At the Lake

For my family, thrift store shopping isn't just a way to get cheap things. It's practically a religion. And when I go home, I have to always go at least once to my favorite Goodwill. I will ravenously thrust back hanger after hanger looking for the perfect pieces hidden on the rack. My mom and I will pile mountains of clothes in our buggy and then try it ALL on. It's time consuming but we've got it down to a science. So when I put this little white number on, my mom said, "Oh, you'll get a lot of use out of that. You'll love it." I was thinking of wearing it over my swim suit or for beach days. But when I bought a beige-colored slip to use with some of my finicky skirts, it occurred to me I could wear it under the dress and I could wear it ANY day!

The tradition in Singapore for Chinese New Year is to go through your house and get rid of old things you don't need and clean everything. Very similar to spring cleaning but in preparation for their new year. I've been doing that and when I was going through all my unorganized jewelry, I found this necklace. I made/designed it a couple years ago and can't believe I could have forgotten about such a lovely piece. I paired it with this fantastic set of bracelets my friend got me. When I opened the packaging and pulled it out, I said, "Ohhh. This is so perfect for me." Her response? "I know." Lol! I love when my friends know my taste. :) 

What things are you doing to get prepared for the new year? 

Dress: Goodwill | Shoes: Rack Room | Necklace: Handmade | Sunglasses & Bracelet: Gift
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Bali, Khaleesi, and Me

I got this sarong in Ubud, Bali last month (posts from my trip here, here, and here if you are curious). I have a bunch touristy sarongs from Thailand but none of them compare to this one! The fabric is much higher quality and the gold print has much more detail - I especially love the border that goes around the entire cloth. And I think the best part about sarongs from Bali is that you can see Balinese women still wearing them; they tend to wear them with (usually lace) tunics that have a sash around them. The outfits are so beautiful, feminine and flattering to curves. 

When I got this sarong home, I was so pleased to see it matching some of my favorite gold jewelry. I made this body chain (oh so what would khaleesi wear?) a few years ago.  I used a dress dummy and a bunch of old gold chain necklaces I had hanging around my jewelry boxes and voila! I love how it reminds me of armor. Sadly, I don't wear it as much as I would like to. I am particularly pleased how the lines of the chains balances out the proportions of my hips in the sarong here. I also adore my bracelets; the one with the red gem and filigree-detail is vintage. The cuff - also very Khaleesi-inspired - is actually two butterflies put together.

So what do ya think; would you ever wear a sarong as more than just a beach cover-up?

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Faux Leather Leggings and Military Jacket for Errands in the Rain

I can't tell you how please I am with how this outfit turned out. To be honest, it was supposed to be a just a "throw on" kinda deal. I was running errands and needed something comfortable to wear without getting soggy in the rain (if you look closely, in some of the photos you can see rain drops). 

I hadn't worn these faux leather leggings yet and it was finally cool enough to do so. These things are awesome! They're faux leather in the front, and thick cotton in the back - roomy enough for my booty and lets my legs breathe. Man, you don't even realize how much the faux leather keeps in heat! 

This summer when I was checking out at DSW, we saw these hanging with the other leggings. I didn't try them on in the store and I was really nervous if they would fit or even look nice. And honestly, leather on my short stump legs? I wasn't convinced. But my mom convinced me to get them (thanks, Mom!) and I'm glad I did! I can't wait to style them with other things. 

For styling this time around, I just threw on my chambray top to keep it casual. The military jacket, hiking booties,  strong silver jewelry, and braids all organically came together to create this tough, outdoorsy kind of look. I love it. It's not something normally I go to but it was refreshing to wear something more masculine than I'm used to. It was also fun to wear three huge fall trends together, too: leather, military-inspired, and chambray. 

How would you style faux leather leggings? 

Shirt: Target | Jacket: Old Navy; similar here | Leggings: Jessica Simpson at DSW; similar here & here | Boots: Guess | Necklace: Handmade | Earrings: Naughty Cat

Wonder Woman Wishes You a Very Happy Halloween!

I don't know what was more fun: making the costume or actually wearing it. The night before the party, my boyfriend spent over 2 hours painstakingly helping me make making my corset. Not to get all mushy on you, but this is how I know he's the one for me. I'll give you more details on how exactly I did it later but basically I used an old tank top and he wrapped a bunch of duct tape around me over and over again. Then he cut the whole mess off of me and I fixed the raw edges and added the corseted back. It was pretty funny seeing the bf work because when he first started he was more of a diva than Donatella Versace - telling me not to breath or dance. (I couldn't help it! We were listening Halloween party music and I was getting excited!) He was just nervous about working with such a difficult, foreign material such as duct tape. It didn't help that we had a limited supply; I brought the tape back to Korea from our U.S. trip. But his steady hand and attention paid off; I really appreciated that he was just as (or more) concerned about getting it right as I was!    

The red boots are what started this whole thing. I found them at Goodwill back in July. As soon as I put them on, I rushed over my boyfriend, and with hands on my hips I said, "What am I?!" Yup, that's right. I've known what I was going to be for Halloween since July. That's how much I love Halloween! 

I found the blue granny-panties at my local Homeplus (Korean version of Wal-mart) and I am shocked that not only did they fit my large derriere but that they were big enough to fit the way I wanted. Win! I painted the white stars on with fabric paint.  I made the headpiece and bracelets out of toilet paper rolls and the duct tape from back home. The elastic that holds my headpiece in place is from an ugly, old skirt. I drew the stars on with red permanent marker. The last little details of my costume are my super amazing nude tights - they made me feel svelte, warm and covered. I also wore my black vintage-inspired swim suit bottom under the panties to get extra coverage. 

I am so happy how it turned out! It was better than I could have asked for. I'm just sad that Halloween went by so fast. What did you dress up as for Halloween? What was your inspiration?

Costume Inspiration: