Lime Pop

After days upon days of staying home sick, staying home for holidays, staying home for snow days, and lazily dressing for the cold, I really wanted to bring some life and color into my outfit.

So last night, I dragged myself off the floor and pulled these bright green velvet shoes off my shoe rack. I got them recently on eBay for 11 dollars. I used to have the same pair in purple, and it wasn't very long before the velvet had rubbed off them to the point of unwearability, so I better make the most of these while they last!

In a flash of inspiration, I remembered I had a camisole in almost the exact same shade of green, so I pulled that out as well. As usual, when wearing such flamboyant colors, I gravitated to my notice-me black and white star skirt, and finished off the look with star earrings of course, and a white cardigan and black tights to keep me warm.

Opaque tights do not actually do much to keep you warm in 11° temperatures.

Gold & Curls

What do you do when you're getting over a cold and already having trouble falling asleep at night? Wear curlers to bed, of course! That will ensure you don't get a lick of sleep!

That's what I did last night, and I have to say that, despite their disrupting my sleep, it's the first time I've thought curlers were not a complete failure. This time I tried Magic Leverag curlers, which I found new and unopened while cleaning out an ex-coworker's office. I liked the results (though not the terribly translated instructions), but the kit definitely did not provide enough curlers to cover my whole head, and they weren't really long enough. So if you're going to go this route, I advise you read this blog post comparing Magic Leverag to Curlformers—the product that apparently inspired them.

The outfit, however, is always the true focus of an Unfashion post, and today's comprises the following:

• A gold tunic top with matching belt (a much-appreciated gift from my mother that has gotten plenty of use over the years)
• A gold-ish statement necklace (which my coworker/photographer calls a Run-DMC necklace)
• You might not notice it, but tiny gold butterfly earrings which match the butterflies on the necklace!
• Black leggings (which coincidentally were the focus of an article today on Refinery 29, one of my most-read fashion sites. According to them, I succeeded in following the rules of wearing leggings in public. Phew.)
• Legwarmers (Because yeah, I still love them, even if the rest of the world doesn't)
• Tan shoes with gold-tipped bows. These shoes, I am proud to say, I stretched myself to fit much better, and they will be the focus of a post in the near future.

Here's to data loss

 

Yesterday, I wrote an insightful and wordy post about this outfit, but by today, in an unfortunate series of events, I permanently deleted the draft commentary in both places where it had been stored! 

Definitely not rewriting all that drivel, so here's the bare minimum you need to know about this look.

• The dress is new.
• The jacket is just one of many I promised to blog about in October. The other two I actually did are my corduroy blazer and my denim blazer.
• The shoes are recently thrifted, falling apart on the inside, and appear to have been trendy around 2008.

Bookish

If you were wondering how the blue altered boots held up, the answer is, not bad, not bad at all! I wore them yesterday and had no mishaps—I did not try them with pantyhose, but the staples did not cause any kind of harm to my legs. The only issue was midway through the day, I found a staple floating around my right foot. It could have fallen out, but I am more inclined to think it was lost while I was stapling the boots up in the first place.

This outfit is preppy at its preppiest (at least in my world), so I topped it all off with a high bun and a red "bowtie" necklace. The rhinestones are to add that element of fun that I have a hard time doing without.

A 10th-of-the-Year Ten List

Let's talk about last year.

At the beginning of last year, I unphilosophized about some trends I hated and some trends I loved from 2012. This year, I'll revisit my opinions and predictions and see what came true. Then I'll dispense some commentary on the fashion world of 2013.

My hi-low dress, or, rather,
the picture that made me buy it.

First of all, last year I expressed a loathing of leather. This year, I have acquired a black pleather jacket with fabric sleeves. It is totally trendy, probably won't be cool in another year, but I figured it was time to get a jacket that would fit the bill when I want to look bad (to the bone). Hi-Low skirts were another item on my  thumbs-down list, but I now have a dress with this style of skirt as well. It looked so pretty and flowing on the eBay photo, I couldn't resist! It was very cheap, being on the outs and all, so I figured it was worth a try. I haven't worn it yet. On the other hand, I'm still firmly opposed to spikes and dead animals.

I predicted pastels were on the rise. I haven't seen as much of them in the spring 2014 collections, but there are still enough to make me happy. Especially in the shoes! Rainbow hair is probably on a downturn, but I still have every intention of dyeing my hair some ridiculous rainbow of shades soon and very soon. High-waisted jeans are still going strong. I'm seeing a bit more fringe thanks to the Great Gatsby movie (as well as some lovely 20's hair accessories), but we need more! Sadly, top hats did not make a comeback in 2013.

What else did I notice in 2013?

1. Animal Faces (Yay!)

As I mentioned in a previous post, shirts with huge animal faces were big. I saw some of them in 2012 as well, but didn't really catch on to their prevalence until last year. This delightfully kitschy trend can't hang on forever, but I'm not ready to let it go just yet!

2. Mixed Prints (Cry)
Mixed prints, on the other hand, have had their time in the sun, and I am more than ready for the return of simplicity. I can't even look at mixed prints. Whenever faced with an outfit of such cacophonous design, my eyes just glide right over it, unseeing. I try to be open-minded about fashion, but these unbearably chaotic combinations are never going to work for me. Gaaah, I can't even put a picture of it here! Just search Google for this atrocity if you must look.

3. Pointy Toes (Cry)

Uh oh. Pointy-toed shoes are coming back in a big way, and my chagrin is immeasurable. Pointy toes can look good if they're not too elongated, but they still pinch, pinch, pinch! The last 3 new pairs of shoes I bought all had pointy toes. I had to buy them all a half to a size-and-a-half larger than normal, yet they still hurt my toes. I foresee a few years of corns and other delights coming our way.

4. Chunky soles (Yay!)

On the other hand, chunky soles (à la those of the remembered days of my late teens) seem to be experiencing a revival as well. Although I am happy to put the bubble-toed clown shoes of the same era behind me, I wouldn't mind seeing a little bit more in the way of gratuitous platforms. Flatforms (i.e. platform shoes with negligible heel rise) have also made a few appearances. Bring 'em on!

5. Weird cutouts (Cry)

Shoe shapes have become so bizarre with the cutouts,
that the last time I was shopping a shoe website,
I briefly mistook this piece of jewelry for a shoe.

This New Year's Eve, I saw a woman in a lovely dress with an empire waist and a columnar silhouette that looked like it came straight out of ancient Greece. I loved it. I wanted to have it. And then I noticed the hideous cutouts in the sides, and my infatuation was replaced by bitter disappointment. Cutouts seem to be inescapable this year.  Done right, they can be artful, but taking big arbitrary chunks out of clothing, for seemingly for no other purpose than to make it harder to wear in cold weather, is not.

6. Boots (Yay!)

Boots (as worn prominently, frequently over one's pants) have been popular for so long now that it almost didn't occur to me to mention them. But it's wise to never take a good thing for granted. I love boots, in all shapes and colors, and they can stay mainstream for as long as they want!

7. Lucite Heels (Yay!)

These also go by the much-less-appealing name of "clear plastic heels", but regardless of what you call them, the fact remains that they are awesome. I bought a pair of shoes in this style this summer, to a somewhat disastrous effect, but I will try again. I can't get enough of the see-through sole, and I have a feeling I'll continue to see through plenty them in 2014.

8. Over-the-knee socks and boots (Yay!)

A few years ago, I could wear knee socks and be considered mostly normal. Now, however, most of the people wearing socks are wearing them above the knee. I don't get much mileage out of this trend, because any skirt that's short enough to be worn with thigh-high socks is probably too short for work, but I love it anyway. I hope it stays in style long enough for me to snag some over-the-knee socks at heavily discounted prices and find ways to get away with it.

9. Oversized everything (Cry)

I think loose, boxy tops are the epitome of unflattering, especially to me, but I'm not fond of the look on anyone. And it's definitely popular. Meanwhile, below the belt, "boyfriend" (or straight-legged, roomy around the hips, slouchy) jeans are showing up everywhere. I could grow to love this comfy style of pants, but not paired with a baggy shirt as well! "Oversized" seems like the kind of trend that defines a whole decade, so I can't expect it to go away overnight, but I still can hope!

10. Crop Tops / Bralettes (Um)

Crop tops were big (er, small) this year. I didn't get to try them because I never found one in my price range, and besides, there are very few occasions where it would be appropriate for me to wear one, especially when you take fat days into account. I'm neither for nor against the crop top, but if it stays popular for another year, maybe this will be the year I get wear it.

Frozen Fairy Tale

Since this was the coldest day of the year (all 7 days of it, but also the coldest day in Maryland that I can ever remember), today's goal was simple: wear something nice that completely covered my skin.

A while back, I had gotten the notion that I really must wear this teal skirt soon, and black leggings seemed the perfect pairing to bring out its bright color. What to wear on top stymied me briefly, but finally I decided my black-and-white striped top would be a fun addition.

I was going to wear one of my many blue-green necklaces when my caviar-encrusted heart earrings started calling my name. I love those earrings, but they don't often complement my outfits well. Today they were perfect—a lovely color to go with the skirt, and just slightly playful, which I felt went along with the vibe introduced by the shirt. Since playful was getting to be the name of the game, I went for my unicorn necklace.

Originally I was going to wear the dramatic black boots pictured in Welcome / Back, but then it occurred to me that if I wore these black boots instead, I would be warmer (since they are fleece-lined), and I would be able to fold them over in the style of Puss in Boots, and thus inject a little fairy-tale aesthetic into my footwear—to make the unicorn feel more at home!

Modern Mod

 

A year after purchase, these off-white calf-high boots are still one of my favorite pairs of footwear (but I have about 10 favorites, so don't put too much stock in that!).

I love them because* we don't see nearly enough white in winter, thanks to an ages-old silly fashion rule declaring the color off-limits throughout the fall, winter, and most of the spring (Technically these boots are "winter white" and thus OK). I wear white in winter, and I love it. I could have worn black shoes with this beauteous purple dress, but that would have dragged the pretty and playful jewel-studded frock into a more somber realm, and I wanted something bright and spritely!

The silhouette and color of these boots always remind me of go-go boots from the 60's or 70's, and the shape of the dress reminds me of a more hippie-leaning aesthetic from around the same time period.

However, what brings the outfit into the modern era, and the thing I nearly forgot to mention in this post, is the socks! It's only been within the last few years that I've seen socks peeping over the tops of boots as an intentional element of an outfit. Here my purple socks (with unicorns, but unfortunately you don't get to see those this time) subtly bring the purple of the dress back into the whiteout below my knees.

*There is another reason I love them as well, and that is that they are not too big.

Arctic Ocean

Got some new shoes a few weeks ago (surprised, anyone?).

I was enamored of the color (robin's egg blue—in winter! Unheard of!), so even though it's not a very easy tone to match, I bought them. It doesn't hurt that they were only 7 dollars.

As always, when I have trouble finding things to wear with a particular color, I paired them with other articles in the same color but different shades.

Midnight blue velvet dress, ice blue beaded necklace, and done!

Portrait photography for this post by Suran De Silva.

Party's Over.

This is the first and last time I'll be wearing this dress, before I sell it away, so I thought I'd give it 5 minutes of fame.
It's one of those things that has been sitting in my closet for months, waiting for its moment to shine. See, I have this terrible compulsion to buy beautiful formal and cocktail dresses, but I never go to events where they are appropriate to wear. Consequently, I have a backlog of never-worn dresses just waiting patiently in my closet.

One Sunday in the recent past, I thought this dress would finally get its moment at a "wine party" put on by a couple of friends. Not being familiar with wine parties, I had high hopes that it would be a semi-formal occasion, but my boyfriend told me no, it would be casual gathering. And he was right. I wore jeans and booties and a somewhat elaborate black top with chains and fringe (why didn't I think to photograph that for my blog—oh, I remember! Because I had about 10 minutes to get ready), and I was the most dressed-up person there. But I digress.

After I failed once again to wear this relatively simple brown and pink dress, I decided enough was enough—It might be a strapless dress with gauzy fabric and a sweetheart neckline, but I was going to wear it at work anyway!

I covered up my shoulders and dressed it down as much as I could with a trusty old slouchy-looking shrug.

And now that that's over, I've had enough of it. It's just too hard to wear a party dress in a casual setting or at work, and I have plenty of other, more fun and colorful, dresses to wear for elegant occasions. So I'm selling it on eBay. Get it while it's hot!