I've got a consistent infatuation with the richly detailed, colorful, painterly stills. I re-cropped some of their Spring 2017 photos and fell in love with the compositions that it seriously makes me want to paint this.
Watch me do it!
Mansur Gavriel
I'm Selling A Mansur Gavriel Bucket Bag
I'm not looking for a profit here, either. I just want it out of my house so someone else can properly enjoy it. It's the larger bucket bag, which I have no need for because I have two mini ones. It's gently used and I would classify the condition as excellent. I'll accept reasonable offers, too.
You can buy it here: twelveofour.tictail.com
Just thought you'd want to know.
Trickle Down Nihilism
The photos above are for the people who don't like to read and prefer to digest this blog visually. To those people: enjoy. For the other people who eventually do read what I type here, beware because the tone from the photos above do not match the story. But fear not, it's not completely irrelevant, the underlying theme of boredom is still the same.
Every now and then I experience waves of massive nihilism in my life. Not in the extreme dictionary definition that causes concern or raises flags, but more so in the creative sense — which to me is massive, since creativity is what I've built my career and success on.
It's troubling to me because a deep sense that nothing matters, and what is the point, makes it difficult to not only find things that get me excited in general, but even more difficult to post here and probably get you intrigued or entertained. Almost everything I look at seems the same right now; very tired, overdone, meaningless words attached to mundane things. Especially in the fashion and blogging world, I'm finding the same opinions, recycled and uninspiring photo styles, lack of point of views, exaggerated emotions attached to material things, etc. It's just all so boring right now to me. Blah. Maybe I'm just at a personal tipping point and the things that once entertained me now suddenly don't. This melancholy phase has trickled down and effected my wardrobe choices, and let me tell you, all I want to wear right now is plain, meh, or all black. I'm in process of selling most of my closet stuff, hoping that will reinvigorate or at least push me to find something exciting.
Blah.
I'm sure this is just a phase, maybe just me being emotional and/or working out some personal things. Since I have a blog you're pretty much along for the ride while I figure it all out. But since you're also here at the bottom of this post/rant/emotional dump of words: do you feel me? How do you deal?
Deserving Design
I don't think there is ever a more tolerant place to dress a little more avant garde than usual than a museum. I wore this to the de Young last weekend to see the amazing Turner exhibit. It's a pretty simple outfit by all intents and purposes, but with the addition of the sculptural Marni top the simple and expected is elevated to something more special. What's interesting is the fact that I debated this top over and over when I first bought it (on massive sale at Barneys after stalking the sale racks for weeks, mind you), thinking that it would be too memorable and weird no matter how I tried to normalize it with jeans and flats. I even came this close to returning it [enter A-OK emoji here] and getting something else more basic, expected even, but I'm glad I didn't. I love how much of a standout designed piece it is. And I don't mean "design" in the snooty label sense of the word, but in the actual creative practice that goes behind "designing" something sculptural and draping like this top. Marni is one of those absolutely genius, sometimes odd, designers who truly deserve the use of the word.
Marni top | Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag | Aquazzura flats | AMO jeans
Practice Being A Lady
After months, and maybe even years, of toting around large bags with no closing fixtures, the Lady Bag has really thrown a curve ball at me. The minimalist design is really appreciated, but one of the most unexpected frustrations is with the closure itself. It consists of one long leather tie that goes all around the bag like the much famed bucket bags, but then meets in the center front and is held together in place by another piece of leather with channels for both ends to go into. To close the bag, you have to string the ties up to the top closure, then down through the middle one and tug firmly. Oof, it's a process that I suggest you do not attempt to do the first times while you're rushing to places. Despite the minimalist hardware to keep the bag closed, this is all it takes to keep it closed even when it has my 15" laptop in it.
It definitely took some practice and getting used to, mostly because I was so used to having all of my things readily available with the other bags. Do I miss the ease of the tote bag or the mini bucket bags, where I had the option to leave my purse wide open for any last minute grabbing of pens, notebooks, or iPhones? Yes. Duh. I'm a lady who is also lazy. But just remember that there was once a time when you didn't have all that stuff, and that maybe the most fashionable of people seem fashionable in those street style or vintage photos because of their confidence to just walk to where they're going with their hands free and all their stuff out of sight in their Lady bags.
Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag (Large)
Basic. Like, In the Offensive Way.
No earrings, no makeup. Just your clothes, accessories, and enough narcissism to capture even this most basic outfit and moment. Let me tell you something you already know: Sometimes you just need to get dressed quickly to go to Ikea or go pick up Lanesplitter pizza so you can continue enjoying the laziest do-absolutely-nothing weekend. When this is the case, you'll find me wearing an iteration of this; baggy jeans, whatever flats I happen upon first, and sunglasses instead of makeup. Why I brought the camera to capture it? Maybe it's because I wanted to show you my realness, like "Look how anti-NYFW I am right now lol #amirite?"
Or maybe I just forgot my camera was in my bag the entire time and figured my blog is part diary anyway, which means it's a trail mix of my life's outfits. Some of them are rich delicious salty cashews, some of them are basic raisins which are essential I guess, but not everyone's favorite and certainly not worth writing about. (But I am).
Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag | Free People baggy jeans | Céline sunglasses | Valentino rockstuds | Madewell bomber | Everlane silk top
Languid Letterman Cardigan Wall Leaning
One of my favorite local shops in the East Bay, Social Studies, just opened a new store with menswear options. It's everything you expect from this hyper-cool curated shop, full of urban minimalist pieces like jeans and t-shirts, but also some charming home goods and apothecary items. I stopped by the men's shop this weekend to check it out, but ended up spending most of my time in the original shop for women on the corner. Social Studies now has the cutest little vintage section and I couldn't wait to put on this vintage letterman jacket. Was it a little warm to wear it that day? Yes. But just like an eager kid I decided to wear it anyway while Nick and I enjoyed a post-hike beer at a local biergarten.
Vintage letterman jacket via Social Studies | Céline Caty lucite sunglasses | Madewell shorts | Vans shoes | Mansur Gavriel mini bucket bag
Modern Retro (or How I Embrace the 70s Trend Without Looking Costumey)
Fashion is cyclical. Blah blah blah. We all know this. What I wish people wrote about more was how to incorporate retro trends in a more wearable way. I know there are the occasional street style stars that are #blessed with head-to-toe Gucci, Isabel Marant and Saint Laurent outfits, but that's just so incredibly unrealistic from my point of view because a) I have a budget, b) I need to consider that my ass is on BART for at least an hour a day walking a mile between work and home, and c) I don't believe outfits are ever meant to be that expensive and that temporary for regular day life. So while the street style upper echelon stars are still inspirational, they're so out of touch it's downright frustrating when it comes to actual application.
Ok, rant over. I wanted to create a retro look, but had zero desire to spend more a nominal amount of cash on a couple of pieces that can help transform what I own into something that is a little more (for lack of a better word) trendy. I ended up modifying one of my favorite outfit combinations by layering a collared shirt under it and adding a pair of strappy suede shoes that resemble those beautiful but absurdly-priced Gucci Fall 2015 $1750 runway shoes.
It turns out that was enough for me to dial up a trusty outfit I already wear to death and make it trendy circa this minute. Boom. Done.
Kaarem dress (S) | Mansur Gavriel Large Black Lady Bag | Zara shoes | Barneys Jacket (IT40)| Zara TRF collared top (L)
I Have A Mansur Gavriel Large Lady Bag and Feel Terrible About It
Personal fiscal responsibility and loving fashion are many times two opposing forces in my life. On one hand, I want to be a stylish person in my everyday life (even the quiet lounge days) because personal style is important to me — how I present myself to the world matters and is deeply tied to my mood and feeling great. On the flip side, I want to be a financially responsible human being that pays for things in cash money only. Why? Because I definitely know how fast I can dig a hole of debt by paying for my whims with a credit card. I've made a pact in January 2015 to only pay cash and pay down my debt by 2016, and I'm happy to say I've made a considerable dent in my debt and will be debt free by early next year.
Look, I know I'm not alone in this tightrope balance because it's a topic of conversation at many happy hours (FYI, a money suck worse than fashion, in my opinion) and super easy material for parodies ("Women be shopping #AMIRITE").
And I'm not pretending to tell you how to achieve a balanced financial/fashion life in this post, but more so telling you a cautionary tale about the supposed helpful browser feature that allows you to "save credit card for future use." Let's just say that for anyone wanting to zero out credit card debt this is the devil. Anytime you see this feature when you buy something online, do yourself a favor and turn it off.
Story time: One time while buying something on Amazon I accidentally had my Visa saved online for future use. I'm like, "Ok, note to self, let's delete that information later." Well, that never happened. So cut to last week when I was feeling pretty tired and in need for a personal reward — for what I don't even know, to be honest — and found myself perusing The Line's New Arrivals section. What did I see? The Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag in Sand. I thought, cool, let me hoard it in my shopping cart and just thrive on this adrenaline of kind of getting the bag I wanted despite the mega-sold-out situation, which is so typical of Mansur Gavriel now. Fast forward to me going to a meeting at work, then coming back to my shopping cart and hitting "enter" to wake up my machine and therefore hitting "purchase."
Boom.
Instead of being a responsible window shopper online I now became a woman who used her credit card to buy an incredibly expensive bag on a goddamn whim. Despite this, I was kind of thrilled (wouldn't you be?) but that didn't last long until the warm guilt of this hasty action draped over me like a gross itchy wool angora blanket.
Ugh. Now what?
I'm in the pickle of doing the thing you shouldn't do: tried on an expensive dress that is over my budget when I couldn't really afford it to begin with. I'm pretty sure I'm going to return this gorgeous bag. I think.
But before I do, I want to let you know a couple facts about the Large Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag:
- The Mansur Gavriel Large Lady Bag does indeed fit a 15" Macbook.
- I can tell you the leather on the Lady Bag is much softer than the bucket bag.
- I can also tell you that the Large isn't so large in real life as I thought it would be.
- The closure on this is pretty much as flimsy as the bucket bag, meaning it depends on the two strings tied around the Lady Bag, Bucket Bag style.
So now, comes a moral question: While I have this mistake in my hands, should I post a couple pictures of it safely in the crook of my arm? Will that make it harder to get rid of? Isn't that essentially naming the little helpless puppy you can't keep?
People, I'm rambling. I'm in love with this bag, but need direction. I can freelance more and pay for it cash in a few weeks, or I can return it. What would you do?
Do you want it?
Help.
Update: I sold it. Then I bought the black large Lady Bag a couple months later (in cash) then sold that one too. Moral of the story is just turn off "save credit card for future use."
Thanks for reading!