the vanity fair international best-dressed list.

a month ago, i started entering photos in the vanity fair international best-dressed challenge, and it was a nice surprise to find that one of my looks was tapped as an editor's pick for the week of may 15th. i've been reading the best-dressed issue for as long as i can remember, not only to see who is chosen, but also to check out the features on the most influential names in fashion. i love that now the list includes fashion professionals and originals as well as couples and siblings. some of my favorite style icons are pictured here, and it's a honor to have amy fine collins and reinaldo herrera, the two main keepers of the list, choose me as an editor's pick. i'd love if you could vote for me (click on the heart of your favorite looks) so i can possibly earn a spot in the september print issue—i'm continually adding new looks to my profile so please keep checking back.

if you're in the u.s., have a wonderful long weekend!

photos via perryhagopian.com, lamodelmamafia, thekingofnice.blogspot.com, nymag, harper's bazaar, fabsugar

thoughts on: what's appropriate for work?

in case you didn't know, it has been exceptionally warm in san francisco this week. today it was 91 degrees at 2pm and was hotter by 5. any time the temperature goes about 73, it seems people pull out their shorts, sandals, etc. and take full advantage of the warmth. i get that. i work in an office, a fairly creative office of a major retailer, but the last few days, i've noticed some looks that i would personally call questionable. destroyed denim or lace shorts, crop tops, high slits and backless dresses. it made me think about dress codes, and what is and what isn't acceptable or appropriate at work. these days, there are those that work in a creative or tech office (where wearing flip flops and hawaiian shirts is ok), but there's also those that are in more traditional fields, like finance, medicine, business where a dress code is probably still in full effect (like business casual—although i'm not even sure what that means anymore).

so if you don't have a specific dress code, do you have things that you deem not appropriate for the office? is it crop tops or destroyed denim or something else? i'd love to hear in the comments...

pics via thenletitbe.tumblr.com, harpers bazaar, pumpskicks.blogspot.com, sincerely jules, lookbook.nu

happy 10th birthday, j'adore couture.

ten years ago, i was in a conference room at my graduate school, listening to a critique of my midpoint review. the midpoint review is a formal presentation where you tell a committee (with a talk and designed materials) what you are going to do for your thesis. it was actually the second time i was doing my midpoint review; i really didn't know what i wanted to do the first time around. i went back and rewrote my proposal and was more focused on the end result, a fashion magazine. i remember answering questions from the committee members and then waiting for them to tell me if my topic was approved or if i'd have to do this all again. i was so happy when the director of our program told me that i had passed, and right after that suggested i start a blog. i knew nothing about blogs or the first thing about starting one, but she said it would give me a place to write, since it is a cornerstone of a good magazine.

so start a blog i did. it was called kimair (my nickname) and my first post was about a new york times article on musicians becoming fashion designers (remember sweetface?) my writing—if you can call it that—benefitting from just doing it on a regular basis. eventually i started going to events and interviewing people, like laura and kate mulleavy of rodarte and lisa salzer of lulu frost. i joined coutorture, a precursor to independent fashion bloggers, where i met four women who are still good friends today: jennine, sarah, annie, and catie. all the while, blogging in general grew, especially in san francisco, and i met lots of other people like me who were just plugging along in this new medium, creating their own little space in the world.

it's crazy to see what blogging has become in ten years. i never thought i would even be on the blog—and i wasn't until three years ago. i wanted it to be about fashion, but since fashion is a big part of who i am (and now what i do), it made sense. i've learned and grown so much, and this blog has been a sanctuary during some highs and lows in my life. above all else, i'm thankful that i've connected with people, here, on social media, in emails, and in person. so thank you, thank you so much for spending a few minutes of your day here. it means the world to me.

balenciaga dress, club monaco sandals, proenza schouler wallet (solid leather version), altita by alta tseng earrings, dannijo (clear version), jewelmint (similar), eddie borgo, céline (similar) bracelets, alex mika and bing bang rings, linda farrow x alexander wang sunglasses

thoughts on: beauty is skin deep.

when i was a teenager and i wanted to wear makeup, i remember going to the supermarket and picking up some cover girl or maybelline, doing the best i could to make my skintone. a few months later, i was having some skin issues, so my mom took me to macy's and specifically two counters: clinique for their 3-step skincare program and fashion fair for foundation. fashion fair was created in the early 70s by eunice johnson, founder of the ebony fashion fair (and co-founder with her husband of the johnson publishing company), an annual fashion tour. backstage at the show, she noticed that makeup artists were custom mixing shades because cosmetic lines did not come in colors for the models, so she started fashion fair to address the needs of women of color. as i got older, i continued to use fashion fair, but many other cosmetic lines, like revlon and l'oreal were signing ethnic models and expanding their lines to include more shades. then in the eighties and nineties, prestige lines like nars, mac, and bobbi brown came along, and because they were started by makeup artists who had long worked with all skin shades, their collections were inclusive from the start.

while fashion is passion of mine, i am fascinated by beauty and advances in makeup. i love reading violet grey, the beauty lookbook, makeup and beauty blog, and into the gloss to keep up with new releases and must-have products. because i have combination skin that skews on the oily side, i'm constantly on the hunt for a good luminous yet mattifying foundation (yes, this sounds like an oxymoron). i also have quite a collection of mascara and love trying out new lip products. more and more makeup artists and skincare aficionados are coming out with new lines, my standby's are changing formulas for the better, and i'm also into discovering smaller companies (like from my recent trip to veer and wander in hayes valley, that carries rms beauty and ilia). however, it bothers me that many of these newer lines and some of my old favorites have cut their color ranges. for example, my holy grail of foundation, chanel mat lumiére, was recently replaced by perfection lumiére velvet, and the latter only comes in nine shades compared to 12 for the former and 20 shades for perfection lumiére, the non-matte version. a trip to space nk to try a few more unique brands yielding a salesperson saying "the shades don't go deep enough for your skin." in the collage above, i've featured a few makeup lines' darkest shades and clearly they aren't deep enough. how frustrating when you have money to spend and you're told, sorry the colors only go to here. haven't we gotten to the point where it's clear that a multitude of skintones is here to stay?

do you have issues finding makeup shades that are deep enough—or light enough—for your skintone?

product photos via veer and wander, barneys.com, bergdorf goodman, space nk, eve lom; collage by me

scenes from a weekend.

another beautiful weekend was just what i needed before heading into a busy week, ending with our fall photoshoot. some of what i was up to...

1. my ocd was in a happy place at the muji store. made me what to throw out every desk accessory, pen, and pencil i have and start over. / 2. instead of doing that, i splurged on a few garance doré for rifle paper company notebooks. / 3. packing my cuyana tote for a day of exploring: balenciaga zip pouch, chanel lip gloss, dries van noten perfume, prada saffiano wallet, linda farrow x alexander wang sunglasses, gap scarf (old), pierre hardy pouch (for business cards) / 4. love the displays in my favorite new home store, maker and moss. / 5. i used to have nothing but sneakers; so many cool styles in undefeated. / 6. some goodies that i treated myself to: adjustable lariat necklace from sweet and spark, super matte black sunglasses, bite beauty agave lip mask (been putting on at night and wake up in the a.m. with softer lips)

scenes from a weekend.

spent a lovely easter weekend in napa with annie...how did you spend yours?

1. packing: j. crew baseball tee and striped tee, ag jeans, linda farrow x alexander wang sunglasses, j. crew swimsuit, céline sandals / 2. so many cookies at dean and deluca in st. helena / 3. browsing at ma(i)sonry in yountville / 4. more sweets at cate & co. inside the oxbow market / 5. must try the pork belly wedge salad at morimoto / 6. what i wore to dinner: dries van noten shirt (old), rag & bone coated skinnies, valentino flats / 7. trying on shoes at the barneys outlet; these manolo blahnik's were a 1/2 size too small / 8. magazines and rosé on the deck

currently coveting: spring jewelry.

i left two things off of my spring shopping list, probably for two reasons: first, i've already bought them and secondly because they've become such a part of my daily wardrobe.

the first is the céline knot bracelet i picked up in february. i had long admired céline's jewelry, but the stores in sf (neiman marcus, saks, and barneys) only carried one size in the bracelets. so when i was in new york, i popped in to check out the selection, and the thin knot was too beautiful to resist. even though it's an open design, getting a small ensures that it won't slip off my wrist (there's enough of an opening to get it off and on).

my other purchase happened because of new york as well. i had lunch with sarah and she was raving about her mise en dior earrings. then the same day i went to céline, i stopped into the dior flagship and saw the pearl and colored versions. while i loved the design, i wasn't crazy about the colors or the pearls, so i passed. but back in san francisco, after taking a peek into the dior shop within bloomingales, the salesperson casually mentioned the metal versions were soon coming in. oh, you don't say? "i can give you a call when they arrive." well why not? i went for the smaller silver/larger gold combo, which looked better against my skintone, and they've become my alternate to the diamond stud—still tasteful but a little more interesting.

céline bracelets, available at neiman marcus, barneys, saks fifth avenue in san francisco, or céline in los angeles and new york
dior "mise en dior" earrings available at the dior boutique inside bloomingdales in san francisco