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

Riders of Rohandmade

This dress looks like something a shieldmaiden would wear:

Dress: handmade (thrifted)

Sandals: Eastland Shoe

Necklace: gift

Bracelet: Paris

Ring: defunct Etsy shop

I overexposed myself (ha) to show the panels and the stitching on the dress that gave me this impression :

It appears to be handmade, fully lined, and made for someone almost my size, save the chest is too small so I feel like this:

I can't wait to have my own place where I'll have room to set up my sewing machine to let this out. There appears to be more than enough seam allowance.

How does one accessorize when preoccupied by thoughts of leaving Rohan and winning glory (and mebbe the heart of Aragorn) in battle?

A Celtic knot necklace, which was a gift from a friend for my 16th birthday:

A brass bangle that has a metal BB inside, so the chiming strikes fear into the heart of mine enemies:

And a silver ring of leaves! Looked very Tolkien-appropriate. Pardon the funky knuckles; we've been doing bagwork on Fridays and I'm not great at wrapping with my off hand yet.

Certain cuts of clothing, prints, or details can be really evocative. This is an extreme example. I know when I pulled this from the thrift rack in SF, I exclaimed the first line of this post aloud. Do you have any clothes that evoke a certain time period, genre, or character for you?

All Dress Weather, All the Time

Good news: when I picked out clothes for my limited closet space, I brought a bunch of warm weather dresses!

Bad news: a dress is an entire outfit, so once worn, I feel like I can't wear it on the blog again for a while. I haven't featured this dress on the blog since-holy crap-almost exactly a year ago though, so I guess it is okay.

Dress: OzzOn Japan (secondhand, Japan)

Cropped blazer: Isaac Mizrahi for Target (thrifted)

Tensha bead earrings: The Thorn & Rose (etsy)

Bracelet: Foreign Exchange (old)

Sandals: Fitzwell (6pm.com)

It's not showing much, but I'm also wearing a perfectly-sized racerback underdress that's the same shade and that conveniently covers any gaps in the hem that might flash too much thigh.

It also enabled me, while attending my friend Athena's wedding, to take the dress off in the parking lot and offer it to a near-stranger who was admiring it so she could try it on. Alcohol was definitely involved.

Athena, incidentally, was the very one who introduced me to this brand! The day we met, I noticed two things about her: first, she was intelligent and outspoken (three things?), specifically on the topic of an awful textbook that had been required reading for one of our introductory courses, and second, that she was wearing a jacket that was sweeeeet beyond all recognition.

I complimented her jacket and introduced myself in the ladies room. And the rest, as they say, is history. :D

Subtle Embellishments

  This is my old uniform: some sort of unique/graphic tee and some cool pants or jeans. I wore this style every day for decades. I love my skirts and my other clothes, but I find this the most comfortable. I thought I'd share it with you. What is your go-to or zero point outfit?

Top: Foreign Exchange (thrifted)

Ryan Bootcut Pants: S by Sanctuary (thrifted, sz 8 in denim on eBay)

Boots: Two Lips (thrifted)

Necklace: defunct etsy shop

  This is not a unified theme! The pants are detailed like cowgirl chaps -brass snaps at the bottom of bootcut legs and decorative seams curving up the sides to the back- and the shirt is detailed like a princess gown, with slightly puffed sleeves and a twisty collar. I love them both very much.

  These fake chaps pants are the most complicated trousers I have had to shorten yet. They have a series of brass snaps at the bottom that I fell in love with, but the legs were the usual 5" too long. What to do? I ended up measuring the angle of the decorative line across the thigh in the back, tracing out the same angle with a protractor, and cutting the inches out partway up the leg and doing a diagonal pseudo-top stitch to imitate the style of the pants, then reinforcing the edges so they wouldn't fray. It took two evenings and I made a Facebook life event in commemoration after I was done fixing these and a pair of Cop Copine pants with a convoluted cuff/invisible hem.

  I never want to sew pants on a diagonal again. You can't just turn them inside out and sew two edges together unless you cut open the seams on the side, because the two pieces are set at an angle to one another so they can't lie flat at the ends. And they are different widths because the legs are bootcut. These had better last a while, because I'm burnt out on alterations for now. They are mega-sweet, though.

  I wish I could find out more about the brand, but they appear to have zero 'net presence. I *think* the brand is "s by Sanctuary" (the tags are just leather strips with 's' embroidered on them, so this took some digging!) the same company that makes my beloved thrifted hoodie. Isn't it a bummer when you can't track brands down?  Maybe rich people don't shop online. :D

Vintage Bohemian Fairy

My friend called my personal style "Vintage Bohemian... Fairy" today. It was accompanied by vague hand motions trying to help the definition along. I love the title very much!

Peach frilly tee: TRF t-shirt collection (thrifted)

Blue-grey lace vest: Odille (size 6 available on eBay)

Lacy pink tank: Express best-loved bra cami (old)

Skirt: Rebecca Taylor (thrifted)

Sandals: Eastland Lagoon sandal (product link)

Locket: vintage (etsy store feltinmyheart)

  Fall weather is here in the SF Bay Area! For those not in the know, fall is the time of year we get clear sunny days. It goes from September through October, and it is my favorite weather of all. You can tell I have no experience shooting on sunlit days. Hope you all like lens flare!

  I love the little ruffle and lace on this tee. It feels soft and fun without crossing the line into 'frippery.'

  This skirt has a bit of history. Some months back, Sheila at Ephemera posted about a Steampunk style skirt she found while thrifting. It looked glorious and I, being the possessive copycat wench that I am, thought, "I want a Steampunk style skirt, too!"
  And a month later I found this! It was beautiful! Couldn't believe my luck! Brought it home and hung it up for two months because I couldn't find anything that looked okay with it until today.

  It may not show up because of the backlighting, but this is the locket I am wearing. It's shaped like a pale gold basket of flowers, studded with rhinestones and pearls. The hinge opens and there is room for two photos inside. I call it my rage locket (purchased while rage shopping!) and I love it. I had been looking for something like my Express locket for a very long time.
  The bureaucracy and headache at my University has made my week one long Kermit arm flail. I'm going to have a nap, and I hope all of your weekends go beautifully. (:

Take a bow... or six

  This simple-looking outfit took some thinking. Also, it was sunny today! I was so happy.

  This is my third styling of these trousers for Anne Bray of Spy Girl's triple play challenge. I realized when trying to think of a third that I always wear these trousers for Asian or Asian-ish outfits.

Japanese | AZN goth-punk | urh??

  I wanted to come up with something different, and it was tricky. If I'm not wearing my zero-point clothes (jeans and a graphic tee) I'm wearing something sort of costumey in either AZN punk/goth, fairy princess, or Ye Olde theme. I tried something vintage* and cute, but I think I came out more Tomb Raider than perky 80s throwback.

* Evidently the official definition of vintage means things 20 years or older. Which means 1993 is now vintage. What is this I don't even.

These bows! I find them irresistible.

  Have I mentioned the sun was shining today? In the triple photo above you can see the contrast between everyday weather here and sunny weather. Whee! So, so happy. I'm makeup free for a while because a handful of days after summer session ended my entire face was covered in lumps. While inconvenient, they mean my immune system is on the mend.
  You've probably heard of people getting sick the first or second day of a long overdue vacation. That's because your body can't stay on Red Alert forever, so your immune system gets exhausted. When you finally rest, it starts to recharge.

  I tried pairing it (the outfit, not my immune system) with my new-for-me cropped blazer by Isaac Mizrahi for Target. I was on the lookout for something this length since Michelle suggested it would suit my Japanese print dress. The thrift shops of San Francisco came through again! (For $2.25. Craaazy.) ... but these shoulder pads have got to go. I'm V-shaped with a short neck as is, I don't need extra help. Also someone told me I look like a ninja today, so my attempt at a non-AZN/punk outfit may have failed.
  Actually it really failed. I felt so RRGH I AM BACK in the sun today that I thought the perfect accessory to this outfit was a Southern saber. (I did not take the sword with me on my daily errands.) I haven't practiced this weapon for a long time, but when you are feeling HAHA YEAH I AM ME AGAIN in the sun, there's no substitute for a sword the size of your shin.

 I felt like an adventuring archaeologist or other video game heroine. I wish I could go through more parts of my life feeling that way. Then I visited a dear friend and ate a pound of mac & cheese and fried chicken. Today was a good day. Much love, everyone. I wish you all good days in which you feel like the heroes, rather than the villains, of your own life stories.
  Links, as always, are not profit, just a secret hope someone will buy the same clothes as I have and then TWINSIES.

Black crop tank: unknown (etsy store Bombshellshocked)

Red undertank: Express best-loved bra cami (Express dot com)

Black shrug blazer: Isaac Mizrahi for Target (thrifted, same jacket size 4 on eBay)

Trousers: Nike dri-fit (very old)

Platform shoes: Candie's (thrifted)

Opera Scura

  I've wanted to do a post for a bit now about my friend Mo's shop, Opera Scura.

  Mo is a dance instructor and an amazing craftswoman, among many other things. She makes all of her own patterns for her crafts, and the pieces I've bought from her have all been of excellent workmanship- durable, functional, gorgeous, and unique.

  She's starting a new set of patterns and crafts and is currently making awesome hats, and I encourage you to take a look! I will likely post again when I see something particularly ooh-worthy. You can contact her for sizing if you are extra large or extra small hat size. Her prices are in the super-low $20-30 range, and she currently ships within the United States (sorry, international readers!)

  The etsy shop is Opera Scura

* This is not a sponsored post. Mo just makes awesome things.

Rainy Day Blues

  I'm back to my old palette. :D While trying out new colors I've never worn before has been a lot of fun, going back to my familiar colors feels confident and happy. PLUS I got to try this denim on top and bottom I've heard of on other style blogs. It's a win-win-win situation! I love style blogging. :D

  It's raining today in SF. I busted out my newly-hemmed ZARA basic dept skinny jeans. It might show in the photos that I screwed up when hemming these. I cut one leg on the new hem line, not the 2nd line I'd conveniently drawn below it for guidance. ): I have hemmed dozens of my trousers and it's the first time I've done that, haha. Oh well, they're dark and will usually be in boots.

  The dress is strapless, which doesn't suit rain so well, so I tied off the alternative apparel overshirt last seen here with a silver leaf ring. The dress has cool zipper halves sewn in a spiraling pattern down the front, and fortunately for any jackets and chairs involved, not the back. It also has built-in padding in the front! I was instantly won over.

  Leggings and skinny jeans under short garments was a revelation for me. I tried to go for a look that is form-fitting and sexy but not overstuffed sausage.

The story of every pair of pants in my life

  Summer school starts for me Monday, so I don't know how much style blogging I'll be able to do, as class is from 9:30am until 10:00pm four days a week. If you look on Twitter and my last post is "AAAAAUUUGGH" then you will know Chemistry has eaten me alive. I would like my epitaph to read 'She tried to get into grad school. [swear] this economy.'

Dress: Do & Be (thrifted) dark grey version size S on eBay

Skinny jeans: ZARA basic (thrifted)

Overshirt: alternative apparel VintageSoft (thrifted)

Boots: Naya Lark (eBay) some on eBay

Ring: Silver of the Valley (etsy, shop defunct)

Necklace: Metropolitan Museum of Art store (gift)

Skirting Those Mom Issues

  It was still reasonably balmy yesterday when I wore this outfit: overcast and foggy, but no damp gusty winds. Yay!

  This Hikari skirt is made up of panels that run from the upper left to the lower right. It was originally too large (found in a thrift store), but I took it home, picked the stitches out, removed a panel, and sewed the two edges back together. I still have the removed panel, which I want to make a pattern of some day.

  I adore the grommets, the deliberate parallel loose threads, the cutaways over patches, and how the stretch denim gives it a flattering booty fit up at the top. My love for this skirt was cemented forever when I wore it visiting my mother and she let out an exclamation of dismay as dramatic and as gentle as only a woman from Japan can. "No! ... noooo. This skirt looks homeless! Please. Please!" (I haven't worn it in front of her since, to spare her the distress.)

  For all my love, I have difficulty figuring out what to wear with the skirt -- it is a greyish-green that actually matches my car (!) but most of my wardrobe is grey and blue.  Blue doesn't seem right, and grey would put me into Desaturated Santa territory.

    I'd love to hear any ideas, because the only picture I could find for it was when CEIBAsf used to carry it:

I'm not so sure it goes with the 70s disco dots or the shirt that looks like a spinal column and ribs

  Anyway, for lack of anything else in my wardrobe, I wore it with an off-white burnout shirt with flutter sleeves, layered over a black stretchy shirt with flutter sleeves.

  And since flutter sleeves always make me feel fancy and fairy-ish, I added this fairy-in-a-bottle necklace I bought years ago from Etsy:

The key to nerdy jewelry is to stay subtle. Which is definitely what nerds are known for.

Skirt: Hikari (thrifted)

White shirt: MNG basics (thrifted)

Black under shirt: Derek Heart (thrifted)

Belt: Nine West (thrifted)

Necklace: Etsy (The Thorn & Rose - on vacation since Sept. 2012)