The end of the summer

The end of August always signals the end of the summer for me. It’s going to be pretty hot and humid in Toronto for the next few days, but that’s okay, because it’s summer’s last gasp and cooler temperatures will come soon enough. And along with that, the complaining about the cold.

With the end of the summer comes the end of 30 for 30:

#33: Anthro Winged Victory Top (Odille) | Anthro Anadyomene Cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Jacob pencil skirt | Tory Burch Reva flats

I wanted to squeeze as much as possible out of my summer wardrobe (because let’s face it, summer is way too short), but I have to admit I got bored of the 30 pieces after I passed the 30^th outfit. Oh well, this is still 10% more outfits than originally required.

I also had the chance to try out this hair again, and I’m definitely more pleased with it this time around. Practice makes perfect.

I’m passing on the latest two days of the 21 Day Challenge in favour of finishing up 30 for 30. But it’s also because I don’t have anything left in my repair pile (been good about that lately), and honestly, I don’t own anything very menswear-inspired. I never thought of myself as an over-the-top girly girl, but apparently I am (no blazers, no button-down shirts, no pinstripes, no suspenders, no pants…). I’ll definitely be posting tomorrow with my take on statement jewellery.

awkward & awesome Thursday: put down that ice cream

Awkward:

• Being lactose-intolerant and loving ice cream.
• Pulling my groin slightly at the gym.
• Overdoing it at the gym (I finally started using the gym in my building, 5 months after moving in – three floors up and I couldn’t be bothered before – but my tendency is to overdo it when I start again).
• Feeling fat.
• Being conflicted about the end of summer – I’m really looking forward to the cooler weather, but I don’t want to give up my summer clothes yet.
• Having the hem of this dress fall down on me. I can fix it myself, but it’s still a pain.

#32: Anthropologie Reflecting Pool Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Club Monaco cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Puma ballet flats

Awesome:

• Having ice cream on a mid-afternoon break.
• Still going with my 30 for 30 selection of clothes (I’ll stop at the end of September).
• Going to the gym again – so I feel fat, I can’t just sit on the couch and feel sorry for myself, I gotta do something about it.
• Owning a mandolin – it’s opened up a whole world of slicing possibilities for me!
• Eating more vegetables.
• Making sure my list has parallel structure – there, I’ve just revealed myself to be a grammar nerd.
• Being a grammar nerd!

just keep swimming

Quick post here­.  I got back from NYC really late on Sunday night (Monday morning, really), and it’s been crazy busy at work since, but I do want to post some pictures and relive my culinary adventures soon.  In the meantime, here’s another 30 for 30 outfit (I said I was going to keep going, so I am):

#31: Jacob sleeveless top | Anthro Anadyomene Cardigan (Rosie Neira) | Anthro Circle the Globe skirt (Edme & Esyllte) | Anthro necklace | Bos & Co heels

Unexpected colour combinations

#30: Anthropologie Winged Victory Top (Odille) | Anthro Bette Cardigan (Sparrow) | Jacob pencil skirt | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

My coworker Vesselina told me today that she loves my “unexpected” colour combinations, and that I’ve inspired her to experiment more with colour.  I think this is the best compliment I’ve ever received.  If I don’t watch it, my head is going to swell to gargantuan proportions!

The Winged Victory Top came with a yellow-green silk sash, but the minute I got it I started thinking of swapping out the sash for other colours to create more colour combinations.  I bought two yards of teal ribbon from Mokuba on West Queen St West in Toronto to go with my orange cardi, and I definitely want to go back to get some more colours.

So this makes 30 outfits, but you know what, I’m not done yet. There are still more outfits left, so I’m going to keep going until summer is over or until I’m completely tapped out, whichever comes first.

make it easy, it’s not as heavy as it seems

I never intended to be a sporadic blogger, but that seems to be the way it is these days.  I work (some days longer than others), I come home, I stare at the TV in a stupor, and I go to sleep (or in my case this week, I sleep badly).  I don’t seem to have the mental capacity for writing anything coherent lately, but I want to be able to balance work with my outside interests (blogging being one of them), and I want to feel somewhat creative again.

As usual, I’m probably making things harder for myself than they have to be.  But I’m truly my mother’s daughter, I don’t know if I’d know what to do with myself if everything was just fine.  (Working on that.)

Also, one day I will finish my summer 30 for 30.

#29: Anthro Pesisir Top (Fei) | J.Crew cardigan | Club Monaco skirt | Bos & Co. heels

I bought this top thinking I would only wear it with a pencil skirt.  But in the spirit of 30 for 30, I threw it on with this A-line skirt, and hey, I think it works.  Now, if I could only take off my summer gelato weight, I’d actually be able to breathe in it.

summer vs winter

It’s a contentious issue, almost at Rabbit or Duck level.  I advocate for winter over summer when I have this conversation with friends, but personally I’m conflicted.  I love summer dresses.  I love soaking up the sunshine on my balcony.  I love open-toed shoes, pedicures, and even shaving my legs.  But then it gets to 50 degrees (118F) with the humidex and I have to dress in business casual for a management-level training session, and I swing right back in favour of winter.  I’d take snow, slush, and ice any day over that.

#28: Jacob sleeveless top | Jacob pencil skirt | Anthro Beribboned Buds Cardi (Tabitha) | Mimi & Marge necklace | Bos & Co heels

I didn’t look that great, and I definitely wasn’t happy. 

i i e e e

I’ve been at my job just over two months now, and now it’s getting serious.  I wondered when that would happen.  I’ve had an easy ride up until now, but now it’s longer hours and working all weekend to get something for the VP done.  It’s crazy and I feel like I don’t have a moment to breathe, but you know what, I still love it.

#27: Anthro Climbing Cowlneck (Bordeaux) | Anthro necklace | Club Monaco skirt | Rockport wedges

It also means I come home and I don’t want to cook, so it’s ice cream and a Skor bar for dinner.  But is that really so bad?

Haven’t given up

This is the third time I’m doing 30 for 30, and I’ve noticed a distinct pattern: I’m really enthusiastic about it at first, then somewhere in the middle my interest starts to wane.  I don’t think it’s really the case this time, because I love the pieces I picked this time.  I’ve just been negligent in posting the outfits, I’ve only put up two (here and here) in the past two weeks.  All this to explain why this will be a very long catch-up post – 9 outfits! – of what I’ve worn since July 1.

#18: Anthro Verdant Slip Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | J.Crew cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I adore this dress, but have to say, not loving the purple cardigan with it, despite there being some purple in the dress.

#19: Anthro Diamond Lattice Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Anthro Anadyomene Cardi (Rosie Neira) | Anthro Backbone Belt | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

The belt makes this dress reaaallly short.  Wouldn’t be appropriate for most workplaces, just makes it for mine.

#20: Anthro Reflecting Pool Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | J.Crew Featherweight cashmere cardigan in Dried Blossom | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I’m really loving slip dresses for summer…

#21: Anthro Winged Victory Top (Odille) | Gap cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace Jacob pencil skirt | Tory Burch Reva flats

This is about as all-black as I get in the summer.  I needed to be a bit more “professional” and “conservative” that day, this is about as conservative as I like to get.

#22: Jacob sleeveless top | Club Monaco skirt | Mimi & Marge necklace | Bos & Co heels

I normally don’t go sleeveless, but it’s getting hot.  I really despise temperatures anywhere over 25C (77F), and  it’s going to be 40C+ (100F+) all week with ridiculous humidity.  I’m going to be hibernating indoors in the a/c.  With a cardigan.

#23: Anthro Verdant Slip Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Anthro Bette cardigan (Sparrow) | Hilary Druxman necklace | Puma flats

I like this better, I think the orange is a better colour with this dress.

#24: Jacob sleeveless top | Anthro Bette Cardigan (Sparrow) | Antho Oolite necklace | Anthro Circle the Globe Skirt (Edme & Esyllte) | Feet First wedges

I’ve been all about dresses this summer, but I’d forgotten how much I love this skirt.  It’s the perfect shade of teal for me, and I love it paired with orange.

#25: Anthro Marine Mural Dress (Nathalie Lété) | Anthro Beribboned Buds Cardi (Tabitha) | Tory Burch Reva flats

I’m trying to get as much wear out of this dress as possible this summer.  I think the cardigan may be a bit too long though. 

#26: Anthro Height of Summer Dress (Maeve) | Anthro Anadyomene cardigan (Rosie Neira) | Puma flats

Too monochromatic? 

Phew, that was long, but I’m all caught up and ready to finish 30 for 30 this week.  Or maybe go beyond? I still have ideas.

awkward and awesome Thursday: before and after

I don’t like to take a lot of time in the morning to get ready (I’d rather sleep as long as I can), but let’s face it, looking put together and polished (which is how I hope I look when I leave the house for work) doesn’t just happen.  Unfortunately, I can’t just roll out of bed and go.

Here is the finished product:

 
#17: Club Monaco dress (2009) | Anthro Bette cardigan (Sparrow) | Hilary Druxman necklace | Tory Burch Reva flats

I don’t know if it’s necessarily “awesome”, but I love this dress and I love the combination of blue and orange.  However, in comparison to what I look like first thing in the morning, it’s pretty awesome.

Behold:

Puffy eyes and crazy hair. If that’s not awkward, I don’t know what is.

Crossroads

At the risk of sounding completely clichéd, I think I’m at a bit of a crossroads in my life.

I’ve finally found job satisfaction (for which I am incredibly, incredibly grateful, after years of being in unfulfilling jobs), so it’s time to think more seriously about my career.  I’m not established yet.  And even though I like my job, I’m not sure if this is the field I want to stay in.

I’m really enjoying my current wardrobe, yet I’m wondering how long that’s going to last until I’ll want a change.

I may have been harping on this a bit lately, but I’m feeling a bit old.  I know I’m not old.  And I know I don’t look my age.  I’m not sure why I’m feeling so concerned about dressing appropriately for my age lately.  Maybe because I’m still attracted to those whimsical pieces with fun quirky prints and I’m worried that they’re not going to have any staying power in my closet.  I think I’m overly paranoid about  not dressing too young, but also not dressing too old either.  (I had a friend in university who exclusively shopped at Talbot’s, at the ripe old age of 24.  We’ve lost touch, but she’d be 35 now, I’m really curious about what she looks like now.)

But you know what, fuck it, I’m not going to stress about it, I’m just going to wear what I want now.  If I don’t feel like I can wear a dress with an octopus on it when I’m 40, so be it.  I’ll have enjoyed it now.

#16: Anthropologie Marine Mural Dress (Nathalie Lété) | Anthro Bette Cardigan (Sparrow) | Hilary Druxman necklace | Puma flats

(Note to self: wear some kind of lip colour.  Pale lips are not my friend.)

colour me lucky

Happy Canada Day! Thank God for a three-day weekend.

Today also marks the end of academichic's two weeks of Dressing Your Best.  Honestly, I try to dress my best everyday (whether I succeed or not may be a matter of opinion), but I still appreciate the opportunity to call out the parts of myself I really like.

So today I'm dressing something that I don't often think of as a "best" part: my colouring.

I'm Filipina, but I'm pretty whitewashed. I was born in Canada, grew up in a pretty white neighbourhood, and was one of four Asians in my elementary school.   I always wished I were white. It's terrible to want to wish away your cultural heritage, right?

Now that I live in Toronto, I completely blend in. My white British-born fiancé is more in the minority than I am. But even before that, I grew to accept what I am. Can't change it, so love it.  And I particularly love the fact that with my dark hair, dark brown eyes, and permanently tanned skin, I can wear bright bold colours (clothes and makeup, although I don't go crazy with bright makeup for daytime) and they look good on me.

#12: Anthro Height of Summer Dress (Maeve) | J.Crew featherweight cashmere cardigan in heather algae | Anthro Oolite necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I love these shades of green…

#13: Jacob sleeveless top | J.Crew featherweight cashmere cardigan in heather algae | Anthro necklace | Anthro Circle the Globe Skirt (Edme & Esyllte) | Tory Burch Reva flats

There’s a little black in here, but only because I didn’t include many tops in my 30 for 30 challenge.

#14: Anthro Diamond Lattice Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Anthro Bette Cardigan (Sparrow) | Anthro Backbone Belt | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I love a pop of orange.  And I especially love the combination of blue and orange.

#15: Banana Republic dress | Anthro Anadyome cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

The teal cardigan doesn’t exactly match any of the colours in my dress, but I say they “go.” 

Not that anyone’s counting, but that makes 15 outfits for my 30 for 30.  Halfway done!

I’m going to unleash my calves

This time I’m combining 30 for 30 with a dressing my best post.  These outfits highlight my calves, definitely a favourite body part of mine.  It also reminds me of a particularly funny episode of How I Met Your Mother where Lily reveals her weakness for Marshall’s calves.

Barney: That’s crazy, nobody’s turned on my men’s calves, they’re a thoroughly unerotic body part.
Marshall: Well yeah, I’d say that too if I had those skinny little chicken legs.
Barney: I’ll be waiting by the phone for your apology.

I never want to appear too vain (kinda rich for someone who takes pictures of herself and then posts them online), so I don’t know how to talk about something I like about myself without sounding completely conceited.  But I just really, really, really like my calves.

 
#9: Anthro Verdant Slip Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Anthro Anadyomene Cardi (Rosie Neira) | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I like how they look when I wear heels (particularly these Miss Sixty shoes, which were fairly pricey but a had-to-have for me).

#10: Anthro Pesisir Top (Fei) | J.Crew cardigan | Jacob pencil skirt | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I like showing them off in the summer with above-the-knee skirts.

#11: Anthro Reflecting Pool Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | J.Crew cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I’ve had a few shoe store salespeople ask me if I’m a runner when trying on shoes, which always makes me laugh (I’m not a fit person by any means – I’m too lazy to go to the gym).  I inherited my dad’s calves and I walk a lot, that’s all. 

Colour, colour, colour

After a one-day break, I’m back into 30 for 30.  Here’s another three outfits; I’m wearing as much colour as I possible can.  As much as I love black and grey, it’s nice to go crazy for colour in the summer months.

#6: Club Monaco dress | Gap cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Tory Burch Reva flats

 
#7: Anthro Climbing Cowlneck (Bordeaux) | Gap cardigan | Anthro necklace | Anthro Circle the Globe Skirt (Edme & Esyllte) | Tory Burch Reva flats

 
#8: Banana Republic dress | J.Crew featherweight cashmere cardigan in heather algae | Hilary Druxman necklace | Puma flats

Now, if it could only be sunny, blue sky 23C/74F degree weather every day, and if only my allergies would go away so I didn’t want to hibernate inside and go to sleep at 8:30pm, everything would be just perfect.

Catching up (again)

I’m getting really bad at this whole blogging thing.  I’ve been at my job for a month now, you’d think that I would have figured out my routine by now.  Apparently it’s still a work in progress.

Anyway, my 30 for 30 is under way, and here’s a week’s worth of outfits.

#1: Anthro Verdant Slip Dress | Club Monaco cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

I used this outfit for Lisa’s personal style feature on her blog.  This is a very “me” look: dress, cardigan, my favourite necklace, heels.  It’s really simple and unfussy, but I don’t think it’s boring.

#2: Anthro Winged Victory Top | J. Crew cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Jacob pencil skirt | Bos & Co heels

I scored this top from Roxy.  Since the Pesisir Top, I’ve been much more interested in structured, corset-type tops.  I love the pleated detail on this, and the silk sash just adds such a nice feminine detail.  It’s a little big though; I may have to tailor it, or at the very least make use of some flash tape so it doesn’t fall down on me.  I also think it works for the office with the cardigan.

#3: Anthro Diamond Lattice Dress | Club  Monaco belt | Gap cardigan | Hilary Druxman necklace | Puma flats

I wore this, but I’m not that keen on it.  I don’t think the black works with it.  Oh well, I don’t mind a mistake every now and then.

#4: Jacob sleeveless top | Gap cardigan | Ayala Bar necklace | Jacob pencil skirt | Feet First floral wedges

I was having a good hair day so I thought it warranted two photos, ha.  I needed to be a little more conservative that day for work, except for the shoes.

#5: Anthro Marine Mural Dress | J.Crew Featherweight cashmere cardigan in Heather Algae | Puma flats

From a good hair day to a terrible one.  My hair was such a mess that my bangs look crooked (I swear they’re not).  No wonder I don’t look impressed.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and my parents are coming to visit.  So they informed me last night.  I love my parents, but it’s not exactly my idea of a good time to be entertaining them on my birthday, especially with no notice (I need time to mentally prepare myself for their company).  On the plus side, they’re bringing the dog.

30 for 30 summer edition

I don’t have to do 30 for 30 again.  I’ve already done it twice, so I’ve proved to myself I can work with a limited number of items and still dress myself reasonably well.  But I love a challenge, and summer clothes are completely different.  Lots of colour and lots of cardigans are planned.

7 dresses:

Top row, l-r: Anthro Diamond Lattice Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Anthro Verdant Slip Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Anthro Reflecting Pool Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Anthro Height of Summer Dreess (Maeve)
Bottom row, l-r: Anthro Marine Dress (Nathalie Lété) | Banana Republic floral babydoll dress | Club Monaco floral dress

3 skirts:

Anthro Circle the Globe Skirt (Edme & Esyllte) | Club Monaco skirt | Jacob pencil skirt

5 tops:

 
Top row, l-r: Anthro Echoing Folds Cowlneck (Bordeaux) | Anthro Pesisir Top (Fei) | Anthro Winged Victory Top (Odille)
Bottom row, l-r: Jacob sleeveless top – brown (circa 2006) | Jacob sleeveless top – black (circa 2006)

9 cardigans:

 

Top row, l-r: Anthro Bette Cardigan (Sparrow) | Anthro Anadyomene Cardigan (Rosie Neira) | Anthro Beribboned Buds Cardigan (Tabitha) | Gap cardigan
Middle row l-r: Club Monaco cardigan | Gap cardigan | J. Crew cardigan
Bottom row, l-r: J.Crew featherweight cashmere cardigan in Dried Blossom | J.Crew featherweight cashmere cardigan in Heather Algae

6 pairs of shoes:

l-r: Feet First floral wedges | Bos & Co heels | Miss Sixty Tracy pumps | Puma Rudolf Dassler Rhythm ballet flats | Tory Burch Reva flats | Rockport wedges

This’ll be fun.  But I’ve also decided to take a casual approach to this challenge.  As Kendi wrote, it’s not about putting together 30 outfits as fast as possible or competing with anyone.  I’m taking this challenge to wear and enjoy what I have in my closet.  If I want to wear something that’s not on this list, I will.  If I want to buy something, I will, as long as I love that thing and I’m not buying it because I feel like I have nothing to wear.  I just want to take these 30 pieces and make 30 outfits, and if it takes me all summer, that’s fine.