TBMD

Good riddance. It's late October and the weather was in the high 70s today, with the same forecast for tomorrow. I, for one, can not wait to enjoy it.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I dug out two pieces, the scarf and the dress, that haven't seen the light of day in much too long. I felt like I should be wearing this outfit in the fall, not the first week of June. Hooray for warmer weather this upcoming weekend!

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

All of these skirts and (useless) dresses were bought in December, so I'm still doing ok with my resolutions ;)

First is the LOVE 21 Tiered Waist Skirt in mauve, size XS (currently sold here). It looked promising on the model, but I knew it was going to be a return the minute I opened up the package. There were loose threads in multiple places and the fit just did not look flattering on me. The more I look at the photos, the more the pockets look like Dumbo's ears.

Next is the J.Crew Factory cotton Nico skirt in soft sandalwood, size 0 (currently sold here). I was really looking forward to this because a cute cotton skirt in a neutral-khaki color goes with practically everything. When I tried it on though, a muffin top I didn't know I had popped out! All the fat I had around the stomach area was pushed in by this thick rubber-band-like waistband. Not flattering at all. When the skirt is worn above the waist though, it looked a whole lot better. In the end, I still decided to return this skirt.

This J.Crew Factory Cotton-Silk Shimmy Dress in ivory, size 0 was a final sale item. I loved the ruffles and the Victorian look, but let's be honest here, it could pass for a nightgown, lol. Mostly, I loved the potential of the dress --- I could already imagine styling it multiple ways.

The dress came in 3 parts, the actual dress itself (quite sheer), a slip (sheer as well), and a black sash. There is no zipper opening for the dress, just a small keyhole in the back with a button closure. I was a little worried because I sometimes have a hard time getting my shoulders in and out of dresses without zippers (darn wide shoulders!) J.Crew's size 0 is a hit or miss for me, so I crossed my fingers praying it won't be too big. The shoulders seem to fit me fine, but the rest feels a bit big, but could be remedied by the sash around the waist. What do you think though, should I pay to get it slimmed? If anyone has experience, how much would that roughly cost?

I also picked up this Bensoni Silk Asymmetrical Ruffle Dress in coral, size 0 from Gilt, also a final sale item (note to self: I really, really, need to stop buying at final sales). I fell in love with the dress on the model and despite some reservations on the bright color, I figured I should be dark enough to pull it off.

I would say the color is more of a bright salmon-y pink instead of coral. The V-neck is not too low, which I appreciated because I'm flat as a pancake. But I was expecting the neckline to not be dead-center given the asymmetrical name. Half the ruffles around the waist was also pushed downwards, which I didn't notice until now, but a quick iron should fix this. I thought the fit was pretty good overall, except the armholes. Is that worth $ for alterations?