Now

I am who I am. Today. Now. This is me. I can be totally satisfied with the thought of who I am - or not. It is up to me. Being just a little human girl, as my then 5 year old daughter put it (yes, about me! she always had somewhat mothering feelings towards me, as long as I can remember her), so yes, being just a human girl, I am not totally satisfied. I think it's OK. It's just in our nature to not be totally satisfied - it helps us to move forward.

Why I Haven't Left When I Left

As you might remember, a while ago I decided to leave this blog - I felt I said all I could say, and the rest seemed like repeating myself, and that is the last thing I ever want to do. My romance with style did not end with leaving the blog, and for the first few weeks I felt fine - I continued playing dress-up and even felt a strange feeling of freedom not thinking about how my outfits would look on photos. 

Into the Stratosphere

 

This outfit was put together on a stormy day... a really stormy day, with heavy downpour and wind blowing... but of course, when I was putting it together, I did not know yet what was awaiting me!

Night of Passion and Ecstasy, or How to Pay for a Dress Twice

You know that I don't typically write "how to" posts in this blog. What can I possibly teach you guys, you are such artists and experts yourselves that I am constantly learning from you! But here I think I am really on to something - hear me out.

Painted by Ivana!

 

Who would not be happy to wake up and discover such a wonderful surprise in their email box?
Thank you, thank you, Ivana, you made my day!!
I think many of you know this lovely young lady and her blog A Little Place to Call My Own, but if you don't yet, please stop by - you will be in for a treat! On the blog, Ivana shares her personal style - colorful, quirky, with thoughtful details and creative touches, because this girl can do just about anything - paint a picture, create images on her clothes, make a jewelry piece, you name it!

Sleeveless in Winter

Winter here is mild enough, and when it is neither rainy nor windy, it is so much fun to opt for a sleeveless coat! I was dreaming about having one for years. A couple of years ago, I bought a trench coat which was so cleverly made of two pieces - a sleeveless "base" and a short bolero style jacket with sleeves. There were so many ways to wear it! Separately, together, with the bolero jacket underneath or on the top... it was perfection! Unfortunately, it was way too small for me. I ended up sending it as a gift to a beloved friend of mine. And I kept searching...

Anthropology: Becoming an Artist

Anthropologie, the whimsical, artistic brand of clothing and home accessories was one I admired from afar, but hadn't bought anything simply because they don't carry plus sizes (I think the largest I've seen in stores was XL). That is, not till this season when I saw their ponchos and decided that they might fit me just right - and they did, despite the fact that they are marked as either L or XL, the cut is so generous, it easily will accommodate quite a range of sizes and body shapes, which are, along with the warmth and coziness, some of the great characteristics of this type of clothing.

Sunny in Tacoma + Video

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the general rule is 'when sun is out, everyone is out'. Not on big game days though, so we had the whole town to ourselves! We parked our car in a practically empty, huge public garage and caught a free tram (Tacoma Link) to the museum district. Care to join us for a walk?

What Is That Thing?

What makes us decide "today, I want to wear this and not that"? So many factors can be involved - the weather, the occasion, the way you feel, whether you want to be not just dressed up, but also comfortable, or you want mainly to feel at ease and not so dressed up at all... and so on. I still have days (will I always have them?) when I open my closet... and I don't like anything! The whole new closet to me please, right away! But today was not like those days at all. I opened my closet, briefly scanned my stuff and in a few seconds knew that the leopard print skirt was what I wanted to wear. Once you settle on at least one part of your outfit, the rest comes together pretty easily. At least, that's how it works for me.

Textures and Texts. Write and Link #7

 

This dress could be prescribed by doctors as color therapy, which I need in winter due to lack of sun. It is so easy to style - take it into neutral palette if you wish, or into reds, or purples, or dramatic black - so many options here. At first, I picked orange. Then I started second-guessing myself and asked Justin's opinion between two coats - he voted for the orange one. I was slightly concerned that it would feel a little too much, but it ended up being just right for me.