general fabulousness

Last Thursday, famed British stylist, author and fashion guru Simon Doonan made an appearance at Barney's New York in downtown Seattle for a book signing for his latest release, Gay Men Don't Get Fat. Naturally, I was there with bells on as I make it a point to never miss a style spotting with this kind of caché, and Simon did not disappoint. Impeccably dressed and unbelievably nice, he signed each fan's book and even entertained the silly questions he was asked. I inquired as to whether he considered frozen yogurt to be a 'straight food' or a 'gay food' (a distinction Doonan makes in the book), and after thinking on it for a few seconds, he declared it "androgynous" and "best consumed in moderation" (does "a few times a week" count as "moderation"?). Barney's even brought in champagne and Trophy Cupcakes for the event: not a bad way to spend an evening after work.

Quite possibly the gayest cover art ever concocted. LOVE.

:)!

I cannot believe it's true, but February is just around the corner and there's some pretty fantastic things a-brewin' in the fashion world. As I'd mentioned a few weeks ago, the Jason Wu for Target line drops on February 5th. On the heels of this much-hyped launch comes another big-name designer/big-box retail collaboration on February 15th when the Doo-Ri Chung for Macy's Impulse line is released (preview photos at Huffington Post). Nothing like a little sartorial excitement to jolt some life into the expanse of Seattle winter-gray-blahs.


Starved for sunshine,

-dau

no, men; no

Guys, I love you. I really do. Some of my closest friends are guys, and my close guy friends know that if they ask, I'll give them an honest opinion on what they're wearing. (Okay, sometimes if it's heinous enough, I'll just say something. Someone's gotta do it.) With regard to menswear, I’ve posted on the good, and I’ve also shared the not-so-good, obvious things that the guys should absolutely steer clear of. In between, there’s this nebulous, sticky area of menswear that it seems many men are afraid of and just don’t understand. Believe me: I sympathize. There is so little room for error with regard to men's clothing: one misplaced button or ill-proportioned logo can ruin an otherwise passable shirt. The devil's in the details. With this in mind, here's a few things in the world of men's clothing that just misses the mark. Read on...

• Right clothing; wrong shoes. I once went out on a date with a guy who wore those Vibram Five Finger monkey foot shoes. We weren't hiking or running: he wore them to dinner. Suffice it to say, there was no second date. It's such a shame when a guy puts together an otherwise nice, perfectly acceptable ensemble, and then ruins it with terrible footwear. All-white athletic shoes are bad under any circumstance (they get dirty super fast and make a grown man look like a 13-year-old kid). Toms and the ilk are weird on women but just plain awful on men. Everything else is a matter of appropriateness for the event and cohesiveness with the rest of the ensemble. Which leads to...
  

• Blazers and dress shoes paired with jeans. A man throwing a blazer or suit jacket over jeans and a dress shirt, to me, is akin to me wearing yoga pants with a cardigan and declaring myself ‘work-appropriate’. My time in Corporate Land has given me some insight into the mind of the modern working male (let me tell you, there are some dark corners), and for reasons unknown to me, some guy started this look years and years ago, and other men have latched onto it as a casual Friday uniform. It’s a puzzling clash of two genres; a mix of two opposing styles that just looks… weird. It conjures up images of a youth pastor trying to be “hip” (maybe this is an image I remember from when I was a kid and has been permanently seared into my subconscious). In any case, when I see the blazer-with-jeans combo, I just see a guy who wants it all, but winds up having nothing. Be corporate or be casual, but don't try to be both at the same time.
  

• Too-big dress shirts. I've heard the gripe from my guy friends on how difficult it is to find a good dress shirt that fits properly in all areas (neck, sleeves, and torso, with a proper length). Somehow, this issue of fit eludes even the most clever of the male species, and what happens is a guy ends up wearing a dress shirt that fits in some places, but not in others: usually a decent fit throughout the arms, but then balloons out in the chest and torso, creating an illusion that the man inside is much more rotund than he actually is. Guys: if your arms are proportionately too long for the rest of your body (mine are), slim-fit dress shirts are where it's at. The length of a dress shirt is a separate issue, and this piece in Primer gives a comprehensive visual how-to for proper lengths of button-up shirts.
  
  
• The wrong leather jacket. When I first started writing this blog, I wrote a post that touched on this very topic, and I feel it merits another address. When I wrote on this topic over two years ago, I lived in Boise: now that I'm in Seattle, a city that is arguably much more cosmopolitan and plugged-in with regard to fashion trends and variety in clothing availability, I am still confronted with the Ugly Leather Jacket. The elastic, the bad tailoring, the horrid proportions... I've seen it. Guys, a tip: if you're not sure, air on the side of conservative and don't go there. There are many other fashionable (and Seattle climate-friendly) fabrics besides leather: a classic peacoat will do the job quite nicely.
  

Agree or disagree with my assessments? Have a burning style question? By all means, leave it in the comments.

Let's hear it for the boys,

-dau

onward and upward

The holiday season is finally over (can I get a collective exhale), and we can now all get back to our normal lives after blowing any New Year's resolutions in the first week and a half of the year that we may have set for ourselves (which is precisely why I don’t participate in this charade any longer). You guy get any good gifts for the holidays? I sure did: these bad boys, the most comfortable, cozy, I-guess-I'll-change-out-of-these-to-go-to-the-grocery-store-oh-who-am-I-kidding fleece pants, courtesy the 'rents...

Like buttah, I tell you.

I'm fairly certain my mom bought these in hopes that I'd get rid of the fiesta pants... sorry to disappoint, but it's not happening. As fate (and a total lack of gift-giving creativity) would have it, each of the four of us in my immediate family now has a pair of these most fabulous lounge pants, and it seems like whenever one of us is on the phone with another, one of the parties in the conversation is wearing these pants at the time. They've even inspired a new verb in my family, ‘to Sherpa’: to laze about the house with complete disregard for the comfort level of others, but in an unparalleled level of personal comfort thanks to the best garment on the face of the planet. (correct usage: “Yeah, I thought about leaving the house to run a few errands, but I was content to just Sherpa on the couch for most of the day.”)

The pants, in an uncharacteristically vertical position.

So where are we going in 2012? There's a whole laundry list of trends that need to be put out to pasture (this is a good start), a few that are already in the midst of a revival, and some snappy investment items I've got my eye on like this totally gorgeous Alexander Wang bag I'm craving. Yum. Also, things to look forward to almost immediately: Jason Wu for Target launches on February 5 (The Frisky has preview photos) and if the retailer's last designer collaboration fiasco is any indication, things WILL get out of hand. As my lot in life is to miss all the good stuff, I will be out of town on the launch date, so I'll unfortunately not be around for the hair-pulling and teeth-grinding over this one. Someone brave the crowds and report back; it'll be a doozie for sure.

To the new year!

-dau

for auld lang syne

So here we are: the end of 2011, and another year gone by. My first full calendar year in the 206 has brought many happy times, some sad ones, a couple surprises, a few triumphs, and a handful of minor tragedies. I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s resolutions; in my mind, they conjure images of hopeless weight loss struggles, abandoned by February in a bout of tears and frustration. Seattle Met recently ran a piece listing Seattle style pundits, local business owners and creative types and reported their style resolutions for 2012. I can certainly think of a few style-related 'resolutions' I'd like to work on in 2012 myself: take more risks; only buying quality, 'investment' pieces; edit my wardrobe down to the bare bones of what I actually do need and wear regularly. In the next year, I will be writing on style and beyond: fear not, for I will still be posting on events and other crazy goings-on in the realm of fashion.

And so, in 2012, I vow to dress to the nines in all facets of life: in style, in work, and at play. I pledge to be less hard on myself, to work on being more patient, and being the best 'me' I can be so that I can be of help to others. In 2012, I want to be the best sister, daughter, coworker and friend that I am capable of being.

I will try not to worry so much, because, at the end of the day, there’s just not that much to be really worried about.

I will practice an attitude of gratitude, because I have much to be thankful for.

Cheers to another year, dear readers. A very Happy New Year to you.

best,

-dau

not-so-sweets

Well, hey, y'all; it's been awhile! Please to forgive the brief hiatus from this little bloggin' corner o' goodness: work has been keeping me quite busy these days, and a fashion fiend's gotta bring home the bacon to fund the ol' clothing habit (and, you know, to live, eat, etc.). As I shared with you last month, and for those of you who weren't already aware, sugar comes in a close second to style on my list of all-time favorite things in the history of ever, and this time of year is prime time for all things sweet, decadent, chocolate-covered and sugar-coated. Score. As far as favorites go, I'm inclined to go with the fruity, gummy treats over straight chocolate (although I've never been known to turn down many chocolate treats), and my rule of thumb for ranking goodies on a subjective scale of sugar superiority has always been the sweeter, the better. I eat straight frosting, folks; this is my benchmark.

And so, in the spirit of Christmakwanzafestivus season what-have-you, and because I can, I give you the following: my list of holiday "treats" that I would rather punch myself in the face than put in my mouth (that's what she said!)...

• Dark chocolate. Living in Seattle, I get a lot of 'ohmygawdwhatiswrongwithyou' looks when I say I don't care for beer or dark chocolate. It's just too bitter for my tastebuds that have been conditioned to accept (and enjoy) straight sugar. Dark chocolate has become a cornerstone of the foodie/locavore/ridiculous food snob culture in this city ("Oh, you mean this chocolate isn't fair-trade organic, sourced directly from Costa Rican cocoa bean growers? No, thanks.") To me, 91% cacao translates to 100% awful.
  

Don't be fooled, kids: it's not a treat. It's like eating a rectangle of
brown, bitter disappointment.

• Spearmint-flavored anything. I'm not sure at what point in my childhood I began to recognize the difference between the red and green Starlight mints in the big bowls they have up at the cash register at restaurants, but I sure know the difference now. Red = tolerable. Green = terrible.
  

• Almond Roca and any of its relatives. Peppermint Roca, Cashew Roca... anything in the Roca family is something I just don't want anything to do with. Each of these is an amalgamation of a particular type of nut, chocolate, and something else added in that makes the consistency of even fresh Roca absolutely unbearable. Is it nougat? Caramel? Whatever it is, the combination of ingredients renders this product downright inedible.
  

A multi-species Roca display at the Portland airport. What's worse than Roca?
Outrageously overpriced Roca.

• Mint flavor added to baked goods. From my perspective, if it's mint-flavored, it should be a paste, a gum, or a hard candy. Andes Mints and even Junior Mints are acceptable, but once you've crossed into brownie/cookie/cake territory, mint ruins a perfectly good baked treat. The strong, distinct flavor of mint just does not mesh with the soft texture of a cookie.
  

• Fruitcake, bundt cake, and all other dense holiday varietal cakes. The fruitcake one kind of goes without saying (does anyone like it?), but I'd really like to know who started this tradition of super-heavy cakes that pack about a bazillion calories per cubic inch and that no one seems to get really excited about. Their unveiling at the dessert course is always met with ambivalence at best (not once have I ever heard anyone say "Oooh, bundt cake! My favorite!" after a meal). When served at a dinner party, it's best to just drown these with as much ice cream as social convention permits.
  
  
  

And what say you, dear readers? Agree or disagree on my holiday indulgence hit list? Your least favorite holiday treats?

visions of sugarplums,

-dau

some things never change

Well, folks, it happened. This week, I turned 30, and hence “officially” became a grown-up. There are certain birthday milestones in life that are of more significance than others: 18 and 21 have been the big ones thus far, and 30 seems to have become the next major age hurdle in adult life. As we’ve gotten older, our lives start to resemble one another’s less and less. Many of my friends are married, some have children, some live abroad and some are living in the same towns they grew up in. My life seems to have meandered here and there, but I have much to be thankful for, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

In the spirit of nostalgia and reflecting back on the last 30 years, here it is, photographic evidence that there have always been two great loves in my life: sugar and style.

My first birthday party. Interestingly enough, there are several other
photos of me through the years that look a lot like this.

Laying out my outfit for school (1987). Always a planner.

To the next 30,

-dau

repurposing gone wrong

There's not a lot I have to say in this post; I just wanted to rant for a moment about a trend I see everywhere and really take issue with. WHAT is WITH these RIDICULOUS SEAT BELT HANDBAGS???

Shouldn't the bags' proximity to the Snuggie Sutra book be a solid enough indicator
that these are a totally absurd product that no one should purchase?

A handbag says a lot about you: your taste level, how much stuff you haul around with you on a regular basis, etc. I've seen a lot of silly purses in my day, but I have to say, this one really does take the cake. I see women carrying these who are dressed professionally, respectably, and otherwise seem to have their act together, and then they throw this fashion wild card into the mix. Why not a bag made of old tennis shoes, or plastic grocery bags? I'm all for recycling and the ideology of "old becoming new", but this is going too far. A handbag is a style accessory we women use every day; it sums up our individual fashion philosophies in one item in which we carry around our day-to-day lives. Don't pick the seat belt bag, ladies; trust me.



in service,

-dau