Wine Country Mural
Posted: June 19, 2017 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: blue, brown, brown flat sandals, hot-air balloon shirt, style imitating art, tan wide-leg pants 2 Comments
I had quite a hard time figuring out what to wear for this week’s SIA, inspired by a mural in Sonoma, CA. It’s super colorful, and you know that I don’t do colors, so what to do? Then I looked more closely at the mural and noticed that the painting of the town inside the word “Sonoma” features a hot-air balloon. Aha! I have a hot-air balloon shirt that is quite colorful, and there I had the base for my outfit. I was thinking of wearing my gray pants to mimic the background of the mural, but I already paired them together, so I ended up with these pants (the second time I’ve worn them for an SIA challenge) and my flat sandals to mimic the roof and the buildings in the mural. A bit of a stretch, to be sure, but I like it. Plus, it looks like the kind of outfit you’d wear on vacation to Sonoma (Erin, can you confirm?), so mission accomplished.
And speaking of vacation, I’m leaving later this week for a week-long family trip in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. We went Da Lat a couple of years ago, which is also a part of the Central Highlands, but this time we’re checking out a different town, so it’s pretty exciting. I’m still going post my SIA inspiration as usual, but other than that, I’ll see you guys next week!
Something Fishy
Posted: April 25, 2017 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: beige heeled sandals, blue, brown, brown fish-print blouse, navy skinny jeans 6 Comments
A couple of weeks ago, while cleaning out my mom’s closet, I commandeered a bunch of her old blouses – my mom used to be quite the fashionista back in the day, but now she’s retired, so she doesn’t wear them anymore. A lot of her things are out of style (though you never know when they may be back in style again), but some are classic enough or basic enough that I could still wear today.
This blouse, however, isn’t one of those cases (I can’t imagine when a fish-printed blouse would be called “classic” or “basic”). Still, it’s made of silk, and the print looks fun, so I thought I’d give it a try. I expected it to be difficult to style because of the print and the pyjama-ish silhouette, so I kept the rest of the outfit simple, but it turned out quite well, didn’t it? Plus, it’s so nice and comfy. I’m hoping to wear it a lot more this summer.
Top: hand-me-down, Jeans: H&M, Sandals: Clarks
Never Again
Posted: April 18, 2017 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, blue tie top, brown, brown suede ankle boots, navy linen blazer, navy skinny jeans 4 Comments
I thought I’d learned my lesson with ordering things online (especially on sale) with this skirt a while ago. But no, apparently I didn’t, because when I saw this shirt for sale on Zalora, I ordered it. It’s a bit different from my normal silhouette, but the website says it’s cotton, so I thought it would be a nice addition to my summer wardrobe. Then I got it and was sorely disappointed. It definitely isn’t cotton (it’s some sort of cotton-polyester blend) and it’s way shorter than I expected – it doesn’t help that I have a long torso. You can see how I slumped a bit in the photos, because if I stood up straight, it would be a crop top on me. And of course, it was on sale so I couldn’t return or exchange it. I don’t have anything high-waist, so I’m going to try it with a skirt next time to see if it can be improved; if not, maybe it can fit my mom. I just hope this is going to be the last time I made this mistake.
Top: Zalora, Blazer: Atmosphere, Jeans: Mango, Boots: Topshop
More Cats
Posted: April 12, 2017 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, blue linen blouse, brooch, brown, brown oxfords, navy skinny jeans 1 Comment
Sure, why not. We already started this week on a cat theme, so I might as well roll with it. But there was actually a bit more thinking behind my accessorizing – see, this is my “Mori Girl” blouse, so I tend to reach for the “natural” accessories whenever I wear it (like the lacquered owl brooch last time), in keeping with the Mori Girl aesthetics. I’m not brave enough to try the full Mori Girl look, and it’s not my style anyway, but sometimes a certain item calls for a certain way of styling.
Top: local boutique, Jeans: H&M, Oxfords: Vagabond, Brooch: The Dulcet Fig
As Old As Time
Posted: April 7, 2017 Filed under: Book/Movie/TV Reviews, Clothes | Tags: belt, brooch, brown, brown ankle boots, brown plaid dress, movie 2 Comments
I’ve made a habit of dressing in themes whenever I go to see a movie – nothing overt, it’s not like I’m cosplaying or anything, but I would often wear an outfit in the main color scheme of the movie I’m seeing (see: red + blue for The Amazing Spiderman and Captain America, black + red or white + blue for Star Wars, black + gray for Rogue One, etc.) So, in keeping with this grand traditional, which I totally just made up, I dressed in blue, yellow, and brown when I went to see Beauty and the Beast yesterday.
The truth is that I had no interest in seeing it, but I’ve promised my niece I would take her, and a promise is a promise. The movie is OK, I guess. I enjoyed it more than Cinderella, but that’s only because I like Emma Watson as an actress, Belle as a character is slightly more active than Cinderella, and Dan Stevens is hot (I’ve been watching Legion.) Other than that, the movie is an overly glossy, almost shot-for-shot remake of the cartoon, without the heart and the charm. Tale as old as time, indeed. But it made a shitload of money, so it doesn’t look like these pointless Disney live-action remakes are going anywhere soon.
Dress: tailor, Boots: Topshop, Brooch: vintage
What’s A Weekend?
Posted: April 6, 2017 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black blazer, black striped top, blue, brooch, brown, brown loafers, navy skinny jeans 2 Comments
I haven’t had a weekend break for 3 weeks now. Two weeks ago I was accompanying the Singaporean student to Mai Chau, and after that, we had to prepare for a group of officials coming to examine our school. Sort of like audits, but they were examining every aspect of the school. The good thing is that we’re a liberal arts school, so a lot of questions could be answered with “That’s how we do things around here”, but still, it was understandably stressful and my co-workers and I had to come in over the past weekends to make sure our paperwork was in order. Thank the gods that it was over by Wednesday, so I can finally catch up on my errands and freelance work.
Anyway, given the crazy schedule, this is what I managed to put together – I’m sorry that I’ve been using the “busy” excuse so much, but that’s because it’s true.
Top: Forever21, Blazer: Warehouse, Jeans: H&M, Loafers: Footglove, Brooch: vintage
Gray Outfit For A Gray Day
Posted: March 31, 2017 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black jeans, brooch, brown, brown suede ankle boots, gray, gray sweater, white button-up 1 Comment
The weather is depressing (gray, foggy, chilly), I’m super busy (reading scripts, editing my translation of The Atlantis Gene – at least I’m finally done with that piece of crap, supervising the thesis scripts of three students), so it’s the best that I can put together. The bicycle brooch looks kinda sad but I didn’t care enough to change it. I know if this is a fashion blog, there would be an advice to add “a red lip” (gods, I hate the way these blogs use singular forms for nouns that are supposed to be plural, like “a red lip” or “a nude shoe”) or some “pop of color” to liven up the outfit, but I don’t wear lipstick and this is not a fashion blog anyway, so who cares, right?
Man am I cranky today.
Shirt, Sweater & Jeans: local shops, Boots: Topshop, Brooch: vintage
