One Third Review

I am one third of the way through my very first 30 for 30...let's take a look BEHIND THE SCENES (oooh, aaah) at how I've been doing.

The item I have worn the MOST OFTEN: My black Steve Madden boots. Really, no one can be surprised by this.
The item I have worn SECOND MOST OFTEN: My new black and brown cardigan--this is most likely because a. It's relatively new, and b. It's warm and the weather is super chilly.

The items I HAVE NOT YET WORN (shock and horror):
1. My brown Giusti boots (mainly due to the vast amounts of rain, and my reluctance to wear new leather and suede boots out in said rain).
2. Tan Trench H&M skirt: this is a weekend/evening only skirt (not work-appropriate due to the shortness) and so it's remixability is limited. *sniff* I hope to wear it in the weekends left to me, however!
3. Blue Language Los Angeles shirt and
4. Pinstriped 6 Degrees Button-down shirt:both of these are short sleeved and I just haven't gotten around to wearing them yet.
5. Orchid Martin & Osa silk dress: how? I don't know. MUST WEAR!
6. Black H&M blazer: I had to do a double take for this one. Weird. This must be due to my recent love-affair with my black and brown cardigan. Note to self: Spread love around!
7. Grey Gap long-sleeve shirt: I grabbed this mainly as a layering piece and have found myself reaching for my black Kiabi long-sleeve more often because it's thicker and fits better. Hey, the truth hurts grey gap long-sleeve shirt!
8. Black Tricot Jolie knit shirt: it's short sleeve and I'm cold. I sense a trend...

Well, there you have it--out of 30 items, over 25% of them I have not worn yet! For shame! Although I will say that almost all of them have not been worn because they are NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE WEATHER. I need warmer clothing. Or to gain a layer of blubber like a walrus. Note to self...



I think my favorite outfit is either number 6 (I love how soft everything looks!) or number 2. My least favorite is definitely number 3--it doesn't have anything special or fun about it. I was trying to go for geeky pretty, but just achieved awkward. Oh well, live and learn! :) I enjoy compiling all of my pictures together like this, I can really see my overall trends. For example, I didn't notice how I almost always wear black shoes! Also, it's obvious how I love my neutrals with pops of red (and occasionally teal, or a dark neutral-y purple).

What outfits do you enjoy the most? Which ones do you think I could improve on, and how? Have you noticed any trends in your wardrobe? Finally, am I the only one who has items she hasn't yet worn in this 30 for 30 challenge?

Ten Fingers

The one part of my blog I have been trying to improve has been the photography. I have been scouting out new locations to no avail--my requirements were strict and exacting! I finally decided to try out this location. It is half way between work and home, so I can stop by to take photos after work, it is easily accessible, and it is filled with grass, trees and various woodland critters (what, it was on my list!).

Today was a windy day--I think I am holding my scarf to prevent it from flying away in almost all of the photos! I ended up leaving work early today and this is my break before I start at-home work. (the benefit for doing my at-home work right now is that I can take my pain pills, since I won't be driving anywhere! heehee)

Where do you take your blog photos at? Do you have any tips for finding a great location? Or do you change locations frequently?

On a more superficial note, what do you think about these tights? I like that they're a break from burgundy...but I wish they were a little more forest green and a little less bright blue!








I love my watch!

Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Shirt: The Loft via Plato's Closet
Skirt: I.N.C. via Goodwill
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Boots: Capelli via Goodwill
Coat: Jenifer via France
Scarf: Self-made (this is fast becoming my favorite snuggly scarf!)

Nine Lives

I decided to drag myself out of bed and sweatpants into my equally-comfy-but-much-more-like-a-real-person-feeling sweater dress and tights. Ta-daaah!

Do you ever use clothing to change how you are feeling? Or does your clothing merely reflect what is already there? I notice that I tend to do both....
What kind of outfit do you throw on when you are under the weather? Is it sweatpants all the way, or do you have an alternative?


Sweater dress: Rhapsody via Ross
Cardigan: Goodwill find, altered by me
Tights: F21, gift
Long sleeved shirt: Kiabi from France
Scarf: Self-made
Boots: Steve Madden

Four Ways To Wear Episode 13: Orange Tweed Skirt

Now, don't worry--I haven't breached my 30 for 30 No(shopping)vember! However, in the spirit of working within my wardrobe, I decided to do a bit of sewing to turn a skirt I don't wear very much into one that fits my wardrobe better. This is not one of my thirty items, so you won't see this skirt again on my blog until December, but I decided to do a Four Ways To Wear episode amid my thirty remix challenge! (If I am not making much sense, it is because I am hopped up on strong pain killers--sorry!)

If you want to see the before, I wore it here. I enjoyed the color and the tweedy material, but the length was a bit too long, the lining was coming undone, and it felt a bit boxy to me. So I snipped, pinned, and sewed, and here it is! (If you were wondering, this skirt was the result of the inspiration from Orchid Grey--I love the silhouette of her skirt in that picture!)

The Candidate: An altered orange tweed skirt.

The Goal: A cute, professional skirt that will add a fun color twist to some of my basic outfits.

The Results:


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Shirt: Loft via Plato's Closet
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Boots: Steve Madden
Belt: Unknown via Goodwill


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Sweater: 22 via The Rack
Long sleeved shirt: Kiabi via France
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Sweater: Goodwill find, altered by me
Shirt: Kiabi via France
Necklace: Vintage via Goodwill Outlet
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Merona, gift


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Long sleeved shirt: Kiabi via France
Cowl-necked sweaterdress (worn as shirt): Rhapsody via Ross
Tights: F21, gift
Boots: Giusti via Goodwill

The Verdict: I like this silhouette and shape much better than before. I'm still not enamored with the color--is it too much of a blue-hued orange? I think that might be it. However, hopefully I will get more wear out of it this way than I did before (when I wore it once in the past six months!).

Do you alter your clothing at all, or even do any of your own alterations? What do you think about the alterations that I did--successful or meh? Finally, do you agree with me about the color being not quite right, or am I too drugged up on pain meds to accurately judge the skirt? ;)

Wish List

Well, I'm almost a third of the way through my 30 for 30 (damn you, wisdom teeth removal! I could be farther!) and my wish list for when this is over is already becoming clear.

1. Patterned tights (and gray tights--both of my gray pairs are literally falling apart because I wear them so often!)












2. Some sort of casual skirt for weekend-wear

3. Plaid flannel fitted long sleeved button-down
















4. Thick cozy sweater--Requirement: wool! The brown and black one that I recently got is great...but it's synthetic. I should have waited for the perfect one, but it was decent and I really wanted a heavier cardigan for my 30 items. You would think that I would have learned by now...

Link-spiration!

(I'm so punny, har har har...)

I have entered back into the land of the living and coherent! My surgery went well, thank you for all the well-wishes! I will be taking the next few days easy, but am now excited to see how everyone has been doing on their 30 for 30s since I've been out.

Maybe it's the chilly weather, or the fact that I haven't been feeling super well, but lately I've been craving warm, cozy and easy ensembles. Here are some links that have been particularly inspiring to me lately!

Secrets of French Girls--This is an intriguing, in-depth article about how French women dress as compared to American women. It echoes many of the sentiments I have been trying to steer my personal style towards--having a few, high quality pieces of clothing rather than over-consuming cheap pieces.

Fyndigt--This Swedish blogger is super cute and has a fun, relaxed style that I love. I enjoy how, when looking through her blog, it is obvious that her wardrobe isn't huge but she is still very fashionable and comes up with many different outfits from what she has.



Daily Fashion Boost--This is another adorable blogger from the Netherlands. I am in love with her subdued, but still fun, color palette. I also love how she exudes girlishness, but isn't over-the-top--she has a great balance in her outfits.



Orchid Grey--This is one of my favorite blog sites that I check constantly. I love how she puts together looks that are relaxed, feminine, but with her own distinctive touch. I especially love this look that she did--the skirt plus the hat are just perfect! The skirt actually inspired a recent sewing project that I will show everyone this upcoming week!



Clearly Classic--A fellow 30 for 30 participant that I found recently, I love her use of fun tights in this post to spice up an outfit! She is definitely the inspiration for putting several pairs of tights in my wish list...

Style vs Fashion vs Fads

Alright, so today I have most likely progressed to this stage:

(mostly unaware of what's happening in the world, but still fully aware that something is not right!)

(If you have no idea what I am talking about, I had my wisdom teeth removed on Friday and I am NOT a happy camper. These posts are pre-planned while I become a self-pitying blob of painful unhappiness)

So it’s time for me to bring up the concept of fashionable verses trendy verses stylish. It seems to me that the word ‘trendy’ has fallen out of fashion (haha, pun intended!). ‘Trendy,’ for me, signifies someone who has no personal image to express to the world, but instead lets the fashion industry dictate what she will be wearing. (I say she, but this could also apply to men as well—I just see it more obviously in women, and have more experience with it as it applies to women) After five years she will have an entire new wardrobe and it may be completely unrelated to the wardrobe she had five years prior.

On the other extreme, for me ‘style’ implies that the woman is extremely aware of the image she is presenting to the world and she refuses to change her style in acknowledgment of the passing fads. Five years may pass and she may still be wearing the same type of clothing, but out of love of the style, not out of a lack of self-awareness.

I see fashionable as being in the middle—having a strong opinion about her personal style, while still bending with the popular styles of the season. In five years, her style will change, but it will still be recognizable as having her unique stamp.

Do you agree with me in the way that I’ve defined trendy, fashionable and stylish? Or do you think I’m completely off the mark?

Do you identify yourself as one of the three?