Rhyme nor reason?

Not exactly sure why there are three pictures of my hair--this outfit was from sometime last week.  Perhaps there was some special trick to it that I don't recall anymore...  I've been way to busy with school and whatnot to be posting as faithfully as I used to.

white zippered half-hoodie : some normal store YEARS ago--like 7th grade
hot pink flower sundress : super cheap on eBay
green salwar kameez pants : Ima and Aba's wedding
brown furry boots : gift from grandmother Connie

Some things from the Winter...

In order...the pink scarf is a gift from my cousins on my stepmom's side.  It has rainbow colors woven through it--very cute!  The scarf looks kind of purple in this lighting...but I promise it really is pink.  I actually rarely buy pink things for myself, so I am grateful to them for having bought it.

The pink floral dress and silk-and-bead mules are both from eBay (different sellers, of course).  The dress is very comfy, although rather vertically challenged.  This is easily rectified by pairing it with some leggings or jeans.  It is, however, a classic example of inconsistent detailing.  I bought it because it looked red in the picture...and so I expected a red dress.  Not a hot pink dress.

Modesty

Let's discuss skirts...long skirts.  There are two basic reasons for wearing a long skirt.  
One, as exemplified by  Orthodox Jewish and Islamic women (to name a couple), is modesty.  The body is a sacred temple.  For Orthodox Jews, a woman reaches an age where it is no longer acceptable for anybody but herself and her husband to see her hair.  To address this, she wears some sort of head covering--hat, scarf, wig, etc.  I cannot authoritatively speak for traditional Islamic women, but I imagine they have similar opinions about a woman's modesty.  There are other theories behind modesty, some more basic than others.  For some, a woman hides her skin because it is indecent not to.  Some people, including those who operate outside of specific "groups" (such as the Amish, Puritans, and traditional religious denominations) choose to cover their skin for other reasons.  The phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover" comes to mind here.  Some of these people prefer to be assessed based on what they do, rather than how they look.  Others choose modest clothing because of a discomfort about their body or image.
The other reason for wearing long skirts is basic human need.  Just as two people should curl together nude for more warmth, two legs will be warmer if wrapped together in a skirt than they will if separated in pants.  For added warmth, leggings may be worn under the skirt--but the skirt is essential to trap in the heat.  Of course, this only works for long skirts.  It is this second reason that I am wearing a long skirt today.


brown sweater shrug : hand-me-down from a friend
floor length blue sundress : Plato's Closet
gray tunic dress : hand-me-down from Ima
brown leather vintage-inspired ankle boots : J.C. Penny's
green rose feather hair clip : Etsy purchase

No thanks, I don't really want a bite of your eggplant...

Interesting and a little scary encounter at the grocery store today.  It's amazing the kind of stuff that people try to get away with.  I suppose it just goes to show...when a guy looks like a creepy sleazeball--he's probably a creepy sleazeball.

burgundy sweater : gift from last wintertime
brown corduroy vest : Goodwill
flower print sundress : Israel
ripped up blue jeans : years ago
brown suede boots : gift from my stepmum
gold flower necklace with rhinestones : hand-me-down from my grandmother
orange flower hair clip : years ago
pale yellow-and-silver lotus earrings : hand-me-down from Ima

Hot Chocolate

A very fun combination of classy and childish, this outfit features a sweatshirt embellished by my grandmother Connie.  She put her mad sewing skills to a simple purple top and produced this beautiful unicorn masterpiece--several years ago.  So I figured--hey, it's time to wear it again!  It still fits (mostly)!
Accent the ensemble with extra jewelry, for the childish touch...but make sure at least some of it is classy too!  Voila!  Hot chocolate.

Opinions Please?

Dude, I have comments and it makes me happy!  :3  Nothing makes me more bubbly than feedback (especially when it is nice)!  It is always interesting to hear other peoples' opinions.  They give me ideas for new things--for example, I am looking for a new person to do a look-a-like of.  Last month, when I cut my bangs, I did Bettie Page.  Now I want to try someone else--I'm looking for someone with fun fashion, of course.


olive satin sash (in hair) : a belt off a pair of pants from Goodwill
tunic dress : hand-me-down from Ima
burgundy sweater : gift from my stepmum's mum, Rosi
brown leggings : hand-me-down from Ima
brown suede boots : gift from my stepmum
"carved" turquoise bracelet : hand-me-down from Ima
 paisley headband : Etsy

A simple and (hopefully) warm look!  It will be functional for work as well :)

Stepping Out of Your Norm

In researching the world of fashion blogging, one thing that keeps cropping up is the name brand.  The brand.  As one might notice from reading my posts, I very rarely mention the brand of my clothing.  Why?  Is it because of some anarchist non-conformist agenda?  Certainly not.  I dislike anarchy in general, and being different simply to spite what is "popular".  No, the reason why I almost never discuss brands is because I quite frankly don't even notice!  I think it is silly to ruin a perfectly good tee by plastering some company's logo across the front of it.  I also think it is silly to only buy clothes from certain designers.  Let us imagine what would happen if I only ever wore the same seven or so brands.  I would never experience the fashion outside that which is in the minds of those seven designers!  It is such a limited existence, I couldn't imagine boxing myself in that way.

So here's a little dare for today... The next item of clothing you buy, make it something weird.  Step out of your norm, and buy something you think looks cool, but could never in a million years imagine yourself wearing.

Then wear it.


white bow headband : eBay costume
gray sundress : hand-me-down from Ima
ripped blue jeans : from my childhood (let us just say, they are 5 or 6 sizes too small)
gray and black cardigan : hand-me-down from Ima

Blue Skye

Another cold day!  I was incredibly too lazy to think of an original outfit today, so this is one I remember wearing once in high school.  I remember because they made me change for some reason...

brown lacy shrug : some dept. store
blue dress : hand-me-down from Ima
black hidden pattern tights : one of the many stores I get tights from
black leggings : Old Navy, I believe
brown suede boots : gift from my stepmum
black star hair chopsticks : Hot Topic

upper layer...
black pinstriped coat : T. J. Maxx
blue and tan scarf : hand-me-down from Ima's mum

Au Naturale

I know I say "this one is my favourite" or "this one is so fun to wear" a lot.  But it's true.  I can't help it if I like what I wear!  I have this theory--if I wear enough red with this wig, people may actually think my hair is red.  It worked too, on some people!  Others said that it is a very good color for me.  <3

Wigs can be very tricky.  Often they don't look very realistic.  One good, easy way to "hide" the fact that it's a wig, is to wear a cute hat.  Key word here is "cute"!  I suppose a baseball cap might work, but it seems rather pointless to have a head of full, lustrous curls, and throw a baseball hat on over it.  *shudder*
If you're going to wear a wig, however, it's important to consider when and where you're doing it.  For example, work is not the place to wear your long, blue wig.  Nobody wants to look down at their salad, and see that there's a long bit of blue-something in it.
Not surprisingly, people who don't wear wigs often are reluctant to do it, no matter how fun it may seem.  That's understandable!  It's a big jump out of ones comfort zone--I know sometimes when I'm walking around campus, I wonder what people must think about me.  I'll get paranoid, and start thinking that the athletic-looking guys behind me are laughing at me, rather than the bike that got chained upside down to a tree...
So be prepared.  If you're going to wear a wig, accept the fact that you WILL get come comments on it, and some of them might be unfavourable.  Don't let me scare you though--I've never gotten anything but compliments on my wigs.
Two more quick notes about wigs--they're hot, so if you're going to sweat, DON'T WEAR THE WIG.  And the other?  They're itchy!
Oh, and all that nonsense about being unhygienic?  Well, it's mostly nonsense.  You're an intelligent individual, don't buy your wig from some sketchy place.  None of mine are made from real hair, so synthetic wigs are a perfectly fine option too.  And often much more affordable.

cute knit hat : hand-me-down from Ima
red curly wig : eBay
floral sundress : shuk in Israel
green short-sleeved jacket : hand-me-down
strawberry picnic footless tights : $10 at this cute store downtown
red wedge pumps : Goodwill

I don't like the song I'm listening to

Yes, finally a detail shot!  :D

So this was another fun outfit.  The blue dress is actually ankle length, but I belted it up, and wound up with a rather 1920s flapper look.

gray "cargo" jacket : Goodwill

blue sundress : Plato's Closet

tan flapper shoes : hand-me-down from Ima

leather braided belt (in hair) : stolen from a skirt I got in 6th grade (which I recently reworked into a dress for Ellie)

1981

This was my hippie look for after work (notice the jeans??).  I wound up letting my hair down and tying a leather braided belt into it (a style which I re-did the next day).

leather vest : hand-me-down from my (step) dad*

flowered sundress : $10 at Wal-Mart (*sob*)

jeans : Plato's Closet

brown moccasin loafer wedges : $6 at Goodwill

*So I dug around in the pocket of this vest, and found a ticket for a concert my dad went to in 1981.  For those of you wondering if March 6th was a Friday, you're right.  There were also two guitar picks in the pocket.  By the way, my dad is a sick guitarist.  Like seriously man.

Cameo

Oooh another one of my favorites!  Haha :)

black cameo choker : Goodwill

red off-the-shoulder top : Goodwill

multi-color floral dress : shuk in Israel (heheh)

cuffed jeans : Plato's Closet

black vintage-inspired mary jane heels : Plato's Closet

Let's See How Far We've Come

I really really liked this one!  Lots of different elements.  Title is a song by Matchbox 20, which I like a lot.

brown tikkun olam : hand-me-down from Ima

orange and blue scarf : hand-me-down from my grandmother Ann (mum's mum)

red and gold sparkly dress/tunic : Etsy.com

brown fringe skirt : Kohls or some place like that, circa 7th grade

purple tights : I don't remember!

tye dye socks : hand-me-down-from Ima

low-ankle blue canvas shoes : Wal-Mart

To bring the title full circle...how far we've come?  There is always more tikkun olam (repairing of the world) to be done.