seaofshoes

Sorry about the lack of updates, I’ve been out from morning till night since we got here! It’s been well worth it, though. San Francisco is definitely one of my favorite new cities, it’s very refreshing…it’s different than any city I’ve ever been to, it’s beautiful here too. The shopping is excellent as well. I really really want to show you guys the great things I’ve found, but it’s going to be better to wait until I get home and can take a decent picture. Our hotel is impossible to photgraph in because of it’s cave-like darkness. I can promise I’ve found some great stuff, in fact there is so much great stuff in San Francisco that my mom and I are thinking about making a trip here this summer again.

There were so many great shopping adventures to be had in San Francisco (vintage on Haight-Ashbury, raw denim from Selfedge, trolling Barney’s/Neimans in Union Square) but after experiencing as much as one can in two days, I have to say that the best experience I had was in the Levi’s flagship store in Union Square. For a Levi’s junky like me, it was really incredible. The three-level store features vintage, men’s, and women’s jeans. Of course for me, all of the fun was on the lower level, which focused on vintage and jean customization.

Seeing the vintage reproductions was great, and I unfortunately fell hard for the only pair of vintage women’s jeans. They were beautifully and painstakingly distressed, with patches and darning galore. They had a wide-leg fit with a corset-like button fly waist. The jeans themselves were a work of art but when I put them on, my heart totally broke-they looked so amazing on but unfortunately at $500 it was a no-go. I’ll get over it eventually, but I still flinch at the thought of them hanging in someone else’s closet!! So that’s my cross to bear from this trip…R.I.P. all of my imagined outfits  with these beautiful jeans…

Well, moving on, the jean customization bar was a kid-in-a-candy-shop type experience. You can bring in any Levi’s brand product and have it emroidered, ripped, torn, patched, silk-screened, blasted-there are very few limitations. My mom, my sister and I all took full advantage of the jean customization bar, and are expecting our newly embellished Levi’s to arrive at our doorstep in Texas within three weeks. Until then I’ll spare you descriptions of our newly-reincarnated 501’s. Pictures to come soon!

Okay, I better get to bed (early flight tomorrow), but I’ll share my San Francisco finds throughout next week.

It’s been fun here in San Francisco ;)
jane

A reader has alerted me to the fact that I am Teen Vogue ‘Girl of the Week’! I was so surpised, I sent the picture and answered the questionaire about a month ago! Well, I hope I don’t sound like a braggart for sharing but I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t a bit excited about it.

Click here to go to my Teen Vogue snapshot profile!

Thanks for reading! :)
All the feedback I’ve gotten on Sea of Shoes has been great, I’m flattered that people are checking back! Thanks you guys!

This post is going to be a bit random, so bear with me…
Hawaii is lovely but we’re bored stupid, in the best possible way. We kind of goofed off and tried on clothes today. An excellent oppurtunity to share some more Los Angeles treasures:

Mom got these boots at American Rag, they are by italian shoe designer Franco Martini. Check out his website, he has a cool showroom and some pretty sandals. Definitely someone to keep your eye on: http://www.francomartini.it/

Carol makes another guest appearance to debut her adorable new Betsey Johnson cocktail dress. She’s been looking for a dress to wear to an upcoming dance. Doesn’t Betsey Johnson suit her perfectly? Here she cleverly pairs it with pink Juicy tube socks and a sparkly pair of ‘80%20’ sneakers she got at American Rag. She was wearing them with some Miss Sixty skinnies when she bought them and looked adorable!

I’m always on the lookout for the perfect belt…I often find them in the men’s section.

The metal-plated brown belt was bought at the men’s section in Fred Segal (the Santa Monica one) last summer. The belts were vintage, and customised by the store. Mom and I share this one, we wear it a lot.

The buttery orange one with stitching detail is a women’s belt actually, and it’s from Banana Republic. It’s really hard to find belts (or any leather for that matter) in this color, which is really a shame because it goes with just everything. See my Margielas I have on at the bottom of this post? They are one of my throw-them-on-with-anything pairs, the orange just picks up any other color and looks great. This belt is just the same, it’s been worn so much that it’s stretched a LOT and needs to have another hole put in it.

The other belt is RR (Ralph Lauren), purchased this weekend at American Rag. This is a guy’s belt too, and the loops make the length completely adjustable. That ring hardware looks great, and I like the worn out color of this one too. Mom was wearing it with her grey Hysteric Glamours, the washed out shades complimented each other perfectly! I’m definitely going to steal this one a lot.

Another L.A. piece; this super cool vintage shirt I got in the same little (emphasis on the little) vintage place I got the sweatshirts in. It has the strangest headless horseman on it, I guess it was for a racetrack.

Today I wore it, it’s nice and soft. I wear it with vintage Levi’s, Martin Margiela peep toe heels, the afforementioned metal-plated belt, and a couple of old bangles.

It’s a bit too breezy to swim here in Maui today but the smoothies they serve at the hotel are excellent. I think Carol and I are going to share a chocolate-banana smoothie there right now! :)

It’s our last day in Maui today, tomorrow we’re off to San Francisco, which I am SUPER excited for. I’ve been wanting to visit Selfedge for a long time, I really look forward to going there and learning about loads of new denim. Though I love denim, I am no where near as knowledgable about it as those who regularly patronize Selfedge. Carol has been to San Francisco before and she’s been telling me about the Levi’s outlet there, which I am SO excited to visit. They really are my favorite jeans and they’re cheap!

If I don’t update tomorrow, I apologize, it’s hard to keep up with the blog on the move!
jane

(images from style.com, maisonmartinmargiela.com, elle.cz)

You may have noticed that I am a bit of a ‘collector’…I figure when you find something that works for you, why change? Hence my stacks of vintage Levi’s, many pairs of Dries, and the collection of turqoise I share with my mom. Vintage sweatshirts are another linchpin item in my wardrobe. My mom got me started on collecting them: she always found the best ones at thrift stores. Unlike newer sweatshirts, they are one hundred percent cotton and get soft and thin with age. They are cut short and wide and look adorably sloppy with jeans and a kicky pair of shoes. (they’re also nice in the summer for the chronically cold! not too heavy, just right)

Unfortunately, vintage sweatshirts are becoming an increasingly expensive item to collect. You wouldn’t think that a short sleeve mascot sweatshirt someone would wear in highschool circa ’68 would go for $200+ on eBay, but they do and the prices are getting higher all of the time. Short sleeve sweatshirts seem to be in highest demand. I think a lot of the demand comes from the Japanese, they have piles of them (for a hefty price) in their vintage stores.

I was very very very happy to find the mecca of affordable vintage sweatshirts in this little hole-in-the-wall vintage store on Melrose. Check out the Pepsi Cola one, mega collectable!!! I’ve already been wearing them like crazy, they’re very cozy and perfect to protect against the breeze here in Maui.

Isn’t the fit nice on this red one? Mom taught me to always wear them inside out so that the fleecey side shows. They look better that way and feel nicer! Some have some v-shaped stitching on the neck, this one doesn’t though. Cool all the same!

That was one of my favorite finds in Los Angeles. What a great addition to the collection! I’ve got more to show you, will take pictures and blog later! jane

We’re done with our shopping, too! We would share our purchases with you guys but we’re too pooped to take pictures after walking Melrose and LaBrea (prowling vintage stores for the elusive perfect sweatshirt, peeking in Fred Segal, two hours spent in American Rag, various other boutiques) but we promise pictures tomorrow. Sadly we’re only able to spend one day here and tomorrow we’re going to Maui…where we will have plenty of time to whatever we want! I’m excited, I’ve never been to a nice beach before.
It’s been great people watching here, that’s always been one of my favorite things about travelling. My eyes were popping out of my head this morning when I saw two girls wearing very pretty pairs of Pradas…it’s so rare for me to see people wearing nice shoes! Around where I live it’s quite an event to see someone in Loubs or wearing vintage. If I spot someone wearing something cool I pick up the phone to call Mom, and vice versa for her (she practically had a hear attack this November when she spotted a girl at Neimans in a pair of great Marnis). It’s refreshing to visit places where you can see people who put a lot of thought in their appearance. I’ve seen some interesting outfits today and met some cool people.

My little sister Carol, me, and Mom before we set off on our shopping excursion today. We’re not as fresh faced now, trying on endless pairs of jeans seriousely works up a sweat.

Around the Avalon, where we’re staying.

I don’t normally take pictures when I’m travelling but I’ve always loved seeing the Max Azria boutique, I had to share this picture!

Okay, time for me to get ready for dinner. Updates on L.A. shopping adventures later!

jane

I’m in today’s Dallas Morning News, this was from an even for the Row I attended at Dallas boutique Fourty Five Ten a few weeks back. Ashley Olsen was there to present the collection. I like to keep this blog as celebrity-free as possible but the Row has great clothes with incredible integrity. And yes, Ashley was very nice and helpful!

Got a bit flustered when I was asked all of those questions but it’s kind of exciting! :) Well, I’m off to the airport…I’ll keep you posted! jane