Cranky Nopants

  Hey guys! I missed blogging. :D  I also missed the sun. Here's a picture I took Thursday to celebrate the first time it came out in over a week.

Sweatshirt dress: Mossimo (thrifted)

Vest: Forever 21 (thrifted)

Tights: UNIQLO (gift from Mom)

Over-the-knee boots: unknown (clothing swap)

Hat: eBay (similar)

  This whole 'personal style' thing is still pretty new to me. The outfits I posted this past warm season are partly because I have 1 pair of ratty denim shorts, and since I didn't think that would do for a style blog, I experimented with putting together other fun things.

  Cold weather's different. I hate the cold. I hate this sudden seasonal change. I hate wind and damp and numb feet and blue fingertips. Hate is a strong word, but it takes me months to shake off a dull, stuffy vaguely anxious feeling when the sun doesn't show up for weeks at a time. Happens every year, and my priorities this season, as with many Asian women, shift from "what fun to wear today?" to "protect myself from the elements, nevermind how ridiculous I look."

  This year I am going to try to shake myself out of it by risking a stupendous gas bill and trying to heat this place. There is no weatherproofing in our apartment (the balcony door doesn't even close all the way,) it's very damp, and the thermostat doesn't register, and you have to manually switch it on every 15 minutes if you want heat, but I can't take being cold indoors and outdoors all of the time. It does not snow, and it very rarely drops below freezing in the Bay Area, but this means that shopkeepers and restaurants also don't see fit to heat anything, and people leave the doors to the tiny cafe and retail spaces OPEN all the time, so you never get away from the winter weather. It means the only times I am warm are when I am driving my car and when I'm taking a shower. It drives me insane.

  I've heard older Chinese people say that white people are more resistant to the cold than Asians are. The whole special sweat gene means this might be more true than I thought. Either way, that is my rant. I will do my best to add more visual interest to my outfits, because otherwise you all are going to get an endless procession of dark neutral sweat/er/shirt dresses, long pants, and peacoats.

  Today I tried adding a long vest to this teal sweatshirt dress. I wasn't sure how the proportions would work out, but it was warm. I see now in the photo it looks like I forgot to don pants, which still puts me one up on my leggings-only-clad classmates, who, thank god, are now being forced to actually wear some. Gosh, I'm really cranky. I just realized this. This is therapeutic. :D

  Since I've been running out the door without taking outfit photos and coming back after dark, here are some photos of what I have been up to:

I made some new fabric-covered buttons for my thrifted Sanctuary hoodie! I am wearing it with some thrifted bling jeans here.

  I love this thing. It's so soft, has gorgeous piping on the inside, has interesting lines, good construction, and came to me in like-new condition! It was just missing one button on the left pocket, which you can see above.

  I picked up a fabric button kit at my local DAISO, a Japanese dollar (and a half) store. I took a piece of jersey fabric and placed it around the metal button head, and put it in the clear plastic holder. You can't use too many layers of cloth, but if you want added fullness/softness on the head of the button, you can cut a round piece of fabric and place it between the button head and the cloth you're wrapping around it, which is what I did.

  I photographed the instructions on the back of the package. (: You trim the cloth, fold it in around the button head, place a button backing on top, push down on the round green plastic presser, and you have a new button!

   The buttons on my hoodie were between sizes of the kits available, so I made two buttons and replaced the remaining one, as well:

  Pretty good match, I think!  What are some DIY repairs you have done?

Incordirigible

  You heard it here first, folks: Gracey the Giant is a bad influence. She may seem witty and sweet and friendly and lovely-well, I'm sure she is all of those things actually, but she's still a bad influence! I don't know if she's mad at me because I took more than my fair share of short or what, but this post is on her. I'll get her back, though. You'll see.

  So the other day I was reading this post over at Fashion for Giants, and I clicked the link to check out Gracey's sweet earrings on the Nordstrom website. It was there that I saw THIS:

Cara 'Royal Highness' Military Pin (linking because I love you, but no revenue)

  My friend called it "very imperialist, like someone snatched it off of Queen Victoria's corpse." :D I instantly thought of it pinned on a structured jacket or coat, but his comment made me think it could go on a sash, as well. I hope it doesn't look like or cause offense as imitating military, because what I want to do with it is be an airship captain.

  This got in my head a few months ago when I was tootling around with my cropped BIZZ jacket and wound up with a combination that made me inexplicably feel like one (didn't post it, but should in future). It's been a dream ever since.

Pin: Cara 'Royal Highness' Military Pin (Nordstrom)

Heart: vintage screwback earring (thrifted)

Lace ruffle tee: TRF t-shirt collection (thrifted)

Western-style coat: Diesel (thrifted)

Pink lace undertank: Express best-loved bra cami

Vest: Free People (eBay)

Skirt: unknown, Japanese (piked from Mom)

Boots: Naya Lightning (gift)

  This is another go at layering a soft tee with a v-neck and ruffles over a lace-trimmed camisole for some detail and less cleavage. A vest seems to make things older-fashioned looking, structured, and a little fancy all at once.

  Getting that medal on was a stone bitch, by the way. A captain needs to have her uniform in order. A captain also should have sleeves that go to her wrists instead of her knuckles, but baby steps. After several iterations of pinning it crookedly, pinning it at the wrong height, pinning it in the wrong lateral configuration, taking off the coat to try to pin it straight, trying on the coat and taking it back off again because it was wrong, I shouted in frustration, "This is why people used to have servants dress them!"

It was perfect. If you buy one, send me a picture.

  The captain would also like a hat, but this one is 140 beans. It is gorgeously shaped and the right brim shape for the period I had in mind, though. It's also not an unreasonable price, but it is about 120 more beans than I have in my pocketbook. I hung out with it on at Goorin Bros., drank free beer, and have photoshopped it onto my head for my own entertainment instead. :D

  Normally I avoid places like Nordstrom because in my mind those are places that grown ups who have money go to buy things, and I live in fear that I will be called out as an impostor or set upon by frightening salespeople and feel obligated to buy something out of social contract.

  Gracey said I should totally get the pin though, so I went. And everybody was so nice. I was left alone, and whenever I had a question, attentive lovely folks who didn't talk loudly would help out. And over at the MAC counter it looked like the most expressive and energetic young people ever were having a happy make-up party. This place has customer service down to a science. And I ended up coveting this, too:

Faux leather trim scarf (also linking for love, and because it is 1/2 off)

  Looks kind of punk and has pointy ends to look extra interesting. I don't know what would go under it yet, but just trying it on made me feel fashionable.

  My friend Diana has already called the position of First Mate in my crew. You, lovely readers, are of course more than welcome aboard, and I am saving a spot for Ken Watanabe in case he would like to come. Who would you want in your crew if you were a fantasy captain?

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  Sunday I went to a clothing swap hosted by a friend-of-a-friend. I met so many wonderful women there. I hadn't expected that in addition to finding new cool things to wear, it would be so fun to see my clothes on other people and that I'd get so much happiness from seeing them go to another home. When I've sold clothes before, I feel sad, because I have all sorts of sentimentality tied up in things and the memories I made while wearing them. The personal connection of having someone's smiling face exclaim that she loves your former things took that all away.

  And I managed to achieve the major goal of a clothing swap: I came back with far less than I'd gone there with. Score! The extra clothes went to a YWCA drive for women who had rescued themselves from domestic abuse situations. They are definitely a target for my next rage donation.

  The haul:

2 dresses, 1 workout tank, 3 shirts, 2 skirts, 1 trousers, and accessories

  The bottom dress belonged to a gal who must've been half a foot taller than I, with truly bodacious curves. I do not know how this dress violates the laws of physics and fits us both, but you don't turn down technology like that. It could end up powering my airship.

  These are a gorgeous black and metallic red, depending on how the light hits them. Stretch fabric, very comfortable. Maybe an everyday goth look, with black boots?

  Western brown steampunk-ish skirt and plum blossoms. See that, Gracey? MINT. I got you!

  Brown steampunk style socks for my outfits! Gold bracelet that looks like armor for a fantasy war! Sandals from the young lady who got my former pink pants! :D

  Of course the winner of the afternoon had to be:

  Holy shlamoley, knee boots! I don't know who was being pursued so hotly by the mob that she had to leave these behind, but thank you. I have wanted knee high boots since I was at most twelve, probably earlier. I have stared at them online often and contemplated what it would be like, but now I know and I will never forget.

  If you were tired of me wearing my Naya Lightning boots with everything before, you might want to brace yourself for boots showing up in every one of my posts now, forever. :D