10.10.2009 Embroidery and denim

Dress: Cartoonland, a store in Taipei that sells retro cartoon memorabilia and dresses, vest: Modcloth, bag: Earth Tree (地求樹), headband and wooden bead necklace: Aldo, shorter necklace: People Tree

One of the things I keep forgetting about Taipei's autumns and winters is that they are very cloudy! It's been particularly oppressive for the past couple of weeks, which is why I haven't been posting outfit pictures. The fierce wind and lack of sun make it very hard to take good photos, which is why this one is indoors and a bit blurry. Argh!

The good thing is that it's cold enough to start layering again. I'm wearing a cotton dress with white embroidery around the collar and a denim vest to give some shape to it since it's basically a muumuu. You might be seeing this combo a lot in my outfit photos since a lot of dresses sold by Taiwanese brands are one-size-fits-all and don't have a waistline. I think they do this because it's cheaper than manufacturing different sizes, but unfortunately these tunics make me look like a barrel. I do love the embroidery (you can't see it very well, but the thread is almost as thick as crewel embroidery and it's fairly well-detailed) and the bell sleeves on this one, however.

One of my tasks this weekend is to take my cold weather clothes out of their boxes and re-sole my boots and other winter shoes. I haven't gotten around to it because autumn totally snuck up on me -- one day it was muggy, the next day it was cloudy and windy! I know I complain about the sun a lot because it gives me migraines, but come back sun! All is forgiven!

In other news, some idiot abandoned their dog in a park near our house. My husband found her in a cardboard box while he was out drinking his morning coffee and reading the newspaper. You can read more about the dog here. I've been taking care of her all day and we're going to help her find a nice new home, since our landlords won't let us keep dogs (grrrr!). She's a very nice dog and it makes me so angry that someone just tossed her in the park in a grimy old cardboard box. I just don't understand people who adopt a dog or cat without realizing that it's not an automated stuffed animal!