Not gonna lie, I’m glad that July is over, mostly because it means that the time for my summer vacation has finally arrived. The latter part of August (and into the fall) will be insanely busy at work once more, but I’m focusing on the short term for now. I’m still hopeful I’ll be in a position to start the weekly serial-ing of my new book soon, but it may not happen as soon as I had originally planned. Life happens, you know.
As far as last month went, for all its challenges, it was a success on the sartorial front. I enjoyed exploring my evolution towards a more minimalist aesthetic, and I enjoyed the results. Let’s take a look, shall we?
One thing I noticed right away is that these outfits looked much more cohesive, if that makes sense — both individually and together. At times, I worried that practicing the “before leaving the house, take one thing off” exercise would result in really boring outfits. It’s one of the weird side-effects of blogging. I’ve never really dressed “for the blog” per se, but I do occasionally worry about what people will think of an outfit — which I rarely do IRL with friends or co-workers. Most of the time, the blog is a very abstract thing to me — like an extension of my online friendships, and then every so often, it hits me that there are probably quite a few people who read it who are not friends or acquaintances. I don’t know what they like, or why they read the blog. It can become unnerving if I let myself dwell on it. Thankfully, my bubble of oblivion is usually pretty resilient.
Anyway, long tangent aside, I like the way this month looked, and I’m hoping to move into August with a similar vibe.
Not a friend or acquaintance, but I read because I found you via Franish and liked your style. While it’s not always relatable to me as far as design choices and heels vs flats, I like how you piece things together so I keep reading.
Thanks, Anna! It’s always helpful to hear what people enjoy reading 🙂
I like all of them, so hard to pick a fave. But if I had to the mustard jacket one would be it.
Out of topic, do you mind sharing your eating and exercise routine? I have 8-10 lbs to lose and our body shapes are very similar. I’m very active and thinking my eating is the issue (I’m 5’7″ and weigh 158lb, hourglass shape)
I don’t currently have a regular exercise routine, other than trying to walk as much as I can during the course of my day. It’s one of those things I’ve had to sacrifice to be able to do everything else. Consequently, I am probably not in great shape at all. So I can’t help you there, sadly.
With respect to eating, please keep in mind that I am not a nutritionist, and what worked for me in terms of losing weight may not work for you. For what it’s worth, I basically cut out sugar and refined carbohydrates (everything except rice) pretty ruthlessly for about 3 months, and stuck to a low calorie diet consisting of everything else in very small portions (with extra large portions of vegetables). I used My Fitness Pal to track my calories (1,200 to 1,500 per day, no cheat days). The first 2-3 weeks were BRUTAL (I was hangry a LOT!), but then I lost all the cravings and it became fairly easy to stick with it. Once I reached my goal weight, I slowly reintroduced things like bread and potatoes and, eventually, sweets. I’ve been in “maintenance” mode for about a year now, and I still try to stick to a 1,700-1,800 calorie regimen because of my sedentary lifestyle. I stopped using MFP because I found I was becoming a little too obsessive with it (I have a history of ED). I eat everything in moderation, basically. Sweets are my downfall, especially chocolate, so I try to limit that as much as possible (a couple of squares of good dark chocolate usually hit the spot). With that said, when I indulge a bit more than I’d like (like, say, on vacation), I just try to be extra careful for a few weeks after — more soups and salads, less cheese and chocolate, LOL! Mainly, I’m lucky in that my metabolism hasn’t shut down yet *fingers crossed*
Hahaha, I totally loved — and identified — this part of your post: “Most of the time, the blog is a very abstract thing to me — like an extension of my online friendships, and then every so often, it hits me that there are probably quite a few people who read it who are not friends or acquaintances. I don’t know what they like, or why they read the blog. It can become unnerving if I let myself dwell on it. Thankfully, my bubble of oblivion is usually pretty resilient.”
I’m a relatively new reader — I discovered your blog via Franish — and I LOVE your style and quirky humor.
Thanks, Jen! It’s probably a common feeling among bloggers, right? Someone asked me recently how it felt to have a ton of photos of myself out there, online, and it got me thinking about it once more. I try not to, LOL!
For what it’s worth, I read because I like the way you’ve put together a professional wardrobe that’s both sophisticated and visually interesting. Also, you’re smart. There’s something pleasant about the very matter-of-fact way you make it obvious that fashion is a hobby and an important one, but not your only interest. I find I get turned off by other fashion blogs that feel like the celebration of consumerism and not much else. I like talking about fashion but I don’t want to find myself in conversation with people who only talk about fashion. You at least – based on your voice – strike me as someone who likes thinking about why certain things appeal to you and how those choices impact society as a whole. The second order reflections are just as interesting to me as the outfits.
Thank you so much Liane for the kind words. It’s interesting because of MY fave things about the blog are the many commenters, like you, who leave interesting and thought-provoking comments. I know it’s a total cliche to write about community in the context of a blog, but I do feel like there is a bit of that going on here. One of my greatest wishes for the blog is to find a way to get you guys to talk more, LOL! I think y’all are way more interesting than me 😉
Also discovered you via Franish. What you ladies have in common is that you are both very intelligent people, matter of fact and friendly. It makes me imagine I would like you in person. I like your thought process in putting together outfits, a constant evolution of style. I have totally different coloring and body shape, but I look forward to every outfit you post. I also enjoy your hair, makeup, etc. posts. It makes me think of ways to rejigger my own look and wardrobe.
Thank you for commenting, and for reading. I do love to hear from readers because it makes me feel like I’m getting to know you too.
Actually, one of the concerns I have (as the blog has grown) is the fact that, inevitably, a larger and larger portion of readers won’t necessarily identify with my style — it’s to be expected. So it helps to know what it is that they enjoy about the blog; it helps to give me ideas for things to write about at times.
Another reader from Australia who discovered you via Franish – I love your classic style and your colour choices. I have very similar colouring of hair and skin to you, so I like to see what colour combinations you wear to help me with ideas for new outfits. I also like to see how you do your make-up. As a red head, I find that makeup can often look overdone or too much for pale skin, but you always seem to nail yours to look professional and not over the top. I must agree with Chi – that you and Franish are both intelligent and down to earth, which makes your blogs more relatable and you would be someone I would like to get to know if we ever met in real life. Thanks for a great blog.
Thank you! I’ve struggled with make-up a lot in the past too, because as you said — pale skin can be easily overwhelmed. Switching to brown eyeliner made a big difference, I think. Random but true. It also helps that I do the same make-up every single day. It’s boring, but then I never end up feeling clownish by accident. (And LOL — reading that back, it implies that there could be a time/place when looking clownish might be intentional. Never say never, I guess ;))
The reason I read is because I feel most fashion bloggers that I have found live in warm climates and have casual wardrobes. You live in a similar climate to me, have a professional job and aren’t afraid of color. What I find humorous – your version of minimalist would be out there for some. I recently met someone who only wears black and white. And I used to know someone who pretty much only wore black. I like that I feel like I could recreate some of your looks. That being said, I oftentimes use blogs as a means to find pieces to buy. That doesn’t work for yours because you thrift so much. It’s probably better for my wallet that way, though.
I know … it’s why I always feel like I have to put “minimalist” in quotation marks. I know my style is still “out there” in terms of colour and prints for a lot of people. That’s why I’m surprised that so many of you still read the blog, LOL!
Honestly, I’ve thought about trying to link to eBay listings of my older thrifted pieces (most of them can be found on eBay, Poshmark and the like), but it would take too much time, I’m afraid. I simply couldn’t keep up the same posting schedule, and I’m not sure how worthwhile it would be to readers. I do welcome and invite feedback though, so if there are things that you would like to see on the blog, do let me know. I will definitely consider all suggestions.
I live in Sweden and am halfway through my masters. I have been reading lots of style and fashion blogs through the years, but as I’m soon entering professional life I started searching for more professional style inspiration. Your blog caught my attention as you post so frequent.
Please keep on sharing!
Hello and welcome! It’s always so awesome to hear from readers overseas! Please do join the commentary here whenever you feel like it — I think it’s great to get different perspectives and see how approaches to style differ (or not) across the world.
If I’m totally honest, we have pretty different tastes in clothes, plus I don’t work in a place with a particularly conservative dresscode. But what keeps me coming back is that I’m interested in how you put together a cool professional-looking outfit, even in some cases with clothes that I would never pick in a million years (I’m super picky about prints, I only get ones I really, really, really, really like, I think I traumatised myself with years of cheap generic florals from H&M or New Look; and I shy away from statement necklaces, for similar reasons).
Also, you’re interesting to read on the topic – and on most topics I’ve seen you write on, actually – plus I also thrift most of my clothes, so it’s interesting to read how someone else approaches it. Plus we’ve had a couple of interesting exchanges in comments here and there. Not many fashion bloggers are open to that, a lot of the time I regret posting a comment cause they’re like “I’m the one who has the quirky yet brilliant insights here!”, or anyway they only respond to the people who post variations of “you are the Goddess of Everything”, which is often down to the fact that their blog is basically a business.
And that’s the other thing, I don’t feel like a sucker for reading this blog, because it’s obviously a hobby, I don’t feel like I’m reading thinly-veiled advertising copy. All of which is worth more to me than the ratio of outfits I like. Plus, you do give me some ideas on how to put together a more professional-looking outfit for the times it’s needed.
Wait, you mean I’m NOT the Goddess of Everything? Well, pooh!
Juuuuust kidding 🙂
This blog is definitely a hobby. I’ve been tempted by the idea of making it into a side “hustle” in the past, but by now I’ve gotten used to the freedom that comes from the fact that it IS a hobby and not a business. And as I think I’ve said before, my favourite part of blogging is interacting with you guys, and that’s the only direction in which I still want to see the blog grow. But they say that blogging is dead, so maybe that’s a pipe dream 😉
Lovely!!
I HAVE to ask – who made the stunning dark coloured dress in photo #2? It looks fabulous on you – very Mad Men!
Thank you! It’s a MICHAEL Michael Kors dress (thrifted so I’m not sure how recent).
It always amazes me to see how you spot on gems through thrifting. Would you consider writing about how you usually shop on eBay? Do you do regular search? Thank you!