Northern Lights
Posted: April 19, 2021 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: blue, brown, brown heeled boots, navy fair isle sweater, navy plaid wool skirt, style imitating art 3 Comments
My outfit for this week’s SIA, inspired by Frederic Edwin Church’s “Aurora Borealis“, is a bit of a loose interpretation. I thought about wearing one of my pleated velvet skirts to mimic the luminescent light, but ultimately, I decided on this wool skirt instead because the dark background + brighter plaid actually reflected the painting quite well. I paired it with my Fair Isle sweater because it’s similar to a Nordic/Icelandic sweater, and of course, Nordic countries are often where you go to catch the Aurora, so I thought it would be appropriate. Plus, it also has that dark background + bright pattern that is reminiscent of the Aurora. All in all, I’m quite pleased with how the outfit turned out.
Don’t forget to send me your outfit if you haven’t done so (the deadline is Tuesday) and to check back here on Wednesday to see other outfits inspired by this painting!
Pencil Skirt
Posted: April 16, 2021 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: beige short-sleeve sweater, belt, brooch, brown, brown heeled oxfords, brown plaid pencil skirt Leave a comment
I used to wear the occasional pencil skirt back in LA, but ever since I moved home and started to bike to work, I’d given all of them away. I’ve never been crazy about them anyway – they always come off too “business corporate” for my taste. However, when I saw this skirt in one of my favorite vintage/secondhand online sellers, I was drawn to the kick pleats and the row of buttons (and of course, the brown plaid), so I decided to give pencil skirts another try. It took some getting used to on the bike, but the pleats help a lot in making it easier to move in. It’s too bad that I got it so late and the weather is getting a bit too warm now, but I’m looking forward to wearing it more next fall/winter.
Four Seasons
Posted: April 14, 2021 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black jeans, black turtleneck, brooch, brown, brown chelsea boots, brown wool jacket 1 Comment
Here’s my latest experiment with brooch clustering. It’s the time of transition between winter/spring/summer (because let’s face it, we barely have a spring. Usually it’s just a couple of weeks of horrible humidity before the heat begins), so I thought it would be fun to do a “seasonal” cluster. I was happy to discover that I have all the necessary pieces – the blossoming branch for spring, the bunch of grape for summer, the bird for fall, and the snowflake for winter – and they are all the same color/style too. The rest of the outfit I keep super simple, so the brooches can really shine. All in all, it’s a very cohesive cluster, and probably my favorite so far!
SIA Inspiration: Frederic Edwin Church
Posted: April 12, 2021 Filed under: Style Imitating Art | Tags: style imitating art 1 CommentIt’s my turn to host SIA, and since we’ve had an unusual piece last time with Terri, I decided to go for something more classical:
This is the painting “Aurora Borealis” by American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church. I picked it because it reminds me of my own experience seeing the Aurora last year in Russia – this is much closer to what we actually saw (though ours was not as spectacular) than the eye-searingly bright lights you often see in photos nowadays. The muted color palette combined with the luminescence of the Aurora could also be interesting. So put together an outfit, send it to me by next Tuesday (April 20th), and have fun!
The Black Queen
Posted: April 9, 2021 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: belt, black, black houndstooth skirt, black turtleneck, black-and-silver oxfords Leave a comment
It’s rare these days that I’d wear an outfit without a brooch or a pin, but I kinda liked the minimalism of this outfit and didn’t want to spoil it with any other accessory. It’s inspired by the costumes of The Queen’s Gambit – another show from last year (other than Normal People) that I watched purely for the fashion. I mean, I know nothing about chess, and just like with Normal People, I find the main character’s tendency to self-destruct irritating and unbelievable, rather than sympathetic. But, like I said, the costumes are fabulous. Beth Harmon never wears anything exactly like this in the series, but the houndstooth skirt is kind of similar to her many chess-themed costumes, so I thought this would be a nice nod.
