Shopping in Tokyo Outfit

Jul 13, 2010 | Fashion

(please forgive the photo quality; we only brought a small digital camera that only has a built-in lens, and I have no photo-editing software here, so you get to see me in all my unedited glory, heh heh)

The problem with going shopping in Japan is that you have to walk – lots.  It’s not a question of driving to the mall, parking, and then walking around in it…you have to walk to the train station, take the train to the shopping areas, and then walk from the station to wherever you want to go.

Thus you need incredibly comfortable shoes.  Here you often see trendy girls walking around in 4-inch heels, and I always wonder how do they do it?  And the girls who staff the boutiques are required to wear the clothing that they sell – they are literally walking, talking, live models – and thus have to wear the trendiest and highest of heels all day – and they’re never allowed to sit down anywhere where the customers can see.  It truly boggles the mind.

Add to that it’s 98 degrees with a super-high humidity factor here, you have to weather extreme changes in temperature as you go from train to outside to store to outside again, and your viable wardrobe diminishes.

Plus if you’re going shopping or navigating the train stations you don’t want anyone peering up your skirt as you ascend the escalator.

So this is my go-to outfit for walking around and window-shopping in Japan, trying to beat the heat: trendy tee, cross-body bag, denim shorts, leggings, and printed sneakers.  At least for today – until I get used to all the walking.  I was really happy with the way my self-designed Miu Miu-esque swallow-printed shoes from Zazzle turned out…the colors and print are so pretty!  I was a little sad to find that the Keds sneakers run large – and my usual 7.5 is too big for me.  Ah well.

With all the humidity my hair falls flat in an instant – and can’t hold a style – and so I’m loving these clip-in bangs from Jessica Simpson’s HairDo line.  (I think they may be a little long for me, but I don’t want to get them cut just yet.)  They’re so soft and feel just like real hair, the longer pieces at the sides frame the face perfectly, and the color for me is such an exact match I can’t tell where my real hair ends and they begin. 

They’re a great option for girls like me who have thinner bangs, or who don’t want to commit to cutting a thick bang halfway up their crown and then have the agony of growing it out if they don’t like it.

(Of course I forgot to take photos before I actually went anywhere – and ended up taking them at the end of the day, after I’d been walking around for hours and was all hot and sweaty.  Eek!)

Hope you guys had a great weekend!  More sweaty outfits and clip in hair to come!
xoxo
Carly

Yes, It’s a Paper Bag!!

Jun 4, 2010 | Fashion

Alright, so cold #5 feels to be on its way out.  Kinda.  I have now officially been sick for 3 months straight.  After $400 worth of tests, my doctor’s official medical opinion is that I am “unlucky.”  My white blood cell count is normal.  I don’t have whooping cough, tuberculous, or pneumonia.  She doesn’t even know how to test for Cryptococcus gatii and says I probably don’t have it.  She said there’s no reason to test for a yeast intolerance (thank you for that suggestion, Dusk!  I am still suspicious tho…).  So after 5 colds, plus bronchitis, plus an eye infection, pytiriasis roasacea, and laryngitis twice, apparently I’m completely a completely healthy person who just keeps getting sick for no reason.  What the heck’s wrong with me???!

I kind of want to start naming each bout of illness with cocky, blue-blooded names, like “Thurston Marshall Laryngitis II” or “James Preston Rhinovirus V” or something.  Blech.  I’m so OVER being sick!!  (And to think I was over it at cold #3…..*sigh*)

So I saw a similar paper bag on a streetstyle shot (probably on JakandJil) and decided to DIY it in a video tutorial.  Yes, I wrote “video“!!  Will be sharing soon once I edit it together.

Haha – PSYCH!  There’s nothing in it!  A bag that defeats its purpose, perhaps.

I’m liking my DIY Ann Demeulewhatever boots very much…but the elastic shoelaces are very uncomfortable.  I will have to change them out for regular shoelaces!  And the last time I posted these, one helpful reader also known as Professor Shoelace (!) noted that I was tying them the wrong way…which I am…here’s the right way to tie them.  I’ve checked out Ian’s Shoelace Site before, specifically for lacing shoes in multiple interesting ways….seriously, this site is the resource for shoelace-related-stuff on the web!

Hope you guys are having a great week…I got out of bed at 3:30 PM today, and now the day’s over.  I have no idea what day it is anymore.  I get the feeling there was something (some hundred things) that I was supposed to take care of today.  Ugh.

xoxox
Carly

Pillowcase Skirt & Run, Forrest, RUN!

May 22, 2010 | Fashion

(Miss Selfridge twisted satin knot headband, vintage silk dupioni scarf, Old Navy cardigan, Petit Bateau Classic Tee, DIY “No. 7” necklace, handmade skirt, DIY cut-off sheer tights, Alloy Percy Boot, Cartier & Tiffany wedding rings, jump ring opening tool ring, Paul & Joe Sister tote)

A sunny day in Portland means Spring’s on the way!  (It’s only what…late May??  Almost June???)  Only to be interrupted by pouring rain interspersed with hail the next day…

Ah well, it’s good for the grass!

But despite the sunshine it’s still brisk.  I tend to feel the cold more than the average person – probably poor circulation or something.  So I bundle up even when the rest of the city is wearing short-sleeves.  (Plus I need the neck-scarf thing which was admittedly too warm even for me because of the pityriasis rosacea on my neck which is not.going.away.  GAHHHHHR!)

I wanted an excuse to wear this skirt, of which I’ll be sharing the how-to soon I’ve shared the how-to here.  It’s made from a pillowcase that I pulled out of the mountainous pile of clothing I picked up from the Goodwill Bins a little while ago.

I paired it with a necklace that I made, similar to Lulu Frost’s Plaza Hotel Number Necklaces, on gold chain, with pearls, grosgrain ribbon, and a sweet little number 7 on it.  It’s not really my lucky number – I don’t really have one (I like number 3 but it’s never been “lucky” for me) – but I just liked how the 7 looked…kind of like a broken cross, if you look at it right.  The whole piece has this “irreverent rosary” look to it that I’m liking lately.

I continuously forget to remove that jump ring tool after I’m done making jewelry.  And yes, I do have a piercing in my ring finger nail – I do it sometimes with a needle and a tiny jump ring.  I know you’re never supposed to pierce your real nails…but I love adding that tiny little accessory that is almost unnoticeable…it’s like your little secret with the world.

The tote bag was apparently designed by Paul & Joe Sister, in a collaboration with Sweet Magazine (Sept. 2009 issue).   I use it as my snacks-n-stuff-that-inevitably-spills-and-leaves-a-sticky-crumby-mess-in-everything tote when I’m out with Lil Tot.

Plus my sheer tights for added warmth, and my FAVORITE Percy boots from Alloy…I’m practially wearing these into the ground lately.  I find them really comfortable, and they’re both casual and chic at the same time.

I know I don’t post a whole lot of photos of my family on this blog – so it may seem that they don’t actually exist, but believe me the photos I do share I’ve carefully vetted from a slew of others where I’ve been photobombed by those closest to me..*cough cough* Lil Tot, Muffin [or Cat O’ Evil as I like to call her], and Pudding the dog[AKA Bane of My Existence].  But Lil Tot has his own adorable brand of photobombing perfected to an art.  Oftentimes, this is what a photo-shoot will degenerate into…

Make your own animation

And yes, my son has his pants undone yet again.  Maybe he’s singlehandedly trying to back those pants-hanging-around-the-hips-and-boxers-out fad of the late 90’s??  Future member of ‘N Sync [Gen Z] comin’ right atcha!

Ah, the joyful near-summers of youth!

xoxox
Carly

Birds in Flight Outfit and and English Tea House

Apr 13, 2010 | Fashion

The other day we visited the Lavender Tea House in Sherwood, OR – a little, out-of-the-way wannabe English tea house.  (I’ve never been to an authentic one in England…or at least I don’t remember it since I’ve only been to England once when I was 10.)  When I was a kid in NJ, there was the most wonderful, very-close-to-authentic English tea room called Sally Lunn’s Tea Room in Chester, NJ near where I grew up.  I would beg my mother to take me there, though we only were able to go a few times in all the years we lived nearby.  It was lovely- beautiful antiques on the walls, handmade pies from scratch, 20 different types of tea, and of course, the scones.  (The best invention known to man…or at least sweet-lovers like myself!)  Later they exapanded to a Princeton, NJ location, not far from the University.  I haven’t been in years – I think the last time I went was in 2004 – but it was lovely…I had the Ploughman’s Lunch there (a huge hunk of cheese, handmade pickle, rustic bread…and of course, a scone.)  If you’re ever near one of their locations, I urge you to visit.  The website is above and menu is here if you are interested.

Back to the Lavender Tea House.  Not quite such an experience – though they are quite established here, they haven’t gone all out on the antique decor or expanded their menu much.  I’m not really a “tea connoisseur” either so their vast menus of teas makes little impression on me.  (Hub noted that it is an “old lady’s restaurant” and that he was the only male every time we’ve ever been!) 

 But the scones – with strawberry preserves and clotted cream – are wonderful! 

 Lil Tot had a kid’s lunch that had cheese finger sandwiches, some with sprinkles pressed on them!!  (That I found a little strange.) 

 Anyway, the scones were the most delicious.

So here’s what I wore: I have been wanting a bird-printed chiffon dress or romper for a long time since I saw them on the Miss Selfridges website…I hadn’t wanted to go through the whole rigmarole of ordering through them (I’d had some problems in the past), and endeavored to find some bird-printed chiffon at the fabric store, or maybe a Korean knock-off dress on Ebay or Storets.  No such luck…so I eventually ordered from Miss Selfridge…ran into a problem…had to reorder after an annoying phone call to them…and eventually got my package more than 2 weeks later.  Ugh.  They really have to get their customer service and ordering process up to par with places like ASOS.com!!  Anyway.

So I love this little bird-dress – it’s a bit short, and today I am wearing it as a top, tucked in to my pants.  I didn’t tuck it in all the way, and thought it looked nicer like that.

The cashmere wrap below is apparently convertible and tie-able in alot of different ways, but I usually don’t bother.  I always think of New York Fashion Week when I wear it since I was wearing it for my very first NYFW and spilled hot cocoa on the sleeve running to get to a show in the slushy snow!

These glasses are so cool – the insides are pink – found at the Buffalo Exchange for $8.  (Though I could get a similar pair for $5.80 from Forever 21!  Tho they’re not pink on the insides…)

The Atlas Ring (on my left hand, barely visible oops) is the engagement ring I gave to Hub some…oh, 6 years ago.  He never wears it since he only wears his wedding ring, so he gave it to me awhile back.

I thought the bird necklace was appropriate to go with the top!

I love this jumbled-up rhinestone-and-chain necklace from Forever 21 too!  (In my case…Forever 31??? LOL)

Hope you guys had  a great weekend too!
xoxox
Carly