Outfit #20: Purple all the way

Several years ago I went up with my family to accompany my brother to his college orientation.  While my brother was busy orienting, my mom and I browsed by a nearby Gap: they were having this amazing sale.  We got this purple floral dress along with the blush cardigan.  That blush cardigan is a favorite staple of mine.

Wore the ensemble to the wedding of a dear friend who is a fellow adventurer.  I think I'm still figuring out what I can do with that hair, though...

I have these in tan...super cute and accessible and easy to wear!

Elements:
Blush cardigan, Gap

Purple floral dress, Gap

Perforated D'orsay tan flats, Target

Outfit #18 & 19: Dress like Everyday is a Party

I tend to like clothing with a more '40s-'80s mod kinda look, so when I saw this target dress with collar and belt, and polka dots, I had to have it.  I actually ordered it in two sizes, and sent back the one that didn't fit.

I like these kinds of dresses because they're soooo cute so, are party-appropriate, demure in length, and also office-appropriate because of the cut and collar (although this one has a fake collar).  I struggled a lot in deciding whether to wear this dress because I can't often wear dresses at work (how can I run after kids??), but decided to go for it and make multiple uses of my dresses.

In this picture (pictured with my awesome intern I supervised last year), I wore the dress with a black blazer and Naturalizer blue pumps. I really like blazers.  I used to wear them all the time; they give one a cooler, more professional look.  Now that I work a lot with kids, I tend to wear them a little less, but they always help to give an outfit a more polished look.  

I also wore the same dress, sadly no pictures due to my hiatus, sans blazer, to a bridal shower for a dear friend Ms. Quesadilla.  Paired it with my dotted black scrunch flats.  An instant hit.  I felt cute.  And really, isn't that what really matters in the end, that you feel great and comfortable and fabulous in what you wear???

A better look at the dress: the belt has a ribbon!

Outfit #16: Marks and Spencer love

My clients are wonderful, and made me a cake for my birthday.  In honor of birthday month, I wore some gold with some mint... A gold and purple threaded knit sweater I got at Marks and Spencer in Hong Kong, paired with a mint-stone statement necklace.  It made the cake that much sweeter!

Elements: 
Gold/purple knit sweater, Marks&Spencer
Mint stone statement necklace, Forever21
Black skinny jeans

Outfit #15: Red Elephants for Chinese New Year

We celebrated the year of the ram this year!  At our work, we got to throw a cultural celebration for my clients by playing some games and making Chinese dumplings.  I had no clothing with sheep, so went with the next best thing, which is elephant-print!

Elements:

Elephant Print Tie-Collar Blouse, Little Tokyo

Black Skinny Pants, Macy's

Faux-Suede Oxfords, Mr. Price, ZA

Outfit #14: Giraffes are cool

Birthday outfit!  Wore this on a day-trip by myself trekking to the Hello Kitty exhibit at the Japanese Historical Museum, then to the Last Bookstore in downtown.  Had a blast, and glad to have a giraffe by my side!

Elements:
Giraffe Sweater, Talbots
Skinny Jeans, Target knock-off
Chambray Desert Wedge Boots, Toms
Pearl and crystal necklace, Farmer's Market

Back again...Outfit #13: Finding the Right Balance

So...I stopped adding to this blog because it became too much about the fashion, the newest invention...I kind of become obsessive.  But had sudden inspiration to try this again...so I'm going to post some stuff I've been wearing, and will try to catch up.  Next several posts will be from pictures I inadvertently took in the last several months.

Wore this for a day out to LACMA with some girls I've been mentoring.  It was warmer than I thought, and I think I'm trying to find the balance in outfits and hairstyle, i.e. put my hair up or down depending on the length and cuts of my pants, tops, and outerwear.    But was glad to make use of the top since I usually don't know how to wear that top...

Elements:

Black leather jacket, Nordstrom

White knit top with bow in the back, Hong Kong

Blue/purple print pants, Mr. Price, ZA

Black pebbled scrunch flat, Hong Kong

Outfit #12: Shift dress and boot wedges

I got a lot of compliments on this outfit from my colleagues!  Especially one older man who encouraged me, "You know it's good for a single girl to get noticed, keep going!"  Haha!

My tan booties are now decommissioned, but I bought these Toms Desert Wedges in Chambray a couple weeks back.  Actually, first I saw these herringbone ones on Pinterest:

But alas, they were out!!  But then I saw these: 

The chambray!  Not quite the herringbone, but I liked the contrast and wedge.  So I found a couple of last pairs in my size, liked the discount, and bought my first pair of Toms!!!  They were a hit!  And comfy with my dress.

By the way, the wooden bead necklace was made by a special 5-year-old friend of mine for Christmas.  I was especially delighted because 1.) it is so awesome, sweet, and simple, and 2.) I had Pinned this on Pinterest a long while ago...once the yarn breaks I hope to replace it with ribbon!

Elements: 

Blue Dolman top, Talbots

Black shift dress, Target

Grey tights, Target

Chambray Desert Wedge Boots, Toms

Wooden Bead Necklace, DIY, gifted

I later switched things up to go to a DineLA dinner with some friends, so paired it with some gray boots and a black/white herringbone coat; both gifted by a dear friend and fellow fashionista!

Outfit #11: Buccaneer?

I like this Gap sheer tunic that I bought with Mama several years ago, but it always eluded me about how I should wear it without it being weird, clingy, or riding up, whatever occasion it is.  Also, it keeps clinging to whatever tank I wear under.

Today I gave it another chance, and decided to add a belt to make it "cooler."  You be the judge.  I had a longer tank that allowed me to keep it untucked (because tucked made me look super thick).  It worked pretty well, less wardrobe-malfunction/concern than I thought!

Elements:
Dotted sheer tunic, Gap
Long tank, Cotton On
Black skinny pants, Macy's
Black boots, Tommy Hilfiger, Macy's
Brown Belt

Outfit #10: Stripes and Green

Inspired by this Pinterest outfit:

At first I was going to wear a grey skirt, but the chilly morning weather, plus a quick glimpse of the picture above, reminded me that I had scored a pair of nice green skinny jeans in a clothes-exchange I had with my friends.  The DIY necklace was a bit hit: I had an old Charlotte Russe shirt with the flowers attached, so I just detached the flowers, sewed them on a felt backing and added chains from Michaels...voila!  It's like Spring has come to January haha.

Elements:
Striped boat-neck shirt, Laura Ashley, Hong Kong
Black cardigan, Banana Republic Factory
Green skinny jeans, Forever21, gifted
Tan booties, Target
Flower necklace, DIY

Outfit #9: Elbow patches and Wedge Heels

The reason I have so many sweaters is that when I was in Hong Kong over a year ago, my parents told me to buy winter clothes there, since they have better (in our humble opinions) material/quality than we do, owing to the fact that they have colder and more frigid winters than SoCal boasts.  When I saw this one at Marks&Spencer, I fell in love with the zipper detail and elbow patch!!  Wearing some heels (wedge for comfort) made the casual seem a little more grown-up--Wearing the grey to highlight my silver bow earrings and silver zipper on the sweater.

Elements:
Pink Sweater, Marks&Spencer,
Black skinny pants, Macy's
Chinese Laundry grey wedge heels, DSW
Bow earrings, gifted

Outfit #8: Casual Friday

I had enough of prints, so it was solids all around today.  A cashmere sweater with jeans and flat are always a good fall-back outfit, and bright contrast accessory help make it pop just a bit for this casual Friday at work/fellowship.  Cashmere is so soft...I even had a co-worker come and just rub her hand on my sleeve to feel the softness!

Elements:
Green Cashmere sweater, gifted
Skinny Jeans, Target
Black pebbled scrunch flat, Hong Kong
Beaded necklace, Charlotte Russe

Outfit #7: Rose-print and Pinterest

My dog is trying to get my attention behind me...

my dog's butt

A jacket to keep off the January chill

I am a Pinterest fanatic!  I first pinned this rose-print sweater a while back, and then thought, I should actually see if I can find something I actually pinned.

Original from Zara

I ended up finding a knock-off on it online, and ordered it.  It's made of this scuba-like material, neoprene, so it's more clingy and less forgiving for larger girls with muffin tops like me.  It's not my favorite material, and I was a little disappointed since it doesn't quite fit me the way I wanted it to (it also rides up a little)...but I still love the watercolor-like print, and appreciate this particular floral pattern...and also don't want the effort to go to waste...so for now I'm keeping it and trying to incorporate it more into my wardrobe.  (It sat in my closet for a good year before I tried it out!)

I paired it here with olive trousers.  I've also tried a red skirt, and with black leggings and boots.  It definitely keeps me warm.

Elements:
Rose-print sweater, knock-off, unknown
Olive drawstring pants, Talbots
Black faux-suede oxfords, Mr. Price, ZA
Pink-Red Ombre Scarf, gifted, Hong Kong,
Black coat, Giordano

Outfit #6: African prints

In the words of my co-worker: "Yesterday was horses, today it's birds...what's for tomorrow?"  I had lots of people compliment me on the tunic; my aunt gave this to me last time I was in Hong Kong--I come from a long line of women with great taste!

 I have bad photo/light quality, but it's a nice bright sky blue that's super pretty.  The highlight: the wooden beading along the neckline and sleeves that give it an extra kick and a cool African vibe.  Add a zebra scarf and World Market teal earrings my friend gave me before I left for Africa...I definitely felt ready to go traveling again!

Elements:
Bird-print tunic, Hong Kong
Zebra scarf, Hong Kong
Teal stone and copper earrings, World Market
Black leggings
Black boots, Tommy Hilfiger, Macy's

Outfit #5: Print and Lilac

Inspiration for this outfit: Rachel Berry (don't judge/hate me please)

I got this lilac colored jeans a while back, and loved the color, but don't always know how to wear them more than occasionally, especially for the office and in wintertime.  But pairing them with this black print blouse made the outfit seem cute and effortless.

I definitely prefer Target jeans to Old Navy jeans, though; I got these Old Navy "Rockstar" jeans because they had the color I wanted, but they don't always have the same give as Target jeans do (which explains the bunching around my knees), and are more stiff.  I like stiffer and sturdier materials myself, but it'd be nice if it sat comfortably as well.  Oh well.  Colored jeans now less prevalent now--rprint pants are  on the trend curently--; Target doesn't even sell them, and it's hard to find ones with colors I like.  Glad I got a few pairs when I had the chance!

Elements:
Black horse-print blouse, Ross
"Rockstar" lilac jeans, Old Navy
Faux-suede oxford, Mr. Price, ZA

Outfit #4: Printed Pants

When pants with prints first became a trend, I was totally in disagreement, and told myself I wouldn't jump on that bandwagon.  Most of the prints I saw were crazy and not my taste at all.  But while I was travelling in South Africa last year, I happened to see these pants for a great deal at a local Mr. Price (comparable to our Old Navy?)  and kind of fell in love.  I've amassed quite a bit of clothing from overseas, so I always feel bad when people compliment me and ask where I procured something...What do you say to that?  "uh...I got them while in Africa?"

Elements:
Black two-toned wool sweater
Blue/purple print pants, Mr. Price, ZA

The Girl in Sparkles and Chartreuse

got this pretty sparkle at a stall at my school's farmer's market

Still in sweater season, and I love my chartreuse cashmere sweater!  The only thing about cashmere is that it will stretch, so I'm trying to figure out a way to de-stretch my sleeves at the ends.

I try to take advantage of the weekends to wear more heels, but I usually have really bad luck with black pumps.  But these Target "Natasha" pumps are really comfortable and have the pointed toe that I like!  (I dislike rounded toes).  I was able to walk all over church, stand and play guitar, and then walk some more without breaking my feet!

Elements:
Chartreuse cashmere sweater, Macy's
Black Jacquard-print Jeans, Target
"Natasha" black pumps, Target
Pearl and crystal necklace, Farmer's Market

Outfit #2: Shades of Black and a Pop of Red

Black is always slimming, so for a Saturday jaunt to a French pastry cafe, wearing shades of chic black seemed like a good idea!  Adding a pop of color in my shoes made the jaunt a little bit more fun!

I currently have a thing for peter-pan collars.  Because I don't want to have to wear layers in our warm winters, having detachable ones sound great.  I have several collar necklaces, but a year ago, my mom, who instilled in me a love for shopping and fashion, bought a dress with a detachable beaded collar.  She allowed me to commandeer it for my fun fashion purposes.  The perfect accessory!

Elements:
Two-tone black wool sweater, gifted
Black jacquard-pattern jeans, Target
Red oxfords, Hong Kong
Peter-pan collar, detached from dress, Macy's
Brown tote handbag, Macy's

Outfit #1: Checked and Olive

Outfit #1: I work with kids in an office setting, and need things casual, functional in case I have to run after rogues, but somewhat put together and appropriate for parent meetings.  Navy wedge pumps  (inspired by Princess Kate, my fashion muse; I scoured the internet for hours for cheap knock-offs) gave me some height and refinement, the latter of which may not translate to the camera...

Well, I never thought I'd be brave enough to do this and post pictures of myself posing clothing; I guess another thing this blog will do is help me increase my sense of confidence?!

Elements: 

Checked button-down blouse, Marks & Spencer

Olive drawstring trousers, 

Navy wedge pump, unknown

Why I'm Doing This

This year I felt challenged to live more simply and stop feeling I have to get more all the time.  I also wanted to challenge my creativity and learn to mix and match my extensive wardrobe well.  While I do love fashion and shopping, I also realized that I have so much with which to be content, to be thankful. So...this blog is a year's challenge for me and myself: 365 different outfits, using the clothing I already possess.  At the same time, I am committed to not purchasing any clothing, shoes, or accessories in 2015 unless absolutely necessary.  Hopefully this will take enough of my attention to distract me from browsing Target's clearance sections.  Whee!