Currently Craving: Block Low Heels

1. Zara / 2. ASOS / 3. YesStyle / 4. ASOS / 5. Kurt Geiger
I've been seeing this new shoe trend around - particularly on Megan's Briar Rose blog. Not only are the heels LOW, but they are BLOCK heels - which are even more comfortable than kitten heels. I got a pair of Anne Klein kitten heels a while ago, thinking that the kitten heel would still be comfortable to stomp around the city in. Nope. Better than stilettos but I still felt like I had to step around delicately. I favor a block heel even with higher heels like in my NYE post.

But these - oh! So cute! I can't get enough. They are much more comfortable! Which is very important to me, as I am always walking from subway to bus all around the city. And am I the only one who loves the clickity-clack of heels while walking down the hallway? With these shoes, you get that gorgeous sound, as well as a little height in your step and a lot of style. I will definitely be on the hunt for  a size 6 1/2 in a pair of these!

What do you think of this new shoe trend? Nay or yay?

The Briar Rose Blog

New Year's Eve Sequins

This is my New Year's Eve skirt that I wore to a party a little while ago. Last New Year's Eve, I had a reunion with one of my good friends from university, Alicia. She came into town, we got all dolled up, went out to my favorite bar and then after 30 minutes (and taking these pictures), I threw up due to food poisoning. My new years' resolution last year was not to throw up in a taxi on the way back home. Hopefully this year will not be as pitiful! 

However badly this skirt's track record might be, I still love wearing it every time. This time I decided to go a wee bit less va-va-voom and pair it with a slouchy oatmeal sweater. This sweater gave the overall look a delicious effortlessness - something I always seem to try and strive for but feel like I don't always succeed at. 

I loved loved loved wearing this outfit not only for it's ease-factor but because I felt sexy without it being too much or too tight. We ate a huge meal that night and my baggy sweater did the trick to hide all the roast and red velvet cake intake. I decided not to wear any necklaces so that I could show off the skin of my neck/shoulder area - something I normally don't really think about. But it paid off - my boyfriend kept saying how much he loved my "creamy skin". Hehe.  

I kept the rest of the outfit clean with simple studs, black accessories, and understated make-up. I let the skirt do all the talking! 

Crossing my fingers that I will be able to enjoy New Year's celebrations this year! Not sure what I'm going to wear this year. What are you going to wear? 

Sweater: Belk | Skirt: Clothing Swap | Clutch: Charlotte Russe | Heels: Korean Thrift Store 

Mod Babe

From the Archives: 

Things have been crazy over here so I haven't been able to post as much as I would like. However, here's a style post from a little while back that I'd like you to take a look at! 

I got this houndstooth mod-inspired sweater dress at a clothing swap from my black-wearing-fashion-guru-friend, Sasha.  I normally stay away from this kind of silhouette - the drop waist mod shift dress because it doesn't flatter the pear-shaped lady very well. It makes the smallest part of my body look larger than it actually is, usually. However, this length is really short and it almost skims in the middle just a smidge - just enough to flatter but still read "mod". And I couldn't resist not going along with the whole 1960's theme - I love a good theme - with the big flowers and red cateye sunglasses. To keep the whole look nice and winter cosy I added my knit hat with the faux fur ball in the back. And what mod outfit isn't complete without some go-go boots?! (Okay, wrong color but I can pretend). I really wanted to add some thick black eye lashes via Twiggy but there wasn't enough time when I took the photos. :( Next time! 

Hat & Sweater Dress: Clothing Swap | Sunglasses: Target | Boots: DSW 

Winter White and Evergreen

I bought this coat on one of my thrift store trips for $10! Even though it's not the thickest, I was drawn to the green and pink plaid and I had to have it. I knew it would be the perfect Christmas coat, with the evergreen - though a little nontraditional with the hints of pink. I based the rest of my outfit around one of this season's trend: winter white. I didn't want to clash with the pink by adding red so I went with simple white and a little gold flourish on my shirt's lapels. The trick to wearing all white is the same trick as wearing all black - making sure you have different textures to break it all up. This is a more simple holiday look than I usually go for, but I think the coat really ties it all together. 

What did you wear for this Christmas? Hope everyone had a great cozy day! 

Shirt: Old Navy | Skirt: Gift | Belt: Korean Thrift Store | Shoes: Korean Thrift Store | Belt: Goodwill | Bows: Daiso 

All Bundled Up

Yesterday I woke up to snow falling and I was so excited to finally to do a winter wonderland photo shoot. But by the time I was able to run outside, the snow had melted on the pavement and had stopped flurrying. So here's my (doctored) version. 

When I did see all the snow falling in the morning, though, my first thought was, "Oh, crap! What in the world am I going to WEEEAR?!" and I sent myself into a panic. 

I don't think this Georgia girl will ever really get used to snow.

So I grabbed the warmest thing I had - this gray, wool sweater-dress.  When I first put on the gray sweater-dress, my first reaction was, "oh, wow. That makes me look mega curvy. I don't know..." Especially since I've been wearing a lot of black lately (all my sweaters are in dark colors, I don't know why!) I wasn't used to seeing me in gray. But then I thought,  "That's stupid. I AM curvy. It will keep me warm and I like it." This was the first time I wore it and MAN, it's so warm! I decided to walk a little in the snow when the flurries were coming on strong and while my knees were chilly, the rest of me wasn't. I was impressed.

I figured because of the light color of the sweater-dress, I would continue with this winter's biggest trend - winter pastels. So I threw on my pink hat and (what color is this?!) sea foam suuuuuuuper-long-amazing-scarf. The extra little touch in keeping with the cute, sweetness of it all was my gray bow belt - one of my favorites! I don't wear it as much as I would like; I think in part because the color gray as an accessory throws me off for some reason.

Now while I just "threw on" my darling pastel knitwear, the things under my outfit I most definitely did NOT just throw on. I hiked up - with a lot of effort, I might add - a pair of tights, thick pair of stockings, and thick socks all before putting on my thick black leggings. I also have on a tank top, and long sleeve shirt under my sweater-dress - all carefully tucked into the various tights and leggings in according to Lindsey's method of winter wear OCD. But the long sleeve shirt wasn't just for extra warmth - the wool is a little scratchy so it helped with that.

What tips do you have for winter layering? I'm always learning! 

Sweater Dress: Goodwill | Belt, Scarf : Clothing Swap | Hat: Comma | Boots: DSW

Santa's Little Helper

So this outfit is more loud and obnoxious than actual fashion. I wrote that and then thought, psssh, forget that; fashion is whatever you want it to be. Either way, this outfit was loads of fun to wear for SantaCon up in Seoul this weekend! Because I've been so so busy lately, I haven't been able to really slow down and enjoy the Christmas season (not that it's a very big thing in a predominantly Buddhist country). I was so excited to get out of my city and do something festive! 

I have been trying very hard to not show any double takes on my blog so far. Not because I don't think it's cool to wear things over and over again (on the contrary!) but so many people give me free clothes and I wanted to challenge myself to not get comfortable wearing the same things. I wanted to take advantage of the influx of the swag while I got it. When you're a part of an expat community - especially when people know how much you love clothes -  you get "new" clothes ALL the time from friends who are leaving the country. Also I think the expat community views things in a much different light. Back home, you're encouraged to build a grown-up wardrobe, invest in the basics and fill up your closet, fill up your house. When you're moving frequently from country to country or when you live in a tiny place like me, this isn't always a reality or even a desire. You enjoy the things that you have when you have them and then you give them away. In a way, it's very freeing. However, don't let me fool you. There are some things (more than I care to admit) that I refuse to get rid of, no matter what. 

So back to wearing things more than once on this blog: I finally broke down. You might remember this top from here and this skirt from here. There's nothing like the holidays to bring [things] together, amiright? I wasn't willing to invest in a Santa suit, so I decided to dress up as an elf with things already in my closet. A quick run to the local dollar store supplied me with the additional holiday cheer of the holly garland, the santa hat, and the bows I added to the brim.

What things have you been doing to get you into the holiday spirit?

Crocheted Shrug: Korean thrift store | Green blouse: Forever 21 | Skirt: American thrift store | Sunnies: Target | Belt: Charlotte Russe | Boots: DSW | Garland & Santa Hat: Daiso  

Crisp and Classic

A little while back I was asked to participate in an educational video for my university. For the past year, I've been teaching an extra curricular English conversation class in the evenings for the flight attendant majors. That's right! In Korea, there's a whole university major for being a flight attendant. Once you've flown with a Korean airline though, it makes total sense - the flight attendants are excellent! So the purpose of this video was to adveritse about this class to incoming students. I, of course, played myself and because the sound didn't matter, my students and I got to be really goofy hamming it up for the camera. 

So this is the outfit I chose to wear for the video. Something professorial but still fashionable and fun. I've been dying to wear this gorgeous pale blue sweater ever since pulling out my winter clothes. The small knit-work and the color is so feminine and sweet. I decided to continue the theme with my crisp white shirt buttoned all the way up, my silver feather necklace, and kitten heels. And I love this skirt - y'all know how I love chiffon fabrics and this geometric pattern is really the deciding factor that made me buy it.  

Sneaky Slip!

Sweater: Gap (Thrift Store) | Button-Up: Old Navy (Thrift Store) | Skirt: Thrift Store | Necklace: Sharkzone boutique | Earrings: Naughty Cat | Ring: Premier Designs | Shoes: Anne Klein