Monday Outfit: I'm So Blue

Blue, the colour of sorrow in all the songs.  Fitting on not only the first day of having to wake up an hour earlier than I already did for work (6:30 AM... blech), but the day following Alice in Wonderland's defeat at the Oscars.  Okay, so it won Art Direction and Costume Design, but I was on the VFX team, so I was really hoping for us to win that one.  It would have been really awesome.  I guess I can't complain too much, though, since we were nominated in the first place.

Denim jacket - Gap

Terra Nova shirt - Mosaic exclusive

White long sleeved knit tee - H&M

Blue cotton skirt - Gap

Black leggings - Eurotard

Red flats - Madden Girl

It's not all doom and gloom over here.  I actually pulled my Terra Nova shirt out because I'm super excited to go again this year.  In, you know, September.  But I was talking about it with some folks over dinner last night, and it put me in the mind that I can be creative and awesome at any time.  Of course, it's a little easier when you're awake, which I'm not exactly right now.  But hey, my outfit matches.

I think, however, the skirt needs retiring.  You can't really tell from the pictures, but it has lost a lot of its vibrancy since I bought it, and it just doesn't look as nice anymore.  Its main redeeming quality is that it has pockets.  I do like the colour, but frankly, all that means is that I should get some fabric and use my pattern from my favourite white skirt, since it's a good cut on me and I can make it in any colour I want.

I also need to rethink my layering strategy.  It's cold when I leave for work, but it is not by the time I get to lunch.  I sit under an air conditioner and sometimes it's super chilly, but sometimes I'm overheating.  Logistics.  Still working them out.  Of course, in a month or two it'll be warm again until like, November.  Such is the life here.

Friday Outfit: A Bit of Colour on a Rainy Day

So, it appears that Fridays are the days of rain lately.  It does make outdoor picturing a little more difficult, but given that I live in Los Angeles where it's almost always sunny?  I'm not complaining.  I actually quite like rain, even if I prefer it to be a bit warmer when it chooses to do so.  Walking in a downpour when it's 80 degrees outside is divine.  Walking in a drizzle at 60 degrees is less pleasant, but I enjoy the sound on the roof when I'm inside.

Navy blue ribbed top - H&M

Purple knit tee - H&M

Black embroidered skirt - Floreat (via Anthropologie)

Red flats - Madden Girl

Friday is also apparently the day of posing with random Star Wars things.  I did mention I'm a huge nerd, right?  In case that point didn't sink in well enough:

Why yes, this is me, dressed as Princess Leia, outside Star Tours at Disneyland.  It was for charity, I swear.  It was also pretty awesome.

Anyway, the outfit.  I just didn't feel like wearing pants again, even though the weather was pretty crappy today.  That's what coats are for, and mine is pretty fabulous.  I'll be sure to display it sometime, it's one of my favourite things ever.  It occurred to me later in the day that tights probably would have been beneficial as well, but I spend most of my day indoors, so it wasn't a huge problem.  I have recently acquired some tights to play around with, though.  For my first two years in California, I have owned exactly one pair.  And they went missing sometime after my last outing as Princess Leia.  So I went shopping a while back specifically to pick up not only a pair of normal tights to wear with my Leia costume (and with normal clothes, I consider those from time to time as well), but some bolder choices as well.  I haven't been as quick to wear them at work largely because I walk around barefoot a lot, and would be less likely to do so in tights.  And I'll be honest, I like going shoeless.  Still, I've worn shoes/boots on some days and lived, so I should just get over that.

In any case, this was a pretty easy outfit to throw on at 7AM before running out the door.  The best part about that skirt is that it matches almost anything.  I have a blue shirt I love wearing with it, but I need to iron the ribbon tie and I was running late.  Also, it's cap sleeved and this is not cap sleeve weather.  I almost wore a green sweater that I've never worn in public, but I got because it was pretty cute and a little out of my box.  It's got puffy sleeves, which is a fashion convention I have never been attracted to, but I decided to give a go anyway.  Apparently I wasn't brave enough this morning, but another day I will be.  Probably.

Creativity tomorrow!  You're probably going to hear more about those drapes of white fabric I'm posing with, assuming I rearrange my sewing table and get some work done tonight.  Cutting is but half the battle.

Thursday Outfit: Dark but not Dreary

I kept it to the dark tones today.   Every now and again I remember it's February, and in my homelands that means it's grey and freezing.  Usually.  Unless everything's melting.  And, given the cool streak we've been on, it seemed to work out.

Grey beaded top - Deletta (via Anthropologie)

Black cardigan - Gap

Dark blue jeans - Gap

Black Jenna flats - Bass

I have a different cardigan I've worn with this before, and the other cardigan is by far superior with this top.  They both ruffle, but they ruffle in harmony.  It's like someone designed it that way, even though they came from two totally different places.  But the sleeves are longer on this one, and it's really chilly when I leave in the morning.

Also, this top was totally scored off eBay.  Anthro shopping on eBay could easily become an addiction, so I'm going to have to limit myself.  Still, you can get some really nice deals that way.  I'm a big fan.

Another time, I'll figure out something to do with the yellow beads.  They have stood as an accent on their own, but perhaps I could do something to play them up.  I'm not sure- I don't own much yellow.  But perhaps I should, if only because Green Lantern keeps breaking stuff and they must be defeated.  Somehow, somehow...

Wednesday Outfit: Weirdly Puffy

Okay, I swear the shirt didn't do that all day, and I couldn't see it well enough in my preview screen to know to take another one.  But I do have to be careful with the poofage of this particular shirt.

Braided headband - H&M

Button down embroidered and printed shirt - Pink Ice

Braided leather belt - H&M

Dark blue jeans - Spoon Jeans

Brown ruffled flats - Aldo

I am mostly a fan of this outfit. It's comfy.  The shoes are adorable (I picked them up in a massive Boxing Day sale while I was visiting my grandparents).  The pants I would love more if they were about an inch or two longer, but are pretty awesome in general.  I like a wider cut on my jeans, and I had to get rid of my old trouser cut jeans as they had a hole wearing through the butt.  They were superior to these, but I'll find another pair I love as much eventually.  And the shirt.  Ahhh, the shirt.  I found it while on a shopping trip with one of my dear Oberlin friends in Santa Monica.  I've had it almost as long as I've been living in LA- it was one of my first clothing purchases here.  I love the embroidery, and it looks pretty smart with a blazer.  Not that I have many blazers... I should consider picking one up.  Maybe funky-ing it up a little, since honestly, no one wears blazers seriously in my line of work.  Find some patches or something.  Or break down and teach myself how to embroider.  I've got some serious embroidery I'm going to have to do on one of my upcoming costume projects, so maybe I'll dig into it this way.

Ahh, costuming.  It has been far too long.  My last completed project was Giselle for New York Comic Con in October.  And granted, I wore myself out finishing it (about two weeks total for the entire costume, and I hand-painted the floral pattern on the fabric), but it has been too long.  I yearn to sew again.  Maybe I should  put this yearning towards, you know, real clothes I can wear every day... but costumes are so much more fun. :)

Tuesday Outfit: Feeling Grapelike

Got home a little later than usual, as I got the urge to work on my Senatorial Leia costume, but had to run down to Santa Monica to get some more fabric.  Still, I managed to make it home before I lost all my light.

Navy blue knit top - H&M

Purple wrap-style sweater: Anthropologie

Dark blue jeans - Gap

Black Jenna flats - Bass

Yup, keeping it simple.  It's a fairly chilly week in Los Angeles, which means the temperature has dropped blow sixty.  Even my northern self will admit that below sixty, a jacket is appreciated, though I ditched it for the later parts of the day when it warmed up a bit.  I actually love this sweater a lot- again, it's purple, which is pretty much the best colour ever.  Plus, it's got the fun woven detailing, and it fits wonderfully.  It's a great little sweater, stylish and not too warm.

Another reason for the simplicity?  I definitely didn't plan it out the night before.  Frankly, when I choose my outfit in the morning before work, I'm just happy they all match.  I don't really wake up before 10AM, but have to be at work well before then.  One morning I almost walked out without my glasses on.  So, not bad for a bleary grab for clothing.

Monday Outfit: Feeling Springy

Okay, so it's not actually spring yet, but I'm a northerner, so this weather still feels very spring-like to me.  And I just got this skirt, so I wanted to wear it.

Purple knit ruffled top - Deletta (via Anthropologie)

Cream ribbon skirt - Lithe (via Anthropologie)

Brown knee boots - Matisse

Confession: I didn't buy the boots to wear with normal outfits.  These are technically my Jedi boots that I wear out costuming.  They're great!  Comfortable, well-made, nice grippy sole so I can do my lightsaber choreography without falling over, and also super cute.  

The rest of the outfit, however, has nothing to do with my Jedi activities.  Arguably too springy for a February day, but really, it was in the low 60s.  That's totally spring weather.  I think this skirt is going to prove quite versatile, with its wide range of colours.  We also determined that it can be used to defeat any members of the Green Lantern Corps because the amount of yellow in the skirt outweighs the amount of green by a significant margin, which will be super useful around the time Green Lantern is trying to finish and using up all the resources to do so.

Note to self: put together an all-yellow outfit just for this purpose.

The shirt is mainly three things- awesome, comfy, and purple.  I cannot ask more from a piece of clothing.

All things considered, not a bad ensemble to wear to work on a holiday.  Holidays at work are the best days- you get paid extra, and they feed you delicious food. Can't argue with that.

Creativity Saturdays: Sand and Snow

So, here's my first experiment in showing off my non-fashion pursuits, almost all of which have been developed better than my personal style.

There are a lot of things I could share, and ideally they'll end up being recent things.  But, this being a busy week and me having a backlog of stuff I've made, and y'all having seen none of it... yeah, I'm going with an older creation.  This particular one is a song I co-wrote last September at Terra Nova.  Terra Nova is an arts retreat hosted by Mosaic every labor day weekend.  Last year was the first year I went, and I focused on music.  I've been playing music for about twenty years, and primarily play the viola.  I also noodle around on the guitar, however, and decided to step out of my box and take the songwriting breakout session.

Lyrics are in the description on the YouTube page.  It's a lighthearted duet about someone who hates sand and heat conversing with someone who hates snow.  I can't even tell you how many times I've had almost this exact conversation since moving to Los Angeles.

Things worth noting: we wrote it in the space of 24 hours so it's far from perfect, neither of us are particularly singers, and it was insanely hot outside (I think the temperature peaked at around 107 degrees).  But it was one of the most fun things I've ever done, and it's a personal goal of mine to write more music.  I've got a few half songs rolling around, and if any of them make their way to completion, they might go up here.

I never thought I could write a song, but while I was at Terra Nova I collaborated on three. What kinds of creative pursuits have you always wanted to try, but you thought were too far out of your box?