Black and White

Loving all things black & white right now!

From old scrapbook.

Have a wonderful day!

Trendy Trousers: Fail?

I took a trip to my local H&M today in hopes of obtaining some versatile casual dresses after seeing great finds from Quest for Fashion Sense and Life Unrefined. Unfortunately, I got distracted by these really cool pants on the dummy display. The moroccan or medallion print is immensely appealing to me lately. So the only item I took home with me are these pants in their smallest size XS to evaluate.....

My first thoughts were "wow, the ombre color combo is very unique and pretty!"

As I tried the pants on, I noticed that the elasticized waistband in the back and tapered loose cut reminds me of the silky pajama pants that Asian grannies tend to wear.

I tried to convince myself that pajama-style trousers are the "it" thing right now. Maybe I can work these pants....with my trusty black blazer and white tee:

The polyester fabric itself has no stretch, so any tighter in the legs would have been uncomfortable.

Trying to play with the length by rolling up the hem...

Eh, what do you think?

Wrong styling choices? Not too flattering backside?

Looks better as pajamas instead?

Alrighty...maybe these pants are not for me. I'm leaning towards returning. 

Too bad, because I really like the print!

They sure look amazing on these fashionable bloggers though:

Ready Two Wear

Dadouchic

Reality TV Fashion

If you bought these pants too, please share your link (pics) in the comments below!

Lace Topping

Looking through my old scrapbook, I fell in love this little lace top under a suit all over again:

It's no wonder I adore the "Romancing the Suit" from Phiphi's Blog recently!

Lace is definitely on my mind. 

Here's some cute options at ASOS:

Darling Lace Top

ASOS Heavy Lace Top With Peplum

ASOS Top in Lace with Crystal Bow Trim

What's your favorite lace items? 

Black dots on my radar

ASOS Skater Dress In Large Spot Print ($41.56)

GAP Broken-in straight khakis review

When I was people-watching in DC, I spotted this girl wearing neon yellow pants with a blue denim jacket that struck a chord in me. I wanted yellow pants! That night, I decided to search for some online. I found many appealing ones, but so expensive though like these 7 For All Mankind ones in Citron and Neon Yellow, or these Rag & Bone denim leggings in Neon Yellow. Since this is considered a trendy item, I'm not willing to pay big bucks for it. Then came along these GAP ones that fits the budget....

GAP Broken-in Straight Khakis in Vibrating Yellow

(Original price $49.94,  mine was 30% sale at $34.97)

For you online shoppers, my specific body measurements for reference are: lower waist measured under belly-button 29", widest part of hip/seat ~34", and upper thigh circumference (thickest section) 20".

When I went to my local store, this is how the regular size 0 looks on me:

 Gaping at back of waist and some flaring at pockets.

They didn't have the Vibrating Yellow in size 00, so I tried the Becca Blue in size regular 00 below:

The regular 00 may not look tight, but they felt tight...especially when I tried to sit down. The waist band doesn't have a lot of stretch. 

Thus, I made the assumption that the size Petite 0 (sold online) would probably be my best fit, which should fall between regular 00 and regular 0 (and with better length for the short legs). Here's how they turned out:

My assumption was spot-on! They fit comfortably! I love that it's a bit looser throughout the legs, which is much better for hot muggy days. The fabric is lightweight yet sturdy, has some stretch, and feels soft and nice on the skin. The length can be rolled up once or twice for a more ankle or cropped look. The only issue I can think of is the wrinkling at the back of my thighs. Overall, I'm digging these pants for casual warm days!

If you are looking to order these pants online, please note they do run large. I normally wear size 2 or 4 in GAP jeans, so I was a bit surprised to be wearing a size 0. Also, these pants seem to be made for people with some junk in the trunk (or pear-shape bods).

Side note on the "denim jacket": this is a popular item, especially in city vacation spots. It's warm, sturdy, and gives a relaxed attitude. Finding a classic denim jacket that is not too dark, too light, too stiff, or too boxy...can be difficult. The one I'm wearing is a thrifted SO juniors brand at Kohl's. As with most mass-produced jackets, the sleeves are always too long. I had mine chopped off. Come to think of it, maybe the denim is a bit too blue for my bright pants? I probably could use a duller, lighter shade in the denim jacket...

Why I love men's style

I admit back in my college days while procrastinating my studies in the library, I would often head over to the periodicals section and pick up some fashion magazines. My guilty pleasure was the GQ magazine. Can't beat hot guys in really nice clothes!

What I admire the most of menswear is how their color palettes and textures tend to be very neutral and pleasing to the eye. It makes us women clothing look like clown-clothes.

It's no wonder I keep gravitating towards the men's section of catalogs and fashion publications (as mentioned previously here, here, and here).

Although the men in my life aren't too fashionable....my dad and my brothers wear the same thing over and over everyday (simple T-shirts and khakis)...they always manage to look better in photographs than me, haha!

For instance, here's my dad's outfit on our father-daughter trip to the East Coast last year:

This is his tourist garb, but I love how his monochromatic ensemble blended so well with the beautiful background. And he also looks vacation-suntanned! This is my favorite picture that I took of him :)

Now this was me on the same trip:

Ughh....baggy old-lady black pants (but comfortable), bulky white nylon bag that looks like a diaper bag, magenta scarf that clashes with the blue denim jacket and didn't match any scenery that we explored. Wish I had worn all black instead to fit in with the Orthodox Jewish folks in the background at least.

Thus, after a few of these vacation photos, I pretty much threw out everything that is bright pink and purple (girly colors) that tend to be too garish in most environments. Although I'm always inspired by girl power in movies like Legally Blonde and my beloved Confessions of a Shopaholic...the reality is...the world is not Candy Land. Plus, I'm probably getting old, more practical, and less dreamy....thus gravitating towards more neutrals. 

What better way to learn how to dress neutral (but not boring) than revel in men's fashion! 

I was so happy to find out about The Style Blogger, now called TSBmen Articles of Style, from Stylepint awhile back. That one perfect picture of Jenilee's outfit seemed to have made a huge impact on every girl's mind....I've seen many great replications of this look since.

So far, TSBmen is the only menswear blog that I follow. Do you know of any other men's style blogs to recommend?  I wish there was a petite-men fashion blog, haha. The closest I found on Google was this one post from Men's Style Pro featuring Chaz Bellinger (very cute for a 5'3" guy).

Still a girly girl at heart, I probably won't be sporting a tie or suspenders any time soon, but I'm definitely interested in wearing more neutral and masculine colors such as blue, gray, and browns. 

How are you inspired by menswear?

Bow flats

SPLURGE

Massimo Dutti Ballerina with Bow  $128

 I first heard about Massimo Dutti from Fast Food and Fast Fashion. 

DEAL

Zara Girls Leather Ballerina Flats  $49.90

Doesn't it resemble the Massimo Dutti ones with the low heel?

I can probably fit into girl shoes size 3 1/2 or 4!

Ah, so cute!

The Balm

I've been also trying to find better blushes lately, and came across The Balm cosmetics from the plethora of positive reviews from Bloggers and Youtubers. I'm not entirely convinced yet to buy these products, but I'm very drawn to their fun 1950's theme packaging! 

What is your favorite blush lately?

Spring formal wear

Invited to a "formal" party in springtime? What to wear?!

Let's look in the closet....

- Long floor-sweeping evening dress?  none.

- Flowing Grecian style dress as seen on red carpets? none.

- Sequin dress? ....eh, too Christmas-y.

- Little black dress? ...eh, length too short, too cocktail.

- Maybe spring pastel-colored dress? none.

- Satin dress?  yes! I have two! halter blue one is...yuck, awkward midi length...needs to be altered.....which leaves the emerald dress....last styled for Petite Fashion Challenge #4 back in 2010 for Christmas party:

So this is the fanciest evening dress I own that fits :(

 Luckily, "emerald" is color of the year :)

Just need more colorful accessories...but definitely avoid gold, red, and black (winter holiday colors).

All I could find is my blue Forever21 Sparkling Teardrop necklace (reviewed here) 

Any other ideas how I should style an emerald dress for springtime formal event?
Oh, great suggestion! Floral heels...like these pretty Manolo Blahnik 'BB' Pump...swoon!

(Guy-date, head over to TSB for tips on Tuxedo Rental Alternatives)

First Impressions

• First time trying a "falafel" today. LOVE IT! Like a meat ball without meat and it really fills you up! I'm still full 6 hours later. Or maybe because it's also the tasty hummus sampler, fries, and trying a bit of everything off other people's plate, haha. Now I want to learn how to make falafel....because I want to incorporate this into my Viet diet. I'm thinking falafel would be great as eggroll fillings! Please share your favorite falafel recipe!

• Passed by Charlotte Russe's window, and instantly adore this outfit at first sight:

Fall blazer for Spring

I recently found a houndstooth blazer on the clearance rack for $20 at my local H&M. On further inspection, I think this might be the same suit pieces as seen on Alterations Needed, Extra Petite, and Stylish Petite back in 2011! Kind of weird how it made its way to my local store now in 2013. However, my blazer doesn't have the elbow patches or the polka-dot lined inside pocket, so maybe this is a different renewal edition. Sometimes I forget that Kelly, Jean, and Annie are indeed tiny petites in their size 2's. I felt this H&M sizing definitely ran small. I had to take the jacket in size 4, with sleeves shortened (another $20 in alteration cost), and the skirt in size 6!

I was sort of bummed that I would have to store away the brown houndstooth blazer in the back of my closet to wait till Fall to wear it.....until my eyes landed upon page 135 of the March 2013 J.Crew Style Guide....men's section again....

.....granted it's a lightweight silk-linen jacket being advertised here, it gives off the same effect as a houndstooth jacket from this Fall 2012 J.Crew catalog clipping:

Both can pass as Spring looks, no?

Lastly, I was excited about the "real" chest pocket on my blazer. I don't own any handkerchiefs or pocket-squares, but I do have several handmade hair scrunchies lying around. Making scrunchies out of scrap fabric use to be my hobby back in junior high school, haha. Although scrunchies are out-of-style for a long time, who knew they'll come in handy now...

....and still useful in tying the hair back when they go awry.

Maybe I should pick up this hobby again!

Marching in March

Wearing H&M lavender blouse, Plastic Island tweed jacket last seen here, Urban Outfitters BDG grazer (the only blue jeans I own now), Ann Taylor perfect pumps (buy here), and vintage gold sweater guard from Etsy. 

Untucked or Tucked? 

As much as I like the comfort of untucked shirts, sometimes one just has to "suck it up and tuck it in" to help lengthen out the short-legs proportion.

Ooh, I can recreate this entire look with J.Crew items:
- Blythe Blouse in Silk or Perfect Shirt in Linen (neon violet)
- Pepper Tweed Jacket or Pink Tweed Jacket
- Toothpink Jean in Classic Rinse Wash

- Miri Midheel Pumps (black)

And sweater guards can be found on Etsy or Ebay. There are so many interesting ones on there!