February 5 – Bringing back summer

Today I took my inspiration from Candis at Musings around – by layering a skirt over a very thin summer dress. Candis is such a pro at remixing!

I love this dress, even though it’s a little bit too big on top. The color is something between yellow and green (that strange color that you for some strange reason always can find in a box of crayons…) and I usually don’t wear it but I got this dress from my parents a few years ago. They found it at their favourite outlet in Italy – the Armani outlet. They bought it for me one summer when me and Boyfriend was visiting France for a wedding.

I have never tried wearing it as a blouse before but I have to say – I’m pretty satisfied with the outcome! As a dress it pretty much only works for summer with high heels and a very ”put together” look.

The original dress on its own…

Dress + skirt + belt (turned inside out since the outside color is a light blue).
Since the dress is longer than the skirt I had to pull it up over the waistband of the skirt. But I thought it made it look even more like a blouse.

But as you can see it doesn’t look that good from behind… SO, a cardigan or jacket of some sorts felt needed to make this work.

Cardigan number one – purple from Dea Kudibal, a danish brand.

A white short cardigan (the one I ended up wearing) from Kappahl.

And last, but not least – I tried paring it with a short jacket/bolero I bought a week ago, but that I’m thinking of returning….

I loved, and still do, the look of it but it has it’s problems
a) it’s in a strange almost plastic fabric, like fake leather.
b) you have to dry clean it (on the tag it says: wipe it off with cloth)
c) and that was something I didn’t think would be a problem until I wore it a little bit around the house and I’m fearing this fabric will make me sweat a bit
d) and the thing that’s really bugging me – one button is missing but the store had some policy that they wouldn’t knock anything off the price – I don’t really care about the money but I felt a bit cheated when I left the store, like I’d been tricked or something…

What do you think? Should I return it or not?

February 3 – At least snow looks like ice cream

I’m back from vacation – It’s hard to believe that I was in sunny summer weather with palm trees and a pool last week. Here at home it’s the coldest winter since 1987 (according to the newspaper). There’s snow everywhere and pretty much up to our chins… And I haven’t left the house since I got home. Seriously, since sunday.

You see I got sick on the day that we went home, by the time we got off the plane I started to get a fever. Must be a reaction to all the snow – I love snow but I want spring! I think I have way too few appropriate clothes for winter in relation to the weather in Sweden. Even when we have a normal winter over here it’s still cold, damp, windy and gray. But I find it so hard to find colorful clothes in warm fabrics – and I am so tired of black, gray and white – I NEED color!

Oh well, so I’ve hung out in my couch for the past couple of days, pretty tired but still working. Yesterday I felt really good (except having a stuffed nose and having very dry skin under that nose) but I realized during the day that I wasn’t truly back into shape. I pretty much ”woke the bear that sleeps” (a swedish saying) and brought an old discussion back to life between my organization and a photographer that we’ve worked with. I didn’t intend to (and it’s a long story) but it started with me sending him the wrong documents on a project we’ve been working on and that just… started this whole big mess that didn’t get resolved until late last night. AAAH. Sometimes I just get so tired with myself..

So – in conclusion – I haven’t been able to take any outfit photos these past few days because I have been in my pajamas. But today I finally put in some effort and I got dressed!

It’s a simple outfit, and based around the one pair of jeans that I own (that fit me). I rarely wear them since I haven’t hemmed them yet, and the waistband is way too stiff. So I’m trying to stretch that part out…

Jeans- Cambio
Scarf worn as a belt – a sash from my favourite summer skirt
Shirt – Joy (it’s really, really old, I was like 14 or 15 when I got it…)

I think my dad has some pictures of my outfits from our family vacation, when I get them I’ll post them. I LOVED wearing all of my summer favourites again. So now I’m trying to think of ways to incorporate colors and the feel of summer clothes in what I’m wearing now, even though there’s snow on the ground.

January 22 – books and shoes

I needed a simple outfit today – so I opted for my brown knitted cardigan from Saint Tropez (the brand, not the flashy resort), a white cami, my brown pinstriped skirt and the brooch Boyfriend gave me for christmas. It might be needless to say, but I decided on skipping the whole ”inspired by the 30s”-challenge. I’m putting it on hold for a week – since we’re going away on vacation next week! (wee!)

I LOVE this cardigan, it’s so soft and warm – while it really embraces my curves, showing off my waist (that just happens to be my favourite physical feature)

I just made a short appearance at work, then I went out book shopping (for the trip). I think I roamed the aisles for about an hour before settling on three books – one about body language/mind reading; Markus Zusaks ”The book thief” and Poppy Adams ”The behaviour of Moths”.

Then I bought a pair of brown simple sneakers – wow, it’s almost astounding how much I don’t like to shop for shoes. I tried them on, paid up and hurried fast as I could out the door.

But, mission accomplished.

January 18 – Business cards and water bottles

Today me and my boss had an important meeting with the biggest newspaper in the region – discussing their sponsoring of our organization. I learned SO much about negotiating today, just listening in, smiling along.

Ok, so this week is supposed to be all about the 1930’s but I can already sense that it will be hard – and not just on a sartorial level. We’re still having a lot of snow, which makes my wardrobe choices a bit limited, and I have many errands to run. You see, we’re going on holiday next week (yay!), to a warm sunny islands.

Since we were going to a meeting today I wanted to look polished and dress with a bit of authority. But I didn’t want to wear black. I’m fed up with black, last week was way too much black for me.

So I went with my beige jacket from Charlotte Russe; my velvet jeans (oh I so need to get some more pants!), a cream knitted top and topped it off with a scarf for color.

Can you tell the link between this outfit and the 1930s? Ok, I don’t blame you if you don’t… But I thought about the big Hollywood starlets of the time – Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. They used men’s wear and styles inspired by it. I’ve found a great picture of Marlene in a tuxedo, looking absolutely stunning in something that has such a ”male” connotation. I have a book on Greta Garbo (she is somewhat of a national treasure here and when I was a child my mom said I had eyebrows just like here – I’ve been a big fan ever since) with pictures showing her at her spare time, at home in Sweden. She was definitely a woman who could wear  men’s pants and shirts and own that style.

So ok, I’m not wearing anything intended for a man, but this jacket broadens my shoulders and since it possesses a bit of authority, I still feel like there’s a nod in there to these strong and daring women of the 30’s

Maybe it’s a long shot, but hey, it was worth a try.

I don’t know if I can really channel the style and feel from the 30s but I will give it at least one more try this week, thursday or friday. Cross your fingers for me.

January 15

I’m still trying to be inspired by the 1920s. Trying.
This challenge was hard for me, partly because I think my wardrobe lacked a lot of key items AND because the thing I DO own that has the right feel or shape are black, white or gray… Read: Boring!

I like black and neutrals, but in moderation. Too many days of just black and white (like the past couple of days has been) and I just feel… tired. Drained even. I need to wear color – it improves my mood!

But I do really like layering necklaces, something I haven’t been doing before this week. There is something so simple about it still it looks (and feel) really luxurious.

Today I’m wearing my only polo-neck top. I rarely wear it, I’m not sure my neck is long enough to pull it off. Especially when I have my hair down, I feel a bit swamped by it.

The cardigan is from the Swedish chain store Kappahl. I love it, and I like that I’ve found ways to wear it this week, I was actually a bit apprehensive about that when I bought it, because of its shape.

The 20s was difficult, but I feel like next week will be even harder… the 30s. How did people look back then? Do we have any style icons from this period of time? Besides Marlene…?

January 12 – it’s cold outside

Yep, it’s been snowing even more here. I loved snow for christmas, but now I’m starting to long for spring. I guess it’s hard for the weather to satisfy people

Today I’ve been working from home and had lunch with a friend. So I had to venture outside. That’s why I’m wearing this skirt AGAIN. You see I’m not really wearing tights here – these are thicker and in swedish we call them ”underställ”. I don’t know the correct term in english, but you pretty much wear these underneath your clothes for warmth. But I couldn’t wear them under the black pants I wanted to wear in this outfit. So I went for the skirt.

I think the pearls still say ”20s” to me, and the little cardigan over the simple gray top.. well it kind of has the right feel. But I believe a pair of dark pants would have lended a little bit of a ”men’s wear” feel to it, which would have served the purpose (to be inspired by the 20s) a bit better.

I do really like this outfit though, I think the cardigan keeps the proportions in check and it’s I feel put together but comfortable at the same time. Since my body is aching from last nights practice the comfy aspect is very important today.

January 11 – work and new adventurous

Oh what a day! I’m trying to channel the 20s, wich is pretty tricky since I have very few items in my wardrobe that has a silhouette that resonates with that time. So I began with a nod to Coco Chanel.Black, simple and rows of pearls (in my case they are quite modern and in different colors).

The black dress: H&M

I wore my black  sheet dress from H&M as a base (even though I realized a little too late that it was too cold to wear in january…) and a black slouchy cardigan on top, to get that longer and relaxed silhouette. You can’t really tell from these pictures, but the cardigan has some details near the collar, and a there’s a touch of sparkles in the fabric.I didn’t get a good detail shot at this, but I did get a close up of my jewellery

Since I’m not really ready to cut my hair into a stylish bob – that would be a tad too drastic – I decided to just put my hair up.

I brought my black/red leopardprint flats to wear inside, for work. My big comfy boots that I wore outside kind of overpowered this look.

In the afternoon I had a voice lesson and at night new dance lessons (!). Boyfriend and I are now going to dance three nights a week, a total of five hours a week. I’m very excited! Even though we’re not at all as experienced as the others in the class, it’s so much fun! And I really feel inspired by all these great dancers!

January 7 – let’s go back a few days in time

The last outfit I took a picture of last week, that had some Edwardian references put into it. I was mostly at home this day, but in the evening me, Boyfriend and his visiting cousin played board games with my brother and his wife.

I got this great socks for Christmas from my parents. I love knee-socks, there’s something very innocent about them.

This outfit is based around the same items as the last one – the gray plaid skirt and the purple cardigan. But this top is more ruffled and since it doesn’t have a high collar I’ve filled in the void with a gold necklace.

I like this look a lot more, when I’m showing a little more skin on top.

January 10 – New era coming up! Preparing!

Ok, so I think I have figured out why the Edwardian inspiration failed to inspire me – I’m in the mood for some drastic changes right now. I want to look… amazing, daring, outrageous even. I want to dress for the part.

Explanation: I recently got offered some new projects and tasks at work – partly because of how I dress. I know it’s not the sole cause, but I was told that I do dress in a way that could work for rounding up partners and sponsors, getting the dough our non-profit needs. That I can pull off a look that fits in a corporate environment.

And this is fine, because I never dress particularly ”corporate”. But, I have since this compliment (it was a compliment) studied my wardrobe…

You see, my dream is to be a singer. And if not full-time, at least have it partly as my profession. I want my voice and my songs to have a forum -  it doesn’t have to be the biggest stages in the world but not just the occasional performance at a wedding or party (though these are Amazing for me to do too!). But I discovered it – I’m not dressing for it! I’ve lost a little bit of that creative edge and output, and I’ve toned myself down the past year.

I need to step it up, up the ante. Dress, maybe not always but more often, as a true up and coming STAR. I talked about this with a friend tonight, and I believe it’s not just copying the latest trends – but pump it up. If I want to look very romantic with laces and frills – pile it on. If I want a dark diva look – pile it on, makeup and luxurious fabrics!

Oh well, back to my challenge -

The roaring twenties. I should be able to get my starlet-fix here, shouldn’t I?

I’m thinking flapper, I’m thinking Coco Chanel and I’m thinking Greta Garbo. Sure, some of Greta’s best looks are from the 3os and I think Coco started out prior to 1920 but still – these are images I think of.

The biggest challenge for me is to find that elongated silhouette of the 1920s.

What attributes and styles do you think of when we talk about the 1920s?

January 5 – can you say ”governess”?

Occasion: A facial and then coffee with best friend.

I thought of Anne Shirley when I dreamed this outfit up. And sure it made me feel like a teacher from circa 1913.. but it also made me feel a bit too prim and proper.

The cardigan and the shawl are Christmas presents from my parents – I love them both. Most of the time, I don’t wear black with colors – only neutrals. But this shawl is very good for draping and I’m pretty much living in it for the time being – it’s so soft, warm and cosy.

I won’t have a lot of errands or work the rest of this week, probably just lounging around at home. I already feel like the Edwardian challenge wasn’t that inspiring – I feel a bit too proper, almost boring. But if I have to make a social call or do something that acquires me to step out the door – then I will chose ruffles over sequins and knits before pink polyester.. 

What do you think?