, including the May issue of Glamour, featuring an adorable shoot with the girls of "Glee." Although I think they made a mistake leaving out Brittany and Santana, who are fast becoming the secret stars of the show. (Ex: "There was a mouse in mine...")

A Burst of Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:56:00 +0000

Because I'm equal parts pack-rat and insanely organized, I have an arsenal of 30+ binders archiving my favorite magazine spreads and articles. But when it comes to saving what I love from the web, things get a little messy. I've never taken to fffound or any of the other cut-and-paste web archives. Essentially, I just right-click and save my favorite pix into my downloads folder, quickly forget about them, and then stumble onto the monstrous accumulation of very cute things months later. (Which, actually, is practically better than Christmas!)

Today I thought I'd stick up a smattering of some of these saved images, with apologies to their original sources, which I don't track. (I know a bunch came from regular web haunts A Cup of Jo and Bleubird Vintage, but since I read 400+ blogs on a regular basis, chances are they've been amassed from little corners all over the Internet.)

Hope you find them as inspiring as I do.

*Note: The shot above left recently helped inspire an entire photo shoot for me on chic sweats.

*Note: And this shot above summarizes my whole philosophy on getting dressed.

Day = Made.

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:45:00 +0000

When I was at the Mrs. Obama Smithsonian inauguration dress donation last month, I got the scoop that Mrs. O was wearing Prabal Gurung (aka my favorite!) at the event and tweeted the news during the press conference. And then (small heart attack) Prabal tweeted back within minutes, asking for a Twitpic.

That alone was enough to make my month. But then I see (again via Twitter, because I'd barely cracked open the issue) that the new May Vogue has a little write-up about Prabal being tipped off to the dress-wearing via tweet. Which I'm like 99.9 percent sure was my tweet. Which is kind of insanely awesome.

Twitter! Bringing people together! And getting you (sort of) into Vogue! Whee.

Techy Stuff, Shoes, Shopping...

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:19:00 +0000

The fun kids at HP invited me to hang out with them at Shecky's Night Out here in D.C. last week (which you might've seen from my animated tweeting over on my Twitter page.) In anticipation of the SATC 2 movie and the upcoming movie ticket giveaway, they'd created a huge closet stocked with Manolos and sleek stylish laptops. I got to play around with a new Touchsmart tm2 notebook (touchpads! so cool!), which was especially great because I had a fleet of personal tutors to help me figure out all its neat little tricks.

Hanging out with the pretty flowered Touchsmart tm2... It transforms from a standard laptop to a slim touchpad, with an attached pen.

We got a little goofy. This is my "senior portrait" photo with the Touchsmart... BFF.

The Manolos were, sadly, glued down. I hope with nothing permanent.

There was a fun little photo booth where you could get your pic on the SATC poster...

The line for the photo booth was insanity!

Shecky's was incredibly crowded...

People shopped their little hearts out. (Including me!)

Thanks for the fun, HP!

Everything's Coming Up Roses...

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:28:00 +0000

Loving this Vogue Korea spread inspired by flowers and florals. See the whole shoot over here on the always creative B. Jones Style (aka the fabulous blogger formerly of The Vintage Society).

Corrections! Computers! Other Cool Stuff!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:19:00 +0000

Because of a teensy misunderstanding, I had yesterday's major giveaway announcement all wrong. (It's since been corrected, but I thought I'd update you again, just so we're all clear and so no one misses out on anything awesome.)

1. This Wed.-Thurs., Shecky's Girls Night Out — a traveling little bazaar of cool fashion, accessories and lifestyle vendors — pops into D.C., and the fun kids behind HP's high-style spring collection of slick little laptops and awesome touchpads (and insanely super-fancy touchpads) come along with it. I'll be at the HP booth on Wednesday night, from about 5-10pm (along with awesome fellow blogger Makeda of the Glamazon Diaries!), tweeting, snapping pix and playing with their new laptop line. (I suspect he HP team might have to pry the pretty Vivienne Tam mini from my hands at the end of the night. Because if there's one thing I love almost as much as shoes, it's fun new techy stuff.)

If you're at the Shecky's party, be sure to come say hi! (Or, if you want to get tix, find details here.)

2. Oh, but that's not all! The HP crew is also inviting me — and four lucky readers — to a special pre-screening of Sex and the City 2 here in D.C. (date and time TBD). I might have to insist that (if the winners are cool with it, of course) we get dressed up Carrie-style (or, if more appropriate to some winners, Stanford-style), drink fancy drinks and make a big ol' fun night of it. To enter to win a SATC 2 advance ticket, be sure to enter your name in the comments over here. Good luck!

Thoughts? Questions? Squeeeee-ing? Leave 'em in the comments below.

We're Having a Giveaway!*

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:57:00 +0000

*said in an Oprah-esque voice, obviously

The fun traveling mini-boutiques that make up Shecky's Girls Night Out land in D.C. this Wed.-Thurs., April 14-15 (5-10 p.m., DAR Constitution Hall). (At my first Shecky's, I found some very cool indie jewelry designers, which you can read about here.)

The friendly folks at HP have joined the style event to show off their spring collection of ultra-fashiony laptops and touchpads, ~~are offering four free Shecky's tickets to this week's party for local D.C. readers~~. {UPDATE} Whoops, I completely misunderstood. Actually HP -- who will still be at Shecky's, and hosting me at their booth there on Wednesday night -- is offering my readers four free tickets to a special private pre-screening of Sex and the City 2! (Which is, obviously, even better! Because! Have you seen the brand-new trailer yet? Abu Dhabi! And Aiiiiiidan!) Just leave your name in the comments, and we'll pick our winners for the SATC2 screening at random very soon. (And on Wednesday night, I'll definitely be hanging out at the HP booth at the D.C. Shecky's event tweeting, snapping outfit photos and, er, scouting for fashion finds from the various vendors. If you're there, make sure to come by and say hello!)

We've heard through the Interweb grapevine that HP has a role in the upcoming Sex and the City 2 movie. Wonder if Carrie finally replaces her trusty Macbook with a sleek little Vivienne Tam mini-PC (above)?

My mother is a genius, and other stories

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:55:00 +0000

I've been in my new apartment for a couple of months now, and I absolutely love it, except for one thing: the couch. (Note: The photo above has absolutely nothing to do with this post, other than it has an old couch, and also that I liked it. Photo from here.)

Don't get me wrong, the couch itself is great -- it's a midcentury wooden frame, found at an antique store for $100, which we stripped, stained and fixed up to near-perfect condition. But the original cushions had to be tossed, and my attempt to upholster it on the cheap (foam cushions from JoAnn Fabric, with my mom sewing up printed Ikea curtain fabric to cover them) was a bit of a disaster. First, the cushions flattened out and became misshapen in, like, a day. The fabric covering them was awesome, but it ended up not matching my interior at ALL (plus, it was a very loose woven, so cat claws started destroying it in no time).

Eventually, I threw a basic Ikea comforter the whole thing -- which felt super dorm-room-y (see above) -- and vowed to get it redone asap. Except, do you know how much upholstery costs? Like, $1,000 for six cushions. And when faced with deciding between couch cushions or 3.1 Phillip Lim, I will always, always pick the clothing.

And then my mom came for a visit the other week. I lamented my goofy sofa set-up and she suggested I look into replacement patio cushions for an easier way to spiff it up (at least, until my ship comes in and I can splurge on Hable Construction fabrics and a pro upholster). I ordered six cushions in a neutral taupe from Target.com (total cost: $210) and voila! Instant upgrade. See Commander Robot pose on the new set-up, below.

Two things to take from this post. One: If you are in ownership of a nice wood-frame couch without cushions, try the patio department (while the fabrics will be more hardy/less comfy, they're great for those of us with small pesky cats who like to sink their claws into things). And two: Mom is always right. To an unfailing degree. Might be time to just accept it. (Thanks, mom!)

We pause for Alber...

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:19:00 +0000

I've clearly once again reached that stretch of the month (er, season?) where work and commitments and other busyness pile up, and I don't have nearly as much time as I'd like to spend on the blog. (Oh, if only we were all as prolific as the amazing Susie B.! Sometimes, I just don't know how she does it...) I'm much more active on the Twitter these days, if that is something you would like to follow.

But I digress. I was digging around in my photo archives for images for a post I was concocting, and instead stumbled upon a pile of snaps I took when I got to tag along on a photo shoot with Lanvin's Alber Elbaz in Beijing's Forbidden City back in 2005. The shoot eventually ran in the Asia Pacific editions of Elle mag (final layouts at the end, just so you can see the end result). It was a pretty awesome/magical/unique thing to witness, and I thought you'd like a peek at some of the behind-the-scenes shots.

The incomparable Mr. Elbaz really is as adorable/good spirited/creative as they say. As you can probably see from him cheerily rolling around on the bricked pavilions of the palace in the stifling heat of summer.

OK, back to the To Do list. More soon!

Spring Wishlist, Part 4: Stripes! Bows! Pink!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:55:00 +0000

I practically had to wrestle this adorable Kate Spade Jillian dress away from another shopper in the store yesterday. (Turns out neither of us found our size -- which is just as well, because if you order it online, you can get 20 percent off, plus free shipping, with the code "dontfret.") You know how I'm a sucker for anything with a huge bow.

Speaking of Ms. Spade, be sure to check out this terrific article on the Spades' awesomeness in the spring fashion issue of New York mag. Neither Kate nor husband Andy have anything to do with their name brands anymore (which must be so weird!), but they're still creating very cool things.

Spring is in the air... and on the ground...

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:32:00 +0000

Thanks to Joanna, I've been lusting after Emersonmade's amazing flower pins for some time. (Oh, big poppy, you will be mine!)

They've just added a selection of flower add-ons for shoes, and I'm obsessed with them too. (Because, goodness knows, I've been dreaming about flowers on shoes for quite awhile now.)

Yay spring.

We Have Our Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:24:00 +0000

Congrats to Caille (of Stereoscopic Magic) for being our lucky Ruth Barzel bracelet winner!

And thanks to everyone for playing... We actually have another awesome giveaway coming (hopefully) this week, so stay tuned!

Current Obsession: Michelle Obama

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:44:00 +0000

I mean, I *knew* she was pretty great. But getting the chance attend this morning's event at the National Museum of American History, where Michelle Obama (and Jason Wu) donated her white inaugural gown to the collections, only reinforced what a warm, witty, cool woman Mrs. O really is. Also how sweet Jason Wu is. It was happiness all around.

Excuse me, I have to go gush some more about it now. More pix (and video!) soon.

Spinach Giveaway!: Ruth Barzel Turquoise Bracelet

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:24:00 +0000

We are totally thrilled to welcome local D.C. jewelry designer Ruth Barzel as a FashionisSpinach.com sponsor. (And not just 'cause already we love and wear her mixed chain pieces -- so cool.)

In any case: In honor of spring (whew, finally), we'll be doing a giveaway of her fab turquoise nugget bracelet (above). It's just one of those beautifully simple pieces that packs a big style punch. (Plus, blue! Huge for spring.)

To enter to win the bracelet, just leave your name in the comments below. A winner will be chosen on Tuesday! (And no, you don't have to be in D.C. to win -- we ship everywhere! And also, if your name is something sort of common -- looking at you, Jennifers of the world -- try to add something that stands out, like "Jennifer of the blog Jen.com".)

But, if you don't win and still want one (or something else), Ruth's offering 15% off all purchases at her e-shop with the code "SPINACH" through April 30. (Or, for you locals, she'll also be at the District Sample Sale on March 16 and holding a trunk show at Alexandria's Treat March 20-21.)

Good luck!

Tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:32:00 +0000

Apologies for the last-minute notice (um, is it Thursday *already?*) but if you're free tonight (and, of course, in the D.C. area), you should come pop by Neiman Marcus Chevy Chase from 6-9pm for their big "Fashion Rules!" event. There will be snacks, and sips, and a really cool dance performance, and DJ Neekola (who is very, very awesome) and my colleague Jenn and I -- drum roll please -- will be hosting a fashion trivia portion of the night. With really good prizes! (We're talking gift cards, makeover packages and even shoes!)

Sample question: Where is Oscar de la Renta from? (No peeking at the Internet, either!)

Hope to see you there!

PS) And yes, this WAS the only "competition" picture I could throw together.

Update! Update!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:54:00 +0000

I know some of you wanted an update as soon as Harvey Faircloth's spring collection went on sale. And so: Harvey Faircloth's spring collection has gone on sale!

(Plus, a little bird -- ok, it was Anna, owner of Proper Topper -- told me this weekend that they're planning to bring in some of the pieces to the store as well. Which would be bananas. Stay tuned...) In the meantime, I may or may not have instantly purchased the bell sleeve top.

Spring Wishlist Part 4: Cocoon Wrap (Scored!)

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:30:00 +0000

I met the nicest girl (whose name escapes me, but who was just so sweet) at the Spinach Vintage sale, and pretty much accosted her because she was wearing an amazing, assymmetrical, drapey cover-up that I excitedly thought was the Swacket. (Oh, Swacket! How I love you, but I have not been able to justify your $500 price tag!)

Turns out she was wearing the Lululemon Athletica "cocoon wrap" (above and below), which may not wrap a million ways like the Swacket and is actually more of a sweatshirt than a coat, but which is also a somewhat affordable $118. (Also apparently very popular. It's disappeared from their website since just yesterday!) I skedaddled over to the Logan Circle Lululemon after the sale closed Saturday and snagged the last dark gray one (they still have black and light gray). It is awesome. I predict I will wear it *constantly*. Thank you, very nice girl, for the great tip!

Phew. And yay!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:31:00 +0000

Remember that time that I decided to hold a vintage sale, and I was worried that no one might come, and then *everyone* came, and I had the best time ever? Welcome to my weekend!

First and foremost, a huge thank you to all who came over, from near and far, to Proper Topper Georgetown this weekend to shop the Spinach Vintage sale. I met so many cool, fun, adorable vintage lovers -- it was beyond my expectations. (And many, many thanks to the kind crew at Proper Topper for hosting, serving cookies and champagne, and keeping the verrrry long dressing room line in perfect order. And also for stocking the very awesome Ikks dress I bought at the end of the weekend in celebration.)

If I can uncover some more cool vintage -- sigh, it is getting harder and harder to find good, affordable vintage these days! -- we are absolutely going to do this again. In the meantime, some snaps from the weekend! I took almost nothing back home with me at the end, which means I expect to see a lot of adorable, vintage-clad gals around town this spring!

Thanks again for coming out. You all really made my whole weekend.

The Weekend is Here. Whee!

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:56:00 +0000

Many, many thanks to Mother Nature for not snowing all over my big weekend plans. Which start tonight with the Lucky party at Cusp Georgetown! A Lucky stylist, photog and I will be there from 6-8 p.m. to kick off Lucky's Luck of the Draw weekend at the store. Spend $300 and get a swag bag with a $20 Cusp gift card, $10 iTunes card and more. And everyone who stops by tonight can enter their name to win a Marc by Marc bag (plus, sips and nibbles. Like a shopping happy hour!) I know a lot of you are coming, and I can't wait!

And THEN... The big Spinach sale at Proper Topper G'town will be all this weekend! I'm in the midst of prepping for the shop to debut Saturday morning at 11 (with more champagne and snacks! Because can you ever get enough?). Here's some quick snaps of just a teensy fraction of the pieces that will be there. And, in keeping with these recessionary times, the prices will be super-low: regular dresses will be $20; fancy or designer dresses will be $35; coats will be $40; handbags start at just $5. (There are, obviously, exceptions to these rules for really amazing pieces -- nostly because I had to pay a bit more to get them -- but that will be the general pricing plan.) {Quick l'il update} Not to worry, thanks to Proper Topper, we do take credit cards!

Here's a sneak peek of some favorites: Jackie O.-style silk sheaths and matching jackets! Gorgeous '60s silk dresses from Lord & Taylor in the most amazing florals. Wool printed dresses with Peter Pan collars! Stripey vintage coats with fur trim! Little sequin jackets with Dolman sleeves! It's a little sad/insanely difficult to let them go, but it makes me happy to know they're going to good homes.

Hope to see you there on Saturday and Sunday! Details here, if you need them.

Spring Wishlist Part 3: Anything/ Everything Below.

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:58:00 +0000

I just spotted the Spring/Summer Harvey Faircloth collection on Jordan's blog and I'm *obsessed*. Love.

It's not available anywhere yet, but it looks like they're launching an online store soon. (Note: Soon cannot come fast enough. Drooool.)

Spring Wishlist Part 2: Feeling Blue

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:14:00 +0000

Blame Ginnifer Goodwin and her adorably chic Golden Globes dress (below) for my new current obsession: Finding the perfect bright blue dress for spring. Marine hues are all over the place, but I've yet to uncover my ideal version (ie, day-to-night suitable and not insanely short. Which is seriously hard as a nearly-6ft-tall person. Why are so many dresses inappropriately mini these days?) One leading candidate: Rachel Roy's color-blocked option (above, $595). The navy keeps it nicely tempered, and really, I'm such a sucker for a blue-on-blue combination.

Also desired, thought I'm not sure I could pull it off: Ginnifer's choppy crop. Love it.

Spring Wishlist Part 1: Loeffler Randall Snappy Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:40:00 +0000

There might be two-foot snowdrifts across D.C., and I might've been forced to wear rubber boots for the past 18 days straight, but I'm so ready for spring. (Actually, that's probably WHY I'm so ready for spring.) I may have to keep the boots at the ready, but that doesn't mean I can't start shopping for warmer weather gear. And so, my Spring Wishlist -- Part 1 (of many)! Loeffler Randall's snappy, strappy sandals (spotted in Barney's Co-op Georgetown, and also here (for the heels, $695) and here (for the sandals, $295). Smartwool socks optional, for the time being...

You're Invited!: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

Next week is looking pretty busy! As one of Lucky magazine's Alpha Shoppers (aka a very nice way of saying people who shop A LOT), I'll be hosting a fun event at Cusp Georgetown on Thursday. There will be swag, and a very helpful stylist, and photogs scouting for the mag's Style Spotter site (look cute!), and pretty new Spring clothes, and -- of course -- me (and also, one hopes, this really adorable Phillip Lim dress, because I think I might need to own it).

More details soon. But if you'd like to come, please RSVP over here. Hope to see you there!

You're Invited!*

noreply@blogger.com (ms. spinach) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:03:00 +0000

There comes a time in every fashionista's life where she looks at her wardrobe and says, "When on earth did I acquire enough clothing to fill eleventythousand closets?" For me, this time is now. I have *so many* adorable vintage pieces that I just can't possibly wear/store/enjoy, and I've decided it's time to pare down.

And so: Proper Topper has been delightfully kind enough to offer their adorable Georgetown store for a one weekend only Spinach Vintage Pop-Up Shop, Sat.-Sun. Feb 27-28. There will be dresses! And coats! And purses! And jackets! And some cute little housewares and such! And they will all be priced very, very low ($20ish for dresses, $10 for bags, $30 for coats... frankly, I don't have the space to bring it home again. So I'm not kidding when I say: Everything. Must. Go!)

I'll be around all weekend to offer advice, styling tips and make sure all my cute '60s dresses go to happy, fashion-loving homes. We'll also be having champagne on Sat. from 11-3, and will also be keeping a stash of good stuff to put out just on Sunday, so you don't have to worry about missing all the best finds if you can't come before then.

Stay tuned for some item previews over the next two weeks. Hope you can make it!

*Although I certainly understand if those of you not in the D.C. area need to send your regrets.