Party Time!

I wore this outfit yesterday to help Larry celebrate his 65th birthday:

The vintage Todd Oldham jean jacket got many complements.
Read more about it here.
I got it eons ago at NYC's Canal Jeans (RIP).

I dressed from the shoes up:

These new-to-me Sanita Clogs came this way with multi-colored paint splotches, MAYBE on cork, or a cork-like texture. I snagged them on Poshmark at a steal of a price: $20 and they're hardly used!
From a quick look on Amazon (a slippery slope), new Sanitas go for $75-$140. Really. If you are a clog fanatic like me, Poshmark is a great place to find them. You can connect to my Poshmark closet over on the sidebar >>>>>>>>>>>>

Speaking of that Amazon search, I found trouble:

Trouble not available in my size. Perhaps a blessing.

We celebrated Larry at the BBQ chain Lucille's. I had Blackened Catfish, with sides of Mac and Cheese and BBQ Beans. Mostly, I ate the Mac and Cheese, which never does well as takeaway. One of the other guys had the largest serving of Gumbo I'd ever seen. The "bowl" was about 18" diameter and had a pint "mesa" of rice in the center!. It was Jumbo Gumbo!
It was great to meet up with Larry and friends, we "talked "of many things... of cabbages -- and kings...".

Taking my party over to
Patti's Visible Monday
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike
Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

Rainbow Grid Mosaic

Part of my Fluevog Print Collection design process necessitates some color matching (my least favorite activity, but whatever). I figured a garment with a built-in color chart would be more fun, since I will be doing the bulk of my matching at the John Fluevog Venice shop.
So this happened:

Redbubble skirt link, I get a commission on Redbubble sales.
I deliberately scaled the print to get one repeat of the mosaic color chart.

Which, after a long wait, lead to this:

Pairing the Mosaic Skirt with the Todd Oldham jean jacket = no brainer.

I can't say the quality of the skirt is all that great -- the fabric feels much like inexpensive swimsuit material -- it's labeled 88% polyester/ 12% spandex. I got an XXL and have already popped some stitches at the waistband. Nonetheless, I didn't let that deter me from wearing it around town for gluttonous activities with Severo.

The above photo was snapped outside Cafe Brasil, which has GREAT food.

I had a Red Snapper Entree, which included magic salsa, a salad, black beans, rice, and fried plantains.
Severo got a ? Sandwich and Fried Polenta.

Over dinner, we plotted the next morning's moves, since we both had the day off. Of course it featured breakfast.
Our choice of EggSlut required leaving the house at 7:45am if we wanted their fabulous biscuits.
Success:

Very strong coffee, The Biscuit, The Slut.
Now you know why I'm popping stitches on XXL skirts.

We took a postprandial walk on the Venice Boardwalk. At 9am, it was a totally different scene that its usual chaos. Most of the shops were shuttered, which offered a multitude of backdrops for posing.
(Not that I was planning such a thing, I swear!)

Chloe Sunglasses frames c/o Ditto circa 2012. They don't do retail any more.

Severo did his share of posing too:

The Snap[chat] properties were empty and eerily free of graffiti.

It was 10am -- the Boardwalk denizens were waking up, blasting music, starting arguments, setting up their stalls, raising their shutters, but all remained quiet around the Snap properties (aside from patrolling guards). The vendor spaces opposite on the beach-side of the Boardwalk were also empty -- does Snap rent these? Have some sort of arrangement with the city? Very creepy.

One photo op that I overlooked, considering my outfit, was a pose with the rainbow lifeguard shack.

"Next time!"

Linking up with Patti's Visible Monday
and Catherine's #IwillWearWhatILike
and Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

ps: THANK YOU mystery US purchaser of the Mosaic Dress! (Just sold while I was composing this).
If you have ANY interested in my Redbubble product, sign up for their mailing list.
They have good sales ALL THE TIME!

Almost All Black and White

This is what I didn't wear on Saturday:

Here are the bracelets that I photographed and also didn't wear:

Technically, the studded item is an old belt from the 80s that no longer fits around my waist.

This part DID make it beyond the patio to Otis for my Digital Design class then to Whittier to see Dave and Phil Alvin:

Starring the new-to-me zebra clogs! I love them! They are so VISIBLE!

The meeting of the dot socks and the checkered leggings was a bit unresolved. Which to layer on top?
In this photo, that I took during break at Otis, it looks like I popped my ankle and it became swollen:

No injury, just extra fabric in a wad.

About the wardrobe change: all the black and white elements remained on my person. I realized the Todd Oldham mosaic jacket wouldn't keep me warm enough after sundown, so I donned something warmer. Then, just as I was getting in the car for school, while removing my heavier jacket, I realized that there was a large highly visible expanse of my torso that I wasn't feeling like sharing with my students. Back inside I went, finding the perfect torso camo: the Duro Olowu top that Jan gave me four years ago. Ahhhh. Outfit zen achieved.
Today's reenactment of outfit:

Umbrella and goofy hat added for current weather conditions.

Linking up with Patti's Visible Monday, Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike, Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

Todd Oldham Jean Jacket

What happens when you see the origins of your favorite patterned jean jacket?

You go a little bit insane, that's what.

The Todd Oldham All Is Everything exhibition at the RISD Museum had examples of all the components:

Todd Oldham, Pantone Dress, Spring 1996 | Todd Oldham, Pantone Print, Collage, 1996 

Detail of Pantone chip collage

The jacket is a double printed denim, with the Pantone print on the outside, and a tufted upholstery print on the inside:

The original "Tuft" garments were in the exhibition as well:

And that's not all!

Back at Patucci and Mark's place, a similar vintage wallpaper was in a panel of the armoire next to my bed!

Pattern heaven, my friends, pattern heaven.

See all of my (unedited) Todd Oldham exhibition photos in my Flickr Album here.

[8/12 update]

Links à la Mode, August 4th

This post was included in IFB's Links à la Mode, a compilation of their 20 favorite links of the week. I share the honor with:

• Al Balsam Life: The Ultimate Summer 2016 Bag Guide
• Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans: {What’s in My} July 2016 Pool Party Glossybox!
• Elements of Ellis: Black Vest
• Epouser La Mode: Double Denim
• Everyday Starlet: Kylie Jenner Snapchat Makeup Routine | Using All Drugstore Dupes
• Five Feet Five: A Black Striped Maxi Dress
• Five Foot Nothing Shopping: The Petite Girl’s Festival Look
• Goldwill Digger: 3 Easy Ways to Spread Your Wings and Break Out of a Style Rut
• High Heeled Vogueaholic: Ditch the Dresses | 4 Ways to Style Rompers
• In a Nutshell: Don’t You Want to Go For a Swim?
• Life in the Fash Lane: Hat Attack
• Lil Miss JB Style: Repetition
• Purushu Arie: India Can Emerge as the Saviour of Couture on a Global Scale
• This Season’s Gold: Heat Wave | Strapless Sheath with a Touch of Gold
• Splash of Teal: Style Report | Most Comfortable Work Heels this Summer
• Spy Girl: Todd Oldham Jean Jacket
• Sweet Tea Salvage: DIY | Vintage Botanical Print Collage
• Tales of Two: Styling a White Leather Skirt
• The Wanderbliss: Monochrome
• Wish and Wear: For Work and Pokemon Hunting

SPONSOR: Shopbop Terez, FRAME Denim, Fjallraven Backpacks, Driftwood, La Vie Rebecca Taylor, laContrie, Denim Rompers, Bucket Bags, Choker Necklaces, Men's George Brown BILT

52 Pick-me-up: Hey Cowgirl

PURCHASED/  

Look to Western wear for inspiration this week. Dig out those cowboy boots and giddy up!

I purchased the platform cowboy boots at Nana's, an old punk emporium that
was located on Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade in the 90s.
They are sculptural objects chez moi -- fun to look at, torture to wear. 

This is what I wore to work.
YeeHa!

What Western treasures will you rediscover?
Link and tell!

Meanwhile, I'm moseying over to Patti's Visible Monday.