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patterned up

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09-16-2012 
Wren ikat shirt dress c/o La Dama, A.P.C. parka, Flea Bags clutch, Rachel Comey Miner boots, True&Co. Sleek and Lace bra, vintage sunglasses, Nars lipstick in Heat Wave

Snapped these photos a week and a half ago (oops) before running errands and getting In-N-Out. I'm super stoked that I finally found the Wren dress that I blogged about a while ago, thanks La Dama! It looks like we won't be getting out Indian summer here in SF since it's been consistently chilly all month. Ohh well. I'm actually kind of excited for fall... when I was designing another outfit page at work I realized that I haven't been shopping in a while. The top thing on my list for fall is definitely a pair of suede Isabel Marant Dicker boots for every day wear... Should I compile a fall wishlist here? In any case, I can't really think about shopping until I buy a new computer since this clunky old pc is on the verge of dying. Looks like I'm finally switching over to a Mac...

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Don't forget to use my code TRUEANNABEL to get 20% off your order at True&Co 
before it expires in three days! Talk to me on Twitter or Facebook if you have any questions.

(seriously though, I'm practically a bra expert now...)


fancy pants + giveaway

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09-23-2012American Apparel unitard, Line & Dot 'Almond' pants c/o Koshka, HOPE blazer, Mint by Goorin Bros hat, Rebecca Minkoff satchel, Acne Pistol boots, vintage sunglasses

Wore this little ensemble to Folsom Street Fair (yes, I'm two weeks late, I know) and well, that was interesting. I'm sure most of you already saw my Instagram photos... what a crazy day. I was able to escape the insanity in my friend's apartment overlooking Folsom but even that party got carried away towards the end of the day. I actually left this hat behind at another friend's place and haven't picked it up. Whoops?

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Guess what? I'm teaming up with Koshka to give away a pair of these Line & Dot pants to one of my readers! To enter, just leave a comment on this post with a link to your favorite new arrival on the site and sign up for their mailing list.

Contest wil run for a week until 10/15. Good luck everyone!

all work, some play

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11-4-2012 
Uniqlo oxford shirt, Theory shorts, Converse high tops, bag c/o Rebecca Minkoff, Nixon watch, Mociun ring, Vintage sunglasses

Busy, busy month. I haven't been up to much other than working nonstop in preparation of True&Co.'s holiday shop which is launching this week. These photos were actually taken after getting brunch at Starbelly right before going into the office to work on a Sunday. Big things are happening over here... in addition to launching our new shop we just moved into a new office last week! Somehow I've been roped into with planning decor around the new space in addition to designing emails, outfit collages, social media, etc. I want to make a Pinterest board for inspiration but there isn't enough time in the day, ugh. Anyone looking for an internship in SF? Email me, seriously.

Btw, my promo code still works if anyone is interested. We'll be offering sleepwear and other loungewear essential in our new shop but our bra boxes will still be available! We just started carrying wireless bralettes from brands like Eberjey and Honeydew and will have lots more in stock in the new shop.

Use code TRUEANNABEL to get 20% your order at True&Co!

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It's currently super chilly in SF so it's weird to be posting these photos where I'm wearing shorts in November! Last week we went from 80 degree weather to two days of rain. When Uniqlo opened in SF I ended up buying a bunch of these great basic cotton oxfords... I can't stop wearing them in different outfit variations. I posted this outfit over on Chictopia after being contacted about their current contest with Cotton Inc. Go check it out!

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One more thing... have you checked out Luvocracy yet? I've been using it for miscellaneous things to stay organized like wardrobe planning this season, decor for the new office, etc. It's kind of like Pinterest meets Amazon with a more personal twist... needless to say, I've been addicted. I'm working on a big wishlist/essentials post for this week, stay tuned!

all i want for my birthday...

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  1. Eberjey Fanny shorts via True&Co.
  2. Eberjey Fanny bralette via True&Co.
  3. 3.1 Phillip Lim 31 Hour bag in black
  4. Illesteva Leonard 2 sunglasses in black
  5. Rag & Bone legging jeans in black
  6. Daniel Wellington Classic Sheffield Lady watch
  7. Nikon 1 compact DSLR in white
  8. Bonlook Simply Fabulous eyeglasses
  9. Isabel Marant Dicker boots in khaki
  10. Everlane Essential scarf in grey
  11. Rag & Bone Holster pullover sweater
  12. Public C8 bike in cream
These wishlist posts usually end up being more of a "what am I going to buy for myself?" thing but it's fun to lay everything out and figure out what I really want this season. My birthday is in 10 days (YAY) but I've been too busy working to really think about it. I've been using Luvocracy and Pinterest to catalog things I've been wanting to buy... I haven't actually shopped for myself in a while so this actually feels kind of nice.
  1. True&Co.'s holiday shop has finally launched! There you go, my blood, sweat, and tears these past few months. I've been trying to stop myself from buying everything but I may have to cave for these shorts (and the matching bra). Can't wait to relax, mostly because I haven't caught a break in months...
  2. I've been pining over this bra since we first got a sample in back in the summer. Eberjey's Matilda bralette comes in a close second.
  3. This bag has been on my wishlist for a while. Now that I have a new, more compact computer I don't have to limit myself to bulky backpacks!
  4. Sadly, my trusty Karen Walker sunglasses just broke. I think I can still fix them but for now I'm looking into a replacement pair. I tried on these Illesteva sunnies a week ago and was super tempted to buy them on the spot.
  5. I've been putting off buying basic black jeans for way too long. If I don't find these Rag & Bone jeans I've been thinking of getting either the Hudson Nico jeans or Paige's legging jeans.
  6. Great simple watch. Can't wait to get it in the mail!
  7. Today marks a year since I broke my old Nikon camera and it's about time I get a new one. I miss taking photos of things other than outfits and I will admit that I've been spoiled by my iPhone and Instagram. I hate borrowing my BF's bulky Canon DSLR and have really been needing my own. It's really taken a toll on my blog as well...
  8. I work 10-12 hours a day in front of a computer so I need to start wearing glasses more or else my contacts get too dry. Tried these on at a Bonlook popup a few weeks ago and met the cofounder Melanie!
  9. Label me a typical Isabel Marant-obsessed blogger but I still want these damn boots. They're easy, they're simple, and I need to wear something other than my Acne Pistol boots every damn day.
  10. The best scarf EVER. I was there for the beginning stages of that product and can't wait to get my own. Trying really hard to not buy them in more than one color. Join Everlane here.
  11. Saw this in person on Friday and ugh. I'll probably wait until it goes on sale or I'll find a more affordable alternative.
  12. I've been avoiding buying a bike for two years since I moved to SF. I actually live right off the Wiggle and should be biking to work but I just need that extra push to get me on the road. My office is a lot closer to my house than my old one by AT&T Park so now's the time!
A couple extras that didn't make the collage (and probably won't happen, except maybe MMG? ANYONE?):
  1. Joie Lexandra suede jacket in red: a bit unrealistic but I love red too much. Waiting for it to go on sale.
  2. Tickets to MMG Tour in San Jose: RICKY ROZAY. The day after my birthday. HEY.
  3. CdG Play striped shirt in black and white: price is ridiculous but whatever. It's cute.
  4. Eberjey Sleep Chic PJ topand pants: another purchase at work that I can't seem to justify but am really close to buying because I've been around it for so long. Help?
  5. Clare Vivier clutch in tan: one day I'll remember to get this. One day...

stay cozy

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12-08-12 
Steven Alan silk shirt, Open cardigan c/o Sheinside, Hudson Nico jeansIsabel Marant Dicker bootsClassic Sheffield Lady watch c/o Daniel Wellington, Public C8 bike

Howdy y'all! Popping in after a long, long month. What's new? I went through a "I'm growing out my bangs phase" but just ended up looking like the girl from The Ring so I gave up. I got a Public bike for my birthday (thanks boyfriend!) and have been riding to work almost every day. I went to New York for a day (28 hours more or less) to cover a True&Co. event but managed to squeeze in some time to pop by Isabel Marant for the first time and nab these Dicker boots in a new color. Also visited Everlane's pop up for a quick sec.

Forever busy. But I guess that's expected, right?

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pop that

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01-10-2013
Sweater + Polka Dot Top c/o SheInside, Zara pants, Love Affirmation Watch c/o BCBGeneration, Acne Terra heels, vintage sunglasses

Bah! Guess who's popping in for her monthly blog visit? Hate this trend but it seems like I'm more and more swamped every time I finally get around to updating. This past month it was a site redesign for True&Co, right now it's Valentine's Day... looks like things will be this way until March. Wamp wamp.

I finally managed to get my coworker (thanks, Molly!) to snap these outside work the other day. Sometimes I don't even realize how busy I am during the day, one moment it'll be light out and the next it's 8pm and I'm about to leave the office. Anyway, I'm wearing heels! Nabbed these Acne heels from Barney's online sale a while back. I kept seeing them being used to style other Acne products and finally got the last pair in my size! This is usually what I wear at work: a collared shirt, sweater, skinny jeans/pants, and well, booties when I'm not wearing these heels. Easy, right?

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warby parker class trip

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Warby Parker shoot 
Mango coat, vintage chambray shirt, Nico jeans c/o Hudson, Acne Pistol boots, Warby Parker Neville glasses

Dear Blog,

Oh, hey. Nice to see you again. I'm sorry I left you, I just had to sort some things out. You know, life and stuff. I know, I didn't really say anything or give notice but will you please forgive me?

Really though, I've been busy. Thanks for sticking around, I knew I'd pop back at some point. These photos are from a quick meet up with Warby Parker's Class Trip at Sightglass Coffee around the corner from the True&Co. office. We talked food + shopping in SF and somehow I ended up suggesting so many places that I had to go back and narrow down my list significantly. After being able to bring up so many local haunts so casually it finally dawned on me that I've been living in the Bay Area for almost 7 years and still have plans to leave anytime soon. Anyway, go peep the article to see more

This won't be the last time you see me, I promise I'll be back!

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Photos by Nick Fay via Warby Parker Class Trip

runners high

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07-20-2013
Etoile Isabel Marant top, Zara pants, Rag & Bone Newbury boots, Rebecca Minkoff bag

Bad blogger strikes again. Between blogging for True&Co, designing email campaigns, and other miscellaneous work-related tasks it looks like I'm finally able to catch a break. Barely. Probably also doesn't help that I'm feeling largely uninspired about my style in general, but I'm saving that for another post. Let's just say that this top and these boots are some of the only things that I've bought for myself in months after countless frustrating shopping trips. More on that later though.

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One last thing: social media gurus in SF with design experience, True&Co. and I need you. Email me!

millions millions

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11.06.2013Topshop textured tee, skater skirt, and necklace c/o Nordstrom, Illesteva Leonard sunglasses, Rag & Bone Newbury boots, Stila lip stain c/o Birchbox, Made of Stars triangle bra via True&Co. (get 20% off with my code TRUEANNABEL)

What have I been up to for the past three months? This. Right. Here. Yep, we launched a collection. It's surreal to see an entire collection come together from picking out fabric and color swatches, to photographing and editing product photos, and finally throwing a launch event in NYC.

I've been rocking the sweater+jeans+boots uniform lately but dressed up for once because well, why not? Been going through some life changes so it kind of helps to break out of my usual habits. Lots of changes. Might even redesign this blog...

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[currently listening to]

lazy sunday

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11/10/2013 
T by Alexander Wang linen striped top (short sleeve version here), HOPE blazer, The Legging Ankle jeans c/o AG Jeans, Nike Free 3.0 sneakers

Lazy Sunday playing Pokemon and relaxing in my new favorite long sleeve tee. Really down with wearing running shoes with outfits but apparently that hasn't become a thing in San Francisco yet unless you're wearing Lululemon. To brunch. NYC on the other hand... wow. Y'all know how to dress.

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[currently listening to]
 

on a roll

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11.24.2013 
Pattie jacket c/o Ella Moss // Zara linen tee // Hudson Nico jeans // Acne Pistol boots // Naked Glamour  triangle bra by Calvin Klein

I'm turning 25 on Friday. Still busy but hanging in there. My favorite boots are about to die on me and have a long overdue appointment with a cobbler but I'm always too busy to take them. Same goes for my Dicker boots. It's rewarding to save up and wear these core pieces to death, even if they end up almost unwearable towards the end of their lifespan.

Speaking of my birthday, it's funny to see my wishlist from last year and my bookmarked items this year. I managed to get 8 out of the 12 throughout the year and they're still items that I wear or use daily. Still need a new bag and camera but the hopefully the latter is already in the works. I'll post my new wishlist if I get the chance this week, except it's Cyber Monday so.... yeah. We'll see.

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[currently listening to]
 

XO

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12-09-2013 
vintage sweater, Isabel Marant x H&M coat, Hudson Nico jeans, Nike Free Runs, Rebecca Minkoff bag, Illesteva Leonard sunglasses

Got a new camera. It's compact so I can carry it around everywhere, all I have to do is look somewhat presentable. Except lately that's also been rare. Too into this sweater + jeans + running shoes combo (+ my new Isabel Marant pour H&M

Anyway, new Beyonce album just came out and nothing else matters right now so I'm going to end this here and leave you with this.

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[currently listening to]

B E Y O N C E

#WINTHEDAY

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Oh hey, Happy New Year! I've been sitting on this NY Resolutions post for the past week without any real intent to post but when Refinery29 and Clearasil challenged me to express how I am attempting to win the day. So yeah, why not? It was an interesting experience to collect these goal and hopefully start moving towards them ASAP.

#1 - Be More Positive.

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Zara linen tee, Illesteva sunglasses

50% the way my resting face usually looks (i.e. eternal bitch face), 50% how I actually feel inside. I tend to be a bit of a negative Nancy and it's a bit draining after all these years. I'm trying to have a more positive outlook on life instead of focusing on the bad. Sad Twitter is so 2013, anyway.

#2 - Be More Active.

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Nike Air Max Thea sneakers

Getting there, somehow. 2014 will be the year I finally have a butt, for sure. Last year I was pretty good about running almost every morning but as soon as winter rolled around I started slacking. Not sure if I can commit to the gym membership just yet because of my schedule but we'll see. What works best for your guys?

#3 - Establish Beauty Regimen.

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Clearasil Refreshing Superfruit products (try for FREE using this rebate)

Ok, I admit it. I never wash my face before bed. I sleep with my makeup on and wash in the morning because, well, I'm lazy. I just turned 25 and I'm starting to realize that my skin just isn't what it used to be anymore. Bad habits start early and are harder to break years down the road so I've decided to try and change that now.

#4 - Eat Good Food.

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Brunch at Foreign Cinema

Anyone who follows me on social media knows about my fascination with fast food. I promise you, I'm not really that bad, I just talk about fast food a lot. Living in San Francisco for me means I only really end up getting fast food once every two or three weeks. For a while, however, I stopped going to good restaurants since I never seemed to have time to go out on the weekends. Now that I have more free time on weekends I hope I can get back into exploring new restaurants, and who knows, maybe I'll even blog about them.

#5 - Watch More Anime.

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Mutant Minds THUGLIFE tee (aka BEST TEE EVER)

I've been getting back into anime recently and it's drastically improved my mood. Anime was a fundamental part of growing up for me and it's refreshing to step back and revisit old favorites like Bleach and Naruto while also exploring new shows like Attack On Titan. I've also been getting back into video games and beat Pokemon Y recently, moving onto the new Zelda game next.

#6 - Be Simple.

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Everlane Petra Market Tote bag

In 2014 I resolve to cut my closet in half. I only wear a fraction things that are in there anyway. I'm sitting on years worth of clothes that I keep telling myself I'll wear but never do. This also applies to any purchases I make this year, they HAVE to be very carefully selected and worth it. If I don't wear it multiple times, it's not worth it. This Everlane bag has already been my main daily bag since I got it before Christmas and was worth every penny.

[currently listening to]
 

see ya at SXSW!

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Equipment cotton shirt, Siwy cut off shorts, Acne moto jacket, Nike Thea sneakers, Everlane Petra bag

Thought I'd squeeze in a quick post before I leave for SXSW tomorrow afternoon! Oh yeah, I dyed my hair. I've been hesitant to post these photos since they were shot at the end of the day, but maybe I should just let go and care a little less about quality and just go with it... what do you guys think?

I'm excited to leave for my first trip to Austin tomorrow even if I haven't packed/am dreading going home to pack. Honestly, I can't think of anything else other than the fact that I'M SEEING RICKY ROZAY ON SATURDAY!!!!




If anyone reading this is going to SXSW here's where I'll probably be (plus a few other places):
Body High Official SXSW Showcase
Warp X LuckyMe SXSW Showcase
RAP GODS Official SXSW Showcase
WEDIDIT SXSW Parking Lot Party
LFTF SXSW 2014 Day Party
Boiler Room x Ray-Ban
Lights Down Low SXSW Party
and Fader Fort of course

[currently listening to]

UNIQLO X SUNO

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Uniqlo x Suno 
Suno for Uniqlo dress c/o Uniqlo, Isabel Marant Dicker boots, Illesteva Leonard sunglasses

Two posts in one week? Okay, week and one day. Still an improvement, right? I managed to actually get these photos snapped of me outside of the office (thanks, Jess!). I'm trying to get get back into the groove of things so bear with me please. First order of business to free up my schedule: I need a new intern! My awesome/amazing/super-talented intern Micho just left us for a summer internship (congrats!) so True&Co. is looking for someone to help with design and marketing. Really though, I need help if I want to start blogging like before again...

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Ahh, I digress. If you're in SF, Jennie and I will be hosting an event at Uniqlo on Powell tomorrow! Be sure to RSVP here and get there early since the event will probably reach capacity. Come grab a drink (or five), shop the collections, and hang out with us!


JAPAN DIARY PART 1 - WANDERING AROUND

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Japan was everything I thought it would be and more. I wish I had taken more photos but I thought I would live in the moment for once instead of feeling obligated to snap the perfect photo at every moment of the day. I slightly regret not photographing most of the amazing food I ate...only slightly.

SEE THE WHOLE ALBUM HERE

JAPAN DIARY PART 2 - HARAJUKU TO AKIHABARA

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I enjoyed shopping in Harajuku (and fell in love with the staircase at Opening Ceremony) but Akihabara is a magical place. I wish I'd squeezed in one more trip there since it felt like one day was definitely not enough to scratch the surface. I got to pilot a robot, dress up as my favorite anime character, and visit the video game store of my dreams all in one afternoon.

SEE THE WHOLE ALBUM HERE

JAPAN DIARY PART 3 - TOKYO AT NIGHT

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It was really easy to get lost in Tokyo but I didn't really mind most of the time. Wandering around at night surrounded by lights felt surreal yet comforting at the same time. I kind of miss it.

SEE THE WHOLE ALBUM HERE

JAPAN DIARY PART 4 - KYOTO

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Checked out of my Airbnb in Ebisu (thank you, Hiro!) to hop on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. The ride was nice, hard to believe I was going 200 mph when I totally fell asleep for half the trip. My favorite place in Kyoto was Fushimi Inari Taisha where I hiked through hundreds (thousands, even?) of gates to get to the top of the mountain. Okay, maybe not the top, but at some point halfway I ate soft serve ice cream and took in the view.

SEE THE WHOLE ALBUM HERE

JAPAN DIARY PART 5 - IN THE COUNTRY

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Yes, that is a deep fried tempura soft boiled egg. I loved Tokyo but by the end of my time there I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed so it was refreshing to visit one of my best friends in the countryside. There were some pretty intense typhoon warnings while I was there but it lost power by the time it hit the mainland so I wasn't too worried. Although Maizuru was a small town it was nice to relax and actually breathe in fresh air. I got to eat at a pork katsu restaurant one of the nights but somehow the highlight of the trip ended up being an egg... the most perfectly cooked soft boiled egg I've ever had that was deep fried in tempura batter. Oh, and the hand rolled udon was pretty damn good as well.

SEE THE WHOLE ALBUM HERE

2015 FAVORITES

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I made a playlist of all my favorite songs that came out in 2015, started it somewhere in the middle of the year and finally finished it this month, I think. I just hit 200 songs so I figured I'd share it. I know I missed a ton of stuff so any suggestions are welcome. Enjoy!



TWO YEARS LATER

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Alpha Industries Flight Jacket // R&S Records T-Shirt // Zara jeans // Converse sneakers // Ray Ban Round Metal sunglasses

Weird coincidence: the day I finally decide to put together an outfit post happens to be exactly two years after my last outfit post on March 10, 2014. Two years is a long time, I know. I was looking back at my last few blog posts and realized I still wear about 80% of the clothes I wore then, minus the Acne Pistol boots and Isabel Marant Dicker boots which I wore to the ground. Am I growing up or am I just boring?

I've been active(ish) on Instagram (@annabelaly) so I don't really have an excuse to not post here given that I end up with so many photos I don't post to Instagram, although maybe I've been hesitant because they're mostly iPhone photos. Maybe I don't really need these high quality DSLR photos anymore? We'll see.

As for these photos, I took them last weekend in Japantown before the rain hit San Francisco. Does the orange lining of this flight jacket count as a pop of color?

Probably not.






CLOSET CLEANING PT. 1: The Beginning

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I have a confession to make. I’ve finally come to terms with a truth that I’ve ignored for years: I am a hoarder. A clothes hoarder. I am that person who outgrows an item after a couple wears, stashes it deep in her closet, and thinks “ok well I’ll wear it eventually.”

Or I tell myself “I will like this again someday.” Sometimes I’m right, but 90% of the time I’m wrong. Trends come and go for me but at the core there are pieces that have outlasted 80% of my past wardrobe. Like say, my black Acne moto jacket (which is now more of a faded black) or my Saint James striped tops that I saved up to buy when I was still in college. Hell, even my white Converse sneakers from college are still around somehow. I’ll write a separate post about this later this week.

I think the thing that exasperated this situation was the fact that my closet isn’t attached to my room, in fact, it’s across the hall from my neighboring roommate’s room. A few years ago I built a really sturdy Ikea rack/shelving system in my room which holds my “main” wardrobe so I started using my closet to store stuff that wasn’t in my usual rotation. My outside closet is pretty big but up until recently it got so messy and crowded that it reached a point where I’d get really bad anxiety if I spent more than 30 seconds in there. I had no reason to really go in there, other than to stuff clothes in there when the rack in my room got too crowded.

It's taken me a while (years) but I finally caved and dedicated a couple weekends to a full closet clean out. Get this, I only cried TWICE! I was finding random clothes in boxes I didn't even know existed. I found clothes I only wore once or twice and got really upset with myself. In the end, I decided to only keep a 1/3 of it, which is a huge deal for someone like me who is the type of person to hold onto receipts for sentimental value. It's been a cathartic but rewarding experience so I wanted to document it with a blog series explaining my closet cleaning process plus next steps for maintaining my wardrobe. Check back tomorrow for more!

I am also reviving Shop Blushing Ambition. Well, working on it. For now, I've been using Depop to slowly post a bunch of clothes to sell. I've been posting a lot of pieces from older blog posts, don't miss out!

CLOSET CLEANING PT. 2: The Process

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The hardest part was starting the process.  The longer you wait, the worse it gets. In my case, I waited almost 5 years. A lot of things can happen in 5 years: relationships, jobs, etc. I started working full time for ecommerce startups, which meant the busier I got, the more I let myself go. I explained this in the previous post but my closet turned into a place where I’d just stuff things in when I was done with them without bothering to give it any thought.

My style may be described as simple/minimal but my closet as a whole was hardly anything like that. It frustrated me, but I just kept buying and buying new clothes for the sake of it. Some pieces have lasted me a decent amount of time but most haven’t really made it past a couple wears. I’ve come to realize that I’m a sentimental person and I hold onto physical things because of that. 

Once I finally started cleaning out my closet I ended up breaking up the process into 5 steps which really helped me get past the anxiety and refresh my closet once and for all.


Can I mentally picture myself wearing this in an outfit? What does this outfit look like? Also, does it fit me? If it doesn’t fit well when you try it on, you’re probably not going to wear it.

Going back to the topic of the past 5 years and letting myself go, my body has also gone through a lot of changes. 2 years ago I gained weight from stress eating when I was going through a difficult time in my life. I tried to hide it with loose clothes but a lot of my clothes stopped fitting and I had to buy larger jeans. It wasn’t until the last 6 months that I actually did something about it and started working on myself, mentally and physically. I’m not quite at the weight I used to be at (I don’t weigh myself so I have no idea how much weight I’ve lost, actually) but I’m pretty comfortable for now. 

A lot of my clothes have ended up being either too small or too big (or just don’t look good on me because I was buying looser clothing) so I haven’t worn any of them recently. Best thing to do is to accept that they won’t fit again and if they’re in good condition, recycle them by selling them online or via a consignment shop because someone else WILL fit into them.


Ok so it fits. But back to the question I asked myself earlier. Do I see myself wearing it in an outfit anytime soon? If you can’t come up with an outfit, you probably won’t wear it. After 5 years I’ve come to realize that as I’ve evolved as a person my style and preferences have evolved as well.

For example, I’m 27 and I prefer to not wear heels now. I live in San Francisco where it’s impossible to wear 5 inch platform heels and try to commute anywhere on foot. So why am I holding onto my massive Miu Miu wooden platform heels? They were one of my first expensive purchases that I saved up for years ago but I can’t remember the last time I actually wore them even though I loved them the first two years I had them. I couldn’t even walk around them when I tried them on recently. It was a hard decision to make since they have sentimental value but what’s the point of keeping them in their box if I’m not going to wear them? Depop it is, then.


Ok now what am I actually keeping? What am I letting go of? This was the hardest part. I found it helped to have a “maybe” pile if I got stuck on something, which let me revisit it later. For the things I definitely knew I was keeping, I organized them into neatly folded stacks or hung them up based on style. It was pretty fulfilling to see my wardrobe come together even though giving up so much gave me deep anxiety. For the “maybes” however… 


I know, it’s hard. When it comes to your "maybe" pile your best bet is to actually justify why something belongs in your closet. If you really have doubts about something but you feel you need to keep it, try it on and style it into an outfit with clothes you know you wear. It’s time consuming, but there were a couple things I really fought with myself to keep and ended up being able to justify holding onto them.

This part is time consuming so I don’t recommend doing it with all of your clothes obviously but it did help me figure out what I knew I might be able to wear sometime soon and helped prove to myself what to let go of if I couldn't justify keeping it.


Do I really need this many striped shirts? Well maybe not all of them, but the ones I’m keeping are different colors and styles and I know I'll wear them again and again. Do I have enough sweaters? Enough coats? Too many denim shirts? Reviewing your wardrobe as a whole also helps determine what is missing too which will better inform your future purchases and lead to less impulse buys (another topic I want to cover in this series).

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you are better at cleaning out your closets than I am but if there's anyone out there who struggles like I do hopefully this will help. Next blog post I'll be talking about how to sell! Speaking of which, I updated my Depop with more stuff this week. Thanks to everyone who has purchased so far!

A BIT OF REAL TALK

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Palace bomber, Acne pants, Palace x Adidas sneakers, Reformation turtleneck bodysuit

Had a quick photoshoot with my little brother before he left to stay in LA for his summer break. I know I said I'd try to get back into blogging but to be completely honest I'm not sure how I'm going to get my photos taken with him gone. It's kind of why I stopped blogging to begin with, when I stopped I didn't really have a photographer boyfriend who I could consistently scam into taking a couple photos. I suppose it's also on me for not trying harder to find other ways to do it but up until now I've been so slammed with work that I ended up letting that part of my life go.

Sometimes I think about what could have been if I hadn't stopped blogging when I see how successful my friends are now but I may just be a little bitter because I'm going through a huge life change right now. I don't know how my life would have turned out if I'd taken a risk and had gone into freelance blogging over working full time for a startup for 4 years but it's no use harping on that now. All I can really do is move forward.

Anyway, enough real talk. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to keep this going. Maybe I'll finally try to date someone and con them into taking my photos? (YEAH RIGHT.)





I'll leave you with a song that I've been playing on repeat since last week. I was lucky enough to catch Floating Points live in SF and the show was fantastic. Also, if you need any new music to listen to I've been maintaining a playlist of new music that I've been really into this past year.

FOLLOW MY 2016 FAVORITES PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY




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