The Shoes (My Pretty Woman Moment)

Finding the perfect pair of wedding shoes was rough. Because my dress was short, I needed something that was going to look awesome but not too show-stealing. I found them, see?

But it was tough work. I started with some really weird ideas about my shoes. I kind wanted either:
A. clogs
B. bright yellow shoes
C. something with suede
D. all of the above

My resident shoe expert and bridesmaid Stephanie was all, "Hell no." She suggested we go to Bergdorf Goodmans in search of some "real people" wedding shoes. I had never been to Bergie's before, but I knew it was super fancy and I was desperate to fit in. I rifled through all of my unsophisticated Greenpoint-style attire and scraped together the Sex In the City-est outfit I could find. When we entered Bergdorfs, we were already aware that it was going to be a Pretty Woman scenario, and that we were both playing the part of Julia Roberts. When we got to the shoes, Stephanie couldn't resist trying on a pair of ridiculously sparkly Louboutins.

I think some sort of buzzer must have gone off in the back room, because a stuffy old sales lady rushed up and asked what we were doing. "I'm looking for wedding shoes," I said, my voice cracking as I pawed at a pair of YSL pumps.

"Oh really? You're getting married?" the bitch questioned, astonished that someone would ever commit to such a piece of trash. "Where's the wedding?" she sneered.

"At a f-f-farm upstate. It's really pretty. There's goats?" I wanted to lie and say "The Four Seasons." It must be fancy since Bethenney Frankel got married there. But it was too late.

"A farm, huh? Ok. Why don't you girls head down to the fifth floor. We have some clearance shoes there," she cackled. And so that was that - we were banished to the fifth floor. The dreaded cellar where shoes go to die. We took the elevator there and found files of old, dusty, out of style footwear. It was depressing, and so we left.

I was pretty discouraged, and I was honestly considering wearing an old pair of sandals, when I decided to stop in to Kate Spade, just to see what was going on. Mindful of the possibility of being banished, I mostly kept to myself, until a nice sales person came to help me. She didn't have an evil laugh, and she even let me try on a bunch of pairs of shoes. When I tried on the Clarice, I knew they would be The Ones.

The way they sparkled in the back, but looked lovely and traditional in the front would make them the perfect fit.

When I put them on on my wedding day, even Pancake was like, "Dang! These look great!"

Sure, after prancing around with the goats in the mud, they got a little gross.

But at least they went to good use. Maybe now I'll donate them to the Fifth Floor.

* all wedding photos by Kate Miss

Somebody Got Married

Whelp, it's been awhile, but I have a good excuse. I was getting married and stuff. It was the most magical time of my life, and Mr. Galen is now my husband! I guess you may now refer to me as Mrs. Galen. Anyway, here we are making out in a vintage Citroën.

Although select parts of the wedding planning process made me want to rip my eyes out, there was a whole lot of it that was super fun. Mainly the part where I got to curate all things awesome. Like my favorite garlands from Confetti System, our amazing photographer Kate Miss, and of course, baby goats.

Each day, I will take you through a different cool element that I enjoyed making or planning, and fill you in on all the top secret details. Hold onto your hats. This first wedding post will be about my dress, made by the unrealistically fabulous Leanne Marshall, of Project Runway fame. It's kinda crazy to think that 3 years ago, I was gushing about Leanne on this here blog, and then I finally got to meet her and get her to make the wedding dress of my dreams.

Figuring out how to make this a reality wasn't easy. I did a ridiculous amount of internet stalking and emailing to her Etsy account and other sources before I looked on her blog and discovered a secret wedding page (which has now been removed - sorry!) I was finally able to contact her and get a response! I was put in touch with Nathan, Leanne's styling assistant and make-up artist extraordinaire who set me up with my first meeting.

My mom was in town visiting, so she came with me which was really special. She brought her "wedding lace" with her in an old brown sack. Now, let me explain this lace, which at first was a bit disastrous but then became the star of the wedding. When my mom wore it layered over her wedding dress in the 70's, it was stunning because it was part of a well-crafted ensemble.

But the lace alone - without the dress or my pretty mom wearing it, sort of resembled the puffy shirt from Seinfeld. My mom was like, "Oh you could just wear it over whatever dress you get... if you want." I could tell how much it meant to her, but I couldn't imagine a scenario when the puffy shirt would look acceptable over the type of short and cute dress I wanted. When we met with Leanne, I tried on the dress of my dreams and instantly fell in love. Check out the enormous smile on my face when I discovered the dress had pockets!

I knew this dress had to be The One, and Leanne knew it too. And we had a lovely chat about the Golden Girls, specifically about how we both were "Rose." It was almost surreal how swimmingly everything was going, until a small croak penetrated the magic moment. My mom held out her little shaking hand with the wedding lace in it. "What about the lace?" she shrieked wistfully. Leanne, in typical Project Runway fashion, offered to cut up the puffy shirt and incorporate the lace into my dress. This was "making it work" in the best way.

When I picked it up The Dress from Leanne a couple months later, it was seriously awesome to see what she had done. When my mom saw it on the morning of my wedding day, she started to cry. We both knew it was the perfect dress.

Signature Scent & New Bling Too

My exciting holiday spending spree is now over, but guess what? I got some great stuff. For starters, I had been searching for a signature scent for a long while. Last year, I bought D.S. & Durga's Orris Root and absolutely loved it. Sure, it's for a man, but it smelled so good and I was looking to get in touch with my inner Bea Arthur. I ran out recently and wanted to stick with D.S. & Durga. That's when my love affair began with the perfume they created for In God We Trust.

It's so ridiculously awesome - it just smells fresh, feminine and light. And it's like no other fragrance I've ever smelled. I cannot speak highly enough about this perfume! Every time I wear it, someone compliments me on how great I smell. Their officialdescription is: Roots scrubbed clean. Green tomato stem, bergamot, bourbon geranium, with angelica root and vetyver. Light bodied like the girls at IGWT.

If you're in New York, you can get this at In God We Trust. If not, you need to contact D.S. & Durga directly, but it's worth it!

Old Hollywood. I'd been wearing the same ring since high school, and I felt it was time for a change, especially after some clown shook my hand so hard my ring cracked. The ring on my ring finger is made by Jana DeSpain, and the one on my pointer finder is by Han Cholo.

I'm so pleased with my fresh scent and my sweet bling. I feel like a real lady, ready to face 2011.

Must Have: Winter Fashion

The recent Snowpocalypse made me realize I need more winter gear. I have one winter(ish) coat, one scarf, and one big ass hat. I wear these same things every day. I wonder if the people I work with think of me as a peanuts character - always wearing the same clothes.

Anyways, I just got PAID, which means in addition to having a drunk-tastic New Years Eve, I will probably be splurging on some new winterwear.

The Coats

(from left to right)
Camel Hooded Duffle Coat from TopShop
Vintage Fawn Wool Coat from Allen Company
Rachel Comey Snorkel Coat (also known as the love of my life that will probably never be mine) from La Garconne

The Scarves
(from left to right)
The Meaford Extra Long Chunky Cowl in Cream from Yarn Over Movement
Wool and the Gang snood scarf from Madewell
Handmade Open Work Knitted scarf from Zara


The Hats
(from left to right)
The English Thimpson in Fisherman from Yakoo
Holiday Popcorn Hat from Steven Alan
All Over Fur Trapper from TopShop

Which ones to get?? Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Subway Fashion: Mixing Prints

It's been far too long since the last edition of Subway Fashion, so I thought I'd share the latest look from the runway of the A train.This strapping young lad was testing his layering abilities by mixing many patterns. It was a bold choice, and a bit busy, but I think he really pulled it off. You can't see the blue and orange striped shirt he was wearing under all those layers, but that definitely helped tie it all together.

But we can't give him all the credit for this fabulous outfit. I think it's fair to assume he got some of his inspiration from Mondo from Project Runway:

Leg Up

I never thought I was into Kate Spade until this morning, when I happened to come across her fabulous legwear. I want my legs to be yellow and blue and red!I'm thinking that last pair might be necessary for my sexy Hamburglar costume I'm planning for H'ween.

Fashion's Night Out

The night of high fashion has arrived. It’s time to get gussied up and hang out with a bunch of skinny famous people while sipping champagne and making empty promises to yourself about never eating again. That’s right, it’s Fashion’s Night Out!

This year my outfit is a little boring, and wish I could spice it up with this nice ice cream cone hat

But alas, I will be heading out ice cream-less. I’m pretty jazzed up about tonight’s festivities though. Here’s what I’ll be up to tonight:
Opening Ceremony is hosting a French flea market at the Ace Hotel. I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, so instead I’ll just go here. It’s probably just as good, right?



Kim Gordon (fashion goddess/my lady crush/ bass player from Sonic Youth) will be at Sportmax to debut her new line. I’m going to stop by so I can try to touch her arm.


Then I’m going to attempt to catch Sarah Silverman doing standup at MAC cosmetics. She will most likely be cracking jokes about how she doesn’t wear makeup.


Also? Refinery 29 is having a party DvF. If you don’t go to this, you’re a dumb dumb.


Greenpoint is having their own FNO party, and it’s supposed to be off the chain. The best event looks to be the In God We Trust party, which will feature a cameo by favorite perfume designers DS & Durga.

Too much to keep track of? Fashion’s Night Out made a really cool feature that allows you to make your own agenda for the evening. And to live vicariously through people who are better than you, check out this amazing site, which aggregates the #NYFW tweets.

Celebrate With Shoes

Today marks the graduation of my 201 Sketch class at the UCB Theater. It is also the day that one of my favorite ladies in the universe, Betty White, will appear on Saturday Night Live.

Obviously there is a need for great celebration on this very special day. I think the perfect way to enjoy the occasion is by purchasing a new pair of shoes. I don't want to break my foot like I did last summer, so I'm going to get some comfy shoes.

I'm totally digging these new Steven Alan Keds:

And these Bensimons:

And these Frye moccasins:

Which ones should I get?

Scarf Obsession

I have been totally obsessing over scarves lately, and lucky me! I'm now the owner of not one, but TWO fabulous scarves. I picked up this black chunky number at Alter this weekend:

It keeps my neck warm and ears warm which is pretty rad.

Also note my lovely new Sam Edelman booties. I got 50% off on these at Alter because they were the last pair. I love having munchkin feet!

But for me, one fantastic scarf is not enough. Thankfully my pal Hannah is awesome at crafting and reads my blog, because she made me my very own foks!

His name is Charles, which you must pronounce with a silent "r." I've been showering him with love and attention, and Pancake is getting a lil' jealous. Can you blame her? Hannah is opening her own Etsy store this summer, so you'll be able to buy housewares and other neat things she makes with her own two hands. I'll keep you updated.

Men's Figure Skating Costume Awards

Did you watch the men's figure skating short program from the 2010 Olympics last night? I sure as hell did, and the costumes were made up of a delightful mix of story tale frocks, period pieces and items from Christina Aguilera's wardrobe. In honor of this spectacular Olympic fashion, I now present the first annual Floating Robot Men's Figure Skating Fashion Awards.

The award for best villain costume goes to....




Evan Lysacek! Congrats sir - I wasn't aware it was possible to be so freakishly evil while performing a triple toe loop. Bravo. I sincerely hope you win the gold medal. For some reason this outfit reminded me of Lord Licorice from Candyland.

Best Jeggings Go to:

Samuel "sexy" Contesti. Bonus points for that off-the-shoulder overall strap. Meow!

Best 90's Interpretation Goes to...

Takahiko Kozuka, who clearly went back in time and raided my 5th grade boyfriend's closet to find this silk snakeskin print shirt and stonewashed jeans.

Best potential to be a new Gummi Bears cast member goes to...

Jeremy Abbott. If only he remembered to drink his gummiberry juice before his performance.

The Faggiest Moulin Rouge Interpretation goes to...

Johnny Weir, who is about to become my newest TV obsession.


Best Costume in the History of Figure skating goes to...

Kevin van der Perren for his fabulous skeleton costume. Next stop after the Olympics? Skeletor on ice.

And this concludes the first annul Floating Robot Men's Figure Skating Fashion Awards. Fingers crossed that the ladies will one-up the men in the wacky fashion department.

Subway Fashion: Dead Ends

As I reported over a year ago, hipsters are going to great lengths to make their hair gray. Apparently the trend isn't dead yet, because I spotted more Williamsburg residents on the L train last week sporting old lady locks...




Even Kate Moss is doing it, so now it's officially legit.


Maybe I'll go to Woodley and Bunny this weekend and request a Steve Martin Special.

Target Treasures

Let's be honest - Target is a pretty great place. I rarely have the opportunity to go, but when I was in New Jersey for X-mas break I took full advantage of suburbia. I went to not one but TWO Targets (apparently once you pop you can't stop.) Here are some of the must-have items I found:

Rodarte for Target
shirt: Rodarte for Target
jeans and headband: Levis
necklace from minimarket

I was excited to find a Target that actually had some Rodarte stuff in stock since I've been reading about how the collection has been flying off the shelves. Unfortunately most of the stuff that was left was pretty crappy looking. The skirts with a layer of tulle over them looked mega cheap, and the floral print rain coat thing was totally hideous. I thought I would keep things simple and go with a standard gray t-shirt. It's pretty ok.

Dwell Studios for Target
I have been pining after Dwell Studios bedding forever, and thanks to Target it's now mine! Well, Target and Galen's mom, who was kind enough to buy us new bedding for Christmikkah. There were a lot of nice options, but we opted for the gray and blue floral set with a gray geometric quilt. Pancake christened the new bed set by barfing on it the first night so that was pretty cool too.

Lisa Frank Stickers

It really doesn't get much better than this. Please observe my two favorite stickers which are pictured above - a cheeseburger and fries, and of COURSE - a dog and a cat getting married. The best. Also? The rainbow leopard sticker stirred up such emotions that I had to stick it on my face. I hadn't felt such a rush since Galen bought me my beach-scene trapper keeper a hundred years ago...Thanks for the good times Target!