Christmas...Merry! Merry!

Not so scary

This year for Halloween i am going as Serena van der Woodsen from Gossip Girls. My good friend will be Blair, and we are going to (fashionably)kick some ass.

My inspiration is below. Aren't we fashion soulmates?! Good thing I bought new boots AND over the knee socks this weekend. Now how to do her hair...






Oh, and did I mention I have to ride my bike in this for at least 15 minutes?!

If you are going to do it...

You might as well look good!

You may have noticed (especially if you are following Triathablog), that I am a little excited (obsessed?) with cycling right now. One teensy problem has been figuring how to look cute when I get to, say Bottletree or Urban Standard. I found this great website Copenhagen Cycle Chic, sort of a Sartorialist for cyclists and fell in love.



I am now riding a bike that is not a step through. Gone are the days of wearing skirts while riding...or so I thought. Then I saw this photo and realized that the answer to my problem is to be found at my local Urban Outfitters. Leggings! and mini skirts! and legwarmers! all the things I love.

I can't wait until it gets a bit colder...I am going to be Rockin' the cycling style in Birmingham.

of course, I still want one of each of these for more serious riding.





All from Harlot, a women's cycling apparel shop. How can you not love a company who has this written on their website:

Many people ask us about the name Harlot. Certainly, an old word for prostitute might seem like an odd thing to name a company after. We actually have a good reason that makes sense to us. It involves the history of women on bicycles, the reclaiming of a derogatory word, and little tongue-in-cheek fun.

see you on the roads...I'll be the one NOT in spandex

Fashionable Renaissance

I have taken an interest in Fashion again, which is nice. I am enjoying Vogue and The Sartorialist. For someone who left Fashion because of what it was doing to her (making fashion no longer fun and getting dressed a pressure induced panic attack), this is growth. Interestingly (or maybe not actually), it is the more classic looks that I love. I have always loved classic looks and have always dressed myself in that way. Occasionally I will stray, whether to rebel or follow some shitty trend), but always come back to simple t's and clean silhouettes. Is it a wonder my wedding dress was a classic Tea length gown? Or that my wardrobe is chock full of unadorned colored T's and pencil skirts? Dresses that have little or no pattern? Shoes that are pretty unadorned (not counting checkered Vans, but they are classics, Man!).

Menswear has also recently been of interest to me. I used to concentrate wholly on women's because of my job, but now i find myself scrutinizing the menswear (and discussing it with Trip!). Don't get me wrong, I still love a man who looks almost homeless...but homeless with style, Baby.

below are just a few of the images that have caught my eye lately.

Some Fashion talk

These are a few of my favorite wearable looks from the Fall 2008 Fashion Week Runway. There were many, many other beautiful looks, but these are the ones I thought "I would actually wear these".
I love that deep jewel-y plum colors are big. The colors seem to range from camel to black, plum to ruby...but all in the royal scheme. I didn't see that many pastels, which may be because they are poised to be big this Spring and will be so over by Fall. I also noticed a ton of navy, which is hard to make wearable and chic, without looking granny or nautical. Well done designers!



I had quippy little comments for each, but can't seem to figure out how to format correctly, so I am going to let the clothing speak for itself.

I love, love, LOVE these!

Cashmere! Mini! Dress! With tights and boots, plus big hoop earrings, Oh yes. In the summer with just some flip flops and a big hobo bag and oversized shades.

Euro-chic. Riding my bike to a farmers market, or having lunch outdoors. Cooly comfortable. This outfit is made for a long, lean figure. And blondes. Named Elisa.

Random thoughts on a cold winter night

I love my job. SO much. I love the people and getting to know a new industry and watching book trends and reading. I love the smell of a book fresh of the presses. Next week I am having dinner with an author that had a bidding war for his new book and is pegged to be 'the next big thing'. I am meeting Thomas Friedman in LA come May!
I also love leg warmers. Is there any cuter trend right now? NO! miniskirt+tights+legwarmers = happy Elisa!
Just got the Vulture Whale Cd (available on itunes). it has been rockin' my itunes all week. It is just good rock and roll, but not too formulaic. It is also comprised of Birmingham boys who are nice as pie and cool as shit. Check it out. I particularly like Older Younger.
HOT YOGA. Seriously, this is amazing. You sweat for 90 minutes and stretch and do poses and leave feeling refreshed. I go here, and Steven is the instructor. He rocks. It is helping me so much.

I am feeling very hopeful today.