Diane von Furstenberg » Feather Factor

Healdsburg

Sep 142012

Even though I’ve lived in Northern California for most of my life, before this past weekend I’d never been to Healdsburg. For no particular reason, I just always ended up in Napa/Sonoma/Calistoga. My husband and I finally had a chance to explore Healdsburg as part of a trip to eat at Cyrus, and we loved it! Here are highlights from our little trip. Oh and by the way – most of these photos were taken with my new little Sony camera here, for those of you who are curious about photo quality vs traditional DSLR.

On the way up to Healdsburg from the Bay Area, you’ll probably pass by Petaluma. I was already out of beef jerky from Angelo’s from our last trip to Napa, and I found out that Angelo himself was usually to be found at his Petaluma location. Of course, we had to stop!

Angelo’s in Petaluma

Doubles

Jun 292012

Whenever I end up with an item that I really love and that also ends up fitting in really well with my wardrobe, I’ve always been tempted to get another one. It’s that annoying little voice of me that always ends up freaking out when I see a big line at Sprinkles Cupcakes: “They’re going to run out….!!” it screams. So when a jacket or pair of jeans ends up being the absolute perfect one, I always want to buy another. What if this is the last jacket manufactured on earth that will fit me just so, and I’ll wear this one forever and ever until it wears out, upon which I’ll be screwed because I just didn’t bother to buy another one?? What will I do then?

Over time I’ve realized that this viewpoint is largely wrong – there will be other jackets and dresses that fit me fine, and most clothing will end up falling victim to being so-last-season-trendy vs. getting worn out through excessive use. So now, I really really try hard not to buy doubles.

There are a few items however, which I loved so much that I had to break my “no doubles” rule. And I’m glad I did, because I wear them all the time! So here they are:

Diane Von Furstenberg Zarita Dress

I first gushed about the Zarita dress here, and I still adore it. I’ve worn both the black and gray multiple times, and recently recommended it to both a 50+ year old admin at our office, and my friend’s younger 22 year old sister whose idea of fun is still spending weekends shoving for turns around a keg . Fabulous for all and fits like a dream.

Buy it here in blue, black, gray and ivory.

Christian Louboutin Decollete Pumps

I lied here because I actually have three pairs, but I had to include my favorite Louboutin shoe. I have a soft spot for the Decolletes because when we were first dating, my husband said that he thought my black patent pair were the most beautiful pair of shoes he’d ever seen. Little did he know at the time how much they cost. Muhaha!

The Decolletes aren’t always comfortable the first few times but after a while they settle in nicely. Mind you, none of my 4+ pairs of shoes feels that great after 5+ hours of standing at a wedding. But the Decolletes are such a classic, sexy shape and are one of the iconic pumps that Louboutin has made, in my opinion. And, they are priced more “reasonably” than the platform styles.

Buy them here in black patent and camel patent.

C&C California T-Shirt Dress

I’m always looking for clothes that are as comfortable as pajamas yet are decent enough to wear outside. I know for many the solution is to just wear pajamas outside directly, but a slight office dress code and visions of my mother’s disapproving face generally prevent that.

Anyway, I first covered this C&C dress here. I initially bought the red one and then after a month or so realized that I was wearing it at least once a week, and wanted to wear it more! So I caved and bought the black. T-shirt dresses are so easy to just throw on, they’re comfortable, and are cool for summer. What else do you need?

Buy it here in pretty colors, and in black/white.

So now that I’ve shared my thoughts on doubles in the wardrobe – what are yours? Do you ever buy two of an item that you love, or do you resist the urge? And if you do have doubles – what are they?

DVF Zarita Dress

Apr 082012

Another quick post for the weekend. I hope you’re all enjoying yours!

I recently bought this Diane Von Furstenberg Zarita dress and it has been one of my hands down favorite purchases so I wanted to share with all of you. It’s amazing and I’ve worn it twice so far and it always gets lots of compliments. Way, way more than any of my other dresses (I wonder what that means about my other clothes….) I didn’t have time to take a photo outside but snapped two indoors so you can see how it fits.

DVF Zarita dress,

available at Shopbop, Bloomingdales, Saks, Bergdorf, and Nordstrom

I wanted to specifically give this dress a lot of love because:

1.It’s really comfortable and stretchy, and runs quite true to size (sometimes I find DVF runs large and I can’t fit into even their smallest size). I took a 0 in this dress.

2. It comes in lots of flattering colors – blue, black, nude, cream and gray.

3. It looks good on a lot of different ages (I bought this at Saks and there was a woman in her 50s trying it on as well – we both bought it!). If you are self conscious about your arms, etc this really covers it up in a lovely way.

4. The zipper down the back is a great detail and adds a little “edge”. I just noticed that on me the bottom was unzipped a little, usually I wear it zipped down all the way.

5. The lace looks pretty and not “cheap” which is the biggest problem of a lot of lace dresses for me.

The only “flaw” with this dress is that it does cut pretty close to the figure, so it might call for some Spanx. However it is fully lined in a soft jersey which helps some (and plus makes it very soft and comfortable).

I hope this helps some of you – and if you have any favorite “go to” dresses, please share. I’m a dress fanatic!

Diane von Furstenberg Feather Dress

Feb 172012

I snapped this photo before going out for our Valentine’s Day dinner on Tuesday so I could show you my dress. Some of you asked why the holiday is so annoying for restaurant staff, so I will tell you (in my opinion) what makes Valentine’s Day difficult from a former waitress’ perspective:

a) Most of the tables that day are converted to two-tops to seat couples (as opposed to four and six), which creates more chaos and table checks to manage, not to mention more tables to move around when you’re dashing around.

b) Couples moonily looking at each other may take forever to vacate tables and diners arriving for later reservations start waiting longer, getting annoyed, etc. Plus from a purely financial perspective, the more tables you turn, the more tips you get!

c) For some reason V-Day in my experience was the biggest holiday for people to feel almost obligated to order dessert and champagne/sparkly drinks – which of course takes longer and thus extends the dinner. Plus, prix fixe (which the menu almost always is on Valentine’s Day) menus tend to be a little more pricey themselves – throw in the extra charges of alcohol, etc. and sometimes couples get stunned by the price and then tip poorly. Sigh. Memories.

d) Any other former/current restaurant staff reading out there? What’re your thoughts?

Anyway, we had our dinner (prix fixe menu of course) and it was lovely, Mr. Feather even got them to give us the same table we had on our first date. But I think next year we will save some pennies and stay home again like usual.

DVF dress (next on my DVF list: this, this and this!)

YSL clutch (PS one here, nicely priced with extra 50% off here)

Louboutin pumps (platform version, nice price/great reviews here)

This is one of my favorite dresses – even though the word is in my blog title I don’t have that many “feather” items in my closet. DVF always does a nice job though, especially when she mixes two different prints together as this dress does, if you look closely.

There’s also this nice feather/studded detail on the shoulder, though I’ve gotten the pieces stuck a few times taking them in and out of my luggage and am afraid it’ll start looking mangy soon. Der.

Finally I’m so glad you liked the George R. R. Martin interview, isn’t he super cool? I’m going to do more reading recommendations/favorite book posts in the future.

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