Everybody Everywear: Pink and Red

Today, for Valentine's Day, the EverybodyEverywear challenge is to wear red and pink outfits. I haven't done an EverybodyEverywear day for a while, but actually remembered to jump in on this one! Tricky, though, because I realize that I don't actually own a lot of pink. Pale pink is one of my least favorite colors (and pastels don't look great on me in general), and I seem not to have any hot pinks...so this pink skirt was one of my few options. (Also, red and pink has always been one of those combinations that I feel is a "holiday" matchup...like black and orange or red and green. I guess it's appropriate today, though!)


I've been having a fairly quiet day...the boyfriend and I had dinner at home and are settling into our general Tuesday night TV routine. We chose to go out to a nice dinner last weekend instead, since I always prefer not trying to go out to eat along with every other couple in the world. If you're celebrating Valentine's Day, hope you're having a lovely one (even if you're not celebrating, hope you had a nice day)!

Blazer Challenge #5 and FBFF on Trends

(Well, I was going to post this yesterday. And then I was out for dinner with family, and it got very late...so. How's everyone's weekend going?)

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is the creation of Katy of ModlyChic, and currently takes the form of a monthly set of questions for bloggers to explore on a particular Friday. If you're interested in others' answers, Katy's linkup can be found here

1. With Fashion week just around the corner, we are all beginning to focus on the upcoming trends for fall. But what about the trends hitting stores now? What are you coveting?

Hmm, I suppose all the stores are already into spring clothing, aren't they? Spring currently feels far away from the cold rainy January we're having (if it still mostly feels like fall and not winter, spring must still be months and months from now, right?). Right, spring trends. I'm looking forward to experimenting more with bold color-blocking, get out of my one-color-plus-neutral-colors tendencies:

Colorblocking by elnajay

Bold graphical prints are also supposed to be "trendy" this spring, which is great for me because I have a handful of beautiful print dresses, including two Catherine Ogust dresses that I absolutely love (though am surprised they haven't made it on the blog, yet)!

My dresses, both thrifted at different times and different places, are like this one on Ebay:


2. How do you incorporate new trends into your wardrobe?

Generally I bring in new trends via thrift stores...realistically, there are very, very few "new trends" these days that haven't been trendy at some point in the past as well (whether in the last few years or decades ago). So it's usually possible for me to find things at the thrift stores cheaply to try out a new trend and see how it works with my personal style. Sometimes items need a little updating (the print is trendy but the long length too dated), but there's generally inspiration for a low price!

3. What trend are you seeing and not loving?

I know that pastel colors come back every spring, but I also know they're not going to be finding too much of a home in my closet. Pale colors never look as good on me as saturated shades and darker colors.

Also, crop tops/bra tops are exceedingly far away from my style. I'm not even sure where one could wear such an outfit, except to the beach or at home...

4. Do you feel the pressure to constantly update your closet with the latest trends?

Not really. As someone who follows a number of fashion/style blogs, I'm certainly much more aware of trends than I used to be. Sometimes I get drawn to styles and start becoming more aware of them when I browse the thrift store, but I don't feel like I need to.

5. Where do you find inspiration that takes the trend and makes it accessible to you and your personal taste?

Mostly from blogs, but also from people I see around the city...I love looking at what everyone wears on the subway!

I also wanted to share my fifth blazer challenge outfit...this one paired together two of my favorite pieces, the dress and the velvet blazer. This is one blazer I didn't thrift recently...I got it at Forever 21 at least 6 or 7 years ago, and have worn it fairly regularly since. Velvet is definitely one of my favorite fabrics, especially this silky-soft one!



I'll post a linkup tomorrow for anyone who wants to share a favorite blazer outfit!

Blazer Challenge #4

In searching for another blazer variation, I ended up with basically a copy of this one from last February, except with black patent-ish boots instead of black patent oxfords. It had to serve for a day at the lab, including this Creative Fabric class that I've been taking over January (at some point I'll have to show you all the sculptural skirt project I've been working on for that), and a belated holiday party dinner with my boyfriend's office. Also, I needed an outfit that could work with the rain/sleet mix that was predicted for the evening. This dress is one of my favorites, with its bold print and bright colors; always nice to liven up a gray day.

I seem to still be avoiding whatever cold my lab group is spreading around...but more sleep than normal is necessary, just in case!

Blazer Challenge #3

Just a quick note tonight...going to try to get some sleep tonight, as I'm hoping not to come down with the cold that two of my officemates just got today.

For this third blazer outfit, I tried to keep a somewhat simple base to let the houndstooth blazer stay the focus. I think this is a blazer; it's lined, so I'm not sure if it's actually more of a jacket. Everything is thrifted except the shoes (Payless), jewelry (gifts), and tights.

Blazer Challenge #2

Today was sunny, after a hard rain last night...and in the mid-50's! Definitely warm enough for me to promptly decide that it is now spring and I should wear bright colors accordingly. Therefore, I pulled out the bright green blazer. Since I'd gone the jeans route yesterday, today was time for a dress...I stayed fairly simple in color, since the blazer was enough boldness for one outfit (though I briefly debated wearing it with one of my crazy floral dresses).


With the warm and sunny weather, my mood was definitely lifted today. (I joke that as soon as I realize how much the weather affects my mood I'm going to get out of Boston and head straight to California...) Also, today was actually a really productive day of meetings at the Lab, which was encouraging. Multiple projects seem to be making a lot of progress in the planning stages(and I'm hopeful that this progress will stick for a while). I'm getting excited by ideas, hoping things can start being turned into concrete designs and programs and implementations and experiences soon...

Blazer Challenge #1

All right, folks...I've decided to start a Blazer Challenge! The type of item in my closet that definitely gets the least used is my set of blazers/suit jackets...I counted this morning and I definitely have at least a dozen (all thrifted), most of which have (gasp) never been worn. Ridiculous. So this week is going to be a blazer-wearing week...let me see how many different ways I can come up with to actually wear my blazers! I'm going for at least 5 (workday) outfits, with bonus points if I find a couple of weekend blazer outfits too. To make this a bit trickier, I also have to wear a different blazer every day. Can't just stick with my one easy black blazer.


I think blazers are especially tricky for me because of how dressy they can make an outfit feel. I'm already often on the upper end of dressed-up at the Lab, and am careful how far I want to push that. (Though I've certainly developed my style a lot since the first year when my coworkers would ask if I had an interview any time I wore a skirt).

So I started off fairly easy today with this fitted navy blazer over jeans and a turtleneck. Not too fancy, but a nice touch to polish up a jeans-based outfit. However, I found that this one is a bit too tight across the shoulders...debating whether or not it should go back in my closet or in the Goodwill pile. I do like the way it looks, but comfort-wise this one didn't work as well as I'd have liked.


Also interesting to see how wavy/curly my hair gets if I air-dry it and then ignore it all day.

Anyone else interested in joining me for a challenge, break out your best blazer (or two or three)? If so, I can post a link roundup on Friday...

Outfit Log: Crazy Tights

Another outfit from a few days ago...this was Wednesday's outfit for a day at the Lab. I didn't have any meetings or demos that day, so I decided to be a bit more boundary-pushing in my outfit (at least for me). I'd thrifted these tights last winter, but not gotten up the nerve to wear them until now. (Dress thrifted, shoes from Payless, earrings from Express, I think?)


Also, how's everyone's weekend going? It snowed a couple of inches today (the most it's snowed all winter, in an unseasonably warm year), so I've basically spent the day at home doing some cooking and a little bit of cleaning.

I've been trying to pare down my closet a bit more, but am currently pondering what to do with the category of things that I think are nice and that I want to keep, but that I haven't actually been wearing...Most of them are pieces I've thrifted but not figured out how to work into my regular style. I'm thinking I need to do a fashion challenge of some kind for myself to push me to actually wear these...a week figuring out outfits that incorporate blazers? A week of only wearing my least-worn dresses? A week where every day I have to wear something unworn from my closet? (I'll wait till warmer/drier weather to do something involving a variety of shoes, I think. Right now I'm stuck in the same couple of pairs of boots.) What would you all like to see?

Outfit Log: Green Velvet

This was my outfit from Tuesday, when I wore another long-sleeve shirt that I made last weekend (for some reason, I was feeling compelled to make velvet shirts...I guess it really feels like winter these days, after a slow start). I started out with the shirt, pulled out the skirt in my closet that complemented the shade of green, and went from there. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the proportions here, though, especially as they look in the photographs. I generally prefer to tuck my shirt in when I'm wearing a fuller skirt, but this one bloused out in unflattering ways when I did. If the top were a bit longer, I'd wear a belt over it to define my waist. In general, I've found that I now almost always try to define my natural waist in the silhouette of my clothing. I've done that since I figured out it was more flattering on me, I guess. I think I need to now experiment more with variety on that theme, or at least being a bit more comfortable when an outfit (particularly a skirt-based outfit) varies from it.


Luckily, this shirt turned out to be incredibly warm and comfortable, especially because of the full cowl collar. I'm starting to think that keeping my upper chest and neck warm is a huge component to my feeling warm in general. (Does anyone else find that?) And being toasty warm all day is definitely high on my list of winter priorities!

Coral Velvet Shirt

Here's the shirt that I mentioned yesterday...my Saturday afternoon/evening sewing project. The velvet was leftover from a skirt that I'd made with my mom shortly after I got my sewing machine several years ago. I had just enough to finish this shirt...well, at least by making the collar out of two pieces instead of one, and by ending up with 3/4 length sleeves instead of full long sleeves. And cutting the body pieces the wrong way in relation to the nap of the velvet...well, that wasn't so much for lack of fabric as by accident.


This pattern worked up fairly quickly, especially since I decided to try using pattern weights instead of pinning my pattern to the fabric. And when I say "pattern weights" I mean a few cans from the pantry cabinet used to hold the pattern down. I'm now quite a fan, especially as pinning pattern pieces on is one of my least favorite parts of sewing. Well, that and zippers...but at least I'm getting slowly better at zippers. This top has a zipper in the back, which went in fairly well.


I also hadn't realized that the sleeve would end up having quite so much gathering on it. I'd originally tried to skip the gathering step ("I can just pin the ease in!"), only to find there was quite a bit of extra fabric...so, gathering it was. I think this detail probably is accented by the heavyweight nature of the fabric, too...if I made this shirt again, I'd do it in a lighter knit. I might make this again, now that I've figured out how to do it (including the fold-down collar detail).

All in all, this shirt actually makes it into the "quite wearable" pile, I think. I wore it out today for dim sum brunch with a friend (so many amazing pork buns! Why have I not eaten in Boston's Chinatown before now?) and running some errands. Comfortable, warm, and doesn't obviously look like I made it? Works for me!

Finally Friday

This morning started off gray and rainy again, so I decided to go for a comfortable outfit that feels less dressed up than it looks. This top (modified from an old shirt of my brother's) is incredibly soft and easy to wear, the black skirt is my go-to skirt, and the necklace is definitely one of my most-worn jewelry items. An easy outfit. (Though a little tight around the waist after going out for a nice dinner with family this evening...)

Not much to say today...glad it's the weekend, finally (and perhaps a long weekend? Not sure whether I'll go into the Lab on Monday or not). Anybody have any exciting weekend plans? I'm hoping to get some craft projects done, catch up on some sleep, possibly go to the aquarium while my discount tickets are still valid, otherwise maybe not leave the house much since it's supposed to get colder over the next couple of days. We'll see what other adventures I can find!

Outfit Log: Gray Day

I woke up this morning to dark gray skies and rain. I suppose this outfit came pretty quickly from that, with the bold red necklace to liven it up a little bit. Everything thrifted except for tights (and necklace via Ebay).


Overall it was a quiet, somewhat low-mood day... hasn't been a very productive week at the Lab, and I'm looking for exactly what to work on next. I often have a hard time not knowing what my next project will be, not having yet come up with an idea that drives me to work on it...I'm impatient and want the ideas to come immediately! Because of that, I was doing a lot of thinking today about the idea of having an artistic practice, and what that might mean for someone in my field of performance technologies. I think I still haven't figured out for myself exactly what to do when I'm running low on ideas, or don't have a particular large project to work on...if I were strictly a choreographer, I'd go into the studio for a bit every day and see what I came up with. If I were a writer, I'd do a lot of freewriting. But with software or technology, there's more of a need for me to have an idea before I can start experimenting...so what could that sort of artistic practice look like? I suspect it's time for me to do a lot of little projects. Temporarily forget about "having to have an idea no one's ever had before." Forget about "having to have a giant, exciting idea." Try many little things, give myself the permission to have some failed experiments, and see what ideas come out of that work...

Outfit Log: Lace Blouse and Wrap Dress

I decided to dress up a bit more today, for a mid-week mood lift (though today wound up rather unproductive). I started with the silk lace-front blouse, then looked for what dress I could wear over it. The brown lace-up boots added to the somewhat Victorian feel of the outfit. (Everything is thrifted except earrings and tights).


I wore my hair down all day, then clipped it up when I got home and immediately forgot about it when I took these pictures. Yep.


Something I love about this black wrap dress is how versatile it is. The overall look can be changed quite a bit by what blouse I wear underneath. Other ways I've worn it on the blog:

January, 2011

April, 2010

March, 2010

Outfit Log: Print Skirt

I feel like I've been living in black turtlenecks this winter, as well as these flat boots I got at the start of the fall. I don't wear this patterned skirt too often, but I always enjoy it when I do...comfortable, swingy, and fun.

Somewhat of a quiet day today at the Lab. Trying to hammer out details of a project I'm working on...seems like a number of the projects I'm involved in at the moment are right at the stage where we all don't quite know exactly what form they're going to take. Potentially an exciting stage, but also somewhat difficult to navigate through. It will be interesting to see where things go over this next semester, both for these projects and for the smaller ones I hope to start soon...

Layering, Adulthood, and other Friday Musings

Today's outfit shows off one of my winter-survival dressing techniques: take a dress. Then wear it over a turtleneck and fleece tights. It's like you have two outfits on!


Today was a pretty long day at the lab, including a couple of hours of giving demos of our group's work to a large number of sponsors from China. It made me wish I was one of the couple of folks in our group who speak Chinese, as it's always a bit harder to demo through interpreters. Though it seemed everyone was having a fair amount of difficulty trying to translate concepts like "14 independent channels of lighting" or "frequency domain analysis".

I then spent the evening going with my mother to Ikea to pick up a few things for her, and ended up getting a new little rug and lamp for by my bed to replace the tropical-floral-print ones that I got when I moved into my first college dorm room. Another goal of sorts for this year (formed when the boyfriend and I came back from visiting his family for the holidays) is Operation Make This Place Look Like Adults Live Here. Better cleaning and decluttering is a huge part of this. As is very slowly updating a handful of decor items. Anyone who considers themselves a "grown-up," do you have any suggestions for how to make someplace feel like an adult home rather than a dorm room? We don't have any posters or things like that, but the overall impression still seems young to me...

I do believe it's winter, now...

It may have taken until January for Boston to get really cold (well, a high of 26 degrees today, which is not as cold as it will get this winter, though significantly colder than December's upper-30's-mid-40's kind of weather), but now we're in what I'd legitimately label as winter. Not my favorite season, but I think this one will be short enough that I can manage.


Thus, today's weather necessitated pulling out my giant leopard-print coat. It's bulky and on the bold end for my taste, but also very warm!

Now where's that snow?

Visual FBFF: Refashioning!

In alternate weeks for Fashion Beauty Friend Friday, we're doing visually-based posts hosted by a variety of FBFF members. I'm thrilled to be the host of today's roundup of refashioning posts!

As I told the group, a refashioned item of clothing is a piece of clothing that you've transformed in some way... whether that's by changing the color, changing the fit, using the fabric to come up with something new, adding details, removing details, whatever you can think of.

I decided to do a new quick refashion for today, starting with this thrifted wrap dress. I do like wrap dresses, and liked the soft, stretchy fabric of this one. But the sleeves were way too long, the hem hit at mid-calf (not my favorite length), and there was just too much of that bold print.


So, with the help of a pair of scissors to chop the hem and the sleeves, hemming the raw edges, and <20 minutes, I had a new dress that worked much better for me. (I could have probably even gotten away without hemming, if I'd made the cutting line a little neater.)



The pink shoes are possibly a little over the top. But I felt like something fun (and they're plastic, so will be okay if it does end up raining today...) I've got work, and then am meeting up with the boyfriend for dinner and a show tonight. Then onto a busy weekend!

Take a look at everyone else's refashions! And thanks to Katy for letting me host today!

Studded Skirt Refashion

My latest refashion started out with this:


I've never really thought of "punk" details (studs, safety pins, etc.) as part of my potential style options. But...for some reason, when I came across this studded belt at the dollar-a-pound, all I could think of was how fun it would be to take the studs off the belt and use them for a clothing refashion. I used a pair of pliers to straighten the prongs of the studs so I could pull them out of the belt, leaving me with a pile of studs.

At first I was thinking about using a few on the collar of a shirt, but this thrifted men's shirt decided it wanted to be made into a skirt. (I'd grabbed it for the boyfriend, not noticing the big logo on the front...)

So I cut across the shirt from armpit to armpit, and folded over the top of the piece and sewed it with enough space to form a casing for elastic. This seems to be my recipe these days for making a simple gathered skirt from a shirt.



Then it was time to pull out the studs and decorate! I chose to put studs along the curved hem of the piece, as well as covering up the buttons on the front. These particular studs are made of very soft metal, so I basically was able to bend the prongs into place with my bare hands.

I like how the finished piece is still fairly delicate, even with the studs...and I've still got more studs left over from that belt (which are mostly going into doing something on the collar left over from the shirt...), and another set from a second studded belt I'd found the same day. Now, what else can I add studs to?


I wore this to the Lab last week, and thought it worked quite well. Though perhaps I'd prefer wearing it on a day when I wouldn't just be sitting in front of my computer...I could definitely feel the studs pressing into the back of my legs by the end of the day.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I went to the Brimfield Antiques Show on Saturday, and brunch with my group at my adviser's house on Sunday...so a good weekend, but over very quickly...

eShakti: My Honest Review

Have you heard about eShakti yet? (You may have, as they've worked with a variety of different bloggers.) This clothing company, based in India, offers lovely clothing in sizes from 0 to 26W at relatively reasonable prices (dresses are normally around $50). The biggest feature of eShakti, though, is that they will customize a piece of clothing to your measurements for only a few dollars more. Even if you don't choose full custom measurements, you give them your bra size so they can fit you better. Additionally, you can pick a piece and customize other details -- hem length, sleeves, neckline, etc. I'd been seeing a lot about eShakti over the past year or so, and have spent quite a bit of time window-shopping their beautiful dresses. However, the prices were a little steep for me to take a risk on ordering something online, where I don't really have a sense of how well it will fit. So when eShakti contacted me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I'd be interested in receiving a piece to try out and review, I jumped at the chance to see if their pieces were as great in person as they looked on the internet! Disclaimer: though the dress was given to me by eShakti, all thoughts and opinions are my own.



I set out to choose a dress from eShakti...challenging, because of all the great options! Some of the ones I was considering:

Floral embroidered color block dress

Corset style embellished sundress

Ruffle front cotton knit dress



I eventually decided on this dress.

Floral hem cotton poplin dress



In less than a week after I sent in my choice of dress and measurements, the dress was custom-constructed for me and mailed from India to Massachusetts. This is their standard shipping time, according to their website. That's really impressive speed, as far as I'm concerned! (Sidenote: while I'm aware that most of the clothing/other things I own originated in other countries, it's remarkable to focus on the journey of how this one piece traveled so far to get to me). The dress was shipped in a tiny package...no frills, no extra packaging. I'm not thrilled with how wrinkled it got in shipping, but most of that pressed out fairly quickly. So here it is!





Lots of terrific things about this dress. It's lovely and comfortable, and will make a good addition to my wardrobe...a good color to wear in basically every season, I think, but especially good for spring and fall transitions. The embroidery is awesome in real life. The back has a great V in a style I adore...(I think I hadn't even noticed the back when I picked this out!) The piece seems quite well-constructed as well. Stitching seems sturdy and clean, and the pattern has nice little details in construction. There are only two details I'm not thrilled with. 1) The little pleats in the front of the bust got kind of wrinkled in shipping, and I haven't figured out how to properly press them. So they're not as neat as in the picture. 2) I, personally, tend to sweat a lot (TMI?) and am terrified of wet armpit stains. The cotton sateen in this color does show sweat pretty quickly, though it also dried out rapidly once I got to my air-conditioned lab.





And how about that custom-fitting process? Does it work? I'd say so! This dress does fit me quite well; perhaps a hair loose in the bodice and waist, though that's compensated for by the fabric ties around the waist. Even though I was going to have the dress customized to my measurements, I still picked a silhouette and cut that I thought would work fairly well for my body. Perhaps they could have made an empire waist dress work on me (that cut usually doesn't!), but I didn't want to risk it.





Dress: c/o eShakti. Shoes: Nordstrom, thrifted. Necklace: ebay junk jewelry lot. Earrings: gift. Bag, Nine West, thrifted.



So thanks, eShakti! Have any of you shopped with them? What's your experience been like?

Post-Hurricane Pattern Mixing

Well, Irene has come and gone and fortunately seems to have left fairly little damage or trouble in her wake around these parts. We had a lot of rain and wind...some tree branches and entire trees down here and there, but I didn't lose power or anything. Basically a quiet stormy weekend, ideal for the making and consuming of large quantities of eggplant Parmesan and zucchini bread. (Doesn't everyone else cook ridiculous amounts of food when stuck at home?)



Yesterday's outfit started with a blue floral scarf from a swap with the lovely Michelle. I'd been saving this scarf intending to use it as a faux turban (like in this tutorial from Keiko Lynn), but every time I tried that, it didn't quite look right...I suspect it's because I don't have bangs, which makes the wrap around the head look quite different. But I started this morning planning out with the white shirt and some gray shorts to keep a neutral palette to try pulling off the headscarf. When headscarf again didn't look good, I scrapped that outfit idea. Didn't feel like the gray shorts without the scarf, so I ended up grabbing my leopard-print skirt off a nearby pile of clothing and swapping that out. But the waistline didn't look quite right, so...Eureka! I could use the scarf as a belt! Sometimes it amazes me how complicated/random the process of putting together an outfit can be.





I still want to try the scarf as turban idea, though. I'm also resisting cutting myself some bangs (which I haven't had since I was probably 10). Though I did add some layers into my hair yesterday morning...I think it works (or at least I think it doesn't look like I randomly cut pieces of my hair shorter, which was basically the technique).





My camera's been having trouble over the last few days, which seems to be attributable to the memory card. Thus the limited pictures of this outfit. Too bad, as I really liked it... more pattern mixing than I normally do, comfortable, and fun.



On another note, I can't believe it's already nearly the end of August. Orientation has started here at school for the class of 2015 (feeling older? Check!), and classes will start next week. I'll probably sit in on a couple of classes, though with my Ph.D. program I don't have any required classes. Mostly starting to prepare for my general exams. Anyone have terrific plans for the remainder of the summer? Things to make sure I do before it's fall already?

Lace on a Rainy Day

Today's forecast was basically "rain all day, and a bit colder out," so I started out this outfit knowing I wanted to wear tights of some kind (easier with my rainboots than socks...) I finally worked up the courage to try out this pair of lace tights that I'd gotten a couple of months ago from Express (big sale + gift certificate = comfortable getting a couple of boundary-pushing things). I kept the rest of my outfit pretty low-key and dressy to make the tights the one edgy bit, and I think I like the result!





Also, does anyone else wear rain boots to work on stormy days but then pack another pair of shoes to wear for the rest of the day? That's what I tend to do, since I don't like wearing my heavy clunky boots all day, but have very few pairs of shoes that keep my feet dry when walking through puddles.





White shirt: thrifted. Camisole and tights: Express. Shoes: Skirt: J. Jill (purchased forever ago...this used to be one of my favorite skirts, until it got too small. I gave it to my mom for a while, but snagged it back during her last closet cleaning. Turns out, now that I wear skirts at my waist rather than right above my hips, this fits again!)



My clothing for the last few days has started to edge toward fall. It's still been fairly warm in Boston, but there's just a bit of a nip in the air, a hint that the heat we had in July is not infinite; that someday (soonish!) fall will be coming. I'm not sure I'm ready for fall. There hasn't been much going on this summer at the lab...mostly I've been reading a lot of research papers and starting to prepare for my general exams. So the fact that the summer is nearly over, that classes start up again in only three weeks, comes as a bit of a surprise. Mind you, it's still mostly been over 80 degrees here...there's just the first signs that someday it will be cold again. Is it still summer where you are?