The Valley Girl

The Return of Outfit Posts

2011-03-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

After my long blogging hiatus to focus on personal academic goals I have returned with an outfit that I wore shortly after my last outfit post. I'm not sure how much longer outfit posts will continue because I will be starting school again in August for the next three years. Hopefully this blog will become an outlet for me while I am in school to connect with all my family and friends living other parts of the country. I can't wait to show you all of the new clothing, inspiration, makeup and other adventures that happened during my time away from the blog. So make sure to check back often to see my new posts.

I wore this outfit to my cousin's wedding in late October. It was a gorgeous Chinese themed wedding that paid homage to the groom's heritage. The bride was gorgeous in a traditional white wedding dress followed by a traditional Chinese red dress.

I bought this dress because I loved the bright color combination along with the bow in the back. Thankfully it has a hidden support system or the dress never would have stayed in place while dancing all night. I was extremely happy that I choose to wear plastic shoes because of heavy rains the night before that transformed most of the ground into mud. Any other pair of shoes would have been thoroughly ruined but these were sparkling after a quick hosing.

Dress: Kay Unger from Nieman Marcus Last Call

Shoes: Melissa by Vivienne Westwood

Earrings: Shelly Segal from Nordstrom's Rack

The wedding was over an hours drive away meaning that we didn't have much time to get ready before we hopped in the car so I was forced to do my makeup in the car. Early in the day I bought false eyelashes with the hope I could figure out how to put them on myself, even though I have never attempted it before. Since I ended up putting all my makeup on in the car my sister Jessica was able to successfully put them on during the car ride! She didn't even poke my eye out! That is serious talent my friends! So if you need help putting on false eyelashes and happen to be in a moving car then please call my sister up so she can apply them. (Excuse the crappy picture, it was dark by the time I got around to documenting the eyelashes and I was also suffering from a horrible cold that kept me sneezing all night.)

Coming soon...

2010-12-16T14:35:00.001-08:00

new blog posts.... thank you for being patient while I focused on studying.

MissMae

Heat Wave

2010-09-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

It is soooo hot in LA! I happen to live in the Valley which happens to be one of the hottest parts of LA and it's been over 100 since Saturday! YIKES I am not meant for this kind of weather! I had events that forced me to be outside so I couldn't even stay inside all weekend with the nice air conditioner. At least the rest of the week I will be inside all day, which is good since it's suppose to be even hotter than it was during the weekend.

This is what I wore Sunday morning because it is loose and 100% silk. Everything else that was clean was way to hot to wear. But I LOVE this dress! It was the first thing that I snapped up at the garage sale. How could you pass up a 100% silk Marc Jacobs dress for under $20?!?!?!?! Seriously!!!! I'm terrified that something is going to happen to it so I am trying to be extremely careful with it (but I've already worn it twice!)

Dress: Marc Jacobs, garage sale

Shoes: Aldo

Glasses: Juicy

Purse: Coach

Belt: Random grey tie belt

Cool Blue Reason

2010-09-23T23:00:00.001-07:00

This outfit was so hard to photograph, that's why I only have one picture for this post! I wore this to work today because I couldn't think of anything else to wear and these are my favorite tights! I ended up going a little overboard on the matchy matchy today but it's not overwhelming.

I am very excited for this weekend because it is my mom's family's annual picnic! My mom is making a traditional Danish dish called Rullepølse and there will be tons of other super yummy foods. I always look forward to the picnic because I love to catch up with all of my family.

Sweater: H&M

Tank top: vintage silk from garage sale

Skirt: Moschino

Tights: Target

Shoes: Wet Seal

Belt: Fossil

Necklace: from a friend

p.s. Did anyone watch the office tonight? It is one of my FAVORITE tv shows ever! I thought that the premiere was actually pretty funny because most of last season was not that great.

Little Mushrooms, Little Mushrooms... (to the tune of little boxes)

2010-09-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

This dress is another one of the steals that I got from the amazing garage sale. I wasn't sure about this dress at first because it didn't really stand out at me and I already had so many pieces that I was buying but I realized that it would be perfect to wear to work but would easily transition to many other occasions. While I have already worn it to a few different functions and work I can't seem to keep the top in place and it is constantly slipping down. I need to find a different way to pin it or tack it down some how because I really don't want to wear something underneath and destroy the strong v shape.

I know that it is a pretty simple look but I still wanted to post it because I love this dress and I don't feel like it needs a lot of accessories.

Dress: MaxStudio

Shoes: Seychelles

Necklace: Guess, gift from a friend

Lipstick: Revlon, Red Velvet?

Purse: gift from a friend

* It was actually pretty cold in and outside of the office today so I ended up wearing a sweater all day but I don't really think that it "goes" with the outfit so I decided to just keep it out. I have gotten a few questions about sweaters and other outerwear so I just wanted to make a note of what I left off of my outfit.

** I think that the print on the dress is little mushrooms.

Fall! Fall! Fall!

2010-09-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

Bomber Jacket: vintage from garage sale

Eekkk I can't wait for fall* to come so I have a reason to wear this jacket! I couldn't decide whether or not to get this jacket the first two or three times I went to the garage sale but it was still there so I HAD to get it. I have so many outfits planned out for this little number. I can't wait to try them all out and photograph them for the blog. Hopefully they turn out as well as I've envisioned them in my head.

My normal outfit thought process goes like this: I'm lying in my bed (way to late of course because I'm kind of a night owl but have to be up early for work) and I start with one piece that I really want to wear or haven't worn in a long time. Then I try and think of a theme or vision of how I can wear the item and if I've seen anyone recently wearing something similar. The majority of the time I have another item that I want to wear too and I try and figure out a way to connect the two. If I am wearing something that is more crazy that I normally wear it is most likely because there were two very different items that I wanted to wear and tried to make them work together. The most important step is to write it all down ASAP or I will not remember in the morning. Then before I'm out the door I put together the last elements of the outfit and try and tie in my hair and makeup with the outfit.

The outfit I think will be a uniform for me is:

Black henley + pleated mini skirt + tights + black boots + (of course) this jacket

*I know that fall doesn't really come to LA the same way it does for most other cities but it will still start to get cooler and in LA we can be real babies about the weather. After I moved backed from Spokane I promised that I wouldn't ever complain that it was cold in LA but it's so hard not to!

Lovely in Lace

2010-09-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

The main boss came in today and I was dressed like this! It's a good thing that he doesn't pay very much attention to what I wear or else I would a little bit embarrassed that I wasn't more dressed up! One of the bosses only comes in once a month for meetings so I feel like should look extra nice and professional when they come in but I NEVER know when they are suppose to be in till that day. So it's a craps shoot as to how I dress on that day. Maybe this should be a lesson for me to ALWAYS dress professionally because I never know who might show up that day (I have a feeling fashion will prevail and I will continue to dress as I wish for work.)

Dress: Forever21

Cardigan: Rodarte for Target

Tights: Target?

Boots: Naturalizer

Watch: Orient, from a giveaway!

In more exciting news I received this watch in the mail from a giveaway that I entered in June! The giveaway was from Jenni's blog Daily Work It. That was a crazy day because I won another giveaway that same day from another blog! Sometimes I can be really lucky. Now I just need to get the watch resized and it will be perfect! Thanks Jenni! I love her blog and I love her new DIY blog even more! I just love a good DIY.

p.s. I can't wait for the weekend! I think that this one is going to be full of some really great surprises!

Short Skirt, Long Jacket

2010-09-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

Another quick post tonight because I forgot my computer charger at work today! So I didn't have any time to work on a post there and I had a time of errands to run tonight. I wore this to work today and to run errands which is a mistake because even though the heels aren't that high after a full 12 hours of wearing them my feet hurt! I love heels more than most but I STILL can't wear them for very long! So far my Melissa shoes* have proven to be exceptionally comfortable even after wearing them all day so that is definitely a plus.

Blouse: East Side Basics

Tank Top: H&M

Skirt: H&M

Blazer: DKNY

Shoes: Steve Madden

Tights: Target?

Sunglasses: Juicy Couture

Purse: Coach

p.s. I bought a really cute dress to wear to my cousin's wedding that is the exact same color as these shoes!!! I can't wait to show you'll!!!

For You Blue

2010-09-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Dress: I Heart Ronson

Shoes: Aldo

Necklace: DIY

Nailpolish: Essie "Punchy Pink"

This is a cute little dress that I styled pretty simply with a matching necklace that I made. The necklace is made out of an extra large regular cotton shirt that I cut into strips and tied together. Very easy and can be styled in a number of ways.

I don't have much else to say tonight but I have been watching hours of Rachel Zoe today. I die! There have been a few Rachel sightings at my building by my coworkers but I had never seen any of her show until two days ago. Now I am hooked and I can't stop watching but I must go to bed!

My Weekend

2010-09-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

This photo explains my whole weekend, it's my favorite combination that I get almost every time.

Pistachio yogurt + Mochi + Green Apple Gummi Bears

The Sky, It Stretches Deep

2010-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Shirt: Forever21

Skirt: Express

Jacket: Vintage? Ungaro, from garage sale

Tights: Target

Shoes: Seychelles

Bracelet: random necklace chain

Brooches: Ballet girl from an old barrette,

Tile glued to a pin backing,

rhinestone one was my grandmothers

I wore this outfit on Wednesday to work and it was the second time that I've worn this vintage Ungaro blazer that I got from that amazing garage sale. It has an interesting pattern and I LOVE the bright pink lining and just had to show it off at the cuffs! Oops! I forgot to take a picture of the back of the jacket which has a very interesting design and was the main reason I forgot the jacket. Hopefully by the time you read this I will have come up with a picture of the back!

I love the way the tights balance out the color of the pattern on the blazer and the pink adds just a little bit more color to the outfit. (Plus I love how my nail polish looks like it matches with my outfit! In reality it is WAY brighter!) The silhouette is interesting too because it isn't one that I would normally gravitate too because it is the opposite of my body shape but I can't wear the same silhouette everyday! So this is a small attempt at branching out for me.

Punchy Pink

2010-09-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I get in the mood to paint my nails a new color so I make a little trip to my local beauty supple store and spend a long time trying what color to try. This time I was in the mood for neon pink and they just happened to have one mini bottle left of Essie's Summer '09 neon collection. I didn't know that most neon colors are matte so I was a little shocked when it dried super fast but not shiny at all. This was a the first bottle of Essie nail polish I have ever bought and it did not give me a good impression of their polish! The first coat went on super streaky and looked so terrible. The second coat made it slightly better but some of the nails are still streaky and need a third coat. I also had to put on two coats of glossy top coat to make my nails super shiny like regular nail polish.

In summary, while I really like the neon color and how fast the nail polish dries, the streakiness and matte finish make me not want to ever buy this kind of nail polish again!

Prada Red

2010-09-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sweater: Express

Skirt: Zara

Belt: from jacket I have

Shoes: Steve Madden

Shoe bows: vintage clips from my grandma

Necklace: gift

Nailpolish: Essie, "Punchy Pink",
from the summer '09 neon collection

Finally a proper outfit pictures! I wore this outfit to work today and although I really didn't need to dress up this much because barely anyone came into the office today because of Rosh Hashanah. It was such a quiet day! Tomorrow is going to be quiet too but I think that a few more people will be back in the office.

Today was the IFB conference in New York and I am very sad that I wasn't able to go! I was able to read all of the tweets and live blogs from bloggers in attendance so I got to experience some of the conference. Hopefully I will be able to go to a conference in the future because I would LOVE to meet everyone's blogs I read! I was chatting with another LA blogger and we were lamenting about how it seems like most of the bloggers (and blogger meet-ups) we come across are in the Midwest or East Coast; us West Coast girls need some more blogger love! Anyone want to help me organize some kind of LA blogger meet up?

Pink Hearts

2010-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sweater: Ralph Lauren, hamidown from my mom

Pants: Express

Shoes: Vivienne Westwood for Melissa

I wore this simple outfit to work for my first (and so far only) time wearing my new Melissa shoes. These shoes are unbelievably comfortable and would be the perfect shoes to wear out all night dancing or to a wedding. They would be gentle on your feet for hours of dancing and if anyone spills on them they are extremely easy to clean!

Business meets ballet

2010-09-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

The old saying is that you should dress for the job that you want, not the job that you have. If that were the case, this is the outfit that my 5 year old self would have picked out for me because I always wanted to be a ballerina and a lawyer. This outfit is about as close as I can get to dresses like a ballerina but still being appropriate enough for work. This is just a little preview of the outfit.... hopefully by tomorrow I will have better pictures!

(yikes! these were taken on my iphone4)

Shirt: Miley Cyrus, gift

Skirt: vintage, garage sale

Shoes: Wet Seal

Jacket: DKNY, garage sale

The Snuggie for the fashion obsessed...

2010-09-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Y-3 coat via

How can this be considered avant-garde when it is just a rip off of the snuggie? How does Gilt get people to by this kind of stuff? No wonder it was in the final sale category... but it still costs $219!!!!! You can buy a regular snuggie for only $19.99! Repeat after me: Just because something has a designer label on it does not make it pretty, good design or worth buying.

actual snuggie pictures via

Casual Weekend Outfit

2010-08-31T22:42:00.000-07:00

Top: One Clothing, Macys

Jeans: Express, DIY studded

Purse: Coach

Sandals: from UO

This is a really simple weekend outfit that I wore to a casual dinner with my family two weekends ago. Now that my photographers are back in town, along with their cameras, I will resume regular posting to the blog. :)

The Shoe Fairy Visited Me

2010-08-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

Vivienne Westwood "Anglomania" + Melissa "Lady Dragon IV"

They smell like those scented markers that were quite popular when I was little.

Dreaming of fall

2010-08-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

Summer has just started this week in LA but I already started practicing dressing for fall. It would be nice if LA had actually seasons like most of the rest of the country and I could actually wear this type of outfit outside of the office. The skirt is a bit frumpy for me but I still like it especially since it is wool but not itchy like most everything else that is wool.

I might not have any pictures for the rest of the week because all the cameras in my family have gone on vacation along with my parents and little sister. If everything goes according to plan this will change on Friday!

Shirt: Rampage, gift from friend

Skirt: Harvé Bernard, from garage sale

Blazer: Donna Karen, garage sale

Necklace: one of my sisters?

Shoes: Aldo

Shoe Update

2010-08-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

I found the black boot of my dreams. The price is a bit out of my range but I do have a giftcard and it could go on sale, right? I have a feeling that it might never reach that point because there are only three pairs left in my size and 2 in the next closest size. YIKES! Everyone else must feel the same way I do about this pair of shoes because they were only posted in the last day! Someone please tell me that is too much money to spend on a pair of shoes even with my giftcard...

Chloé $408

(this is getting a bit out of control though because everyday they post a pair of shoes that I like more than the previous day's)

Work Outfit

2010-08-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Shirt: Banana Republic, gift from my mom

Skirt: Sonia Rykiel, from yard sale

Belt: Fossil, 8 yrs old

Shoes: Wet Seal

Necklace: handblown glass,

from my parents vacation in Cambria, CA

Bag: Coach, Camarillo Outlets

This outfit was planned around this beautiful Sonia Rykiel skirt that I got from that same yard sale! On a side note: seriously, that was such an amazing sale, and I really can't believe it was all so cheap! This skirt is probably not the best idea for summer but seeing that it is 65 degrees in my office, it still works. At the bottom if you look closely you can see the stitching detail that keeps this skirt from being too plain-Jane.

Yikes! Looking at this picture makes me realize that I am in desperate need of doing something with the color of my hair. Don't you hate that when you see yourself in a picture and you notice something wrong that you never noticed before?

Help me pick what shoes to buy...

2010-08-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

A while back (almost two months ago now) I won a $100 Shopbop gift card from one of my favorite fellow LA bloggers Dafashionista! Since then I've been stalking the site trying to figure out what to ~~buy~~ splurge on. I knew that I wanted to spend it on a pair of shoes, especially some short black booties. Despite having quite the collection of black shoes they really are my favorite and I wear them with everything so I might as well get more, right? The only problem with all of this is that every time a fabulous shoe that I want goes on sale, someone else buys it! It's very unfortunate that 7 is such a popular size.

Anyway, here are some of my top choices of shoes that I want to spend my gift card on. Leave a comment with which pair you think that I should get (hopefully they won't be sold out by then in my size)! (All of the pictures are the stock pictures from the Shopbop website.)

L.A.M.B. $295 Sigerson Morrison $350 Tory Burch $350

Tory Burch $350 Joie $375 Ash $275

Dolce Vita $210 MMM $530 (yikes!) Rag & Bone $450

If you want to see the rest of my wish list here and if you just want to shop at shopbop here.

Miss Tree

2010-08-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last summer I didn't have a job right after I graduated college so I went on a crafting kick and started reading fashion blogs (still my obsession). The craft kick was fueled by a really neat kit that I got as a graduation present from one of my best friends who I've known forever. It is called "The Softies Kit" by Therese Laskey. The kit comes with patterns to make 15 different softies and supplies to make one mini cake. So far I have made the tree, the ice cream sandwich and the dress on a hanger but I have plans to make all of them.

I would recommend this kit if you are interested in making super cute softies and like hand sewing. Since most of the stitch work is decorative and tiny the majority of it is impossible to do on a sewing machine; unless, perhaps you are some sort of sewing machine genius. Unfortunately, I am not very handy with a sewing machine, especially since I use a vintage Kenmore that belonged to my grandmother. The thought of hand sewing some of the patterns that really call for machine sewing has deterred me from making those till I'm desperate enough to try and fight with my sewing machine.

Ms. Tree

I named the tree that I made "Miss. Tree" (how original, right?) because I love to give all the softies that I make little names. I spent far too many hours hand sewing all of the tiny stitches on the leaves! One mistake that I made was semi glueing down the leaves in exactly the place that I was going to sew because the glue made it really hard to get the needle through the felt. My poor fingers were raw after that! I love how she turned out though and refuse to part with her!

For now she just sits on my desk next to my writing utensils and a stuffed Donald Duck but I can tell that she wants some other softie friends to join her.

Another knitted hat!

2010-08-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Currently, my favorite things to knit because they are easy and fairly quick. This is the newest hat that I knit for a family friend. The hat is a simple 2x2 rib and only took me a few days to do at work. The yarn is self striping in a greenish color way. The pattern is something that I found off of Ravelry called "Painted Forrest Hat".

I can't wait till I finish my next knitting project because it is pretty exciting!

J.Crew Catalogue + Deconstructed

2010-08-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

The inspiration for this outfit is a variation of the classic (or at least to me) J.Crew look: pleated trouser shorts in Khaki, grey shirt, fitted blazer, heels, headband and loads of necklaces. I never dress like this, ever, so it was fun to try it out for a day. I liked it so much that I was going to wear it out Friday night after work (where I originally wore it) but changed out of fear of spilling on the shorts! I feel like I have to be extra delicate with my nice clothing that I got from the garage sale.

My own little twist on the outfit, of course, is the deconstructed back of this tank top. I love how preppy and sweet the outfit looks from the front but a bit edgy from the back and side. I have worn this tank out so many times and it is still holding it's shape, despite looking very delicate. I was pretty worried that it would just deteriorate completely after a couple of wears because the thread is so thin and the tank is fairly sheer.

(all the photos were taken with my mom's iPhone4 by my lovely little sister)

Shirt: shredded by me, H&M

Shorts: Celine, garage sale

Shoes: Aldo

Blazer: Rampage, gift

Necklaces: short pearl necklace, gift

long pearl necklace, Ralph Lauren from Nordstrom's Rack

triple strand necklace, Betsy Johnson, gift

charm necklace, Guess, gift

Headband: Goody?

p.s. I tried to write this post last night but I got distracted because they happened to be filming one of my favorite tv shows EVER down the street from my house. If you follow me on twitter you would already know that this is The Office! I got to see Jim and Pam up close and my sister shouted out "right in the spot where our dog always poops on walks". One of the crew members thought that this was really funny. hehe We didn't end up getting any pictures with them or autographs but it was still pretty cool!