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.)

What I'm Sproutin': First Wedding Anniversary

Dress: Macy's, gift from my Mom, cardigan: Modcloth, rhinestone brooch: vintage, shoes: Aldo

Last Sunday was my first wedding anniversary. One year ago, my husband and I got married in a zoo. This year, we decided to celebrate by going to a gourmet Taiwanese restaurant on the 85th floor of Taipei 101. For pictures of what we ate, check out my other blog.

Ron and I don't usually go to fancy restaurants, so I wanted to dress up (even though there were plenty of other diners in polo shirts, khakis and jeans). My Mom bought me this dress during my wedding planning trip back to California, which was in January 2009. I remember at that time every department store I went to had these twofer dress combos. Modcloth still has an entire section on their Web site dedicated to them, but the ones I saw last year were all simple blouses sewn to equally plain skirts, like this. I'm actually a big fan of the look and wish I had bought more dresses like this. One cool feature of this dress is that the "sash" has little folds that look random but are actually sewn down.

My favorite part of this dress, however, is the keyhole neck and pleating. And, as you can see, I totally forgot to wear earrings! I'm so annoyed with myself because I planned to wear my wedding earrings, but they just totally escaped my mind (or my mind escaped me). Oh well. I tell myself that the lack of jewelry (aside from my tiny vintage brooch) keeps the focus on the neckline.

Get it off! Get it off!

The restaurant was a little chilly inside because of air conditioning, however, so I ended up putting on a jean jacket I'd grabbed right before we left our apartment. Here I am realizing marriage is forever.

I'm planning to write a post about my wedding dress and how I felt about the stupid cultural and societal expectations brides have to deal with. My wedding planning experience was mostly positive and very fun, but there were still things that irritated me. It's really odd how people feel like they have the right to mind your business once you announce you are engaged, from mundane things like the shoes you wear to really important (and personal) business like whether or not you are going to change your name and even your wedding ceremony and vows. But my brain is a bit fried right now, so I'll do that later (even though thinking of how annoyed I was when busybodies told me I should change my name makes me so angry that it fries my brain even more). Garrrrr!

What I'm Sproutin': Bunny Malone

Cardigan: American Apparel, bunny t-shirt: Mono+ in Singapore, skirt: American Apparel, tights: Night market, shoes: Green Pine @ Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越), vintage sweater clips: Night market, red coral necklace: self-made

Behold, my bunny tee, just in time for Easter! I bought it during my trip in Singapore from Mono+ on Haji Lane. My second favorite thing about this outfit is that my skirt and tights are the exact same color, despite being bought at two different stores in two different countries on two different continents. As you can imagine, this gave me many hours of amusement and glee.

Here's a close-up of the bunnies:

Speaking of furry creatures, here is my cat rejecting my lovin':

Taroko George doesn't actually hate me. He just hates being held. In fact, he's cuddled up on my stomach right now, looking very dashing in his new argyle collar (his days of running around naked are over!).

What I'm Sproutin': Vintage Regression

Dress: Forever 21, leggings: American Apparel, shoes: Aldo, cardigan: Banana Republic

This is a dress I purchased at Forever 21 when I was back in California for our wedding last May. I really liked the vintage-y print and silhouette -- that is, the dress would have a vintage silhouette if it weren't so short and the armholes weren't so deep that I have to wear a cardigan over it to preserve my dignity. I've read that one of the things fast-fashion stores do to save money is to skimp on fabric by making cuffs shorter and skirts shorter. Over a thousand mass-produced shirts or so, that saves a lot of material (while widening profit margins). I don't know how that works with armholes, though, because wouldn't the leftover material be so awkwardly shaped you wouldn't be able to use it for anything else? Maybe gaping armholes are a trend I don't understand. Anyway, my giant grandpa cardi came to the rescue. I love this one because it's a very thin linen blend and I can wear it on warm days.

I'll be quiet on the blogging and commenting front because I'm off to Singapore for a few days today! It'll be a busy trip because it's technically for work, but I'm going with a friend and intend to make the most of it!

What I'm Sproutin': Sorbet Noir

Vintage dress: easystreetvintage @ Etsy, cardigan: American Apparel, scarf: Muji, belt: J. Crew outlet, vintage necklace and tights: night market, shoes: Aldo, purse: Hayden Harnett for Target, earrings: Target

Today the sun came out and the temperature went up a bit (it was 8 to 10 degrees Celsius yesterday in Taipei), so I decided to celebrate by breaking out my rainbow dress.

I dressed to match Mr. Dragonfly behind me.

I also wore a pair of giant white filigree earrings, but the hooks started bothering me after a few minutes. I have to swap them out for sterling silver ones. I've been getting more sensitive to nickel and other base metals since hitting my mid-twenties. Does anyone else have this problem?

My dress is handmade, from the 1980s (I think) and has HUGE puffy sleeves. Here is a picture from the seller:

I thought I might be able to get away with them, but I think I'll have to cut them off or otherwise alter them into ordinary short sleeves or maybe flutter sleeves (though that might also be too much). I was also thinking I should shorten the dress (by removing the bottom horizontal rows, shortening the main skirt and then reattaching the self-trim), but I actually like this length with heels. I often do this with dresses in my "to alter" pile. Instead of working on them, I drag them out, shake out the wrinkles and just wear it as is. Sometimes laziness works out!

What I'm Sproutin': Ruby Re-mix

Dress: Urban Lotus Boutique at Etsy, shoes: Re-Mix Vintage shoes, belt: Forever 21

I am very excited because I just bought a new flash for my camera from Big Camera (相機王), my favorite photography equipment store in Taipei, and can now take indoor photos on cloudy days. Woohoo! Now all I need to do is figure out how to take good indoor photos. My dress is from Urban Lotus Boutique on Etsy. I'm not sure how old it is, but it has a very cool print and a Peter Pan collar. Here's a close-up from the seller:


The hem looks uneven in the photo above, but it isn't. Here's another view. You can also see how much my cat loves me.

My shoes are the highlight of my outfit -- they are from Re-Mix Vintage Shoes and are reproductions of 1940s wedges. I bought them at The Bee's Knees on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland when we were in California for our wedding last May.

They are very comfortable, but I keep falling off of them when I walk because of my over-pronated feet (they roll inwards). I bought motion stabilizing New Balance running shoes that are made specifically for over-pronators, but I still get shin splints in the inner front of my calves when I run, so I have to watch my gait. I guess I just have to learn how to walk/run correctly!

What I'm Sproutin': Gingham to me

*Reposted with photos you can actually see. Thanks to Elaine for pointing that out to me!

Vintage shirt dress: bvikki vintage, tights: Urban Outfitters, shoes: Aldo, cardigan: Muji, belt: Forever 21?, squirrel necklace: Haoshi (close-up photo here)

These photos were taken before Lunar New Year! It seems so long ago. I can't believe it's already March. I'll have to start planning my summer wardrobe soon. It get so hot and humid in Taiwan during the summer that dressing becomes an art. The hard part is that I don't like sleeveless tops or t-shirts and I'm not a big fan of shorts or short skirts. So that pretty much knocks out 90% of my options. I might just have to buy more vintage shirt dresses.

This will have to be short post because our cat, Taroko George, is playing a game called "knocking stuff off of stuff," but I just want to add that my dress is from bvikki vintage. Becca also keeps an amazing blog of the same name that compiles images from vintage African-American publications.

What I'm Sproutin': Paisley Me Be

Jacket: Modcloth, dress: Oh My God (store in Taipei, yes, it always confuses people when I tell them I'm going there), tights: night market, shoes: Aldo, bag: Hayden-Harnett for Target, headband: Accessorize

Today was another one of those days in Taipei where the sun put in an appearance for an hour or so in the late morning, and then disappeared. These photos are fuzzier than I'm happy with, but I wanted to post them because they show off my latest obsession -- gray tights. Gray: the perfect compromise between black and white! I got the idea to pair them with bone-colored shoes from Anja at Clever Nettle.

I love the paisley print on this dress. It's so loud. I would also like to point out that this is the second outfit in a row I've posted without any black in it! Wow! I'm on a roll here. When I was in high school and college, I was known as the girl in black and my Mom wondered why I always dressed in such somber colors. I told her I was in mourning for my lost youth. Well, now I'm 28 and over my lost youth. Time to embrace the rainbow!

What I'm Sproutin': School Spirit

Navy jacket: See's (a discount store in Taipei), blouse: BCBG sale, yellow skirt: same sale, shoes: Aldo, pendant: F-ck You Barbie, double-stranded choker: self-made, purse: Hayden-Harnett for Target, headband: Accessorize

Blue and gold reminds me of my elementary school, because those were our school colors. I remember being very sad when I realized that gold actually meant "bright yellow." I would have liked to break out the bling on school spirit days!

Then again, I've always been very literal when it comes to dressing up. Our middle school had school spirit weeks. Each day had a different theme; home rooms earned points based on how many students showed up in whatever the costume of the day was. I remember Eighties Day, Backwards Day and Pajama Day. On the latter, I came to school wearing my PJs, which were made out of a soft white jersey and had little pastel flowers on them. They looked like baggy long underwear. It wasn't until I saw my classmates parading around in crisp satin sets from Victoria's Secret and brand-new bunny slippers that I realized there was (is?) an unspoken rule among the student body that you don't wear your actual pajamas to Pajama Day. Whoops! I got funny looks, but then again I always got funny looks, so I didn't care.

I've had this skirt for a little while now. My Mom bought it for me at a BCBG sale when I was in California planning my wedding last year. It also came in navy blue and I debated for a bit until my Mom said I should pick the yellow because I already owned enough clothing in depressing hues. I agreed, but then had a hard time figuring out how to style the skirt until I picked up this structured hoodie. Yes, the jacket is navy blue, but I really like this color combo. When my yellow skirt was hanging unworn in my closet, I regretted not choosing the navy blue, but now I'm glad I have such a cheerful-looking item greeting me every time I get dressed.

To make my outfit a little less preppy (not that there is anything wrong with preppy), I added my anatomically-correct heart pendant from a Taipei-based indie design team called F-ck You Barbie. They also made my beloved brain pendant. The weather's been awful recently in Taipei -- gray, wet and chilly. The lack of sun has made me feel both blue and mentally foggy. Maybe I should wear both my pendants together for good luck. Goodness knows, my brain and heart could use some extra help right now!

What I'm Sproutin': Memento Mori of the Heart

Skirt and coat: Modcloth, tights and scarf: night market, boots: Breeze Center (微風廣場), bag: Booday (蘑菇)

The weather in Taipei decided to turn rainy and chilly -- just in time for Lunar New Year (AKA Chinese New Year) vacation! Woo-hoo! I shouldn't complain too much, though. Today was the start of the lunar new year in addition to Valentine's Day. There were a couple hours of sun this afternoon and I took advantage of it to go jogging. I worked on a needle-felted miniature sculpture of my cat after I went home (yes, I'm crazy). Ron and I then had a Valentine's Day/New Year dinner incorporating pretty much everything I fantasize about eating but try to stay away from -- red wine, red meat, chocolate ice cream, sponge cake. Heh heh. Double holidays should happen more often.

The point of this outfit post is to show off my Heart coat from Modcloth. This is probably the last Modcloth order I will be making from Taiwan. I love their stuff and their shipping rates are actually quite reasonable if you use their international coupon code (inter75), but I got hit with a doozy of a customs charge. I ordered this coat because my bodice measurements are considered pneumatic by Taiwan standards and I wanted something roomy enough to stuff tons of layers underneath. I had an oversized cardigan, long-sleeved thick jersey shirt and gathered skirt underneath this and still felt comfy. In fact, I should have sized down because the coat's measurements are actually a bit roomier than what the Modcloth site stated.

To keep this coat from being too twee (I swear, I saw a toddler wearing an exact replica of it, but in red... and obviously much smaller), I paired it with my weird face tights and creepy Louis Vuitton pastiche scarf. I love how there are skulls in place of the L's and V's.

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The tights are 180 denier and very comfortable. They are by a Japanese brand called Tutuanna. I think you can find them in most night markets -- the packaging is brown. My scarf is also from a night market. I bought it last last year because it was so cool looking I couldn't resist (and I needed a scarf). At first I was worried it was a LV knock-off, but I haven't been able to find any results when I do a search for "LV skull print." I like to think it's a sardonic comment on the cult of luxury goods and the LVMH empire.

Happy Valentine's Day and a Happy New Year for those of you who celebrate the Lunar New Year (or as I've taken to calling it because of the insane number of fireworks that went off in our neighborhood this year, Loony New Year)!

What I'm Sproutin': Dandelion Green

Dress: Dandelion Vintage, shoes: Aldo, tights: the black hole of my sock drawer, purse: Hayden-Harnett for Target, vintage wooden heart pendant: vendor in Shida night market (師大夜市), belt: J. Crew outlet, headband: Accessorize

This is my first vintage shirt dress and one of my favorite 1960s styles. I bet I could do a nice, collegiate winter look with it and a v-necked black lambswool sweater, but unfortunately I left my v-necked black lambswool sweater home in California. Argh! It's on my list of stuff to fetch when I visit my parents.

This shirtdress has red and yellow stripes that run through the green. You can't see them from afar, but I think they brighten the fabric. They also remind me of dandelions, which is funny, because I purchased this dress from Dandelion Vintage right before I left for Taiwan.

I highly recommend them, by the way. One of my first eBay purchases ever (back in high school, when I still had to go to 7-Eleven to get a money order because I didn't have a checking account yet) was from Dandelion Vintage. It was a chartreuse green satin evening shift and coat set with a rhinestone-encrusted mesh neckline. It's as fabulous as it sounds. I haven't worn it a lot, but I might also bring it back to Taiwan with me and wear the shift an everyday dress. After all, rhinestones are considered a basic embellishment here, the way buttons and top-stitching are in the US, so I would fit in perfectly!

What I'm Sproutin': Specs Incognito

Dress and cardigan: H&M, leggings and scarf: American Apparel, shoes: Aldo, mitts: corner store, headband: night market, bag: Booday (蘑菇), birdcage necklace: Accessorize

Andrea of A Cat of Impossible Colour wrote a great post last week on how being the Girl with the Big Glasses used to define her personality -- and still does in a subconscious way. I enjoyed her entry because a couple weeks ago I had a corneal abrasion and had to wear glasses for a few days. I've written before about how putting on specs makes me feel like I'm slipping on a mask and walking around in disguise. I think my sense of style even changed temporarily. And since I had this big thing of plastic on my face, I decided to throw on some bright red lipstick for good measure. This outfit makes me look like an art student, in my opinion. I look like I'm about to go scream at prices for watercolor paper ("That's four sheets for how much!?!?!"). Or maybe I look like a journalism student, which would make sense, because a) I was a journalism student and b) those mitts sure would have come in handy when I developed a raging case of repetitive stress injury while in grad school.

My portable pet Gerry the Bird

The interesting thing about wearing glasses when you are used to contacts is that everything seems narrower, smaller and more distant. My seven-month-old cat looked like a tiny little kitten again. I was verklempt. I guess my glasses aren't just glasses, nor are they just a disguise of sorts -- they are also time machine googles!

What I'm Sproutin': Aughty Go-Bye Nautties

Dress: Macy's, cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft, scarf: Oasis, gloves: Modcloth, boots: Breeze Center (威風廣場), beret: Muji

Whenever I upload outfit photos to iPhoto, I put them in a folder and give them a name. Well, these photos were taken about two weeks ago and I have no idea what the heck I meant by "aughty go-bye nautties." But I am keeping the name, because it cracks me up (yes, I am one of those people who laughs at her own jokes. Or in this case, non-jokes).

I remember being really obsessed with nautical-themed outfits when I was in sixth grade. I had a white sailor shirt, which I wore with white shorts; that same year, I wore a really awesome navy blue dress in what was perhaps my most unflattering school photo. I wish I still fit into it! As it is, I'm still looking for my perfect sailor dress. Andrea from A Cat of Impossible Colour showcased a really awesome one recently. It's a vintage Laura Ashley dress that's been hemmed. I saw a similar one on eBay right before I moved to Taiwan. I still can't believe I didn't buy it!

If you've been curious about the random boards that have been showing up above my head in the past couple of outfits posts, wonder no more! It's a giant dragonfly!

It's part of an advertisement for this year's Taiwan International Floral Exposition. That reminds me of the time my parents, aunt and cousin went to a orchid expo in San Franciso. I was back home for spring break from college and told them to just drop me off on Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley so I could do some thrift shopping. That was a ruse; what I really did was go into a body piercing salon and get an industrial. My Mom was all like "we leave you alone for three hours and you get a steel bar punched through the top of your ear!?!" I really loved my piercing, but unfortunately it developed a keloid after a couple of years and I had to take it out. Boo-hoo-hoo.

What I'm Sproutin': Stop Starin' Screwball

Dress: Stop Staring, cardigan: American Apparel, gloves: dollar store, shawl: night market, fascinator: Giant Dwarf, tights: Urban Outfitters, shoes: Green Pine (興傑鞋)

I've wanted a Stop Staring dress for the longest time and last year I finally realized this particular consumerist desire. Only once I got my hands on the dress, I had no idea what to do with it! When the site says that the bengaline fabric really clings to your figure, they aren't kidding! Excellent for attention-grabbing, but what to do when you don't want to grab that much attention?

So I dressed my dress down with an oversized unisex cardigan, a very shaggy lace shawl (I only noticed the loose threads after my husband took these photos, but I think they add a nice touch) from the night market and a pair of fingerless gray gloves I got from a dollar store. And then I dressed it up again with fishnets and a Giant Dwarf floral fascinator. I like to think that the end result is: screwball comedy heroine realizes that her Rolls-Royce Phantom is on the outs and has to get down on her knees and fix the damn thing herself because her driver/mechanic knocked himself out on moonshine the previous night.

I adore my Stop Staring dress, but I think I'll continue styling it this way unless I'm going out to a party. I like how the cardigan allows me to show off the little details about the dress that I love, like its contrasting kick pleats and Art Deco-ish collar.

I hope everyone is having a nice Monday!

What I'm Sproutin': Bavarian Barney

Vintage dirndl: eBay, jersey top: Target, cardigan: H&M, vintage wooden heart pendant: Shida night market (師大夜市), shoes: Sogo Zhongxiao (Sogo 忠孝), tights: I have no idea, headband: Forever 21

This dirndl is one of my favorite dresses -- and the best thing about it (besides all the flaming purple) is that it came to me though eBay serendipity. The woman selling it had photographed it backwards on a dress form, so it looked like a plain sleeveless dress with embroidery around the bottom. When I saw the thumbnail, however, I was like "hey, that 'sleeveless cocktail dress' looks just like the back of a dirndl!" Apparently, the seller thought it was supposed to be worn with all the embroidery accentuating the back. I guess that's one way to remix the it!

The rest of my outfit is plain black, as I wanted to put the emphasis on the purple-ness, but I do like my vintage wooden heart necklace and my bandeau-style plastic headband. I forgot to take a close-up, but it has a airy, lace-like pattern on it. People often comment on it when I have it on. I've had some nice conversations with strangers in New York City and Taipei because of this headband. I guess that's one way to get to know people when you're new somewhere -- wear a statement accessory.

What I've Bean Sproutin': Feeling Dotty. A Bit Squirrely, Too.

Cardigan: H&M, top: Cartoon House (卡通工房), skirt: Modcloth, tights: the depths of my tights box, boots: Sogo Fuxing, headband: Shida night market, necklace: Haoshi

This has got to be one of the weirdest photos of me ever taken! I totally don't look like myself! I think that's what having a combination of pale skin and small features does to you -- gray light totally washes you out! Boo. Anyway, my outfit here is yet another attempt to mix up prints, only in this case there were two things with polka dots, so I guess that doesn't really count as mixing. I do like how the size of the dots and the spacing differ, however!

I've realized that I can mix a lot of black/white/red/gray outfits with the stuff in my closet. I don't know why. I like red, but it's not my favorite color. I do, however, own a lot of black clothing. Maybe buying more and more red stuff is my subconscious way of brightening up my dreary wardrobe. I used to wear all black, until one day I realized I bored myself to death every time I looked in a mirror. Also, it drives me crazy when two black items of clothing don't match EXACTLY. I'm kind of weird that way. I do, however, still buy a lot of gray clothing, or gray and black pieces with interesting patterns, details or shapes, like this skirt.

My squirrel pendant is from a Taiwanese indie design team called Haoshi. Their Web site is in English and Chinese and has the cutest little back stories for their resin animal pendants. The one for the squirrel is: "I move in the forest. Every direction or signature, they all lead me to hope." I love that! I think it's a good mantra for life. I've made some major decisions in the past few years (well, all twentysomethings do, I guess), including moving to a new country and getting married. Not all of them were easy choices (well, getting married was a pretty easy choice, especially since there was a huge chocolate toffee cake involved, heh heh), but all have indeed led me to hope.

What I'm Sproutin': Black, white and read all over

Dress and cardigan: H&M, leggings: American Apparel, pumps: Green Pine from Sogo Zhongxiao (Sogo忠孝), poppy pin: Accessorize, bag: Cambridge Satchel Company

So what exactly is black, white and read all over? Well, I hope I am, since I'm a reporter who wears a lot of black and white (haha, I love bad puns!). In fact, I think I've been wearing way too much black and white. My New Years style resolution is to stop buying so much black clothing. It will certainly making organizing my closet easier (right now the main way I find things is by touch).

My husband, my mini-me Blythe doll, Catherine Jr., and I all own black and white gingham clothing. We actually had a black and white gingham day last year, where all of us dressed up in matching duds. Then we went to one of those Japanese photo booth places and took ridiculous pictures that Ron refuses to let me post on the Internet. I can, however, show you a photo of me and my doppelganger (or should I say my dollpelganger?) in our twin outfits:

This was also back when my under layer of hair was dyed bright purple. I loved it, but the upkeep was crazy. First I had to go to a salon to double process my hair and then I had to touch up by myself once every few weeks. I used Special Effects Dye. The instructions say to leave the dye in for 30 minutes before rinsing it out, but I let it dry (which usually took a couple hours) before washing to make sure my hair soaked up as much pigment as possible. I had a lot of fun with it, though. This isn't the best photo, but it shows off what my purple hair looked like when it'd been freshly retouched:

I thought about keeping it for my wedding, but then I decided I missed my regular hair color and wanted it back for our wedding photos. I might dye my hair a wacky color again someday, though! Next time I think I'll try blue or fuschia.