A Pleasant Surprise

Iz bakinog ormara awarded me a "Stylish Blogger Award".  I was pleasantly surprised; I really appreciate the gesture.  As a recipient of the award, I am supposed to say seven things about myself.  Here goes:

One:  Up until about five years ago, my closet was a sea of black and I never set foot outside my house in anything but black.  Then, all of a sudden, something happened (to this day, I don't know what that something was) and I started wearing colour, in fact, all the colours of the rainbow.  My transition into wearing colour was by no means gradual, as might be expected of someone who wore only black.  No, I went straight from black to the candy colours of the 60s mod girl.  And, I never wore a bit of black for about two years.  Now, I have settled into wearing a balance of colours and black.

Two:  For the longest time now, I have been fascinated with the lives of Amelia Earhart and Jean Seberg.  I have read every single biography written and watched every single documentary made about Amelia Earhart that I have been able to get my hands on.  I have read Amelia Earhart's account of her first cross-Atlantic crossing.  I have read fictional works dealing with Amelia Earhart, watched movies about Amelia Earhart and watched episodes of TV shows about Amelia Earhart (believe it or not, there was a Star Trek episode about Amelia Earhart).  Learning about Jean Seberg hasn't been as easy as finding out about Amelia Earhart.  Sadly, the one biography written about Jean Seberg hasn't been in print for some time now and I have yet to be able to get my hands on a second (or third or fourth or whatever) copy of the biography.  Is it strange that I am fascinated with the lives of two women who died young?

Three:  Two fictional characters that I would love to be (if I could be a fictional character) are Nancy Drew and Miss Marple.  Mystery lovers and sleuths at opposite ends of the age spectrum.  Hmmmm.

Four:  I am saddened by the fact that travelling is no longer a glamourous, luxurious and leisurely activity.

Five:  Some places on the top of my list to visit are (in no particular order): Iceland, Venice and St. Petersburg, Russia (in Winter of course).

Six:  I am shy.

Seven:  Probably related to my being shy, I don't like to be photographed (not even by myself).  Whenever I find myself in a situation where there is a photographer about snapping pics, I make sure that I am never in the photographer's "shooting range".  Because I don't like to be photographed (not even by myself), it is very difficult for me to have a personal style photoblog (a big thank you to all my supporters).

Well, there you have it.

As a recipient of the "Stylish Blogger Award", I have the honour of passing it on (15 bloggers).  I would like to pass it on first to Sally Jane Vintage, whose blog has provided me with much inspiration.

I am wearing an old Zara dress, a vintage H&M sweater, vintage Lululemon leggings, vintage over-the-knee socks of an unknown brand and boots by JCrew.  My button scarf was handknit and a gift and my wool beret is vintage.

Cossack's Tunic Coat Dress

The dress that I wore on Friday is one of my favourite, and one of my warmest, Winter dresses.  When I pulled it out earlier this week, with the intention of wearing it this week, I was a bit amazed that I hadn't worn it yet this Winter -- particularly since being incredibly warm it can only be worn when it is extremely cold and it has been extremely cold for the better part of this Winter.  I think that, because of where it is stowed in my house -- not within easy reach -- I had actually forgotten about it; I was excited to have re-discovered it this week.

The reason that the dress is incredibly warm is because it is actually a coat.  From the moment I tried the garment on, I knew that I would prefer to wear it as a dress, rather than as a coat, because the materials used to make the garment aren't "heavy" enough for me to consider the garment a coat.  I do think that I tried wearing the garment as a coat once, but, if I recall correctly, without much satisfaction.  The garment was made by a local (to my home city) label -- Momiji.  One of the things that I like about the label is that it uses vintage material to create some of its garments, like the dress that I wore on Friday.  I have another garment by Momiji, a jacket (click here to see it).  I am not sure, though, that that garment was made of vintage textiles.

I am wearing a vintage Momiji coat as a dress with a vintage silver pin, a vintage Zara boiled wool shawl collar jacket, old Roots un-sweatpants, vintage CK wool over-the-knee socks and riding boots by JCrew.

Mustard Seed Grower's Sherpa Fleece Lined Work Shirt Jacket

I am at a loss for words today.  I think it's because I am trying to write a very particular post (which, I hope, I will complete and publish this weekend) and, when I think of posts, my mind becomes completely preoccupied with that very particular post.  I can't think of anything but that post.  Which means I can't think of today's post.  So if I sound like I am babbling, I probably am.  My apologies.

I bought the Sherpa fleece lined work shirt that I wore today (as a jacket) a couple of weeks ago.  I bought it because I loved the colours in it, because I love plaid flannel shirts and because I thought a Sherpa fleece lined plaid work shirt would prove to be practical.  I also bought it because it was on sale ... seriously marked down.  I didn't exactly know how I would wear it when I saw it in the store (even though I loved it), so it being seriously marked down was a huge incentive to buy it -- it made it a low risk purchase.  It was only recently that it occurred to me to try wearing it as a jacket for work.  I think I love it ... as a jacket for work.

I am wearing an old Gap shirt with a tie from Urban Outfitters, a corduroy vest by BDG from Urban Outfitters, a Sherpa fleece lined plaid work shirt by Salt Valley Working Products Mfg Co from Urban Outfitters, a vintage RW & Co skirt, vintage Gap leggings, vintage H&M over-the-knee socks and riding boots by JCrew.

The Red And Green Chili Peppers Plaid Dress

I am not entirely sure that I managed to lure the creativity out of its warm place, but I did manage not to re-wear an outfit.  (Not that that has ever been my goal, where putting together outfits is concerned.  In case there is any question about what my goal in putting together outfits is, it is this: to be happy and comfortable.)

Just a quick note about my socks.  They are over-the-knee socks by Levis that mock wool work socks (they are of cotton not wool).  When they were offered for sale (years ago now), they came in a variety of colours, but I was only able to buy them in grey.  It took me no more than a couple of days after purchasing the socks in grey to decide that I should get them in other colours as well.  However, the socks were so popular that even after just a couple of days the store had sold out of them.  Since then, they have never been offered for sale again.  I have always wondered why.  Why Levis?

I am wearing a dress and cardigan by Lands End Canvas, woollen leggings by H&M, vintage Levis socks and vintage Sorels.

The It's-Still-Winter Sweater

Something remarkable happened today.  I had some extra time on my hands and I was feeling more or less normal, so I thought about going shopping/browsing for clothes, but, and here is the remarkable thing that happened, I didn't want to go shopping/browsing for clothes.  Perhaps this is even more remarkable than not wanting to go shopping/browsing for clothes, I told myself that that was okay, because there will be times when I will want to go shopping/browsing for clothes and then I will do so.  No point in turning a pleasurable past-time into a laborious activity.

I am wearing a vintage LLBean sweater, vintage H&M corduroys with a vintage Gap belt, old wool work socks and BDG boots from Urban Outfitters.  My jacket is vintage Old Navy, my mitts are vintage Gap, my beret is vintage and my button scarf is a handknit gift.

Can't Be Missed Red Corduroys

I will bypass writing about the snow that my home city had today, except to say that, wearing the red corduroys, I definitely stood out against the white of the snow.  Oh, and because I didn't get to take a snow day today, while many others did (not that I'm bitter or anything), I took the "opportunity" of having to go into work on a snow day to "dress down" a little, to make the trek (and trek it was) into work a little bit less taxing.  Oh, there is another thing that I want to say about the snow today and I am not being original in saying this (although I can't remember who said it most recently):  By the afternoon, the snowflakes were sort of floating and circling in the air, instead of rapidly descending to the ground, making it seem as if I were in a snowglobe.  Kind of nice.  I guess I ended up writing about the snow after all!  So sorry!

What I had wanted to write about instead of writing about the snow was that "one in, one out" rule that I mentioned a couple of days ago (the rule about giving away one "old" item of clothing for every "new" item of clothing that I bring into the house).  I guess I will still write about the rule, but now I will write about it in addition to writing about the snow.  Here is how I had thought of implementing the "one in, one out" rule:  Whenever I bring a "new" item of clothing into the house, I will prohibit myself from putting it away until I have removed an "old" item of clothing from my closets, chests of drawers and other storage places and put it in the "give away" bin.  I have already tried this and, so far, it seems to be working.  I don't have too many "new" items of clothing waiting to be stowed away.  But I fear that, in a few weeks time, there will be this huge stack of "new" clothing just lying around waiting to be stowed, with only a few "old" items of clothing in the "give away" bin.  Perhaps I should change my course of implementation?  Perhaps I shouldn't allow myself to purchase anything "new" until after an "old" item is first placed in the "give away" bin?

I am wearing a shirt by Gap, a shawl collar cardigan by Lands End Canvas, vintage H&M corduroys with a vintage Gap belt and vintage Sorels.

The Annie Hall Trousers

I love women's outfits inspired by men's outfits.  Oddly, for someone who loves women's outfits inspired by men's outfits, I am not that fond of pants, trousers, slacks, whatever you want to call them.  So it isn't too often that I wear an outfit that could be called a more or less geniune men's outfit, like the outfit that I wore today.

I really don't have much to say about the outfit that I wore today other than that I really love the trousers.  I think that this is because the trousers are so wide-legged that I don't really feel like I am wearing trousers.  I feel like I am wearing a long skirt.  And, as we all know, lately I have been loving long skirts.

I am wearing a vintage H&M shirt with a vintage Gap tie, a vintage Gap wool vest, a vintage Jacob silk tweed jacket, vintage H&M wool trousers and vintage army boots.