Silver And Gold
Posted: September 21, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black flats, black midi skirt, black printed blouse, brooch 2 Comments
Earlier this week we had some rain, and it finally felt like summer has ended. Note that I said “summer has ended”, not “fall has begun”. It’s still quite warm, but the heat is no longer muggy or oppressive, and in the morning and at night, there is a certain crispness in the air, which prompts me to bring this top out again. I don’t know why I associate it with fall so much – it’s certainly a summer-weight top, but the color and the print always make me think “fall” rather than summer.
I’m being a little cheeky with my jewelry in this outfit too. See if you can find my brooch!
Tiny Glasses
Posted: September 14, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black pumps, brooch, cream khaki pants, pink, pink gingham button-up, white 2 Comments
I’ve noticed that I haven’t worn a lot of jewelry lately. One reason is that not a lot of my summer clothes go well with brooches, which is my jewelry of choice, but a bigger reason is that I’ve been feeling burned out on jewelry. I don’t buy them anymore, and I tend to focus mostly on the silhouette and proportion of my outfits instead of accessories. I’m sure when the weather cools down and I wear more layers, I would start wearing jewelry more, but for now, I’m keeping it simple. But that doesn’t mean I’m not having fun with it too – like with this eyeglasses brooch. Usually I would wear it horizontally like a normal brooch, but this time I decided to wear it like how you would put glasses into your pocket.
Flower Embroidery
Posted: August 31, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black loafers, gray, gray wide-leg pants, pink, pink embroidered top 2 Comments
I just got this new top and pants (along with the dress I wore for SIA, and the same-fabric top) in an end-of-summer sale. I saw them on the mannequin together and decided to get both. As a rule, I try to avoid copying exactly the store’s lookbook or catalogue when styling my outfits – I don’t know why, I guess I’m influenced by Tom and Lorenzo’s aversion to “copying the runway” – but these two go so well with each other that I didn’t mind.
P/S: Don’t let the sun in this set of photos fool you, it’s actually been raining non-stop here for the last three days – these were taken last week.
Cyanotype
Posted: August 27, 2018 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: belt, black, black wedges, blue, navy print dress, style imitating art 5 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!
Casual Madame X
Posted: August 13, 2018 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: black, black culottes, brooch, brown, brown flat sandals, style imitating art, white, white sleeveless blouse 3 Comments
This week’s SIA inspiration, “Portrait of Madame X” by John Singer Sargent, should be an easy one to interpret, but because I don’t have an LBD, it took me a while to come up with an appropriate outfit. One of the highlights of the portrait is the contrast between the model’s pale skin and her black dress, so I decided to use that as the jumping-off point. Once I figured out a black-and-white theme, the outfit came together pretty quickly. I wore my sleeveless blouse again (I wore it for the last SIA) not just because we’re in the middle of another heat wave, but also because it echoes the strapped dress. I then included my pearl brooch to mimic the jeweled straps and my brown sandals for the brown details in the portrait. All in all, I’m happy with the outfit – it’s casual and comfy, but it still pays homage to the inspiration.
Don’t forget to stop by Daenel’s blog on Wednesday to see other looks inspired by this classic portrait!
Artist’s Wear
Posted: August 10, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black striped top, blue, brown, brown oxfords, distressed boyfriend jeans 1 Comment
This summer, I’ve been doing something a little different with my vacation time. Beside catching up on my freelance projects, I’ve also been taking an art class – watercolor, to be precise. And this is usually what I wear to class, complete with a giant bag to hold my palette, portfolio, and painting board. It’s a sitting-on-the-floor type of class, so I need something comfortable that allows me to cross my legs, hence the baggy pants. Also, even though watercolor is far less messy than oil paint, I still manage to get paint on myself, being the klutz that I am, so I pick a top where the paint won’t show.
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know I’ve dabbled in watercolor before, but I’ve never taken an actual class, so it’s been really fun. To be honest, it’s nothing I can’t learn from Youtube, but I need a class to give me the inspiration and motivation to paint everyday. I’m going to show you guys some of my paintings soon!
Casual Take
Posted: August 3, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: beige, black, black flats, blue, navy tee, tan wide-leg pants 2 Comments
It’s not until I put up these photos that I realized this outfit was essentially a more casual take on another outfit I wore last month. The colors are the same – I just swapped the blouse for a T-shirt and the pumps for a pair of flats. I actually much prefer this outfit. The T-shirt is more fitted so it balances out the relaxed silhouette of the pants, and the flats look more proportionate with these pants than the pumps too. And this was just something I literally threw on for running errands, as opposed to an outfit that I agonize over. It just goes to show, when it comes to style, sometimes instinct works better.
