Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well no, not really.  I already left and came back last week from LA.  I had a mini Vacay with my friend Claire. It was amazing.  Last time I went to LA not so great but that was because my friend I was visiting had just moved there himself and couldn't tell us where to go at all and we were in Santa Monica without a car.

This time I got to see:
Santee Alley
Little Tokyo
Korea town
and a whole lot of Downtown by public transit

I'll just give you a little day by day like I did with Pittsburgh because I don't want to overload with a long post of pictures.

Today is Santee Alley!  It was like a combination of China Town and Little Mexico tons of street vendors selling amazing different Mexican street foods and assorted fashion goods from things that fell off the truck, cheap sunglasses, belt buckles, perfumes, makeup that was mislabeled and CLOTHES!  oh the clothes!  It was like everything I have been on Nasty Gal and Tobi but 1/4 of their prices.  Had I known what I would be walking into I would of researched a bit more to pick out some key pieces.

The main alley was about 4-5 blocks long and completely bursting with people shopping and vendors.  Even for a Thursday it was bustling and the music was blaring terribly inappropriate lyrics for raps songs.  I was a bit surprised by that given that there were so many children with their parents (ha).

Sexy Heels?  Yah they are! 

Mannequin butts as far as the eye could see!

 On the way to Santee Alley is the Fashion district of LA.  Walked past tons of showrooms and manufacturers.  It is very different then the NYC Fashion district, you had a mix of the upscale and the smaller fashion lines.  Also it went from bargain bin fabrics like this store to very swanky Mood and Vogue Fabric type stores.

 I seriously could of wandered those stores alone all day.  If only I had budgeted my money for this!  Happily for my friend it is enough to make me want to come back for frequent visits.  I just wanted to dive right in and take advantage of all that discounted fabric and trimmings.

 We also came across this store which I wish had been open.  I can only imagine what kind of things the "Craft Depot" would have in an area next to Santee Alley and the Fashion District.  It was also amazing to me while in Downtown LA how much Korean I saw around there.  I know in my head that Koreans make a large percentage of the population but I was prepared to really see them all over the place and their businesses.  While I was in Santa Monica I saw almost none of that but downtown it was everywhere.  It also got me into some funny mishaps where I am so used to automatically giving every Korean elder respects that I was doing it all the time and they would perk up (apparently not a lot of LA kids bother to pay respects to elders unless they know them closely). 

Collectively I got a lot of new clothes in LA so I look forward to some new OOTD the next coming weeks as well!  Until then have a great weekend my friends!  I've got 3 major personal projects that I am in the works to start so that will also kickstart some other new posts.

Cheers!

Tobi - Clothes Review

I ordered from Tobi for the first time last week and was very happy when my package came in the mail.  I am currently obsessed with Mint and Copper for my spring colors, and they had mint all over the place.  One of the things I like the best that they do is everything new goes on sale for a week before they put it at their normal prices.  It's not expensive or doesn't seem that way since it's on sale.  

 It came the same way most clothes does, in a plastic mailer bag pretty plain

 Each piece was individually wrapped probably the stayed this from from the manufacturer to the warehouse and right to me.  It makes me nostalgic of working in the stock room of a retail store how we unpacked all the clothing from their little baggies and then later shove them back in if there was a shipping order to fill.

 I got this comfy mint hoodie/sweatshirt that has 3/4 sleeves

Nothing much to say on this except the fabric is thin enough to show if you were wearing a black bra and everything was cover stitched or serge sewn together.  The draw strings are a really nice cotton when I expected them to be an icky nylon so that was a good surprise.

Long mint pleated skirt 

The fabric on this was better then I had expected for the outer shell.  The inner lining was super cheap and serge finished instead of a rolled hem or top stitch. Also you can tell it wasn't just factory but MASS produced because one of the side seams was really wonky where the pleats didn't match up and the seam is sewn diagonally through some of the pleats so it has that weird twist.  I'm hoping that will settle out after hanging it for a while and the first time I wash it.  There were also some loose threads that just made it look messy around the waistband which I had to promptly snip.

Polka Dot sleeveless Blouse

I was very surprised that this fabric was also much nicer then expected.  It has had proper facing in the button holes and collar of the blouse.  I expected the armholes to a nightmare of finishing but it was clean and so was the bottom of the fabric.  The fit was just what I wanted also.

All in all I'm very happy with my purchases and I will definitely continue to browse and shop their online store with confidence in what I will be getting.  Their price points aren't bad and the shipping was pretty standard in time. You just have to keep in mind if it looks slightly weird or makes the model look fat it will look completely weird or fattening on you also.

Tabio Socks

 I finally got my brown paper package from the UK. 

My Tabio socks!

I like their postage it's very graphic and simple.

 2 pairs of toe socks

2 pairs of half socks

1 pair of ruffled ankle footie sock

 I love the way these look but it takes a little bit to get used to feeling of each toe being separated.  It also weirds me out a little to see my feet and for a split second think they are my hands.

 The half sock as an accessory over other socks is an idea to spice it up.

 

The half sock alone works well to protect heels in new pumps without giving you the weird toe bulk.  They are also handy to wear for sandals to protect your heel or make it a little more of snug fit. I like to wear them with flip flops when I am working in the cold basement to give my feet a little warmth but allowing my toes to be free.

Lastly the ruffled ankle footie is fun to wear alone as a house sock or with some flat ballet slipper type shoes.  It was a good sock to wear with my ankle boots because it protected the sole of my foot while allowing my tops to still breath in the boot and showing off the ruffles on top for a pop of color.

Overall I am very satisfied with my Tabio order.  Yes the socks are more expensive but the quality of them is far superior to any other socks I've looked at or tried.  I also live in a no shoes indoor household so it's nice to still see something pretty and fashionable on your feet when when you are relaxing.  I was surprised thinking the sock might even be too big for me since they are mostly one size fits all.  Instead they were a great fit and with the material they allow for a lot of stretch for larger feet as well.  I would say if you are willing to drop some serious money the shipping is nothing. These socks were well worth it to me and I look forward to making future orders of their other lines.