Did everybody have a fun Halloween? I didn’t dress up, because I didn’t have anywhere to go (Halloween is kind of a new thing here in Vietnam, mostly celebrated by teenagers who just want an excuse to party), but I did get into the spirit of Halloween by doing a Twilight Zone marathon. I’m such a homebody that I always prefer low-key celebrations to big parties. Even back when I lived in the US, most Halloweens I just hung out with friends and ate candies and watched scary movies.
Anyway, here’s my interpretation of this week’s SIA painting, “The Season” series by Alphonse Mucha. I picked the “Autumn” panel as my main inspiration – it’s most evident in my grape bunch brooch, to echo the grapes in the painting – but there is a bit of “Spring” in my white skirt as well. Not surprising, considering those are my favorite seasons.
If you want to participate in SIA and haven’t sent me your outfit yet, there’s still time! And don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the full round-up.
T-shirt: Uniqlo, Skirt: Zalora, Scarf: Candie’s, Shoes: thrifted, Brooch: local shop
Confession: I actually wore this without the belt throughout the day, but when I took the pictures, I thought the empty belt loops looked weird so I put this belt on. Then it looked too fussy so I took it off again 😛 The brooch and the pleats on the blouse and the heels are fussy enough without the bow on the belt too.
I am trying to move away from all of these “girly girl” details and go for “feminine but streamlined”, but occasionally I still had a moment of over-thinking and put together something like this… Well, hopefully three months of capsule wardrobe will flush all that fussiness out of my system!
Top: Mango (hand-me-down), Skirt & Heels: thrifted, Belt: Wet Seal, Brooch: vintage
See the grass behind me? We’re drying it for our hens, since they’re going to start laying eggs soon. It’s been a busy couple of days, because it’s that time of the year again when almost everybody in my family has to leave for a conference or some sort of business trip and I’m sole caretaker for the garden and the chickens (the cats and dog don’t count, I don’t let anybody else feed them.) I wouldn’t complain, except that I’m sick with my annual turn-of-the-season cold, so everything is just… blergh. I’m going to bed now. Later.
P/S: I realize this is the second time in a week I’ve worn this belt and shoes combo, but there’s something about a classic silhouette like this that makes me want to bring out the matchy-matchy accessories.
Head to toe thrifted, except belt from Vietnamese shop
Even though it’s still close to 90 degrees here, the weather has gotten to that weird phase when it’s sweater weather in the morning, but at noon if you’re wearing a sweater, you’ll die of a heatstroke. So my solution is wear all the polyester. I mean, when else can I wear it? It’s warm enough in the morning, and light enough so that the ceiling fan in the teacher’s lounge can keep me cool. This outfit could also be called “raid the closets” too, because only the shoes and accessories are mine. There’s a reason why most of the polyester things in my closet are hand-me-down. I try not to buy them, since there is only a brief window of time when you can wear them and not drown in your own sweat.
… And on that lovely image, I’ll end the post.
Shirt: Mango (on temporary loan from my sister), Skirt: hand-me-down, Brooch: vintage, Shoes: thrifted, Belt: Vietnamese shop
I wore this on Monday. On Sunday evening I got a call from the professor whose class I was supposed to TA, telling me that he had an emergency but it was too late to cancel the class so I would be the one to teach it! I understandably freaked out. Thank Heavens the class was just a review of the scripts the students have written over the summer. It’s what I already do on a daily basis, only in a less intimate setting, so I did a workshop session with the class. It was a little intimidating at first, because Vietnamese students – even college students – are not used to workshop classes, and some of the students just clammed up when I asked their opinion, but I think I did okay on my first teaching experience. Gosh, if five years ago somebody told me I would one day be teaching college kids I’d probably laugh in their face, but now I think it’s not too bad being a teacher. After all, I like telling people what to do 😛
I worried about what to wear too, since I’d never met these students before (that Monday class was supposed to be my introduction), and some of them are even older than me! In the end I went with my “schoolmarm” look. It’s put-together enough, but not too frumpy or severe.
Shirt: Hand-made (store), Skirt: Banana Republic (thrifted), Shoes: thrifted, Belt: Wet Seal