Category Archives: What I Wore

Classic Breton Stripes

I have recently become obsessed with Breton stripes. I completely understand that there are more well-known images of stars in this classic look, like Audrey Hepburn, Bridget Bardot, Jean Seberg, Edie Sedgewick and Marilyn Monroe. But my favorite images of celebrities wearing what I consider a wardrobe “must have” come more from my era, like Meg Ryan in French Kiss and Madonna in Papa Don’t Preach. The look is so simple and fresh, and so French. The history of the Breton stripe shirt dates back to the French navy’s official uniform, but has been in fashion most notably through Coco Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier. In fact, I really do have a history of this type of shirt through one of Gaultier’s own designs with Target in an outfit post (here). I guess my love for this look runs deeper than I thought!

I had been hunting for an affordable version of the marinière, and found it at J Crew, complete with a slightly different detail: a fringed hem. Already a steal at $39.50, I bought it at the Fashion Valley location for an additional 25% off! I purchased it in a large to get that loose-look as worn by Meg Ryan, but styled it with a leather jacket like Madonna. I was going to wear my trusty Stan Smiths with them (which I already have because this shirt has rotated twice through my wardrobe in the last week), but opted to give my outfit more of an edge with a pair of rocker shoes by Miista.

Outfit: Striped boatneck t-shirt with fringe by J Crew; “Collin” shoes by Miista (no longer available); “Trigger” satchel by Botkier; BCBGeneration leather moto jacket; Old Navy mid-rise cropped flare jeans; “Simone” glasses by Warby Parker in Blue Coral; Topshop hat & belt (no longer available); Leather Depeche Mode wrap bracelet by Little Treasures by Mir; WendyB Rings by Wendy Brandes

(All outfit photos by Rholnna Jiao; movie images searched on Google)

Kick Out the Style, Bring Back the Jam

I’m so excited that it’s finally Fall, and I can wear sweaters, coats, boots and more importantly: LAYERS! Although the weather was a bit up and down throughout October, I still wore a sweater to see one of my favorite bands from the 80’s, Tears for Fears. My sister and I have been waiting for them to tour again, because we just seem to keep missing them. Thank goodness they decided to end their tour with two dates in the San Diego area, and we were lucky to get tickets to their sold out Saturday October 8th show at Pechanga Theater.

I have been wearing more and more comfortable clothing to concerts because it just makes the night so much easier to handle, especially since I really like to stay standing and dance my heart out! Overall, this is a very basic outfit consisting of a sweater, leggings and sneakers. The criss-cross on the sweater meant I didn’t need a necklace, but I still added a few other details to keep my outfit stylish, like a fedora, bold ring and cute purse. Although comfy, I still like to feel dressed up enough because you never know who you’ll meet…like maybe one of the band members after the show!

Outfit: Lush sweater & ring (c/o) from Wysh Boutique (original post here); Girlfriend Collective leggings; Rebecca Minkoff purse; Stan Smith by Adidas with cork soles from Size.co.uk; Lookmatic glasses; Unknown brand fedora

Yes, that would be me, my sister and Rob, all meeting Curt Smith after the show! He autographed my records (below). Unfortunately, we did not get that same chance with Roland Orzabal. Maybe next time?

“Head Over Heels”

(Outfit photos by Rholnna Jiao. All other photos & video by me. Post title: Lyrics from “Sowing The Seeds of Love” by Tears for Fears)

Edit this setlist | More Tears for Fears setlists

What I Wore to Fashion Week San Diego 2016

Earlier this month, I attended a couple of days of Fashion Week San Diego. Because I’m still going through and editing the Saturday runway and Sunday trunk show pictures, I thought I would share the outfits I wore on those days. For the Saturday runway show, I tapped into my inner-rock star and wore sleek pleather leggings, a sheer trench coat and a Sex Pistols t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, along with my MIISTA “Eva” pumps. For both days, I carried one of my favorite purses, which is an “oldie but goodie”: the Bodhi safety-pin clutch. I fell in love with it when Kelly Framel of The Glamourai wore it oh-so-long-ago (my post about it here, and one of her posts here).

For the trunk show, I wore jewelry made by one of my favorite designers of Fashion Week San Diego, Pashn by Survi. I met Survi at last years FWSD trunk show and purchased the gorgeous pendant and ring, pictured below. I was so excited to see her expand to clothing and to then chat with her again at the trunk show. I feel a sense of pride knowing independent designers who I’ve connected with are growing their brand and showcasing their talent!

I also knew I would be walking around at the trunk shows, shopping and meeting all of the talented designers. While my shorts and shirt felt dressy, wearing flats kept me from having tired feet. Additionally, I’m so excited that it’s cold enough to wear tights! I wore these Berkshire Sheer Diamonds tights to really dress up my shorts and to also add some extra texture to my outfit. They have a control top for extra support, so these tights would not only feel comfortable, but also look great with any skirt.

I’ll be featuring other patterns of Berkshire tights in future posts. If you like what you see, Berkshire is offering Any Second Now readers a 15% discount on all of their products until 12/16/16 by using blogger15 at check out on their site at eberkshire.com!

(Photo 1 taken by Nihan of Style with Nihan; Photo 4 taken by Deon Chen)

FTC Disclosure: I received product in exchange for a product review for Berkshire. Although I did receive product, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

Pour Some Sugar On Me

When I went to KAABOO, I wanted my outfit to be comfortable, easy, but still put together. I decided on a simple black & white palette. I wore my Stan Smith sneaks, although I was a bit apprehensive because it was an outdoor festival. I was surprised at how well they held up, and even with the crowds, they didn’t even catch a single stain (although someone did spill some beer on the right shoe, which wiped right off). With the weather so unpredictable (like high temperatures in mid-September), I opted for shorts and a light long-sleeved shirt.

How amazing is my Sugarzuly cross-body purse? It was absolutely perfect for a festival setting to hold my essentials, and it provided some color through the Huipil fabric.

Our Bags are made out of 100% Huipil and Upcycle Huipil. A “Huipil” is a cotton weaved fabric wore by the Maya women in my country and Central America . Many women today still wear this outfit as a tradition to their Maya descendant. As they have hand-woven their clothing on a back strap loom for centuries and pass along the tradition through the years. – Sugarzuly

Outfit: Downeast Basics shirt; Ann Taylor LOFT Scallop Jacquard Riviera Shorts; adidas Originals Stan Smith Luxe Cork shoes from Size.co.uk; Cross-body purse c/o Sugarzuly; Bonlook “Keiko” prescription sunglasses; unknown brand fedora & choker

FTC Disclosure: I received product in exchange for a product review. Although I did receive product, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

(Photos 2 & 3 taken by Janice Gutana)

I was introduced to Sugarzuly at one of my favorite stores in Carlsbad, Wysh Boutique. They are having a little in-store celebration tomorrow to ring in the Fall season! Be sure to stop by because they have adorable clothing, jewelry, home decor and they carry a variety of Sugarzuly bags!

Wysh Boutique

300 Carlsbad Village Dr #117, Carlsbad CA 92008

ZIUR Designs Fall 2016 Fashion Show Recap

At the end of August, I attended the ZIUR Designs Fall 2016 Fashion Show at the lovely Porto Vista Hotel in benefit of Give Clean Water, an organization whose mission is “to provide a sustainable clean drinking water solution to every person in Fiji.” The evening was hosted by Leilani Angel of Style Sorbet, with co-hosts San Diego Style Bloggers Paulina of Lil Bits of Chic and Tiffany of Glitz and Glam by Tiff.

The show featured clothing by Oeas Villatoro (there’s a cape dress I’m in love with), along with ZIUR Designs jewelry and their newest MAN Collection. The evening started off with a cocktails and a trunk show, followed by the runway show. I had fun spending the evening hanging out with Lindsay of Affordably Accessorized, which was most apropos to close out National Accessory Month!

Give Clean Water is currently using a filter made by Sawyer Products called the Point One Filter. The filter attaches to a 5 gallon bucket and removes 7 log (99.99999%) of all bacteria like salmonella, cholera, and E. coli. and 6 log (99.9999%) of all Protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. – From the Give Clean Water website

The filter was amazing and I even drank the filtered water myself!

I purchased one of each Water Drop bracelets by ZIUR Designs, where 100% of the proceeds go to benefit Give Clean Water!

That. Denim. Cape Dress by Oseas Villatoro! *swoon*

Statement jewelry by ZIUR Designs

Fantastic pieces from ZIUR Designs and their MAN Collection along with beautiful clothing by Oseas Villatoro

With Paulina, Tiffany and Lindsay

My outfit for the evening: Pre-owned Hermes scarf from Portero; Pre-owned dress by Natori from Refinery Resale in Las Vegas; Dior Saddle Bag from eBay; “ANGYL” pumps by YRU (no longer available)

I was definitely channeling Carrie Bradshaw with my Dior saddle bag (although that’s a Seabreeze and not a Cosmo)!

Styling Looks at Wysh Boutique

A couple of weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to share my story about being a career woman, wife, mom and blogger while styling some looks at Wysh Boutique in Carlsbad, for the Elite Networking Group. As I mentioned previously, I have been a part of the Elite Networking Group for over a year, and it has allowed me to meet and mingle with so many great women who are from various backgrounds whether they own their own businesses or maybe belong to a great organization for a worthy cause. In fact, one of the ladies I met that evening recently interviewed me and included me in her “Woman Crush Wednesday” feature, and I’ll post about that next week!

Carlsbad has become one of my favorite places to frequent. I discovered Gaia Gelato and Wysh Boutique when I attended a media event at the Carlsbad Village Faire last year (post here). I’ve been back up there a few times with my family and I’ve seen Paola, one of the owners of Gaia Gelato at several events in the Carlsbad area. I took quite a few pictures of the evening, and you can also check out Cindy’s Facebook page for more!

I would love to thank the beautiful Cindy Matalucci creator of The Pulse (San Diego’s only interview style video marketing company) and the founder of the Elite Networking Group, for allowing me to share my story and introduce my blog to a growing audience! I would also like to thank Mogjan from Wysh Boutique for her always being so kind, and for allowing me to style some of the great clothing and accessories from her lovely store!

Spirits provided by California Fruit Wine Co. I’ve had their wine at several events, and they are so refreshing and light!

Light snacks provided by Hands On Pasta. I’m not sure what that dish right above is called, but they were like light little pizza puffs. I easily ate ten of those that night, I’m sure of it!

Photo courtesy of Gaia Gelato; everything they create is simply delicious!

Mojgan, owner of Wysh Boutique, spoke first and told us her story of wanting to bring together a little bit of home goods, fragrances, accessories and clothing all in one elegant boutique.

The looks I styled with merchandise directly from Wysh Boutique. Mogjan has so many great items, it was easy to create some great summer-to-fall transitional looks! I bought that sweater by Lush, one of my favorite brands, because the color is great for fall with a unique neckline.

I’m standing next to a favorite look I styled: A wrap blouse with high-waisted flared jeans and a hat from San Diego Hat Company. I actually had to keep replacing the blouse because it kept getting shopped! In fact, I heard from Mogjan that they sold out of the outfit and I saw on Facebook that they recently restocked it. I need to go back and pick it up!

Sugarzuly is a fantastic line of purses & bags by a lovely lady named Monica and her sister, who created the weekender bag above, and the one I styled with the sweater and frayed-edge jeans. They are up-cycled from Huipil fabric, from her native Guatemala and Central America.

I have collaborated with Sugarzuly by styling one of the purses from their newest line. Be on the lookout for that outfit post soon!

The great thing about being a part of a networking group is meeting new people. Here I am with Ashley Poppe of AshPoppe – From Wear to Where, a blogger who recently moved here from Seattle!

With Cindy from The Pulse and founder of the Elite Networking Group!

Grayscale

I’ve finally come to accept the style of “tonal” dressing. I think I used to worry about matching shades of colors perfectly, but that is quite an impossible task since even blacks come in degrees of darkness. But with gray, it seems easier to pull off and I find that it also mixes well with taupe and beige.

Although it’s been quite the scorcher lately in San Diego, I will always find an excuse to wear a cape!

Cape Coat c/o Fashion Mia (no longer available); Polished Casual Blouse by Downeast Basics (I got them in two colors, see my haul below from their Henderson location); Old Navy cropped flares; Christian Louboutin heeled sandals from The Real Real (close up below); Rebecca Minkoff purse; Necklace, earrings and ring “rented” from Rocksbox; Warby Parker “Simon” glasses in Tea Rose Fade

(Outfit photos by Rholnna Jiao)

FTC Disclosure: I received product in exchange for a product review. Although I did receive product, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

My Flat In London

Ok, so I don’t really have a flat in London. But I do have pieces of a lovely collection from Brighton called My Flat In London, designed by Jan Haedrich. I can’t recall how I first heard about the collection, but my husband gave me a My Flat In London purse for Christmas a couple of years ago. I loved the look because it was very reminiscent of Chanel, but at a fraction of the price (although, I do now have my own Chanel purse, more on that later when I put up my post about luxury consignment shopping). Imagine my delight when I went to Las Vegas recently to celebrate my mother-in-law’s venture into a new career and she surprised me with adorable My Flat In London jewelry for my birthday! Of course they perfectly paired with my purse and I just couldn’t wait to put together an outfit featuring the pieces. I adore French style, and this was my version: mixing high-end with mid-price, keeping it simple but with attention to detail and always a bit of edge. Cuffing my jeans makes them feel more tailored and the whole look feels very put together without being too matchy-matchy. I’m excited to finally have an outfit post up, and I’ll be doing some catch up posts in the next few weeks. In the meantime, cheers and have a great weekend!

Outfit: Downeast Basics cardigan; Old Navy tank top; Madewell jeans; Chanel shoes & Hermes bracelet from The Real Real; Warby Parker “Simone” glasses in Blue Coral; My Flat In London purse, bangle and pendant necklace; Wendy Brandes #@ rings; Suki Bijoux vintage map London ring; Karl Lagerfeld watch

(Outfit photos by Rholnna Jiao)

Kelly Cardenas San Diego Celebrates 1 Year!

Happy 1 year anniversary to the Kelly Cardenas Salon in Hillcrest! Can you believe I’ve been going there for a little over a year (posts here and here)? I practically celebrated with them throughout the day by first getting my hair styled and colored earlier in the morning (by Salvador of course), then going their anniversary party that night.

Congratulations to everyone at Kelly Cardenas, and cheers to many more years to come!

My haircut and color from earlier that day. Back to purple!

(Wearing “Keiko” Bon Look prescription sunglasses; Forever 21 dress; Zara long bomber jacket; La Vidriola Cassette necklace)

With my hubby at the anniversary party

With the stylist who works all of his magic on my hair, Salvador!

I got to pose with Kelly himself!

The Kelly Cardenas staff, from all of their locations: San Diego, Carlsbad, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Chicago

My outfit for the evening: Lucy Paris jacket (bought second hand at Lost & Found for $20!); Forever 21 shirt; SOHO Apparel leggings; BCBGeneration shoes; Kate Spade bracelet and clutch; La Vidriola Cassette earrings; Lookmatic glasses

(Pictures 1, 3, 4 and 5 courtesy of the Kelly Cardenas Instagram and Facebook pages)

Moto Mania

I have been on the hunt for a classic moto jacket for the better part of a year now. I didn’t want anything fancy, just a simple moto jacket like the ones Depeche Mode used to wear (check out Alan Wilder’s in the picture below). I had a great faux leather one (post here and here), but my search began after it started to wear in the shoulder area. I was deciding between a more affordable faux leather one and a real leather one, but I didn’t want to keep replacing the faux one due to possible wear. Imagine my delight when my husband surprised me at Christmas with this wonderful, absolutely classic real leather moto jacket by BCBGeneration. I searched for months to find what he found in one evening, simply by chance. But it’s definitely no accident that my husband’s years in retail have helped in finding exactly what I wanted!

Check out Alan Wilder’s jacket; classic, no? (Photo courtesy of The Place)

I’ve always loved black paired with navy blue. It’s almost monochromatic, but with just a slight bit of contrast.

Outfit: BCBGenerations Moto Jacket (no longer available); Forever 21 houndstooth sweater; Madewell jeans; Naughty Monkey suede boots; Warby Parker “Simone” glasses in Blue Coral; Tahari scarf; Beret from Paris; Love Tatum Rings; “Adelaide” crossbody purse c/o Kipling (Fashion Valley)