Sunset Colors at the Grandview Trail

I mentioned earlier in the blog that very often, I don't plan where to take photos of my outfits. And yet, somehow, in a magical way, places, colors and details come naturally together to support what I wear that particular day. I don't know how it happens, I just know that it happens. It happens all the time with me, and not only with outfits. As a very intuitive person, I guess I can say that it is just the way I live my life. I don't try to plan. I just feel my way through it. And so it happened that one beautiful evening when Justin and I took off to explore a new trail south of Tacoma - the Grandview trail.

Winter Day in a Zoo

I am leaving for a short holiday break with my beloved one, and while I am getting ready for the trip and organizing the house, so it is nice and clean for our return, I thought I'd also post a few posts of my outfits and our family days lately. One of which was... yes, a trip to a zoo!

Reversible

Unlike my faux fur vest, which I made reversible by getting a pair of scissors in my hands and cutting off the label on the furry insides, this boiled wool jacket was actually meant to be reversible by its designer - the label was attached with only two little stitches on the black side of it. I wear the red side more often. But I see the potential for the black side as well. Most of the times, I wear this jacket with black pants (black linen pants back in October), but I also wore it with a pencil skirt.

Purple for Happy Days

To all of my readers who celebrate - Merry Christmas!

Most of the time, I don't think a lot about my outfits - I don't build them piece by piece, detail by detail, thinking through every option. I simply open my closet and see what "talks" to me this particular day. I go for a piece with which I feel this strange sort of connection at a given moment, and then I just build the rest from it - intuitively.

Let It Snow: Part 2

Part 1 is here.

Since snow is such a rare visitor here in Seattle, we love to come out and play when we get a chance. This time, we were digging our writers' closets for some good finds, appropriate for playing snowy/wintry outfits!

Mary Poppins, Mary Janes and Letting Go

Before I come back to the snowy post, part 2 (part 1 is here), I thought I would tell you a story about one typical winter day here in Seattle. The temperature was around 50 F (or 10 C). The sky covered us with a fluffy warm blanket of clouds and sprinkled a dust of rain. I wanted to wear something casual to the movies and suddenly felt like my denim shirt (I don't wear denim very often) and picked this rich wine colored blazer instead of a coat. The umbrella was for all of it - the rain, the blazer, and the movie I was about to watch.

Let It Snow: Part 1

Part 2 is here.

I woke up this morning while it still was dark outside, though something was noticeably different when I glanced over toward the window, looking to see what time it was. I looked back again. It was nice and white, and even though the sky was still dark above my head, above our little cottage, above the whole town and the Sound, the ground was light, covered with little sugar coating. SNOW!! First one this year. I am so happy to live in our mild climate. I am happy that snow here by the coastline is mostly decorative and usually melts by noon.

When my family woke up, Anna and I picked a couple of outfits to show off in this lovely little snow. Justin suggested that we take photos as soon as we can - and he was right. Everything melted just a couple of hours later!

Camel and Teal

Bold Colors and Black Ruana

I started wearing bold colors much more often, and combining them much more boldly than I have ever done before.

Sparkly

I have never worn sequins like this before - I maybe had things with just a touch of sequins in the past. But I couldn't help but try on this purple sparkly top at Lane's Bryant a couple of weeks ago. 

"I would definitely wear it myself," said Anna.

"She knows she is sparkly," said Justin.

My "Uzbek" Dress: Part 2

Part 1 is here.

After I tried the dress with my purple cardigan and faux leather jacket, I just put on a few other things quite spontaneously - and I think they all worked!

My "Uzbek" Dress: Part 1

Part 2 is here.

I was playing with my clothes recently, trying to find a way to combine pieces which I added to my wardrobe this year to the pieces which I have owned for a while. One of the most challenging pieces in my wardrobe, I found, was this beautiful Ikat dress which I purchased over a year ago, but had no success styling until just recently.

Not Your Common Pea Coat & Colorful Life

The thermometer is slowly going up here in Seattle. It shows 38F  today and supposedly will be in 40s by  tomorrow. Yey! Aren't you guys happy for us, Seattleties? I do hope so! I am Russian (even worse - Siberian) and I am soooo happy for all of us here. Let me tell you, in the past few years I completely forgot (lucky me!) how to dress for cold. I mean, I do remember it theoretically. Wake me up in the middle of the night - and you'll hear a coherent lesson about what to wear in freezing weather, it is our specialty as Russians (especially Siberian or Northern folks). So my brain still remembers. But (and that's a big but!) my body did forget! It completely forgot what layers mean, what kind of layers, how many layers... and how does it feel to come inside after a short walk in freezing temperatures and watch with amazement how your body just crashes becoming something jelly-like very fast.

Online Style Party: How I Wear My... Red

Jill of Everything Just So and Adrienne of The Rich Life on a Budget co-host what I call an "online party" on a monthly basis. I learned about it just recently, and absolutely admired the idea (one of my favorites is How I Wear My Animal Print from October 2013). It is inspiring to see so many wonderful women around the world doing fun stuff with their personal style! The theme of December was How I Wear My Red, and I've decided to participate for the first time. Please take a look at all the photographs at both Jill's and Adrienne's blogs:

How I Wear My Red at Everything Just So

and

How I Wear My Red at The Rich Life.

Shoe Shopping or Shopping Shoes? + Sneak Peek

There was actually a coat shopping plan that day. But shoes were also on my mind. The truth is that they almost always are. You see when I told you that I have wide feet, I wasn't kidding. All my life it has been a challenge to find a pair of shoes which A) I will love to look at, and B) I will love to wear. Shoes are just such an uncomfortable "garment"! I love shoes. But mostly just visually. In my dream life, I walk barefoot.

Parka's Life and Adventures

It's freezing here in the Pacific Northwest - rare for us! It just keeps getting colder and colder. They say it is one of coldest spells in Seattle for years. Here is hoping that we will have only a couple more cold days, and that will be it! For many, many years!

These days, I just don't feel like many layers. I still wear my boiled wool jacket, combining it with pencil skirts and turtlenecks or cardigans for quick errands around town (no photos just yet). But when it is below 30 F, I get into my parka! And even though I don't feel like shooting new pictures of my parka outings, I thought that it would be great to find old photos of me in my parka and to dedicate the whole post to this wonderfully cozy number. 

Reflections

I have just realized that the last post was my 40th post. I am 40 years old, and this is my new blog (not the first blog I've ever written, but the first one in English and the first one about style, clothes and all that stuff), and I have written 40 blog posts in short 3 month (I started in early September 2013). That in itself calls for celebration. But I started thinking what this blog actually added to my life and my understanding of myself. It is the very reason I started it 3 months ago (and started researching about 5 months ago). I have started this blog to get to know me better. And I did, in a few different ways. Am I done? Far from it!

Winter Teal

We have freezing temperatures here in Seattle for the last few days. It was 37F (just above 0C) during the day, and it is in 20sF (below 0C) at night. I don't know about you guys, but I am wearing my down parka these days and only think about being stylish. Oh no. Please don't make me answer this question... again! I live in the US for almost 12 years now. Just how many times do you think I heard this question in the past?

Well, just once then. But that will be it!

Moments of November 2013

Upper Row: 1&2. Pattern Play. 3.Put Together. 4. Fiery.
Middle Row: 1. Batik and Bougainvillea. 2. Time for Royal Coziness. 3. Red Wine Experiments. 4. It's Fun To Have a Secret.
Lower Row: 1. Leopard on Leopard. 2. Cold Days... Old Days... 3. Fisherman's Jumper. 4. Pilgrim.

My own little tradition is to post a collage of my outfits at the end of each month. I posted a lot in November! I guess it's a good sign. :) I like what I am doing. I am having a good fun as my daughter used to say when she was little. Not all of my November outfits are included in the collage though. I thought that some of them were not too different from what was just next to them. So I picked 12 the most different ones. I hope you enjoy. Happy holidays! And have a good fun with your friends... or just with yourself! :)

~ Natalia 

Pilgrim

Thanksgiving is my favorite of all American holidays. It is quiet and homey, tasty and warm. But more than that, it is a story of my own pilgrimage and the new continent where I eventually found many miracles and true happiness, much like those English pilgrims when they finally met Squanto... This is my twelfth Thanksgiving, and every single one of them differs from the previous one, and every single one of them is special to me. I can write my whole personal American history following just one single day of a year - the forth Thursday of every November. I will most probably do that one day. :)

Fisherman's Jumper

Cable knit jumpers (or sweaters) are trendy once again, though they have never actually fallen out of fashion - they seem to become a timeless classic, much like jeans or a little black dress. 

Cold Days... Old Days...

We have an unusually cold week here in Seattle. What I love about these days - the sky is perfectly clear almost all the time (rare, rare for us). The temperature is in the 40s during the day and 30s at night. It is so cold - it even made me get my very old and dear to my heart camel coat out!

Twirly November

I combined the golden denim jacket from previous post with this lovely lace skirt which I simply adore. It has perfect fall colors (a bit turkey-ish I would say ;), beautiful shape, it is made of lace (!), and it twirls in the most wonderful way! This outfit is a staple of my wardrobe during the whole month of November.

Leopard on Leopard

There is so much going on in this outfit - I am not even sure that it's legal. It occurred to me to try one leopard I have (shirt which was first shown here) with another leopard I have (skirt which was shown here). They sure were way too much next to each other (predators, you know), so I separated them with a black cardigan and a belt, just as I separate our two little fuzzy predators (who love imagining themselves being leopards) when they get a bit too crazy.

It's Fun To Have a Secret

What it is with me and dresses these days? This one is another of my new Old Navy maxi dresses (I talked about them in my previous post). I love the color and how comfortable the dress feels on my body. It is always fun to wear these soft maxi dresses, although I am aware of the fact that it might not be the most flattering style for my body type.

Out and About, or New Casual

Another of my 2-in-1, or more like 3-in-1 posts. :)

I enjoy dressing up, but equally I appreciate lazy "comftubl" days when I don't have to get out of cozy home clothes. Considering that being in such a homey mood doesn't always prevent us from going out, it's a great idea to have a few outfits which feel comfy yet still look elegant. 

Red Wine Experiments

"I have never done it before..."

I am pretty sure I made a statement like this in my blog not once at this point since I find myself trying more and more things I haven't done before.

Time for Royal Coziness

Sweater dresses are fun, cozy and elegant all at the same time. I remember wearing them years ago when I was still a college student. Have they ever fallen out of fashion? I can't remember! But I have fallen out of them for a while. Until I discovered this 100% wool sweater dress at Chico's clearance sale (for only about $30 or so it was an irresistible offer).

Batik and Bougainvillea

Justin and I went out for lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, and I knew I wanted something colorful, rich, detailed, balanced and sophisticated... just like Indian cuisine! And without a doubt, this is the best Indian food I've tried! (Check it out if you live nearby - East India Grill.)

Fiery

It was a windy, but sunny Sunday a week ago. I found something looking as a folded wool blanket in an antique mall the day before. We call such cozy blankets плед -- plaid -- in Russian, and the most common pattern would be tartan, or plaid. :)

Put Together

I had a chance to take a couple of quick photos of the outfit I showed yesterday (those photos were taken last weekend), but with a black cardigan. It gave me an opportunity to do one of my "2-in-1" posts. The cardigan changes the mood very much, yes? Which of the two is your favorite? To see more details, click on "Read more" below...

Sensual

Spirit of the Sea

It's my favorite fashion season now. I love all the layering opportunities Autumn brings to us. I love the wonderful warm colors of the season. But, I enjoy Spring as much as Fall. And for quite a while now, I have been thinking to include some of my older photo shoots with Justin, the ones we did before the beginning of In The Writer's Closet. This one is from last Spring, to be exact on Mother's Day which was May 12, 2013.

Pattern Play

I spotted this New Look Inspire midi skirt at the ASOS site a little while ago. I don't have many midis, and I don't have a lot of tribal patterns in my wardrobe either. Now, when it is on such a good sale, you just can't go wrong with it, can you? So I thought, and I decided to give it a try. 

Moments of October 2013

Upper Row: 1. Valley Walk. 2. Strong Female. 3&4. Teal, Toffee&Tweed.

Middle Row: 1. Le Rouge et le Noir, Naturally!. 2. Special Day. 3. Russian Platok. 4. Youthful.

Lower Row: 1. Feminine Shine, Clogs&Frogs. 2. Classical.

I am pretty sure I won't have a new outfit post this month, so I've made this collage of all the outfits I posted in October. This is meant to be my own little tradition at the end of a calendar month. You can find all the similar entries by clicking on the tag "monthly moments".

Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate!

Classical

Justin and I got a chance to go to a symphony this weekend. I had been craving for an inspiring classical concert for a while now, and not that there is no ways to attend one in Seattle, of course not. :) But these tickets jumped right in our hands, and it was something completely new to us -- Tacoma Symphony which we have never heard before. And another unexpected thing was that Tacoma Symphony is at this time in the process of choosing (interviewing) their next music director/conductor since maestro Harvey Felder is retiring after 18 years of great work taking the orchestra to a new level.

Feminine Shine, Clogs & Frogs

The Feminine Shine Utility jacket by Chico's was one of those items which sell fast. It's pretty unique and got my attention right away. When I found it on a 40% off rack in a store, it was the only one of this kind with all sort of other jackets, and just like a little girl, I made a wish that it would be in my size. :)

Youthful

Our unusually foggy weather calls for cozy lately. I didn't want to get out of these soft and comfy leggings (first shown here) even for my library work. (Did I tell you that I am a storyteller?) I decided to give it a more professional look by wearing a white office shirt and a bright cardigan to break the two week long fog!

Russian Platok

In every country and every culture in the world, women traditionally wear shawls, scarves or headscarves which serve us as both unique accessory and warm cozy clothing item. In Russia, we have a few traditional types of scarves or shawls which we call ПЛАТОК (platok) one of them being the gorgeous colorful shawl traditionally made in Pavlovsky Posad, a town just 68 km (42 mi) East of Moscow. 

Dancing Hipster

Hello! It's me, Anna again. I wanted to show you some of my latest fashion. I wore this outfit about a week ago. I got inspired to wear this outfit because the new dancing video game (I love dance) Just Dance 2014 has a song with a really nice outfit for the avatar. Since most of my clothes was in the laundry, I had to try and find a solution. The avatar was wearing skinny jeans, a tank top, a vest and a beanie (the hat). I loved the look and I did a little accessorizing to make it my own by adding a fingerless glove and a tie.

Special Day

It was a special day calling for a special mood and special outfit! As I have told you before, dresses and skirts are on my mind lately. Yet, I wasn't satisfied with anything from my wardrobe on that particular day. While pants are staples of my everyday wardrobe, and seem like nothing special as a general rule... yet there are no "general rules" when you are trying to create something special! Do you agree? These pair of Hue leggings were very unusual for me. They created just the right playful and sexy mood I wanted that day. Why? It was Justin's birthday! And everything was special about that day! :) 

Le Rouge et le Noir, Naturally!

When, after a long mostly quiet period, while we were wearing neutral, "safe" colors, we suddenly choose a piece like this gorgeous boiled wool jacket in "Sultry Red", it makes a statement to the world and, most importantly, to ourselves: I am me, but I am a changed me.

A Girl's Rainbow

Hey guys! 

I am happy to finally introduce another style and fashion fan in our family -- my daughter Anna (pronounced Ana). When she was a little one, I used to buy her outfits from such cool brands as Hanna Andersson and Gymboree (I still love them and miss their styles :). Sometime after 7, I think, Anna started developing her own sense of personal style. We got this idea to blog about our experiments with style together, as a mother and a daughter who both enjoy playing with fashion doing it in our own unique ways. Here she is, my almost 11 years old Anna who, by the way, is a very talented writer too. :)

xoxo

~ Natalia

We are 100!

50 + 40 + 10 = 100

Teal, Toffee & Tweed

It was a lovely half sunny fall day when Justin and I had a few errands to do, and then went shopping for presents for his upcoming birthday (and well, of course, some presents for myself as well) in the evening. Based on our activities and my mood, I changed from the more romantic outfit I had on earlier in the day, into a sportier one later. Both, in my opinion, were classy and cozy at the same time. Just what I needed for this autumn. :)

Strong Female

The sunny weekend was calling for a trip, a stroll in town, and a visit to a newly rebuilt library.

In the many years of my living in America, I so got used to wearing pants (mostly jeans in the last 5 or 6 years) that I almost forgot how it feels to wear a dress or a skirt. And I used to love wearing them back in Russia. Of course, I had a few pairs of pants and jeans in Russia too. But they never were a staple of my wardrobe. Here in America we are always on the go, at least if you live in a small town or suburb (not city) and have to drive your family and yourself a few times every day. I am sure Americans know what I am talking about. :) 

Valley Walk

This weekend, we had such gorgeous sunny, warm, mild and very inviting weather here in Seattle after a couple of weeks of heavy rain. I had two photo shoots, and one of the outfits I actually wore twice this weekend. First time, for an informal but fun family lunch (I invited a friend of mine and her kids to share that lunch with us). Second time, for a nice walk on a very pretty, very long and very easy trail in the valley. I was dreaming of taking this walk since summer! I knew this outfit would be quite perfect for it. :)

Moments of September 2013

Upper Row: 1. Military Glam. 2. Watercolor in Red. 3. Park Picnics and Printed Pants. 4. First Trip into Fall.

Lower Row: 1. Sunny. 2. Killer Whale in the City. 3.Leopard in the Autumn Garden. 4. City Sophistication.

I started this blog partly to capture and share my personal stylish moments, and partly to learn about myself as I go.

City Sophistication

I was looking for something purple to bring more of this color into our home decor. Candles or a new bed spread perhaps? But unexpectedly for myself, I stopped at one tiny thrift shop where this gorgeous silk top literally jumped on me, and didn't let go! It was everything I wanted. It was 100% silk. It had the long ties which could be arranged into a bow or just left as is. The color was gorgeous. The size was mine. The condition was perfect. The price was only $12. And a charming Indian lady put it in a bag with the words Lucky You on it for me.

Leopard in the Autumn Garden

Autumn arrived here in the Puget Sound, with heavy rain and wind. It is becoming more challenging to take nice photos of outfits under grey sky, but we thought of a few indoor locations in the city. So far, all the photos from our little garden. :)