Second Layer
Posted: September 18, 2026 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black monk shoes, blue, blue wide-leg cropped jeans, brooch, green, navy-green waistcoat, white, white v-neck linen top Leave a comment
Last week was the first time I felt like autumn was in the air. Of course, given our climate, it lasted about half a day, but at least it gave me hope that autumn is not too far away, and I had to celebrate it by wearing some layers for the second time this season. I was going to wear the other side of this waistcoat (the one with the painting), but in the end I decided to wear the plain color side, because sometimes you just need a block of color. Here’s to a lot more layering to come!
Mother Of Pearl
Posted: September 16, 2026 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, blue cut-out flats, green, green button pants, necklace, purple, purple tunic 1 Comment
The final piece in my mementos from China is this pendant, also made from freshwater pearls. I meant to buy it for my mom (since I don’t really wear necklaces anymore), but after a quick consultation, I ended up buying her a pair of earrings instead and bought this for myself. I paired it with this tunic because I think the pearls go well with the mother-of-pearl buttons, plus they have the floral theme in common, but I think the pendant would look great with a darker top too. Maybe next time!
SIA Inspiration: Johannes Vermeer 3.0
Posted: September 14, 2026 Filed under: Style Imitating Art | Tags: style imitating art 1 CommentWelcome to another week of SIA! This week, Marsha is our host, and here is her pick:
This is Johannes Vermeer’s “The Concert“. This is not the first time we featured Vermeer on SIA, but it’s the first time we featured a lost work – the painting was stolen in 1990 and hasn’t been recovered to this day. You can learn more about it and other lost paintings here. Anyway, I may have an idea for this already, but I’m willing to experiment a bit more. Remember to send your outfits to Marsha (mlrbanks57@gmail.com) by Tuesday, September 22nd. Can’t wait to see what what everybody wears! Enjoy!
Sunburst
Posted: September 11, 2026 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, brooch, navy skirt, red, red slingbacks, striped linen top, white 1 Comment
This is a very typical outfit for me, but there’s nothing wrong with having a go-to look, right? Why mess with something that works? Besides, I wanted something simple to show off another brooch I got from my trip to China – this one is made with freshwater pearls, another speciality of Shanghai. In hindsight, perhaps a darker top would make the brooch stand out better, but I’m happy with this for now.
SIA: Chinese Landscape
Posted: September 9, 2026 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: style imitating art 3 CommentsWelcome to the SIA round-up! This week, our inspiration is the ink wash landscape by Chinese literati painter Huang Binhong. You’d think that for such a minimal painting, the outfits would be similar, but in fact, we got a fun variety of looks, so let’s get to them!
First up is my co-host, Shelbee, who went with a gray ombre dress, black-and-white printed robe, and a hint of red for the seals:
Up next is my other co-host, Marsha, who chose a printed kimono dress to represent the brush strokes of the painting:
Sally went in a different direction, using the red seals as her starting point and pairing her red top with black and white accent pieces:
And finally, here’s me:
This has been such a fun challenge! Big thanks to everybody for participating, and remember to come back next week for a new artwork, chosen by Marsha!
14 Shades Of Grey 