Afresh with orange

ASOS PETITE Exclusive Prom Dress With Embroidered Flowers ($118.79)

I have no clue where to wear a dress like this, but it's oh-so-pretty!

I'm definitely in an orange funk lately.

Some other orange items I'm loving:

- Orange Anorak: Jenilee Thornton does it again on TSBmen. She makes menswear look so cool! Wish she has her own fashion blog so I can follow and copy her style ;)
- Orange Nail Polish: I always think of Nini Nguyen when I see orange nails. She rocks them here and here.
- Orange Pumps: still on my mind; mentioned in previous post.

Fruity hued pumps

Just when I thought my life was complete with my current shoe collection, my eyes are now wandering off towards these fruity orange pumps....

Prada Pointed Toe Pumps in Orange

($389+)

Diane Von Furstenberg Anette in Peach Nectar

($222+)

Stuart Weitzman Naughty in Papaya Aniline

($137+)

Zara Leather Court Shoe in Orange

($89+)

Corso Como Craven in Coral

($47+)

Also inspired by Quest for Fashion Sense's orange pumps!

A few of my favorite things

1. Wearing olive green & white combinations.

2. Testing out yellow pumps! 

3. Handmade pocket tissue cases from Etsy. 

These linen ones are also perfect for organizing/storing jewelry and preventing moisture-induced rusting!

Show me the Manet!

I love these paintings from French painter Edouard Manet...

I actually do not enjoy eating oysters, but they are interesting to look at, and people who eat them are also interesting to look at, haha. They always remind me of the funny scene from one of my favorite movies, Mr. Bean's Holiday, lol!

Who in the world is George Moore? He had style!

Aren't the best things to capture in photos (or paintings) are fashion and food?

Jellyfish?

Anthro is having FREE SHIPPING on orders $150+ this weekend with code: LONGWEEKEND 

At first glance, I was super excited about this top because I thought it was jellyfish print, but upon closer inspection, it's actually balloons silhouettes...

....bummer it's not jellyfish, but still a very cute shirt that would be great for work and play!

Float On Tank $88

But if you see a cute jellyfish print anywhere, send it my way! :)

Happy Wee! kend!

Kleinert's Dress Shields to the rescue

Wearing old J.Crew stretch perfect shirt size regular XXS sold here, GAP outlet pants size 1 similar here, and Talbot's pumps.

The story behind today's outfit is that I can finally wear my green J.Crew stretch perfect shirt in warmer weather, thanks to Kleinert's Dress Shields! 

Ever since high school, something strange happened to my underarms....they were always sweating, annoyingly. I couldn't wear any fitted tops without having these embarrassing wet marks under the arms. I tried every brand of antiperspirants at the drugstore, which seemed to irritate my skin, and didn't prevent the wet marks at all. For two decades, I only wore loose knit shirts, darker colors, and layers to hide any signs of wetness under my arms.

But of course, sometimes I just want to "look good" which requires a fitted top. For instance, I love my green J.Crew shirt, the most fitted button-up I own, but it shows armpit wet marks major time! Thus, I've been reserving this shirt for the winter only when I can layer a short sleeve t-shirt underneath to soak up the sweat before it reaches the outer layer. (I wonder if wearing layers actually makes my body hotter and sweat even more!)

It wasn't until I read this Extra Petite post, that I found a real solution. I'm a little hesitant on trying the panty liner trick (because I've actually had a panty liner fall out of my own panties once, so embarrassing! I'll be horrified if a panty liner fell out of my sleeves too). But one of Extra Petite's readers suggested Kleinert's products.....something I've never heard before.

I could not believe this company has been selling sweat-control products since 1869, and I finally heard about it in 2012!  I suppose the population of people with sweating issues is small or no one ever talks about it. Heck, I was pretty content with wearing loose tops and sweat-proof fabrics, that I never thought about searching for alternative solutions, and never talked about it to anyone myself.

The Kleinert's website looks infomercial-cheesy, but I like that they have many interesting options. I decided to try their Washable Snap On Ready Shield style 1114F in Beige.

It's easier to put the shields on the bra first, before wearing the bra....

They are not the prettiest thing, and looks quite ridiculous on....

The inner side of the shields feel like linen-cotton (2 layers of 100% cotton absorbency to soak up the sweat). The outer side is a silky nylon.

I'm wearing this whole contraption underneath my green J.Crew shirt above, and you can't really detect I'm wearing these shields. And they work! 

I wore this outfit for 10 hours at work, and my typical sweat did not show through. Granted it does feel like I'm wearing pads under my arms, but they're not uncomfortable, and are breathable. My overall body temperature felt cooler than wearing a full t-shirt underneath.

The best part is that they are washable, and yes, I'll be wearing these every time I wear my green J.Crew button-up shirt!

Since I'm into vintage stuff, I also loving these old Kleinert's advertisements I found on Google search...

Still can't believe I have been oblivious to these until now...

Do you wear dress shields?  Or have other solutions to underarm wetness?

What to wear to a golf resort?

Per advice from TBSmen.com, "take inspiration from Mother Nature and mimic her seasonal palette."  In other words, dress to match your environment, even man-made ones.

When I think of golf, I think of vivid green grass and sunny blue skies. 

Here's some color palette ideas from Ralph Lauren ads I saved in my scrapbook from 2001....seems like such a long time ago.

Polka dots, gingham, and stripes....still in-style today!

Fitted Tan Jacket

 From old Anthropologie clipping from January 2010 issue page 22:

I adore a fitted tan jacket.

Have a wonderful day!

Black and White

Loving all things black & white right now!

From old scrapbook.

Have a wonderful day!

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!

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!

Winter black

When TSB posted about his all-black kick and also per gorgeous Glitter in my Veins, I wanted to wear all black too!

The only problem with wearing all black is that it might look too fancy, especially if you do not live in a big city with skyscrapers and high fashion. The only solution I can think of is toning down the outfit with a casual jacket....perhaps a dusty denim jacket like these from Forever 21 (to keep with the black-on-black theme):

More winter black looks I adore from my personal scrapbook:

How do you wear black on black (without looking too dressy or goth)?

Google Gorey

I was so thrilled to see Google's homepage today in celebration of artist Edward Gorey's birthday! I <3 his drawings! Blame it on endless hours of watching PBS channel when I was younger living at my grandma's house (the only channel that wasn't so static-y on her old TV). 

You know I love fashion in art! And Edward Gorey's characters have serious fashion! I highly recommend rummaging through his books for inspiration on whimsical and glamorous 1900 -1930's attire, if you are into that!

Lickable Trend

Trying out the sorbet trend this winter....

1. Started out with a peach shirt (from Forever21 here) and my old BDG grazer (on $39 sale here):
2. Topped off with my Forever21 lavender sweater (similar here)

 3. Added a peach necklace (from H&M as seen on Stylish Petite)
4. Then grabbed my mint clutch (vintage from Ebay)

I quite like the result! Although wish I was more tanned with a J-Lo glow in these pastel colors. Must pile on the bronzer!

Are you into sorbet-pastels lately (especially J.Crew style)?

Pleated A-line skirt

I've always been a fan of the A-line skirt (or circle skirt? I'm not sure what is the difference), but I have been hesitant if I can pull off this style, since it might either make me look too childish, or frumpy since I dislike wearing form-fitting tops. My preferable way to wear these skirts are with cozy, over-the-hips cable sweaters as in these old magazine/catalog clippings I saved in my scrapbook:

Pleated A-line skirts are definitely IN style! The best part is that I don't have to worry about lumpy butt or panty-lines showing. I scored this camel pleated skirt at Forever21 Essentials (size XS) clearance rack for $9.99 recently.

Unfortunately, I don't own any cable sweaters anymore (due to mild weather where I live), and the best I could do is this New York & Co. cardigan....but then I noticed that perhaps the 'over-the-hip' sweater length only works for tall models and not for petites with short legs....

Untucked vs. Tucked

Which way do you think looks better?

Either way, I'm happy with this purchase, and hope to learn more ways to style it!  On my blog radar, I'm very inspired by: Sew Petite Gal's DIY skirt, To Brighten My Day's circle skirt, Stylish Petite vintage skirt, Classy Girls Wear Pearls J.Crew skirt, Sydney's Fashion Diary burgundy skirt and DIY skirt here, and Her Waise Choice who frequently sports these type of skirts.

Ooh, Forever21 has some more fun ones online:

A-Line Polka Dot Skirt  black/white $14.80

Striped Waist Skirt winter white $22.80

Pleated Faux Leather Circle Skirt black $22.80

Faux Leather A-Line Skirt black $22.80

Holiday Brocade Skirt black/gold $24.80 - as seen on Poor Little It Girl - she's only 4'11"! Love if when I see stylish petites!

J.Crew December 2012 Catalog inspiration

Who here gets giddy when they receive the J.Crew catalog in the mail? I do! My two favorite catalogs in the world are Anthropologie and J. Crew. I have saved many of their catalog clippings for over a decade it seams as my fashion inspiration. I'm glad I now have this blog to share the images I love (instead of piles of faded pages in flimsy folders, cluttering up my space, and a nightmare to rid of when moving). In the new colorful J.Crew December 2012 catalog, I actually gravitated towards the "neutral" palette. It reminded me how much I love wearing cream, dusty grey, and camel in the winter. Too bad I don't live in the cold Midwest anymore, otherwise I would be shopping for shearling, Irish fisherman sweaters, cozy cable-knits, and camel suedette pants!

And here are the pages from J.Crew December 2012 catalog that is the source of my inspiration today: 

The "Gifts for Him" inside the front-flap cover was what initially got me buzzing.

  Why do guys always get the best timeless pieces? This is why we love menswear!

from page 24-25

from page 26-27

hunky guy smiling at you from page 119.