If there was just one day a year that I could spend making cucumber sandwiches and stuffing them into picnic baskets laden with cheese and white wines in anticipation of getting away to a cottage in the countryside, you can bet your sweet ethereal internet ass that I would look forward to it and love it. I don't care how girly that makes me. By Zeus, that would be an amazing excursion! Heh. I've always wanted to have a picnic. It's something I've obsessed about for many years. Every time I've tried to have a picnic, it has been thwarted by rain or pesky summer vermin. Feh! Stupid annoying bugs. >=\~
I don't dream about my perfect wedding. Rather, I dream about stuffing my face with cucumber sandwiches and washing that down with French wine on a blanket atop a grassy hill in the middle of nowhere in particular. I want to watch the sun set while lying in the grass, tummy full of cucumber sandwich goodness, and talk directly into my partner's face with my cucumber cheese wine breath.
That, my friends, is what dreams are made of and by Zeus, I will make this a reality. And as I bring my fate to her knees, I'd imagine that I would wear something very much like what you see before you. =P
I adore this striped tunic! I really didn't think I would like it as much as I did, either. I thought the lace collar would annoy me, but it's actually a really nice accent. To me, it's more sophisticated, than super girly. I got a great deal on it, too, since it was on sale on ModCloth for just $25 and I got another discount on top of that. It was originally $80 or $90. Yeah, I know! Pretty crazy. o_O
TIL Darling - Braided Wrap Watch in Cream ModCloth - Striped Tunic & Floral Skirt VJ Style - Yellow Cambridge Satchel UrbanOG - Short Black Boots ♫ Thank you so much for your comments! Though I may not respond to each one, I read and appreciate all of them! ♫
I'm going to be honest with you. I was in a real funk when I took these. Hehe. I just was not enthusiastic about being awake or even about being alive for that matter. It was just one of those days where I was utterly wracked with ambivalence. So, naturally, my outfit is reflective of my feelings, i.e. pretty dark
and grim. Just a lot of blacks and grey with some hints of gold, because you know what they say:
Every dark cloud has a..well..in this case..gold lining. ;P
I felt very in touch with my inner Janus, so I tried to capture those feelings here, i.e. jubilant one moment and somber the next. This actually turned out to be kind of a cathartic exercise.
Anyway, I didn't get dressed up to stay at home and feel sorry for myself. Hehe. I was still determined to make the most of the day. I wore my kick ass black zipper jacket and comfy panda sweater, then sealed the deal with a lightweight purple scarf. I'm also wearing my tried and true black Chicwish high-low skirt. I'm glad I decided to pay a bit extra for it. The quality is fantastic and the length is perfect.
Underneath that lies my golden, glittery suspender tights and my short black boots which I have come to love so much and wear quite often. I also carried my braided black fringe purse from Chicnova and wore a gold filigree collar necklace and gold studded wrap watch, both of which are from TIL Darling.
Don't worry! By now I've weathered the storm and I'm back to normal. I think it's natural to experience such ups and downs, even when there is apparently no reason for it. It gives me a chance to be a little more introspective and investigate my own thoughts and feelings so I can better understand myself. :P
♫ Thank you so much for your comments! Though I may not respond to each one, I read and appreciate all of them! ♫
Hey, it's my birthday, today! What?! I know, you guys! So amazing. :D <3
Today, I am contemporaneously reminded of my mortality and of my incredible oldness. I have been on this Earth for decades. I played with a clunky Polaroid camera as a kid (the birthday themed film was my fav, you guys); I saw the beginnings of the internet (AOL IRC ICQ LOL WTF BBQ); I actually know what "dial-up" is; I know what a "modem" looks like; I know what a "floppy disk" looks like (I had some good games on those); I made mix tapes as a young teen which included greats such as Depeche Mode, Jamiroquai, Janet Jackson & The Pointer Sisters (I had eclectic tastes, shut up! Heh).
I enjoyed roller skates; I went to warehouse raves before they were trendy; I hated my parents; I hated being tall; I hated my feet; I hated my Christian private school; I hated a lot of things actually. Atheism predated the beginning of my menstrual cycles; angst drove me to fill countless notebooks with poetry.
I devoured books like "The Boxcar Children," "Goosebumps" (so cool, you guys and borderline too creepy for kids..); "The Lord of the Rings," "Dragonlance," and various choose your own adventure books; I fell in love with English, Etymology and track and field; I went to college, where I became enamored with Philosophy; while there, I traveled alone to a foreign land; I learned a second language; I became inundated with wanderlust; I saw my future; I went to graduate school and here I am.
I want to say I've got my act together, but I'm only just pretending. :D Haha. I kid..well..sort of. Anyway, enough of that business. I'm just glad to be alive. I have lived to see another day! Hurray! ;P
Let's talk about what I'm wearing, shall we? As you can see, I've got some serious casual layering happening. My last few casual posts have been super boring (as they should be, mind you), but I decided to throw some aesthetic punches, this time. I've got a rad perforated mustard bag, quirky polka dot sneakers with teal laces, my favorite backpack and a pretty hilarious hoodie for good measure.
Underneath it all, lies a wonderfully colorful treat. I'm rather fond of creating more than one look at the same time, as I am sure you know by now. :P This totally amazing retro sweater helped me create a little "kodak moment" of sorts. The sweater, along with the high-waisted jeans, makes me look like some kid from the 70's on her way to class. Nerdy, sexy, cool. That's what I say. Hehe.
I'm also wearing some lovely accessories, which I am sure you all have seen in previous posts, so there's no need to bore you with details. Though, I must say, I love this balloon necklace so much. :D
So, I'm curious..how old do you think I am? There are only wrong answers, so don't worry. Haha. ;D If you paid attention to my rant (and some previous posts), you should have a good range to work with. I'd love to read your guesses, though I won't confirm any of them. ;P Haha. Have a great day, guys! <3 Chicwish - Pastel Air Balloon Pendant & Cream/Gold Belt-It-Up Bracelet TIL Darling - Black/Brown Contrast Backpack & Wrap Watch in Cream
ModCloth - Striped Sweater, Teal/Brown Top & Mustard Bag
Levi's - High Waisted Skinny Jeans in Portland Brown
Threadless - "The Communist Party" Hoodie
Thrifted - Navy/White Polka Dot Sneakers
Tobi - Taupe Skinny Belt w/ Gold Buckle ♫ Thank you so much for your comments! Though I may not respond to each one, I read and appreciate all of them! ♫
I never used to be into cardigans. I only started wearing them about three years ago. I had written them off as something old people wear to cover up. Hehe. I'm serious! :P They were the same as doily shawls in my book. Hence, I bought my first cardigan ever in 2010 and only because it was on final sale. I've posted pictures of me in that cardigan, already. Wanna see? :D Just click here and here.
I quickly realized that cardigans are more of an accessory than anything else. At least, that's how I look at them. They shouldn't carry the outfit, but merely call attention to it in some way. They shouldn't be used to conceal some physical flaw--like wrapping the arms of a sweater around your waist to hide your bum or something. Heh. That being said, most people use a cardigan to keep warm. That is its most fundamental function. Still, I don't think they should be relegated to run-of-the-mill cover ups, either.
In the pictures above, you'll notice that I added a cardigan mainly for the color. That's all. The cardigan itself was incidental. The additional color, however, meant a whole lot. When I look at these photos, I don't see some matronly cover ups. I see strategic splashes of color. I see a study in chromatics.
In this sense, I wear cardigans in the same way I wear my scarves. Both provide some measure of warmth, but they also add a bit more aesthetic interest to my outfit. They're the cherry on top. Cardigans are a really important (but often overlooked/under-utilized) garnish, if you will. :D
Anyway, I hope you found this little blurb entertaining? Useful? I dunno. Haha. I just wanted to share my thought process when it comes to styling my cardigans. My hope is that this post will give some readers pause the next time they pull this garment from the closet; and inspire these readers to ask themselves:
"How can I be more creative with this aspect of my outfit?" :P
~ FIN ~
♫ Thank you so much for your comments! Though I may not respond to each one, I read and appreciate all of them! ♫
Hey! So, remember back in February when Cotton gave me the shaft in The Road to the Runway contest and ripped the crown of victory from me and gave it to someone who had fewer votes? Wtf? Seriously? Well, you should totally click here. Get all caught up on that, bro. Do your due diligence! OK. You're all caught up? Fabulous. So, earlier in the week, I got this bright idea to showcase some stuff I had (prematurely, apparently) packed in my suitcase for the Miami trip. You know, because, I thought I had won the contest..and..everything. Yeah.. pretty awkward. *Sigh* Super, uber awkward. =/ Well, this is part three. Oil up those imaginations: sunshine, beaches, palm trees....and....GO! Day 3
As I'm sure you've noticed, my basic plan was to recycle a lot of my outfits. The goal was to bring as little as possible and travel light, but also be creative. I didn't want it to be super obvious that I was wearing something for the second or third time. You'll notice that I only packed flat/low heeled shoes. Again, that's just to save space and to force me to be more creative with my outfits. I hope I succeeded! Maybe one day when I go traveling, I will create a post showing what I packed and how I packed it, as I have kind of a quirky way of going about it. I don't know if you all would find it useful, but a part of me thinks it might be worth sharing, anyway. Hmm. Now, I find myself with a hankering for a road trip. ;P
Anyway, as you can see, I'm wearing that houndstooth dress from my previous post, but in a different way. Maybe, just maybe, I will wear the dress by itself without covering it up. I may be more inclined to do so, if you guys actually told me that you wanted to see it. This kind of pressure might work. ;D
I was nervous about adding the floral tights to the mix. I always feel like something is missing from my simpler outfits. The simplicity bothers me immensely. Sometimes, this need to add something extra can lead to disaster. Haha. I'm aware of this. I know it's important to edit myself and be honest about it. Still, I don't think the mix in patterns is THAT upsetting to the eye. Reasonable minds will differ, I'm sure. In my mind, an outfit isn't all that interesting if it doesn't warrant a second glance from a passerby. Hehe.
I wore a pleated skirt with lace trim underneath for some extra length as the dress is quite short on me. In this regard, the trick is to use a skirt that is not too bulky. Hence, you can see that it doesn't cause the dress to flare out. Sometimes, though, I deliberately use a fuller skirt as a poor girl's petticoat. ;P
I'm thinking this outfit would have been appropriate for my last dinner in Miami. I can totally see myself wearing this while sitting on an outdoor patio overlooking the water with a sunset view. =)
And here lies the end of the journey through one of my worst memories of the year. Cotton tried in vain to ruin my reputation without providing a shred of evidence. I can't get back all of the time I wasted and all of the emotional, psychological and physical investments I made over that very long month of voting. I can't give any of that back to my family and friends, either. Cotton owes YOU an apology just as much as it owes me one. I will always harbor this blight on my memories for this year. However, your sweet and supportive comments are much appreciated and I think I will get over this eventually. These posts really did help me, in that respect. Thank you for your kindness, as always! <3 (\__/)
(=‘.’=) TIL Darling - Vintage Bicycle Pendant & Gold Studded Wrap Watch
ModCloth - Sweater, Dress, Satchel, Skirt & Tights
Tobi - Black Studded Loafers
This is part two of me basically trying to put the whole Cotton situation behind me. It's been almost three months since Cotton wrongfully disqualified me in the final round of The Road to the Runway competition. Unfamiliar with this horrid time in my life? Well, click here to get all caught up. I completed the final elimination round with the most votes and I had packed my bags that night thinking that Cotton would announce me as one of the winners the next day, but instead I woke up to find some jack off's picture in place of my own. OK, that was uncalled for. I'm sure he's a super duper nice guy, but honestly, if your sense of fashion/style is just wearing what's popular (and this is what he said in his bio), then you really don't deserve to win. Fashion contests are about CREATIVITY. Ugh. Anyway, as you can see, I'm still angry. So, I thought what better way to console myself than to show you all what I would have worn to Miami had I been announced as the winner. So, here goes: Day 2
I'm wearing a couple new things. First up is the houndstooth dress--my first ever houndstooth garment! I was so nervous about buying it. I love the print and I love seeing it styled by others, but I wasn't sure how it would look on me. I'm still nervous about it, actually. I'm rather simple with my pattern and color mixing, for the most part, so houndstooth is pretty radical from my perspective. It's going to be a challenge to style it "my way" and make the outfits surrounding it aesthetically pleasing. What you see here is basically my first attempt. Please have mercy on me! Hehe. For, I know not what I do.
The second new thing I'm wearing is this amazing plaid maxi skirt. As soon as I saw it, I just had to have it. I mean, look at it! It's freaking beautiful, you guys. The only drawback is that it doesn't have side splits (or any splits for that matter). It tends to restrict my mobility at awkward times. I have long legs and when I walk, I stride. Hehe. I need that room. With this skirt, though, I have to find my inner dainty maiden and become one with her. Small steps are a must. :P Still, I'm stoked to own this little beauty.
As you can see here, I also experimented with a double-collar look. I think it turned out quite nicely. :D
I think the houndstooth and plaid mix worked out well, too! It's a daring thing, but I just had to try it!
I got so many stares when I wore this to lunch with my partner. Haha! It's funny watching people trying to be discreet with their staring. I feel like, at this point, I'm pretty hip to all of the supposedly subtle techniques. Goodness gracious. It is amusing. Hehe. I only hope that most of the stares were good. I'm not sure where I would have worn this on the trip. It would have been appropriate for an early brunch/afternoon sight seeing. I would have put together something a bit more elegant for that evening. I guess we'll never know... for obvious reasons. :/
TIL Darling - Studded Wrap Watch & Gold Filigree Collar Necklace
ModCloth - Houndstooth Dress, Plaid Maxi Skirt & Sheer Lined Socks
Tobi - Everly Military Inspired Epaulette Cardigan in Cobalt
Chicwish - "Belt It Up" Bracelet in Black/Gold
WantedShoes.com - Wingtip Ankle Boots
VJ Style - Yellow Cambridge Satchel
Thrifted - Black Skinny Belt
So, as you may or may not know, Cotton disqualified me in the final round of voting in February (there were three rounds total) in the Cotton Road to the Runway contest, even though I had the most votes and they refused to provide any evidence of the robotic fraudulent voting of which I had been accused. Yes, I won the final round only to have the crown ripped right out of my hands. I've still got the scars to prove it. Well, one thing I didn't mention was that I had already started to pack my bags. Yeah. I know, right? I'm an idiot for thinking that I would win since, you know, I had the most votes and everything. Totally lame. I left all of that stuff in my bag and didn't really get around to unpacking everything until now. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I just..well..apparently ignored it for three months. I blew the dust off the suitcase, unzipped it and uncovered some things I had planned to wear on the three-day trip to Miami. I thought I would share some of those outfits with you. Maybe I'm just a glutton for pain. Maybe it will be cathartic. I don't know. I guess I just don't want these outfits to go to waste. Anyway, you'll just have to imagine sunshine, the beach and palm trees in the background. ;) Day 1
So, here's one of the outfits I had planned to wear. I'm thinking this would have been appropriate for an evening dinner. I'm sure I would have worn something incredibly casual and utterly insignificant for the plane ride to Miami. I might have changed into something else for some sightseeing during the day, but I would have worn this particular outfit for anything I might have had planned for that night.
Some may find the different colored polka dots annoying and that's cool. I happen to like that little chaotic morsel. :D Perfection is boring. Oh and I should also mention that the white/black polka dot "top" is actually a dress that is one size too large for me. Rather than give the dress away or sell it, I decided to make it work by wearing it like a top or skirt. This is not unusual, since I normally wear dresses in this manner. It's rare for me to just wear a dress by itself without messing with it in some way. Heh. Want to see me wearing this polka dot dress underneath another dress? Click here! ;P Of course, the backpack wouldn't have been in the mix. Haha. I had donned this outfit for brunch and coffee, so I had packed my usual coffee shop survival items. I just thought that it would be best to actually wear the outfit somewhere, rather than put it on to take photos and just take it back off. Heh. Anyway, this whole subject is a real bummer, so I'm just trying to use this as an opportunity to get some closure. I hope that you like this outfit and that you are having a better day than I am right now. =/ ModCloth - Hoodie, Sweater, Tights, Bow Tie & Polka Dot Dress Thrifted - Black/White Checkered Backpack Chicwish - "Belt-It-Up" Bracelet in Cream Chicnova - Cherry Red Satchel w/ Buckles TIL Darling - Braided Wrap Watch in Cream ASOS - Carrot Orange Pleated Skirt
Tobi - Black Studded Loafers
Super proud of myself on this one, because all of the clothing I am wearing is thrifted, scarf included. Of course, I had to jack it all up by wearing a non-thrifted purse, shoes and jewelry. Feh! Hehe. :P <3
The blue coat, vintage yellow dress, white top, floral skirt, sheer tights and white scarf cost me ZERO dollars. I got all of it from a clothing swap group, save the tights (gift). Hurray for recycled clothing!
I guess if I included the shipping costs for the swaps, then one could say that it actually cost me about $25 total. However, that's one hell of a deal for a coat, dress, top, skirt and scarf. :D~
So, I've explained the thrift part of this post, but what about the hyperbole? Well, in this outfit, I intentionally wore items with varying lengths. This is an aesthetically pleasing scheme for me, but I realize people may differ on this. I personally enjoy this abstraction in colors, textures and lengths.
The blue coat is my favorite thing in the world, right now. It's definitely a fixer-upper. The lining is pretty shredded and the pockets are non-existent. When I tried it on after I first got it and my hands went right through the pockets, I died laughing. I'm easily amused, I guess. Hehe. :P I knew it would be a "project" going into it, though. I just couldn't pass up on the color. It's so great! My hope is to save up enough to put some really nice professional lining in it--maybe white/red polka dot or floral and then re-sew the pockets myself. Yeah, I know right? Me? Sew? Good luck with THAT. Hehe. I'll do the best I can. :D
I love this vintage yellow dress, too. The color, cut of the sleeves and the textures in the fabric give it a real 70's vibe. Here, you can see that I chose to wear the dress open and as a cardigan. This is a pretty typical way for me to wear a dress. I might wear it the traditional way at some point. *Shrug* We'll see.
Oh and it was a LOT colder than my clothing may suggest. I couldn't believe that it was so windy and cold at this time of the year. I am certain that the end of the world is nigh. Haha. This crazy weather just keeps getting crazier. I'm expecting it to be 1000 degrees this summer. o_O O_o Hehe.
P.S. - I was feeling like total crap when I took these, so I apologize if I look really unhappy. Hehe. I was actually in quite a bit of pain, but I didn't want to stay home and feel sorry for myself, you know what I mean? I decided to go out for breakfast and just basically "walk it off." I felt better eventually.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! <3
Thrifted - Top, Dress, Skirt, Belt, Coat, Scarf & Bead Necklace (Toronto) TIL Darling - Braided Wrap Watch in Cream & Backpack c/o Fleet Collection - Sterling Camelot Bracelet Wantedshoes.com - Wing-tip Ankle Boots ModCloth - Brown Braided Satchel
 Last weekend, my partner and I decided to get out of the house and get some laughs at an improv show in the basement of a pizza joint.
So, I went with something half dressy and half casual. I thrifted the beautiful pleated cobalt blue dress from my swap group. The pictures really don't do it justice. It's a gorgeous hue! For additional color contrast, I paired the dress with my mustard epaulette cardigan and added the multi-color pastel hot air balloon pendant to break up the color blocking a bit.
Underneath the dress is a black pleated skirt with lace trim. The trim rides up for some reason, so it didn't show up in the last blog post in which I wore it. Hopefully, you can see the details of the lace a little bit better here. I like to add extra length to shorter dresses by wearing a short skirt underneath and I usually favor skirts that provide some additional aesthetic interest. I like the frilly edges here. Beneath that are some thick plaid tights with subtle cobalt blue lines and my adjustable calf boots worn at ankle length here. The plaid tights made the outfit more interesting, I think.
Finally, I added a solid bright red satchel to shake up the color scheme. I really like this satchel from Chicnova a lot, too. If you're curious about my experience buying from them, you can read my review here.
It's been awhile since I climbed into the old, scary attic to take some photos. Haha. Please excuse the peeling paint and dusty floor boards. The weather kind of sucked the day I took these. :P Chicwish - "Belt It Up" Bracelet in Cream/Gold & Hot Air Balloon Pendant
ModCloth - Plaid Tights & Black Pleated Skirt w/ Lace Trim Ruche - Military Inspired Epaulette Cardigan in Mustard Thrifted - Cobalt Blue Pleated Dress UrbanOG - Short Black Boots
I could have called this post "Atari Flower Power," but I never had an Atari as a kid. Bah! I suck. Heh. The first console I ever had was a Sega Master System. After that, I got a Nintendo and then a Sega Genesis. So, the Nintendo was the first console on which I played Pac-Man. :P Though, I also had a pretty good Pac-Man for DOS made of ASCII. If you're not a gamer, then just ignore this. Hehe.  Here's what my first Pac-Man experience looked like before I played it on Nintendo.
This image (stoked to even find it!) takes me back. I had many great games for DOS. Good times! <3
Anyway, I felt in a gaming mood, so I created an outfit around my thrifted Pac-Man tee. I really like how this turned out. I was going to wear studded loafers, but my partner said those were too serious for the outfit. So, I went with the black and white Converse sneakers, instead. The floral and gaming patterns seemed like a natural pairing. You'll find many overlaps in their color schemes, so I considered this a rather aesthetically pleasing combination. Aside from the Pac-Man shirt, I'm wearing three new items.
The first new item is my Fleet Collection silver chain linked bracelet. The polished silver really draws your eyes and the design is simple, but elegant. I need those two qualities with my jewelry. I really don't like to make a fuss with a bunch of danglybobs. The whole arm candy thing just isn't my bag.
Next, we've got my new sheer tights from ModCloth. They're called the "Outfit Enhancement" tights and it's easy to see why. From a distance, the patterns look like small dots, but they are really just tiny little squares connected in a delicately weaved netting. I think they expertly garnished the outfit.
Last, I'm wearing a blue/black contrast top with pleather elbow patches, also from ModCloth. I was in search of a staple blue top and it was on final sale, so I snagged it. It's more of a purple hue and I was looking for something in the cobalt category, but it still works with the color scheme of this outfit. I think the elbow patches are a nice, subtle touch given that they're the same color as the sleeves. Though, I think it would have been a little more fun if the elbow patches were a different color, such as coral.
I hope you all enjoyed this post! Have a wonderful weekend! :D <3
Thrifted - Pleated Floral High-Low Skirt, Pac-Man T-shirt & Black/White Converse Sneakers
ModCloth - Leipzig Hoodie, Cobalt Blue/Black Top & Sheer Patterned Tights
c/o Fleet Collection - Sterling Camelot Bracelet
TIL Darling - Braided Wrap Watch in Cream
VJ Style - Yellow Cambridge Satchel
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