the friday five.

1. on saturday, the sacramento street merchants association is sponsoring the outdoor market. from 10-7, enjoy sidewalk sales at lots of shops, including some of those featured in the sacramento street scene. hudson grace is having a sale, and luna boutique is hosting an ag jeans and frank & eileen trunkshow. / 2. also on saturday, rand + statler is hosting another lauren wolf trunkshow from 1 to 5. i had a blast talking to wolf last year, and this time you can sip champagne and get 15% off your purchase. / 3. the new christian louboutin boutique at 29 maiden lane is now open. it features not only the full women's and men's lines, but also handbags. don't say i didn't warn you. / 4. the new york times has a great feature on garance doré and how she's made a name for herself by relying on her own way of storytelling that's different from her storytelling partner, the sartorialist's scott schuman. / 5. while you're down in union square, check out the the sk-ii pop-up on post street to have a digital skin analysis. i went last week and it was so cool to learn more about my skin, including its visible age in five areas: texture refinement, radiance enhancement, firmness, wrinkle resistance, and spot control. you can test products (like their facial treatment mask) and get samples based on your skin concerns. oh and did i mention it's free? what better way to kick off the weekend than free pampering (the pop-up is there until may 23).

pic of garance doré via emsedge.elle.se, lauren wolf via rand+statler, chrisitan louboutin via sfgate

Jil Sander Runway Details S/S 14

Pictures © Jil Sander.

What are your favourite details?

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

Jil Sander S/S 14

Pictures © Jil Sander.

This was the last collection designed by Jil herself. How do you like her final looks?

the new look: navy and bronze.

back when i lived in philadelphia and my style of dress was more tomboy than tomgirl, a favorite shopping destination for me and my friends was i. goldberg, an army & navy store that was founded in 1919. the guys could pick up carhartt and levi's pants, perfect for skateboarding, and i thought the army jackets and flight jackets were cool (the perfect topper for a pair of pegged jeans and doc martens). a few weeks ago on a trip to h and m, i stumbled upon this navy satin flight jacket with rose gold hardware and zippers and it was love at first sight. there's nothing better than rediscovering an old favorite done in a new way.

p.s. i've entered in the vanity fair international best-dressed challenge. check out my profile page and vote for me to help me earn a spot in the september best-dressed issue...

h and m divided bomber (available in-store, more options below), gap t-shirt, balenciaga skirt, sole society sandals, céline bag, tom ford sunglasses, jewelmint (similar), eddie borgo, céline (similar), hermés bracelets; alex mika and vita fede rings, dior earrings (similar)

photos by dan johnson

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