One-Trick Pony
Posted: October 12, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black loafers, blue, navy skinny jeans, purple, purple tunic 1 Comment
I have a lot of work horses in my closet – staple pieces (I almost typed that as “stable pieces”, you know, since they’re “work horses” and all, but I decided that I’m not old enough for lame puns yet), things that go with almost anything and can be styled many different ways. On the other hand, I also have some “one-trick ponies”, things that I wear a lot but always in the same way. This tunic is one of them. I wear it a lot, but it rarely makes an appearance on the blog, because I style it the same every time – with skinny jeans/pants and flat shoes. In a way, though, that makes them easier to style, because I don’t have to think about what to pair with them.
Do you guys have any “one-trick ponies” in your closet?
Pink Dome
Posted: September 24, 2018 Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: blue, blue oxfords, brooch, navy skinny jeans, pink, pink button-up, style imitating art, white, white eyelet top 4 Comments
This week’s inspiration for SIA – the dome of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri – is gorgeous, but I had no idea how I could interpret it in an outfit. When I’m stuck in SIA, I would usually look at the piece’s color scheme as a starting point. In this case, I picked out pink, white, and blue as the main colors, so I knew I would wear this pink button-up and the blue oxfords. Luckily, the weather was cool enough that I could layer the button-up over my white eyelet top (it did get warmer at noon, but still), and I added my gold brooch to mimic the intriciate gold decorations on the dome. Then I finished the outfit with jeans because… well, they went well with the rest. Sometimes you just have to forget the inspiration and choose what looks good.
Remember to stop by Daenel’s blog on Wednesday to see other outfits inspired by this beautiful dome!
Grumpy Bird
Posted: June 1, 2018 Filed under: Clothes | Tags: black, black loafers, blue, brooch, navy skinny jeans, pink, pink button-up 2 Comments
This outfit is not very blog-worthy, I know – I tried making it more interesting with the half-tuck, but I can’t do “trendy” touches like that; they just look sloppy on me. No, the real interest of the outfit is my brooch. It’s a present from my sister, and normally I don’t wear brooches with button-up shirts (except for maybe the ocassional small pin on the collar), but I had to wear it this time because the bird’s expression matches my mood so well. Just look how grumpy it is!
I’m grumpy too, because even though May is over, I’m still not done with school – next week I have to sit in on the thesis committee for the screenwriting students. Well, at least I’m not on the receiving end. I may have finished grad school 7 years ago (gods, has it really been that long?!) but I can still remember how nerve-wrecking those meetings can be.
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 4 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!
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.
