Shoe-Mad
Posted: May 24, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black tee, black-and-silver oxfords, gray, gray plaid pants, necklace 3 Comments
This may sound like a total stereotype, but like most women, I have a problem with shoes. As in I have too many shoes. And yet I still can’t seem to resist a new pair. Like this one. When I saw it in the store, I was just like SpongeBob going “I don’t need it, I don’t need it, I definitely don’t need it.” I mean, I really don’t. I have enough oxfords in every color of the rainbow (well, not exactly… oh gods I’m giving myself ideas), and a pair of patent black-and-silver oxfords wouldn’t fill any hole in my closet. But they hit that sweet spot between classic, vintage, and whimsical that is exactly my style, so in the end, just like SpongeBob, I screamed “I NEED IT!!!” (not literally) and bought them.
I justified it by saying that the patent leather would make them easier to wear in the rain, but that’s just an excuse. I bought them because I like them, and I can’t wait to wear them. In the end, isn’t that the best reason to buy something though?
SIA: Women Admiring Plum Blossoms
Posted: May 22, 2019 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: style imitating art 5 CommentsWelcome to another week of SIA! This week, our inspiration is Suzuki Harunobu’s woodblock print “Woman Admiring Plum Blossoms at Night“, and we have a variety of great looks, so let’s get to it!
First up is a regular SIA participant, Kezzie, who is back with a lovely embroidered dress with bell sleeves to mimic the kimono sleeves in the print:
Up next is our co-host, Daenel, looking lovely in a floral jumpsuit:
Our other co-host, Kim, chose to recreate the colors rather than the print itself, which results in a fun and funky outfit:
Leslie is also a long-time SIA participant, and she’s back with a gold-embroidered blouse. She also included a pose like the woman in the print – how fun!
Shugunna has been participating in the last few SIA challenges, but this is the first time I featured her on my blog, so welcome, Shugunna! She has not one but two lovely dresses for SIA:
And finally, here’s me:
And that’s it for another SIA challenge. Big thank to everybody for participating, and don’t forget to check back next week for new inspiration!
Reverse-Engineered SIA
Posted: May 20, 2019 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: beige, beige pleated skirt, black, black printed blouse, black wedges, style imitating art 4 Comments
When I pick the inspirations for SIA, I often have two approaches. Sometimes I’d see a work of art so cool that I have to feature it on SIA right away, regardless of whether I can recreate it in an outfit or not. Other times, though, I already have an outfit in mind and would find a painting to match. Reverse-engineering, so to speak.
This week’s SIA inspiration, the woodblock print “Woman Admiring Plum Blossoms at Night” by Japanese artist Suzuki Harunobu, is a bit of both. I’ve saved the print on my Pinterest for a while but didn’t feature it on the blog because I didn’t know what I would wear for it. Then I saw this skirt. The color is perfect, and the pleats even mimic the stripes on the woman’s kimono. Top it off with my black printed top to reflect the dark background of the print, and we have a perfect SIA outfit, even if I say so myself.
If you haven’t sent me your outfit, you still have until tomorrow. And don’t forget to check back on Wednesday for all the looks inspired by this lovely woodblock print!
Elephant Legs
Posted: May 17, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black striped top, blue, blue oxfords, navy high-waist pants 1 Comment
Yup, another pair of wide-leg pants. I love the tan pair so much that I decided to get a second pair in navy. I love that the high-waist silhouette makes them look slightly vintage, while the paper-bag waist keeps them modern.
I fully admit that I copied this look, but in my defence, I came across the photo when I Googled “navy paperbag pants”, and it turns out to be the exact same pair, and I have other similar pieces (striped top & oxfords) so how could I not, right? I’m keeping the rest of the outfit simple to let the pants take the focus for now, but once I’m more comfortable with styling them, I’ll try more interesting pairings.
Ton-sur-Ton
Posted: May 15, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, blue suede loafers, brooch, brown, brown tee, tan wide-leg pants 1 Comment
I was trying a bit of “ton-sur-ton” (or “tone-on-tone”) with this outfit. But an entire brown outfit looks rather drab, so I added a pop of blue with my loafers and brooch. In my mind it was a bit haphazard, but the actual outfit turns out better than I expected (if I do say so myself.) It goes to show that the colors don’t have to match, they just have to go with each other.
On another note, this T-shirt, along with the green one I wore a couple of weeks ago, are actually men’s tees. I got so fed up because the women’s tees at my local stores only come in colors that look horrible on me, like hot pink, purple, and bright yellow. Meanwhile, the men’s tees are thicker, fit me better (I have a long torso so women’s tees always end up too short), the higher neckline is more flattering, and come in all of “my” colors like brown and green. So of course, they are a natural choice.
SIA Inspiration: Suzuki Harunobu
Posted: May 13, 2019 Filed under: Style Imitating Art | Tags: style imitating art Leave a commentIt’s again my turn to host SIA, and here is my pick:
Titled “Woman Admiring Plum Blossoms at Night“, this is a print by Japanese artist Suzuki Harunobu (1725 – 1770). It’s perhaps a little late for blossom season, but I still love this for its elegant, poetic imagery and neutral color palette. The print on the woman’s kimono and the plum blossoms themselves can also be sources of inspiration for your outfit.
If you’re properly inspired, put together an outfit and send it to me by next Tuesday, May 21st. Have fun!
Different But Same
Posted: May 10, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: beige, blue, hot-air balloon shirt, khaki wide-leg pants, red, red slingbacks 1 Comment
I think one of the reasons I’m so excited about these new paperbag pants is because they are a basic color, so they go with almost everything in my closet, but their silhouette is different enough that they can make the outfits look new and fresh. Take this outfit, for example. This is certainly not the first time I paired this shirt with wide-leg pants, but because of the exaggerated silhouette, it doesn’t look repetitive.
In other news, I feel I’m going to have to retire this shirt soon. It’s rayon, so despite my best effort (wash in cold water and hang dry), it’s been shrinking over the past 4 yearsto the point it doesn’t fit me right anymore. It’s sad because I love novelty print shirts like this and they’re hard to find here, but at least it’s had a good run.
