STYLE EXPERIMENT: EVENING AT ESPANOL

On Sunday we had yet another gathering to go to -- dinner at Espanol restaurant in Sacramento, to celebrate three birthdays: my mother's (next week), my friend Cathy's and our mutual friend Byra's. Cathy's parents treated us all to dinner there because it's one of their all-time favorite eateries. It's also the oldest restaurant in Sacramento, established in 1923! Despite the name, it features all Italian food, which is quite delicious!

I decided to wear my Tracy Feith for Target embroidered top because I thought it's colorful and festive. Instead of wearing it with jeans, however, I decided to experiment with one of my denim skirts and huarache-style sandals. Here's how it turned out:


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blouse: Tracy Feith for Target
skirt: 7 For All Mankind
belt: Gap
shoes: Steven by Steve Madden

A closeup of the skirt, to show its kind of retro '70s shape:


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I'm going to continue experimenting with A-line skirts for this blouse. I think a more flared skirt will work well with it too. It just has to be a neutral shade to offset the bright hue on top.

A closeup of the shoes, which I love! They're soft and very comfortable.


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The dinner was fabulous, and afterwards we all had cake at Cathy's parents' home. A perfect way to cap off the weekend!

WATERFRONT WEDDING

So on Saturday my mother and I were invited to a backyard wedding, held at the groom's mother's riverfront home. He's Sri Lankan and the bride is American. Unlike most Sri Lankan weddings, which are quite formal and held in hotel ballrooms, this was a barbecue reception overlooking the river, and the dress code was the mysterious "semi-formal" or "dressy-casual", which might seem easy but ... isn't. It's very hard to figure out where to draw the line between "kind of dressy" and "casual".

I'd have worn a sari, but the groom's grandmother told my mother that no-one else would be in saris. Sooo, we figured people must be wearing dressy separates, as they do for other functions like dinner-dances.

We both chose dress slacks and nice tops, but it was 104 degrees outside and we practically passed out from the heat, despite the river being right there. Who on earth got the bright idea to have an outdoor wedding during one of the hottest times of the year?!! You future brides and grooms out there: please, please consider the comfort of your guests a little when planning your nuptials.

Well, at least the food was good, and the setting was truly beautiful. We were dressed appropriately and well too, so despite the heat we were happy about that!

Here's what I wore:

My rayon-blend dress slacks fit well and are super-comfortable. I've never found another pair I like as much as these, even though I got them on clearance for something like $20, at Sears, about eight years ago! My top is a new one by Sunny Leigh, in a tie-dye patterned chiffon with gold sequins at the neckline, from Macy's.


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Here, you can see a closeup of the sequin detail:


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I wore all gold-colored jewelry to match. The jewelry is what took the look from dinner party dress to wedding reception attire.

All my gold sandals were that "champagne" color that didn't really go with the top, so instead I wore these bronze sandals from Steven by Steve Madden:



I also carried this darling little beaded bag from India (bought from an Indian school-parent who had got some there to sell here in California):


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I was very happy with my outfit, but I realized that I need a dress or something like that just for weddings. I'm kind of dreading looking for a "wedding outfit", as I've yet to find one I like, but like bathing suits I figure the perfect one is out there! ^__^

SPECIAL GUEST STAR: MY MOM!

My mother was going out to a bridal shower this morning, and I liked her outfit so much I just had to take a photo of it to post here! I think she's really stylish and well put-together while remaining classy and age-appropriate (she's in her 60s), and I hope I can look as good as she does when I'm her age!

She's shy, so I told her I'd post a neck-down image for privacy. I had to really convince her to get these jeans at last year's Macy's clearance. They're much narrower than her usual pair, but I think they look really fabulous with the kurta tunic tops she loves. I think this is casual-chic dressing at its best!


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Blouse: ALC At Last Classics
Jeans: Tommy Hilfiger ("American Spirit" midrise)
sandals: Teva

AWARD + TAG = THANK YOU FABULOUS SHARON ROSE!

I got a Blog Award from the supercool Sharon Rose of London! I feel truly honored as I think she's one of the most stylish ladies of the blogosphere! And I love to do memes/tags too, so here goes ...




Three Things I can't stand

1. That Jon & Kate + Eight show/trashfest ... as a teacher of young children I'm appalled at the way these two fame-obsessed narcissists seem to exploit their children at every turn. Enough already.


2. Scrapbooking Culture:

I actually enjoy scrapbooking, but the endless perfection of the women whose work appears in scrapbooking magazines was slowly driving me bonkers. Every time I read one of these (I had a subscription to Simple Scrapbooks), I felt strangely bad about myself, until I realized that scrapbooking culture felt like a real-life Stepford Wives. Gaaaah! I had to stop looking at those magazines. Besides, I wasn't getting any scrapbooking done, anyway.

3. Perez Hilton. Anything and everything about this jerk needs to just go away.

Three Random Things

1. Whats on your bedside table? - bottle with thyroid medicine, water glass (to take the meds at night), box of earplugs (for tuning out snoring hubby!), book to read before bedtime (usually a good mystery thriller) -- right now I'm reading this book:



"To Play the Fool" by Laurie R. King ... it's very good! :o)

2. Last thing I bought

my blouse:


I love this cotton-silk blend blouse for its retro '80s look and soft, graceful shape! I'm going to try it with my denim pencil skirt as well as my jeans.

3. Guilty Pleasure -- The trashy but also surprisingly interesting and insightful show "Tough Love" on VH1, about a young matchmaker who's trying to make romantic matches for a group of clueless, self-sabotaging females. It's really worth watching!



4. If you could only shop online from one retailer, which one would it be?

Macy's, because I get most of my clothes from there anyway. Their clearance sales are just the best, ever ... you get designer stuff at Ross/Marshalls/TJ Maxx prices! I've never shopped their online site, but I know it has good deals too.

CUFFED JEANS, PART DEUX: RETRO STYLE!

So yesterday we went to our weekly street fair, Downtown Tuesday Night, which is held every week when the weather's nice, in the old-town area with historic buildings, the train station, etc. I'd never been before, and I'm so glad I went since it was quite fabulous! I particularly loved the classic car display, where area residents brought out their lovingly restored vehicles to show off to everyone. They sure don't make cars like they used to!

I wanted to do a sort of retro-farmgirl look with my other pair of cuffed jeans with the slightly frayed hems that make it more casual than the jeans in the previous photo. Here's what I wore:


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I didn't have a gingham shirt, so I wore this, my striped bouse from Wal-Mart, and my fab red peeptoe wedges!

You can see the blouse in better detail in this inside pic:


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Blouse: George, Wal-Mart
Jeans: "Hippie" brand
Shoes: "Prince" peeptoe wedge in tomato, Marais USA

And here's a closeup of the Marais USA shoes, which I adore so much I want more colors:


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I just love everything from Marais USA! The designs are simple, beautiful, feminine, and don't cost an arm-and-a-leg! Highly recommended!

Finally, I have to post photos of some of the rad classic cars on display:


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I also loved this, a classic convertible parked in front of the refurbished Tower Theater:


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I look at this photo and wonder whether this was how it used to be, back in the day! What wonderful design and craftsmanship! And the colors! Sigh. This is why I'm so enamoured with al things vintage.