Welcome to Oklahoma, Part 1

Representing Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's finest in grocery stores. 

Yesterday, Megan and I went here to get ingredients for her white chocolate chip cranberry oatmeal cookies (they're delicious). We asked the clerk where dried cranberries would be, and he said they were "out of season." We thought, "How funny, I thought drying fruit meant it never went out of season."

So we tried a new approach and asked where raisins were, and the clerk sent us straight to Aisle 1, where there also happened to be dried cranberries.

Megan's mother suspects the clerk was high.

Nonetheless, I appreciate a grocery store stocked with actual produce and cooking ingredients rather than just hip microwaveable quiches. It's good to be home!

Expect more flashes of Oklahoma life throughout the summer.

Knick Nacks

As I finish up my freshman year at GW, I wanted to share some of my favorite nick knacks with you before I take them down and store them for the summer.


(Top row, left to right: fun Buddhas with Givenchy, my finned companion of freshman year in his always-dirty water. Miniature paintings of Guatemala's national birds by Oscar Peren that I got on my service trip in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. Lamp arrangement: motivational words, vintage CocaCola money box, and a wire globe, all of which (usually) inspired me to work harder.)


I love fashion, but at the end of the day, clothes are just clothes. The same goes for nick knacks. The happiness we get from little things we like, such as a silly elephant sculpture, a classy tea set, or the perfect pair of jeans, and the memories we make with them matter most.


(Bottom row, left to right: Spode Blue Italian tea set my parents got me in Stamford, England during an amazing vacation to London and the English countryside over Spring Break '10. Bedside arrangement: earring bowl from Tulsa flea market, lucky Sacajawea coins, and vintage Coca Cola glasses platform. Silly elephant my mom bought me to remind me never to take myself too seriously, in front of some of my favorite little books. Grey Goose lamp that my dad viewed as a college requisite)

Look of the Week POLL (that means you vote)

In a desperate attempt to encourage any readers I may have to comment, here's a quick poll. Comment your favorite look and I'll post a blog in a week with the results... unless nobody responds then I will just be sad.

Designers fused the sartorial elegance of menswear with flirty, fun elements of womenswear to create impeccable looks for day and night. Who do you think did it best?

1) Long black coats command authority in any setting (Dolce & Gabbana)

2) A slouchy blazer creates a relaxed but professional persona (Bottega Veneta)

3) Oxford+herringbone slacks+khaki blazer+Aviators= a girl who plays with the big boys (Michael Kors)

4) The comfort of sport in jersey with an authoritative coat (Chloé)

5) Ash gray pantsuit for weekdays, plus DVF's flowery bolero for daytime weekend fun (Diane von Furstenberg)

Don't forget to vote!! =)

"The suit is the greatest triumph of western civilization"

I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite writers, Robin Givhan, this week. She covers Michelle Obama and writes about fashion for the Washington Post, and was the first person to win a Pulitzer for fashion criticism. I encourage any of my readers (yes, all 3 of you) to check out some of her articles at the washingtonpost.com, or to take a look at her Pulitzer package.

She told me one of her favorite ideas was that the suit is the greatest triumph of western civilization. I unfortunately forget the name of the woman who originally said this to her, but her argument was very interesting.

What man doesn't look good in a well-tailored suit? The jacket disguises what a man doesn't want to show, like some extra gut or muffin tops, and amplifies his best features, like broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

Beyond that, the suit commands respect in every corner of the world. A modern executive man in a suit could go to a meeting in New York, Rome, Tokyo, Cairo, Sydney, or Moscow and command the same respect. The most flamboyant, effeminate hair stylist would appear polished and put together to his clients in a Dolce & Gabbana suit, while the most conservative of Southern Baptist preachers' sermons would hold extra authority when partnered with a three-piece Brooks Brothers.

Fashion is about communication. And like all forms of communication, some fashion statements get lost in translation. The suit, however, is universal.

Thanks for the inspiration, Robin!

Labels are For Jars

DON'T LABEL YOURSELF

Fabulous Shoes

Because walking is about more than getting from point A to point B.

Anna Karenina, revisited

"And her black dress, with its sumptuous lace, was not noticeable on her; it was only the frame, and all that was seen was she- simple, natural, elegant, and at the same time gay and eager."

-Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Do clothes make the woman?

In Tolstoy's novel, Anna Karenina, he paints a luxurious scene at a ball in which the novel's namesake appears in a simple black velvet gown trimmed with white lace. He describes the ballroom as "a sea of lace, tulle, and ribbon," in which Anna seems to be the only living, breathing person.

Simplicity, not extravagance, and monochromatic palettes, not loud colors, amplify and draw attention to the woman, not to her clothing.

Like so:

(Stella McCartney, Calvin Klein, Celine)