Friday, November 27, 2009

The Nice List

This is the time of year when one is supposed to be buying for others.

But I am a seasoned shopper and don't feel the need to rush out for sales the day after Thanksgiving. I know what I'm getting everyone and spend no more than one trip of three hours rounding up various gifts.

Instead I've spent the past few days putting out feelers for my New Year's Eve dress. And I've failed miserably.

I've been to all of the stores in my price range and unless I want to look like a slutty extra from Pretty in Pink or one of Julia Roberts' streetwalker friends from Pretty Woman, it appears that I'll have to dive back into my own closet.

Or splash out for something I cannot afford.

Like this:


And these:


I wonder if Santa takes clothing orders.


Photos via

Friday, November 13, 2009

Second Glances

I've spent the past few weeks reassessing Boston.

Maybe it's that I've gotten familiar once more with the city of my birth. Or that the pain of leaving the little home, the little community, that I found myself a part of in Brooklyn has begun to fade into the background. But when I really think about it, neither of these reasons are the biggest factor.

I should have known. Or known better at least. This is a city for fall dressing. I, a native daughter, who almost rationalized buying a pair of elbow-length cashmere gloves because of their color and who has, for the past two months, found herself visiting a pair of Bottega Veneta heeled oxfords that reside in the Barneys shoe department, should have realized. Because before Princeton and London and Clinton Hill, there was this place.

So there are the cardigans and the coats. Young men who actually pull off a bow tie and cardigan combination without looking twee. Cords of all cuts and colors. Mustards and browns and hunter greens. There are tights of plum and gray worn with sweater dresses and woolen miniskirts. Scarves and hats and boots. I often find myself appraising the many pairs during very long bus rides. The wellies and the riding boots and those that lace up. Deep, soft, supple leathers covered with the marks of past winters. On warmer days, people leave their outerwear open. Relishing the last moments before everything has to stay behind the curtain of their coat in order to keep out the chill and the snow.

Boston's season is fall.

And, as such, it is mine.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hiatus

With my computer's logic board deciding that it needed a trip to the Apple spa and job training for a little seasonal work, I've been a bit busy. Preoccupied. Unfocused. But now I'm back, and the quest for sweaters continues.



Photo via