Stripped Up for Hot Weather

This top is one of my new desert pieces. I managed to snag it for $3 at a thrift shop. Fully lined and 100% silk! It has subtle ruching down the sides and a drapey almost cowl neckline that flatters the figure.

Oh, and the tattered strips of silk: Instant love. Any occasion to bust out the fire hazard label! I feel they hang around my shoulders like the fluttering ribbons of fantasy wings. Or ribbons of homelessness, according to my mom. Agree to disagree.

Shredded silk shirt: unknown (thrifted)

Denim mermaid skirt: Bebe (thrifted)

Sandals: Clark's (gift from Cathy)

Necklace: Old Navy

Bangles: gifted x2, DIY, thrifted, and Paris

I feel kind of slouchy and feminine and classy-sexy all at once in it. Which is great, because I've also been totally slacking about cutting and styling my hair. And makeup. Meh. It's 90 degrees.

Thrifting is such an equalizer. I'd be too intimidated to wear an expensive silk shirt with denim and roll around on the floor in it playing with the dog, but since all price tags are the same, I feel like my clothes are cheerfully all-purpose.

Am I the only one who carries a mental price tag with items and lets that influence their use? I shouldn't, but high prices for things intimidate me. How much more freeing a $3 price tag can be. :D

All Dress Weather, All the Time

Good news: when I picked out clothes for my limited closet space, I brought a bunch of warm weather dresses!

Bad news: a dress is an entire outfit, so once worn, I feel like I can't wear it on the blog again for a while. I haven't featured this dress on the blog since-holy crap-almost exactly a year ago though, so I guess it is okay.

Dress: OzzOn Japan (secondhand, Japan)

Cropped blazer: Isaac Mizrahi for Target (thrifted)

Tensha bead earrings: The Thorn & Rose (etsy)

Bracelet: Foreign Exchange (old)

Sandals: Fitzwell (6pm.com)

It's not showing much, but I'm also wearing a perfectly-sized racerback underdress that's the same shade and that conveniently covers any gaps in the hem that might flash too much thigh.

It also enabled me, while attending my friend Athena's wedding, to take the dress off in the parking lot and offer it to a near-stranger who was admiring it so she could try it on. Alcohol was definitely involved.

Athena, incidentally, was the very one who introduced me to this brand! The day we met, I noticed two things about her: first, she was intelligent and outspoken (three things?), specifically on the topic of an awful textbook that had been required reading for one of our introductory courses, and second, that she was wearing a jacket that was sweeeeet beyond all recognition.

I complimented her jacket and introduced myself in the ladies room. And the rest, as they say, is history. :D

Fedora Blues

Fedora: Stacy Adams (available online)

Top: Edme Esyllte (eBay)

Locket: Express (v. old)

Boots: ALDO (thrifted)

I still don't know how to style this fedora, but I've had it for several years now, so I'm trying it with anything, so long as it doesn't clash. I originally bought it because my boss at the time had one from this brand and I thought it looked snazzy.

I think some of the difficulty is that the fedora is a warm saturated navy, while most of my clothes are cool and low brightness/saturation.

Tried this purple Edme Esyllte top, since it also doesn't go with anything. I thought it looked kind of military/Steampunky, so I purchased it, only to have it languish in my closet because I can't find something to wear on the bottom. (Skirts don't work because of the empire waist.)

When in doubt, put a bunch of random crap you like together and show Southern OC that there are other things than workout clothes to wear! As my friend says, "You know that feeling you're having? It's called dissonance. It means learning is taking place!"

It's been 95F/35C all summer, and while there's nothing wrong with a tank top and shorts, they don't feel very dressy to me, and I haven't put together anything creative. Most of my clothes are still in storage, and blocked off by a literal ton of 80s television equipment. Sigh. Lately I've been turning on the AC for the dog and escaping to a quiet café to work during the day.

I miss my wardrobe, but I've invested a little money thrifting some things to wear in my new desert climate, to be featured soon. And while my life has been in a slump sartorially, other things are fine to dandy. :D Here's a picture of me at the 626 Night Market with the world's largest cup of boba:

Suddenly my own drink did not seem to measure up

Fresh lavender lemonade

Two really nice ladies sporting outfits from Japan