Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Posted: October 7, 2019 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: animal print flats, belt, brown, green, green linen pants, maroon monk shoes, peach tee, pink, style imitating art, white, white v-neck popover 1 Comment
When I hear “Sweet Dreams”, the song is the first thing that pop into my head, so naturally, I have to use it as the post title. Sorry if I gave you an earworm.
Anyway, here are my outfits inspired by John William Godward’s painting, not the Eurythmics song. I put together two outfits because I couldn’t include all the elements of the painting – the green and maroon fabrics, the white, gray, and pink marble, and the animal print – in just one look. I chose these green linen pants as the base because the color is perfect, and for one outfit, I paired them with my pink T-shirt and animal print flats (it’s leopard print, not tiger, but hey, they’re both big cats), and for the other, I paired them with my white shirt, maroon monk strap shoes, and animal print belt (I think the print on my belt is zebra, actually, but it’s close enough.) I prefer this second outfit simply because I think the shirt and the shoes go together a little better, but the other is good too.
Don’t forget to check out Daenel’s blog on Wednesday to see other outfits inspired by this lovely painting!
Dressing Up A Dress
Posted: September 4, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: belt, blue, brooch, brown, brown oxfords, navy print linen dress 2 Comments
One of the reasons I don’t wear dresses that often is because a dress is an entire outfit on its own – I know, that’s precisely the reason some people only wear dresses, because they’re supposedly easier, but for me, I find that a bit boring. You can change the shoes and the accessories, but it still looks the same, unlike separates where you can combine different colors and silhouettes.
When I try styling a dress differently, like with this one, I’d usually end up with this – overwrought and overthought. I thought it looked OK when I first put it on, but now looking back at the photos, I see that it’s a mess – the shoes and the belt don’t go with each other, the shoes don’t go with the dress, and the brooch is not necessary. I guess I just need to stop overthinking it and let the dress shine on its own.
Fresh Fish
Posted: August 16, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: belt, black, brown, brown fish-print blouse, brown loafers, white, white baggy pants 2 Comments
School’s started again, but it’s still hot AF, so here’s a simple, summery outfit. It’s another one inspired by Keira Knightley’s wardrobe in Begin Again – more specifically, this look. Basically, whenever I put together an outfit with a short-sleeve/sleeveless top and linen pants, you can trace it back to that movie.
Anyway, it looks like it’s going to be a busy semester. I’m teaching four classes in total – Screenwriting II, Adaptation, Script Editing, and Screenwriting for Directing Major – but at least they’re all classes that I enjoy and I don’t have to teach any freshman (despite the post title), which is never fun. On top of that, I’m also translating American Gods AND Good Omens, two of my favorite books ever. So it’s going to be busy but fun, and I won’t have it any other way.
Where’s My Vacation?
Posted: July 19, 2019 Filed under: Book/Movie/TV Reviews, Clothes | Tags: beige, beige flat sandals, belt, glasses, movie, red, red printed dress 2 Comments
Last weekend, I took my niece and nephew to see Toy Story 4 and pizzas afterward. It was kind of a reward for the kids and for myself too, because I’ve been too busy to take them on our annual trip, and with less than a month left before the new semester, it looks like I’m not going to have the time after all. I know, I know, it’s totally a #firstworldproblem, not having a vacation. At least it was nice to have one day when I didn’t have to worry about scripts or books or deadlines. And even if I’m not on vacation, I could still dress like I was!
As for the movie – I enjoyed it but found it rather sad. Not even sad in a moving way like Toy Story 3; just sad. Like, the entire Toy Story franchise has always been about how a toy should always be there for their kid, but this… (mild spoiler) it didn’t go against that theme exactly, it just took it in a different direction that I’m not sure I like. Toy Story 3 is the perfect ending already, they should’ve stopped at that. But I guess the calling of the $$$ is too strong to resist, even for Pixar.
One Bottom, Two Tops
Posted: June 21, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: belt, black, black loafers, blue, navy linen sleeveless top, pink, pink embroidered top, white, white baggy pants 1 Comment
Thanks everyone for your kind words about my dog. She’s doing well now. Luckily, she only got flesh wounds, and in Vietnam we have a saying that goes “A dog heals its skin, a chicken heals its bones”, which means dog’s skin and chicken’s bones are easy to heal, so it looks like she’s on her way to a full recovery.
I have two casual outfits today. The semester is officially over for the students, but there are still papers to read and grades to turn in, so I opted for something easy and breathable. I didn’t realize it until I put the two of them together, but they are actually inspired by Keira Knightley’s outfits in Begin Again, specifically these two. I’ve been getting inspirations for my summer wardrobe from that movie since I first saw it – it’s one of the few movies with realistic costumes that I can actually recreate, and it helps that her character’s style is pretty timeless too.
Le Quai Saint Michel Et Notre Dame
Posted: May 6, 2019 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: belt, blue, blue oxfords, blue striped shirt dress, brooch, style imitating art, yellow 6 Comments
For this week’s SIA, inspired by Maximilien Luce‘s “Le Quai Saint Michel Et Notre Dame”, I struggled a bit because although there are a lot of colors in the painting, there is not one major color that stands out that I could use as the basis for an outfit. In the end, I picked out the two colors that jump out at me the most (or the two that are easiest for me to recreate :P) – blue and yellow – and went from there.
Luckily, I just got this dress made by a tailor (I got frustrated with trying to find a nice shirt dress in store, so I just had it made), and keeping with the blue-and-yellow theme, I paired it with yellow accessories and blue oxfords. I think the delicate stripe pattern can reflect the brush strokes in the painting too… can you see it? Or is it just in my head? Oh well, I like the dress anyway.
Don’t forget to check Kim’s blog on Wednesday to see other outfits inspired by this painting!
Cyanotype
Posted: August 27, 2018 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: belt, black, black wedges, blue, navy print linen dress, style imitating art 6 Comments
Here is my outfit for SIA, inspired by Anna Atkins‘ cyanotype photographs. Since the print of the dress mimics the cyanotypes so perfectly, I kept the rest of the outfit simple. And yes, this dress is made of the same fabric as my top from last Friday’s post. I like it so much that when I saw the top and the dress on sale, I had to get them both.
The dress is a little shorter than I like (I prefer midi-length, or at least below the knees), but for a summer dress, it’s great. Plus, pockets! My only problem is how to style it differently each time I wear it. The dress is so focus-pulling already that a change of shoes would not make much of a difference. I guess I’ll have to wait until the fall to try layering it.
Don’t forget to stop by Jen’s blog on Wednesday to see other looks inspired by these amazing photographs!
