bootie call

Ah, boot season.

j crew plaid flannel shirt theseventhsphinx

Spring is OK for boots but not sufficiently dry for the suede styles that are my clear favorites (if acquisition is any indicator). This, among so many other reasons, is why autumn reigns supreme. Another reason might be the predominance of plaid, for which I have always harbored a weakness. Perhaps it is my rural upbringing?

ugg ankle boots

In particular I am craving the extremes of thigh-high and ankle boots. Booties. Bootlets. Much browsing and buying and returning before I discovered these charmers from UGG (which lacks romance but there it is). These have a great cowboy silhouette in the toe, minimal yet sculptural detailing, a great pale wheat color, and the slightly tapered chunky heel that I am drawn to these days.

j crew plaid flannel shirt theseventhsphinx

Isn’t there something wonderfully pristine about a bare, unadorned throat? 

Ripple pearl drops from Pearlescence, Chanel Rouge Noir Illusion d’ombre smoked out with a sepia shade from the Viseart neutral matte palette, MAC Peaches blush (new, loving), MAC prolongwear brow set, Wet n’ Wild Megalast lipstick in Bare it All with Urban Decay 24/7 lip pencil in Naked, which is almost a perfect match, some other stuff you can’t really see…

In the hair I’ve been using the deep repair mask (as a leave-in treatment) and the styling cream (for definition) from the Carol’s Daughter Tiare line. Smells amazing and I like how soft yet defined my hair is. Doing pretty well with my resolution to wear it down more.

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On the nails: Zoya Taylor. Basically a realistic concealer shade for me thanks to a touch of peachy warmth. Really nice color, though the whole time I’ve worn it I’ve wanted to add gold glitter to liven it up. The formula I find OK but it cracks on me within 48 hours or so.

j crew plaid flannel shirt theseventhsphinx

J Crew flannel shirt, Obi-style leather belt (eBay), Express leggings, Breil Milano watch, Ugg boots, Rough & Tumble bag (more on this bag later, loving this).

I have a few of these obi belts and find them so versatile and sleek. Though I could also like this look without a belt at all, loose and casual, to me the belt is doing so much here to amp up the style factor. The power of a good belt.

Get thee a good belt.

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powder blu

Zoya’s Blu nail polish is just what I hoped it would be, a pale powder blue with the barest hint of lavender, opaque in two coats.

zoya blu nail polish

You know how you can be drawn to shades of polish you wouldn’t really consider in any other wearable life category? Not that I’m virulently against powder blue but I don’t own anything else in this shade, hardly anything that could be considered pastel at all, and that’s not a coincidence.

zoya blu nail polish

Michael Kors open arrow ring, other rings…

In the land of nail polish, though, suddenly an entire different set of criteria seems to be at work. The touch of lavender makes the blue pop against my olive skin, the pale, opaque color pops on the hand as white would, but in a softer, more intriguing manner than straight white. I’m not certain why this doesn’t convert me to the shade all around…but it doesn’t. Though maybe it should?

Nails, like shoes, are a style zone of their own, with bold colors and patterns not at all unusual, even arguably boring, now, with a demand for more and more creative designs to catch the eye of the machine of cultural interest. I appreciate this, though I wish this trend would spread to more and more categories. Which it is, I think, spreading…but, you know, I wish it were faster.

zoya blu nail polish

Vintage beaded clutch

Full marks to this shade for being pigmented enough (not too close to white) to pair well with every white accessory ever.

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