Prenzlauer Berg

I just got back a few days ago from a week-long work trip to Germany, which was great. I ended up with a couple of free days in Berlin and a brief stopover in Amsterdam on the return trip, and I was traveling with a very fun coworker, so we managed to sneak in some sightseeing, shopping, and hitting the town. Berlin is such a great city; we stayed in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, which is filled with great things to see and do. I could walk around the city all day just looking at all the cool modern architecture and interesting street art.

After a solid week of eating German food, I won't be trying to put on this form-fitting dress anytime soon (this outfit was from before the trip). Now that I'm back, it's time to make up for all the sausages, potatoes and beer with plenty of salads and walking to work.

Dress: Rebecca Taylor
Bag: Botkier
Boots: Bastien
Jacket: Karen Millen

Trends That Need To Die Already

The weather has been beautiful in SF lately, so I've taken the opportunity to wear several of my dresses with bare legs or fishnets. Here I wore nude fishnets, which I realize are a little tough to see in the photos. Since it's difficult to do a whole lot of styling with a dress, I mixed it up a bit by combining different metal finishes (the silver bag and brass necklace), and adding a blazer.

One of the best things about trends these days is that they hang around for a long time, allowing you to get maximum mileage out of clothing purchases. One of the worst things about trends nowadays is that they hang around for a long time, allowing them to annoy the shit out of you before they finally go away. For me there are currently two trends whose continued presence irritates me to the point of irrational rage. Without further ado, I present to you my top two Trends That Need To Die Already:

1. Topknots

The makeup is pretty awful too, come to think of it. Then again look who it is.

OK, I'll admit I thought these were sort of cute at first, though not something I'd wear myself even if I had long hair. But holy crap ladies, if you've got gorgeous long locks, why on earth would you want to wad it up and make it look like you're balancing a bagel on your head? There are tons of flattering updo's and pulled-back styles out there; this isn't one of them.  STOP IT.


2. Giant Wedge and Platform Heels

Jeffrey Campbell, I blame you for the fact that these are still around. Yep, I owned several pairs of Frankenstein shoes. They're now gone from my closet, and I wish they were gone from everyone else's too. Let's not make this a longer goodbye than necessary.



What trends are you ready to see the last of?


Dress: Adrianna Papell
Blazer: La Redoute
Boots: Born
Handbag: Botkier

Revolver

I bought this dress on my trip to Minneapolis, and I was really excited to style it in a work outfit. I'm sure it could be worn as a cocktail dress, but I like it better as part of a more casual look. It's another example of an item whose details are best appreciated in daylight hours, because a lot of that great shaping wouldn't be noticeable at night.

To make the dress look more casual I went with bare legs and boots, a look I love to play around with especially in the fall. The cognac color of the boots and bag gave it a slightly western vibe, to which I added the cute revolver necklace, another of my Minnesota purchases. The solid brass pendant has a nice heft to it, and the barrel even spins around for an extra realistic effect. I wish the trigger moved, although it's not like I'd be able to get my finger in there to move it anyway.






I bought the necklace the morning I was flying out, and Sal commented that I'd better put it in my checked baggage or else TSA might try to confiscate it. To my amusement when I got home, I noticed that my checked bag had actually been opened and searched, I guess because of the pendant, since everything else in there was just clothes. I guess this necklace doesn't make for a very good travel accessory.

Dress: Adrianna Papell
Necklace: Defy
Bag: Lucky Brand
Boots: from Scoop in Copenhagen
Bracelet: Leslie Danzis

Smart Shopper

This dress was another purchase from when Sal and Mike were here, and it was also another item on my shopping list: basic sheath dress. It seems my tastes are shifting towards the simple and unfussy lately. This dress is utterly perfect: it has a good amount of stretch to it, the subtle darts at the waist give it shape while still being really flattering, and the asymmetrical pleated ruffle gives it some visual interest while still looking classic. I got this dress for a steal at Jeremy's, a local shop that sells discounted designer clothes. Many of their items are damaged, but this dress is perfect as far as I can tell.

When I got home from work I wore this dress, sans cardigan, to our neighbors' open house. This was no ordinary open house; it's a spectacular Victorian mansion, the gem of the entire neighborhood, and it's listed at $3.8 million. One dresses up for an open house of this caliber. Thankfully I was already dressed, so I waltzed on over and tried to look natural amongst people who actually have $3.8 million to spend on a house.

The next day our neighbor called to thank Mark and I for coming, and also to say how great I looked in my dress. Just as the open house was no ordinary open house, this was no ordinary compliment; when a sophisticated gay man with impeccable taste calls specifically to tell you how great you looked, that's a compliment to treasure up and enjoy for a lifetime. I'd gladly have paid full price for this dress to get a compliment like that, so you can bet I feel like a smart shopper now.

Dress: Escada Sport
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tights: Wolford
Boots: All Black
Earrings: Wendy Mink
Bracelet: Betsey Johnson