Dr. Feelgood

My coworkers mentioned that my today's outfit makes me look like a "Mam Doctor".

I guess that simple white jacket really does the trick to make a girl who's afraid of needle into a distinguished look in the medical field. Ha!

I usually dislike taking a close-up picture because then you can see all the pores and pimples on my face, not to mention that my poor camera doesn't do very well in taking close-ups. However, here I'd like to give you a glimpse of my earrings, shaped like a bow with fake pearl dangling underneath.
They're very catchy-looking with my dark hair as backgroung, and with such strong geometric pattern such as this black and white stripes, I don't feel the need to add neklace to this look. Otherwise, it would be too much.

Now I will tell you how I achieve this look.

First, let me tell you a secret or two. First, this red wide obi belt is vintage. It used to be my Mom's . Yep. My Mom has a lot of high quality things in her closet that she no longer wear. So what's a good daughter to do? Reuse 'em and have fun with 'em, of course! Second, the belt is actually broken, but you cannot see it and it's still wearable, so I'm wearing it! Aaaaand... Third, I wear this red belt BACKWARDS, because it looks so much better that way. See the picture below? The buckle is supposed to be upfront. Oh well, at least with the jacket on, nobody would be able to see that I'm wearing it wrong. On purpose, anyway.

This is how it looks without the jacket, although I would never wear them without the jacket to cover it up. Some girls at work thought that this is a one-piece dress, with the belt and everything built onto the dress. Actually the whole ensemble consists of 3 pieces, as you can see in the pirctures below:

1. The black and white striped sleeves top (It's really old, like 10-years-old. I'm glad I haven't thrown it away!)
2. The red wide belt (worn backwards)
3. The black wrap A-line skirt.
   

Pinky Love

Guilty as charged. I'm so captivated by these cute artwork at the mall, I forgot to take proper pictures of my outfit! So, I hope you enjoy the colorful snaps here.

The flowery chiffon top has a halter neck. Since I'm going to mass, I layer it up with this white doily-like knitted cardigan. (Is this a cardigan? I don't know how to call it)

Aren't they pretty?

These might be fun things to try:

• Take pictures with funny art or craft work and strike a cute pose. Who cares if you're not a child anymore? Having fun doesn't have age limit!
• Create a paper collage statement card and give it to someone you love, like your mom, your child (perhaps in their lunch box?) your friend or your partner.
• Keep pretty collectibles like seashells, marbles, pressed flowers, or even just colorful pushpins in a jar, tied with a ribbon.
• As the artwork says: love is sharing. Why not try share lunch with a friend or a colleague? Especially is you're a good cook and she's not.
• And in honor of the last picture: what about eating fresh tomato slices sprinkled with a little sugar on a warm summer day?

Good Ol' Things

Old things are cool! I found this red-and-black checkered skirt with lace border in my closet and couldn't believe my eyes: it was a skirt bought way back then from college, and it was like, I dunno, a trillion years ago? (Anyone want to guess how old I am? Heheh...) So I'm trying to build a complete working outfit around the skirt by throwing together some old things from my closet, including a coral pink sweater and a cream laced camisole (I wore similar combination in an old post here) and an Esprit skinny red belt I used to wear when I was in high school. Who knows you can do the shopping from your own closet?

Candy Stripes

I usually don't go for striped polo shirt. OK, I never wore polo shirt ever before. In fact, I don't go for anything with collar outside of the office because it reminds me too much of work. But I saw this cheerful, fun, candy colored, striped, knitted polo shirt, and I'm sold.

Can you believe that I found this little treasure in the middle of literally dozens of ugly sweaters jumbled together in a sale rack? Who ever thought that one will find a cute top buried under piles of granny-looking sweaters?

As usual, whenever I wear something low-waisted, I layer with a long tank top underneath so the ensemble won't show my midriff nor any crack accident from behind. Especially because this tiny polo is actually too-short for these pants, which is not my thing. I usually prefer a longer top that will cover my navel, but sometimes a girl just needs to break out from the comfort zone.

It's just perfect for a yakiniku & shabu-shabu night at Paregu, a Korean BBQ restaurant at Menteng, near my church, Saint Theresia Catholic Church.

Delish!

This is the only cooking that I know I can do just right!
(I've always loved to cook and learn how to cook, but even until now I'm still pretty much helpless around the kitchen. Cry...)

So I guess the saying "never say never" is true. In this case, now I can not say that I never go for polo shirt!

Sing Dollies

It's a short vacation getaway, I'm happy and relaxed, it's a sunny day in Singapore, and I'd like to dress accordingly.

I believe in dressing modestly, so I alway, always, always wear something under a low-cut top. It could be a flower-patterned scarf, a lacy camisole, or in this case a blue tanktop.

Wearing a tight tanktop in the right color not only add to your overall look, but also protects you from the oops-moment when you're bending down like in this picture of me. So it's very convenient. You can bend and stretch and run and jump and be comfortable without having to worry that anything's not supposed to be shown, be shown.

I also wear a bloomer - well, a white bycicle pants actually - under this white peasant skirt, so I can move around without having to constantly pull it down each time the wind blows a little crazy.

Triple Threads

Have you ever heard you grandmother say: "Waste not, want not"?
Well, for me the "waste not" is easy, but the "want not"? Hmmmm...
So what's a girl who wants (wants and wants and wants...) but also wants to keep her budget?
Recycling, that is.

I love accessories. I have lots since I've been collecting them little by little since I was in college and keep most of them in good condition. Having a trunk of trinkets to fire my creativity with is the surest way to not follow trend blindly. I basically can recreate a trend or at least create a similar effect from what I've already had in my closet.

So when the department stores sell multi-layered fake pearl necklace for exorbitant prices, I just steal the idea and incorporate into my own wardrobe. Afterall, why do I need to buy ONE new multi-layered necklace when I can create mine with THREE strands from my own jewellery box? Or I can wear all of them separately, or just layer two strands instead of three. The possibility is endless in the game of fashion.

Don't forget the bracelets! This department store also sells bracelet sets very similar to what I'm wearing. Well, I prefer to mix-and-match my own, thank you! And my wallet is happier, too!

I've had this LBD for years for cocktail parties back when I was in the US. It's sleeveless, it's simple, it's elegant. Anyway, here in Indonesia cocktail party is not a very common practice. I hate to think that my LBD will just hang there in the closet, so I decided to cover it up and dress it up for work. I even wear the gold heels with it, the ones I usually keep for evening events. The jacket tones down everything, and the accessories tone up everything, if you know what I mean.

Now that I know I don't need to spend my hard-earned money on all those new trends, I can splurge at the Kinokuniya bookstore and buy something (or several things) that will last longer than the passing accessories trend!

Choker Necklace

My Mom gave me like six strands of beaded necklaces from Mangga Dua. That's like the hippest wholesale place in town for clothes, craft supplies, accessories and electronics. The idea is so I can mix and match two or even three necklaces together with different color combinations, as we saw at an expensive department store. Call it fashion on a budget, since the original 3-strand necklace costs an arm and leg.
Unfortunately, Mom bought the wrong kind of necklace. The beads are just too small, which make them hang in odd angles. I hate to waste, so I'm thinking of several different and easy ways I can wear these not-so-right purchases. This is one of them as shown at another post here. First you'll need a piece of ribbon and two strands of rather long beaded necklace in any color combination that you like. Here I use blue and green. The length of the ribbon very much depends on how long you want the finished "product" to be. I only want to make a choker necklace, so I use an old ribbon came with a potpourri product packaging.
I'm too lazy to write down long instructions here and I'm sure you will be bored to read it anyway, so just follow the pictures as guideline. It's pretty much straightforward and easy.
Tie the ribbon into a bow after you wear the necklace, not before! If you want a longer necklace that hangs down to your chest, you'll need a longer ribbon and I suggest you use a color coordinated ribbon because it will show together with the beads. And here is the finished look.

Blue, Green, Whatever

Who am I? Kidding. Just cropped the pic a bit to better showcase my today's outfit. How do you like my new teal shoes? They're from Yongki Komaladi collection, and were on sale so they came pretty cheap. I say they're teal blue, but some friends call them seafoam green. Am I colorblind or it's them? Who cares. Call them blue, green, whatever, they're just so cute! I pair the outfit with blue and green choker necklace and get whatever bracelets I could find in my accesories box with blue and green color.
I'm going for a seafood dinner with some friends at Saung Grenvil, so blue and green are appropriate since they represent the color of the sea, rite. Oh, me so love-y when me speak poetic-y, ha-ha!
Sorry, did I say choker necklace? I mean, choker-like necklace. They're made of two strands of beaded necklace, tied together with a ribbon at the back. Learn how to create your own on my next post.

True Blue

How do you like my new dress? It's peacock blue, it's empire-waisted, and super comfortable to wear! Love it! I'm wearing it for morning mass at the Church, then heading to the mall for lunch afterwards.

I think I did mention before that I tend to dress modestly. Of course, the definition of modesty differs for each person, culture and situation. For me, for example, this sundress is OK but I draw the line on sleeveless - not thin strap - for Church, and I don't go for any micro-minis for my daily look. I don't go for overly tight clothes, either. Shapely is OK, skintight is a no-no. Of coure, I still wear shorts for picnics and to the beach, but not hotpants!

My loving Mom kindly bought me various beaded necklaces some time ago, which, unfortunately, are not to my taste because the beads are just too small. I hate to waste, so lately I've come up with several ways to incorporate them into my wardrobe. Like today I mix three strands in the color blue, peach and pink.

Here's a tip:

When you wear something in solid color only, it could turn out a little bit boring - even if your outfit is already in happy color like this blue -, especially if it's for a fun daytime activities. So don't be afraid to add two or three strands of cheerful necklaces, bracelets, and fun bag like I'm wearing today. Just be careful not to overdo it.

I'm going to Nanny's Pavillion at Pacific Place for brunch straight after mass, so I'd like to be stylish yet comfortable. That explains the kitten-heel sandals. I mean, heels add a polished look to anything, but I don't want to be fashionable yet end up with blister feet! Kitten heels are perfect since they are still heels afterall, sweet to look at, yet low enough to last you all day.

Nanny's Pavillion's interior is so cute and colorful. Love this pink plate they use to serve my pancakes!

Did I mention that they also have a very pretty menu?

I can't resist it, I love this picture so much I have to post it. It's taken at Capocaccia, also at Pacific Place, where they serve the best hot chocolate in town.

Overall, a delightful Sunday!