The Luxe Mix

The Summer Scarf: Where to Buy and How to Wear

Happy birthday to me.. Happy birthday to me... I'm a year older this week! That makes me a Virgo in case you didn't know. A perfectionistic, obsessive, and sometimes overly emotional Virgo that is. I had a wonderful birthday this year with the people I love most. I also realize how great taking the day off on your birthday actually is. It's a crime that we don't automatically get the day off on our birthdays.

Now that I'm a year older, I'm challenging myself to add a new accessory to my repertoire. I think every woman should break the ice of some kind of accessory every few years and eventually they will master the art of it. I've dabbled with belts over the last couple years, handbags and shoes don't even count, sunglass shapes these days haven't been doing much for my rounded face, and jewelery is always there --but challenging nonetheless. So what's next on my list? Scarves! Summer scarves that is.

Over the past few years I've let a lot/more than enough black creep into my wardrobe so I'm hoping my whole scarf movement will bring back some color to the darkness. Also, summer scarves were so big this summer I'm hoping to catch some of the action before it cools down. I love that the summer scarf dresses you up and dresses you down all in one. It adds interest and an edgy not snobbish sophistication to your look. And lastly, it can be so versatile since there's endless colors, patterns, shapes, sizes, and textures to choose from.

If you're interested in a summer scarf for yourself, here's a few places to try...

BUT FIRST a quick video on a few ways of tying the scarf.

Shopbop

Madison Los Angeles

Anthropologie

Luxe for Less Options

Urban Outfitters

Forever21

Look Book

Need Your Input on Your High Heel Habits + Shoe Pad Giveaway!!!

Hey Manolo lovers and Jimmy Chooholics... need your help and input. If you've been around The Luxe Mix since the good old days when I first started this, you should recall a post I did about high heels and how to wear them comfortably. This is a topic near and dear to my heart. So near and dear to me that I actually invented my own shoe pad. Mmmmmm Hmmmm, that's right ladies. I have the perfect solution to all your toe boo boos and foot owwies. I tried pretty much every shoe pad out there to try to make my life at work on heels a little more bearable. I've tried everything at the store and a ton more tricks that I had up my sleeve.. until finally one day I said screw it I'm going to make my own shoe pad.

Thanks to Choxie Snoops, who has stepped in like the ever-energetic and superpowered leading lady that she is, we are bringing these foot pads to life! We are just getting ready to soft-launch our first batch of them in a couple weeks.

You can get your very first sample of our shoe pad by filling out 10 quick responses on our Heel Habits Survey. This offer is limited to fill it our quick! We'll be giving away pads to the first 100 respondents. Please be patient for your shoe pad sample as we will be sending these out when we soft-launch our first batch.

Launch Survey

Thanks for you help and participation. One day soon we will end foot pain for all.

Liquid Leggings (aka Slick or Shiny Leggings)

Made popular amongst my friends by "No Bones" Julie.. liquid leggings are still hot these days and seemingly impossible to find. I first saw them on Lindsay Lohan prob. in US Weekly (where else?) and knew they'd be big for night life wear. What could be next for leggings? So far we've seen zippers, bows, ruching, exotic materials/textures, lace, buttons, reflective...  I can't wait to see what's next!

Here's the few pairs of liquid leggings could find. Ladies, cast your votes on which pair is a must-get. Also, if any of you dare to wear these out, I'm curious to see how you've worn them so send me a picture if you have one!

American Apparel RSAC306 Shiny Leggings

Members Only Liquid Leggings at Kitson

Slick Leggings at Nordstrom

Celebrities in their Liquid Leggings

 

Cop Copine Fall Fashion Show Video - Boutique Harajuku in Santana Row

Did some damage at Santana Row this weekend.. then decided to put on my own fashion show. Lucky you get front row seats HAHA!

PS. Post-shopping-splurge (generally about 48 hours after the thrill of the kill), both Snoopy and I had some post-shopping second thoughts. I may return at least 1 pair of the 2 pants that I bought, and 1 top. BTW, both these items didn't make the cut to get featured in my video. The power of the subconscious...

Louis Vuitton Watercolor Speedy Video, Louis Vuitton Monogramouflage

Before watching this video let me explain... As you know from my previous post I was drooling over the LV Camouflage/Monogramouflage Speedy. Thanks to one of my best GFs I was alerted the LV in Valley Fair had a few of them in stock. I believe they told us that there were like 5,000 units in total and their store had received 5 of them. I did some unthinkable things to get to the store in time to scope my precious out... but... but... I was totally disappointed! It looked scary big and just scary to me in person. I think that's the problem with looking at a product photo for too long. You get disillusioned. Long story short I didn't want it anymore (which i regret more now since I'm getting more used to it!) and I got this other bag which.. just watch... overall my story just sucks but I figured I might as well make a video!!

Murakami x Louis Vuitton Monogramouflage Collection

When putting yourself together I think it's important to take into consideration how your natural features work into the bigger picture. Your overall look is a work of art, mixing mediums... facial features, face and body shapes, silhouette, etc. For instance, when I look in the mirror mostly what I see if a very round face. I've come to terms with the roundness of my face... given in to the fact that it's undeniable circular and no amount of weight loss is going to change that.  Accordingly, I find myself trying to off-set the softness that the shape of my face provides to my overall vibe with sharper (figuratively and literally) looking clothes and accessories.

Which leads me to... my new love affair with the new Murakami-inspired Monogramouflage Collection from Louis Vuitton. I know I'm more than a month late on the breaking of this news but I'm not so much concerned about that but more the thought of how am I going to score one of these??? &^%$#*@

It's kind of jarring to glance at at first and I'm sure there are many haters out there but I'm really feeling this one!! I'll be a little combat soldier in action on the streets swinging one of these around. Nobody mess with me!

I've got my eyes on the Speedy 35.. and there's also this bad little iphone case... check out photos of that at Nitrolicious's blog. She's got the best pics of the whole collection by far.

 

Find an LV store near you.

My First Luxe Mix Video Log!!!

This is a big first step for me so no laughing and making fun of me!!! My Mom already told me I'm really boring... and she's right HAHA! I watched it over again and realize I sound like a robot. I'll need to work on being more natural in front of the camera. Talk to you guys later...

Mike & Chris Nathan Leather Jacket

If I resist the urge to buy something > regret not buying it a few days later > find a similar thing a few years later and still like it >> does this warrant me buying it?

There once was this wrinkled black leather jacket from Theory.. It gave me that familiar sense of longing I get for things that cost more than I can afford. I never ended up buying that jacket and regretted it months later. This Nathan Leather Jacket from Mike & Chris looks like a first or second cousin to that jacket. So do I take this one home??

I like how the distressed wrinkles gives the jacket a more laid back touch. I think I could pull it off at work too though.. I'd pair this jeans.. a skirt.. shorts like her in the picture... black slacks.. my Pj.. honestly it would marry anything and everything in my closet (or at least I'd end up convincing myself that).

White is not half bad either!

Available at Shopbop.com

Top 10 Fashion Activewear & Stylish Workout Clothes Part II... Stella McCartney, Lu Lu Lemon, Bia Brazil, and more...

I'm compelled to write this post for 2 reasons...

1. The flubber around my belly is stubbornly refusing to go away with my usual diet and workout so I'm getting ready to dose up on my workout regimen and I need new stuff to flex my flub!!

2. When I check my Typepad Stats I'm shocked to see how many of my Luxe Mix visitors are looking for something "fashionable" to wear to the gym.

I wrote a post over a year about the importance of looking your best at the gym and how you can-not-must-not-please-don't drag yourself into the gym with those ratty undesirable things you normally throw on for your work out. It seems this is popular topic because so many people click this page.. I suppose in hopes of finding something to wear that will inspire them to get to the gym. That's awesome ladies!! Keep it up and in the meantime here are some more links and workout looks to get you jump-started for your next sweat fest.

Top 10 Fashionable Workout Clothing Designers

1. Stella McCartney for Addidas

While I'll admit her clothes are not exactly things I'd wear everyday to the gym, I had no choice but to put at the top of my list because.. well it's Stella. Stella (Yep on a first name basis) obviously puts some real design into her fitness line. There's interesting details that add intrigue to her pieces.. strategically placed seams, zippers, straps, ruching, ribbon.. these help turn something basic and expected into the unexpected. Guess if you're going to shell out $100 for a workout top it should stand out from the crowd right?

I'd love to see more variation in the color tones. As you can see she Stella's line is all about soft muted neutrals. It gives it a more feminine and soft appeal. You hard bodies our there might prefer something else below.

Available at Stella at Addidas.com

2. Lu Lu Lemon

This Canadian-based Yoga clothing company puts out the clean, simple, sporty pieces that work well for us clean, simple, sporty Americans. I've noticed a lot of workout clothing companies are based out of Brazil. No wonder those Brazilian hotties have such smokin bodies! They must work out all the time. See.. it does take hard work :) Focus!!! I also heard the quality of these pants make them indestructible.The only problem here is that I haven't found any reputable online retailers of Lulu Lemon so you're on your own. Check their website (link below) for locations.

Look for store locations or retailers at Lululemon.com 

3. Zobha

This company is based out of Mill Valley here in the SF Bay Area. I can't remember how I found them but once I saw their activewear I was impressed! The clean sleep style is very Eco-Organic-conscious-looking. Very fitting for the Nor-Cal fitness queens. And I don't mean that in a bad way, but it is true right?

Available at Zobha.com

4. Anatomie Style

Anatomie scored high on my list back a year ago when I did my first post, but this year I'm a little disappointed by the lack of good inventory on Anatomie's website.. so I no choice but to place them at #34 I hope they get their act together and put out some more of the stylish gear we need!!

 

Available at AnatomieStyle.com

 

5. Fitness Fit

You'll like Fitness Fit if you're more into looking active than prissy at the gym. I find their workout clothes to be sporty but still stylish.

 

Available at FitnessFit.com

 

6. Bluefish Activewear

Based out of Miami, Bluefish Activewear claims to offer stylish workout attire that you can get away with wearing comfortably to post-workout errands. Nice gear here but generally standard stuff.

Available at BlueFishActivewear.com

7. Planet Body
Another Brazillian company. A bit sexy (not too mention a little funky) for what I think we American gals can get away with but hot nevertheless.

Available at Planet Body Activewear.com

My friends that is my list for 2008. I hope to share more goodies in this area of looking fashionably fit with you next year!

Valentino Mena Leather Pumps

It's Friday night.. I'm home alone.. what better way to pass the time than to look around for shoes and handbags that I can't afford?

The bow is more of a knot (I'm rationalizing).. and the coldness of the silver helps to offset any girliness of this shoe. I'm just imaging how tall I'd look in these!!! ooooouu.. i love this so much i feel like crying.

Luxe for Less Handbag: Juicy Couture JC Medallion 90 Percent Couture Handbag

Somewhere I'd heard a golden rule that before you walk out the door remove one accessory. The thought being we tend to fuss getting ready for hours and end up looking overdone (in either a slutty or circus-like way) without even realizing it. You know... the big earrings with the bulging necklace or the false lashes with the vamp red lipstick... one without the other would have been hot but everything together was just wrong.

Along the same lines Juicy Couture's Handbag line has always scared me. They're clothing line is chic, very trendy but still maintains a good balance. Take one look at some of the bags from previous seasons though and they were a mess of hardware, straps, and bling. It looks like Juicy was finally able to use the same restraint we all should be using before walking out that door. Simplify!!! The new bags are streamlined and have an upgraded classiness to them.

Juicy Couture JC Medallion 90 Percent Couture Handbag in Cotro (Luxe for Less)

I love the warm tone of this buttery soft-looking leather. The arm strap looks strong but comfortable and I imagine this bag will look amazing once worn in and continue to wear nicely through the years.

JC  Bag available at RevolveClothing.com

Now compare this Juicy bag to my Celine bag. I got my Celine bag from the Duty Free Shops on Guam for $1000 or so. I thought that was a good deal. Juicy's bag is great Luxe for Less option. I'd buy it now if I didn't already have mine. I can't promise the Juicy bag will endure the trials and tribulations my Celine has gone through.. coffee spills.. Rocky (my dog) paws pawing... but my bag has held up like a champ.

My Celine Bag (Luxe)

Whether or not you like the JC Medallion Handbag.. I hope you do take away the take away here.. Less is More!

Luxe for Less Summer Picks

It's about that time that I start scouring the web for my Luxe for Less picks!! I'm on a strict budget (says my husband).

Here's what I've found so far but will keep it comin... Everything should be under $100 or less (ish). No guarantees :)

Urban Edge

For Kicks



The Extras

Shecky's Girls Night Out.. It's a Shopping Party!!!

I meant to post this sooner but if you live in the San Francisco area, I wanted to let you know about an event going on this Wed and Thur (June 4th and 5th) called Shecky's Girls Night Out. I've never been so I can't promise it's going to be all that but I'll be there this year so maybe I'll bump into you while clawing for the goodies. I'll apologize now in advance if I get out of control.

From what the website says, they'll be serving cocktails while you shop till you drop, sample products, and get to go home with a Shecky's Goodie Bag. The admission is $25 for two which is a bargain for an entire night of guilty pleasure.

Hope to see you there!

Featured Site: Shop It To Me

It was not long after graduating college and becoming a working professional that I lost the drive and motivation to shop sales. I know you know just as well as I do that rummaging through sales racks, no matter what store, is so bleh. Even though you know there's likely to be some hidden gems among the wreckage... the energy required to dig through the cluttered racks is more than enough to make you lose the appetite to shop. And the sad truth is (at least for myself) is it's hard to get turned on to stuff on the racks... it just seems unwanted.. so unfabulous. If you pulled something off a sales rack and then placed it straight center of the store where all the new stuff is displayed I'd be all over it! Perception.. context... I'm such a sucker.

Maybe this explains why I never got totally sucked into the site I'm featuring today -- Shop It To Me. So why feature it at all? I guess I just have this feeling (if you aren't already using it today) that you'll find it to be a helpful service, especially if you enjoy the thrills of a good bargain every now and then. And while I may not have gotten sucked into using it, I am a sucker for high-tech solutions for shopping and fashion!!! I have to disclaim that the site has been around for well over a year or two so sorry if this is old news :P

What is Shop It To Me? It's like having a personal shopping service that notifies you as items from your favorite brands go on sale at major online retail sites (e.g. Shopbop, Nordstrom, Zappos, etc). There's a list of a bajillion gazillion brands to choose from. I actually found the list tedious to go through so I can imagine it freaking out some of you. I think they ought to provide a better way for users to select the types of items to get "sale" alerts on.. maybe create some fashion profile types or something.

Here's an example email that will get dropped to your inbox...

I signed up the service over a year ago and to be honest I started becoming blind to these "Salemail" alerts that accumulate into my gmail account. Because of this post though I've started to open the mail up again and have been pleasantly entertained with the stuff I'm seeing on sale. It seems like there's actually good stuff going on sale! Is there hope for me again?

So I'm wondering what you guys think of this so send me some thoughts! Also if you know of any other sites or services in this realm of shopping sales or discounts.. hook us up!

Happy Sale Shopping!!

www.shopittome.com

Where's Jenni This Week??

Poor me. I'm in Maui this week. I don't know how I'm managing to survive the balmy 85 degree weather, the Hawaiian sun that makes you golden not brown, and the soft sandy beaches... but I'm ok guys really! Actually, the truth is I kind of miss my computer and my DSL connection. I feel... cut off!

So I'm here with my husband and parents to play some serious golf at some serious courses. This place is no joke for golf. I played at the Plantation Course at Kapalua yesterday. The course conditions were so nice and the views so breathtaking, it literally took my breath away and I couldn't play golf very well. Or at least that's what I convinced myself yesterday. The grass on the course was so perfectly groomed it was like Astroturf. By the end of the day I realized I was just not worthy of such a course. Back to practice on the mainland when I get back home.

We're staying at the The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas which has been very nice and comfortable. We gave our parents the master bed room and my husband and I are bunking on the pull-out in the studio area. Other than the waitress at the pool-side bar dumping a tray of margaritas, tarter sauce, and water (all mixed together) on my husband yesterday, we've had a pleasantly uneventful stay so far.

We've had some great food so far.. a simple casual dinner at Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahaina the night we arrived and a perfect dinner at sunset at The Hula Grill in Ka'anapali. I had the Aloha Mixed Plate at Aloha Mixed Plate and I was happy to find you just can't go wrong ordering the dish the place is named after. Mmmmmm. And at Hula Grill everything was good. There's was a barefoot bar for people who something more casual but we opted for the regular dining area where we sat oceanside and watched the sun go down.

Depending on how much my husband decides to work this week in the hotel I may squeeze in a few posts but for now I'll leave you with a few links that I've added to my blog roll recently for you to check out.

My Look Book (one of my new daily reads)
Raging Rouge (a beauty blog)
Creative Aesthetic (a friend's blog on his rise!)

Mahalo and Aloha~~~

Luxemix Style Challenge!!

Do you guys remember Polyvore? If you don't then this might be a good way for you to get acquainted with this high tech fashionista tool. A fellow reader (and friend btw for full disclosure hehe) commented to me after reading my last post about the Look Book album I created, that it would be nice for her to have a look book of her own. She wanted to take some of the looks I had in my album and add and subtract items to her liking. Immediately, I thought about Polyvore and how that really is the solution she needed to make this happen. She could work off of the outfits I create in Polyvore to polyvorize her own looks. And of course she could outfits from scratch.

So I'm curious... what do you all think of Polyvore? Have you tried it? Do you like it? If you are using it, what do you like about it and not like about it?

Here's where the Luxemix Style Challenge comes in!

Objective: To entice my readers to show off the fashionistas they truly are and at the same time get to know more about how you like tools like Polyvore.

The Big Prize:  A $50 Gift Certificate to Shopbop or Forever21 (winner's choice!)

How to Play: Create a look on polyvore and either add to the comments of this post or email it to me directly. In your response please answer the questions found at the end of this post.

How to Win: After a few weeks or once I've gotten enough entries I'm going to choose 3 of my favorite submissions and run a poll here on Luxemix and let crowd pick a winning look.

(I'm new at this guys so no promises this is actually going to work!!)

And just in case you're wondering, this is not a promotion I'm getting paid to do or asked to do by any 3rd party, such as Polyvore, Shopbop, or Forever21. To be honest I'm just obsessed with web tools and in particular ones that have anything to do with fashion and one of these days I'm going to create one myself :).

Questions to Answer for Luxemix Style Challenge

1). What's the link to your Polyvore Profile?
2). What do you find works well for you when using Polyvore?
3). What do you not like about using Polyvore?
4). What functionality needs to be added to make Polyvore work better or more fun to use?
5). Are there any other online tools like Polyvore you've used? If so, please list.
6). How do you put your outfits together on an every day basis? e.g. Do you plan what you're going to wear the night before? Do you keep track of outfits you've put together and re-wear them another day?
6). Do you enjoy coordinating your own outfits or would you rather have someone else do it?
7). How much time do you spend on fashion-related activities per week (including shopping, picking outfits, reading magazine/blogs, etc).

Thanks for playing guys! Now get out there and start polyvoring!

Start Polyvore

New Look Book Album

Hey everyone~ I created a look book album to make it easier to have everything in one place. The next time you're digging through your closet and have the nothing to wear depression, take a peek into this album for some inspiration for looks to throw together. Honestly, it's not that you don't have anything to wear, you just haven't taken the time to try working different pieces together into a new look. When I don't have the perfect piece to complete a look I'll just throw second best in there and after I've got everything on, I realize it really doesn't matter that much. Try it!

For now you'll see some of the older looks I put together in the past. Promise I'll put together some new looks soon! I've been wearing same ole' same ole' every day myself so I certainly could use some inspiration myself. Also don't forget about the list of look books on the internet I've collected. If you know of any other good look books please share with us!!

http://www.luxemix.com/photos/look_book/index.html

Gustto Berlina Clutch

I've had my eye on a few bags from Gustto over the past year but never could get myself to pull that dangerous trigger on my very dangerous plastic gun. I patted myself on the back when I saw the same bags on sale one season later. Gustto bags just seem to veer on the overly complex side, with just a few too many embellishments and unbalanced proportions. One bag in particular had all these metallic and mirrored things sewn onto the bag. It gave me flashbacks to when I used to wear lots of metallic and mirrored things myself. I'm glad only a few of you have known me long enough to know I'm not joking. Anyhow, I was naturally drawn to these somewhat gawdy bags but got over them pretty quickly.

Then along came this clutch from Gustto and suddenly I'm pulling out my gun again and checking to see how many bullets I have left. Will you guys weigh in here? I think Gustto got it right this time, kept it simple and clean. It looks so comfy to carry. I just want to tuck it under my arm and stroll to Peets and meet Choxie Snoops for a cup of Jo.

Gustto Berlina Clutch in White

Wearing Today: A Hottie Named Rexy at Neiman Marcus

I was hunting suits at Neimans over the weekend. Lately, I'm get the feeling my luxe for less threads don't cut it for important meetings with customers and days for presentations. A little voice was telling me wearing a power suit from Theory was going to help me stop saying umm and uhhh and look like a million bucks! So off I went to Neiman Marcus in Palo Alto, my go-to-default shopping destination when I'm too lazy to make it up to San Francisco. I had 8 or 9 things balancing on one arm while fingering through the rest of the racks, silently cursing the sales girls for not coming to my rescue and off-loading my load. It was a busy afternoon or maybe it was my sloppy flip flops but no body wanted to help me that day! I finally made it to the dressing rooms with about a dozen or so things and proceeded to slip in and out of my suits. During my private fashion show I peeked my head out to call for a sales girl to grab me another size and that's when I caught sight of this hottie named Rexy. I kept wanting to call her Sexy Rexy. Take one look at her picture and tell me she doesn't belong in a magazine or on TV!

We got to chatting about Rexy's hair. It was stylish, edgy, original (This picture does not do justice)... I got her secret but like my hair would ever look like that! According to Rexy, she curled her hair with hot rollers, then took them out and pinned the curls to her head with bobby pins. Went to bed and woke up with awesome hair! She fixed a few strands in the morning with her hot iron.

What I liked so much about Rexy was that she embodies strength, beauty, brains, and confidence all in one. Her easy and carefree spirit was a refreshing breath of air in the uptight environment NM can be. We chatted at length about her passion for hair, makeup, and fashion. Somehow between all her jobs she is getting ready to launch a swim suit line (that she designed) and when it debuts you'll be sure to find it here. I love the look Rexy puts together here -- tube over a white-tee. I like to do this with a white tee and tube top too + jeans. It's a great look to dress down but still look put together.

Go Rexy!

Wearing Today: Airport Drive-By and Friday Night Dinner

It was Friday night and I was late coming home to meet my husband so we could go pick up my sister-in-law at the airport. On my drive home from work I was doing a mental scan of my closet trying to imagine what I was going to throw on in 30 seconds or less. I kept going back to my skinny indigo jeans (which have become my second skin) and my knee high vintage boots from Modern Vintage. When I ran in the door my husband gave me the "I can't believe you're late again we are leaving now" look so I double stepped my way to my bedroom and started to frantically throw clothes on. It's these urgent moments where I normally throw on my go-to (pre-selected) "uniforms" but I wasn't in the mood to wear one of my recycled looks again so I went for it, grabbing the first satisfiable top and jacket in first view and here's what I ended up with...

What happened later still makes me laugh as I think back. As my husband and I were making our way to the baggage claim area to greet my sis-in-law, we were standing on the moving walkway looking at each other. I thought he was looking at me lovingly but then suddenly he burst out in laughter. I was like what. He said "You've got a lot going on tonight". A lot as in I had too much going on with my outfit and that I looked ridiculous! I got a good laugh out of that then he escorted me to the bathroom to take a closer look at my fashion faux pas. I did look a little over the top. Under my husband's careful direction I proceeded to tie back my hair and zipped up the jacket (the pic was taken after that).

I still think I look "ok". Maybe a bit glammed out for the airport but I think I'm good for dinner in the city, no? If you don't take risks you'll never get past boring!

Jacket: Forever 21

Tissue Turtleneck: Myong-Dong Shopping District in Korea (I got this for $10!)

Jeans: Armani Exchange

Boots: Modern Vintage