this week i love

This Week I Love …

by Sally on January 24, 2013 · 10 comments

my oil sponge

… my oil sponge.

This little gizmo comes up in just about every shoe care-related post I’ve written, but it deserves its own moment in the spotlight. I have a bottle of leather conditioner that I use when my shoes and boots are looking dry or damaged, but for minor scuffs, faded color, or any quick touch-ups, I use my oil sponge. It’s a temporary fix – especially when it comes to scuffed and fading boot and shoe toes – but it sticks around for a couple of wears. Won’t work on patent leather or suede, of course, but this little whiz cleans and conditions oiled and waxed leathers using original leather oils. Quick, easy, cheap, and virtually foolproof. Just how I like my wardrobe-care solutions!

Do you use an oil sponge to keep your shoes in shape?

Image is Red Wing Oiled Leather Max 95135

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for alreadypretty.com. See Already Pretty’s disclosure statement for more details.

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This Week I Love …

by Sally on January 11, 2013 · 19 comments

… military jackets. Or anoraks. Or army coats. Field jackets. Utility jackets. Ya know, olive green, masculine details, incredibly versatile? My own is my thrifted MVP:

 Plus:

Already Pretty outfit featuring military jacket, polka dot dress, neon ballet flats

Already Pretty outfit featuring military jacket, white maxi dress, tan Diesel Go-go boots, spike necklace

Already Pretty outfit featuring military jacket, pearl and rhinestone necklace, tulle skirt, Tsubo Dufay, Foley + Corinna Jet Set

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And many more.

And I find that just about every style consult client I work with – both in-person and online – ends up with a military jacket in her post-consult wardrobe picks. It’s a piece that can work in casual and arty offices, but works best for fun, weekend wear. It’s a fantastic piece to throw into a floofy, princess-y outfit to create contrast. It’s a piece that can be bought for $1,000 at the designer level or thrifted for $1. It’s a piece that can sub for a blazer or jean jacket if neither suits you. And it’s an entire family of garments, so there’s a style that works for just about every body, budget, and personal style.

Here are a few styles you can nab right now:

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Horny Toad Ghostwriter Jacket – $93.65 – $134.95

This style features a longer length, but also includes an internal drawstring for waist definition. Fleece-lined welt handwarmer pockets mean this is a great bet for colder weather, though it probably can’t stand in for a winter coat!

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Eddie Bauer Stine® Four-Pocket Field Jacket – $69.99

This classic jacket is sold out in regular sizes, but available in this dark olive, red, winter white, and gray in sizes 1X- 3X! It’s made from ripstop cotton and garment-washed for a soft, vintage look. Also features reinforced diamond-quilt elbow patches (a detail that I totally love) and adjustable back buckle for custom fit.

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Ecote Oversized Surplus Jacket – $89

Ya know me, so I’ll always go for fitted styles myself. But oversized is trendy and fun, and suits many figures. This style will look fab with skinny jeans and boots. And maybe a big ol’ scarf.

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Free People Military Jacket – $128

Distressed details and a cropped fit set this jacket apart. I love the collarless design, too. This will look fabulous in casual mixes, but will also create great contrast with ladylike dresses and skirts.

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Banana Republic Cotton Utility Jacket – $175

Spendy, yes, but this jacket includes a detachable inner quilted vest, making it two for one. Wear the vest alone, zipped into the jacket, or wear the lightweight shell on its own. Also included this option because it’s available in petite and tall sizes.

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Hive & Honey Military Anorak – $79

Another simple, longer option but at a slightly lower price point than the Horny Toad version. This style also features an internal drawcord, and I adore the studded detail at the chest pockets.

I’ve also found lots and lots of military jackets in my local thrift stores, so for TRULY low prices check there. Look among both blazers and coats. And, of course, you can try actual military surplus outlets! But depending on your figure and flattery preferences, styles that are more fashion-y and less authentic may fit better.

Do you own a military jacket? Like the style? How do you style and wear yours?

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This Week I Love …

by Sally on December 18, 2012 · 30 comments

SteamFast SF-435W Compact Fabric Steamer - $24.98

… my travel steamer.

During middle school and high school, I worked retail at a clothing boutique a block from my childhood home. And there I met the jumbo industrial steamer, which made rumpled, creased clothing look flowy and fresh. I know that Deja has invested in a Jiffy steamer and loves it, but I’m happy with my mini travel model for now. It’s far from perfect, with a fairly small chamber and a tendency to burp water onto my clothes if tipped to the wrong angle, but it’s a thousand times more effective at actually removing creases and wrinkles than any other travel steamer I’ve ever owned. Powerful and efficient, if a bit temperamental.

Like many people, I loathe ironing. But I’ll admit a steamer is a poor substitute for an iron when it comes to certain woven fabrics. My button-front shirts never look PRESSED after a steam, but they certainly look less rumpled. For press appearances, on-camera work, and interviews I iron. For daily doings, I steam.

Do you use a steamer of any kind? Industrial or travel? Or do you stick to ironing or sending out your laundry? Anyone else have a brand or model of steamer to recommend?

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for alreadypretty.com. See Already Pretty’s disclosure statement for more details.

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This Week I Love …

by Sally on December 4, 2012 · 18 comments

Use sweater sleeves to create sock toppers

… FAKE SOCKS.

So, as you all know I’m a pretty lousy DIYer. But know what I’m fully capable of doing? Lopping the sleeves off of a done-for, moth-eaten sweater and using those sleeves as fake boot socks!

This trick has been roaming around Pinterest for at least a year, probably longer, so there’s no way I can take credit for it. There are a million tutorials, but here’s one that’s pretty close to my hack-and-wear process. Those of you with actual DIY follow-through might want to consider stitching, knitting, or crocheting the unfinished edge to avoid unraveling. In my experience, so long as you stick the unfinished edge inside the boot and leave the sweater cuff exposed, no one is the wiser and unraveling is barely noticeable. I’ve been using the same pairs for more than a year an hardly a thread is a’danglin’.

What’s the point, you ask? Well, certain pairs of boots cause just about every pair of boot socks to gradually slide down until they’ve settled into an uncomfortable wad at the heel. Certain pairs of boots fit oddly or tightly if a full boot sock is shoved inside. Utilizing a cuff instead of a full sock allows you to fine-tune how much sock is showing above the boot opening. And boot socks can be weirdly expensive, while recycling already-ruined sweaters is satisfyingly FREE.

It’s been so warm this season that I haven’t had much of a chance to don my little collection of fake socks, but I will. Oh friends, once winter truly settles upon the land, I will be fake-socking it up for months.

Have you ever tried this winter styling trick? Would you?

Image via Try it On Me.

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This Week I Love …

by Sally on November 21, 2012 · 15 comments

… Amy Poehler

For the record, I know virtually nothing about how amy Poehler dresses. She’s not really a style icon to me so much as an icon icon. I never really liked her SNL work, and it seemed like her early career was mainly spent portraying loud, sexualized meanies. But WOW, has she come a long way. Here are three huge reasons I adore Amy Poehler:

Smart Girls at the Party

Slogan: Change the world by being yourself. Smart Girls at the Party is a project that Amy launched with her real life best friends Meredith Walker and Amy Miles to showcase girls who are important and excellent just because they are doing things that they are interested in and that they believe in. The website is a bit messy and chaotic, but still provides a community that young girls and women can join to connect with others with similar (or different!) interests. My favorite aspect of Smart Girls is Amy’s interviews. She speaks with girls about the interests, hobbies, and expertise and does so with tremendous respect and sincerity. My favorite? Ruby the feminist, of course. The fact that Amy Poehler launched this project makes her a superstar in my book.

Parks and Recreation

I realized the other day that Parks and Recreation is my current favorite television show. In part because it makes me snort and shout with uncontrollable laughter, but also because I feel such kinship with Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope. She’s smart and driven and fantastically organized and full to the brim with quirks. And she’s completely unashamed of her quirks. She doesn’t apologize for them or deride herself for being a “neurotic woman,” she is extremely comfortable with her authentic self. She’s also confident, capable, brave, and a feminist as the Pawnee Rangers episode proved. She’s flawed like all characters and people are, but she’s one of the only women characters on television today that I feel kinship with.

New York Magazine photo shoot notes

When Poehler did a photo shoot for New York Magazine in 2011, she knew she’d be Photoshopped. So she preemptively offered a few notes on her images, including “make neck smarter,” “add two more fingers, “remove eyes for now,” and more. This tongue-in-cheek approach pokes some excellent fun at a common but harmful magazine practice, showing how utterly ridiculous some of the retouching can get if left unchecked.

I don’t read gossip rags, so for all I know she could be a serial goldfish torturer in her spare time. But her dedication to bolstering the self-confidence of young girls, her decision to create a television show featuring a strong woman who isn’t some sort of superhero, and her willingness to use humor to highlight the media machine’s shortcomings make Amy Poehler the kind of gal I’d love to take out for a milkshake.

Are you a fan? Do you watch Parks & Rec? Anyone have a daughter who participates in Smart Girls at the Party?

Image via Welcome to Ladyville.

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This Week I Love …

by Sally on November 7, 2012 · 21 comments

… my leather punch.

I thrift most of my belts. This means I get them for bargainous prices, but it also means that I sometimes compromise on fit. And since some belts need to fit closer than others – especially those that are worn at the natural waist versus the wearing waist – some belts need adjusting.

A too-small belt isn’t going to do me much good, but a too-big belt can be adjusted simply by adding additional holes. Husband Mike and I have been using the slapdash method for eons: We take a board, a thick nail, and a hammer. The nail gets hammered through the belt several times on either side until a sufficiently large hole has been made. It’s a fairly frustrating and laborious process. And, as you can imagine, the results tend to look … well, crappy. Not so much that passersby stare at my belts, alarmed and disgusted, mind you. You have to get pretty close to see the crappiness. But it’s there. It’s definitely there.

And then a few months ago, as I was preparing to take a thrifted belt out back for some nail-related punishment, a memory flickered through my ailing brain. It was a memory of this post from the now-defunct Academichic blog. And I thought, “One of those leather punch tools would be a good investment.”

AND IT WAS.

Mine is the one pictured above, and it set me back a whopping $5.81. (It’s a whopping $7.05 now.) It’s simple, effective, and helps me custom fit my belts with virtually no swearing, strife, or jaggedy-looking holes. The tool punches clean, is easy to operate, and includes fittings for belts of six different buckle sizes. I’m absolutely thrilled. And delighted that my days of belt-punishing are over.

Anyone else have a leather punch that gets good use? Would this tool be helpful for you to have around?

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for alreadypretty.com. See Already Pretty’s disclosure statement for more details.

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This Week I Love …

by Sally on October 24, 2012 · 13 comments

… curved-hem tees.

I’m EXTREMELY surprised to find that I’m wanting to wear pants this season. And most of my tops are on the short side – good lengths for skirts, but not pants.

Most tees and tops have straight hems, and if they’re long enough for pants wear they hit me right across the hips – bisecting me, making me look wider, and sometimes pulling at the hem and blousing up top. Not my favorite look. The three longish shirttail/curved hem tees I bought at the Gap last year are getting loads of wear because they dip in front but come up at the sides, which both flatters and accommodates my hips. So I hunted around and found a few similar styles that are currently for sale!

Gap Slub Raglan Pocket T- $19.95

My current Gap versions are burnout fabric with a broad and relatively deep v neckline. This version is a bit more opaque and has a slightly narrower v, but still has that slubby texture. It’s not completely opaque, but will still hide all but the most contrast-y bras. Fits true to size and comes in some great colors, including cobalt, olive green, and coral.

Caslon Shirttail Scoop Neck Tee – $25

If you’re looking for a warmer, long-sleeved option, this Nordstrom house brand is a cute and affordable option. This shirt comes in a whole bunch of gorgeous colors, including jewel tones like teal, cobalt, violet, mustard, rust, and navy. I haven’t purchased this style myself yet, but am sorely tempted.

Mudd Shirttail Top – $9.80

Can’t beat that price! And this version is available in pink, navy, white, turquoise, citron, and purple. It’s a juniors brand and fit, so order up – the size large worked for me and I’m a size 8 dress / 10-12 pant. Also comes in a burnout version, if you like the mottled look. (Burnout is sheer, though, beware!)

Do curved hem/shirttail style tees work for your figure?

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This Week I Love …

by Sally on October 17, 2012 · 22 comments

… textured tights.

Last year, I felt my tights-related preferences beginning to shift. Despite all of my age-appropriateness rhetoric, there was this tiny little voice squeaking out, “Are you sure you want to wear those nearly-neon turquoise tights? Really sure?” Some of my wilder patterned tights also felt a bit off: Stripes and florals seemed somehow over-the-top, and I shied away.

But now and going forward, textured tights feel spot-on. They’ve got the movement and interest of patterns, but the subtlety of opaques. Plus they’re ideal for transitional weather, and a great solution for women who may want some leg coverage but feel opaques are too warm and pantyhose are too old-school. Here are a few pairs I’m loving:

Falke Dot Tights – $35.18

I never thought I’d spend more than $12 on a pair of tights, but this brand has won me over. Their tights are warm, durable, and incredibly comfy. I’ve got mostly opaques from Falke, but am lusting after this textured pair. Subtle, classy, and utterly lovely.

Express Diamond Texture Tights – $22.90

Express is another favorite brand, and this style is right up my alley. True fishnets are a little too breezy for my taste, but versions that emulate that tiny diamond pattern yet offer more coverage? Ideal.

DKNY Plaid Burnout Control Top Tights – $25

I can honestly say I’ve never seen a pair quite like this. The texture doesn’t read as plaid to me, but I’m still loving it. DKNY is another standby brand, although the tights tend to run small, in my experience.

How do you feel about textured tights? Do they work for your personal style?

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for alreadypretty.com. See Already Pretty’s disclosure statement for more details.

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