I may or may not have mentioned my miraculous find in Seattle from last summer... a lovely little boutique called Diva Dollz, which specializes in vintage style clothing, particularly of the vintage pin-up look variety.
I've been DYING to treat myself to some clothes there since I first found it last July, and as an early birthday present to myself, I'm going to be getting a dress and a pair of shoes for sure, and maybe (hopefully) some accessories to go with it. I haven't been there in months so I honestly have no clue what sort of dresses are going to be available (although they did have a huge collection of spring shoes imported from London that they've posted on Facebook... ADORABLE), but in general, I find the 50s pin-up type dresses to be the most flattering for my shape. Whatever I end up getting, there will be pictures up tomorrow!
April 22, 2012
March 6, 2012
First attempt...
Kind of a trial run: not my best clothing choice, nor my best attempts at figuring out how the heck I'd wear it every month of the year, but let's get to it anyway: a favorite black dress that I DEFINITELY wear year round, and a few ideas of how to do it:
January:
Mostly, I aim for keeping it cozy but still cute. Bulky sweaters, warmer scarves, thicker leggings, sturdier boots. What can I say, I'm a weather wuss (this WOULD be topped off with a wool pea coat and adorned with my favorite leather gloves were I to go outside...)
February:
Tried to stick with warm but go a little more cutesy/girly... thinking along the lines of how nice this dress works for a cute date outfit, so I was going with Valentine's Day in mind...
March:
I dub this one March because it's what I actually wore today... clever, I know. I feel like March is a month that's just cold enough to still be wearing boots, sweaters, and scarves, but to be using your sweater and tights as your main form of warmth, instead of a layer underneath your coat. Plus, the scarf is CLEARLY a spring scarf, and I feel like the outfit is kinda cheerful?
April:
Getting warm, always a good excuse to wear lots of lace and just look plain lovely. Definitely went for lots of lace. Lots and lots of lace.
May:
So I originally bought this dress to wear for my 20th birthday. As follows is the closest recreation of my 20th birthday outfit as is possible. Same headband, same necklace, same shoes. My hair is a little wilder, my arms are a little fatter, and the earrings were an unfortunate casualty to the security line at JFK (forgot to grab them, made it to Dublin without them. Oops!), but it's basically the same outfit...
June:
Tends to be the point at which I mostly aim for keeping my hair out of my face, but still want to look cute and put together. Thus... colorful, coordinated, and belted...
July:
I'll admit, I'm also a heat wuss in addition to being a cold wuss. I live in one of the mildest states in the country for summer, and I pretty much die by July. If the temperature exceeds 80, I'm useless without being safely enclosed in an air conditioned building. Which, because this is Seattle, means you can't EVER be at home in the summer if you'd like to stay cool. So... if this outfit is boring as hell, that's because sometimes, on hot days in July, all I have the energy for is a dress that's cute on its own, and a pair of sandals.
August:
Well, I screwed up. Camera batteries are running low, so some pictures are blurry even with auto focus and self time. I didn't catch it in time to take another picture, and I am now cozy in my PJs, so this blurry image which sort of captures the fact that I do like to explore my pseudo pinup look on less miserably hot days of summer will have to do. I find fascinators in the form of flowers, adorable shows, and my skinny red belt to be absolute necessities of any slightly old fashioned looking, cute as a button, totally pulled together outfit. Hey, to each their own.
September:
I love fall. Whenever the damn season starts, I'm the first to experiment with every layer I can dream up, fun color combinations, cute pumps, I bring out my cardigan collection after a long summer, I do whatever I can to stay consistently adorable. This one would be more fun and quirky, but I digress.
October:
A more sporty take on something I might wear in the fall.
November:
Because I like to not have to wear pants to work, I need to wear all black, and last year I FINALLY figured out how to do it and still keep warm. I seriously wear this exact outfit on an incredibly regular basis when it's cold outside.
December:
This is an old picture. It was actually taken in January (gasp) 2011. But I LOVE this outfit, and was getting too tired to change my clothes anymore, so I figured if it was the outfit I wanted to showcase, why not use an older picture of it?
I feel like this would be a better sort of photo shoot to do when I'm properly awake.
January:
Mostly, I aim for keeping it cozy but still cute. Bulky sweaters, warmer scarves, thicker leggings, sturdier boots. What can I say, I'm a weather wuss (this WOULD be topped off with a wool pea coat and adorned with my favorite leather gloves were I to go outside...)
February:
Tried to stick with warm but go a little more cutesy/girly... thinking along the lines of how nice this dress works for a cute date outfit, so I was going with Valentine's Day in mind...
March:
I dub this one March because it's what I actually wore today... clever, I know. I feel like March is a month that's just cold enough to still be wearing boots, sweaters, and scarves, but to be using your sweater and tights as your main form of warmth, instead of a layer underneath your coat. Plus, the scarf is CLEARLY a spring scarf, and I feel like the outfit is kinda cheerful?
April:
Getting warm, always a good excuse to wear lots of lace and just look plain lovely. Definitely went for lots of lace. Lots and lots of lace.
May:
So I originally bought this dress to wear for my 20th birthday. As follows is the closest recreation of my 20th birthday outfit as is possible. Same headband, same necklace, same shoes. My hair is a little wilder, my arms are a little fatter, and the earrings were an unfortunate casualty to the security line at JFK (forgot to grab them, made it to Dublin without them. Oops!), but it's basically the same outfit...
June:
Tends to be the point at which I mostly aim for keeping my hair out of my face, but still want to look cute and put together. Thus... colorful, coordinated, and belted...
July:
I'll admit, I'm also a heat wuss in addition to being a cold wuss. I live in one of the mildest states in the country for summer, and I pretty much die by July. If the temperature exceeds 80, I'm useless without being safely enclosed in an air conditioned building. Which, because this is Seattle, means you can't EVER be at home in the summer if you'd like to stay cool. So... if this outfit is boring as hell, that's because sometimes, on hot days in July, all I have the energy for is a dress that's cute on its own, and a pair of sandals.
August:
Well, I screwed up. Camera batteries are running low, so some pictures are blurry even with auto focus and self time. I didn't catch it in time to take another picture, and I am now cozy in my PJs, so this blurry image which sort of captures the fact that I do like to explore my pseudo pinup look on less miserably hot days of summer will have to do. I find fascinators in the form of flowers, adorable shows, and my skinny red belt to be absolute necessities of any slightly old fashioned looking, cute as a button, totally pulled together outfit. Hey, to each their own.
September:
I love fall. Whenever the damn season starts, I'm the first to experiment with every layer I can dream up, fun color combinations, cute pumps, I bring out my cardigan collection after a long summer, I do whatever I can to stay consistently adorable. This one would be more fun and quirky, but I digress.
October:
A more sporty take on something I might wear in the fall.
November:
Because I like to not have to wear pants to work, I need to wear all black, and last year I FINALLY figured out how to do it and still keep warm. I seriously wear this exact outfit on an incredibly regular basis when it's cold outside.
December:
This is an old picture. It was actually taken in January (gasp) 2011. But I LOVE this outfit, and was getting too tired to change my clothes anymore, so I figured if it was the outfit I wanted to showcase, why not use an older picture of it?
I feel like this would be a better sort of photo shoot to do when I'm properly awake.
March 3, 2012
A new challenge
Last year, we had Mostly Pantsless 2011... So what will 2012 bring? The year of one piece, 12 ways.
I've actually been wanting to do something like this for a while... why?
Because my wardrobe is more seasonally versatile than that of ANYONE ELSE I KNOW... because seriously, aside from coats, boots, bikinis, and other really obvious choices, I don't use varying clothes as seasonal pieces only. I use more or less layers to make just about anything season friendly throughout the year. I buy most of my cardigans short sleeved, I buy every dress so it looks good with black tights and my limited assortment of heavier cardigans, I have an ever so Kathryn black high heel for every freaking type of weather I might run in to, and I have a collection of tights so varied in color that any dress or pair of shorts can transition from spring to summer to fall to winter without much effort at all.
In conclusion?
I really, really need to finally introduce this as a major focus for this blog. Take one piece that I consider totally versatile, make one outfit for each month of the year. I have quite a few pieces I do this with regularly anyway, so why not make a feature out of it?
So that's 2012's mission... proving just how versatile my wardrobe really is. To be continued! (With actual pictures. At a later date. Because it's the middle of the night right now)
I've actually been wanting to do something like this for a while... why?
Because my wardrobe is more seasonally versatile than that of ANYONE ELSE I KNOW... because seriously, aside from coats, boots, bikinis, and other really obvious choices, I don't use varying clothes as seasonal pieces only. I use more or less layers to make just about anything season friendly throughout the year. I buy most of my cardigans short sleeved, I buy every dress so it looks good with black tights and my limited assortment of heavier cardigans, I have an ever so Kathryn black high heel for every freaking type of weather I might run in to, and I have a collection of tights so varied in color that any dress or pair of shorts can transition from spring to summer to fall to winter without much effort at all.
In conclusion?
I really, really need to finally introduce this as a major focus for this blog. Take one piece that I consider totally versatile, make one outfit for each month of the year. I have quite a few pieces I do this with regularly anyway, so why not make a feature out of it?
So that's 2012's mission... proving just how versatile my wardrobe really is. To be continued! (With actual pictures. At a later date. Because it's the middle of the night right now)
February 19, 2012
I just had an entire world of lingerie options opened up for me
At the risk of being "way TMI", I'm going to talk a little about my bra size today (yep, that's right, speaking candidly of the lumps of fat resting on my chest.)
I think it goes without saying that if anyone has ever seen me in person or seen the pictures I post on here, I have a rather large pair of boobs. I have, in fact, since I was 13. I never went through the nice, normal phase of increasing one cup size at a time as I slowly went through puberty, and waiting until my fully formed teen years to pick a cup size and stick with it. I left 7th grade in an A cup, and came back to school 3 months later in a fully formed C cup... in need of properly lined, wired adult bras.
At the time, I was in the delightful "32 C" size, a size at that time impossible to find in cheap stores like Target... thus forcing me to purchase expensive bras from Nordstrom, in the upwards of $40 range (at that time, you couldn't even find a 32 C at Victoria's Secret, believe it or not...)... by the end of junior high, I'd jumped up another cup size, placing me in the even more dreaded "32 D"... about a year later, Target and VS started carrying 32 C, but not D... leaving me still picking from the cheapest (but still expensive), most boring styles possible at Nordstrom. I left high school a 32 DD... just in time for VS to start carrying 32 D, but not my new found, much more aggravating size. I'd like to say it stopped there, but over the next few years and a series of bizarre measurements at Nordstrom, I landed in 34 DD (able to buy some solid black, boring numbers from VS), a 30 G followed by a 32 FF (I wish I was kidding. These both resulted in solid black, completely boring, $70 bras from Nordstrom), to my finally adequate size of 34 D... able to buy some really boring bras from Target (more often than not, they have like... 3 styles in that size at any given time), or some really cute but rather expensive things at VS.
Lately, that size was just... killing me. And the way my bras were fitting, I'd assumed it was the cup size that had increased, NOT the band size. So I made the rather dumb mistake of dropping nearly $50 on a 34 DD from VS, only to find myself just about dying from how tightly the band was squeezing my rib cage (my old bras were so stretched out I'd failed to make the connection), and the cups sliding all over the place because they're too loose (now I need to see if VS will give me a refund after wearing the damn thing out twice...)
Sooo, last night, I opted to try a *drumroll please* 36 D from Target... guess what... IT FIT PERFECTLY... I have never in my life been SO EXCITED to go up a number size. In anything. It's like my ribcage finally expanded to a nice, normal size. And I bought two REALLY CUTE BRAS for less than the price of the boring one I picked up at VS the other day.
And now, because I can FINALLY wear a size that's so readily available, I'm thinking of all the options this gives me:
I can buy shapewear (not because I feel fat, but because Target had a really sexy shapewear slip that would fully show off my hourglass figure underneath my multitudes of dresses, AND look a little vintage chic were anyone to ever undress me... hey, a girl can dream)
I can buy fitted lingerie. Gone are the days of thinking the sexiest I can ever get is a loose, silky nightgown a size too big so my boobs will fit. Here are the days in which I could consider buying those sexy nightgowns that come in actual bra sizes.
I can go to Target any ol' time I want and buy bras. Cute bras, plain bras, t-shirt bras... I can FINALLY AFFORD TO OWN MORE THAN ONE BRA AT ONCE! OR MORE THAN TWO AT MY BEST!
I can buy cheap corsets. I can buy properly fitted, bra top bikinis. And I can buy any lingerie I possibly could ever want at a really, really freaking affordable price.
Now that I've declared far too much about my breasts on the internet, I just want to say that I'm thrilled how much this does for me in terms of fashion.
Getting larger has never been so wonderful.
I think it goes without saying that if anyone has ever seen me in person or seen the pictures I post on here, I have a rather large pair of boobs. I have, in fact, since I was 13. I never went through the nice, normal phase of increasing one cup size at a time as I slowly went through puberty, and waiting until my fully formed teen years to pick a cup size and stick with it. I left 7th grade in an A cup, and came back to school 3 months later in a fully formed C cup... in need of properly lined, wired adult bras.
At the time, I was in the delightful "32 C" size, a size at that time impossible to find in cheap stores like Target... thus forcing me to purchase expensive bras from Nordstrom, in the upwards of $40 range (at that time, you couldn't even find a 32 C at Victoria's Secret, believe it or not...)... by the end of junior high, I'd jumped up another cup size, placing me in the even more dreaded "32 D"... about a year later, Target and VS started carrying 32 C, but not D... leaving me still picking from the cheapest (but still expensive), most boring styles possible at Nordstrom. I left high school a 32 DD... just in time for VS to start carrying 32 D, but not my new found, much more aggravating size. I'd like to say it stopped there, but over the next few years and a series of bizarre measurements at Nordstrom, I landed in 34 DD (able to buy some solid black, boring numbers from VS), a 30 G followed by a 32 FF (I wish I was kidding. These both resulted in solid black, completely boring, $70 bras from Nordstrom), to my finally adequate size of 34 D... able to buy some really boring bras from Target (more often than not, they have like... 3 styles in that size at any given time), or some really cute but rather expensive things at VS.
Lately, that size was just... killing me. And the way my bras were fitting, I'd assumed it was the cup size that had increased, NOT the band size. So I made the rather dumb mistake of dropping nearly $50 on a 34 DD from VS, only to find myself just about dying from how tightly the band was squeezing my rib cage (my old bras were so stretched out I'd failed to make the connection), and the cups sliding all over the place because they're too loose (now I need to see if VS will give me a refund after wearing the damn thing out twice...)
Sooo, last night, I opted to try a *drumroll please* 36 D from Target... guess what... IT FIT PERFECTLY... I have never in my life been SO EXCITED to go up a number size. In anything. It's like my ribcage finally expanded to a nice, normal size. And I bought two REALLY CUTE BRAS for less than the price of the boring one I picked up at VS the other day.
And now, because I can FINALLY wear a size that's so readily available, I'm thinking of all the options this gives me:
I can buy shapewear (not because I feel fat, but because Target had a really sexy shapewear slip that would fully show off my hourglass figure underneath my multitudes of dresses, AND look a little vintage chic were anyone to ever undress me... hey, a girl can dream)
I can buy fitted lingerie. Gone are the days of thinking the sexiest I can ever get is a loose, silky nightgown a size too big so my boobs will fit. Here are the days in which I could consider buying those sexy nightgowns that come in actual bra sizes.
I can go to Target any ol' time I want and buy bras. Cute bras, plain bras, t-shirt bras... I can FINALLY AFFORD TO OWN MORE THAN ONE BRA AT ONCE! OR MORE THAN TWO AT MY BEST!
I can buy cheap corsets. I can buy properly fitted, bra top bikinis. And I can buy any lingerie I possibly could ever want at a really, really freaking affordable price.
Now that I've declared far too much about my breasts on the internet, I just want to say that I'm thrilled how much this does for me in terms of fashion.
Getting larger has never been so wonderful.
February 16, 2012
A few different outfits
First off, I bought a lovely new blue dress with white polka dots:
I suppose this one is the more casual one? I still adore the other one, but this one has a slightly longer skirt and no corset wiring, so it's less of a pain to wear. It's also not as figure flattering, but I certainly don't consider it UNflattering. It's all about accessorizing, anyway, right?
Then, I bought this lovely new Converse top, full of fluttery goodness. And unearthed my red skinny jeans that I bought three years ago. Because, you know, I actually really like my red skinny jeans:
I am seriously in love with this top. I put it on and felt like a freaking princess. And red jeans? They're just fun.
This one? Well, I know I've shown off this dress before, but I don't think I have EVER shown off my Anna Sui vest. I bought it from the Anna Sui boutique in none other than Tokyo. And yes, I enjoy the bragging rights that gives me.
It's such a shame this photo is blurry, because I love how it came out:
Yep, that's from Tokyo. And yep, it's as cool as it looks. Cost me about $60, which isn't that much considering it's Anna Sui. And after the untimely death of my Anna Sui sailor blouse, I'm glad I still have this one...
And finally, an outfit I rocked many a time this summer and never did get around to doing a photo shoot with:
I fell in love with the "shorts and tights" look this summer, and this was one of many shirt pairings I did with it. Unfortunately, I only one those denim shorts and a pair of REALLY short olive green shorts. I'm thinking I may have to invest in some more this summer. Not that I don't ever wear them with bare legs... I do quite often. When it's absurdly hot out and I need to cool off. The tights just make a seasonal transition a little easier.
I suppose this one is the more casual one? I still adore the other one, but this one has a slightly longer skirt and no corset wiring, so it's less of a pain to wear. It's also not as figure flattering, but I certainly don't consider it UNflattering. It's all about accessorizing, anyway, right?
Then, I bought this lovely new Converse top, full of fluttery goodness. And unearthed my red skinny jeans that I bought three years ago. Because, you know, I actually really like my red skinny jeans:
I am seriously in love with this top. I put it on and felt like a freaking princess. And red jeans? They're just fun.
This one? Well, I know I've shown off this dress before, but I don't think I have EVER shown off my Anna Sui vest. I bought it from the Anna Sui boutique in none other than Tokyo. And yes, I enjoy the bragging rights that gives me.
It's such a shame this photo is blurry, because I love how it came out:
Yep, that's from Tokyo. And yep, it's as cool as it looks. Cost me about $60, which isn't that much considering it's Anna Sui. And after the untimely death of my Anna Sui sailor blouse, I'm glad I still have this one...
And finally, an outfit I rocked many a time this summer and never did get around to doing a photo shoot with:
I fell in love with the "shorts and tights" look this summer, and this was one of many shirt pairings I did with it. Unfortunately, I only one those denim shorts and a pair of REALLY short olive green shorts. I'm thinking I may have to invest in some more this summer. Not that I don't ever wear them with bare legs... I do quite often. When it's absurdly hot out and I need to cool off. The tights just make a seasonal transition a little easier.
January 31, 2012
What would one even call my style?
Something I was mulling over today... particularly something I thought a lot about during my year of mostly pantsless living. What the heck is my personal style? What fashion label do I fall under?
I've been told by various co workers that I look "quaint" "steam punk" "elegant" "accessorize perfectly"... etc. But what does all that even mean?
I love the structured dresses, cute shoes, and fascinators that go on in pin up style. But I'm not into pin-up culture, pin-up lifestyle, the rockabilly look, corsets or waist training... none of that. I took the whole steam punk think as a compliment, but I'm definitely not going for leather edged goggles, bomber jackets, or the overall quirky appearance that I usually associate with the style. I've dabbled in punk, but I don't think my body type lends itself to the best of punk fashion. And I'm a sucker for certain areas of vintage, but I present myself as a totally modern woman. To an extent.
So I guess it's the best of many worlds: a hint of pin-up sexiness, a touch of early 20th century femininity, loads of early Hollywood glam, just enough punk to keep an edge, and the ability to blend in with any number of fashionable modern day Londoners, despite living in Seattle (a city known for its crap fashion sense... I mean, c'mon, when Seattle was at its prime, we gave to the world ripped up jeans and plaid flannel button downs... REALLY????? Blame the 90s on Seattle...).
I feel my past years worth of outfits have even demonstrated a bit of all of that in a single outfit. I feel like I should come up with a word for this style of mine, but creativity escapes me at the moment.
I've been told by various co workers that I look "quaint" "steam punk" "elegant" "accessorize perfectly"... etc. But what does all that even mean?
I love the structured dresses, cute shoes, and fascinators that go on in pin up style. But I'm not into pin-up culture, pin-up lifestyle, the rockabilly look, corsets or waist training... none of that. I took the whole steam punk think as a compliment, but I'm definitely not going for leather edged goggles, bomber jackets, or the overall quirky appearance that I usually associate with the style. I've dabbled in punk, but I don't think my body type lends itself to the best of punk fashion. And I'm a sucker for certain areas of vintage, but I present myself as a totally modern woman. To an extent.
So I guess it's the best of many worlds: a hint of pin-up sexiness, a touch of early 20th century femininity, loads of early Hollywood glam, just enough punk to keep an edge, and the ability to blend in with any number of fashionable modern day Londoners, despite living in Seattle (a city known for its crap fashion sense... I mean, c'mon, when Seattle was at its prime, we gave to the world ripped up jeans and plaid flannel button downs... REALLY????? Blame the 90s on Seattle...).
I feel my past years worth of outfits have even demonstrated a bit of all of that in a single outfit. I feel like I should come up with a word for this style of mine, but creativity escapes me at the moment.
January 21, 2012
Winter wonderland, or something
Snowy here in Seattle... and I got the brought idea that it would be ever so fun to do a photo shoot in a white dress in the snow.
So I got my mother to humor me, threw on this totally seasonally inappropriate outfit, and had a blast for about ten minutes (which was all I could stand without feeling overwhelmingly cold)
Here's the best of the shots:
I do not condone dressing like this without a coat in the winter. (No, seriously. Winter coats. They're important. Take it from someone who got trapped in a snowstorm without one once. WEAR A WINTER COAT!) However, with a little more layering up top, it is a totally doable outfit even in the winter. The trick to getting it as warm as I did (and therefore making this entire endeavor bearable) was layering the tights.
I actually have a regular pair of leggings AND decently thick socks on underneath the tights. The boots are tall enough that no one would notice the socks or the uneven seam, since the tights are a bit on the sheer side to begin with, all the black really does is make the color appear deeper and richer. So yes, it IS possible to wear dresses with tights in the snow. Just... layer.
So I got my mother to humor me, threw on this totally seasonally inappropriate outfit, and had a blast for about ten minutes (which was all I could stand without feeling overwhelmingly cold)
Here's the best of the shots:
I do not condone dressing like this without a coat in the winter. (No, seriously. Winter coats. They're important. Take it from someone who got trapped in a snowstorm without one once. WEAR A WINTER COAT!) However, with a little more layering up top, it is a totally doable outfit even in the winter. The trick to getting it as warm as I did (and therefore making this entire endeavor bearable) was layering the tights.
I actually have a regular pair of leggings AND decently thick socks on underneath the tights. The boots are tall enough that no one would notice the socks or the uneven seam, since the tights are a bit on the sheer side to begin with, all the black really does is make the color appear deeper and richer. So yes, it IS possible to wear dresses with tights in the snow. Just... layer.
I absolutely love burgundy. Really. What a shock.
Put this outfit on to hang out with a friend one day last week. Brand new Mossimo jeggings from Target... I tell you, better than regular "jeans" any day.
Of course, the jeggings sold at Target are NOT your average jeggings... most things advertised that way really are just leggings made out of denim, and look like it. The Mossimo ones I buy regularly at Target are NORMAL SKINNY JEANS but made with a lot of extra stretch through the crotch and waist area. The result is that they wear like normal jeans, no one is the wiser because they fit correctly everywhere up top (leggings tend to have the dreaded "cameltoe" effect or show off... well... everything you don't want shown off), but are much, MUCH more comfortable/wearable than tight, stiff skinny jeans made for girls with nothing in the hip range.
And, yes, I mixed different shades of burgundy. But I found the effect to be quite nice.
And, a closeup on my makeup, because I do get quite a lot of comments on this shade of eyeshadow and feel it deserves some explanation:
So, I've mentioned in the past that I'm a big fan of layering eyeshadow. Last year, my dear best friend Lara got me a box of 120 shades of eyeshadow for Christmas. This would be makeup heaven for me, because I pretty much ONLY do my eyes. So, I call this rose gold, and I've been getting loads of comments/compliments on it.
I do a wet base coat with a shade that's somewhere between rose pink and burgundy. I then slightly dry out the brush so it's still ever so slightly damp, and apply a mostly dry second coat of a shimmery but still light gold. I highlight the upper lid with a dry off white to bring out the color, and there you have it.
Of course, the jeggings sold at Target are NOT your average jeggings... most things advertised that way really are just leggings made out of denim, and look like it. The Mossimo ones I buy regularly at Target are NORMAL SKINNY JEANS but made with a lot of extra stretch through the crotch and waist area. The result is that they wear like normal jeans, no one is the wiser because they fit correctly everywhere up top (leggings tend to have the dreaded "cameltoe" effect or show off... well... everything you don't want shown off), but are much, MUCH more comfortable/wearable than tight, stiff skinny jeans made for girls with nothing in the hip range.
And, yes, I mixed different shades of burgundy. But I found the effect to be quite nice.
And, a closeup on my makeup, because I do get quite a lot of comments on this shade of eyeshadow and feel it deserves some explanation:
So, I've mentioned in the past that I'm a big fan of layering eyeshadow. Last year, my dear best friend Lara got me a box of 120 shades of eyeshadow for Christmas. This would be makeup heaven for me, because I pretty much ONLY do my eyes. So, I call this rose gold, and I've been getting loads of comments/compliments on it.
I do a wet base coat with a shade that's somewhere between rose pink and burgundy. I then slightly dry out the brush so it's still ever so slightly damp, and apply a mostly dry second coat of a shimmery but still light gold. I highlight the upper lid with a dry off white to bring out the color, and there you have it.
January 12, 2012
The Art of Wearing Heels
I started wearing heels when I was 14. I had no clue how to balance correctly in them, no clue how to walk at all, and probably looked like a complete and utter moron. 8 years and at least one major injury since then, I wear almost nothing else. Not always by choice... primarily because my major knee problems are exacerbated by wearing flat shoes for extended periods of time.
So, some thoughts on wearing heels, and doing it right:
1. BALLET FLATS ARE BAD FOR YOUR FEET
This is not to say all flat shoes are bad for your feet. But those trendy shoes with zero arch support? Yeah, you're actually BETTER OFF in heels. Two years of working at Famous Footwear taught me all of us who suffered from plantar fasciitis couldn't deal with wearing the "ballet flat" look.
Here's the deal: plantar fasciitis is becoming more and more common (or I'm just meeting more and more people who suffer from it)... and though the most commonly known symptom is heel pounding and subsequent heel pain, the true cause is fallen arches. Wearing ballet flats is NOT like walking on bare feet... when you're walking barefoot, you're using all your muscles correctly (most of the time. Some of us are unfortunately screwed up)... when you're wearing shoes with no arches, your feet are being stretched out, and if you're prone to fallen arches, you're actually hurting your feet.
On an average shopping trip, I find way more heeled shoes with arch support than flat shoes. Plus, simply by raising the heel higher than the toes, the shoe is forcing your foot to curve. I may stick by Converse when I need sneakers, but when I need to dress up, I will choose heels over flats ever time.
2. KNEE PROBLEMS? HEELS MAY BE MORE COMFORTABLE
The key here is testing every pair for comfort and correct height. I personally am missing a substantial amount of cartilage in one knee... though I can wear converse or really supportive flat boots in small doses, I can't wear anything flat for extended periods of time or for heavy duty use of my feet(this includes work.) Hell, even hiking and running shoes have a raised heel on them. For starters, pushing your knee forward can help prevent hyperextension, or if you're lacking as much cartilage as I am, the daily worry of having your kneecap sink back in on itself (which, while not as painful as hyperextension, can cause some really uncomfortable cramping and make walking quite difficult.)
In the case of sports shoes with a raised heel, this is actually to help absorb shock. Your heels do get a lot of impact from activity, and not only does it wear at your heels, it can also shoot up your legs to your knee. Ouch. I choose heels.
3. PICK THE RIGHT HEEL HEIGHT
A huge part of wearing heels effectively is knowing your height range. I personally won't go any higher than 3.5", and even that is pushing it (just one pair of shoes, and I don't wear them if I need to be walking a lot.)
Go any higher than your maximum heel height, and not only do you risk back problems, you look like an idiot.
No joke, I make fun of girls I see in bars teetering on way too high heels. If you can't walk without looking like a complete and utter moron, pick a lower pair. The end. If you don't? Well, you were warned. I am mocking you.
4. TEST FOR GIVE IN HEEL
Remember that bit about how much shock is absorbed by your heels? Lifting your heel off the ground won't help with that if the heel is hard as a rock. Avoid spiky stilettos (you're standing on a thin thing that's digging directly into your heel), and make sure the heel itself has give.
When trying on a pair in the store, rock back onto one heel and push your weight down (make sure your other foot is flat on the ground or you may fall over)... if there's give, you're ok. If there's not, try again.
5. START THICK, GO SMALLER GRADUALLY
I first started with thick, chunky, square shaped heels. I eventually gave up on these, largely because they make the shoe heavier and therefore more effort to walk in. Still, having a stable balance makes it way easier to learn to walk in heels. And never, ever go all the way to stilettos. I now do slightly thicker heels, kitten heels, anything I can balance in. But your balance will be so much better if you start by wearing heels where the heel itself spans the whole width of the heel of the shoe.
6. FIT IS EVERYTHING
I've fooled myself into buying horrid fitting heels before. And I have ALWAYS come to regret it.
Let's examine how terribly screwed up my feet are:
My left foot fits best into a 6.5 regular. My right foot fits best into a 6 wide. Most shoe stores will NOT mix sizes. I'm generally ok if I stick with 6.5s that run wide through the toes and narrow through the heels. Both my feet usually end up happy. It's when I've gone for 6.5s that are really wide through the heels, or unfortunately narrow through the toes, or even tried going up to 7s because it was the last pair, or it was wide enough, or whatever dumb reason I had.
Think about how much weight you're resting on your toes... then think about how important it is to avoid pressure points, having to grip extra hard to keep your shoes from falling off, etc. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't matter how cute it is... I'm never going to wear it again.
7. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
When I was 14, I was stumbling around like a moron in 1.5" chunky heels. At 22, I rock 3.5" heels like a pro. I get compliments on my shoes, people express surprise at my ease and comfort walking in heels, and I get to make up for my negative feelings about my short legs on a daily basis. No one knows how to walk in heels the first time they try. Or the first year after that. Just make sure you look balanced and poised while doing it, or you're better off staying low to the ground (but, you know, avoiding ballet flats at all costs)
So, some thoughts on wearing heels, and doing it right:
1. BALLET FLATS ARE BAD FOR YOUR FEET
This is not to say all flat shoes are bad for your feet. But those trendy shoes with zero arch support? Yeah, you're actually BETTER OFF in heels. Two years of working at Famous Footwear taught me all of us who suffered from plantar fasciitis couldn't deal with wearing the "ballet flat" look.
Here's the deal: plantar fasciitis is becoming more and more common (or I'm just meeting more and more people who suffer from it)... and though the most commonly known symptom is heel pounding and subsequent heel pain, the true cause is fallen arches. Wearing ballet flats is NOT like walking on bare feet... when you're walking barefoot, you're using all your muscles correctly (most of the time. Some of us are unfortunately screwed up)... when you're wearing shoes with no arches, your feet are being stretched out, and if you're prone to fallen arches, you're actually hurting your feet.
On an average shopping trip, I find way more heeled shoes with arch support than flat shoes. Plus, simply by raising the heel higher than the toes, the shoe is forcing your foot to curve. I may stick by Converse when I need sneakers, but when I need to dress up, I will choose heels over flats ever time.
2. KNEE PROBLEMS? HEELS MAY BE MORE COMFORTABLE
The key here is testing every pair for comfort and correct height. I personally am missing a substantial amount of cartilage in one knee... though I can wear converse or really supportive flat boots in small doses, I can't wear anything flat for extended periods of time or for heavy duty use of my feet(this includes work.) Hell, even hiking and running shoes have a raised heel on them. For starters, pushing your knee forward can help prevent hyperextension, or if you're lacking as much cartilage as I am, the daily worry of having your kneecap sink back in on itself (which, while not as painful as hyperextension, can cause some really uncomfortable cramping and make walking quite difficult.)
In the case of sports shoes with a raised heel, this is actually to help absorb shock. Your heels do get a lot of impact from activity, and not only does it wear at your heels, it can also shoot up your legs to your knee. Ouch. I choose heels.
3. PICK THE RIGHT HEEL HEIGHT
A huge part of wearing heels effectively is knowing your height range. I personally won't go any higher than 3.5", and even that is pushing it (just one pair of shoes, and I don't wear them if I need to be walking a lot.)
Go any higher than your maximum heel height, and not only do you risk back problems, you look like an idiot.
No joke, I make fun of girls I see in bars teetering on way too high heels. If you can't walk without looking like a complete and utter moron, pick a lower pair. The end. If you don't? Well, you were warned. I am mocking you.
4. TEST FOR GIVE IN HEEL
Remember that bit about how much shock is absorbed by your heels? Lifting your heel off the ground won't help with that if the heel is hard as a rock. Avoid spiky stilettos (you're standing on a thin thing that's digging directly into your heel), and make sure the heel itself has give.
When trying on a pair in the store, rock back onto one heel and push your weight down (make sure your other foot is flat on the ground or you may fall over)... if there's give, you're ok. If there's not, try again.
5. START THICK, GO SMALLER GRADUALLY
I first started with thick, chunky, square shaped heels. I eventually gave up on these, largely because they make the shoe heavier and therefore more effort to walk in. Still, having a stable balance makes it way easier to learn to walk in heels. And never, ever go all the way to stilettos. I now do slightly thicker heels, kitten heels, anything I can balance in. But your balance will be so much better if you start by wearing heels where the heel itself spans the whole width of the heel of the shoe.
6. FIT IS EVERYTHING
I've fooled myself into buying horrid fitting heels before. And I have ALWAYS come to regret it.
Let's examine how terribly screwed up my feet are:
My left foot fits best into a 6.5 regular. My right foot fits best into a 6 wide. Most shoe stores will NOT mix sizes. I'm generally ok if I stick with 6.5s that run wide through the toes and narrow through the heels. Both my feet usually end up happy. It's when I've gone for 6.5s that are really wide through the heels, or unfortunately narrow through the toes, or even tried going up to 7s because it was the last pair, or it was wide enough, or whatever dumb reason I had.
Think about how much weight you're resting on your toes... then think about how important it is to avoid pressure points, having to grip extra hard to keep your shoes from falling off, etc. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't matter how cute it is... I'm never going to wear it again.
7. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
When I was 14, I was stumbling around like a moron in 1.5" chunky heels. At 22, I rock 3.5" heels like a pro. I get compliments on my shoes, people express surprise at my ease and comfort walking in heels, and I get to make up for my negative feelings about my short legs on a daily basis. No one knows how to walk in heels the first time they try. Or the first year after that. Just make sure you look balanced and poised while doing it, or you're better off staying low to the ground (but, you know, avoiding ballet flats at all costs)
January 2, 2012
And with the new year, maybe more pants? Who knows
Well, mostly pantsless 2011 was a personal success but a blogging failure. I definitely spent more than 50% of the year going pantsless, and I'm happy I did it. While I have no specific goals for 2012 regarding a ratio of pants to non pants, I do have to say that my year of mostly pantsless living made me a lot more comfortable wearing skirts and dresses in situations I once would have always opted for pants in. Like work... it's not such a big deal to work in skirts... sometimes it's even easier!
Incidentally, today did end up being pantsless anyway, and I actually really love today's outfit:
Featuring my ever so often worn Kensie dress, a brand new Converse cardigan, those snazzy boots I've been showing off all winter, and the lovely glass necklace my mother got me for Christmas:
A close up of the boots, because they're awesome:
And a close up of the necklace, since it's really ever so pretty (I'm also really impressed with my eyes in this photo... usually, I have to edit red eye out of every photo so my eyes just look dull and their real color doesn't get captured at all. I'm really fond of my eye color though, so I was incredibly pleased that this picture actually... worked):
Incidentally, today did end up being pantsless anyway, and I actually really love today's outfit:
Featuring my ever so often worn Kensie dress, a brand new Converse cardigan, those snazzy boots I've been showing off all winter, and the lovely glass necklace my mother got me for Christmas:
A close up of the boots, because they're awesome:
And a close up of the necklace, since it's really ever so pretty (I'm also really impressed with my eyes in this photo... usually, I have to edit red eye out of every photo so my eyes just look dull and their real color doesn't get captured at all. I'm really fond of my eye color though, so I was incredibly pleased that this picture actually... worked):
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