Better Late Than Never

Would you believe that after all these years writing about style, this is literally the first time that I am actually aware of the Fashion Week happening in New York as we speak? I can't explain it other than being preoccupied with other things in life, but honestly, high fashion just didn't interest me (though I watched a few shows in retrospect, and I even have favorites). Anyway, that was until just now - I can feel a change coming. In previous years, I haven't watched any new shows nor read fashion reports, but I am going to do it as soon as I finish writing this post. The realization, or better yet, an almost palpable feeling suddenly dawned on me, that with all the people excited about style and fashion, it must be a pretty amazing event, with all the energy building up around the world of expressing ourselves with clothes... I feel like I want to be a part of this energy, so I am going to dive in, start educating myself and getting some inspiration too. Better late than never.

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Meanwhile, I put together an outfit that might not be everyone's cup of tea and might not get a green light from some seasoned fashion gurus, but I am a student of style and a child at heart who wants to play and explore, without worrying about making faux pas. If it is a fax pas, so be it. My goal with this outfit was not being perceived as trendy or knowledgeable (I'm neither! I'm purely intuitive when it comes to style!), but rather being perceived as relevant - as in self-expressive and aware of fashion as a form of art. 

You might have seen this floral dress in Spring (along with some classical Spring poetry) HERE, and I wore this thrifted embroidered denim jacket too many times to mention (last time, in APRIL 2018). I wanted to add a touch of Fall to my outfit, so I added a sturdy leather bag (one of only two purchases I made during the biggest sale of the year at Nordstrom, but we can talk about that some other time). And finally, I wanted to add a bit of edginess to the otherwise very lady-like outfit. I chose these chunky sandals paired with sparkly socks. From my perspective, it just had to amount to a bit of magic.

This outfit was good for a day full of family adventures. First, we went to an antique mall - and that was Anya's request! She is inspired to redecorate her room, and since my home is a bit like a junk shop itself, she was able to find quite a few treasures, without the need to spend any pennies on them, so finally my hoarding habits started paying off, haha! She didn't find anything that she would love to add to her room at the mall at this time, but it didn't stop Justin and me from adding a beautiful watercolor painting of Tacoma's Union Station to our art collection, and a little hand-carved wooden box made somewhere in the former USSR (I can't always identify correctly - there are too many styles in my home country).

Then we headed off to Nordstrom to get something for my growing girl which made her extra happy, but I won't reveal all of her secrets. And after having a tasty lunch in our favorite Thai place, we watched a musical play by the wonderful local theater Hi-Liners, where all the actors are children and youth. I wasn't familiar with the piece - Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, all I knew was that it is considered a modern classic. We enjoyed it a lot! Hi-Liners truly do an amazing job guiding young actors, and their performances are always highly energized and inspired, which makes them some of my favorite ones in our area. We had to leave early, unfortunately, right after the first part which we at first mistakenly took for the end of the play (it's a long one!), but I would definitely watch it again and do recommend you to check out this theater and see if you can still catch this performance - especially if you have children or teenagers.

Anya and I had our own runway show that evening. Don't we look fashion?

The performance took place in Burien, near this charming old school. We have already taken photos here before - read my post from SEPTEMBER 2015 where I talk theater, and also discuss the issues of demolishing old buildings (and my outfit isn't bad either, if I may say so myself).

We found this painted rock in the school yard. Funny that I was considering wearing a rainbow skirt that day... I love rainbows as an amazing nature phenomena, as a meaningful personal sign (do you believe in signs?), and as a beautiful fashion statement, considered trendy these days. When I wear my rainbow pieces, I am pretty sure some people far from fashion trends take it as a social statement. I don't mind, really. It's all okay with me. A rainbow is a rainbow, and love indeed is love.

Photos by Justin

Love, peace and fashion!

Natalia

Linking with Patti's Visible Monday and

Tina's Pink Friday

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