A Photo Study

Since I'll be traveling to Paris in the fall, I figure I'll be spending the majority of my time in museums, so I've decided to take my (*ahem* brother's) DSLR camera for a spin, and to get a feel of how heavy it would be to carry it.  I've realized two things: 1) I don't have any type of upper body strength, and 2) I'm definitely never going to be a professional photographer.  I love how the camera captures the details in some of these artworks, but I find that I don't really like the pictures I take from far away.  Here's a couple of shots that I particularly like, but I'm still debating on whether or not I should take it.  Hm...

Petite Fashion Challenge #20: A Trendy Halloween

 Update:  I'm afraid that this PFC will have to be cancelled.  It looks like I jumped on a bit too quickly, and Laura's Little Closet will be hosting the 20th PFC.  Sorry for any confusion!

It's that time again: another petite fashion challenge!  I'm happy to host the 20th Petite Fashion Challenge, and taking into consideration the month we are in, it's all about Halloween.  Pick a fashion trend, and try to incorporate it into your Halloween costume.  For example, taking into consideration the capes and cloaks trend, dress up like a superhero, and keep warm at the same time!  Hey, knocking on all those doors for candy can get really cold.  The sky is the limit!  Pun intended.

To participate, please leave a comment with your blog's link below.  If you don't have a blog, you can email me your entries at happydays01012012@yahoo.com.  The deadline is All Hallow's Eve, October 31st at 12 AM EST.  Again, pun intended.  You didn't really think it could be any other day did you?  ^_^

Bloggers Do Oxblood Better

Today is a very special day, and I wanted to do an outfit post that would reflect that.  Today is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, which means today is a full moon.  While here in the United States, we go by the solar (or Yang, meaning male) calendar, in certain parts of China, people still go by the lunar (or Yin, meaning female) calendar.  During this time, people usually go around eating mooncakes and lighting lanterns.  This celebration is mostly associated with the Moon Goddess (and no, I'm not talking about Sailor Moon.  ^_^ ), and how she is coming down from her palace on the moon to enjoy the treats which we mere mortals have to offer her.

In honor of the Moon Goddess, and with thanks to Pretty Shiny Sparkly for hosting this challenge, I give you my Bloggers Do Oxblood Better outfit.

 
 I think I might have overdone it with the Oxblood... ^_^;  As you can see, this is a very popular color in my wardrobe.

First off, let's start with the dress.  I got this dress on sale at Macy's years ago for a close relative's wedding.  She even asked me to be a bride's maid.  Usually people would just wear a dress like this once and throw it out, but I love the color of it so much that I've kept it all this time.  The dress is from Betsy & Adam by Linda Bernell in a size 6 petite.  I was a bit heavier during that time, but I remember that this dress hugged my curves in all the right ways, and it still does!  From this picture, you can see that the dress has a bit of a sheen to it, so every time I move, I feel like I'm walking in water.  I love finding new ways to wear old favorites!

Moving on to the accessories, and starting with my Amrita Singh necklace.  I got this necklace some time ago, but I never got around to wearing it.  It's a beautiful, heavy piece that I also saw on Betty Draper on Mad Men one time, although I believe, it might have been in a different color.  I loved the stones on this piece paired with the gold, so I added on my Ann Taylor rustic gold lace cuff to my outfit.  I like how you can adjust the cuff to fit your wrist, because mine is very, very small.  Most bracelets just fall off my arm, but not this one!  I've also gotten compliments from friends for this cuff.

Finally, we have my Hermes 30 cm Rogue in Togo leather with gold hardware Birkin.  (That was a mouthful, wasn't it?)  This bag holds a special place in my heart.  I ordered this bag from a consignment store off of Ebay, when I had one too many glasses of wine.  I probably wouldn't have clicked the Buy It Now button if it hadn't been because of the wine, but it was a color that I loved, and it was in gold hardware!  It came on the day of my birthday, and I wore it that same day to my party.  It was fabulous.  I topped everything off with my YSL lipstick.  Don't you just love the pretty packaging of the tube?

Check out to see what other outfits other bloggers have cooked up!

The Little White Dress

Trina Turk Pearl Sleeveless Dress, Celine Nano bag, Prada sunglasses

 I love this dress.  I get so many compliments whenever I wear this dress from complete strangers.  I got this dress earlier in the summer around the time when all the other bloggers were talking about the Trina Turk collection at Banana Republic.  Since I'm not much of a print person, I wasn't really interested in the collection, but I was looking for a good quality white dress.  I actually saw this dress on the second to last episode of Glee Season 3, where the Glee club finally won the national championship.  Rachel was wearing this dress here, and I knew I had to have it.

The dress is very well made, and the heavy fabric doesn't wrinkle easily.  I love the detailing on the waist and the pockets!  A dress with pockets!  I'm in love.  Did I happen to mention that by the way?  ^_^  As for the size, I got my regular size 4.  There are no petite sizes in this dress.  The dress is a little roomy on me, but I think for a white dress, it should be a little roomy.  Of course, the opposite is true for black dresses, in my opinion.

I paired the dress with my black Celine nano bag with silver hardware.  Another one of my loves.  It looks like such a small bag, but it actually holds quite a bit.  I usually just sling it across my chest, messenger style, and it will hit right at my waist, emphasizing it even more.  I love the combination!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Leather and Fur Luxe

Banana Republic Brown Leather Sheath dress, old white faux fur scarf (or is it a stole?), Prada Dsquared Baroque Sunglasses, old Forever 21 purse

Hello everyone!  Welcome to my first Petite Fashion Challenge (aka PFC)!  We were asked to pick our favorite Summer or Fall 2012 trend and make it work for us.  I thought: That's going to be easy!  The first thing that popped into my mind was leather!  If you know me, you'll know that I'm addicted to leather.  I have at least three leather jackets, two leather pants, two faux leather leggings, a leather skirt, and finally, more recently, this brown leather dress.  (Of course, I didn't include all the leather bags and boots that I currently own, but that's another story.)

This leather dress is currently out of stock online, but there might still be a few available in stores.  There are also a few of these dresses available on Ebay as well.  I bought my dress in stores for 40% off that they had one Wednesday, and it is also a size 2 petite.  Yes, petite.  They only had the regular sizes online at the time, but a few stores sell this dress in the petite sizes.  I'm usually a size 4 in dresses, but this dress was a bit loose on me when I tried it on, and I had to go a size down.  There is one thing that I don't like about this dress.  The hem of this dress looks like it has been cut with scissors.  Other than that, I have absolutely no problems with this dress, although some people complained about the zipper getting caught.  I didn't have this problem though.

Check out pandaphilia's post to find the links to other petite fashion bloggers for their ideas!

Parisian Chic - Part I

First, I will start off by announcing: I will be traveling to Paris in the middle of November.  ^_^

This is definitely a huge dream of mine.  I once traveled to London in a month long study abroad course, and we had a week off from studying where my friends and I decided to go to Paris together.  However, as the fates would have it, I got incredibly sick, and I was bed-ridden for that whole week (plus an extra couple of days).

Fast forward years later, and I am finally going to get to go.  Of course, one of the first things that entered my mind was: What am I going to wear?  I definitely didn't want to look like a tourist, so I've been looking around at some advice that other bloggers and youtubers had posted about their trip.  When I typed in "parisian chic" on the Google search engine, this book also kept popping up, and I knew I had to have it.

Parisian Chic A Style Guide by Inges de la Fressange with Sophie Gachet

Ines de la Fressange was once the muse of Karl Lagerfeld, the current head designer and creative director of the haute couture fashion house, Chanel.  If that wasn't enough, at the age of 51, she walked the runway for the Spring/Summer 2009 collection at the Paris Haute Coutre Fashion Week for the Jean-Paul Gaultier collection.  Did I also mention that she is the daughter of a marquis, which makes her an aristocrat?

No, this is not Ines, but a picture of her eldest daughter, Nine, posing for a series of pictures in this book.  I saw this picture months ago, and I've always wondered who the model was.  It makes me think: Can someone without an inch of Parisian blood in her ever get that kind of style?  According to Ines, apparently you can.

This book also offers some places that Ines recommends to shop while in Paris (clothes, furniture, etc.), where to stay, things to see, etc., so it's not a bad guide for someone who's going to Paris.  Ines only dedicates one section of the book to Parisian apparel, so I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who wants to read it for a full workup of how to dress like a Parisian.  None the less, the advice the Ines gives make it sound amazingly simple.

With that said, I've decided to put the Magnificent Seven (a man's blazer, a trench coat, a navy sweater, a tank top, a little black dress, jeans, and a leather jacket) to the test in the next few months before my trip.  Let's see how it turns out!

Rockin' Weekend

Rayban Aviator sunglasses, H&M military blazer (old), Loft short sleeved black button up shirt (old), True Religion jeans, PS1 bag in Saddle, Banana Republic skinny belt, Love Culture bracelet (worn as choker)

I recently bought this stretchy skinny belt from Banana Republic.  When I saw it on the mannequin at the store, I fell in love with it at first sight, but it was almost $40, so I patiently waited until they had a sale.  My wait paid off, and I basically began pairing this belt with everything I was wearing.  I have yet to find something that doesn't go with this belt, and I'm thinking about getting another one in black.

I bought the medium size in Oxblood (kinda scary name isn't it?), or brown.  I had to go to two different Banana Republic stores in order to score one since they seemed to be going fast.  The reason why I bought the medium was because I wanted the belt to go around my hips.  If I wanted the belt to go around my waist, I would have needed the small.

After putting on my button up black shirt, jeans, and belt, I thought I looked a little too casual Friday office ready (and hey, it's the weekend!), so I grabbed my bracelet and used it as a choker.  It was a little bit chilly today too, so I grabbed this military style jacket that has just been sitting in my closet.  Et voila!  My rocker chic look is born!

I highly recommend this belt, plus there's a 30% discount currently going on at Banana Republic.  Check it out in stores!  ^_^