8.1.2009 Semi-upscale hippie blouse

Silk blouse: The Limited, skirt: Mervyn's (both purchased all the way back in college), necklaces: Accessorize and Aldo, scarf (worn as belt): Oasis, bag: Queen Bee Creations, shoes: Aldo, sunglasses: random stall

I wore this outfit about a week and half ago, on one of the last sunny days we had in Taipei before the typhoon rolled in. I've had my blouse and skirt for the last eight years. The spate of "shopping in your closet" articles that popped up after the market crashed last year made me laugh, in an ironic kind of way. Seriously, isn't that what most people do? I even own a washing machine, for the express purpose of cleaning the clothes that I shop from my closet!

I like the detailing on this blouse. It kind of reminds me of lacework from the early 20th century, or the floral flourishes in Alphonse Mucha paintings. I wore a couple of my favorite necklaces, a string of wooden beads from Aldo and a tiny bird cage on a brass chain from Accesorize. We went to the Red House Theater market in Ximending. You can see a giant temporary puppet theater erected in the background behind the stalls; I really liked the colors.

And here, finally, is proof that I am actually able to stand without my arms akimbo -- though not very well, apparently. I fall over!

I still have to take my laptop in for repairs. I'm a little peeved because my previous hard drive broke about six months ago, and I would have hoped that the new one would have lasted longer than half a year! It started making clicking noises when I was opening Photoshop yesterday. That, of course, is the death rattle for computers. Needless to say, I freaked out. The Mac affiliate I go to said they would repair the hard drive for free, but at this point I think I might as well buy a new laptop, since I need a faster computer anyway. Fortunately, my company has a computer reimbursement program for employees who work at home, so buying a new laptop won't be a complete financial tragedy, even though it means I'll have to cut back for the next month or so. No more Japanese zakka magazines and wanton purchases of cute pendants from the night market for me!