We were barely out of vacation mode from our annual Park City trip (more on that later), but when the fashion community throws a once-a-year party we have to at least check it out. Greg and I touched down in Boston just as 2012′s Fashion’s Night Out festivities were kicking off. We had only enough time to grab some non-airline food, slip into something more appropriate (my lazy temptation not to change from my travel garb was swiftly vetoed by Najeema), and get out to meet friends on Newbury Street.

Despite a deadly humidity, the turnout was even greater than last year – and we only saw one street of it. This year the event had expanded to include locations across Boston and Cambridge. The individual stops, however, were noticeably scaled down. Stores stayed open later, offering champagne, music and special deals, but the over-the-top attractions of last year – photobooth flipbooks, free on-the-spot hair extensions, live in-store music, gift bags galore – were absent. It was hardly unexpected, after rumors from New York that last year’s FNO would be the last.

This whole ridiculous scheme to get people spending money is absolutely laughable, but I enjoy the festive atmosphere of the evening, and I’m happy to (selfishly) support an industry that’s been hit by the rough economy – with or without additional gimmicks. With many stores so packed we could barely get through, I suspect the crowds agreed. It’s one night a year when you’re encouraged to spend money on yourself without guilt or regret – in fact, in the spirit of the holiday, it’s practically a charitable donation! Anything more is just icing on the cake.

Fighting the crowds with Najeema of A Stylized Hysteria

Marissa of The Well-Appointed Catwalk made the first purchase of the night – a pair of printed Rag & Bone jeans

A stop at Reiss, where Kara from The Bostonista was hosting a night of style (please ignore my unflattering face)

Ending the night with Wei Wei outside Rescue

Question: What do leopard print shoes go with? Answer: Everything – or nothing, so wear them with anything. The shoes were not ideal here, but even the daintiest of my black platform heels seemed to weigh down this otherwise breezy outfit. These were the lightest option I had. (I’ve since amended the situation.)

My collection of clunky black boots complements my often dark wardrobe, but in the footwear category I seem to neglect my other weakness: powdery pastel shades. I instantly fell for the barely-grey and barely-peach.

Although the colors first drew my attention, these pieces became fast favorites. There is something about the track shorts, with a stripe of dusty moss trim down the sides, that feels like summer camp. These aren’t shorts that can be paired with tights as the weather turn cooler. They need bare legs and sticky hot sunshine. I’d gladly make them my uniform for as long as the season lasts.

[H&M shorts, tank and anklets, Senso shoes from Karmaloop (sold out, but still available here), DIY shark tooth necklace and DIY gold-leaf pill necklace]

The problem with clothes so inherently seasonal is that their time is fleeting. In a few weeks I’ll be packing these pieces away in favor of thick knits and campfire plaids. Even the shoes will be replaced by a trusty black pair of the closed toe variety. But until then I’ll wear these like a promise of long days and warm nights, seaside breezes, sunset picnics and adventures yet to come.

Jailhouse Chic…because how else would you describe a striped jumpsuit?

Alternate titles: Jailhouse Rock – cliché. Courthouse Rock – more accurate since we took these photos outside the Boston Municipal Court building, but it just doesn’t have the same ring.

Also Jailbait – although, it pains me to admit, that ship sailed over a decade ago. Gregor humors me and, if anyone asks my age in his presence, he’s quick to interject, “18, always” (which in itself is a bit of a compromise from my ideal, but he felt “seventeen” was too creepy even in jest).

In seriousness, I don’t lie about my age. Rather, with less than a year left of my 20s, I openly mourn the loss of my youth – and aging gracefully is not my style. I prefer denial (I’m not too old for pink hair and a nose ring, right?), anger (Out, damn wrinkles!), bargaining (I’ll wear SPF 70 every day and use every potion and cream in my arsenal), depression (It’s no use. I’m already too old to die young.), and, hopefully, a sense of humor.

[Tom Scott jumpsuit, H&M camisole, Senso shoes from Karmaloop (sold out, but still available here), Forever 21 backpack (sold out, but similar here and here), LF sunglasses, DIY shark tooth necklace]

Speaking of lost youth, a certain forever-young dandy in black is celebrating his birthday next week (which might explain my current preoccupation with age). We’ll be in Park City on our annual trip with his parents, but be sure to thoroughly shame him send him some love next Wednesday.

In the Witch City we wear sunglasses at night and sunbathe under the full moon. Ok, not really, but Salem is the city for wanderings through witches’ backyards, midnight graveyard strolls, and garden parties after dark (and yes, the moon was full).

[H&M tank and sweater, floral shorts from Urban Outfitters, Senso shoes from Karmaloop (sold out, but still available here), Forever 21 backpack, LF sunglasses, Wicked Peacock bullet necklace (with added vintage pen knife), vintage necklace from The Haberdash, DIY shark tooth necklace]

With an extra-long “weekend” from work for the Fourth of July, Gregor and I grabbed a Zipcar and, after minor misdirections and a few twists and turns, got out of the city for an evening in our favorite suburb. Wonderful as it is each October, with cauldrons of kettle corn in the street and a carnival overlooking the cemetery, it’s nice to visit when the spooky stigma is not as strong. We had drinks with friends on their tiny deck in the treetops, and, when the sun went down and the heat began to subside, went walking through the gardens of the Peabody Essex House and on to explore the town. We ate crepes at the Gulu Gulu Cafe and were tempted by the pile of board games stacked high on their shelves, if only the car hadn’t been due back by midnight.

The outing was decidedly unbewitching… Aside from stops at the Witch House… And the Bewitched statue… And the fact that we cannot go to Salem without constant flashbacks to Hocus Pocus. [Side note: I fell asleep in the middle of writing this post and actually had a nightmare involving a black flame candle that summoned evil from beyond.]

So perhaps the stigma is not so easily escaped, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If ever we decide to move away from the city, we could see ourselves holing up in a cozy witches’ den.

[Millau kimono from LF, H&M tank, swapped American Eagle shorts, Unif Hellbound boots from Nasty Gal, Wicked Peacock bullet necklace (with added vintage pen knife)]

For many, Friday nights are about letting your hair down. Personally, come Friday night I’m too tired to even think of styling my hair (hence the “let’s sleep an extra half hour and skip the shampoo” braided ‘do frequent to my work week). On this particular Friday night, few things seemed worthy of pausing over as we were wandering home, exhausted, at 2:00 am. The funny little fruit stand in Downtown Crossing was one of them.

It always amuses me that they would keep this opened all night in an area of the city that is mostly deserted, save for occasional passing of bar patrons, security surveillance and a scattering of homeless. I like to imagine it’s a front for some shady business. The gruff gentleman manning the booth, with his thick Boston accent and air of disinterest, only seems to support my theory. He politely ignored us as I held up pieces of fruit with questioning faces while Gregor snapped pics.

We paid for our goods and exchanged conspiracy theories for the rest of the walk home. And then, the highlight of any night out… Kicking off shoes, crashing on the couch, and feasting on fresh fruit and crackers and cheese, bunnies begging in our laps, before finally collapsing into sleep.

Doing a bit of a flashback fourth post. Last July, just around Independence Day, Gregor and I met my parents for a weekend in New York. While we make frequent trips to the city, this was our first to take the touristy route. The highlight of the trip was a riverboat tour around the Statue of Liberty. Seems appropriately patriotic for the day.

Hope everyone is having a safe and happy fourth (because, I suppose, it is still the fourth of July if you’re not in the US). We’re off to play with sparklers and watch the fireworks!

By now everyone’s seen Givenchy’s giant shark tooth necklace. This is not a DIY version of that. This will not satisfy the same carnal need (oh, the nights I spend dreaming of that necklace). This is a simple necklace that came about because that magnificent piece reminded me that I had a humble little shark tooth rattling around in a neglected corner of my crafting cabinet.

I happened to collect shark teeth as a child (and arrowheads and rocks and spiders – I was that girl). I’m not sure what happened to the rest of my collections, but this fossilized tooth made its way to Boston by way of my old craft box, tucked in small pill vial along with a sprinkling of seed beads and a Victorian brooch – it’s a bounty of forgotten treasures. (If you are a normal person and do not have shark teeth tucked away somewhere, they are also readily available on eBay or in just about any touristy shop near salt water.)

With the most exotic of the required materials already at my disposal, it should be no surprise that the rest were in the apartment. Who doesn’t keep a ziplock of gold leaf on hand?

My instructions detail almost every step I took – mistakes and all. You could choose to learn from my mistakes and maybe cut out a few of the steps in between, but just in case you’re as impatient as I am and therefore doomed to the same errors, I left full notes. I also made this extra entertaining, since the process itself involves a lot of waiting. If you have no sense of humor or maybe are just even more impatient than I am, you can get the tutorial minus the personality here – but I promise you won’t have as much fun.

What you’ll need:
Shark’s tooth
Gold leaf flakes
Adhesive – I used Mod Podge
Clear nail polish
Cotton swab
Thin gold-toned wire (I found this brass wire at the hardware store)
Wire cutters
Gold-toned jump rings
Small pliers (if you’re not that fancy you could probably use your hands)
Super glue or epoxy
Thin gold necklace chain

What you’ll do:

Using the cotton swab, paint a thin layer of adhesive onto the part of the tooth you’d like to cover. Use the clean side of a cotton swab to wipe up any excess or refine the coated area. Try not to get any on your fingers – it will make the next steps easier. Give it a few seconds to get tacky.

Find a large piece of gold leaf. Gently smooth it out on your finger then apply it to the front of your shark tooth. Carefully smooth it and wrap it around the edges and over the back. It will probably rip – that’s fine. Work on pressing directly down in favor of spreading, and try to keep glue off your fingers (because if both surfaces have glue, the leaf is just more likely to stick to you than to the tooth). Add smaller pieces to cover anything you missed. Wipe away any excess gold leaf.

Unless you’re some sort of talented freak or you’ve done this before, it will probably look something like this:

Give it a few minutes to dry. [Side note: If you are blogging about this and you were too impatient to wait for your boyfriend/roommate/photographer friend to come over and help, these little waiting periods are a great time to grab pictures. Of course, you won't get any action shots, and your one hand will look sort of freaky (even more so than usual) because you are constantly trying to hold it out far enough for the lens to focus, and maybe your arms aren't that long - not because you have weird T-Rex arms or anything, but because you're a small person in general - which will not help your cause either, but at least your guide will be somewhat illustrated to distract from your rambling instructions. End note.]

When you can’t wait any longer, start again. Paint on the adhesive. Let it get tacky. Find a large flake and smooth it out over your finger. Press it onto the front and around the edges and back. Add pieces to cover any areas you missed. This time learn from round one and don’t break or wipe away the excess yet.

Go think about how they make gold leaf kits with full sheets of gold leaf, and they usually come with their own seal and adhesive and everything, and that would probably have been much neater. You could also use a hair dryer to speed things up. When you’re confident it’s fairly dry, gently wipe away excess gold leaf.

Now you should only have a few spots that you missed here and there. Paint the adhesive over just those spots. Apply gold leaf, still going from front to back. Let it dry for as long as you can contain yourself. Go post an Instagram pic or something. Then gently wipe away excess gold leaf.

You might decide you’re done after this. You might have done it right on the first try. Or you might be even more challenged than I am and need to go a few more rounds. I wasn’t really loving the line where the gold leaf ended, so I decided to go for one last layer. If you run into this, scrape off any leaf that went too low then paint on adhesive, paying special attention to the edges. Really clean it up so the adhesive stops exactly where you want the gold to end. Find a large piece of gold leaf and press it over the front, making sure it goes beyond the end of the adhesive. Carefully smooth it over the sides and around the back. Add extra pieces to any spots that need it.

Now, walk away. For more than a few minutes, this time. Find something to distract yourself. Put gold leaf on your face. Watch Goldmember. Better yet, Velvet Goldmine. Or Jaws. Personally, I used the time to write an extra long and rambling tutorial – lucky you.

When a few hours have passed and the adhesive has thoroughly dried, go get rid of any excess gold leaf. Use the flat of your finger to rub from the front to the back, this time slightly more aggressively. If you find any areas that our loose or unattached, rub them away. Use your nail to press back and refine the edges. (If you mess up, you can always add another layer.)

At this point you want to seal the gold leaf. If you were smart and purchased a kit, it probably came with a sealant. I was not. Quick internet research revealed that the sealants for genuine metal leaf are acrylic topcoats – which to me sounds a lot like clear nail polish.

You’ll also want to find a way to prop up your tooth while the sealant dries completely. You could use a lump of clay, an apple slice, a piece of semi-soft cheese  – you get the idea. Just set it up now so you won’t be struggling to do it without messing up the varnish later. Be sure the tooth is firmly planted and will stay standing.

Pick up your tooth – prop and all – and paint the nail polish over the gold-leafed section, being careful not to use too much. Hold it upside-down for the first few minutes, to prevent dripping. Then flip it over and walk away.

And now you’re back to waiting. No cheating this time – there are no re-dos. Ok, you could probably go back to adding gold leaf if you had to, but at this point the novelty has worn off and it’s more of a chore. Do yourself a favor and find another good distraction. Here, this will help.

When you’ve allowed proper drying time – and then some – you’re ready to turn this tooth into a charm. The wire wrapping is the trickiest part. (I did a few practice rounds on cardboard first.) Since my shark tooth was so tiny, I wanted to keep the wire as minimal as possible – both in wrapping and in thickness. If you have a larger tooth you might use a different pattern and heavier wire – but you will almost definitely need pliers. The thin wire was easily manipulated by hand.

First, cut the tip off your cotton swab. (What, you threw it away already? I bet you’re one of those people who does the dishes as you cook too. Sigh. Go on, get a new one.) Wrap wire in a loop around the swab, leaving about an inch of excess. Hold to loop tightly closed and twist the cotton swab 360 degrees.

Remove the swab and place the loop at the top center of the tooth. Hold the short end of the wire against the back and wrap the wire tightly over the front of the opposite side (being careful to keep the loop in the center). Wrap it once around the base of the loop, then repeat on the other side. Replace the cotton swab and make another loop for reinforcement. Twist again around the base of the loop, then hold the wire down as you wrap the short end repeatedly around the base. Cut off the excess. Pictures might help with this part.

Attach your new charm to the necklace with the jump ring. Use pliers to be sure the ring is shut entirely, and secure it with a spot of super glue or epoxy – you wouldn’t want the skinny wires slipping out and escaping.

I’m running out of witticisms. Luckily the tutorial is done. You have a lovely new necklace – and hopefully a nicer chain than I had. Switching that out first thing tomorrow…

[H&M dress, Truly Madly Deeply tee from Urban Outfitters, Saks Fifth Avenue leather trim vest via eBay, Forever 21 jacket (similar), Unif Hellbound boots from Nasty Gal]

[Ax and Apple ring and May 28th watch from Fab, Bevel Camazotz claw ring from Occulter, various bits of brass]

Perfect weather a couple of weekends ago to take my new shoes for a stomp around the city. We stopped by the North End park for some shameless photo shooting before stocking up on baked delights at Bova’s (while Gregor drooled over Monica’s Salumeria next door).

The new shoes in question? Unif Hellbounds. Who knew footwear could be so polarizing. Half the people we encountered on our wanderings offered friendly smiles and compliments. The other half stared like I was some sort of streetwalker. (The fact that my dress was continually creeping upwards probably did not help this – first time I wore it without leggings or tights. I adopted a pattern of step-step-pull, step-step-other-side, to keep things decent as we walked.)

Even among my friends, reactions to the shoes are divided. One was particularly appalled to see me partaking in this hideous trend. My defense? A taller girl could not understand the subtle undertones of having everyone literally looking down at you at all times. I put on these shoes and I command attention. I don’t care if they are trendy, I don’t care if they are ugly – well, fashion ugly, not ugly ugly – and more power to the short girls who want to rock flats. I will continue to embrace any shoe that makes me tall enough to see over the pastry counter, and these Hellbounds are just my latest in a line of loves.

Unrelated note: This leather-trimmed vest was a serious score from eBay. I love the shape, and the leather is super soft; however, I suspect I know why the seller was letting it go. It has a tendency to leave black dye stains on any skin it touches. I’ve tried different leather seal and protector sprays, but to no avail. Know of any tips to prevent this?

Let’s talk about something ugly: insecurities. We all have them. I’m not talking about how big or little you are, or how well an item fits or how good or bad it looks… This is all about how confident you feel in your clothes. I frequently find myself attracted to styles that I’m not necessarily comfortable wearing. Instead of being dissuaded, I react as I do to terribly tacky trends: Challenge accepted. (Seriously, the worse the trend, the more appealing it is to me to try to make it look good.) It’s all about finding ways to work it.

Let’s start with shorts. I once went a whole summer refusing them entirely. I actually remember wearing JNCOs over my bikini (it was 1997 – no pictures, thankfully). Recently, however, I’ve embraced the look. I practically lived in this leather(like) pair through the winter, but always with tights. When temperatures rose and it came time to bare legs, they suddenly seemed exceedingly – well – bare.

As for the lace pair, I’ve tried them on many times, but the narrow cut and minimal lining always deterred me from wearing them out.  I’m fine with sheer fabrics when they have drape and flow – shrink-wrapped to my problem areas is another story.

Two pairs of shorts. Two wrongs. But together they look oh so right.

On my upper half, I applied the same combination of leather(like) and lace. A delicate top gave just enough coverage for a cropped bustier that showed off an inch or two more tummy than I was comfortable with.

The crowning achievement of this look, however, is the blazer. You thought insecurities could only be about baring skin? Oh, no. When you’re the odd combination of curvy and petite, a blazer is your worst enemy. Button it up and it pulls and buckles in the chest – or worse, takes on a corset-like form. Leave it open and it flaps about awkwardly. A taller, stacked girl might rock it, but anyone (me) under 5’3″ (5 foot and half an inch – yes, the half counts) can end up looking like a tree stump. To make it work, I had to get a bit crafty.

Since I don’t have a talented and affordable tailor on call 24-7 for such emergencies, I fashioned a fastener out of my DIY spike earrings and a scrap of chain. This managed to keep the jacket in check while giving it a more forgiving fit. With the added weight of the earrings, it actually hung rather nicely. And I’ve yet to find a wardrobe item that isn’t improved with the addition of spikes.

[Mikkat Market lace shorts, H&M faux leather shorts and jacket, Forever 21 leatherette bustier, American Apparel lace tee, Jessica Simpson shoes, DIY spike earrings as DIY jacket chain]

For this round, at least, it’s Insecurities: 0, Holly: 1. Ironically, today I’m facing the ugly task of finding a swimsuit to wear – in public – for the first time since college. I’m open to suggestions.

To celebrate my newly pink hair, I decided I needed an appropriately girly new outfit. After trying on a pile of pale, pastel, lacy numbers at American Apparel, I decided on this delicate dress with a minty bodysuit underneath.

I posed the question to Instagram, but I’ll ask here as well: Is it appropriate to wear just a bodysuit under such a sheer dress? The cut was full and conservative, and the Instagram consensus was yes, but I still decided to add a slip before wearing this out the next day.

Speaking of lace, these socks have been my saving grace. I’m in desperate need of a proper pedicure, but in the meantime I’ve been pairing my open-toe shoes with various frilled footies. Faster and easier than painting my toenails, and much nicer to look at anyway.

Oh, and the bubbles? I seem to collect them from every wedding I’ve ever attended. Little known fact, I carry a small vial on me at all times, just in case the occasion calls for it. I always consider doing a “What’s In My Bag” post for this very reason, but aside from the bubbles it would be rather unimpressive (a wad of receipts, a Sephora mailer from two months ago, a stack of gift cards in a rubber band). My organization methods are … unique.

At least my summer wardrobe is taking shape.