Secondhand September
Posted: September 11, 2020 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black loafers, brooch, coral button-up, pink, white, white striped culottes 5 Comments
This is another all-thrifted outfit, except for the shoes, but they’re old, so they don’t count. In fact, they’re so beat-up that I recently had to demote them from work shoes to “errand-running” shoes, which makes me a bit sad since they’re really nice and comfy. I checked their tag and apparently, I wore them at least 20 times on the blog, which means I wore them a lot more in real life.
And speaking of thrifting, I saw the “Secondhand September” challenge floating around Instagram the other day – started by Oxfam, it’s basically a pledge to only shop secondhand for 30 days. Since I made a similar pledge to only shop secondhand forever, it’s no big deal to me. I went to the mall the other day to buy some back-to-school presents for my niece and nephew, and naturally, I checked out the sales, but I quickly walked out again when I saw the price. I’m now so used to secondhand/thrift store prices that a $40 pair of shoes (and that’s already half off!) is quite ridiculous to me.
The One That Got Away
Posted: June 5, 2020 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black culottes, black loafers, white, white lace top 2 Comments
My style has changed quite a bit since I first started discovering it, but one of the things I’ve always liked through my style changes is Edwardian-inspired fashion. I’ve never met a broderie anglaise top that I don’t like. I’ve bought so many straw hats, even though they’re super impractical for me. Show me anything white and trimmed with crocheted lace and I’ll be itching to get my hands on it. And one of my earliest pin on Pinterest is this top from Shop Ruche, which, sadly, was too expensive for me back then and was soon sold out.
So imagine my excitement when I saw the very same top at one of the second-hand shops I recently discovered. I mean, what are the odds, right? Luckily it is my size (you don’t always get so lucky with thrift stores), so of course, I snapped it up right away. I can’t wait to wear it more!
A Little Teapot
Posted: May 18, 2020 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: belt, black, black loafers, brooch, green, light green shirt dress, style imitating art 3 Comments
I struggled a bit with this week’s SIA, inspired by this gorgeous Worcester teapot. I may have the individual pieces, but they don’t all go together, and I didn’t want to force them together just for the sake of mimicking the inspiration exactly. In the end, I decided to just go for the general feel of the piece rather than being literal.
By a stroke of luck, I recently found this dress in an online thrift store, and the color and the delicate embroideries on the top kind of remind me of the lighter part of the teapot, and I paired it with this braided belt to mimic the handle and my bird brooch is a nod to both the birds and the gold touches in the design. All in all, I’m happy with the outfit, even if it’s not as close to the inspiration as I’d like.
Don’t forget to check out Daenel’s blog on Wednesday to see other outfits inspired by this teapot!
Quarantine Morning #2
Posted: April 22, 2020 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: black, black loafers, hat, red, red printed dress, style imitating art 2 Comments
Here’s my second outfit for SIA, inspired by Edward Hopper’s “Carolina Morning” (outfit #1 is here.) We had a warm weekend last week, so I decided to mimic the woman in the painting by bringing out this dress and my sunhat (yes, I know the woman is wearing heels, but it felt a bit too… extra to wear heels just to take outfit photos at home.) And the print on my dress has all the colors of the painting too – blue, beige, and a bit of green and yellow – so this isn’t out-there as it seems.
Remember to drop by Kim’s blog for the full round-up of outfits inspired by this painting. Stay safe!
Staying Sane
Posted: April 10, 2020 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black loafers, brooch, gray, gray drape top, mustard baggy pants, yellow 3 Comments
Today I saw a friend of mine post on FB a quote saying “It’s OK to not be at your most productive during a fucking global pandemic”, and I have to say, that is such a relief to hear. Seriously, every other thing on the Internet is like “How to use your isolation time to learn a new skill/language/finish that craft project”, and I’m like, Bitch, I may be at home but I’m still working three jobs, who’s got the time? But yes, I do see the wisdom in doing something else to get your mind off all the stress, so here’s what I’ve been doing to stay sane during isolation:
– Watch all the things. I try to stick to relaxing, heartwarming things that don’t require too much brainpower though. So far I’ve been rewatching “The Great British Bake-Off” (because it’s like antidepressant and anti-anxiety meds in TV form) and checking out “Poldark” (it’s OK so far, the drama is light enough to be entertaining without stressing me out, plus Aidan Turner is great eye candy.) The new Emma looks really pretty, but the actors who play Mr. Knightley and Frank Churchill look so utterly wrong for their parts (they look like footpads or farmers!) Also, Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol has been putting up weekly live shows and songwriting sessions on his Instagram (love that man), so I have those to look forward to.
– Go outside. I’m lucky that we have a big garden, so I try to work outside or at least spend a little time outside playing with the dogs whenever I can.
– Travel from my couch. I’m incredibly lucky that I got to travel to Russia and return safely home before all hell broke loose, so to satisfy my wanderlust, I’m looking back at my past travels and planning my next trips.
– Paint. Or rather, doodle. I don’t have time to get back to painting properly, but I’ve been painting simple watercolor scenes with my niece using Youtube tutorials to keep myself from getting too rusty.
– Clean out and reorganize my closet. I followed the methods in this video, which is really straightforward and helpful.
– Play dress up. I’m keeping a list of new pairings/silhouettes that I may try now, just for the fun of it, or save for later, when I’m back to work. In the meantime, I also try to elevate my “work from home” clothes – like this outfit. The top and pants are just as soft and relaxing as pajamas, but they look more work-appropriate, and the shoes and the brooch (it’s one of the amber brooches I got from Russia) made the whole thing much more put-together.
