Professional Jaywalker
Posted: May 15, 2013 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: diy, hermes, outfit, payless, polka dot, target 6 Comments »
I’m not happy with this outfit. It’s kind of boring and the proportions are all wrong. But it was my first day at the new job and even though the dress code is pretty casual, I wanted to look professional without overdressing – so it’s blouses over T-shirts (no matter how nice). I bike to work, and I’m not confident enough to wear a dress or skirt while biking yet, what with the horrible traffic here. And until I can master jaywalking across four lanes of traffic with my bike in tow, I’m not going to wear anything that can make me fall on my face. That means no heels and no wide-leg pants. So taken all of those into consideration, I guess this is the best I could come up with.
As for the job, looks like it’s not going to be that busy at the moment. It’s the end of the school year, so I’ll just have to come in a couple of times a week to make sure everybody turns in their finals and work on some syllabi and stuff like that. I won’t start the real teaching assistant part of the job until the next term starts, in August.
Shirt: Target, Jeans: Hermes, Flats: Payless, Necklace: self-made
P/S: I’m linking up with Work Clothes, I Suppose. Appropriate, no?
One Year
Posted: May 9, 2013 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: diy, outfit, tailor, thrift 6 Comments »
I just realized that I moved home from LA a year ago. It’s been a bit of a restless year, but then again I’ve been restless since I graduated and had no idea what I was going to do next. Now I got a new job, exactly one year after the move. Funny how things work out, isn’t it? Anyway, next week I’m going join the working stiffs and have to dress up all business casual, so I’m going with something simple and easy for today.
Dress: tailor-made, Sandals: thrifted, Necklace: self-made
Cool Mint
Posted: May 6, 2013 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: diy, hand-me-down, hermes, mango, outfit 3 Comments »
Six months ago I wouldn’t think of posting an outfit like this, but ever since moving home I’ve been trying to simplify my style. It’s partly because my taste is navigating toward simpler looks, but the heat and the humidity are responsible as well. It’s not just about layers either. It’s like when I’m wearing an outfit with lots of details, patterns, or colors, in this heat it somehow feels… heavy . Cumbersome. Fussy. I can’t explain it any better than that.
It’s the main reason I took this shirt from my sister – I wasn’t so sure when she gave it to me, because I’ve always maintained that I look like death warmed up in any sort of pastel. It turns out the color is so light that it doesn’t look too terrible on me, and it fills the need for simpler, more grown-up pieces in my closet. But damn it, looking at these photos really makes me crave a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream!
If I had to go out I’d probably tuck the shirt in. It looks more put-together that way
Shirt: Mango (hand-me-down), Jeans: Hermes, Flats: shop in LA Fashion District, Necklace: self-made
Book Review: The Diviners
Posted: April 25, 2013 Filed under: Book/Movie/TV Reviews, Clothes | Tags: book, diy, fantasy, horror, outfit, polka dot, thrift 3 Comments »
I’ve read the first two books in Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy, and although I’m not interested enough to read the final book, I like her writing enough to want to check out her latest book “The Diviners”. For those of you who’ve read the Gemma Doyle books, the fantasy element here definitely has some similarities, but “The Diviners” wins in terms of setting: 1920′s New York City (which I tried to recreate in my outfit.) The heroine, 17-year-old flapper Evie, has a supernatural talent of reading secrets from everyday objects, so when the city is plagued with a series of occult murders, she uses this gift to help her uncle solve the case.
The setting is definitely one of the best parts of the story. You feel like you’re right in the middle of NY in the 1920′s, with all the speakeasies and jazz clubs and flappers. The slang I find quite irritating (if I have to read the word “po-si-tutely” – as in positively and absolutely – one more time, I’d bellow like a bull) but it does add authenticity to the setting. The main plot is great as well; I always enjoy a good serial killer story, and this one definitely puts the shivers in my spine… well, the fact that I always read it late at night probably didn’t help. Evie is kind of obnoxious, but as a protagonist she’s fantastic, with interesting flaws to keep her from being a cardboard cutout.
The thing is, the author obviously plans a series around this book, so it’s filled with subplots and characters to set up a more complex mythology, but they’re only tangentially connected to the main plot at best. The main plot is a great standalone story all on its own, adding all the stuff on top of it doesn’t make it feel like a part of a bigger mystery like in, say, the first Harry Potter or the first Percy Jackson book. So it takes a while for the main plot to gain traction, and once it’s resolved we are left with a “Really, that’s it?” ending. Still, I enjoyed it enough to look forward to the sequel (sequels?)
I tried to dance the Charleston. Turned out I couldn’t
Dress & Heels: thrifted, Cardigan: Wet Seal (refashioned by me), Necklace: self-made, Hat: borrowed from my mom
Lady Ban’s Cold Snap
Posted: April 17, 2013 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: buffalo exchange, diy, forever21, me too, outfit, stripe, thrift 4 Comments »
We’re having what is called “Lady Ban’s cold snap” here in Northern Vietnam. I know, I know, I’m talking about the weather again, but this one’s interesting because there’s this whole myth about it: Lady Ban is a daughter of the Jade Emperor, ruler of Heaven, but she’s slow and clumsy. When she makes a winter cloak for her beloved husband, she takes so long about it that by the time she’s finished, spring is already coming. Seeing his daughter so sad and touched by her love for her husband, the Jade Emperor makes the weather cold again so that her husband can try the cloak on. So from then on, around the third lunar month of the year, there is always a cold snap before it gets warm.
To be frank, I think it’s kind of a silly story. Seriously, why make everybody suffer to satisfy the whim of some heavenly lady, right? If it’s too warm for your husband to wear the cloak, save it for next year, woman. Or better yet, work faster next time! On the other hand, I really don’t mind the chilliness. It means can put off shaving my legs 
Sweater: Forever21, Pants: thrifted, Oxfords: Me Too (thrifted via Buffalo Exchange), Scarf: self-made
