My friend Stanley told me I was crazy when I picked up a near tattered dress in Soho’s Lounge and swore I would wear it with a cardigan on an ordinary day—the dress was black and silver sequined. It was two days before New Year’s Eve and I was on a search for a toned down top that wouldn’t take my black sequined skirt too over the top for a Brooklyn house party where my friends and I rang in 2009.
His exact words were, “No you’re not!” when I said that I would wear the flashy dress with scaled down accessories. Usually I wouldn’t go into Lounge because I found it to be overpriced and underwhelming (aside from the gorgeous Badgley Mischka purse that gave me leavers remorse). On that freezing cold day in New York I was pulled in by a sale. The economy had finally gotten to the store and it was closing—leaving everything inside up for grabs at heavily discounted prices. I scored the dress for $20 because the top sequins were falling off (okay maybe not near tattered) and at that moment a light bulb went off for me. Why should sequins be limited to New Year’s Eve and the red carpet (p.s. I ended up wearing an I Love New York t-shirt with my skirt, how appropriate)? I decided that everyday should be a celebration.
School began very shortly after I returned to California and the crazy days followed quickly. On a random Tuesday I wore my sequined Lounge dress and as soon as I stepped out of my car I was showered with compliments. I even got an email a few days later from a professor about class logistics where she ended by saying that she enjoyed the dress as well. A monster was created. I knew sequins should be rocked as everyday bling, and my feeling was confirmed by everyone else’s desire to know where I’d gotten the dress and applause for my boldness to wear it.
My new mission: to find sequins that can be worn with my rugged flat boots, my comfy Minnetonka moccasins, or dare I even with my classic Chuck Taylors. Of course my first thought was to hit the Mission District, chock full of thrift stores. So I set aside a Sunday to scour through racks and racks of abandoned 80’s gear. I found that most of the sequins I discovered were the over the top abandoned 80’s prom dresses, even too costume-like for my tastes (and if you’ve seen me on an experimental day then you’d understand how extreme that is). Though I set out for sequins I ended up with a bag, a vintage Escada sweater that cost $38, and a manual SLR camera (random I know). I also found out that a vintage store on 16th Street has a cute vintage Gucci. The $150 price tag was out of my range so it stayed.
Shopping is a constant search for that perfect thing to go with this or that. So as school gets more overwhelming and I must make every minute of the day useful I just need to keep my eyes open and expect to find my bling at the unlikeliest of places. And after sequins who knows, maybe Stanley can chastise me for introducing some other crazy sartorial element into my wardrobe next week.
My friend Stanley told me I was crazy when I picked up a near tattered dress in Soho’s Lounge and swore I would wear it with a cardigan on an ordinary day—the dress was black and silver sequined. It was two days before New Year’s Eve and I was on a search for a toned down top that wouldn’t take my black sequined skirt too over the top for a Brooklyn house party where my friends and I rang in 2009.
His exact words were, “No you’re not!” when I said that I would wear the flashy dress with scaled down accessories. Usually I wouldn’t go into Lounge because I found it to be overpriced and underwhelming (aside from the gorgeous Badgley Mischka purse that gave me leavers remorse). On that freezing cold day in New York I was pulled in by a sale. The economy had finally gotten to the store and it was closing—leaving everything inside up for grabs at heavily discounted prices. I scored the dress for $20 because the top sequins were falling off (okay maybe not near tattered) and at that moment a light bulb went off for me. Why should sequins be limited to New Year’s Eve and the red carpet (p.s. I ended up wearing an I Love New York t-shirt with my skirt, how appropriate)? I decided that everyday should be a celebration.
School began very shortly after I returned to California and the crazy days followed quickly. On a random Tuesday I wore my sequined Lounge dress and as soon as I stepped out of my car I was showered with compliments. I even got an email a few days later from a professor about class logistics where she ended by saying that she enjoyed the dress as well. A monster was created. I knew sequins should be rocked as everyday bling, and my feeling was confirmed by everyone else’s desire to know where I’d gotten the dress and applause for my boldness to wear it.
My new mission: to find sequins that can be worn with my rugged flat boots, my comfy Minnetonka moccasins, or dare I even with my classic Chuck Taylors. Of course my first thought was to hit the Mission District, chock full of thrift stores. So I set aside a Sunday to scour through racks and racks of abandoned 80’s gear. I found that most of the sequins I discovered were the over the top abandoned 80’s prom dresses, even too costume-like for my tastes (and if you’ve seen me on an experimental day then you’d understand how extreme that is). Though I set out for sequins I ended up with a bag, a vintage Escada sweater that cost $38, and a manual SLR camera (random I know). I also found out that a vintage store on 16th Street has a cute vintage Gucci. The $150 price tag was out of my range so it stayed.
Shopping is a constant search for that perfect thing to go with this or that. So as school gets more overwhelming and I must make every minute of the day useful I just need to keep my eyes open and expect to find my bling at the unlikeliest of places. And after sequins who knows, maybe Stanley can chastise me for introducing some other crazy sartorial element into my wardrobe next week.
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