Wednesday, August 31, 2016

a lbd* that is a lbd** (no. 20 08 16 16)


one of my life's mysteries: why is it that every time i clean my closets i come down with a cold? why?

*little black dress ... obvious.

**little bit different ... not so obvious.

i am wearing a dress by motion (a local label) and the vitali boot (box collection) by trippen.

Monday, August 29, 2016

a lbd* that is a lbd** (no. 20 08 15 16)


i read somewhere that clothes are often reminders of events. this is certainly true for me ...  which is why i sometimes buy inexpensive "disposable" clothes to wear when i fear creating a negative association between an event and clothes. i don't want any of my beloved clothes to be tainted by the event. interestingly, for me, as much as clothes can remind me of events, events can also remind me of clothes ... even if the clothes themselves won't remind me of the events. this is particularly the case with pleasant events. for example, as i write this post, i am recalling an evening some years back when i returned home after a night class at uni. it was fall and i was living in my own apartment for the very first time. i don't remember what the class was, but i do remember walking through my front door, turning on the lights in entry hallway, hanging up my coat in one of two large closets located there, closing the closet door and just standing in the entry hallway absorbing the warmth of my apartment, the quiet of my apartment and the comfort of my apartment. i also remember thinking how lucky i was at that exact moment ... because i could do whatever i wanted to do: study or read for my class ... or not. i also remember what i was wearing: these wide legged cuffed corduroy trousers in a dark olive green colour, a ribbed woollen turtleneck sweater (remember poor boy sweaters), and black chunky (very chunky) brogue doc martens. i had a short (pixie) haircut. such a nice memory for me. come to think of it, that outfit accompanies many nice memories for me ... like the first time i ordered room service on my own and how that came about ... but that's another story.

*little black dress ... obvious.

**little bit different ... not so obvious.

i am wearing a dress by motion (a local label) and the vitali boot (box collection) by trippen.

Friday, August 26, 2016

making peace tunic



it never ceases to amaze me how a different pair of shoes transforms an outfit for me. here i am wearing my other go-to trippens this summer.

i am wearing the bora-bora top, the seville trousers and the hood jacket by kaliyana. my boots are the vitali boot (box collection) by trippen.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

something old is something new top



the skirt and n/s top i have already worn this summer. the l/s top i have also worn this summer ... with a lot of clothes ... but not with this skirt and n/s top. so something old can make something new.

i am wearing the oggi top, the giant pocket skirt and the wing top by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

everything is all white ... top, top and skirt



i wore the black version of this outfit (minus the cardi) near the beginning of summer. it was a lot cooler then.

i am wearing the meteor top, the pelican top and the amazing skirt by kaliyana. my cardi is by skif. i am wearing the service booties (x + os collection) by trippen.

Monday, August 22, 2016

not the plan top and skirt



my plan was to break into colour with this outfit. black with multi-coloured dots. it seemed like an appropriate transition from black. but as plans sometimes go, this plan didn't work out. instead of wading into the pool through the shallow end, i jumped headlong into the deep end. with that red dress that i wore a few days back. maybe i shocked myself ... enough to retreat ... but not all the way.

i am wearing the honolulu dress, the amazing skirt and the maggio top by kaliyana. my shoes are the vitali shoe (box collection) by trippen.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

cue the song dress


one of my work colleagues says that, whenever she sees me wearing red, she is inspired to break into song ... with a very particular tune. i tell her that if wants to sing, and even that particular tune, i won't mind at all.

i am wearing the diamond dress by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

surprising change in dress


it was about a year ago that i used to meet up with a "familiar stranger" every saturday morning. i was always on my way to yoga practice and he was always on his way to work (a hair salon). we didn't interact, except on that one day when i appeared dressed "not in black" and he remarked on it. soon after that one interaction, the hair salon where he worked moved. since that time, we haven't seen each other. until the day this summer when i first brought out my whites. oddly, it was a saturday and i was on my way to yoga practice. i don't know where he was going. it wasn't our "usual place" to meet up. but meet up we did. and my not wearing black had the same effect on him this summer as it did last summer. funny that.

i am wearing the manifold dress, the pelican top and the balloon pant by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

still like 'em trousers



so many pairs of trippens sit in my wardrobe. some purchased recently and some purchased a while ago. some i have worn and some i have yet to wear. despite the selection available to me, i have latched on to this pair. a pair that haven't (until now) seen much wear. so typical of me. with a few exceptions, my kaliyana wardrobe this season is made up pieces purchased in years past. so the shoes are what is changing things up this summer, defining this season and setting it apart from summers past.

i am wearing the mykonos top, the cool pant and the maggio top by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

just waiting dress



it isn't often -- in fact, i can't remember the last time that this happened -- that i am ready and eager to shop for autumn/winter clothing when the mercury is so high! the problem is my friendly retailers (i am talking the bricks-and-mortar ones) aren't with me (which is just as unusual as my wanting to shop for autumn/winter clothing right now). so i wait. what choice do i have?

i am wearing the corfu dress, the shuksan top and the amazing skirt by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

self taught trousers



sometimes i wish that i had been taught certain things instead of having to have learned them on my own. by trial and error. are lessons that one learns on one's own more enduring?

i am wearing the oggi top, the seville pant and the wing top by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

shopping day dress



i wore this on a recent shopping trip. i returned home empty handed. i guess new clothes (what i had gone shopping for) are not in the cards ... yet.

i am wearing the sundress and the hood jacket by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Monday, August 8, 2016

simple dressing dress



when i want simple, no fuss dressing, i reach for a dress. in black. easy p-easy.

i am wearing the edi dress and the wing top by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

mostly this top



i passed most of the day wearing the sleeveless top. but in a few indoor places that were overly air-conditioned, i had to swap out the sleeveless top for the long sleeve cotton jersey top. i was happy in either.

i am wearing the pelican top, the wing top, the manifold dress and the balloon pant by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Friday, August 5, 2016

enduring diamond dress



i feel like the shoes that i have been wearing lately make for a bit of a geeky look ... which i am loving.

i am wearing the diamond dress and the shuksan top by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

transitioning black top and skirt



it is somewhat strange to me that the transition from a fairly long period of rundholz dressing to wearing my kaliyana clothes again was marked by a non-black outfit (although it wasn't too far from a black outfit, being "ink-y" and all). why? because moving from one label to another is much easier for me if i make the move while keeping something constant ... like a love of black.

i am wearing the oggi top, the giant pocket skirt and the shuksan top by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.

Monday, August 1, 2016

the "what goes up" top with the "must go down" skirt


i actually did not think that the day would come this summer when i would hit the pause button on the rundholz dressing and give my kaliyana clothes an opportunity to come out of the closet. i guess they were making enough noise in there that i just couldn't ignore them any longer. (same goes for my beloved trippens.)

i am wearing the bubble top and bubble skirt by kaliyana. my shoes are the cosmos shoe (closed collection) by trippen.