Dusty Autumn Rose

♫ Boooooooots weatherrrrrrrr ♪ I love the color dusty rose. I'm finally in a climate that this Pure + Good hoodie can be worn as outerwear:

Morning mist hoodie: Pure + Good (Anthropologie)

Unveiled tank: Deletta (thrifted)

Fold-down riding boots: Ros Hommerson (6pm.com)

La Guardia cloche: Goorin Bros. (sample sale)

Locket: Express

Either the outfit all works together minus the top, or the top/jeans/boots work but I need to lose the hoodie & hat. I thought since the hoodie and tank top originally came from the same place, they might play nicely together, but oh well.

The decoration on the Deletta tank top reminds me of Victorian theatre curtains:

... though I guess that means it's a show starring my boobs, which is kind of disturbing, so let's forget that for now.

In random life news, I have a Kogepan mug now! This is my favorite character of all time.

I've had a saved search on eBay for years, and finally got one shipped my way from Italy. Now Kogepan can peer into the reflective waters of whatever I am drinking and ponder the futility of existence with me.

They see me rollin', they bustiertin'

It's cool enough to wear pants again! (Trousers for our UK reader. Hi, Curtise!)

 I feel this outfit could use a brown bowler hat. It feels subtly everyday Steampunk to me.

Denim bustier: Guess (thrifted)

Buttondown: Salsa Jeans, 1st Level collection (thrifted)

Trousers: Citizens of Humanity (thrifted)

Bracelet-as-choker: Foxy Originals

Boots: Two Lips (thrifted)

The layering is because the denim bustier is short and leaves a good inch of midriff bare. The laces are also let out all the way in the back, so by itself this is more skin than I'd like to show, even in sun-worshipping Southern CA.

The material is stretchy, the detailing is fun, and it's quite comfortable though, so I'm glad I figured out a way to wear denim on top. :D

This outfit's actually a twofer: I also dig the trousers but don't know what to wear with green pants, so I stapled the two elements together with the brown shirt as a connecting piece.

Love the contrasting stitching and the leather side cinchers and buttons on this shirt! It has a Western/Steampunk feel to me, though the brand, Salsa jeans, is Portuguese. :D It's another one of those brands I'm sure I'd never have come across if not for thrift shops.

The decorative buttons on the side of my green trousers. Hooray useless buttons and zippers!

I think I like lots of decorative elements on my clothes to have something to fiddle with or stare at. It started because I was a terminally bored child in school, and even though those days are long behind me, having jewelry to touch or interesting shiny bits on my clothes brings me comfort.

What elements draw you to your favorite clothes? Texture, details, visual appearance?

Sweating Bullets with Butterfly Wings

Know what they call lace-up boots with a skirt in Orange County?

... a rookie mistake.

I tried to change up the shorts-tank-sandals routine a little and feel more dressed-up. Result: profuse calf sweat. NO ES BUENO.

Tank top: Diesel (Las Vegas outlet)

Pleated denim skirt: London Jean (thrifted)

Lace-up boots: Report (thrifted)

The Diesel tank top is thick material and double-layered too, so it was also not an ideal garment in the heat. Even my summer clothes are summer-in-San-Francisco clothes. I last wore this tank top with denim too, looking back on it!

I love the purple flowers & butterfly or feathers design on this shirt. I got a close-up of the silver speckles that cover it, but it wasn't easy. All clothes on the floor now exist for lounging. Ahem:

AHEM:

Your blog is now about me.
Australian terrier mutts are a greater market share blah blah shareholder value maximization.
... what, you didn't get the memo?

My transformation into one of those people that anthropomorphizes and shares endlessly about their pets is complete. How did this happen? I remember being cool-headed and reasonable about this in the beginning.

I used to wear boots with skirts and dresses all the time without thinking about it. Well, I wear boots with everything. Something about a good solid pair of chunky boots fills me with comfort and outfit confidence.

It wasn't until moving away for several months and visiting the SF Bay Area that I realized it's totally A Thing there. Every gal does it! Sometimes we need to get some distance from ourselves in order to see more clearly. (:

Down here, not so much of a thing. And now, as I swab out the shafts of my Report boots, I know why.

Street Food Cinema's Labyrinth

One of the things I did this summer was attend Street Food Cinema's showing of Jim Henson's Labyrinth with my friend Cathy!

Labyrinth is my favorite film, and getting the chance to see it on a large screen is always a treat. I've seen it in a theatre once before, in the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Brian Henson and a few cast members did a pre-show for that one. It was fantastic. (:

 In case you haven't seen it, Labyrinth features Jennifer Connelly as a teenaged heroine who sets out to save her baby brother wearing jeans, a vest over a foofy shirt, and sensible shoes:

So I wore my take on the ensemble:

Would have liked more contrast between the vest and the shirt, but it's the only one of that cut I've got. Wouldn't mind another layer-y vest like this, but I'll take it slow, since this one already makes my mother sad.

At least the undershirt is no longer white! I overdyed it to bring out the blue and purple in the t-shirt.

Theatre de la Labyrinth shirt: available on Redbubble, prints on etsy

Undershirt (overdyed): Anxiety Cafe (thrifted)

Vest: Zara basic (thrifted)

Necklace-as-bracelet: Printemps dept store in Japan

Of course one needs a bracelet of plastic beads for barter

Here is a picture of the shirt art from the artist's etsy store:

Seriously, I love this film so much. I love everything David Bowie wears in it, I love the Escher-inspired set pieces, I love that Michael Moschen does Jareth's contact juggling, I love that Gates McFadden of Star Trek: the Next Generation fame choreographed the ballroom scene.

Most of all, you can clearly see the passion and creativity in the detail that went into this film. The sets and puppets are bursting with personality and the world has that distinct wacky, gentle, and thoroughly creative Jim Henson feel.

Fran Brill said of Jim Henson, "He was gentle, empathetic, worked with praise and encouraged you to the best of your ability. He created an atmosphere of fun and foolishness intuiting that in order to create and feel free one had to feel 'safe.'"

It also features the only possible example of leggings-as-pants that doesn't meet with my disapproval:

woo hoo! David Bowie is borderline NSFW in this film.

The event itself had several food trucks and a big grassy lawn on which to spread picnic blankets. Cathy said it was a prime example of the sun worshipping Los Angeles culture. I'm starting to like the city, at least the parts I travel to within its vast bounds. It's too large to wrap my head around as yet.

When I get out of the monochrome suburb where my mother lives, Southern CA has some pretty neat events, creative people, and a lot of wonderful places to eat. I'm working on getting that activation energy to get in the car and drive for an hour to experience some of it. It's harder than just riding the train or bus for the same length of time!

Did you go to any outdoor events this summer? Are there showings of old or cult favorite films in your area?

Sheer for Sear

Someone left Southern CA on 'parboil' again. This is the second thrift piece I picked up for simmer-I mean, summer.

Amboy Aces dress/tunic: Salvage (thrifted)

Long vest/cardigan: LUX (clothing swap)

Sandals: Clark's (gift from Cathy)

My friend noted with approval that this is summer clothing. I kind of felt like I was wearing underwear all day. It might be the light colors, it might be the thinness of the material, or, as I now realize looking at the photos, it might be because I'm clearly wearing a tunic, not a dress. Dangit. Blog and learn.

On the plus, it's a size up from what I normally wear, and I found out when I went to brunch that I can eat a pound of food and it is not evident. Hooray loose!

The thrifted tunic's brand is Salvage, and it reminds me of the brand Treasure Rock that I also have some pieces from. I looked it up online, and man, this brand is pricey. I like all of the cool details and grommets, but $139 for this thing new? Half the damn thing isn't even opaque!

Speaking of, this light lavender long vest or cardigan or thing by LUX proved its usefulness, even as it continues to defy categorization. The back of the Salvage tunic is actually sheer, leading me to wonder who exactly this garment is meant for. Is this a misguided attempt to be sexy?

If a question is going to form in the mind of the folks I pass on the street, I'd like it to be along the lines of, "Where did she get those clothes?" rather than, "Dear god, are those her underpants visible through the back of that thing?"

Then again, when temperatures are regularly nearing 100F, my brain shorts out and all bets are off. Small wonder I forgot to wear pants.