The Longest Month
Posted: May 18, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, blue-and-pink plaid button up, navy culottes, pink, pink sneakers 2 Comments
Is May the longest month of the year, or do I just feel that way because the end of the semester is drawing near? Every year, May is always the hardest month for me to get through, not because it’s particularly busier (if anything, it’s actually not as busy because classes are ending; I only have grading to do), but because it’s just so tedious. At least this year I have two things to look forward to at the end of it: one, Snow Patrol’s new album is coming on on May 25th (we only had to wait 7 years for it, but yay!!!) and two, we are going on a family trip in early June. Small things, but they keep me going.
Those, and the fact that I can now start wearing T-shirts and sneakers to work more often.
Polka Dot x 2
Posted: May 16, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black oxfords, blue, gray, gray polka dot sweatshirt, navy skinny jeans, socks 1 Comment
No, I haven’t just unearthed some forgotten outfit from last fall/winter. This was just a couple of weeks ago, when the temperature dipped slightly one last time before moving full-speed into summer. I got this sweatshirt from an end-of-season sale, right before it started warming up, so I was excited to wear it at least once instead of putting it away for next winter.
However, I found a sweatshirt + jeans combination too simple, so I tried adding some interest with the polka dot socks, but in hindsight, it would have been better to just keep things simple and let the sweatshirt shine on its own. The proportions look a bit off, don’t you think?
Edwardian Shirt
Posted: May 11, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, brooch, brown, brown oxfords, navy skinny jeans, white, white eyelet button-up 2 Comments
If you’ve read the blog for a while, then you know that Edwardian is one of my favorite style eras. It is my dream to own an Edwardian-inspired lawn dress (something like this), or a shirt or a blouse in a similar style. But now that I’ve found the perfect Edwardian shirt (the ruffles! The collar! The broderie anglaise!), I’ve discovered that I have absolutely no idea what to pair it with. A skirt is out of the question, because it would look like I’m cosplaying as a Gibson Girl. Normal trousers would look too stuffy. In the end, I decided to balance the shirt with a casual pair of jeans, but I forgot that my jeans are low-rise so they don’t look very well with a tucked-in shirt. The only thing I like in this outfit is the brooch, which is clearly born to go with this shirt.
Do you have any idea how to style this shirt? I need help!
Floral And Pottery
Posted: May 7, 2018 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: black, black loafers, blue, navy culottes, style imitating art, white, white embroidered blouse 4 Comments
I had a different outfit planned for this week’s SIA. See, when I saw the cherry blossoms and the criss-crossing on the inspiration piece, a Japanese Nabeshima dish, I’d decided to wear my white embroidered cardigan and navy gingham shirt, with light-blue jeans. Unfortunately, the weather warmed up unexpectedly and completely upended my plan. So in the end I picked another embroidered piece – this blouse – and navy culottes (they’re supposed to be culottes, but on my short legs, they look more like simple wide-leg pants. Which is just as well, because culottes are really unflattering on me) to represent the blue elements of the dish. Not the outfit I’d imagine, but I still liked it, both as an outfit and an interpretation of this week’s inspiration.
If you haven’t sent me your outfit, you still have until tomorrow. Otherwise, see you in the round-up post on Wednesday!
May The Fourth Be With You
Posted: May 4, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: beige, black, black pumps, black tee, blue, navy skinny jeans, necklace, tan linen dress 3 Comments
Happy Star Wars Day! I didn’t actually plan my outfit for today, but you can say that it’s kind of Star Wars-inspired. My dress/duster coat can pass for a Jedi robe, right? (Even though no Jedi ever wears heels.) And my necklace looks a bit like a Kyber crystal, right? Also, I’m wearing a black T-shirt underneath my tan dress, which represent the Dark Side/Light Side of the Force… no? Reaching? OK, I’ll stop now.
Speaking of Star Wars, I’m not very excited about the upcoming Solo spin-off/prequel – I maintain that we don’t need a movie about the young Han Solo. What we see in A New Hope is what we get. Plus, I’m sorry, but Alden Ehrenreich looks nothing like Harrison Ford. (Now, if you’re going to have a spin-off about Lando Calrissian, as played by Donald Glover? I’d be all over that.)
Late Blossoms
Posted: May 2, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black blazer, blue, brooch, navy skinny jeans, pink, pink sneakers, white, white eyelet top 2 Comments
My students gave me this cherry blossom brooch for International Women’s Day back in March, but I didn’t get around to wearing it until now. And wearing it reminded me of the cherry blossoms at Lake Balboa Park near my apartment in LA (not to be confused with Balboa Park in San Diego).
If there is one thing I missed about living in LA, it’s the cherry blossoms at a park near my apartment building. Every year around March, I would spend almost all of my days off there, taking photos of the clouds of pink blossoms until my camera battery died. I even remember seeing some Japanese-American families there for blossom-viewing parties. You don’t get flowers like that in Vietnam (well, we do have plum blossoms and peach blossoms here around February, but you’d have to travel to the mountain region to see them in large quantities.) Guess I’ll just have to be content with some old photos then.
Apple And Bicycle
Posted: April 27, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: beige, beige v-neck sweater, black, black pants, black pumps, blue, brooch, brown, brown suede ankle boots, movie, navy gingham button-up, navy skinny jeans, white, white button-up Leave a comment
“Apple and Bicycle” sounds like the title of an alphabet book, doesn’t it? The weather is steadily warming up now, but I still have a few straggling outfits left to post from the good ole days when it was still cool. It’ll be at least 7 more months before I can start wearing things like these again.
On an unrelated note, I went to see “Avengers: Infinity War” earlier today and it was everything I expected. Namely, it’s a lot of fun, all the set pieces are spectacular, and most of the character interactions are enjoyable (I only wish they cut out some stuff with the Guardians of the Galaxy), but it won’t work if you’re not steeped in the MCU. And it’s bloated. Oh so bloated. But you can’t juggle that many characters and storylines without being weighed down by them. At least I could follow each story and understand what the characters are trying to do, and the story beats more or less hit their marks, which is more than I can say for Age of Ultron or most of the DC films.
