Monday, December 12, 2016

Boxy Silhouette

If you follow me on Instagram, you may already be familiar with some of these outfit drawings as well as drawings from blogs that I have yet to post. In an effort to get myself back into the swing of things, I made it a point to post something every day during the month of December and label it with the hashtag #31daysofstyle. So far I've managed to keep it up and I don't feel overwhelmed about it. This is a good thing and hopefully this exercise will be the thing that will change my habits and make blogging a more regular activity.

I've been highlighting a few silhouettes that I wear on the regular. This is what I call the boxy/mini or the boxy/slim. It's usually a boxy high collared top paired with a very short or slim fitting skirt. I like the juxtaposition between the legginess and volume that this silhouette creates.


This look was a good idea in theory, but it just didn't turn out quite right. The material of the top and the skirt are rather heavy and kind of bulky and they did not play well together. While the colors looked stunning together, I was constantly adjusting my clothes because of the friction that these two fabrics created. I think that this top would work better with a lightweight pleated tennis skirt, but I don't have anything like that.


I'm playing with a lot of layers here to achieve this casual and studious look. I feel like I should have drawn in a stack of books under one of my arms. Maybe it's the color scheme of bright red, mustard yellow and light denim that reminds me of school. Whatever it is, it make me want to go to the library.


This bodycon dress from LulaRoe is so much fun and pretty versatile. I can easily dress it up or down. I can wear it by itself, layer it with jackets or vests or wear it as a skirt like I'm doing here. I'm really happy that it matches this sweater that I wear all the time.


Here's that sweater again. I wish I had more of them in different colors like black or white, but I'm glad that the one I have is yellow. Yellow goes with everything and I've worn this sweater in innumerable outfit combinations since I got it at a very good clothing exchange


I love this sweater just as much as the yellow one, but I don't wear it as often. This is an around the house or weekend low key hang sweater. It's incredibly warm and kind of delicate so I never wear it to work where I do a lot of physical activity and regularly catch myself on merchandising hooks or protruding corners. I would ruin this sweater in an instant at work. A lot of people don't see me wearing this sweater on the regular, but during the colder months, I'm almost always wearing it when I'm at home. I had a mostly event free weekend and I wore this sweater everyday on top of boxy mini dresses with tall wool socks or leg warmers and I knew the meaning of hygge.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Ode to Pattern Mixing

I love clothing with fun patterns. I also love to mix patterns when building outfits. Not everyone knows how to do this successfully. I'm not even sure if I know how to do this successfully, but I do know how to dress fearlessly and through trial and error I am able to achieve some bold and successful combinations.


This outfit might be slightly ridiculous, but I love it. This was when I was unapologetically wearing scarves in my hair a la Little Edie. If your hair can't make you feel glamorous, cover it up with something that does. This is why I love hats and scarves. I haven't gotten into wigs, but If I had the funds to buy natural looking wigs, I would be all over it.


Here's a fun dress from the 80s that has been altered to fit like a babydoll dress. I love the print. It's like hounds tooth meets Three Men and a Baby. Seriously, wasn't their apartment like an 80s bachelor's wet dream? I'm not an 80s bachelor, but I'm into it.


7 months later and I still can't decide if this print mix works or not. The dress and sweater are the same colors, one of my favorite combos, kelly green and navy blue. The two different prints are variations of each other. In theory, I think this looks good, but in reality it kind of gives me a headache, which is a bummer because I have yet to find a successful outfit for this cropped vintage sweater that I love so much.


This dress is so unique and classic at the same time. I bought it this fall and have been having fun pairing it with different shirts underneath. This was my first attempt at styling the dress after I bought it. I played up the western vibe that the piping on the chest suggests. I think this dress will be really versatile because it also has an East Asian vibe that is hidden under my shirt collar and the dress is overall kind of nautical. You'll be seeing more fun combos with this dress in the future.


I love that it was still warm enough in October to wear this incredible linen dress that I bought at a vintage clothing store in Portland. Obviously, I have mixed emotions about global warming.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Who Knew I Liked Blue?

I've never been fond of the color blue. I've always considered it to be the most boring of colors, besides South Dakota beige, of course. However, I've noticed that blue has been creeping into my daily wear more and more lately. This is partly because I've been wearing a lot more denim and chambray, and also because I've discovered that blue looks great with my hair, which is currently dyed bright red/orange.

Giant penny earrings from I Like You

I think it's in my DNA to love the look of denim on denim, or the Canadian tuxedo, if you will.
Some people think it's tacky, but it reminds me of my dad and makes me feel strong. I'm gonna keep wearing it, fashion faux pas be damned.

Earrings made by Kristina

Navy and sea glass. This is a beautiful color combination.

Earrings from Poppy

The first day that I wore these chambray overalls, the side zipper split open in the middle. The only way I could get out of my pants, was to cut them off of myself. This experience really enhanced my fear of getting trapped in a jumpsuit when I really have to pee. Thanks a lot fashion.

Earrings made by Liz
Batik skirt from Aviena

Teal is a shade of blue that has never been far from my heart. I've always considered teal to be closer to green than blue so I've been wearing head to toe teal ensembles for awhile now. Nothing new here. 

Friday, December 2, 2016

A Familiar Silhouette

Ever since midi skirts came back into favour, this has been a go to silhouette for me. I love a midi skirt, in any cut, but I especially love a midi-length pencil skirt. There's something so sleek about it. It's sexy and modest at the same time. I know not everyone is comfortable wearing this look, but if you have long legs, I recommend you give it a try.


Here's a blast from the past. Can you believe I haven't posted anything since May? Time flies when you're having fun or whatever. 
This vintage jumper has seen better days. It buttons all the way up the front and most of the button holes are wrecked or the fabric where the buttons are secured is wrecked. Either way it's kinda wrecked and held together with safety pins. In fact most of my clothes are held together in some fashion by safety pins. 
Since the election, there is a new movement of wearing a safety pin to show support for the vulnerable. I've worn one on my lapel, like the masses do, but mostly what I'm thinking is, this is going to come in handy when my skirt inevitably rips up the back seam. All I'm saying is, I've always worn safety pins, not as a political statement or as an accessory, but as a useful tool. So, if you're ever in need of a safety pin or an ally, I'm your girl.


Here's a vest that I thought I'd wear more often than I do. I'll have to work on getting that back into rotation now that it's layering season again.

So, I bought this dress from UP6 when they were having their moving sale. I also bought a crazy Saved By the Bell era yellow and black stripey cropped jacket that I have yet to make work. This was during my black and yellow phase that I'm still really into. Anyway, the day that I wore this dress, I went over to a friend's house to hang out and when I walked in the door, everyone pointed at me with mouths agape. This was not the greeting that I was expecting. Apparently, my friend Jeanette had gone to the sale that same day, tried on this dress and seriously contemplated buying it. This is my friend who I have never seen wearing anything other than jeans and a hoodie. When I heard this story, all I wanted to do was take the dress off and offer it to her because in my opinion, there's nothing better than a super cute dress that makes you feel like you're wearing jeans and a hoodie. Actually, it's even better because it's basically a calf length t-shirt and you don't have to wear pants...and isn't that the American dream?


New favorite outfit for sure. Serioulsy, if this whowhatwear line from Target keeps pumping out midi-length pencil skirts with my name all over them, I'm going to have to stop going to Target. Maybe that's a good idea anyway.