Reconsider baby

sweater dress: badila, blazer: thrifted, booties: h&m

Sometimes it takes a friend’s compliment to make you reconsider some things (some other times, though, nothing can change your mind). This is one of those cases. It’s been ages since I last wore a winter dress (you know, with tights) as it felt too frumpy. This had been on the Pile  but I convinced myself to give it a try and… not so bad ey?

I think what makes the difference is wearing it really pared-down: opaque black tights (it’s quite short as well), simple shoes and no accessories, to bring out its minimalistic side. I like how it skims over my body instead of clinging to it, insinuating my figure instead of actually showing it.

The blazer kind of kills it but Dutch people have different ideas from me regarding how high the heating should be kept, so I needed the extra layer.

Shoes

… the internet Gods are testing me.







Zara, 80 euros. Aaahh.

Wrong way

jacket: mom’s old, jeans: weekday, booties: h&m

Classic case of two wrongs making a right. A conervative jacket in a mousy colour + wearing said jacket the wrong way = a cool top with a no-nonsense front and an unexpected back (and a jacket happily rescued from The Pile).

Why am I only wearing my black jeans lately? I just love the way they’re high-waisted and fit to perfection :) But my jeans collection being minute, I am praying for the fashion gods to send affordable jeans my way for the spring. The look I would like to go for is regular-waisted straight-legged worn -to the point they’re nice and soft) blue jeans (maybe frayed in the knees) that I can cuff well above the ankle. I don’t know if you could call them boyfriend jeans, because I dont’ like the fit to be baggy around the, ahem, crotch area. That’s just annoying. I used to have such jeans, but I wore them till they fell apart. Literally. So now I am once again on the lookout for the perfect pair (nothing ambitious, eh?)

Wendy’s are pretty close (although I’d prefer mine to be a bit darker): http://www.thankfifi.com/2013/02/neonomoly/

Anyway. Going back to my outfit, I thought of wearing the jacket with this necklace that the little brother of a friend made me…




…but since I’m going through a weird colour-shying phase, I went for my hoop earrings (up-close here) and some rings (here and here). I tucked the edges of the jacket into my jeans so the actual belt was hidden from the fabric of the jacket folding over (I’m not ure this makes sense) but my waist was still defined.

More pictures! (my coat is from h&m)

And then a bird shat on me

pants: mom’s old (label says comfort :P), t-shirt:dad’s old, blazer: thrifted




When going about re-creating a vintage look such as Diane Keaton’s look in Manhattan (masculine but tailored -i love it!), vintage clothes are called for. :) I thought this outfit looked nice; I wish I didn’t need a coat. I wore it with my flat aniel shoes and red lipstick, for a change. My hair is nicely tucked into my t-shirt forming a bob of sorts in the picture, but sadly -although naturally- this only lasted about ten seconds on my bike. But it was a sunny Sunday, I was headed to brunch and I didn’t care.



… Until I was coming back, which is when a bird decided it would be a good idea to shit mid-flight and directly onto my pants -which, by the way, I’d just rescued from The Pile. A sign from God you say? Oh hell to the no! The pants are here to stay -after a trip to the laundry machines.

In which I turn into a party girl

t-shirt: ? second-hand, sweater worn as skirt: ? my mom’s, any old stretchy sweater does it, jacket: second- hand tommy hilfiger, shoes: oysho

I went against my better instincts on Friday and decided to get dressed (after clearing The Pile, relaxing, doing my nails, having dinner and watching GA and Glee) and go to a party I’d been invited to. Yes, I looked cool*, and yes, I did things I regretted. Wearing these shoes was not one of them, because they’re super comfortable to dance in, and the fact that the party was at the dorms meant that my toes didn’t fall off from the cold. I also wore this short, thick black t-shirt from the pile, and I thought it would be fun to tie a sweater into a skirt. No-one noticed the difference ;)

My hair was still wavy from the Valentine’s day curls, and for my makeup I did “the lip”: mascara and dark lip stain.




These are the rings I wore (the two rings on my one hand used to be connected with a small chain… which broke. But I like them this way, too!):






PS: My hands look weird here but let’s go with it.

*There is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking you are cool and saying it, too. I say honesty is much better than false modesty or fishing for compliments, and it is definitely not the same as bragging. We all have our bad days, so when we have a good day, why be scared to admit it?

The full body shot experience

tank top: american vintage, sweater: american vintage, blazer: thrifted, denim “boyfriend” (my ass) shorts: h&m, booties: h&m.

For one time only, a proper shot… I found a full length mirror and good lighting but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen soon again. :(

…But the outfit was worth it. A personal classic, you can either love or hate the shorts-with-tights combo. I find that it enlarges my winter wardrobe and it flatters me, so I stick to it.

This is goodbye for the shoulder pads on the blazer though, because they are now officially gone. The blazer lost a bit of structure, but at least I don’t feel all weird and 80’s-like when I wear it anymore…

What else is there to say on this variation of a standard outfit for me? I think it’s a rather classy version of it, with the few colours and the nice, minimalist, sculpture-like pendant (my mom’s, as usual). My hair here is wavy from the curls of the day before, and the next day I repeated the outfit (a sartorial mistake, yes, I know! -at least it was clean) and put my hair in a high doghnut bun. For extra glamourosity. ;)

Twin set

cutoff t-shirt: malo, blazer: american vintage, jeans: weekday

I have worn this t-shirt and blazer combo quite a lot, varying what goes on the bottom half of my body. This is as close as  I get to a twin set, basically: brown on brown. They’re different but quite similar shades… but the fact that the t-shirt (which used to be my mom’s, before I inherited it and proceeded to make it boat-neck with some scissors…) is not too long, is a bit dishevelled-looking from the raw edges, and also has a hint of transparence means this is definitely not the kind of twin set your grandma would have worn with pearls back in the day.

I forget what kind of shoes I wore but it could have been any; this outfit is fairly basic.

Makeup

Call me crazy but I like documenting my favourite makeup looks in this old-fashioned way… Hair repertoire may or may not(!) follow.

Quick!

top: etam, scarf:?, blazer: american vintage, jeans: weekday, shoes; h&m

Last day of not doing laundry and I was cornered against the wall (literally, by the massive mound of dirty clothes!) when it came to getting dressed. Still, I could have done a lot worse I think! The top is from the pile: another one of those tight, synthetic, ride-up-y numbers. I don’t think this will make the cut…






Then I thought (thinking still that I would go out that night), what if I take this outfit from day to night by making the top shorter (just folding it up) and revealing a slice of belly?




It didn’t look so bad in person, because the nakedness of my middle was balanced by the big blazer and the scarf draped around me, but in the picture I look plain naked, not to mention slightly pregnant. In any case, I was too busy to go out so I left the navel-baring to the Spice Girls- for now at least.

But I just got an idea- maybe I can combine two less-wearable pile items to create a great outfit? I have to go try!

Be my baby

sweater: zara men, skirt: vintage mom’s (tag says St Emile), shoes: aniel

Nothing says Valentine’s day like top-to toe (well almost) grey -in my crazy world at least. Red is for losers right? And since I actually took the time to make myself decent, here comes a -forewarned if inevitable- ton of photos! :)






I started off with my hair tied in a loose bun which I thought was cool but it came loose so I let my hair down for the rest of the day. And since I did my makeup and all: pictures to prove it! “All” I did was use some BB cream (and foundation on “problem areas”), line my eyes as usual and shadow my outer lower lids with brown pencil, then use light-coloured pencil in my lower waterlines, then apply mascara, then define my brows, and use peachy lipstick as blush and on the lips.






It looked pretty good if I may say so myself (I use a lot of products, yes, but I don’t use a ton of them so I don’t end up looking like Snooki)!

Aaaand then my friend curled my hair so of course I had to take some more pictures.

Verassing

dress worn as t-shirt: naf naf, scarf: ?, jeans: weekday

Oh, no! It’s already time to go and I’m not dressed yet! (My life every morning) I know, let’s grab two completely clashing prints and  throw them together, see what happens!

A move away from my -attempts at- sophisticationness, this mixing-prints tactic is very typical of fashionistas who want to be “daring” and, while it looks… interesting, it veers dangerously towards the circus-y (and unlike most people, I have never liked the circus, not even as a kid -I couldn’t even get through Dumbo…). I wore it with my aniel flats and I was, at least, comfortable.


I wish I could say I won’t do it again -I don’t think it’s terrible or anything… just not very me- but the laundry pile isn’t getting any smaller and I’m running out of options -and time to get dressed in the mornings. Meanwhile, I seem to have forgotten all about The Pile. Tssk. Mid-February shit-needs-to-be-done syndrome.

Sex and another city

…or, ik hou van Parijs.





Yes, the queen of layering (these days) went to Paris. I wore versions of  previously documented outfits, because I almost never feel like planning outits ahead of time -and I hate packing. On Saturday I added even more layers to an old look (more is more): thin sweater, shirt, blazer, scarf and my (dad’s) anti-fashion, thick duvet-style anorak. I’m not wearing it in the picture but it sure saved my ass from freezing :)

Completing the look: doughnut bun with extra flyaways, incredibly cool sunglasses (mom’s), hoop earrings and black eyeliner. And of course my goofy smile.

Material crushes/picks

zara leather court shoe (70)



or maybe the nude version?



h&m (imitation leather) pumps (20) -I don’t know which is better; I like the single-soled zara pumps (plus they’re real leather) and they’re classic, but the h&m ones are more young and might be more comfortable…



h&m boots (40)- i can see myself in these -badass ;)



h&m blouse (on sale for 10)



h&m clutch (on sale for 5) -for my inner princess

I need to clean my mirror

sweater: zara men’s, blazer: thrifted (label says migel stapper), jeans: massimo dutti, shoes: no idea, random greek shop

Sometimes the only thing that saves a boring outfit are the details. Enter the rings, the bracelet and watch worn over the sweater cuffs…





…the semi-acceptable hair and makeup, the cuffed jeans and the heels (worn with visible socks; it’s the first time I dare this with these shoes and I’m still not convinced- and the fact that my socks NEVER match does not help). 


I think I’ll be doing this little silly pose often in the future, as it’s currently the only way to show my shoes with the rest of the outfit :)