Charleston by Night

This is how Jenny and I spent our evenings...

First night, dinner at Poe's...we would probably tell you that our dinner was delicious and "the perfect amount..."

Friday we headed to 32 degrees for frozen yogurt...entirely necessary after the sweltering day!

Saturday night we got dressed up and decided to hit the town!!  It turned out to be an interesting night, meeting a few native Charleston boys and closing the evening drinking a New Holland beer at "Closed for Business."

Jenny looked AWESOME in her brand new Urban dress and a few key accessories...lovinnnn the green!!

I decided to take my vintage Oscar de la Renta skirt out on the town, I scored the skirt at Modern Vintage Chicago, and I accessorized with my AMAAAZING new necklace from CHICO'S.  Yes I said Chico's...we both walked away with stunnas for necklaces!

Sunday night we settled in with our Chicken Cesar Pizza and cupcakes (ice cream too), and watched The Switch...the perfect ending to a lovely weekend!!

She's A G

Just a reminder of how insanely cool Ginnifer Goodwin is.........

dress Roksanda Ilincic...photo via people

Sartorial Field Trips: Charleston by Day

In an effort to organize all of the photos that were taken to document this weekend with my bestie.  I decided to split them between day and night shots!

FRIDAY:

Before our carriage ride we were 2.3 seconds away from passing out due to heat stroke.  That is until we met our friendly neighborhood Charleston Ice representative and were saved.

Sadly this hot mama was not our guide for the afternoon, but boy do I respect her 'do (the bang braid is my favorite).  I mean let's get real horses have to beat the heat too...sadly I missed the photo-op of another carriage horse sporting a mane mohawk.  What a cool crew.

Sadly Jenny and I didn't make it to the jailhouse for a ghost tour...next time!

SATURDAY:

Is this familiar to anyone...

Recognize it yet??

Still stumped?  It's Boone Hall Plantation (aka Allie Hamilton's home in The Notebook duhhh!), and the gate that Noah runs into trying to find Allie after she's already left town...yeah we were pretty excited about this field trip!

One of nine remaining original slave cabins.

We both experienced chick-fil-a for the second time this weekend, even more magical than the first.

SUNDAY:

We wandered around the College of Charleston campus...how did I not know that CofC was here until this summer...it's such a beautiful campus!  I promise more photos to come of the phenomenal weekend, but for now I'll leave you with this quote...

"Alleh!!"  -Allie Hamilton's mama in a moment of rage.  Simple but poignant.

photo of carriage tour sign via jenny moreau

Sugar for Celebration!

As the weekend was approaching I had a hunch that my little blog would be reaching an exciting milestone while Jenny was in town.  So I planned for us to head over to Sugar Bakeshop in downtown Charleston and get ourselves some treats in celebration of Sartorial Roadmap's first 1,000 page views.  I knew that Sugar was going to be cute...but I had no idea it was THIS cute...

The bakers sweetly obliged when I asked them to scribble a little 1,000 onto my 'cake!

Jenny enjoyed a mint-chocolate concoction while mine was a vanilla cupcake with almond frosting!  Soo soo soo tasty!

Thanks to everyone who has visited Sartorial Roadmap, I've had the best time, and can't wait to continue to evolve it!  Now go and spread the word!!  I have also been informed by the kind Sugar Bakeshop "icer" that I need to stop by the store Indigo & Cotton...so stay tuned for that...


p.s. yes i am aware that my nails look diseased thanks to their lacking of a paint job...and no i will never let it happen again!

cupcake photos via jenny's killer photog skills

PJ's in Public

About a year ago a big sweatpants (like grey and tapered at the bottom) in public trend emerged, prompting editors and fashion fans alike to ask the question "would you actually wear these in public?"  I can confidently say that I never hopped on that train, the latest take however on the PJ's trend IS something that I can get behind.

I personally never slept in silk pajamas during my formative years, and I don't know that I plan on doing it in the future, but I am seriously willing to buy some silk PJ's (or PJ-esque pieces) to mix and match to make into a publicly acceptable outfit.  

First up the designer inspiration.  Celine most certainly wasn't the only collection sporting silky sweats on the runway, but I think it's safe to say Celine was the most iconic.  I mean how seriously cool is the leather tank+cobalt pants??  

These two ladies (Giovanna Battaglia a stylist for W & another adorable gal) rocked the trend outside of the Dior Haute Couture show in Paris just a couple of weeks ago.  And then there's Kanye West being a real man and wearing a "made for the females" Celine blouse.  You can definitely wear the whole PJ set together or split it up and make it into a combo of outfits!

This is how I plan to make PJ's work for me!  These pants from Anthropologie could quite possibly be the breeziest in history...perfect for the outrageous heatwave we're all dealing with at present.  The shoes are also from Anthro, they're such a great transition heel, perfect with the pants for now and then with tights and dresses this fall!  Lastly there's that pink I was talking about here...loving this retro-looking J.Crew blouse.  It is the perfect combo of cozy and work appropriate!!

Happy Girl

Today I'm happy for many reasons but I'm only going to highlight a few...

I'm living in South Carolina this summer (etc...?) and picking up "ya'll" HOORAY!  And sometimes I get to see pretty views of the sun setting over the river...

I used to live in Chicago where things like this happen...

I had a very interesting and exciting phone call yesterday that makes me want to do this...

Last but not least, in about 1 hour I get to pick up one of my best and oldest (we have known/loved each other since pre-school, took a brief hiatus from then til 6th grade and the rest is history) friends in the whole world and spend 3 days together exploring Charleston...

Get ready for a full photo update next week...

Shoe Shots & Memories

I think it would be safe to say that shoes are what initially lured me into fashion.  Shoes became a big deal for me probably in 9th grade.  I started to wear heels on dress-up days for away games/matches/races, and found such a joy in shopping for shoes that I'd never seen on anyone else...and entirely represented my burgeoning personal sense of style.

Some of my favorite shoe snaps of late...

Mustard suede brogues via dapperlou

I'll go ahead and assume that these are calvin klein,  though I'm not sure...love them!

Alejandro Ingelmo x Chris Benz via themanrepeller

klling me softly, Nicholas Kirkwood x Rodarte

Now to Miu Miu...Miuiccia Prada literally never fails on the shoe front, nobody makes more original shoes.  LOVED the Fall 2011 versions...the shape of the heel, the sparkle...

Fall 2011 Miu Miu campaign shot by Bruce Weber via fashiongonerogue

Memorable Shoe Moments (soo wish I had photo evidence):

-Patent red mary-jane's on Easter at the ripe old age of 4 maybe?

-Who else remembers those amazing J.Crew clogs from when J.Crew technically didn't make shoes yet?  They were THE best, I had them in a mustard suede I think, in like 7th grade?!

-A pair of red situations during the whole "bowling shoe" trend of 2003-ish?

-Bright pink kitten heel pointed toes that I LOVED.

-Black BCBG pointed toe slingbacks...a classic for sure (points were BIG in 2005)!  

-Cross country spikes...they were pink and white with tiger stripes.  They made me feel like I was running 100 mph...I wasn't.

-And the latest addition to the collection...the Love Me Knot heels from J.Crew, yet to be worn but oh I can't wait...with my Veda dress!

What are your best and worst shoe memories??

Major Summer Craving...

Since the 4th of July I've had a longing for strawberry shortcake...real life shortcake biscuits.  So when I got the chance to make dessert tonight for my small group in Charleston I knew I had to make the 'cake.  And just to forewarn you this is a poorly photographed food post because I'm a bit of a spastic baker, I'm not comfortable enough in baking in general to feel totally in control yet (especially when I only have about 2 square feet of free counter space...if that).

I went to foodnetwork.com to for my initial search for recipes.  I came up with two, one is this Paula Deen recipe from which I only used the part about the berries, the other food network recipe is this one from which I took the idea of the low-fat buttermilk because it's a healthier option than half & half or heavy whipping cream.  Then I remembered to check Joy the Baker and found this recipe from which I took pretty much everything else...and also used when half of my strawberries were bad (California Giant Berry farms...you are horrible) the rest of the blackberries that I had in my fridge.

The results:

They turned out delicious and satisfied my craving for sure...but I'm already thinking of ways to tweak the recipe for next time!  Also for next time I promise to take photos of the process!

Sartorial Compass: Gwen Stefani

Gwen has been blazing her own fashion trail since the early 90's during her No Doubt days.  Then she went solo and got even more adventurous with her style (love angel music baby?  b a n a n a s?!).  Now she is probably the coolest mom around, chilling with her two super cool kids on a daily basis...her oldest son Kingston most recently rocked a blue mohawk.

Other than a blue hair phase in 1998 and a pink hair phase in 2000 she has pretty much stuck with platinum blonde which totally suits her.  As you can see black and white are pretty much her jam, but when she does throw in color she kills it!

I mean HELLO Vivienne Westwood wedding dress that is dip dyed pink at the bottom!  And then there's one of the best dresses to ever walk the Grammy red carpet, the animal print L.A.M.B. dress below, it's easy to get it right when you design your own dress I suppose!

In her day to day life she often goes for a bit of a tomboy look but always reigns it back in with girly touches like pristine hair and makeup.  She never fails to be a knockout on the red carpet...and at her wedding, so if we're lucky maybe they'll renew their vows!!  

If you're looking to be sartorially guided by Gwen this week remember that black and white never fails, red lips everyday (ok maybe just once this week) but literally she has them in every photo, and bold prints can work on anyone!  Today I leave you with a still from No Doubt's video for "Don't Speak" it's classic Gwen Stefani in the 90's!

Residents of the Runway: Seriously Feminine

This edition of Residents of the Runway was originally inspired by one house.  I noticed it the first time I was in Charleston in May and it melted my heart.  It is so adorable, its address is 82 1/2 also cute, and it's nestled right in between two other homes making it super cozy too.  There's really nothing else to say except for prepare to fall in love...

This is another precious house that I passed by on a walk once upon a time.  Both of these homes are perfect examples of another one of the big Spring/Summer 2011 trends (that they obviously set); frills, florals and pink all rolled up into one.  Typically those three words are not in my vocabulary, but how could you possibly dislike any of these darling dresses??

So in love with the Nina Ricci confection on the right, all I want to do is wear it and dance ALL NIGHT...and I'm being serious because I LOVE to dance.

This is where the flowers come in, so pretty and romantic!  And the Valentino dress in the center is just too cute I couldn't resist featuring it on Sartorial Roadmap twice (first seen here on Ginnifer Goodwin).  I don't know what it is about Summer 2011 but I find myself gravitating a lot more to pink than ever before.  I'm going to chock it up to a trend, instead of assuming an entire change of lifestyle...however, for your piece of mind go forth and invest in frills and floral's because they're not going anywhere soon!

photos via style.com (dresses l to r antonio berardi, nina ricci, marc jacobs, valentino, d&g)

Bastille My Heart

Happy Bastille Day to the five people of France who have read Sartorial Roadmap.  I'd like to take this chance to celebrate all things French in honor of the day that the people of France stormed the Bastille in what began the French Revolution.  P.s. I am not the genius that came up with the title of this post.  It was Suzi from OPI,  Bastille My Heart is a color from OPI's France collection (my personal favorite from the collection is Louvre Me Louvre Me Not).

I'll begin my ode to France with a line from the ever quotable, and melodramatic Blair Waldorf (episode 1, season 2 of GG) "I would be in my Cabana at the Hotel de Cat, and there he would be.  Amid all of the fireworks on Bastille Day, all I could see was that.....Chuck Bass-tard."

A few of my favorite French things:

These two photos are from my trip to Paris in 2005.

A photo from the Tuileries during Fashion Week...there's just something about that vast dusty field that creates the best photos of models/editors/stylists going to and from shows.

The photo of the lavender field comes from the Free People blog and I think it looks like the most magical place to spend a few days!!  Croissants...yep they're tasty, yep they're French.

Last but not least a painting that I studied in my first art history class, At the Moulin Rouge by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.  My professor Tamsen Anderson is one of my favorites to this day, she had an intense haircut with bangs and never wore makeup except for red lipstick, she was super cool, not to mention her phenomenal name!

Honorable mentions for my Bastille Day celebration, brie (one of my favorite things EVER but there were no good pics), the Seine (walks along the seine, laughing in the rain, our last summer...anyone, anyone?), and all of the fashion houses that are too great in number to attempt listing.  Have a beautiful Bastille Day, drink some wine, eat some cheese and look at more pretty pictures of France!