Bespoke Baroque: August 2011

Last week amid all the chaos that is my life, I dropped into Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills to see Rachel Zoe's Fall 2011 collection. But because my life is full of craziness right now, I forgot my camera. I took these pictures on my iPhone, so I full recommend going to NeimanMarcus.com to see the pieces without all the blur.

Zoe says the collection has no age limit, and I can see that for a lot of the pieces, but I do have to say that I felt the dresses would be far too short for me with the possible exception of this one-shouldered dress.

But I still think I wouldn't dare.

The maxi dress has a great pattern and flowed beautifully.

The bag the model is carrying above, the cape, the shawl-collar coat, and the sequined cardigan are my favorite pieces.

The ruffled leather jacket and the plaid suit were appealing, but the narrowness of the cut on these pieces especially in the trouser legs worries me about sizing.

Unlike other "celebrity" lines, Zoe seems truly invested and an active participant in the design of the collection. She also seemed really nervous as she was presenting. The prices are reasonable for high-end ready-to-wear and with a presence in retailers like Neiman Marcus and Saks, I'll probably end up with a few pieces myself.

I'm really lucky because I have good nails.

They are strong, and they grow really quickly which means I'm usually cutting them down for practicality and not necessarily to make them even because of breaking.

But as good as my nails are, my cuticles are horrible. I'm always searching for great cuticle treatments and really intensive hand creams.

Lately, I've been using Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturizing Hand Treatment constantly. An aesthetician told me about using the original Eight Hour Cream on my lips about 15 years ago when I couldn't find anything to help with my dryness and cracking.

That was a life-changer especially when they came up with the lip product in a tube.

I'm not sure how I first got the hand treatment. It could have been a gift with purchase, but I've been relying on it when my cuticles are especially bad and have cracked and are painful.

I never hear anyone talking about this product, but to me, it's one of the great under-praised miracle workers.

I usually wear this dress really casually with a white tee shirt underneath and flats, but today I thought I would see if it could handle being dressier.

Since I was already changing it up, I thought I also do my hair and makeup differently. I've never really cared for my hair parted in the middle, and the family tells me it's too severe when I pull my hair back this tightly, but I did it anyway.

I also did a really light eye and a really dark lip.

We had a crazy week with an unintentional turn-around trip to Vegas, a kid with pneumonia, a fashion show and a tasting on top of working the day job and prepping for a two-day off-site presentation next week. Because of all the busy-ness though, I have a lot to share with you this week including a look at Rachel Zoe's fall collection, a work look that may need to be retired and a beauty product that I think is under-appreciated.

But first - Burgers!

I've shared my family's love of the burger before after our dinner at Umami Burger. After that post, someone recommended we try Father's Office ironically right after A saw it on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Father's Office as a strict 21 and over rule, so since we couldn't take all the kids, D and I went on a night when the kids were all gone.

The burger is topped with carmalized onion, Applewood bacon, gruyere, Maytag blue and arugula.

I actually thought this was a better burger than Umami. Is it the best burger in LA? I'm still not ready to go there. But paired with North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and Old No. 38, it was really good.

And just to show how much we love burgers, we had actually had sliders at home the night before while we were trying to clear old shows off the DVR.

Of course, no comparison.

We are over 100 degrees here, and I'm surrounded by fall clothes and pictures of fall clothes. With the air on, I can at least pretend it's almost here.

Donna Karen - This coat is just so amazing.

More Ralph Lauren - I am just crazy about almost everything here.

The most perfectly simple boot - Dior at Neiman Marcus

Manolo's - Love the fur and the velvet burnout. Also at Neiman Marcus.

The dark red lips at Gucci

Photo: Allure

This week's search was for a tunic with sequin trim at the bottom. Tougher to find then expected. Here are the options.

Michael Michael Kors Grey Heather Jersey Sequin hem top on Bluefly

Also on Bluefly, Romeo and Juliet Couture Black Cotton Sequin Detail Hi-Low Top

And finally, not exactly what I set out looking for, but....

Vince Cluster Sequin Raglan Cropped Top on Shopbop

This week, I'm trying something new...you get to vote. Tell me which one you would choose by voting in the poll below.

A few years ago, Clinique made this great product called Color Surge Lip Lacquer. It was a super glossy lip gloss in a pot. Obviously it wasn't so great to the majority because Clinique doesn't make it anymore. A has pneumonia, so we cut our trip to Vegas (very) short, and I've been cleaning and organizing since we got back. While going through my beauty stash, I found two brand new packages of Lip Lacquer and got so excited, I was practically jumping up and down.

New Rain is a super light, nude pink.

Cherry Spritzer is a bright berry.

They are great because they have good color and shine and don't cause those gross lip gloss strings when you press your lips together. I also think that a gloss is more flattering at this age because lipstick tends to sit in the creases around my lips. I've already made pretty significant dents in the pots, so I'm sure I'll go through them in the next two weeks, and then I'll just have to move on.

I once worked in an office with orange walls. To be honest, they were more rust than orange. But every night I would go home with a headache. At that point, I decided I was not an orange person. But over the years, I have found items in the perfect shade of orange that I love like the orange cord on this necklace.

The orange on these shoes is not so intense and is touched with gold.

Shoes: Fergie

The best thing is they are super comfortable.

I know I'm not going crazy. I know I saw a pair of blue suede Manolo Blahnik with a scalloped edge and I think a strap. I thought it was at Barney's or NM, but I can't find them now. Anyone know what I mean?

Sheath dresses for the office - This is Michael Kors at Nordstrom

Clinique Chubby Stick in Fuller Fig - my favorite pinky beige at Sephora

Tiffany charms - I'm a sap. Love this lipstick tube.

My girl who is off for a week in Mexico without me.

Tuxedo cake

I took some pictures back in July after work one day. It was a pretty warm day followed by a beautiful evening. I had worn an old white blazer to work that day. I had been on the edge about getting rid of it, and so I thought I would try to wear it one more time to see how I felt about it.

Frankly, I realized that I just don't like it. It's stiff and scratchy and not comfortable at all. Why did I hold on to it for so long? Why did I even buy it?

I do this a lot. Hold on to things thinking they have meaning or are special when they really aren't. I've spent the last two years getting rid of things and letting go. But I still have more work to do. I've learned that these things don't hold my memories. Even if you let things go, the memories remain. And some of the things I've been holding onto don't exactly have good memories. Learning to let go is hard work.

I had just purchased a bunch of Betsey Johnson jewelry on Ideeli. One of the pieces was a simple set of stretch bracelets embedded with hematite and green crystals all tied together with (say it with me) a black bow. I got it for a really good price, and didn't have huge expectations for it. When it arrived, I immediately fell in love and was so happy with it. We were driving up to the mountains the next day, and I knew I would wear it. It was cool up in the mountains, so I wore a jacket. We weren't there very long. We came back down the hill and decided to run by the Farmer's Market to pick up a few things before going home. When I got out of the car, I took off my jacket and threw it inside. We went our way and then went home. About an hour later, I realized, No Bracelet! I freaked out. I must have taken it off. But no. I realized that it must have pulled off in the parking lot. I raced back, but it was gone. I mean, who could resist it.

So this is to my bracelet in memoriam. I wear this old jade bracelet while thinking of you.

Remember when these were popular. This one was for wisdom. It obviously didn't make me any smarter about losing things.

I can't find a replacement for the bracelet I lost, but I'll keep looking.

I actually went back to the parking lot three times hoping I was just missing it. My husband thinks I'm even crazier then he did before.

Shoes are Kate Spade

I carry way too much stuff in my bag which is why I usually am carrying a really big bag. I've been using this small for me Coach bag lately, so this is all I can fit inside and get it zipped.