Tag / basic wardrobe

by Michelle

outfit: for re-arranging furniture

SAS relax sandal

My board exam is in 9 days (*gulp*).  It’s been crazy busy for me.  On my study break today, I decided to move some furniture around (this is what I consider fun).  We didn’t have a sofa for a while after the bedbug nightmare and it was actually kinda nice having an almost empty living room. I enjoyed the echo and the ease of cleaning the floors, but eventually I felt we needed to get back to being “normal people” again and bought a much smaller midcentury modern sofa and Herman Miller style lounge chair with a matching coffee table.  It’s insane how cheap Herman Miller knock offs are online.  We got a new sofa, lounge chair, coffee table, and small dining table for under $600!  (I’m sure the manufacturing process is majorly unethical in some way, but there really aren’t that many affordable options).   Continue reading →

by Michelle

outfit: loose associations

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Here’s a quick outfit post with a top from Kowtow that was meant to replace my retired, beloved, tattered and torn French Connection top (see below).  By the time I recycled it, it had been worn on at least a biweekly basis for 7 years!  It had about 10 holes in it (I know, shameful!).  My BF bluntly told me it had to go.  He was right.  I don’t get why I liked this top so much.  Technically, it’s ugly.  But I thought it was interesting.  I’m not into prints usually, but something about a bold black print, that isn’t full of motifs, and isn’t symmetrical, I found intriguing.  I liked how it seemed to tell an abstract story and felt sort of like a Rorschach test.  And of course, I’m always a sucker for a loose cotton boxy top that looks good tucked and untucked. Continue reading →

by Michelle

outfit: wearing a man’s sweater

Screen Shot 2016-01-02 at 10.17.06 PM

On my visit home, I found this simple cozy sweater in my dad’s closet, which he never wore and gladly gave to me.  I’m kinda in love with men’s sweaters these days.  They’re usually pretty hefty and crisper than women’s sweaters- perfect if you don’t shy away from bulkier tomboy silhouettes.  Just folding up the edges adds a bit of interest and character. Continue reading →

by Michelle

outfit:  salt of the earth

sienna pants

There is something so naturally beautiful about solid basic earth tones in womenswear.  These colors draw from pigments found naturally in the earth’s foundation- umber, sienna, ochre, and greys -in all shades.  When I was decluttering my wardrobe, the clothes that got sorted into the donation pile were there because they hadn’t been worn in over a year.  It was a pile full of loud synthetic colors, reds, fluorescence, and neons, which by themselves are pretty but I don’t think they speak to my sensibilities enough to get worn often, a realization that will hopefully inform my wardrobe planning and help me reduce wasteful spending in the future.  Here I’m wearing one of my foundational pieces:  sienna colored skinnies from Madewell. Continue reading →