Baby Blues

This whole dressing while pregnant thing isn't easy. Especially when there are no maternity stores on island. The idea of buying a size up sounds good in theory, but then everything just feels oversized. I'm all about showing off this little lady as she grows. This BCBG skirt still loves me, but it's one of the few things from my old wardrobe that does. 

I'm learning the keys to not feeling like a large slob are exercise (thank you Physique 57 pregnancy modifications!), a good diet, accessories, heels, and refusing to give up my personal style. Hopefully those will carry me through to October and then the fabled fourth trimester (where you're no longer pregnant but according to your body you might as well be). For a brunch date with Seth and friends I tried to feel like myself by combining stripes with my snakeskin bag. I love mixing patterns. This is pretty tame but I have to work with what I've got. Most of my maternity tops are pretty bleh basic so far.

Look at that well-loved bag! It looks a lot more well-loved (read: worn out) in person. This poor puppy needs to be replaced something terrible, but I also need shorts that zip up all the way, so a new bag will have to wait.

BCBG stripes and bag; maternity top, from friend; shoes, Nine West (old); belt, street fair in London; baby girl starting to creep outward in the stomach region, my own creation;

Seth and I have been trying to take more time together: joint trips grocery shopping, work day lunches, weekend coffee runs. This was a Sunday Brunch with friends at Hook, Line, & Sinker in Frenchtown. These days when I go there all I want is eggs benedict, which is off limit because supposedly the runny eggs can kill baby girl. No bueno. So I've been going for their burgers, which I'd never gotten at brunch but they're fantastic. Of course I have to ask for them well done (for the same reason as the runny eggs) and I feel like a total pansy. Growing up, my Syrian family often offered raw lamb dishes at family gatherings. Straight up raw. Like no one even pretended to try and cook it. So I have a thing for raw meat. But well done it is. And I always mention that I'm pregnant when I ask for my well done burger, lest anyone think I'm a wuss.

In a Smart Closet - Lace Tees

I'm a big fan of lace t-shirts. This one is from Urban Outfitters a few years back. To keep them from looking to precious or pretty I usually try to wear them with something more casual. (Unless I want to look precious and pretty of course.)

The graphic diamond-y flower-y detail on this one is what drew me to it in the first place. I also tried to talk Seth into buying a red leather belt that day.  I thought it looked like his style and would be more fun to wear with his jeans and t-shirts than a regular brown belt. He said no. Now two years later he wishes he had said yes. So we're on the hunt for another one.

I'm pretty sure these shoes are going to leave me soon for shoe heaven. It will be a very sad day in my house. I'll probably read some poetry and maybe a Bible verse or two before I send them to their watery grave and flush them down the toilet. (Living on the side of a mountain, our yard is at an 87 degree angle so it would be hard to dig a hole and bury them in a shoe box.)

lace tee, Urban Outfitters (old, similar here); cargo skinnies, Free People (via Twice); bag, BCBG (old);
shoes,  Nine West (ancient); necklace, vintage; sunglasses, RayBan;

Tie Dye Jeans, Yachts, and Iced Coffee

That's how I kicked off Saturday morning, grabbing iced coffee with Seth and some friends down in Yacht Haven and pretending to be rich and fancy. (By the way, two of our good friends are dating and her influence has started creeping into his apparel choices. He suddenly looks like a sharper and more put-together version of himself. I love when that happens to guys.)

Do you like that copper bracelet on the right? I bought it on an elementary school field trip to an indian reservation or burial ground or something. I'd say I was a downright cool fourth grader but that was around the same time I was having morning meltdowns because my mom said you couldn't wear royal blue sweatpants (of the elastic-at-the-ankles variety), matching sweatshirt, purple zebra print quilted high-tops, and four inch long chandelier earrings to school. I was told to either take off the earrings or switch the sweatpants for jeans. Obviously a tantrum inducing order. Obviously.

utility vest, Nola's Boutique; tee, American Apparel; tie dye jeans, Current/Elliott (via Twice); shoes, 80%20 (old, similar here); bag, BCBG; pearl and leather necklace, Nola's Boutique; gold necklace, gift; watch, Timex; braclets, old

So we wandered down behind Gucci to take these photos. And in case any of you guys accidentally got two Gucci Disco bags for Christmas and still have nooooo idea what to do with your extra one. (All those sleepless nights trying to figure out how to cope with two bags...) I like them. They're pretty. Problem solved.

A Jeans and Tee Alternative - Stripes, Cargos, and Jelly Shoes

One outfit to take me through two coffee meetings in Frenchtown and Yacht Haven, a quick grocery/post office trip, re-organizing my home office, and dinner with friends in the evening. That's what a recent day called for. I really wasn't in the mood to change clothes three times. What's a girl to do? This:

sweater, H&M (oooold, like London two years ago old); cargo skinnies, Free People (via Twice, similar here); sunglasses, Ray Ban; bag, BCBG (old); jelly shoes, thrifted; watch, Timex; necklace, RJ Graziano (from St Thomas Humane Society Boutique); bracelet, vintage;

A great alternative on a day when jeans and a t-shirt wasn't appealing. It was on and off rainy as well. Here was the thought process behind what I threw on that morning. Sunglasses in a classic shape. I grabbed my wayfarers here. Stripes work with basically anything and as a lightweight sweater they can look more put together than just a plain tee.

Easy vintage jewelry I could just throw on. I was in such a rush I forgot to grab my earrings. 

Having a pair of neutral non-jeans I can grab fast helps me dress and and go on mornings that I'm not feeling jeans or tailored pants. My skinny cargos have been a go-to jeans alternative lately. I've also got a pair of grey tie-dye jeans that I've been loving but they were in the laundry hamper. It's about time to replace this purse, yes? I'm keeping my eye open for another snakeskin print tote. This one was linen from BCBG two summers ago. I've used it far more frequently than I thought I would. I think I'll retire it to beach bag status when I find model 2.0. 

And jellies. Oh, my jelly shoes. How I love them. 

Jellies are my new favorite obsession. I first re-remembered them when I saw a pile of shoe boxes covered in dust a few months ago at our St Thomas Cash and Carry out at Four Winds. (I think I was there to get a fish bowl and a rug. Or maybe an apple peeler and a table shaped like bananas. You can get it all at Cash and Carry. And they take credit cards. Go figure.) This pile of shoe boxes held grown-up sized jellies that looked left over from 1984, judging by the layer of dust on the shoes. They were uncomfortable and not well made (designs were badly cut out and also discolored) but my little-girl-me shoe of choice has been on my mind ever since. When I found a brand new pair at a thrift store in Boston last month I snatched them up. $3.99? Um, yep!

I did a quick online search to hopefully provide you with a few pairs. Apparently jellies are only carried by our island Cash and Carry and designers. Crazy. Not sure what happened to the cheap drug store variety of my childhood. But if you're in the mood for some $100+ jellies, my favorites are here, here, and here.

Hopefully the trickle down effect will happen and jellies will soon be readily available at a Target or gas station near you!

I Pity the Fool (Who Doesn't Own Oversized Gold Chains)

Seriously. They're the shiz-nit. The woman sitting next to me on the flight back to St. Thomas said, "That's a really large necklace. What's the story with that?" I told her it didn't have a story and I was just wearing it because it was awesome. She seemed to find that an acceptable answer to her question.

sweater, EcoSkin; jeans, Current/Elliott (via Twice); sunglasses, RayBan Wayfarers; shoes, 80%20 Tessa Boots (sold out, similar here or same boots but in floral pattern here); necklace, artisan (from Peabody/Essex Museum)

cotton/cashmere sweater, J.Crew Crewcuts; jeans, Current/Elliott (same as above); shoes, (same as above); bag, BCBG (old); necklace, vintage; earrings, vintage; 

I have two large gold chains. One is just large. One is obese American super-sized. Both of them make simple outfits feel a little more dressed up.

My large gold chain is choker-style. It's Napier from the '40s found at the SoWa Vintage Market in Boston last May. (The earrings are from a vintage store in Savannah where I also scored a Max Mara plaid blazer.) We went to the SoWa Market again this visit and I even revisited my favorite table but I didn't have the same luck.

My obese American super-sized gold chain is from the Peabody/Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Their gift shop has an amazing jewelry section. I rarely buy jewelry that's not vintage but it was love at first sight when I laid eyes on this chunky lady. It was a not-so-surprise Christmas gift from Seth's family.

You know what else was obese American super-sized? Our feast of fresh fried clams and homemade clam chowder from Woodman's. We only eat there once every few years and I don't regret a bite of it.

Okay, now for real. Go find you a chunky gold necklace. Or eat some fried clams. Or both.

A few other gold chain finds here, here, and here.

My New Old Coat - Tailors Are Your Friends

About a year ago we were hanging out with some good friends at a beach house they had scored for the weekend on Puerto Rico. While lounging around in the living room waiting for rain to pass, one of the guys asked me if he could buy me any one thing in the world, what would I ask for. And I answered a Max Mara cashmere coat. Because I find them beautiful. And useful. And something I can pass on to daughters one day. And I'm never going to drop $2000 to own one.

Fast forward to this summer when I found a vintage Max Mara for under $40. And if that wasn't amazing enough, it was a cocoon coat. (I have a slight obsession with the retro look of cocoon coats.) Unfortunately, this one was more than a smidge too big but also inexpensive enough that I figured I could resell it if I needed to. Or pass it along to a very lucky friend. So the beautiful cashmere Max Mara cocoon coat came home to live with me. And I loved it. And petted it. And hung it on a hook on the wall just to admire it. And I hoped that one day I could wear it without it swallowing me whole and dragging the ground as I walked.

Enter Brooks, a St Thomas friend and tailor that Seth uses to hem his pants and sew buttons onto his tux. (He believes that normal people like me should not be sewing anything onto his tux.) I took the coat to her, not sure what to hope for. Gave her a my list of perfect coat desires: shorter length, bracelet sleeves, no cuffs, slimmer in the torso and arms, still maintaining a slightly oversized fit. She said yes. Cited a very reasonable price. And a week later I had it back in my arms.

All together it cost far less than a good department store coat would have, which was my plan from the beginning because I only need a coat for a few weeks of the year. (But when I do, I need a good warm coat.) I know I'm fortunate that this story turned out to have a happy ending. Sometimes wool coats can be very expensive to tailor. Brooks ended up charging me even less than her original estimate because the coat was so well-made and the fabric so nice that it was simpler than she had anticipated. She also gave me all the extra fabric from the bottom. I've got a couple ideas of how to use it (an extra piece that converts it into a knee-length coat similar to this, or maybe a cashmere stole) but didn't have time to have her do anything else before we left for Christmas in New England.

Where I've been wearing it like crazy. To church with Seth's family. Meeting a friend out to catch the Patriot's game. Or here for a quick walk in Magnolia before spending the afternoon watching snow flurries.

collared french cuff shirt, Brooks Brothers (old, similar here, wear it forever!); sweatshirt inspired sweater, J.Crew Crewcuts (currently on sale!); pants, Gap (old, similar here); scarf, Target (old); beret, old; shoes, Vince Camuto (free at a clothing swap); bag, BCBG (old)

If you're on St Thomas and want to see what Brooks can do to freshen up some items from your closet, please send her an email at brooksleann@yahoo.com. Feel free to tell her that you found her via Je'mamuse!