Blue Collar, White Coat

Ann Taylor white fitted blazer (00P) // 

Thrifted Ann Taylor light blue button down blouse with tiny pinstripes (2P petite) //

Thrifted cobalt blue skirt // Payless white low heel pump //

Photography: self; tripod and remote

Long time no see! My summer research job with pediatric plastic surgery turned into a lot more than I bargained for, and that's a wonderful thing. So far in these past two weeks I have been in cleft palate clinic thrice, watched two surgeries, dug through stacks of literature, tinkered with new tech, and met some awesome kids (and adults, too). Every single day is a new adventure that I'm juiced for.

Working at a hospital and clinical research means no blue jeans or tshirts, so I have to find a way to dress for the baking humid commute and the chilly air conditioning. A button down and skirt are standard for me by now - simple to throw on and professional. A couple of weeks ago I went to a Goodwill near campus and was pleased to find a big variety of on-trend small pieces. Downside was a slightly higher price tag ($7 for a sundress) for a thrift shop but the never-before-worn or designer items made it worth it. This top was a welcome teeny Ann Taylor discovery in 2Petite that fits me well. It is of a thicker soft cotton material and has tiny vertical stripes for a whole $4. The cobalt blue skirt hits right above my knee and fits at the waist, also for $4. It has side slits but my coat covers it. The white blazer is going to simulate my white coat and the whole look reminds me slightly of flight attendant.

Off to late night life on the town and catching up with friends! Warm nights, firefly lights, maybe a sip and a munch in hand too. C'est la vie!

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DIY Inkblot Tee

DIY inkblot flowy top ($5 shirt from H&M) // DIY/Unionbay distressed denim shorts //

Thrifted dark green fitted boyfriend blazer // Thrifted J. Crew light blue strappy sandal heels (size 6; selling!)

Forever 21 double black triangle necklace //

Photography: JJ

WHAT DO YOU SEE? A quick post as I'm scrambling to fit everything into a suitcase. I'm headed to CHINA for 3 weeks, and as you know the Great Firewall doesn't like Blogger (personally I think it's a plot to keep all the kids from distraction but they find their ways - I'm looking at you, World of Warcraft gold miners). Hopefully I can get a VPN.

Wore this dressed-up casual outfit for exploring dowtown San Jose and some yummy Vietnamese dinner (6/10). I really enjoy the strong lapel on this forest green blazer, thrifted for only $4 at Thrift Town in San Francisco when I met up with Whitney and Mallory of WhitWatWear. It fits like a glove and looks especially flattering in the back, flared yet fitted. Thanks for a great time, girls! Speaking of these fun and giggly gals, they made a tutorial on how to make DIY inkblot tees! This was a super cool, unique, and fun project (see their video here) - you need a bit of soft fabric paint, posterboard, and a simple, preferably white, tee. So all in all this project only cost $8, materials and all :) Talk about awesome. And shhh don't tell but this entire outfit cost $25 including accessories.

So, what do you see in this inkblot? I see Frank the bulldog from Men in Black, JJ sees a scary clown, and I've gotten responses from "a fat tiger" to a crying woman. Let me know in a comment because faux psychoanalysis is fun.

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First Time Thrifting: Scholarshop

Location: Scholarshop in Clayton, 8211 Clayton Rd, St. Louis, MO 63117 (314-725-3456)

I've already lied to you in the title as I now recall that I've been thrifting a number of times in high school, but never with the intention of actually buying clothes and mostly just to look for cheap trash to tinker with at Goodwill or something for swordfighting. I remember getting a cute mini Hello Kitty backpack somewhere for $3 and that red knit beanie for 75 cents. Avalon Exchange barely counts as thrifting, since the Loop location is liable to jacked-up prices from tourism and college students. So this is my first intentional act of thrifting for fashion's sake. And boy was it long and memorable.

As most of you might remember your first time walking into a thrift store: like a Forever 21 filled with strange smelling, unique things gathered in about just as organized a fashion (my mind's already screaming with claustrophobia). Overwhelming. Well, the best way to view it is treasure hunting, as "one (wo)man's trash is another (wo)man's treasure." After a harrowing hour or so, I had it narrowed down to about 8 items for the fitting rooms.

The cool thing about Scholarshop is that all the profits go to fund scholarships for St. Louis kids. If there's anything I want to give back to this city that's housed me during these four years of college, it's a firm education future for the children. I don't just say this in a sappy first world problems sort of way ... there's a lot learned from doing community service for their families, the ones that can't even scrape together enough to pay for electricity and hot water, let alone dream of sending their six kids to college. So, you bring together shoppers with unquenchable thirsts for new thrift finds at affordable prices and voila, it's a start for helping.

What was I hunting for? Mint. Pastels. Clearly in the mind for spring, and mostly mint. I grabbed anything that looked pale-ish green or blue haha as you can see from the nice array hanging behind me in the fitting room. Clearly distracted by the beautiful dresses and gowns and heavily beaded numbers. Thrift stores are a great way to dive into a trend without spending much money at all - this mint blouse and I are MFEO and it was only $7!

Here's the quick breakdown of the Scholarshop experience: the customer service left me alone for the most part, which was nice since I snapped so many pictures (thanks!). The clothes were all in great shape and man were there a lot of racks. The hours aren't that long so they close promptly at 5 PM on Fridays, which is when I went with two of my friends, Alice and Jessi (thanks Alice for taking the photos of me!). The fitting rooms were spacious and the lines are pretty long sometimes towards closing time. Children's and men's sections didn't yield much to me upon first glance. And luckily quite the pick of small-sized pieces if you look hard :)

Would I come back? Definitely!

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