A Parliament Of Owls
Posted: April 5, 2021 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: black, black alligator boots, black baggy pants, blue, brooch, plaid puff-sleeve top, style imitating art 5 Comments
This week’s SIA outfit, inspired by one of the “soundsuits” by artist and sculptor Nick Cave, took me some thinking. The crocheted granny squares on the suit could be a jumping-off point, but I have nothing similar in my closet. In the end, I just pulled out the most colorful and outrageous piece I have – this top – and relied on the accessories to bring in some of the colors and textures of the inspiration piece.
I noticed that there are a lot of figurines of birds, especially owls, on the suit, so I brought out all the owl brooches I own. I have a couple more “bird” brooches, but I wanted to maintain some sense of cohesion in the outfit, so I’m sticking with owls. And for that same reason, I kept the rest of the outfit simple. I guess I could try some pattern-mixing or something more “wild”, but I think it’s more important to keep the outfit wearable than to make it as close to the inspiration as possible.
Counting Lesson
Posted: February 8, 2021 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: beige short-sleeve sweater, black, black baggy pants, black oxfords, brooch, brown, brown tweed blazer, collar, red, socks, style imitating art, white 5 Comments
For this week’s SIA, inspired by Albert Huie’s “Counting Lesson”, I knew I’d want to wear something with polka dots, but I haven’t worn polka dots in so long – it’s all about stripes and plaid for me now; polka dots just seem too twee for some reason – that I don’t quite know what I would wear. Luckily, I remember these polka dot socks that I bought earlier this year and never got around to wearing yet.
For the rest of the outfit, I wanted to mimic the colors and textures in the painting – the wall and the curtain behind the girl, and the chair she’s sitting in – so I went with this blazer and sweater. The bow of my trousers’ belt is a nod to the bow on the girl’s dress, and I also added a lace collar to mimic her Peter Pan collar, and topped it off with a red brooch to mimic her red bow. Overall, I’m happy with the outfit because it feels more “me” while still reflecting the inspiration, rather than being a direct copy of the inspiration without reflecting my style.
Goodbye 2019
Posted: December 20, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black baggy pants, brown, brown chelsea boots, white, white cableknit sweater Leave a comment
For the last outfit post of 2019, I opted for something simple. It’s inspired by (or rather, is a copy of) this look, but try as I may, I just couldn’t get my outfit to look as sharp and cool as the inspiration. I tried tucking in my sweater but it looked lumpy, so I tried a half-tuck, only for it to look sloppy instead. I guess I just have to accept I’ll always look slightly sloppy.
As it’s Christmas next week, I’m taking a break from the usual post schedule and do my yearly reviews instead – SIA, books, and outfits. Stay tuned!
Playing With Volumes
Posted: December 6, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black baggy pants, blue, blue linen blouse, brooch, maroon monk shoes, red 1 Comment
One of my style goals this year is to play around with silhouettes and volumes more, especially the loose-loose silhouette. Take this blouse, for example. Before I’ve worn it exclusively with fitted bottoms, but this time, I decided to pair it with some loose-fitting pants to experiment. Actually, I was going for this look, but I don’t think I can pull it off. So to avoid looking sloppy, I’d go with this less extreme version, thank you very much.
But don’t ask me why I accessorized it with this crab brooch. The fabric of the blouse reminds me of Japanese linen, and the brooch reminds me of a chopstick rest in the shape of a crab that my dad brought back from Japan when I was young, so I decided to pair them together… Somehow it made sense in my mind.
Summer Top, Fall Bottom
Posted: October 25, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black baggy pants, brooch, brown, maroon monk shoes, white, white sleeveless blouse 1 Comment
The weather may be cooling down considerably now but it’s mostly just in the morning and at night. At noon, it’s still in the 80s and pretty hot. So I’ve taken to dress in what I call “summer on top, fall on bottom” – like this outfit, for example. In the morning, I just put a button-up or a light jacket on top (which I have to, anyway, to keep out the dust and stuff – it’s way too polluted around here) and I’ll be fine.
Taking photos with the one yellow leaf in our yard to pretend that it’s fall…
14 Shades Of Grey 
