Basic Boho

When Carly from A Walk in the Park posted a photo-inspiration of the little black dressed styled bohemianly (yes, I just made "boho" into an adverb!) I instantly thought, Hey! I can do that too! It was such an exciting realization because I already had the essentials in my closet! I love to always be assessing, judging and figuring out how I can emulate another blogger's outfit or a perfect a pinterest style. But sometimes I have to shut it down. The thoughts in my head start saying, "You have to buy that. You need that. That will be perfect and give you everything you need." 

Like I said. Shut. It. Down. 

I don't want my life to be about always buying things. I don't want my blog to be either. I mean, I love a good shopping spree same as the next girl. But I constantly try to minimize my purchases. At the end of the day, I would rather spend my money on plane tickets and make memories. 

So anyways, back to this outfit. I didn't need to buy anything! Yay! It was the perfect casual and easy outfit to meet Sara for coffee.  

 

Source: A Walk in the Park 

Dress: TJ Maxx | Vest: New 2 U Thrift store | Shoes: Rack Room | Bag: Thrift store (Korea) | Necklaces: Lovisa  

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Photos by Sara Moulton

Baby, We're the New Romantics

If ya haven't figured it out, I'm quoting Taylor here. She definitely has the bon mot for romance - don't believe me? Check out this awesome Buzzfeed "If Taylor Swift Lyrics Were About Henry VII". You're welcome. Her lyrics transpires centuries, hehe. 

I feel like this skirt empathizes romance: the deep russet red, the long flowy fabric, the pleats and gathers. 

And it certainly goes with new romantics - I don't think the 1st round of old romantics were going around in crop tops and beaded vests (but definitely the 2nd round in the 60's!) And while being romantic obviously goes with this week's theme of Valentine's Day, I think Taylor is more referring to the literary movement of the 19th century - a group of writers, artists and thinkers who believed in true expression of emotions, rebelling aspects of society, finding beauty in all things and going back to nature. To name a few: Lord Byron (free love), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (humanity v. industry),  John William Waterhouse (beautiful women in natural landscapes). 

Then fast forward and we get the hippies who were inspired by the romantics - which inspired the bohemian style and this specific outfit! Voila! See how I went full cycle there? 

Besides the skirt - which I lurrrve (also see here and here) - I'm obsessed with this sweet little vest - not only is the netting really funky and fun but it's got seed pearls woven into the pattern! With the vest, I'm trying out the "Third Piece Rule" of wearing a 3rd piece that really pulls your whole look together. I read this on Little J Style's blog and thought dangit! Why didn't I think of this? Or at least know about it? It really does make the difference - though it can be hard to do in the tropics. 

So what do you think? Of Taylor? Henry VII? Romanticism? Hippies? The 3rd Piece Rule? 

I bet Henry definitely followed the Third Piece Rule and was all about some free love! 

Everything Thrifted 

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This Must Be Dirty Pop

Oi! It's been such a long time since I've posted! Sorry, y'all! I've had a lot on my plate because I've been moving... I let you know where my next home-away-from-home in another blog post soon! 

A while back, I went to a K-pop concert. My good Korean friend works for a company that hosts concert events and was able to help us out  with tickets- we got such stellar seats!  We saw Wonder Boyz, Ladies Code, Norazo, and a ballad singer. Norazo's performance was my favorite - it's a 2 man group where one is the energy (dancing and jumping around) and the other is the face (verrrry attractive guitar player). Wonder Boyz had some pretty smooth moves, too. We had a great time, even though the concert was a lot different from what I'm used to back home. We saw 5 performers/groups and the entire concert lasted only 2 hours! Everyone only sang about 2-3 songs each. The concert started exactly when it said it was going to and ended at the scheduled time as well. And the biggest difference of all - folks didn't really dance. They stayed in their seats until the performers asked them to stand up! My friends and I all wiggled in our chairs to the beat but some audience members were falling asleep! 

Because I didn't know what to expect from this concert I tried to go with comfort, style, layered warmth. Y'all know how much I love a good sweater dress and this pink animal print is just the right amount of funky. I put on the leather vest for extra warmth but also because I like how it hits me right at the waist. 

I think my favorite thing is all the jewelry. I'm normally too lazy put on a bunch of stuff but I love how it looks when I do. I'm obsessed with bracelet parties; one of the fun things is how versatile it can be. You can go boho,  mix-and-match metallics, or play with different textures. Chanel said before you leave the house, take off one thing but with bracelet parties, before you leave the house, I say ADD one more thing! 

Sweater Dress: Clothing Swap | Vest: Korean thrift store | Boots: DSW | Rings, Earrings and Bracelets: Gifted or Clothing Swap 

My Day to Night Look and Shopping for Spite in Korea

For this outfit, I needed something that would go from day to night easily. I was going to running around the city - late lunch with the boyfriend and dinner and drinks with the ladies. Well, when night-time came, all I did was stuff this vest into my leather backpack and change from my loafers to my heels. Easy-peasy. In my opinion, this dress is too short and too tight to be running errands during the day but by adding the vest, I felt like now it wasn't too overtly sexy. 

I got to tell you a story about this dress. And about shopping in Korea. I'm a size 8 in the U.S. but in Korea, I'm a size fat. It's a daily struggle for even the most confident or thinnest expats. Needless to say, shopping here can sometimes be a terrible pain. Especially when a lot of the stores only carry one-size-fits-all. I saw this dress and instantly loved it. It's such a cool geometric-print. I was looking for exactly something like this. I felt like I had a lot of cutesy-girly dresses but I wanted something sexy to show off my curves. I wanted to look and feel like a woman, not a kindergarten teacher (which was my job when I bought the dress). I also did not want a boring black dress. 

I grabbed this dress the minute I saw it and went over to the mirror near the dressing rooms. The sales clerk looked like she had just been electrocuted when she jerked her body towards me and threw her arms into a big "X", saying no in Korean. Now, I knew I wasn't going to be allowed to try on the dress the minute I walked into the store; I wanted to use the mirror. But the amount of aggression she displayed was very disheartening. She also was attracting a lot of attention from the other shoppers which made it even more embarrassing - I was trying to see if the dang thing would cover my butt. I still wasn't sure if it would fit or if it would look good on me - who knew if this would be a flattering print? I threw the dress at her and said I wanted to buy it. My $30 spite dress (I rarely spend over $10 on a dress). Man, I was pissed off. Luckily, this time my temper paid off and I think I look pretty dang svelte in it!  

I bought what my boyfriend creatively refers to as my "bowling heels" at a Korean thrift store and thankfully, trying on shoes is always a more pleasant experience. I also handmade my necklace last winter when I was inspired by the tribal-Native American trend. 

Sadly, my dressing room encounter isn't the first, last or worst story that's happen to an expat while living here. Have you ever been embarrassed when trying on something?

Dress: Eunhang Underground | Vest: Amber (Korean company) | Heels: Korean Thrift Store | Loafers: Target (Goodwill) | Sunglasses: Eunhang Underground | Ring: Clothing Swap | Necklace: Handmade by me 

This Is As Close As I'm Getting To The Camo Trend This Year

I think this look comes off as very military-inspired which wasn't my intention. But somehow this outfit just came together organically (I love when that happens). When I first got this vest at a clothing swap, I wasn't exactly sold on it. I had no idea how to stylize it. But I'm glad I got it now. This dress is just way too tight to do anything but have a hot date or a night on the town. But throw on the vest and it covers up the booty perfectly. 

And speaking of military looks, let's talk camo. My well-dressed man-friend and I were hanging out this past weekend and HE was the one who noticed all the camo prints walking past (Koreans tend to be extremely fashionable). Kudos for him for picking up on the trend because I had no idea until he opened my eyes to it. Personally, I can't stand camo print. Maybe it's because I'm from Georgia where the camo you see tends to be on Duck Dynasty-looking guys. But who knows? I usually favor very feminine looks and I'm pretty crazy about the military look I'm wearing. Maybe I'll eventually give in to the camo trend. Below I have pictures of the two camo looks that I think do work beautifully. 

What about you? Camo: nay or yay?

Dress: Forever 21 (Clothing Swap) | Vest: Armani Exchange (Clothing Swap) | Shoes: Guess | Earrings: Premier Designs  

Two Camo Looks That I Like:

1. The Office Armoire

2. Island Chic 77

Also, if you live in South Korea, get a lil' culture in. I will be participating in my 3rd art show in 2 weeks! Come check me and my talented friends, enjoy sparkling conversation, delicious drinks and the feeling of pretending to be a grown-up.