Not everything has to be cutting-edge or with a wild and crazy look. Fashion can still be functional and there's nothing wrong with celebrating casual looks. I think about this when I look through my favorite magazines -- it's all glamorous times on red carpets or swanky parties, but let's face it, neither the celebrities nor us mere mortals live like that 100% of the time. How does one navigate through the day looking casual, fashionable and (gasp) comfortable?

The Magpie doesn't care that this Inspired photo is from Ye Olde Year of 2009. I ripped this photo from the pages of InStyle and kept it in my Crazy Hoarder Scrapbook, I loved it so much! I look back on it now and I still fawn over the feminine-sweet pairing of basics that actress Keri Russell is wearing. Of course Felicity would wear this!! (Team  Ben, by the way.) I liked the combination of thin, layered separates and oh-those-shiny-Oxfords! It was one of the early photos that convinced me I needed to have a pair for myself.

And so, even a couple of years later, the Bird remains Inspired by an everyday, casual outfit, which honestly is so comfortable, you could just live in it. It's nowhere near as grubby as being in a slouchy tracksuit all day, wouldn't you agree? We don't have to be dressed like we're going to meet the Queen, just be presentable, with a little bit of fun. From the Jaunty Wardrobe: jeans from Old Navy, striped button shirt from Express, pink argyle cardigan from Forever 21, pink sleeveless undershirt worn beneath all that (not shown), brown Oxfords from Steve Madden, Champagne cork necklace made by the Magpie.

Jaunty Fine Print: Items from the Jaunty Wardrobe photographed by Denise Sakaki, Keri Russell image from InStyle

This Bird saw this simple look on actress Piper Perabo from a recent issue of InStyle Magazine and immediately thought, that is sparkle-comfort! I also thought, what a keen way to repurpose an old chunky sweater that had pretty much been relegated to comfy at-home wear or something I threw on when I wanted to curl up on the couch and do nothing.

The sweater was literally under $10, something I bought years ago in some clearance section of a tween clothing store, thinking it would never see the light of day beyond a very casual-shlumpy Friday. But trends change, belts come back into style, and the next thing I know I'm wearing it over a sequin-collar dress for a date night with Mr. Magpie. It was a nice reminder that even the simplest (or schlumpiest) of pieces from the Jaunty Wardrobe can be repurposed if paired with the proper pieces. And yes, I'm fairly certain I didn't look like a homeless bag lady at date night.   


Jaunty Fine Print:  wardrobe photos by Denise Sakaki, photo of Piper Perabo from InStyle magazine

 

So one can either give credit to or put the blame firmly upon the shoulders of InStyle magazine for putting the Inspired idea in this Birdie's head to paint an old bookshelf bright red. More specifically, it was InStyle's April issue focusing on bright colors. Apparently shiny-shiny sparkle isn't all that catches the Magpie's eye. I blame you, Gwen Stefani, with your brightly colored ensemble and subliminal suggestion using the power of your bright lipstick hue!

To be fair, I had an old particle board bookshelf that was begging to be a guinea pig and I was curious about the Krylon spray paint that makes the boast of not needing to prime the surface and that it was specially made for being applied to plastic. All these claims seem true enough; the paint went on fine and didn't peel off (yet). The only blunder was spraying a can of clear sealant over the finished paint. It was raining, I was spraying the shelf in the garage, and there was enough moisture in the air to make the sealant cloudy, so a couple of hasty trips to the hardware store were necessary to pick up extra cans to fix everything.

I go through odd phases of home improvement, but instead of buying new things, I'm trying to work on updating and changing what we already have. The newly-painted red bookshelf has given rise to inspire new projects, and if all goes well, they may show up as an Inspired post as well!

Jaunty Fine Print: Bookshelf photos by Denise Sakaki; magazine cover taken from InStyle.com

 

I have a girl-crush on actress Zooey Deschanel. There, I've said it. She's adorable! How could you not want to just put her in your pocket and take her home to have tea and scones, listening to old vinyl LPs? Along with being an indie film darling, she's been in a couple of my favorite sci-fi/genre movies: the Sci-Fi -- sorry SyFy (hate this, by the way) -- Channel steampunked Wizard of Oz, Tin Man, and the silly movie adaptation of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I know fans hated this remake, and while it's got issues, I thought casting her as Trillian made it easier to watch. Plus I loved the opening musical number. No, no, dolphins -- thank you. And you're welcome for all the fish.

I enjoyed seeing her as one of The Fabric of My Life spokespeople for Cotton's latest celeb-dotted campaign. Her online stylebook is cute as a bug's ear. The television ads had music from her CD, She & Him playing in the background. I received this as a gift from Mr. Magpie. Call it a celebrity indulgence album if you must, but I thought it was a nifty gifty, as I love the low-fi sound and the sweetly earnest lyrics.

Zooey's twee sensibilities helped Inspire this home wardrobe-shopped look of a cotton-fabric-of-our-lives floral applique dress (Romy), gray knitted shrug (Macys..?), rust-colored tights (Alloy), and my very favorite kimono-print, chain/buckle detail flats from Steve Madden. The earrings are vintage clip-ons, carved from ivory from my grandmother's collection; I believe they're shaped to resemble the pikake flower, found in Hawaii. While the InStyle photos of my celebrity style muse's red Isaac Mizrahi dress and white Luella dress isn't exactly like what's shown on the right, I'd like to believe Zooey would approve of this Magpie closet mashup.

Hooray! This first day of September calls for a celebration and a Jaunty new category: j'adore -- to share any single thing that completely captures this Bird's heart. The object of affection today is a first look at, courtesy of InStyle, of our favorite girl in the city, Carrie Bradshaw, powered by the petite adorableness of Sarah Jessica Parker. Of course it seems cliché to follow the flock and still hold a torch for the jaunty defunct television series, Sex and the City, but the second movie is set to come out in 2010, and I'm not gonna lie -- this little birdie is EXCITED. The Chanel clutch is of course classically lovely, but the Louboutin golden glitter shoes -- how could our girl not walk the streets of New York without these? Those heels were made for golden girl, Carrie Bradshaw, and I can't wait to see more photos come out!