Business casual defined.

Denim button up is a closet stable. I swear I wear this with EVERYTHING almost everyday. Sometimes tucked into fancy skirts… Sometimes over a pair of leggings when I’m feeling lazy.. Sometimes I even wear my denim button up as a light coat when its not cool enough for a light jacket but cool enough to cover up a little.

Also, this black knee length pencil skirt was purchased from target for $19.99 and is SUPER comfortable and flattering. Perfect for work. I plan on ordering a couple more online in different colors!

Haven’t done a cheap outfit post in a while.
-Urban cropped top on clearance $9 (I love the slimming affect of a cropped sweater)
-Thin white blouse from HM $17
-Charlotte Rouse high waisted leggings that I’ve never been able to find again. They are perfect because it of the material and the fact they are super long and cover half your feet which is actually very fashionable in Asia. They makes your legs look like they go on forever.

Also, I’m at a lost for what to do with my hair. It’s impossible to tame in the summer (god it’s so hot) but I always regret having short hair (it’s a security thing) and the process of growing it out is too much emotional stress for me.
To cut short or not to cut short…

This is for all my friends who give me crap about wearing too much black. I’m about to brave walking around NYC in heels. Sure, girls here do it all the time but not me… no way. But being the bright one that I am, I forgot to pack a pair of nice flats..so today, well today I become a woman.Also, I only packed one beige trench coat. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t really go with this outfit but oh well. I’m actually wearing the dress backwards because I think it looks better this way. You can do stuff like that, right? It’s a fashionably acceptable practice, right? I bought this is dress last year for $9 from HM but never wore because it never fit right. I also thought it might be too loud to wear around in conservative DC. So I guess today is its debut! Now off to explore this on my own for the first time. I’m determined to fall in love with NYC. DETERMINED.

I feel like this is a “like, O-M-GEE” post. My apologies for the ditsy tone.

So I’m not sure what to do.

These are so impractical and remind me of what short Ahjoomas (a tacky old Asian woman) wear with socks.
These shoes are asking for trouble. One slip and goodbye ankle.

But I made the fatal mistake of trying them on…

So comfortable and kind of stylish…

I feel so conflicted.

I blame my sister. She’s much edgier than I am when it comes to fashion. She’s a freakin artist. Whenever she’s around me I feel this need to dress avant-garde. Ahh go back to Chicago Jane!

Found a denim shirt for just $19!

I’ve been looking since June.
There have been a few moments when I’d thought “screw it, I’ll pay $80 for my dream denim shirt at Madewell”.
Just a few hours later I was even closer to settling for a semi tolerable one from Zara for $50.
Thank god I passed on both.

Coming soon: Post on “How to buy what you want for cheaper and without settling”

Circle scarf fail. Not enough volume. I need more volume!!!!!!!

I may have gone on a circle scarf binge while in NYC this week.

I now wear them in my sleep.

The End.

So disappointed with Zara’s online selection. But this bag is pretty.

The “Great Parka” search of 2011 is failing miserably as is my search for affordable knee high boots. Why are Frye boots so painfully beautiful? WHY?

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep em coming!

Post interview outfit.
One of my coworkers gave me crap about how weird it is that I wear shorts in the winter. Whatever. I love it and its super comfy so I’ll do it until I die!

Beige linen shorts FTW!

Since I have the rest of the day off I am now heading out with Steve Jobs (his book) to a nearby gelato/coffee shop I passed by the other day. I remember the place having some seriously comfy looking couches and a dog that roams about freely.
If the place ends up being cool maybe I’ll write a review for old times sake. we’ll see.

This dress is much poofier in person.

It’s obnoxious.. obnoxiously hipster. I haven’t worn it since 2009 because it’s that “loud”.

But I love it. Now more than ever.

Because living in DC gets a little boring. Don’t get me wrong, this town is very interesting. It’s fun when 80 percent of your neighbors and clientele have some sort of British accent (or accent period).  The male to girl ratio is very ego pleasing and yeah, I guess if you’re into the whole warm weather thing, this place is pretty nice.

But style wise.. it’s quite a bore. Straight up Jcrew all the time and everywhere. Some would dare say that people even dress a little.. frumpy. No offense.

So I wore this dress to work the other day. I’m sure nobody understood what it was, especially paired with my leggings. A dress? A shirt that’s too big? A table cloth?

Whatever.

I needed some excitement. Something not so square.So I wore.

The End.

Dress from HM Clearance a few years ago. $10 bucks I believe. And check out those gigantic pockets! Giant pockets are perfection.

My Fall Basics

Took this the other day before heading out for a quick Trader Joe’s run. If you live near me, you probably see me wearing this almost everyday.

• A light cropped jacket, usually my jean jacket. Crop jackets give the illusion you have long legs and when strategically cut in the right spots also make you look slimmer than you really are.
• Leggings. Almost always black. I have them in different sizes (in case I need to double up because um when one lives in Chicago, wearing two pairs of leggings at one time is fairly normal), some with little ankle band thingys (can’t think of proper fashion term), some more see through and some thicker or thinner than others. I have a whole drawer just for them. Damn proud yo, damn.. proud.
• A giant scarf. Not a thin scarf or plain scarf. A GIANT SCARF. Usually a circle scarf. Because giant scarves are cozy and they make your head look small which for some reason is important to me and the rest of the Korean population. We fancy small heads.
• Comfy tank or baggy shirt underneath. Because feeling comfortable is super good looking.
• Aerosole boots (Have you bought a pair yet? I’ve mentioned on this block how I can run a mile in them) or any tall boot. Depending on how hot it is, especially now that I live in DC, a city where you expose your feet to fresh air in October and have it not freeze off.. I sometimes wear ballet flats.
• Hairband. Because hairbands = clean pony tails. 

What are YOUR fall basics?

Today’s very cheap Fall-ish outfit:

Cropped sweater from HM

High Waisted Linen Shorts from Forever21

Black tights from HM

Large orange scarf from HM

Brown boots (that I can go running in) from Aerosoles.

I’ve never done the shorts with boots thing. Does this work? Bleh, I don’t really care. Because like I said, I’M IN CHICAGO!

=D

Not going to lie.. I wear this almost every day.

Leggings as pants (because to me, they will always be pants), a long tank and some type of sweater. Oh and of course, classic hairband + unwashed hair. And when I’m feeling a little adventurous, maybe a little bit of eyeliner.

Tis the season of over-sized scarves. My favorite time of the year!

Currently not studying for big exam tomorrow and figuring out outfits for Chicago trip in a little less than 5 days. This is a potential “8am-Doughnut -Vault -run” look I will be sporting on Frideeeeee.

On a not so related note, I’ve been chugging down green tea like it’s crack. I have to say, my body feels very “clean” these days because of it.

Nice outfit. I would wear that.

But the reason why I posted this:

… look, those aren’t abs. Those are bones.

Not cool man.

(via bbook)

It’s fall! Weather is cooling down a bit which means boots and thick scarves and good hair days. Boys may not understand but all my ladies out there, they are celebrating with me.

I’m back in DC trying to get serious again. Staring at my books but thinking about anything except what I should be.

Everything is changing in my life, in ways I think are good. But I can’t deny that I’m not becoming a little overwhelmed. I am horrible when it comes to crisis management and even worse when my emotions become.. “sparked”. Even when those emotions are good. I think feeling and excitement scare me.

I hate that I’ve become this kind of person. Ultimately this means I have little faith. I’m a person of little faith! How disappointing.  I get scared about good things because I fear losing them. See, while some girls are insecure about the way they look I’m insecure about life. I know how I am. I know what I am capable of but I know that I only have so much control. I’m insecure because I know how imperfect life can be sometimes. It can be unpredictable and more importantly unfair.

Sigh, why do I over think things? When I was younger, even just a few years ago, it was so SO much easier to be hopeful. Growing older is so bittersweet because on one end you gain wisdom that makes life seem so much more beautiful than it was before. But on the other, you see and experience things that you wish you didn’t understand. The key to surviving adult hood is learning to reconcile these two sides of constant “new discoveries”..

Anyways, this post is just me blabbering. Rereading some of it, I realize it sounds depressing. Things are good right now. I am excited and scared about my future.. I just wish sometimes it were easier for me to embrace good things in my life without being such a wimp about it. Ya feel?

Alright LFM, let’s focus and just enjoy the moment. Tackle little things first.. like how I’m really hungry right now and my two options are turkey sandwich on wheat or a bowl of instant ramen.

Ramen it is! Because it’s Fall and it’s cold out. Conditions couldn’t be more perfect.

So back to what I started writing about when I began this post: It’s fall and weather is cooling down. Cheers to that! May my hair look as beautiful as Kim Kardashian’s all winter long!

(via doreese)