The Unexpected Hoodie

Trying the sideways glance again, and looking mighty pleased with myself. I call this shirt by Three Stones the Unexpected Hoodie:

I feel a little like Link from the Legend of Zelda games. The top is loose, so I did what I saw Carrie of Petal by Petal do recently: I added a skinny belt near my natural waist to look more streamlined. Woo hoo! What works for one Asian American martial artist evidently works for another. :D

I dig the little keyhole in the back. If the hood is down, it hides it.

Hoodie top: Three Stones (thrifted)

Overlapping waves skirt: Forever 21 (thrifted)

Sandals: Eastland

Belt: unknown (thrifted)
Necklace: Old Navy

Sage wrap bracelet: Foxy Originals

Earrings: Etsy shop

Purse: handmade (Sawdust Festival, birthday gift)

It was all about the accessories that day:

Oh, and the belt! I'm a huge fan of the comedy sitcom Community, and I cracked up when I saw that the belt tag reads "Streets Ahead"! I don't think it's a reference to the show, just an awesome coincidence:

Blown out shot of the skirt to show the cool overlapping layers:

I'll let you guys in on a secret: I'm not actually in Southern CA! I moved for a job and am back in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I took these outfit photos before I left so I could queue up some posts, predicting (rightfully) that I'd be overwhelmed and too burnt my first week or two here to do them.

I'm also living out of a suitcase and half of what I brought is conservative business casual because who starts a new job wearing outfits that shriek, "Hi! You know nothing about me except that I'm an outlier!"? I'm definitely waiting until at least my third day.

Not sure what I'm going to do for next week's posts yet. Here's hoping I get settled enough to get some thrifting in. I'm certainly in the location for it! :D

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?

Party On

Went to a birthday party this weekend! An excellent time was had by all. This is what I wore:

Top: mimoa (v. old)

Black skinny jeans: NYDJ (thrifted)

Denim & leather jacket: Diesel Black Gold (eBay)

Choker: Foxy Originals sage wrap bracelet (available online)

Boots: ALDO (thrifted)

Thanks to two alert readers who point out to me in my last post that 'vera pelle' just means real leather in Italian. Everything else written on the tags, like "echtes leder" also means real leather, or says it's certified genuine in Italian, so I guess it is brandless. I'm a little disappointed I can't track down my coat's relatives through the Internet.

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I like all of the individual pieces in this outfit a lot, but I wish I'd had time to look at the proportions in photographs before I went. This was one of those "augh what do I wear" combinations that I settled on after trying on several tops and jackets, and those are always a mixed bag.

I did get numerous compliments on the shirt, which was awesome. Unfortunately for folks who asked, it is 14 years old, purchased at a little indie shop across from UC Irvine that no longer exists, and the brand has zero online presence. -_-

Good news: I finally found a pair of black skinny jeans that fit! I've been looking for half a year, and this pair fits really comfortably. I can sit down without my thighs feeling like they're tied up like a roast. AND they actually fit at the waist! (normally I have to size up a few to get jeans that fit my legs) They are literally mom jeans: the brand is called Not Your Daughter's Jeans. Hah! (Take note, other lady martial artists and women well-endowed in the thighal region. They only go up to size 18, though.)

Bad news: I made a mistake not wearing them under a dress or tunic. My thigh to ankle ratio is quite large because genetics and wushu are an unstoppable team. My friend's fashion adviser told her that boot cuts are not flattering, period, and that skinny jeans that fit just look better. Last time I'm trying that advice.

edit: My friend suggested tall boots balance out not-narrow limbs. I definitely wear tall boots with leggings and skinny jeans under dresses. I'll try 'em with my denim-clad upper legs showing some time!

The top and jacket both have high necks and emphasize the shoulders, so I think this outfit accentuates all of my stocky areas at once.

What I should have done is check my blog, since the last time I wore this shirt, I also wore black on bottom and a leather jacket (I am predictable), but the proportions were much better. Loose trousers + tight shirt = my friend. Sometimes I get carried away trying out different fits for kicks and forget about tried & true.

I'm not sure what to wear on bottom to balance out this jacket's shoulders and high collar. Maybe fall back on my old standbys, bootcuts jeans + chunky boots? I was born with only 6 cervical vertebrae instead of 7, and I have large trapezius muscles, so I should deploy high collars with care. Are there particular collar shapes or necklines that you avoid?

Casual Punk

I came up with this while trying to make an outfit around a different skirt:

  Of course, it wasn't school-appropriate, so I changed. But the moment is immortalized here!

Flutter sleeve shirt: Derek Heart (thrifted)

Embroidered skirt: PSSST (v. old)
Navy leather jacket: Laundry by Shelli Segal (gift)
Cap: Nine West (old)

Boots: ALDO (thrifted)

Sage wrap bracelet: Foxy originals

Pewter leaf necklace (H&M in Paris)

  I've had this skirt half my life, now. My friend Diana and I bought the same skirt when we were teenagers at Macy's. Blue cherry blossoms! How could I resist? It was $16.99, which was a little steep for my allowance(!) but I decided to splurge.

  I've not worn it before now because it's tight and short, and I've always been a little self-conscious of my thighs, but I see style bloggers with muscles rocking the short-skirt-boots look, and I really like it. I find it both sexy and strong, so I've decided this combination is not just for the delicate of limb. Are there looks you have decided to try after reading style blogs, or just decided to try as your style evolved?

Class Structure

  Trying out the adjustments on the harness from Megan Mae. If I let the back strap all the way out, I can get it to my lower ribs for a different suspender-like look. :D

Harness: AudraJean (etsy, from Megan Mae)

Blouse: contempo (thrifted)

Jeans: UNIQLO (Japan)

Boots: Fitzwell (6pm.com)
Necklace: Foxy Originals Sage Bracelet (foxyoriginals.com)

  This is one of my hybrid school outfits, hopefully combining freedom of movement for labs with some visual interest and structured style.

  ... did you know that black shows *everything*? There are tiny lint hairs everywhere! Augh!

Pink Pantser Pet Peeving

Blazer: Triple Five Soul (thrifted)

 Boxy Top: Language (thrifted)

Raerback Under-tank: Sparkle and Fade (thrifted)

Wide Tassel Buckle Belt: River Island (old)

Trousers: Unionbay (eBay)

Leaf necklace: Foxy Originals Sage Bracelet

  I have a pet peeve. Clothing distributors often label their clothes obscure Pantone swatch colors, but if you search through a clothing aggregator, it mucks things up. If I'm looking for grey things while everything has names like "foggy dew" and "fossil", they don't turn up in the search. Maybe it's so you can look up the exact shades and they don't have to worry about photographing everything in white light, I dunno.

  So here's my idea: every item in this outfit is going to be labeled something totally useless and you can play along at home. Drop a link in the comments if you do a post like this and I'll post everybody's pics and links next week. Alternately you can pick any page or image you want from the 'net and write up some made-up color labels or text in comments. Everyone's welcome!

  Decidedly not my pet peeve is pink pants! I love them. I love them even better when they have ridiculous pockets and fit correctly. My last pair are only one for two, unfortunately. After losing a bunch of weight to school stress over 3 years, they fall down even when fastened and zipped. That's right, I get pantsed by my own pink pants, so I'm going to donate 'em.

  I'm super pleased with these, though! They're a lighter Grandma's bathroom décor shade than my old Guess pair, they have 7 pockets, and there are satin stripes down the sides. They also have little buckles at the waist so they can be taken in a little for a better fit. Love. Love love love.

  So I got replacement cargo pants, set out to create a new outfit around them, and... basically recreated the same thing I wore the last time I wore pink pants. I am so internally consistent I show up in my own Google image searches when I'm looking for outfit ideas*.

  I wanted the intellectual challenge of styling this thrifted Language shirt, featured here in albino blueberry. It's size large, and clearly designed to be boxy/slouchy, so it's essentially a smock:

  I suspect the previous owner was very busty, because there are two grommets punched in the shirt, so one can tie the sides back a bit for shaping:

  I don't have the goods to hold the shirt up in the same way, so I layered it over a thrifted Ron Paul colored Sparkle and Fade racerback tank top. Even after adding my wide tassel belt, I need to do something about the massive neck opening, because there was some Flashdance nonsense going on all afternoon. If I shrug, the shirt falls down**.

  Before I take a big ol' dart out of the back (and hem the bottom and the sleeves, who LIKES these like that? argh!) I thought I'd put my slouchy ragamuffin outfit up here for you wonderful readers to give me suggestions! You can use terms like 'fullback in the National Hobbit League', it's okay.

* This really happens.
** This also really happens.

  I'm really looking forward to reading your ridiculous color names!

Brown Coat

  I don't know if it was Salazar's comment about beloved defunct show Firefly the other day, but today I felt like going for a little Ye Olde and a little Western in my outfit. It's my way of breaking up the jeans every day pattern and having something comfortable enough to get my car serviced and study all day in.

  Today's shirt thingy (Diesel, thrifted) is a tunic, I think, so I also wore my thrifted Diesel coat. If they're the same brand, they have to look good together, right? I think this also counts as mixing black and brown. I hear that's a style thing. Do my eyes plus hair also count?

  I had all the fun of a dramatic thigh slit without any of the stress of having a slab of my thigh hanging around in public. I love my quads more than anything, but the world is not ready for that much wushu power just yet.

 I also wore a big square scarf because when Diesel says xs, they are not messing around. I can only fasten two buttons of the coat. This tunic is also defies any attempt at covering bra straps. I'm starting to think these clothes are intended for lanky European models making duckfaces so they can cut glass with their cheekbones.

I did my best, but the coat was not fooled.

  I really liked these buttons and how it looked like I could adjust the strap length so as not to get armpit-garroted. Alas, the button holes below it are tiny and decorative. Easy fix with a seam ripper, though.

  Thank you guys for reading and blogging. It's my pick-me-up during the superlong days of chemistry all week. :D

Coat and tunic: Diesel (both thrifted)

Pinstripe trousers: Gap (thrifted)

Platform shoes: Candie's (thrifted)

Sage wrap bracelet: Foxy Originals (item link)
Scarf: H&M (old)

In Longterm Vestments

  I don't know if it's the physical and mental exhaustion from the long days, or if it's just not as much fun being constrained in what I can wear with lab four days a week, but I'm determined to have more fun dressing up on my three days off.

  When I choose my clothes and makeup, it's a bit like armor against the world outside my front door. I don't live in a hostile or dangerous environment, but I'm nervous by temperament, and having things on that make me smile and remind me of my delightful stash of stuff in my safe home helps keep me going throughout the day.

  Anyway, something clicked (or snapped, your choice of semantics and following implication) when I got home Friday and I reached for the box on my closet shelf that holds my "special occasion" garments. These are garments I don't have a practical use for but bought because they lit up the fantasy part of my brain. My upbringing never cured me of that. I'm a woman in my mid-thirties wondering I'll ever have financial stability or a permanent home. What am I saving them for?

  I live next to a city where I could wear a bathrobe or a ballgown (or both) on the bus and no one would bat an eye. I am so lucky. These items cost me about as much as everyday wear because most of them were thrifted. There's no fiscal or social reason not to wear them, really. The one who decided these things aren't part of a daily wardrobe is me, which is fine, because now I'm changing my mind. :D The practical part of me approves of this.

  On the other hand, the practical part of me is aghast because she's the one responsible for vacuuming my room, and right now there are clothes strewn all over the bed and floor. She'll deal.

  First up! A fancy black top with netting from BCBG.

   Has: boning without restricting breathing/movement, built in padding, tiny stick-on jewels on the straps, and strips of ragged lace. WIN.

  The jeans are new to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they were new, period. Picked them up at the mothership thrift store in SoMa and even after chopping off several inches for my short calves, they are still recognizably bootcut. I am thrilled. (This never happens! I love bootcuts, and by the time I'm through with them they look like straight leg. I love mermaid skirts; when I chop them to my height they are vaguely A-line.)

  And now, a leather jacket, because I love the look of jeans, boots, a leather jacket, and some kind of sexy corset-y top. Something about it seems tough and tomboyish and feminine and sexy all at once to me. I like how the lace strips from the flower still hang below the jacket waist.

  I got the jewelry from a mall travel store in downtown SF that was going out of business. It was located across the way from another travel store. They probably should have planned that better. I like it as a pseudo choker because it doesn't actually touch my throat and therefore drive me crazy. Looked up the company and it is actually a bracelet. Works both ways. :D

  I am linking up to Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday where style bloggers share their looks that make 'em feel rockin'.

  It was sunny earlier today:

Glue (the comic)

Top: BCBG (eBay, size 6, size 8, mystery)

Cracked Motorcycle Jacket: Laundry by Shelli Segal (gift)

Sage wrap bracelet (worn as necklace): Foxy Originals (product link)

Juniors low rise flare jeans: Levi's (thrifted)

Shoes: Candie's (thrifted)