Sail Away Top

the look:

blouse - from a local arts and crafts import shop
skirts - kaliyana
jacket - old zara
hat - old nine west
oxfords - old john fluevog

the tale:

one of my favourite "colour" pairings this spring/summer is turning out to be black and ecru. not a pairing that i wore today. but it is today's "colour" pairing -- black and white -- that is drawing my attention to the black and ecru "colour" pairing. the black and white pairing seems so harsh and stark. the black and ecru pairing is so much softer by comparison. in the past, i would definitely have preferred black and white over black and ecru. i would have seen black and white as a cleaner and crisper and more geometric pairing -- everything that i was gravitating towards back then. a black and ecru pairing i would have described as too feminine and organic for my liking and also as being neither here nor there -- not what i wanted at the time. how things have changed.

cover up hoodie

the look:

dress - kaliyana
cropped pants - lululemon
hoodie - old patterson j kincaid
beret - old american apparel
boots - old army surplus

the tale:

another weekend has come and gone. more has left my house. soon i will have to tread cautiously, lest i let go of something that i may regret letting go of.

spread your wings and fly tshirt

the look:

dress and cardi - kaliyana
tshirt - uo
cropped pants - lululemon
hat - old nine west
shoes - john fluevog

the tale:

i wonder if those who transitioned to a one (or two or three) designer wardrobe ever felt ... well ... guilty ... about the clothes that were in their closets and drawers that were being left behind. it's the weekend, which means that i am, once again, turning my attention to what stays and what goes. the less that is left, the harder the decision-making. hence my wondering how others have done what i am trying to do with my wardrobe.

you are getting sleepy jumper dress

the look:

plaid dress - vintage
jumper dress - old zara
pants - old susan harris design
jacket - old anthropologie
beret - old american apparel
oxfords - old john fluevog

the tale:

i am not sure how i am going to survive summer -- especially if it proves to be as hot and sticky as it has been the past couple of years -- given my current obsession (penchant? love for?) layering. Lighter layers perhaps? i suppose i should be grateful that summer -- by which i mean that hot and sticky weather -- is still a couple of months away. in the meantime, i can layer to my heart's content! and speaking of layering (which i actually have been since the start of this post, so bad segue), it just occurred to me that when i go through my wardrobe with an eye to purging (sorry, downsizing), i should really be evaluating pieces, not so much for their wear-on-their-own-ability, but more so for their layer-ability. now, really, why didn't i think of this sooner?

look both ways before crossing the street jumper dress ... and jacket

the look:

blouse and tie - old uo
jumper dress and jacket - old olio organics
beret - old american apparel
boots - ixos
pullover - h&m

the tale:

yesterday, i was discussing my outfit with someone. i mentioned that my sole objective was to put together something that was comfortable. the person remarked that it couldn't be all about comfort, as I was wearing a tie. i suppose i should have written about this incident yesterday, but as what i wore today was very similar to what i wore yesterday, the incident seems as relevant today as it would have been yesterday. after the person took issue with my outfit being all about comfort because of the tie, i let things drop. perhaps i should not have done so, because the truth is that a buttoned up blouse/shirt is comfortable for me. a tie on top of that is just icing on the cake, a cherry on top of a sundae. it doesn't make a buttoned up blouse/shirt any less comfortable. it doesn't do anything except dress up a buttoned up blouse/shirt, which, i have already said, is comfortable for me. i would be much less comfortable with a low plunging top. i guess it's all about what one gets accustomed to.

footwear for cleaning the office in

the look:

blouse - old uo
jumper dress and jacket - old, from a local arts and crafts import shop
skirt - melow by melissa bolduc
beret - old american apparel
boots - old john fluevog

the tale:

you would probably never think it to look at me (or maybe you would think it -- who am i to say what you would or wouldn't think), but i can really get into cleaning. once i start, it is as if time is suspended. i enter the cleaning zone, in which nothing matters but getting the job done. of course, the job started isn't the one that must get done. because one cleaning job leads to another and the job that must get done is the bigger one, the one that includes the job started and all the jobs that seem to naturally flow from that one. sometimes, when i am in the cleaning zone, i forget to eat (i don't even get hungry). other times, i lose track of where i am exactly. rest assured, i do eventually come out of this state. anyways, not too long ago, i bought a pair of fluevog munsters. the joke was that i was going to wear the shoes to do my laundry. later, i bought another pair of fluevogs -- i can't remember what they were -- and the joke that time was that they were going to be my vacuuming shoes. since i spent some time cleaning my office today, i have decided that my spats boots (also fluevog, by the way) are going to be my cleaning the office shoes. fancy, eh?

a river runs through it vest

the look:

blouse - old club monaco
jumper dress and vest - from a local arts and crafts import shop
skirt - melow by melissa bolduc
beret - old american apparel
chelsea boots - cydwoq

the tale:

here is something that characterizes me to a fault. if i stumble upon a way of dressing that i love, i do it to death. same thing (really) over and over and over again. until i stumble upon another way of dressing.  just watch.

morse code blouse ... and jacket

the look:

blouse - joe fresh
tie - old gap
jumper dress - from a local arts and crafts import shop
skirt - melow by melissa bolduc
jacket - old h&m
beret - old american apparel
chelsea boots - cydwoq

the tale:

i was expecting one of two things today, or, perhaps, i should say one of two (or, even better, two of two) packages. unhappily neither manifested itself (or appeared). i was somewhat disappointed.  the silver lining? i get to expect one of two things (or one of two, or, even better, two of two packages) tomorrow. or the day after. or the day after. (etcetera.)

wishing i were there jacket

the look:

dress - old zara
vest - american apparel
tie and hand warmers - h&m
pants - old lands end
jacket - anthropologie
beret - old american apparel
boots - marsell

the tale:

i am not always one to wait for gratification. some trippens are on their way to my house.

harlequin top

the look:

dress - old zara
top - from a local arts and crafts import shop
tie - old gap
jacket - old anthropologie
hand warmers - h&m
pants - old lands end
beret - old american apparel
chelsea boots - cydwoq
raincoat - lululemon

the tale:

i am contemplating getting some trippen footwear. the dilemma: i am having a difficult time selecting a style from those that may be available to me. i can pick from sandal styles, a variety of boot styles (tall, mid calf, ankle, zip and lace-up) and a variety of shoe styles (mary-jane, slip-ons and lace-up). then there is the heel style. i am tempted to go for the split platform ones, but i worry about how easy it will be to walk in them. (i should mention that i will be buying them online, so there is no opportunity to try walking in them before committing to them.) then, of course, there is the very real possibility that once i settle on a style, it won't be available in my size. all i know is that i really want at least one pair of trippens in my lifetime.