outfit post: This is Not An Outfit Post

Perhaps it's the buying ban I've put upon myself, but I am not inspired by dressing up lately. The winter chill probably doesn't help but really, I'm just not feeling it. Or maybe it's because I don't know what I'm dressing for. I'm craving a uniform, something that is cozy, functional and takes no thought to put on. Today's outfit was an attempt to dress warmly with what I have, but somehow not quite the thing. I've been drawn to all black lately, colors just aren't resonating with me. Is this a trend, or me bucking one? I'm feeling very anti-fashion lately, perhaps a back lash to my fashion obsessed blogging for the past 3 years. What about you? What looks have you been trying?

Picture Perfect: Winter White

Winter Light, Winter White: Self Portrait. (taken with an iPhone)

Once a snowflake fell

on my brow and I loved

it so much and I kissed

it and it was happy and called its cousins

and brothers and a web

of snow engulfed me then

I reached to love them all

and I squeezed them and they became

a spring rain and I stood perfectly

still and was a flower.

                       -Nikki Giovanni

outfit post: Roses, Leopard, Lace + Plaid

Bella trying to think if she's left any pattern out of her outfit for the day. Hmmm... Polka dots?

Layers. Lots of layers. Piles of layers, for warmth, for added interest. This time it's a heady mix of a red floral pattern, black lace, plaid and leopard print. Everything but the kitchen sink, folks. I'm not particularly pleased with how the pictures turned out- I much prefer natural light for photos, but I do like the outfit. What do you think? 

outfit post: The Boyfriend Tee

K.I.S.S: Keep It Simple, Sweetheart. Bella wears a basic black boyfriend T.

After spending a lovely vacation time with the boyfriend, I found it hard to see him go. To keep me from bursting into sentimental tears, said boyfriend gave me one of his T-shirts so I could think of him fondly when he was gone. With just the right amount of broken in, the Tee is super soft and comfy, and I've been wearing it for days on end, so I can feel close to the dude. While I'm not normally a T-shirt and jeans kinda girl, I thought I'd take a few pics on how I wore it yesterday. Simply paired with

Guest Post: The Foolish Aesthete

Get to the Pointe: The Foolish Aesthete Dances with Fashion with a Passion.

 If you don't know Jenny from The Foolish Aesthete, you are missing out. A fellow Californian, she is a self-described perennial aesthete, style hound and an eclectic collector. She also happens to be a ballet dancer, photographer and masterful with costumes. Her world is saturated with literary references, the arts and a love for beauty. Her blog pushes you to see the world as a place to play and dress up. For The Foolish Aesthete, the world conspires to inspires, and you'll find that she does too.

NEW BEGINNINGS

By Jenny of The Foolish Aesthete

 

Thank you so much, Bella, for sharing this space with me.  It is an honor and pleasure to be here!

January is often associated with New Beginnings.  What does that mean for our wardrobe? We all face “What do I wear?” moments, particularly when there is nothing new in our closets aside from a few, sparkly holiday purchases.

Now, I have complete confidence in Man (or Woman) and our civilizations’ achievements.  Mainly, we can dream, imagine … create!  We may not all be creative geniuses, but at some elementary level, we create daily.  We rustle up something for dinner.  We string words together to convey our thoughts.  And everyday, we face the world in an outfit not chosen by our mothers (generally by our 7th birthday).

My Radio City Christmas Rockette look, circuitously inspired by the Muppet movie + "Devil Wears Prada."

One of my favorite artists, Pablo Picasso, said “Bad artists copy.  Good artists steal.”  He further elaborated that to copy ones’ self is more dangerous than copying others. I’ll take that as license to steal Picasso’s thoughts, since my own are reportedly dangerous, and certainly not on a genius scale like his.

Inspiration is necessary for creation.  We have to try new things -- even if it means stealing someone else’s look!  This is one kind of theft for which we can be forgiven.  So let’s take each day as a New Beginning, style wise.  Now… where should we go for inspiration?

Picture Perfect: Red Shoes

Red Shoes. (taken on an iphone. photo credit: Bella Q

 These red shoes were abandoned just so on the streets of Midtown. I liked the color play of the pillarbox red canvas mary janes with the graffiti-laced pavement. 

Picture Perfect is a new feature where I share candid photos taken of images that seem perfectly captured in its surroundings.

outfit post: Floral Frenzy

The Citizen Rosebud in a Floral Frenzy

It was one of those rare grand days when almost everything goes right. You know the kind? When the traffic lights switch green as you ride up to the intersection, the morning sunlight shines a certain way, + your coffee shows up perfectly brewed. That day, I went into FRINGE, feeling foxy in my lovely vintage cotton dress acquired at Freestyle and my new Betsey Johnson floral thigh high socks (a thoughtful gift from my dear friends Tim & Linda of Martin Mattox!) and what did I find? Not one, but two, floral identical vintage sweaters in excellent condition, that suited my floral frenzy, on my nearly perfect day.

Blooming Madly: triple run in vintage floral and Betsey Johnson

As you may have surmised, I bought one of the sweaters. I just had to. It's warm. It's adorable. It matched my outfit. I had in fact, owned a very similar sweater YEARS ago, and a matching vintage '60's straw handbag. They are long gone and now I have the pleasure of wearing my new woolly floral cardigan that is in such a wonderful condition.

outfit post: Leopard, Floral, Paisley

Blooming Madly: Bella Q is back from vacay and ready to rumble!

Hello, my lovelies!

I'm back from my offline vacation, and I must say I missed all of you! I took nearly a 3 weeks off from blogging, and I feel like I've gained some much needed perspective. Here's the deal: I LOVE blogging but the past year or so, blogging has taken over my life, and it has been at the expense of REAL TIME, and REAL EXPERIENCES. To "keep up" with fashion trends and fashion blog posts, I had stopped reading books, most magazines and pretty much didn't explore any new subjects. Having taken some time off, I've realized how unbalanced this all is- and at the expense of losing some of my blog friends, I have come to the decision that in 2012 there is going to be less ONLINE and more OFFLINE. I still plan to blog, but my intention is now to share a rounder aspects of my life, not just the fashion side.