Casual Friday

 It's Casual Friday! (Well, it was Casual Friday)

Parham Elephant Polo shirt: Joules (thrifted)

Shorts: nicole by nicole miller (thrifted)

Socks: Ichiban-kan

Shoes: New Balance

On Fridays, there is a noontime walk/jog around the office park. We get points for participating that we can redeem for company swag. It's one of the activities of the company culture I appreciate. I work with some cool people and I like that we're encouraged to socialize.

Most days I scoot to and from work carrying workout clothes and running shoes, and on alternate Fridays I carry more because I take the train straight to Favourite Joe's part of the Bay. I thought I'd try a Casual Friday outfit to cut down on luggage.

There are so many cool details to this shirt! It might not show up in photos, but the fabric is very heavy. All of the stripes and patches are also thick fabric sewn solidly on, giving the feeling that this shirt really would withstand a fall off a horse. I have always been drawn to patches, and while I hesitated to buy a polo shirt (I wore them all through high school and I've been biased against them ever since) I was sold.

This polo shirt came up in the mens' part of the store when I was thrift shopping with a friend for his new wardrobe. I'd really hoped it would be either his or Favourite Joe's size, but it's clearly a lady shirt. I found a picture on the Internet:

The shirt is clearly pinned in the back on the model. Blah.

I dig the psuedo-laces on the sides of these shorts. They were a great find after a long exasperated attempt to find shorts that weren't either of these two styles:

 Srsly, I have a great relationship with my legs, but I am interested in garments that cover part of them. Just not to the degree that those denim theatre curtains are offering to.

Secret extra preppy with argyle ankle socks

I enjoy branching out and trying different styles, but at the heart of it, shorts, running shoes, and a tank top or t-shirt is the most natural state of the human Aya. If I didn't love playing in my big closet, it would definitely be those things every day for the rest of my life.

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Lastly! Thanks so much for your comments (or not commenting, whichever. thanks for checking out the blog) about my stuff that doesn't work. I buy things that I think look cool, and that feel good when I'm wearing them, but my photos give me a pulled-back look that I don't get even in a full length mirror. I put up outfits made out of borderline items because I need another perspective to decide.

The personal style blogger community is a great positive community, but positive doesn't mean you need to avoid being honest. I really appreciate the feedback (and consigned both shirts in the last post to the donation bin.) Cheers!

Pink Pants, redux

  Two things never fail to make me happy: sunlight on my face and pink pants. Combine the two and, well... !

Flat cap: Takeo Kikuchi (thrifted, Japan)

Navy button down: Express (thrifted)

Pink pants: Unionbay (eBay)

Jewelry: watch, bracelet (CostPlus), necklace (thrifted)

  I think this flat cap with its traditional Japanese patterned panels is the perfect subtle accessory to both ancestry and my love of old-fashioned menswear.

  I tried tailored navy on top to balance out the loose cargo cut and light pink of the pants. I think the end result is tomboyish yet uh... pink. :D

The following actual conversation took place in a furious whisper at the beginning of class:

me: "Oh no, my scrunchie totally clashes. I forgot to swap it out when I changed hats!"
Athena: "Let me see.  ...haha, yeah it does. Dude don't worry, no one cares!"
me: "I CARE!"

  In the interest of journalistic integrity, I left the outfit intact, clashing hair cloth and all:

  Do you have delicious plans for the weekend?

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!

Desaturated Rainbow

  I didn't realize it until after I'd gotten dressed, but this outfit is a desaturated rainbow:

  It's not all the way desaturated; I am no Desaturated Santa (she is awesome!) but beige is a type of orange with very little saturation. Ah, you may be asking, but where is the red?

  Peekaboo! I am a 360° desaturated rainbow. (:

  I am a stranger to balmy weather after these 8 years on the peninsula, but I feel I'm ramping right back into it after pulling all of my remaining tank tops and lightweight trousers from the corners of my wardrobe.

  I love the gold paint on this shirt. I wish I could capture how lovely the color is. I looked up the brand (Miss Poem) online and the brand is from Turkey! I love finding out about multinational brands through thrift finds. :D

  This jacket was hands down the easiest jacket alteration I have ever done. I took in the side seams by stitching a single line down each side inside of the jacket, and shortened the sleeves by tucking up the fabric and sewing in a circle right under above the cuffs.  The wide bands with the button hide the line!

  I don't have class on the 4th, and the break could not come sooner. I am so tired. There's a BART strike (the train system where I live) so in addition to my 12.5-hour summer school days I've been commuting by car this week, so that means hiking off campus and moving my car every 2 hours. It's very rare I'm so tired I can't eat, but that's been this week. Looking forward to sleeping a lot in between my studying this long weekend.

  I hope you all have fabulous plans for this weekend, too. (: Have you ever dressed in a rainbow or other color theme? How about inadvertently? :D

Jacket: Live a Little (thrifted)

Green sleeveless top: Miss Poem (thrifted)

Pants: Sanctuary for Anthropologie (gift)

Rose scrunchee: Japan

Shoes: New Balance (Dad)

Back in Blue

  On Monday I went back to my old standbys: racerback tank top, overlayer tank top, tailored shirt, and jeans. I would have worn my black platforms, but you can see here that they are still waiting for the day they are worthy (wide enough) to accept my feet.

  Last time I realized very dark ivy is not the background for me and I needed to go farther afield. I got the opportunity when I stepped out of class at 7 pm, and like magic the sun was painting everything in slanted rays of soft gold. It was the first time I'd seen sunlight in weeks. I hurried home and grabbed the tripod.

  Surprise! No fancy magic color correction exposure tweaking necessary. Sunlight makes everything better.

Better get ready before that timer goes off!

  I like this tailored shirt a lot, but I do not know who they expect to get her arms through those sleeves. I should just remove the button and loop, they will never be united.

Sweater: Sparrow (eBay)

Tailored shirt: BCX (thrifted)

Tank top: Express (old)

Bracelet: unknown (The CAMP)

Jeans: 7 for all Mankind (brother)

Shoes: New Balance (Dad)

Dusting Off the Duster

  I got a full night's sleep yesterday, but I didn't make up the sleep deficit from the previous night, so I woke up stiff and cranky. It was almost another zero-point fashion day, but I tried to spruce it up a little.

  I started with my comfortable Flynt jeans and a Cop Copine white cotton shirt that's cut kind of like a dress, with puffed shoulders, a round scooped neck, and a tie in the front.  Then I added a pinstripe vest and duster coat.

  I've had this duster for years but am only now figuring out what I might wear it with. I think the problem is it is brown, while the rest of my wardrobe is composed of greys and blues. Funny story: I found the pants that go with this jacket in a Japanese thrift store, over 5,000 miles from where I found the coat:

  Same buttons, fabric, and everything. They were about $12 and I didn't get them because my apartment's too small for cool story memorabilia the size of pants, but it was pretty sweet finding them. Then I went to a Mister Donut and had a long think about globalization the rest of that afternoon.

  As for the outfit, I think the shirt knot, the vest, and of course, the Western-inspired coat all tie together for a last-minute Western theme. I thought about wearing boots, but I was too tired to wear anything but my New Balance running shoes. My platypus feet and I love them so much.

  I'm still working on how to take photos that aren't either completely washed out or dark beyond recognition. Also, my tripod is coming tomorrow! I'm very excited about this.

Coat: Diesel (Crossroads)

Shirt: Cop Copine (thrifted)

Vest: Triple Five Soul (clothing swap)

Jeans: 7 For All Mankind Flynt (thrifted)

Shoes: New Balance 1122 (Dad)