uniformation

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again, i think i last wore some of these things back in 2008. the top's a $5 gem from one of those shopping trips with the guru. the shop's no longer there.

 

back then, i wore the dress with grey leggings and heeled oxfords, with a cool cardi that no longer fit me now. three years on, the guts for experimentation seemed to have disintegrated and passed out my system.

narrow

i always feel that my shoulders are too narrow.

so i always feel like a rugby player when i wear clothes like this one. 

not that the top's made too wide, of course. i'm sure it'll sit slightly differently on someone with the 'best' proportions? i think i'm a bit lopsided so the 'flap' is drooping over one shoulder.

but honestly i'm quite thankful that my proportions aren't too bad. i mean, sure, if i get to change how i look, you bet i can list down a fair bit of things i want changed. 

this is one of the tops that the guru said i should try. it can be worn with the 'sleeves' ruched up by two straps sewn at the top of them. i just tucked them inside the top since i didn't want to use them. it's kinda weird. cos the straps would peek out under the armholes sometimes. i could tie them to my bra straps but i suspect something's still gonna peek out... maybe from the neckline.

what should i do about the straps?  

b.i.b

 

it's been a while. i usually would've cut a tapered silhouette for the bottom half but i figured i should try something different. i was also inspired by a colleague whose style i dig alot. the skirt has to be short enough, flare enough; so i think this worked. i need a haircut again. 

心头石

did some real shopping today. splurged on a well made skirt by tilly and scored a pair of old-school rust belted trousers and a top that i wouldn't usually have considered wearing.

wearing an oversized men's polo shirt from american apparel. the look of rolled sleeves used to be a style i did back in my school days. i can't recall if it's cos i was inspired by the seniors (there's a wild or rebel vibe to it) or it's a case of me having bought the school uniform a size too large.  

the weather gave me the courage to revisit shorts. but it's my first time doing 'fussy' dressy ones. i was so conscious about my orange peel.

eh sai boh?

corollary

this is a less dressy cheongsam i own. people can argue it doesn't even look like one. like the one i showed you earlier, it's not in the usual 'pattern'. i'd love to own a longer and dark one with cap sleeves. a colleague has been wearing cheongsams these past two days (fact, i've been seeing more ladies wear them and they didn't look obiang but really nice). she got one from metro at $36 only. the one she wore today's a tad short. or maybe it's cos she has a nice figure so the dress further enhanced her sexiness. but to be very honest, i don't think i'd have picked out those designs. i think it's the appearance of the fabric... more specifically it could be the piping and frog buttons. perhaps this is why the ones i have are collarless and not too fussy.

oh, i think i know why her dress is short. there's no slit. the slit is one of the cheongsam's features that gives off the sexy vibe. a malay colleague asked if i was wearing a cheongsam. i had on a blue outerwear over the mint one over the dress (cos i caught a cold again). i asked how she could tell. it's the slit. i think the other cheongsam has a centre slit in the back.

anyway, as you can see, my shoulders are too narrow. or i have wide hips? i believe it was the guru who suggested that i wear a belt over the mint green throw (given me by her). i didn't wear the green bbag. i switched to the new celine.

much more better

decided to go crazyyy with colours today. i've done it before but there's the purple jeans this time. dunno what got into me, ha ha.i had in my head to wear a mustard top but i couldn't think of the shoes to go with the outfit. plus, it's still nippy, so it's sockit time.

and if not for the sudden courage, i won't have found out that the left shoe's coming apart. damnnn. 

agree to disagree

first outfit post for the year. how often did your garments get rotated? if my documentation was correct, i last wore the dress in apr 2010. tell me i wasn't the worst? 

i guess one reason was that it's very casual. and i seemed to be stuck wearing it this way. belting over an outerwear's a new thing, though. it's been really cold and wet these two days. i'd wanted to wear leggings. just as well, cos i got quite drenched on the bottom half. i just wanted to hug my legs to my chest while at work. how does one dress for wet weather?  

i thought i might've found the perfect pair of frames that'd make me look geeky yet great, like these girls. but i think it's a futile effort. and i've been wearing eyeshadow and mascara! i could take some pictures to show you. you'd probably not see my eyes no matter what i put on my lids.  

云想衣裳花想容

i felt i wore the wrong shoes only upon reaching the office. i'd thought to wear the pink shoes but i just went for these instead. anyway, they ought to be retired ages ago. they're one size smaller. but it's such a shame cos they're still very sturdy. one of the few pairs that i've had for so long w/o the rubber soles disintegrating. i'm just such a hopeless hoarder, lah. this issue brought to mind what this blogger's said about consumerism. i identify with her on this point and do always struggle with my inability to stop buying more clothes and shoes and bags. i'd always wonder at the sheer magnitude of how humans burden our planet. and i'm not helping but adding my contribution to suffocating it with my lunch takeaways alone. i'd imagine the number of styrofoam  containers and plastic cutlery and disposable chopsticks discarded by one building's worth of people. then multiply that by buildings on one section of the street. so on, and so forth. the only consumer products i don't choke earth with are electronic gadgets (i've bought some vintage cameras, though. the only credit i can claim is that i'm using existing things and not new ones). 

still on the blogger's philo. i'd like to agree with her on investing in quality clothes and shoes and bags which actually help to save money and the planet. but i'm not convinced of the quality of some expensive things. so i refuse to pay too much for certain things, especially clothes and shoes. as for bags, i went down the slippery slope of buying branded ones. i don't regret the purchases but i also think that the money spent could have been spent on other... stuff, such as trips to unfamiliar places, etc. i do feel that i'd gone overboard with the baals and should really detox my collection to a mere couple which i can use to death. but. i'm not sure i wanna sell them cheap. i don't think i can fetch more than 1/3 of the price i paid for them. i could pass them on to my ma/sil/niece. or maybe i really have a deeper problem that's to do with my psyche, going by my tendency to hoard. even if i do end up letting them go, i suspect that i'd be back to acquiring things again... i do admire the blogger's self-discipline and would like to emulate it. to my own defence, when i buy clothes, i do try to think long-term. in fact, believe it or not, i never wore many dresses until the recent years. i'm still in the experimentation stage, so  in this sense, it's my way of building the perfect wardrobe. for example, this dress above was something i'd usually not grow guts to wear. it's still not really me but i think i kinda licked it this time. i don't do long sleeves well but wearing it unbelted seems to 'proportionalise'  the entire look.

i actually just blogged about a wardrobe review. but i'll need feedback. do you agree that the dress suits me fine? i must confess that i do still like and wish i could keep some of the clothes in my shop. these include some of those that i've managed to sell. maybe you wonder why i'd still be building a wardrobe at this ripe age. well, there's a valid reason behind it. i'd only begun to be able to afford more things during these past 3 years. i figured that it's time to reward myself after the sacrifices i've made (due to bad choices). and i've since paid for the consequences.  

how do i end this self-talk? ha ha. i hope i can report some improvements the next time i broach on the subject.  

difference maker

 

 

 

i'm still under the weather. it sucks to be sick.
the top's my second non-vintage purchase from a local online shop aka blogshop. i'd bought two tops but i returned one because the quality's really not good for the price they charged.
i got the neckies in two colours. that's how crazy i could get when i was set on something. i don't know where the beige one is right now. 
oh yes, i passed last sem's exam, PTL.
again, my heart/mind's in a flummoxed state. the anxiety's not as pronounced as last year's. maybe the magnitude of the difficulty hasn't hit me yet. maybe my trust in Him has finally increased.

don't you be asking me why

the cocoon top is the upper half of this pair of bottoms. i dunno why i had to buy the whole set. i just couldn't walk away with just one and not the other. they kinda looked like pee jays, haha. the guru advised against getting both (or it's either one) and i actually disobeyed! i think i was in the mood to try those printed suit sets reminiscent of 60s/70s/80s/90s (delete where applicable) ever since i saw bryanboy at a luisaviaroma event. yes, TACKY TACKY according to drollgirl. well, agreed. lol.    

factory by eric hart

unfortunately, i think i'm still not giving up on experimenting the look. you don't think the above jacket/dress set looks good? it must be worn in a set to look SO good. 

i'll let you laugh at me when i finally try out the set. the bottoms are really comfy they're quite suitable just staying in the bedroom. the top slides off the shoulders quite easily so it can be a hassle to wear. 

any day now

i've been sick. haven't been sick like this for a while. i've always prided myself for being able to resist bugs better than people who exercised regularly. time to land, lame ego. 

got myself a pair of reading glasses - finally. they'd help only when i wear contact lens and when i work in front of the computer. ideally, i should just wear my goggles. if only i look nice in goggles. oh, i saw some funky goggles at uncle tony's shop! they look almost exactly like swimming goggles, just that the rubber parts are in stark black.   

same neckie but worn more to one side. all wrapped up cos it's been nippy. it's strange that i never thought to wear scarves. i have a few but just never got the guts to wear them out.

is this getup a bit... too obvious? i didn't think so but i had to be careful with my eyewear choice. i almost discarded the skirt. i think it was from hong kong countless years back. i always had a thing for fuller skirts but they somehow just looked off on me. since my style has evolved over such a long time, it seemed to look all right now... i hope? i personally quite liked this outfit. when some old garment still worked well twenty years into the future, i couldn't help but thank myself for being a hoarder (such lameness again, lol). what's interesting about the skirt is the 'sporty' band at the waist. the top's one of my recent foray into things cutesy.  

with the year coming to an end real soon, i thought a review on my personal style was timely. i mean, i've been talking about it intermittently, actually. but it's just happening at a slower rate than the rate at which i acquired more clothes, or rather, that rate at which i detoxed my wardrobe? lol. i shall save this discussion for another day.

 

but for now, if you could humour me, do let me know if certain looks i wore were better left unexplored, ok? :)

every little thing

gotta say i liked wiw here. the top almost never came home with me. i did eye it for a wee as i scanned the rack. then the guru picked it out and insisted i try it on. of course it had to be mine. did you know that save for the inner top and bag and socks, all other items i wore were bought during my shopping trips with her?

and i finally wore one of the many pairs of socks i bought from tokyo since feb this year. i needed something navy and i felt i couldn't wear these shoes plain with these pants.

nit-picks

am super in love with these looks by zara. some remind me of marc jacobs - not as girlie but just right. have i told you how much i like skirts? and how i wish i could rock the shorts like the model. dare i dare to try thigh-high socks with shorts? i kinda regret not getting the crazy vibrant long socks by vivienne westwood while i was in tokyo. they're expensive and they might end up with the same fate as the rest of those that came home with me. 

sometime last week i tried to wear socks with shoes. i couldn't get past myself. i should've worn the socks anyway, cos the shoes hurt in some places. i wore pants, though. so the socks won't have been too obvious.

by the time i gather enuf guts to wear them outside of the house, i'd be qualified anyway. grannies are socks.  

迷你

i'm currently in this phase.

i'd wanted to try french manicure but i couldn't find those nail stencils. a colleague said she'd pass me some. she said they didn't work for her. i betcha they won't work for me, then. i'm an utter disaster around such girlie things. i tried to do the tips on a larger surface area (such as my big toe nail) and i ended up painting half the nail. yes, please go ahead and laugh at me. 

stiljkind

my digits look something like the above now -- except they're just the length of the darker nail colour. my nail colour's a bronzey shade. i have a picture of my painted digits but i shall spare you. or deny you of another chance to laugh at me. 

photographed from Oct's L'Official Singapore

which combination do you like? i like the fucshia/red.

beetlejuice