Molly Bloom knows style

One of my hall of fame, go-to places for cute stuff is local San Francisco brand Weston Wear. I’ve been shopping there so long the store has moved three times. Now located on Valencia between 16th & 17th streets, they sell their full line plus inexpensive factory samples and a handful of knitwear by other brands. Right now they’re having a sale — 20 percent off all regularly priced merchandise.

I adore Weston Wear because their stuff fits my body type, which can be hard to fit. I’m compact and curvy, a tad shorter than average but not petite. Much of their line uses stretch mesh knit, a fabric I wouldn’t normally single out for myself but the clothes are expertly cut. Multiple layers of fabric are used — this does an amazing job of hugging curves without being clingy. The patterns they chose are surprising and fresh while the solids are often beefed up with style lines or trimmed with raw silk.

The shirt pictured above was purchased last week. It’s ivory cotton with black lace overlay and an empire waist. It’s the first non-mesh item I’ve bought from Weston Wear and I’m super happy with it. More high praise: I have never destroyed or worn out an item from Weston Wear.

Their mesh clothes are excellent for travel because they don’t wrinkle and instantly pop back to life when worn. Weston Wear is my default go-to when I need a dress that’s more than casual but less than fancy, like when my friend was married in Las Vegas last year. I wore that same dress to Christmas dinner on the beach in Hawaii and a few weeks ago when I dined with Ted.

It’s frustrating that their website doesn’t have anything on it, not even the store address. They should fix that.

If you aren’t in San Francisco you can shop for Weston Wear at Nordstrom. The selection isn’t that great at Nordie’s website and the models don’t have the body type to do these clothes justice. A quick Google search will point you to many retailers who offer Weston Wear, including Designers Apparels and Pea In The Pod. Speaking of, Weston Wear’s stretchy knits are great for moms-to-be in the earlier months and there is a full line of maternity stuff for later on.

If you’re a jewelry girl, don’t sleep on their locally made pieces and vintage accessories. Go forth and shop local!

A photoset of geek shirts at South By Southwest, courtesy of Smith mag. You may see someones you recognize.

photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid

I just returned from South By Southwest Interactive in Austin. Geek conferences aren’t known for fashion flair but a few trends stood out:

- Guys in hats, mostly fedoras and a few top hats. I am pleased.
- T-shirts with geek slogans that mix start-up branding and hipster irony. The Bloom Award for Best T-Shirt of SXSW goes to Consumating for “nice_tags,” modeled in the above photo by Marjorie Case. Runner-up: “Wearing My Twitter Shirt.”
- Girls in glasses.
- Free stickers applied to inappropriate places. Upcoming, indeed.
- If underwear are given away at a party, people will put them on over their pants. Again, I am pleased.