It was a particularly nice afternoon for a photo shoot, I have to say. On this day, my partner and I went to brunch and then spent the better part of the day at one of our favorite coffee shops. We basically do this every Sunday. It's something to which I always look forward. Fresh air, good food, good libations, book reading and people watching. If I could do that more than one day per week, I totally would. Hehe.
I decided to wear light, sheer and breathable fabrics as the weather was quite warm for October. There was a mildly warm breeze throughout the day, so I tried to capitalize on that to bring you some more interesting shots of my outfit. The location I chose is flanked by high windows; and due to the time of day and the position of the sun, the light hitting those windows cast downward at a sharp angle creating a set of perfectly separated squares of light on the opposite wall. Pretty cool! So, I decided to use this phenomenon to my advantage, as well. As you'll see, I think it created some interesting effects. :D
I decided to step out of the light box for this shot. You can see a part of the box to my left. ;P OK, so what exactly is going on with this outfit? I would say, quite a bit and contemporaneously, not so much.
First off, I believe this is my first monochrome outfit! Woohoo! Good on me or something. Haha. :D Actually, I am pretty pleased with how this turned out. I am essentially wearing two dresses. The black dress is sheer at the sleeves and it has an angular sheer overlay. Below, you'll find some photos of me walking in the light to try to demonstrate the mix of sheerness and opacity in the two dresses.
The white dress is one of my favorite purchases of the year. I got it from Urban Outfitters for just $5 including shipping! It must have been final sale, because the price was slashed considerably. I bought the dress specifically for layering purposes, though I may try to wear it by itself at some point. It has two sheer fly-away panels at the front and back. I simply layered the white dress over the black one and added a standard black bandeau for additional color contrast, as you can see here. :P
The chunky black cardigan essentially finishes the look and adds a much needed measure of warmth as the fabrics in the dresses are thin, light and sheer allowing air to easily pass through. The result was an incredibly comfortable, lightweight and breathable outfit. :D The flyaway panels of the white dress made the outfit more dramatic and gave the appearance of fluidity through movement. In this regard, the fairly constant light breeze that dominated the afternoon created some beautiful exaggerations.
It's amazing how the slight movement of air can transform an outfit. :D I was going to add a chunky black infinity scarf, but it was actually too warm, if you can believe it. Otherwise, I would have made it the centerpiece of the outfit by bringing the top part over my head to form a hood. This would have added a bit more of an edge to the look. Overall, I would consider this a more refined, futuristic style.
So, as you can see, it's a bit of a complex configuration due to the various shapes created by the bandeau in conjunction with the angular fabrics. The cardigan also creates some interesting effects when it is worn completely closed as it shows only the two toned angular parts of the dresses. The subtle mixtures of sheerness and opacity of the fabrics adds aesthetic interest, as well.
However, only two pieces were needed to create the ultimate foundation of this style: a black dress and a white dress. In that sense, this is quite possibly a minimalist outfit, despite the layering. Kinda neat! :D
zeroUV - Mirror Lens Retro Aviator Sunglasses in Black Violet
Thrifted - Sheer Black ModCloth Dress (Swap Group), Sheer White Dress
(Urban Outfitters), Handmade Bead Necklace (Toronto)
Tobi - Oversized Black Cardigan w/ Toggle Buttons
Chicnova - Braided Handle Fringe Purse
UrbanOG - Short Black Boots
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