April 2017 – Page 6 – Blue Collar Red Lipstick

07
Apr
2017

Weekend Uniform, Updated

Blazer, MaxMara (thrifted); sweater, unknown (thrifted); T-shirt (James Perse); scarf, thrifted; jeans, AG (thifted); shoes, Kelsi Dagger (thrifted); bag, MbMJ (via eBay)

This is an old outfit formula, updated with new (to me) pieces. I improvised it on the spot, and immediately loved how the palette came together. Blues and greys (with black and white accents) create the most soothing effect for me; when I look at this outfit, it just makes me go “ahhhh” and I immediately relax. It would probably become incredibly monotonous to dress only in these colours all the time, but it’s a formula worth repeating for sure. In fact, I wore it twice on the same weekend. Luckily, with Stylebook, it’s easier to keep track of favourite outfits like this one; I’ve created a separate folder for them and everything. That way, if I’m ever stuck for a quick outfit idea, I can have a peek at the app instead of trying to wring something out of my (terrible) memory.

Quite apart from how it looks, the other thing I love about this outfit is that it’s 90% preloved. More and more of my outfits boast similar statistics nowadays, and I’d like to think that my sartorial efforts have not suffered for it. If anything, buying secondhand (thrifting or consignment) is a great way to navigate style (and size) shifts, big and small, which have occurred with some regularity in my recent(ish) past. With that in mind, I figured this might be a good time to do another AMA on thrifting, since it’s a topic in which (judging from my blog inbox) a lot of you are interested. So, if you have any burning questions, shoot me an e-mail, and I will do my best to answer them all in a future post.

06
Apr
2017

Coming up Roses

categories: Favourite things, style

Dress, ASOS (via consignment); jacket, Anthropologie (via eBay); bag, Chanel (via consignment)

As soon as I saw this dress on the Red Pony Instagram feed, I knew I would have to have it. I am a sucker for florals, and I am a sucker for embroidery, so a faux embroidered floral print? Instant heart eyes. I’m also crazy for midi sheath dresses at the moment, even though they probably stumpify me more than I realize. Oh well. The heart wants what it wants and I, for one, can apparently deny it nothing. The dress was new with tags, but Red Pony prices are pretty reasonable, so my heart’s desire was, for once, perfectly accessible. Ahhh, if only it was always so easy! *cough* Valentino Rockstuds *cough*

A quick review: the dress is from ASOS, and the quality is on pair with my other ASOS dress. Which is to say, the quality is Zara-like. The cotton fabric feels okay if perhaps a little bit stiff, but there is no lining and no pockets. The sizing is disappointingly inconsistent. This dress is a US size 8 which, unlike my other ASOS dress, is definitely at least one size too large all around. I bought the dress with the intention of having it altered to fit, but after wearing it once, I have postponed my plans. The sizing issue is most prominent in the waist, but there it is easily remedied with the use of a belt. The loose fit through the hips doesn’t bother me as much; the dress would probably benefit visually from being slimmed down, but (from a comfort POV) I actually prefer it not to be too form-fitting on the bottom. The dress fits well in the shoulders and arms, which is nice, because I don’t feel restricted when I’m working at my desk — an activity that takes up a good chunk of my day. Bottom line: I may eventually get the dress tailored, but I am in no rush for now. I’ll wear it again, once or twice, and then decide.

As for the rest of the outfit, I’ve learned that dark florals really pop when paired with non-black toppers. Luckily, I have a few of those in my closet. This mustard/marigold jacket is a good choice; the cut complements the silhouette of the dress well, and the colour picks up on the floral pattern, brightening things up. I chose a very plain (black) belt this time, but I am excited to play around with some more adventurous accessory options next time.

All in all, this was one of my fave outfits of the month.

05
Apr
2017

Cobalt Crush

categories: style

Blazer, ted Baker (thrifted); top, Aritzia (thrifted); skirt, Anthropologie (via eBay); shoes, J. Crew (via consignment); bag, Coach (swap)

I can already see that this blue silk top is going to be a wardrobe staple over the next few months, now that spring (and summer!) is firmly in sight. Although it’s brighter than the blues in my wardrobe palette, it goes really well with the other colours in it. Funnily enough, this whole outfit is off-palette for me, since it’s brown-based. I don’t (typically) do brown. It’s just … meh. I don’t hate it as viscerally as other colours, but I don’t particularly like it either. With that said, I can’t bear to part with this skirt, because it’s such a special piece, brown or no brown. The brown tweed jacket has a nice fit, so it stays too. And the two pieces do go so well together, don’t they?

sparkly nails like I'm 5 — sparkly nails like I’m 5

The cobalt works to “punch” up the brown, which makes the outfit a bit more visually interesting. Sparkly nails help too, I suppose. At the risk of looking matchy-matchy in a dated sort of way, I decided to go with (matching) blue shoes, to up the “oomph” factor a bit more. Or maybe I’m just telling myself that as an excuse to indulge a craving for colour – a sign of the changing seasons, for sure. I am inclined to think that my style is fairly season-less, but I may well be wrong. It will be interesting to see if and how my outfit remixing changes as we move towards summer.

Month: April 2017