sunday afternoon at the art gallery cardi

the look

top - old gap
cardi - jacob
jacket - kaliyana
dhoti pants - from a local arts and crafts import shop
cap - old
boots - old, from an army surplus store

the tale:

yesterday morning, i visited my hair stylist. i know it's been a while since my hair made an appearance on the blog (nothing to do with how i feel about my hair -- i just like hats that much). so let me tell you about my hair: for about a year now, i have been growing my hair from a buzz cut into another particular style. i think it's called an undercut. so, for about a year now, my hair cut has involved nothing more than a buzz of the sides and back. by saying "nothing more than a buzz", i by no means intend to belittle the skill required to buzz a head well. in my opinion, it involves great skill. but for a hair stylist skilled at buzzing -- and my hair stylist is very skilled at it -- it doesn't take a long time to buzz the sides and back of a head. all of which is to say that i am usually through with my hair cut in well under an hour. and yesterday was no exception. i had intended, after the visit to my hair stylist, to visit two particular clothing shops en route from my hair stylist's place to my house. but, even though i have been having short hair appointments for about a year now, i guess i still neglected to plan on being finished so early with my hair appointment. neither of the two shops was open yet. i felt somewhat disappointed as i had no choice but to continue on my way home. then i came across a shop that i hadn't been in for a while that was open. the result: the cardi. it turned out to be the perfect thing to wear for my visit to the art gallery today ... to view a pablo picasso exhibit ... the colour ... the stripes ... no?

change of plans dress

the look:

shirt - old urban renewal
tie - old h&m
jacket - old anthropologie
jumper dress - old, from a local arts and crafts import shop
cap - old
chelsea boots - old john fluevog

the tale:

to all the meteorologists out there: i listen to you and take you at your word. when you tell me that it's cool-ish out there and there is no humidity to speak of, well, i believe you. this morning was a case in point. believing you, i wore what a wore, an outfit a little bit warmer than what i had in mind for today last night. turns out, you were not all that accurate with your forecast, so i ended feeling a lot warmer than i was comfortable feeling and wishing that i had worn what i had planned on wearing. does any of this mean that i will stop listening to you and taking you at your word? no.

longing for ... cardi

the look:

tshirt - old
cardi - rick owens drkshdw
cropped trousers - rick owens lilies
cap - old
boots - old, from an army surplus store

the tale:

my second rick owens piece: the cardi ... with extra long sleeves. love it to bits. and especially love the extra long sleeves. i consider myself lucky to have gotten it. anything rick owens is hard enough to come by in my home city. anything rick owens that is on sale is next to impossible to come by in my size in my home city. so ... lucky. anyhoo, this is the sort of uber comfy outfit that i wear when i am "under the weather". i cannot believe that i have come down with the dreaded summer cold. hard though it is for me, i am trying to be positive

slowing down jacket

the look:

shirt - old urban renewal
tie - old h&m
dress - old, from a local arts and crafts import shop
jacket - old olio organics
cap - old
boots - old ixos

the tale:

i learned something today. i learned about the concept of slow fashion. slow fashion means, among other things, buying clothes less often, buying fewer clothes, putting quality ahead of quantity when acquiring clothing, buying local and paying attention to the labels on clothing just as much as we are taught/advised to pay attention to the labels on prepared foods. these are all admirable shopping practices, but they are not intended to be an end in themselves. the point of slow fashion is to fight consumerism, to protect the environment, to combat unfair and abusive labour practices ... among other things. it all makes sense.

gone cycling gaucho pants

the look:

dress and gaucho pants - old nyc
jacket - old olio organics
cap - old
boots - old ixos

the tale:

when i got dressed this morning, i couldn't help picturing myself clambering aboard one of those high wheel bicycles from the nineteenth century (or ordinary bicycles or penny-farthings, as they were also called -- i did a little research) and cycling down the relatively empty early morning streets to yoga practice. what a sight that would have been. but that didn't happen. too bad ... really!

around the campfire shirt

the look:

shirt - old dear creatures
jumper dress - old, from a local arts and crafts import shop
pullover - old h&m
beret - old american apparel
oxfords - old john fluevog

the tale:

i think that i am moving towards some kind of compromise ... between what i think was the old me and what i think is the new me. i am so happy that i kept some of my favourite items of coloured clothing. thinking about it, if i had banished all coloured clothing from my life (when I (re)embraced wearing black clothing from head to toe), i am not sure that i would have reached the happy compromise that i seem to be reaching. at the same time as i am moving towards this compromise, something is happening to my shopping habits. i am becoming a more discerning shopper. it isn't about the next attractive (to me) item (so much was attractive to me). it is about the next attractive (to me) item that can fit into and enhance my current collection of clothes. wow!

feeling beige shirt, jumper dress and pullover

the look:

shirt - old urban renewal
jumper dress - old, from a local arts and crafts import shop
pullover - old h&m
hat - old nine west
boots - old ixos

the tale:

i felt very beige today.

work it jumper dress and jacket

the look:

shirt - old urban renewal
tie - old h&m
jumper dress and jacket - old olio organics
cap - old
boots - old john fluevog

the tale:

i am back to the tintin inspired outfits.

memories dress and skirt

the look:

dress - random label
jacket - from a local arts and crafts import shop (#2)
skirt - kaliyana
hat - old nine west
boots - john fluevog

the look:

the other day, it dawned on me why i currently like wearing white summer clothing: it's like wearing edwardian undergarments. i can't explain why thinking (feeling?) that i am wearing edwardian undergarments makes me like wearing white summer clothing, but it's the connection that i have made. during my week off, i read sophie kinsella's twenties girl. maybe i want to be a ghost whose early twenties were lived during edwardian times?

white skirt

the look:

shirt - random label
skirt and jacket - kaliyana
hat - old nine west
boots - john fluevog

the tale:

sneak peeks of fall/winter fluevogs are appearing on the flueblog. i am lining up my favourites. so far one pair is a definite favourite to join the favourites line-up. another pair is in the running for favourite. i won't say which is which, since it's still early days and things might change as other pairs appear -- i like to keep my options open where footwear is concerned.