Mom Clothes
Posted: December 13, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black jeans, brown, brown suede ankle boots, brown tee, brown tweed blazer, green, green brocade scarf 3 Comments
I just raided my mom’s closet this past weekend and found a bunch of goodies – several blazers (here is one of them) and a gorgeous brocade scarf (here it is.) Without access to a well-stocked thrift store, this is the closest I can get to thrifting. The good news is that my mom had an extensive work wardrobe, which she doesn’t wear anymore now that she’s retired, plus she has great taste so a lot of her things are timeless classics.
Sock It To Me
Posted: November 13, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: blue, brown, brown oxfords, green, green sweatshirt, navy skinny jeans, socks Leave a comment
What’s this? A sweatshirt? Jeans? Socks?!!! That’s right, friends, fall weather has truly arrived in Hanoi. It’s been hovering around the edge of the days for a while now, but this past week, after some heavy rain, we can put away our fans and summer clothes and finally enjoy the cooler weather. It means I can bring out the fun socks I’ve been saving since the summer – I got a bunch of them in an end-of-season sale, so expect to see a lot of them in the weeks to come!
My socks have cats on them, so I figured it made sense to feature a photo of my dog (my cats are lazy and hid in my blanket at the first hint of the cold)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Posted: October 7, 2019 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: animal print flats, belt, brown, green, green linen pants, maroon monk shoes, peach tee, pink, style imitating art, white, white v-neck popover 1 Comment
When I hear “Sweet Dreams”, the song is the first thing that pop into my head, so naturally, I have to use it as the post title. Sorry if I gave you an earworm.
Anyway, here are my outfits inspired by John William Godward’s painting, not the Eurythmics song. I put together two outfits because I couldn’t include all the elements of the painting – the green and maroon fabrics, the white, gray, and pink marble, and the animal print – in just one look. I chose these green linen pants as the base because the color is perfect, and for one outfit, I paired them with my pink T-shirt and animal print flats (it’s leopard print, not tiger, but hey, they’re both big cats), and for the other, I paired them with my white shirt, maroon monk strap shoes, and animal print belt (I think the print on my belt is zebra, actually, but it’s close enough.) I prefer this second outfit simply because I think the shirt and the shoes go together a little better, but the other is good too.
Don’t forget to check out Daenel’s blog on Wednesday to see other outfits inspired by this lovely painting!
The Casual Age Of Innocence
Posted: August 30, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black flats, brooch, green, green linen pants, white, white lawn shirt Leave a comment
I love period costumes, but I don’t always get to translate that love into my everyday clothes. However, with this outfit together, I may have been subconsciously influenced by a dress in The Age of Innocence. It’s not my favorite period drama (the story is just a tad overwrought for my taste), but I adore its costumes (gorgeous, accurate, and still manage to reflect the characters – unlike today’s costumes, where accuracy is often sacrificed for the sake of uniqueness and/or character.) And out of all of those costumes, my favorite is this archery dress worn by Winona Ryder’s character, May Welland. You can see its influence on my outfit – the white-on-white embroideries of my shirt and the white and green color scheme. So of course, I had to complete the outfit with my arrow pin, to mimic the arrow brooch May won in the archery contest. I may not be able to wear a 1870s dress, but this is much more practical 🙂
All About The Shoes
Posted: June 5, 2019 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black baggy pants, black striped top, black-and-silver oxfords, blue, blue oxfords, green, green tee, necklace Leave a comment
These two oufits are very simple and feature the same pair of pants, so I decided to put them together in one post rather than giving them their own posts. Also, they’re both built around the shoes. I know it sounds like a total cliche, but shoes really are the item that will make or break the outfit for me. The wrong pair of shoes can ruin a carefully selected outfit, and on the other hand, I could be wearing the simplest outfit – like these – but a good pair of shoes would still make me feel put-together.
Summer Flower
Posted: June 3, 2019 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: brown, brown oxfords, green, green linen pants, pink, style imitating art, white, white embroidered blouse 4 Comments
For this week’s SIA, inspired by Daenel’s photo of a pink/purple coneflower, I knew I wanted to wear my green linen pants – I only have a few green things in my closet, and given the weather, these pants were the natural choice. However, for the top, I was stumped. The other colors in the photos are pink, purple, golden yellow and dark orange, which are not very present in my closet, and I already wore a pink top with these green pants for another SIA challenge.
In the end, I decided to go with this embroidered top. Sure, it’s mainly white, but the colors of the embroideries can mimic the shades of pink/purple/red in the photo, and finally, I chose my brown oxfords for the yellow/orange shades (since I don’t actually have anything yellow or orange!) All in all, the outfit is not as close to the inspiration piece as I’d like, but at least it’s wearable and comfy. I’d rather have that than to force myself into some ridiculous getup just to meet the inspiration.
Don’t forget to check Daenel’s blog on Wednesday for other outfits inspired by this lovely photo!
April Flowers
Posted: April 22, 2019 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: brown, brown oxfords, gray, gray plaid pants, green, green tee, pink, pink floral scarf, style imitating art 1 Comment
I had several ideas for this week’s SIA, inspired by the cover of a Gregory & Son seed catalogue, but because the weather has been so unpredictable lately (last week it went from 70 degrees one day to 100 the next!!!), I didn’t decide what to wear until the day of. I simply picked out the main colors in the inspiration image – gray, green, pink/red, and a touch of brown – and pulled pieces from my closet accordingly. My scarf also has a floral print on it, though it may be difficult to see.
By a stroke of luck, our rose bushes have started blooming – and there are roses in the image as well. I wanted to take photos with the flowers, but because of the position of the rose bushes, it proved to be impossible, so here are some photos of the flowers instead:
Don’t forget to stop by Daenel’s blog on Wednesday to see how others interpret this springlike image!
