Madewell Birdslife print

Spring is here in Portland. I know other parts of the country are still getting snow. But here we had three straight days of sunshine (unheard of). And I woke up this morning after setting the clocks forward yesterday to birds chirping away and pink blossoms of Daphne filling the air with its wonderful scent.

Which has inspired me to write about Birdslife, a very spring-y print from Madewell's spring collection that I have been admiring for several weeks now. It really looks like something from Rachel Comey or No.6 and is now on sale and they are even running an extra 20% off sale promotion.

The romper is my favorite and it sold out right away. However, many thanks to Mickey Drexler and his wonderful assistants who so nicely tracked one down for me and had it sent express shipping (Gotta love their customer service, truly impressive.) Although all of a sudden, there are a couple sizes in the romper available online again.

The dress is great too although more expensive. And it has also been spotted on Reese Witherspoon.

Lastly there was a camisole tank but it has now sold out. If you are near a Madewell store, unlike me, I would suggest scouring the store for this one.

Isabel Marant FW 2013

I know there has been some differing opinions over Isabel Marant's fall/winter collection that debuted a couple days ago at Paris Fashion Week. I just wanted to go on record saying I loved it. And for the first time in many seasons, I won't have to worry about looking like an LA fashion victim in certain pieces. Because honestly in some of these cowgirl getups, that has been my fear. I aspire to her Francophone chic; the main reason I have loved Isabel for many, many years. And in her past few collections, overall the prints and cuts have been amazing. However with this collection I am very much looking forward this fall to clean lines, drape-y sheer fabrics, comfy leggings, sexy cutouts and overall monochromatic colors.  I loved that she mixed navy with black, which is one of my favorite combinations and definitely very French. And she kept a lot of the studs, in the jackets, and sparkles, on the skinny scarves, which are both Americana-enough for that customer wanting that LA look. And keeps the stuff from looking too boring.
Here are a couple of my favorite runway shots. The coats were also amazingly simple:

And did I mention I love love love the boots? In the black with or without pony hair, yes please.

Also IM did a great interview with Elle where she explains her inspiration for this collection -- basically to look chic in bad weather, if I may paraphrase. You can read the whole article here.

T magazine: keri russell

There's a great interview with Keri Russell on the NYTimes' T Magazine blog today. She has a new show, The Americans on FX (haven't seen it) and a new horror movie. She has a been a favorite of mine from her Felicity days. Since then, she's became a mom and Brooklynite, and has a great, simple style.

Below are two street style shots.
First: oversized cream cable sweater with simple blue jeans with rips, Filson bag (she's a longtime Filson fan) and tortoise shades.
Second: all black including black socks with No.6 t-strap sandals in nude. Great contrast.

Michelle Williams: breakup style

I was very sad to hear yesterday that Michelle Williams and Jason Segel broke up. I am not the biggest fan of his movies but it's hard not to want the ultimate happiness for her. Between her real-life tragic history and what played out on-screen in Blue Valentine, I will always pull for her.  So this week, let's talk about her amazing style of late while she's on her Oz press tour.

1 - the Dior coat-dress worn to Letterman

2 - Backstage at Letterman. I LOVE this look. This complete outfit is apparently all available at Totokaelo. The scarf by Yohji Yamamoto is unfortunately sold out but his scarves are amazing. One of these days I am going to invest in one. And the coat is an all-leather parka made in Japan and sets you back 4 figures, by Sisii.

By the way, she makes wayfarers look timeless. She must be the only celebrity with one pair of sunglasses.

3 - even the Victoria Beckham dress worn today in Moscow

Here's hoping you find your happiness some day soon, Michelle.

Kids Street Style: Ladys and Gents

I came across this new blog the other day, Ladys and Gents, that's being billed as the Sartorialist for the little tykes in our lives. At first, it seemed a little trite but after a while I really enjoyed seeing some of the pictures and even get the occasionally outfit inspiration from them! I know, sounds absurd but sometimes that happens occasionally anyway when I'm picking up my daughter from preschool. So, what's the difference really?

It's not unlike the streetstyle on the Milk magazine website (tres-hip French children's magazine) that I wrote about quite a while ago. This blog is put together by a couple of LA stylists and you can even submit photos to them. They don't publish the child's name (which I understand, but I was a little bummed out that they don't. Seeing their name would be very cute) but do list which brands they are wearing. Lots of Bonpoint, people. Almost as much as in the closet of Harper Beckham.

Acne Gradient Jeans

Not sure what I think about these but something is strangely interesting. Feels very *new*...like the next thing. And gradient is very big for home goods: sheets, pillows, mugs.

Danish brand Hay's gradient sheets here:

Flex Degrade available at Acne and Steven Alan. $300.

A random pic I saw on Pinterest a couple weeks ago. It's a guy but still:

Isabel Marant - Etoile print SS13

Photo courtesy of Heist

I am have been flat-out OBSESSED with this print since it came out. And because every piece is in the $200-range, it has been hard not to act. Things are selling out quickly of course for this reason...

It comes in black/white, red/white or blue/gold. Personally, I prefer the black/white. Hands down. As for the style, it comes in the Shiso romper, the Sid pants, the Seth jumpsuit, the Stacy tunic top (not picture here - I have a rule against flowy tops), and the Salina dress (also too flowy and not pictured here). Oh and there are shorts, the Salome. You can see them here.

The Sid pants are available at Bird and are $250.

The Seth jumpsuit in black is at Totokaelo but they only have a few sizes left. It is $290.

The Shiso jumper is in black at Barneys and in red (also cute) at La Garconne. $260. I prefer this one but am not sure if it's too much of a summer look. I'd like to say I'd wear it with tights but I don't know.