By any other name

After spending two days in jeans and comfortable tees and warm cardigans, reading old lecture notes and confusing papers and voluminous text books, I fancied up my outfit for tonight. Although dear hubby was thinking I look more like one of Oliver Twist’s pickpocket friends!

Getting a cold shoulder!

Hooray! It finally got cold enough to wear knits tonight!
After studying for a few hours, reading a couple of chapters sci-fi was more than welcome!

An active day

A very busy day, starting with scheduling my preliminary exam (panic!), ten thousands email, lunch with my friend, attending a protest/support for five minutes and going home and to the library and reading 20 chapters of a very huge text book!

I like to think the piece-de-resistance of this outfit is my chain belt worn as necklace. Love it!

p.s. I am being forced to use the actual pieces of my clothing rather than generic items for these looks. An issue that I have problems with. When I use pictures of generic clothes it is about a look, a color combination or a certain theme, something everyone can get inspired by or imitate. But when I use photos of my own clothes, the look becomes about me, about how this certain piece works with others or how unique something is. That is what I usually try to avoid. (“usually” being the operative word here!) But believe me, as hard as I try to find something similar to what I own on the internet, sometimes it is impossible!

My armor of the day

Ahh, flu season is here and everyone is coughing and sneezing! I so hate it! I am a closet germophobe and my microbiology class doesn’t help the matters. It just gives me more germs to be afraid of!
Trying to avoid pathogenic contamination of any type at school:

Day in, day out!

I’m trying to find a cool way to wear my gorgeous new jacket. So for a while it will turn up nearly every day in my outfits!
School, lunch, getting bored:

Evening shopping and dinner and coffeeshop:

Sunday Blues!

After changing my outfit three times this is what I ended up with for going to dinner and coffeeshop tonight.

Halloween Fortune!

Here I am in my “fortune teller” costume and bad lighting! I do apologize for the low quality of photos! I like to assume the bad lighting adds to the spooky factor! Haah! Please consider it part of special effects!

I wasn’t planning to reveal my identity in a bad photo (or at all!) but this is a special occasion! As for costumes I really liked to dress up as “Alice” from “Alice in Wonderland” new movie or better yet as the “White Queen” but I wasn’t in the mood and didn’t have time (re: my presentation and new research topic!) for going costume shopping, so I shopped my closet. My options were going as a Witch, a mean Fairy Queen, a Lady Pirate, or a Fortune Teller.
I have been a Witch for 7 Halloweens, and last year I dressed up as a Fae Queen due to lending my Witchy hat to a friend! So a Gypsy Fortune Teller it was!

Decide on a color!

I felt totally drained these couple of days, working hard on a new research subject and reading papers. Then I stayed up the whole night preparing a presentation for the Friday meeting. Worse part ever? I didn’t get to do my presentation! All that work for nothing! At least I looked good sitting there feeling bad for myself!


By the way, this is that infamous top I complained about last year! I was dead set on taking it to the Goodwill during my Spring Cleaning but I was weak and it stayed!

Running in high heels

The whole day felt like being on fast forward!

School and lunch with my friend, running errands:

Mustard challenge, outfit 2.5:

Well, this one can’t be counted as a whole challenge outfit because the mustard cardigan was completely covered by the long purple cardigan and was not seen!
Despite the cool evening I was feeling quite sunny!

Spending the evening in the library, reading a bunch of new articles, shopping and dinner:

Mustard challenge, outfit 2:

I borrowed the idea of setting mustard with burgundy from this outfit of Kasmira. But as usual my matchy-matchy self went ahead and added a whole lot of red/burgundy to it!
Well, one step at the time, right?!

Nighty night

A very simple outfit for a couple of hours of hanging in our neighborhood coffeeshop. While dressing I was in the mood of English country style and looking for a perfect mixture of ruggedness and softness in a jacket. Wonder of wonders there is nothing like that in my whole wardrobe! I really need a casual country style jacket! My faithful Generra jacket didn’t look quite right with my crocheted tunic and rugged handbag! Should go shopping!

Ruffled to school!

I layered two ruffle-y tops over each other. I was feeling very froo froo spending the whole afternoon searching for articles on a new subject! Then I owed it to myself to have some fun so I went shopping! I love Anthropologie!
After wearing 3-4 inch heels the whole summer, my 2-inch oxford heels felt like wearing oh-so-comfortable flats today!

My cruise ship chronicles, part2

Saturday October 24:
Ok, the good thing about not publishing this post on time is that I can add to it!
What I didn’t wear:
- one pair of black shorts, it was too cold.
- a silk tunic, green patterned, again too cold!
- cotton top, pink and orange patterned, again too cold!
- gold flats, they were hurting my feet!
My outfits were:
First day, boarding, dinner:

In the cabin, sleeping (don’t laugh! It was cold!):

Breakfast second day:
Lazing on the deck, napping, reading:
Afternoon, dance show, dinner:
Third day, breakfast, sun-napping:

Going to the port, sight seeing, shopping:
Dinner, talkshow, evening entertainment:
Coming home:

My cruise ship chronicles, part1

or "What to pack for a cruise?"
Sunday October 18:
We are leaving for a little cruise vacation in Baja and I have been planning my wardrobe for a couple of days now. Here is what I came up with:
- at least one cocktail dress
- two skinny jeans, dark indigo and white
- white cargo pants
- cargo skirt, brown
- a silk tunic, green patterned
- four cotton tops, blue, purple and patterned, olive green
- gold wedges, gold flats, blue wedges, yellow flip flaps
- two bags, small bronze, large silver hobo
- one cream hoodies
- four thin cardigans, two grays, one white, one brown
- one stripe t-shirt
- one pair wide leg jeans
- one pair of black shorts
- one large tote
- two scarves
- one straw hat

Being sloppy!

I know! You don’t have to tell me! I’m being sloppy, untidy and unattentive! It is all the result of experiencing a little freedom and R&R!
What I ended up wearing yesterday to school:

Yes, it is very suitable for having a shouting match in the meeting and then going interior-design-crazed with my office mates and breathing in a huge amount of dust because we were pushing desks and removing partitions and moving our cubicles around in the office. Also good for a lengthy meeting with my advisor and crying over all the unjust things happening to my research!
Bookstore, Coffeeshop and dinner with dear hubby:

To wear or not to wear!

Just got back from our little trip and am wondering what to wear to school and a couple of meetings tomorrow! Problem is all my usual Go To’s are in laundry basket and it is going to be warm (85°F) tomorrow.
What you wear when you want to be casual (it is Friday!) but not-too-casual? Remember the meetings? I have a reputation -as Always Dressed Up- to uphold! Now I’m touring my favorite style weblogs for inspiration.
What I packed and what I wore these past couple of days will be posted soon! Keep tuned!

Hot days are back!

Temperature hit 96 today which was a shock after nice autumn-y days we had this last week. I felt very confused dressing this morning!
Wasting my time in school:

What a day!

It was an exhausting day without me doing much! Looked for my advisor to finalize a paper (couldn't find him!), attended a class and a seminar and came back home and collapsed on the coach watching “Heartbreakers”!

Dinner, walking and bookstore/coffeeshop with dear hubby:

I very much like the contrast between soft ruffely chiffon and tough leather, spiky necklace and the studded purse! A perfect mix of sweetly innocence and tough attitude!

And the rain again!

I had missed seafood so much so that I made my friend to come to this Asian seafood buffet with me! Good food, good day, good friend!
School and lunch with my friend:

Window shopping and library in the afternoon:

I know my looks don’t seem that exciting today! I guess I was more concern about good foods than good looks!

Out in the rain!

Our first autumn rain and me wrapped in multiple layers! I was excited to try my new red beret and frilly scarf. The scarf actually is red with stripes of blue and green and cream! Couldn’t find a good photo!

As my morning outfit was too uninspired, I played it up a little for the evening. I didn’t take off my coat so let’s assume that I wore a simple tunic under the coat! That red beret and coat and scarf went great together! I was feeling a little Russian post-WWII !

Mustard challenge, outfit 1:

Finally it got cold and cloudy and chilly! Yoohoo! I can wear my boots! I’ve so waited for this weather. And in keeping with “making lemonade out of lemons” and stuff, I was happy to throw this look together:

Funny thing is I got lots of complements on this outfit! Why don’t I get that many complements when I’m wearing a nice lovely color like blue or red or purple?!

To be bored!

These past few days I have been repeating some of my looks (Like this and this and this) and just changing the bags and shoes, so nothing new to report.
I just received an ugly mustard yellow vest or short- sleeve cardigan. Mustard is so not my color! Usually an item like this would go into Goodwill pile but I’m trying to be positive! So I took it as an artistic challenge to make new looks and color combinations based on this vest/cardi:

I happily got some vintage handbags (from my mom!) and a new vintage-style (the black one) as a gift from my little sister:
I am so happy! I love them all (my family and the bags)!

An Autumnal combo!

School, lunch with my friend and running errands wearing new heels. My feet are so painful now! That’s what I don’t like about new shoes, the first few days of wearing them are literaly hell!
Today’s outfit had all the basics from Sunday! I think I’m starting to like brown!

Sunday

Window shopping and having a delicious dinner with my friends. Thank goodness it is getting chilly, I was so happy for being able to wearing a coat!