Style or Die! challenge: Jolt blazer & 52 Pick-me-up: Trend Salad

  I could have timed this better, but I really wanted to participate in Spygirl's 52 Pick-me-up challenge this week: Trend Salad. Wear as many trends as you can in one outfit! It's open for several days; feel free to try it or check it out!

  So you all get sort of a twofer: pile on trends outfit, and the Jolt blazer over said outfit.

  I searched through some clickbait sites for trends, which yielded contradictory and confusing results, and came up with three I could do: punk, animal print, and pink coat. Let's toss in lace because that's still in since Chanel revived it, right? Oh, and layers. That's a Thing.

I feel kinda 80s

Pink leather coat: Vera pelle (thrifted)

Long moto vest: twentyone (thrifted)

Blue leopard bustier: Olé Olé (eBay)

Denim miniskirt: h&g (thrifted)

Fingerless lace gloves: River Island (old)

Bandage leggings: none (eBay)

OMG clown shoes: Candie's (thrifted)

  There's a lot going on here, but I wanted a punk outfit that was reasonably warm on its own. Yes, that's a blue leopard fake bustier. It doesn't actually compress or anything, as it's smocked in back. It has built in pads, is made of stretchy material, and is super comfortable. I have an awful lot of shirts that look like corsets for someone who has zero interest in squashing her organs.

  My fake 80s punk band is still named Subtle Blue Leopard.

  It's raining today, so my new-to-me pink leather coat by Vera pelle was perfect. It has a detachable hood! It's pink! I felt it was a bit of a risk when I bought it half-off at the thrift store, but I like it more and more. I also like that the black moto/biker vest zips up to keep the look from getting too busy when I put on the coat.

Yarr. Thar be bling here.

  I also tried the Jolt blazer over the thing for a disgruntled teen in part of school uniform look. Unfortunately my 'disgruntled' look came out more 'incredulous.' Did I mention I was once a theatre major? I was bad at it.

Feeling really 80s, now

  Thing is, I think the blazer wants a bright shirt to layer under it, and I don't own any plain ones in bright colors. It's a hole in my wardrobe I'm trying to rectify. In the meantime, I realize looking at the photos the blazer doesn't hit me at the best spot in the waist. I'm v-shaped, so it's best if I get things that narrow all the way through the natural waist, like my Guess blazer. This will be a donate.

Style or Die!* challenge: Intro

* Please note challenge does not involve anyone or any thing dying. Or even dyeing.

  This weekend I started yanking things out of my closet I never wear and decided I will try to style them or donate them. In another few weeks, I'll probably have photos of clothes I'm thinning out of my wardrobe, and if you all are interested, I'll put a list here and let my blogging friends have first pick.

  If you have any suggestions, or if you covet anything, please let me know!

 Jolt school/military style blazer. I was charmed by its slanted pockets and fabric-covered buttons. Haven't worn it.

   Miken grey moto cloth jacket. Got it as an underlayer to my leather jackets, haven't worn it for a long time

   Natural Life bamboo dress. Jersey material's too thin to be worn by itself, and its unusual hemline makes it difficult to layer under other dresses

   Old Navy lavender peacoat. I have multiple peacoats. This is likely the one I wear least.

   Rave military denim jacket- despite my love of jackets and of military styled things, I never wear this. I probably have a bias against denim jackets I was trying to overcome, and failed to.

   Triple Five Soul pinstripe vest. Love the details, cannot figure out how to wear it without feeling like office wear.

  Twenty One long vest. I tend to wear skirts higher when I'm doing vests, and the length of this makes it awkward. I also took it with me during my last trip to Taiwan/Japan, and I have a bad habit of getting sick of clothes after I wear them for two weeks or more, and never wanting to see them again.

  One of the cool things about blogging is looking at pictures of my outfits gives me a better perspective. When I look in a mirror, I automatically focus on my face. I can get around this by letting my eyes go out of focus and looking at the proportions of the outfit at a distance, but using the photos of this blog is even better. I also notice startling resemblances to family members. Do you see things in photographs of yourself that you don't notice in the mirror?

  So that's the list, folks! I will try to make outfits around these, time permitting (it takes me a long time to figure out outfits) over the next several posts. Suggestions are, as always, welcomed, and I'm looking forward to the challenge. Research projects permitting. (*digs a breathing hole through large pile of ADHD articles and books*)