Another one of my outerwear purchases from over the summer is the Stella McCartney trench cape coat (no longer available). I've loved it ever since spotting Anh and Wendy's camel versions from years past.

I'm wearing size IT 40, but really should've gone down to a 38 so it's more "fitted" like on the model (an oxymoron since it is a loose-fitting style.) From certain angles, it does look like there are too much fabric, and I certainly sometimes felt that way as well depending on how I "drape" the fabric. I keep changing my mind about taking the cape to the tailors because I just don't know if it's worth it. Ideally, I'd like the sleeves to be shortened to bracelet length and maybe slim the sides a bit to get rid of excess fabric. I also wonder if the cape needs to be shortened by 1-2". Any thoughts? Am I just over-thinking this?
This was my first experience with the Stella McCartney brand and I'm underwhelmed. I should've stopped lumping amazing quality, $$$, and a "brand name" together long ago... I suppose the markup is still a hard pill to swallow. I was surprised to find the cape to be unlined on the inside and with loose threading in multiple places. The more I wear the cape, the more I find myself starting to come around to the lack of lining because of how easily the fabric moves and drapes. I suppose it would be unsightly to see lining peeking through? Then again, the pockets are visible in the first photo above.

Capes are very trendy this upcoming cold-weather season, but I think they're something only girls would like. DH hasn't seen me wear my cape yet, but I can already picture his WTF-face and liken me to wearing a garbage bag due to its bagginess. Girls on the other hand, I feel like can appreciate capes more. One of my female coworkers complimented me on my cape the first time I wore it to work. I then started effusing about how it's like I'm all wrapped up in a cozy blanket. Can you tell we've commiserated over the cold office one too many times.

I stumbled across a great "look for less" option in Rebecca Minkoff's Pierre cape coat. This cape is the closest I've seen as a dupe for Stella's (believe me, I've done my share of window shopping trying to hunt one down.) There are a few noticeable differences: RM's lack the shoulder epaulettes, has more buttons, and looks to have "real" sleeves which might make for a sleeker silhouette by cutting down on excess fabric. This cape retails for $498 and comes in two colors:
1) blush [photo left below] - available at Shopbop
2) noble green [photo right below] - available at Nordstrom, NM, Cusp, RM

When I was in London earlier this year, I inquired about trench cape re-releases because the camel and pink versions were from two different seasons. The SA at the Stella boutique said she doesn't know about this particular cape style, but capes in general are usually available every winter season. I don't know if the waiting game is worth it since RM's is such a great dupe. If I hadn't already gotten my hands on Stella's, I would snatch up RM's in a heartbeat. Patience is not always my strongest virtue.

Following in Elle's footsteps, I too gave the combination of lace with jeggings a try. Speaking of which, jeggings and I seem to have a love-hate relationship. I love how comfortable they are when worn, but yikes, all the creasing and wrinkles make my legs look like a sausage stuffed in casing. Note to self: remember to wear jeggings only during the non-bloated days of the month.

Hosted by Amber, Petite Fashion Challenge #18: Impress Your Date has us creating an outfit to impress our date. Generally, we wear what makes us feel good, regardless of what other people think. But what is your secret for making your outfit a little more memorable? Bonus points for pics taken with your dates or on a girls' night out!

Sorry I didn't try for bonus points this time, so instead I'll take a trip down memory lane...

DH isn't going to let me forget this, but I believe for our first date, we ate lunch at Silver Diner and then played a round of mini-golf afterwards. I'm positive I remember lunch correctly because I thought it was a splurge for two broke college kids. The ironic thing is, as we started to make money in our careers, our dates progressively became cheaper, lol. My memory's fuzzy on the mini golf portion because I don't remember why I dressed casually. I'm pretty sure I wore my typical teenaged summer uniform of a polo, denim skirt, and flats. I either said to myself 1) this is me, so take it or leave it, or 2) my competitive nature rears its ugly head when I mini-golf (every millimeter counts if I want to make that hole-in-one! So dressy clothes and teeter-tottering in heels simply won't do).

Fast forward a few years, I can confidently say that my secret for making outfits more memorable is playing up my best feature, my legs. I could argue that I subconsciously knew it back then too, but truth is, I was easily influenced (A&F ads, anyone?) and just wore the shortest skirt possible.

For mile-long legs, I pair short shorts with heels (preferably nude, not too tall but enough to achieve better posture, hence illusion of slimmer legs). My skirts nowadays are longer and somewhat (?) more age-appropriate. Typically I wear shorter skirts with flats and longer ones with heels. But for a night out, anything goes. In general, skirts won't make my legs look as long, but they're a great alternative for when I want to feel more feminine.

For this challenge, I went the skirt route and started with a blank white slate. I like wearing white because of the contrast against my naturally darker skin tone. Bright lip color and lots of jewelry later, I'm all set for a semi-casual night out.

Be sure to check out all the other participants' entries!

Hosted by Megan @ Love live classy, Petite Fashion Challenge #15: Chic Pin-spiration has us finding a pic of an outfit we love on Pinterest, and re-creating it the best way possible!

My inspiration photo for this challenge is old-school J.Crew (surprise, surprise). I love how she wore the tie paired with a feminine color palette.

In my previous attempt at tie-wearing and tie-tying (which I've still yet to master), the size of the tie has been an issue for me. Aside from buying a skinnier tie, there's nothing I can do about the width. The length however, can be "fixed" by tucking inside the skirt. Why didn't I think of this before?!

I based my look on a similar color scheme while keeping the same key pieces (tie, shirt, sweater, and pencil skirt). This outfit is one that I may or may not have eventually figured out to wear together, but I'll take inspirations sooner rather than later.

Check out the other participants here.

I was trying to capture sun flares in today's outfit photos for no reason other than I love the look. Instead of one or two pretty rays shooting across the photo, I got what looks like the entire sun, lol. I tried guys, I really tried! No amount of Photoshop (to my knowledge) could fix it, so you'll have to use your imagination for this one: the skirt and blazer are solid black and gray respectively, but the black top has ruffles and polka dots.

I live in Virginia, but most of the locals will tell you that the northern part doesn't feel very southern. There is little southern hospitality, not many speak with a southern twang (y'all does slip past my lips once in awhile), and life is generally very fast paced. To sum it up, the region doesn't really have a sense of identity and instead is full of workaholic transients.

I hate to say it, but I've never fully appreciated the area I live in (darn you traffic for messing with my head!) Amidst all the changes over the years, there are still remnants of the South, in the historical landmarks, architecture, and even some of the food. So as the weather warms up, I've promised myself to slow down and smell the roses so to speak. Truly take in my surroundings, both the old and the new.

I wore this outfit a few weekends ago to the movies with my bf. I think it was his first time seeing me wear this faux-fur vest because when I walked out, his expression looked like this -- body recoiled back, mixture of fear and disgust flitting across his face. The closer I walked towards him, the more he backed away. You'd think I was a bully about to steal his lunch money. Instead, all I wanted to do was show him that the vest doesn't shed like what he's imagining. Of course as I demonstrated, strands of fur floated slowly to the ground, hahaha. Sigh. So much for backing up my case.

I like to wear a lot of white in the summer because the color goes with everything. In the winter, my color of choice is camel. I only have to look at my outerwear collection for confirmation. Over half of my jackets belongs to this color family! I'm still trying to figure out how my obsession with camel got so out of hand... stick to what you're comfortable with, I guess?

I dug up a few outfit pictures from last year that were lost in the shuffle (aka passed over for better ones at the time). Upon further inspection, some sure do look repetitive. Hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon with appropriate seasonal outfits. In the meantime, I'll be counting down the days to spring.

Lately, the weather can't make up its mind, so neither can I. A thin jacket to go with a cowl scarf (thank you SPG for a wonderful post-holidays surprise!)? Sure, why the heck not. With all the spring collection items rolling in, warm weather can't come soon enough.

Hope you're having a great Wednesday!

Fur, denim, gingham, boots. Umm... how many trends could I possibly wear at once? Too many apparently, lol. I'm thinking this fur vest will be too bulky to wear under winter coats soon, so I'm taking advantage while the nice weather lasts. 60 degrees in November? Heck yeah!

Hope you're having a great Wednesday!

I have trouble tying ties. This time around, I followed Kimchi Girl's step-by-step tutorial and achieved a better result, but still couldn't get the last step quite right. Happy Monday, everyone!

I tend to choose photo locations based on the scenery. But what I should be paying attention to is the contrast between my clothing colors and the background. Dark top against a dark background? Not exactly the best idea, but I'm still learning as I go :)

This scarf is like my favorite child. Not that I would ever pick favorites if I have more than one child... or admit it ;) The print was love at first sight, and I still have not gotten sick of it yet. When in doubt, this is the first item I grab to put on.

Is there a piece you own that you feel this way about?

Thank you to everyone who helped me with my tripod dilemma. I'm happy to say that I went with the Vista Explorer from Amazon. It took about 15 minutes to learn all the ins and outs... but days before I finally took it out for a spin (notice the change of scenery today?) I have a feeling I'll be reverting back to my lazy ways of using ledges to prop up the camera though, especially during work days :D

When I first started blogging, I didn't tell a soul about my alter ego. It just seemed weird to say out loud, "I take pictures of myself. Outfit pictures, and I blog about it." Umm... a bit narcissistic? :) When I finally told my boyfriend, he said the initial weirdness soon faded away to something that made sense. It's the ideal hobby for me, combining my two loves: clothes and web design.

Every once in awhile he'd joke about being featured and I would laugh it off... until now. So here's a rare shot of the two of us dressed up for no reason before heading out to eat. Just so we're going along with the M.O. of this blog, head guillotined, which kind of defeats the purpose :)

Some random tidbits: We're both engineers by background but neither of us really work in the field. I'm Taiwanese and he's Cantonese, so English is how we communicate. Then again, even if we both spoke ManTonese*, English would still be our choice (duh, if my French skillz are of any indication). He's about 3" taller than me... so my tall heels are saved for times when he's not around, or when he's got his "man heels" on (Nike Shox, anyone?)

*Mandarin + Cantonese

An abnormal day two weeks ago with a high of 60 meant I could wear what I love most, layers upon layers. Okay, so I went a little way overboard... with a tank, tee, wrap, scarf, and jacket. All on the top half :) This may be my last chance to wear fall clothing, so you bet I made the most of it!

Are you missing your cold-weather gear yet?

Lately, I've been catching myself tugging on my shorts to make them magically longer. I'm taking this as a sign that I'm... maturing (sounds so much better than old). Though I'm finding it hard to completely phase these shorts out of my wardrobe. I think at least for this summer, I'll just continue to pair them with loose, flowy tops, possibly layered. That should help balance out the bottom half.

Do you have any do's or don'ts when it comes to short shorts?

Step aside, J.Crew. Today's inspiration came from LOFT and Ann Taylor. I've had the LOFT image (below left) in my inspiration folder for awhile, so when Elle posted pictures from Ann Taylor's summer lookbook with the embellished floral halter (below right), I knew I had to recreate the look myself. I had actually worn a cardigan with this outfit for work, but off it went for pictures.

Off on a tangent -- has anyone else seen the floral halter in person? The flowers looked quite sparse and not at all like the ones in the photo.

*(Top left) LOFT image courtesy of LOFT; (Top right) Ann Taylor image courtesy of Ann Taylor

My first Bloggers Do It Better entry and... ack! Please ignore my too-short pants with heels (need to add metallic flats to my wishlist!) Otherwise, I really like this outfit. Similar to wearing all black, I find all white to be a great palette for accessorizing with colors. Though, at the same time, I also don't think you'd look under-dressed without adding color. Agree? Disagree? I chose to go with the former with this outfit because I've been loving my Amrita Singh necklace as of late.