Outfit: The Catting Hour

Dress: Oasis, cardigan: Macy's, leggings: American Apparel, shoes: Aldo, bracelet: Blah Blah Blah, hat: Earth Tree (地球樹)

It's been about eight months since my last outfit post! I've pretty much spent the entire time in sweatpants encrusted with tears. I'm kidding. To be honest, working from home doesn't really inspire a lot of sartorial creativity, even though I get annoyed with myself for just putting on jersey tops and leggings every day (unless I have an interview, in which I do make an effort). Last summer was also extremely hot and humid, even by Taiwan standards, and I wore nothing but long, batik-print skirts (NT$300 each from the night market!) and black T-shirts. How I dress does affect my mood, however, and I'm trying to make more of an effort on a daily basis.

My dress is from Oasis, which used to have a shop in Taipei 101. When they closed, I screamed (though I believe they still have a location in Ximending). The prices were way higher than the Oasis stores in the UK, but it was one of the few stores here where I didn't encounter obnoxious saleswomen who acted as if my butt is so big that it single-handedly changed weather patterns in Taiwan (well, we are having an unusually chilly winter). My shoes are just Aldo heels I got on sale, but the leather detailing caught my eye. My magical bracelet is from Blah Blah Blah, one of my favorite indie Taiwanese brands (I recently interviewed their owner). I love how it riffs off of Marian iconography. When I wear it, there's nothing I love better than making my husband ask me what time it is so I can yank my sleeve back and scream "it's the catting hour!" Being easily amused is fun!

(My photos for this post were organized with a template by the awesome Pugly Pixel.)

Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! in Taipei

I'm still working on getting my outfit-making mojo back. It's getting warmer in Taipei (finally!) and all I've wanted to do is wear t-shirt dresses and avoid thinking about another muggy, hot summer. In the meantime, I want to share one of my favorite Taipei-based fashion blogs, which is run by the owner of Eureka! Eureka! Eureka!, a cool boutique in Taipei.




The woman in all these photos is Sandy Wu, who opened Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! in her mid-twenties. I interviewed her a few months ago. She's very soft-spoken, a definite contrast to her outfits. I love her sense of color, proportion and fun. Also, her store recently started carrying those Les Queues de Sardines tights you've probably recently seen on a few fashion blogs and the only thing that is stopping me from running over and grabbing a pair is that we have an insane cat who is good at sensing when things are expensive and delicate. He caught him gnawing a pair of socks I'd knit the other day. Bad cat!

I'll be using Sandy's blog as inspiration for my own summer outfit planning. There's a definite art in dressing for weather that's extremely humid. I'm a big fan of just pulling on a sundress, but I realized while going through my wardrobe the other day that I don't actually own that many sundresses. I want to invest in more separates so I have some more variety, but I'm also not great at mixing and matching! Sigh. Anyway, for those of you who are looking forward (or not) to very hot summers, what are your wardrobe survival tips?