Tweed-dle Your Thumbs

Okay. So, yes, it's getting colder and we're all like, "Hey, where did the sun go?" Yes, it's always damp and sometimes a little too windy. But here's the thing with winter! It means we get to wear tweed! Yes, tweed--that most academic and delightfully warm of all fabrics. My first instinct when I think about tweed is to immediately jump to elbow patches. Turns out, tweed can be styled in all sorts of iterations! Here's tweed featured in three different types of items that I'm on the hunt for in the coming weeks and months.

1. Coats!

Tweed and leather coat: Romwe.

Miss Real Brown cape: New Look.

These coats both make me squee. A tweed coat is classic and these two incorporate those classic elements while still being visually interesting. The green is completely stunning and would be a really great quasi-neutral. And the cape! Duh, it makes me think of Sherlock Holmes. Nothing wrong with that. Case in point:

2. Dresses!

My job doesn't really have a dress code and we're all pretty casual, so I would feel weird showing up to work in a shift dress or some such outfit. Unfortunately, most tweed dresses are a little fancy. These two dresses incorporate this killer fabric in simple, (dare I say) edgy ways.

Vince Camuto tweed dress: Bloomie's.

Sister Jane tweed dress: ASOS.

Because of my body type, I would want to belt the blue dress, most likely with a similarly blue belt so as not to break up the color. The skater dress is also super cute. I could do without the spikes on the collar but I do really love the leather accents.

3. Shoes!

Tweed shoes are so quaint! And they remind me of England in a Miss Marple kind of way! Once again, I give in to my shameless love of twee. 

Tweed oxfords: Anthropologie.

Camel tweed boots: Place des Tendances.

This is probably me revealing my age (so is this: I'm 22), but those blue Anthropologie shoes would totally make me feel like Molly, the American Girl doll. They are so cute and I need them in my life immediately. But not before I get these boots. How amazing are these? I just want to hug them.

Is tweed even supposed to be in this season? I'm not sure, but I do know that I love it. Are you planning on incorporating any into your wardrobe this winter?

Pack of Gum(boots)

I haven't spent enough time yet in the city to say for certain, but I'm pretty sure I love winter in San Francisco. I love a good rainstorm and it doesn't hurt that SF weather will almost never dip below 40 degrees. The best part of living in a city with its own rainy season, of course, is the gumboots! Or rain boots, as Americans like to call them. I'm just saying, they're definitely called gumboots. And they are definitely one of my favorite types of shoes--always comfortable and you can get away with wearing a lot gaudier styles than usual, because...rain? Right now, I just have a plain pair of olive green boots to tide me over until I find a more special pair; my hot pink ones were literally split in half, due to a combination of cruel fate and a giant man's giant feet. Here are some gumboots that are on my radar:

Purple BP. boots: Nordstrom. 

Sperry Top-Sider Quilted boots: Nordstrom.

Rainbow boots: Wear Wellies.

Hunter boots: Nordstrom.

I feel lucky that my love for gumboots makes me perfectly happy to wear cheap-ish boots, e.g. the rainbow wellies and BP. ones, which are literally the cheapest rain boots at Nordies. I do, of course, still have an abiding passion for the Sperrys and the Hunter boots, aka my dream gumboot. Of course, wage slavery makes them but a dream right now. BUT I HAVE BIG ASPIRATIONS. AND THOSE ASPIRATIONS INCLUDE THESE BOOTS.

I normally hate booties; I think they make my legs look stumpy and don't keep them as dry. But they do have their charms and there a couple of cute ones out there that are making me reconsider my prejudice.

JuJu glitter booties: Office.

Red booties: H&M.

Do you guys take as much pleasure in your gumboots as I do?! Or does my proclivity for whimsy make me especially susceptible to boot envy? My (imminent stable of) boots and I want to know about you and yours!

Prints and Pieces

As far as I can figure out, including a bold print in an outfit is like a free personality injection for your look--always eye-catching and a great pop of excitement. Prints are fairly popular this fall, with perennial favorites making their usual appearance as well as some newer treats. I love wearing prints because you can throw on your one statement item and a bunch of neutral basics, making you look put together with minimal effort. Here are the prints I'll be keeping my eye out for most as the year draws to a close.

1. Animal Print
In my opinion, animal print is eternal. Sassy leopard print is forever appropriate. I also can appreciate a muted giraffe-print pant, a sleek snakeskin, or a sassy zebra-print pump. This is what I wear on days I need some extra oomph. I frequently wear this cardigan on Mondays, because I have a perpetual case of the Mondays.

Cardigan: unknown boutique in Melbourne.

Another, more recent trend is literal animal print. As in, "These pants don't have the appearance of an owl, they have literal owls printed on them!" I have an undeniable weakness for twee clothing, so obviously I'm going to love this stuff. And I get doubly excited when that print is unicorn!

Owl pants: Zara. 

Unicorn pants: Topshop.

2. Floral
FLORAL WILL NEVER DIE. Pardon my caps, you will probably have to get used to them--I have a lot of feelings, what can I say? I am frequently overexcited. And duh, florals. I feel like this one doesn't even require explanation, other than to mention how glad I am that floral is finally being accepted as a year-round trend rather than the domain of spring/summer. It will always be stunning. I especially like the minor twists on floral in these Alice + Olivia pieces. Drooling over both of them, I must say.

Alice + Olivia trousers: Neiman Marcus. 

Alice + Olivia dress: Neiman Marcus

Here is my preferred way to wear floral! Some fun pants and a classic sundress, with the added excitement of my cutie patootie sparkly tights.

T-shirt: Urban Outfitters. Cardigan: Grandpa's closet. Pants: K-Mart (Australia). Flats: Esprit.

Dress: TJ Maxx. Tights: American Eagle Outfitters.

3. Kaleidoscope
I am so excited about kaleidoscope print! It is visually interesting, and I like that it confuses the eye and makes it work a little harder. I cannot weight to get my hands on a kaleidoscope dress or skirt; all the ones I've seen this season are SO CUTE.

 Betty mini: Motel.

 Nanette Lepore dress: Saks.

ICB skirt: Barneys.

4. Food!
This isn't a real category so much as I wanted the chance to show you all the breakfast food pajamas I scored while thrift shopping. They are everything. Knowing what a trendsetter I am, I'm sure I'll see bacon pants all over the place next season. I can't wait!

Breakfast pajamas: Savers.

So now, we get to the critical question. Do you mix and match your prints? The boldest I get is probably mixing florals with stripes, but I'm working on taking more risks with my outfit combinations. I think this is one of those fashion "don't"s that has become a "do" in the past couple of years. How do you feel about prints on prints on prints? Would you wear a multiple-print outfit to the office? 

Fresh to Death

In case you didn't catch the delightful pun, I am both fresh and profesh. I just graduated college in May and I am now a real-life grown-up. I swear. I've been lucky enough to find a job, and it just so happens that my job has a casual dress code, so I have a lot of freedom with my attire. And this excites me! I am a champion lurker of fashion blogs, but have decided I would like to wade in. My clothes always have to be: 1) comfortable; 2) cheap; and 3) reasonably interesting. I like animal prints, glitter, and neons but I also like classic cuts, a good dress, and practical shoes. Here is what I wore to work on Monday:

Dress: Myers (Australia). Cardigan: Boutique shop (Australia). Tights: Urban Outfitters. Shoes: Off Broadway. Tote: Trader Joe's :)

I saw a good meme on Pinterest the other day, a someecard photo that said, "I have good taste, but I don't have the money to prove it." I think that describes me perfectly. But don't worry! I have aspirations! Here are some other things I'm interested in:

The apartment I just moved into! And decorating it! Everything in bathroom: Target.

Australia and America. I'm a dual citizen!

Feminism!

 Politics and pop culture! And the intersection thereof!

And of course, fashion! Upcoming posts will include some of the fall/winter trends I'm most excited about, as well as an ode to prints! For now, I will leave you with the wardrobe item I'm currently craving most.

Trench coat: Zara