Summer Festival Style: Floppy Hat + Velvet Fringe Skirt

Thrifted cream mesh sheer zebra stripe top // H&M burgundy felt floppy sunhat //

Black velvet maxi skirt with fringe (gift) // Target black suede booties //

Forever 21 gold spike bracelet, H&M wood and gold bracelets //

Revlon lip butter in Lollipop // Delia's mint green nail polish //

Photography: self; tripod and remote

What I actually wore to ComFest 2013: Columbus's summer city festival is known for the food, endless tents of vendors, and an amusing lack of dress code (aka topless women). I opted for a more covered-up Coachella-vibe with my trusty felt sunhat, festival fringe on my velvet skirt that my Grandma gave to me a long time ago, and thrifted $1 top with a sheer white zebra stripe pattern (from Volunteers of America). Since the top was a little oversized, I bunched into a tie knot for a more fitted and cropped look. The skirt also has a embellished Greek pottery design that is semi sheer. The fringe got tangled in leaves and my sandals, so it was a better idea to switch to my trusty heeled booties.

The weather's been bipolar sunny-rainstorm for the past week here, so this outfit was too hot when the sun was out but just right in the rain. I roamed around the park and checked out some cool local jewelry and art and snacked on a chocolate Ho-Ho cupcake. Afterwards, our group stopped by Jeni's for some gourmet ice cream action and had udon and pork katsu. Off to trivia night before a half week of work and 4th of July celebrations!

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From Glam to Gym | Neon + Sheer Maxi

Glam:

H&M neon cropped racerback tee // Pitaya sheer black pleated maxi // Forever 21 biker shorts (underneath) //

Black stone and gold cobra necklace (c/o CLAWS Jewelry) // Fioni by Payless strappy cage heels //

Island Girl neon yellow nail polish in Aloha Girl // 
BCBGeneration metallic foldover clutch (from StylishPetite)

Gym:

H&M neon cropped racerback tee // Forever 21 biker shorts (underneath) //

Nike Free Run neon running shoes //

Photography: Cassandra Morecroft King

Ello, ello! Sipping coffee and writing to you from aboard the train from San Diego to LA to hang out with Jeffrey and his fam over the weekend. I've picked a seat facing the back of the train unfortunately, so it's semi-trippy to be zipping backwards in a stationary seat for a few hours ... like traveling in some kind of cinematic space-time machine. Okay, so marathoning Big Bang Theory has rubbed off on my imagination - make a show about glorified geeks and I'm hooked (my people!). Trying to edit while your screen is doing The Wobble is harder than you think. I hope you all have wonderful New Year's Eves whether curled up at home to watch the glass ball drop or out all night living up the final glam moments of 2012.

This was a really old set from August (8/14) towards the beginning of med school, but I figure the SoCal temperate winter justifies a better-late-than-never post about how to multi-task your outfits for your busy days. In my case, I had morning class and wanted to hit the gym after without having to go home to change. Start off with your basic biker shorts and racerback tee and layer on a sheer maxi and heels to glam it up. The only thing to throw into a drawstring is sneakers, socks, sports bra. Thanks Cassandra for playing photographer!

P.S. I know this is dinosaur-age news, by now, but check out my new profile on Instagram! The layout is so pretty in design - I'm impressed and the top banner is dynamic, changing every few seconds to feature another one of your pictures. If you use IG, you have one automatically too.

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Maxi to Hi-Lo Hem

H&M lace chest sweater dress (S) // Pitaya/Solemio sheer pleated maxi skirt (S) (tucked in as a hi-lo hem skirt) //

From Taiwan opaque teal tights (M/L) // Pitaya yellow patent skinny belt (S) //

Fioni for Payless zip up black cutout booties (5) //

Photography: JJ

BUSINESS IN THE BACK, PARTY IN THE FRONT. Hi-lo hem, fishtail skirts, mullet skirts - there's a different name every week for this style of skirt. What makes sense to me is the fact that it's high in the front like a mini/knee-lengther and long in the back like a maxi. It shows off your legs, shows, and you get a big tail trailing behind you when you strut. While I've been hunting high and low for these all season, I decided to faux it by tucking in the front of my sheer maxi skirt into the waistband and secured with a bright yellow skinny belt. It's not exactly the same thing, but it's more like a really long tulip hem and shows a bit of leg (which I dutifully covered with bright tights to vibe up the black-black block). This also made it slightly easier for shorty me to walk without tripping.

JJ helped me snap these shots in the walk of naked gingko trees quickly after a delicious carvery wrap lunch at Holmes Lounge (1/27). Their house sauce plus a tad of spicy barbeque makes my mouth water just at the sound of it (like right now ... man I feel like one of Pavlov's dogs). It was freezing, so campus bystanders onlooked quizzically while I threw off my coat and pranced around for a few minutes trying to look as un-cold as possible. This weekend consisted of hanging out, attending the best ever Lunar New Year Festival performance, eating dim sum, pho, bubble tea, and Asian supermarket shopping. Somewhere in the fun, there's work to be done. One is as a poet, in the mood before you know it. (Ima dork, forgive me)

By the way, I announced the winner of the Poshlocket giveaway in the original widget. Congrats! Don't worry there's another giveaway for you lovely readers tomorrow!

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I See Right Through You

Pitaya sheer pleated maxi skirt (S) // Pitaya cutout sweetheart dress (S) (worn as top) //

Fioni for Payless cutout zip up heels (5) // Calypso necklace (c/o Jewelmint) // Claires chain ear cuff //

Urban Outfitters double face watch // BCBG silver metallic foldover clutch (c/o ReallyPetite) //
Aldo snake coil ring (5) // H&M black red trim blazer (Euro 4) //
Makeup: Wet n Wild Vanity E/S Palette, Stila eyeliner, Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer

Photography: JJ

JUST DANCE, GONNA BE OKAY. This was my outfit for St. Louis Fashion Week @ Macy's (10/12). I aimed for a classic yet interesting look - sheer pleated maxi worn over a cutout bodycon, accessories silver and snazzy. The sheer and long silhouette made me want to dance and sway and I'm happy to say I got a lot of looks during the party and show. Threw on a blazer for the sake of modesty and staying warm. The dress works as a great miniskirt kind of slip too.

Jewelmint recently contacted me and had me choose two pieces from their collection to try out. I'm wearing the Calypso necklace here - it's really pretty and has three stones that match pretty much anything. I like the shape and length too. A more thorough review coming up soon (I also got the Astoria necklace).

Notes: Yes, I look slightly possessed in the first photo. I had a Photoshop adventure removing plugs and a big black light cable out. CS5's content aware removal is pretty good but not perfect, so a lot of it turned out to be manual clone stamping. Not much else to add, other than I have so much to post about Fashion Week and so little time. This week is exceptionally busy, with multiple exams, papers, prepping for a med school interview, adoption season. When will there be a breather? Notice: stress levels and amount of blogging have a strong positive correlation. Bee tea dubs: You NEED to go see Monet's Water Lilies. It was the highlight of my Fall Break! I was lost in the colours and got super emotional when I saw Agapanthus. Yeah, world's biggest dork award goes to me.

Readers - how do you wear sheer pieces?

Rising in the Far East

Rhapsody red puff shoulder jacket (M) // Pitaya sheer pleated maxi skirt (S) // H&M mid length skirt (Euro 4, worn inside) // H&M yellow lace cami (Euro 4) //

Xhilaration yellow strappy wedges (5.5) // BCBG Generation metallic foldover clutch // Forever 21 turquoise beaded necklace //

Photography: JJ

Happy belated Earth Day and Happy Easter! This week has been kind of crazy. Aside from my H&M ordeal, a series of tornadoes have raked through our airport and dealt some damage. I was so tired from this ghastly week that I slept through all 4 sirens. I can't believe there's only 2 weeks left of school altogether. Another year of college gone, another step closer to graduation ... Lordy. I've been inspired to take Immunology for a variety of reasons in the fall, but I'm excited to finally learn and start wondering about all the things I should have been chewing on slowly for the past decade. Has it really been a decade? Oh how time flies and yet it crawls. This semester has been exhausting - I won't miss the daily hassle but once this ends the application train will be soon arriving. Am I ready? I better be. 

Today, I wore this outfit to watch a seriously impressive showdown of talent. Never have I heard such angelic crooning out of so many usually timid people. I felt monstrously tall in these wedges, with the maxi dress hiding my legs (my boyfriend is taller than me, so these photos stunt the great length a bit) and the poofy sleeves on the jacket making me larger than life. We also watched 28 Days Later last night and it made me think about a lot of things, about morality, about justice and karma, about how zombies are exactly like vampires and could do with a 15 minute flash during their early subjective night. Oh Clocks, how I won't (and kind of will) miss you. Is it time to be a senior slacker yet? I wish.

I stuck a piece of red-markered pink construction paper on the clutch that Annie gifted me through a giveaway and voila, a Japanese flag. There are things I don't agree with historically but when it comes down to it, it's the little people that have to bear all the suffering. No one deserves to suffer. My heart goes out to the people for a speedy recovery. May the sun rise again in the East.

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French Toast

 

F21 French Toast t-shirt (S) // F21 bow ruffle skirt (S) //

F21 studded beret // Xhilaration for Target Sparkly Dorothy flats (children's 3)

Photographer: My boyfriend

Hello lovelies! This week has been crazy with classes approaching midterms, living and breathing lab work, and dance auditions for my university's Lunar New Year Festival. Though I'm still flailing about like some sightless, unwieldy banshee, I see improvement from last year. Blogging and posing for a camera has increased my awareness of my body somewhat and I feel a little more feminine and confident. Oh how I envy people who did ballet since they could walk, people who are so naturally cool and hip-hop, as I try to move my arms and legs in the mirror in some coordinated fashion.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to shoot a backlog of outfits that I had worn but not found the time to set up camera between classes and work and the minimal sunlight entering the colder season. This is one of my favourite shirts because it's super soft and cheap since F21 has raised their prices ($8.80 USD). It features a kawaii toast wearing a beret and super pink blush, with a curly mustache made of felt! Hehe it attracts lint and all sorts of fuzzies but it's still fun. I unintentionally became a doppelganger for this little fellow by wearing my beret, favourite Parisian skirt, and matte pink blush to boot. My trusty Dorothy flats jazz up all the black and grey. Am I the only one who is amused by sparkly stuff especially under street lights at night? It glitters like crazy and I'm constantly staring at my feet in distraction. Either way, welcome to the third installment of The Battle of the Print Tees! Tuck your favourite print tee into a high-waisted skirt and add spark to your outfit with a cool hat. I am hoping to compile all these outfits when I reach 10 or so into a big post on how-to style a simple tshirt.

Have a great weekend! I watched Robin Hood: Men in Tights and had many a great laugh with friends last night. The next few days are jam-packed with auditions, writing manuscripts, studying brains brains brains, and attending an anatomy lab. I have a few outfits to shoot too - thank goodness for fashion to propel me through this madness. Meanwhile I've also started hitting the gym and eating healthier (I have a strange newfound attraction to beets) to slim down my figure in preparation for Winter Break in Taiwan - girls are so tiny there, I'm afraid I'll be too big to fit into some of their clothes D: That's a problem we never encounter in the States, eh? Thanksgiving break is also approaching and I'm so xcited to go home and see my family and enjoy some beautiful SoCal sunshine in less than a month!