The Stylish Geek

Monday, January 12, 2009

Daily Outfit + Links Catchup: 5 January 2009

Flickr

Shirt: Threadless
Skirt: Calvin Klein; hand-me-down
Boots: Thrifted
Socks: Hanes
Headband: Fabric scrap
Wristbands: Gift
Watch: Casio
Regular glasses

I'm thinking of shortening the skirt. What do you think?

A close-up of how I tied the headband:

Flickr

Links:

Daily Reminders; my new favorite Tumblr.
The world's only immortal animal.

♥Anna

Sunday, January 11, 2009

How to Pack for a Long Trip; Or Dressing With a Limited Wardrobe

Photo by mewdotkai

At home in Connecticut, I have a huge wardrobe. Some of my clothing I’ve had since elementary school, and some are new, but each piece holds a special place in my heart.

Before I sound too mushy/insane, there is a point to this. At some time, every clothing aficionado has to part with the bulk of his or her collection, temporarily or even (gasp) permanently. No doubt this is a traumatic experience. Living with a small selection of clothes is a significant adjustment, and mistakes can be made. I temporarily reside in Oregon with an admittedly less-than-ideal wardrobe. Here’s how I recommend you pack for such an experience so you don’t have to feel my pain.

Bring basics. You don’t really need that many basic items. Strange, but true. I was planning on a 2-3 month stay (plus taking into account my normal rate of shopping), and my list looked something like this:

2 dresses
Sneakers (wear boots during travel)
3 short-sleeved or sleeveless tops
3 bottoms
2 sweatshirts/sweaters
3 long-sleeve shirts
Coat

I also took oodles of underwear and socks, because if I happened to be randomly stuck without the ability to wash my clothing, I didn’t want to be nasty. (Seriously, take note. You cannot overpack on underwear and socks for a long trip. Don't skimp. Don't even think about it.)

But anyway, your mileage may vary. My list is shaped by what sorts of basics I actually wear, as your list should be. If you don’t have much room for your stuff (I had one medium-large suitcase), take less clothing than I did. Also take in consideration what the weather is going to be like at your selected destination. If the temperature suddenly drops or raises 20 degrees in a freak heat/cold wave, what will you do? (Hint: In the case of a cold spell, you can usually get by with wearing all your clothes at once. Still, it’s a good thing to keep in mind.) Might you get invited to a fancy event? Make sure you can scrape together a semi-formal outfit if need be. Also important: how often, if at all, will you be able to do laundry?

Note that when I say “basics”, I don’t mean they have to be boring. Pick whatever cuts and colors you like, but know that each item is going to be getting a lot of use. Packing favorites is good. I would, however, recommend that you choose a limited color palette so that any items could easily be worn together. Trust me, you’ll want every matching option you can get around, oh, the fourth day or so.

Here’s a sample set of basics that I threw together:

Polyvore for details

Go nuts with accessories. Pack all your favorites. Then pack all the accessories you’ve worn in the past two weeks. If in doubt, pack it. Consider:

Jewelry
Scarves
Bandannas
Shawls
Hats (ones that are flat or squishable are best)
Bags (again, flat/squishable)
Belts
Leggings
Various socks/hosiery
Keychains/bag charms
Hair accessories
Sarongs
Lightweight shoes/sandals

The best accessories are multipurpose and lightweight. The epitome of this is the scarf: it can be worn in a multitude of ways.

Why so many accessories? Because they can completely change an outfit. Here’s the set from above accessorized in several different ways:

Polyvore

Perhaps I went a tad overboard...it was so easy to keep coming up with new ideas! This just goes to show that accessories make the outfit.

For the record, that is where I messed up with my packing—I brought perilously few accessories and quickly became bored with my small wardrobe. If I could do it over again, I’d ditch some of the basics and pack more accessories. Oh well!

Links:

How to Pack a Suitcase from Gala Darling
How to Pack for a Long Trip
How to Tie a Sarong - if you're considering bringing this multipurpose garment.

♥Anna

Friday, January 9, 2009

Daily Outfit + Links Catchup: 4 January 2009

Flickr

Sweater: DKNY, newly thrifted
Tank: Marshalls
Pants: Hand-me-downs
Socks: Hanes
Boots: Thrifted
Watch: Casio
Headband: Drugstore

This sweater is pretty cool. Not only does it have the gorgeous giant cowl neck, it's also knit in an interesting pattern:

Flickr

Towards the bottom of the body and sleeves, the pattern thins out like this:

Flickr

Sort of reminiscent of the Rodarte knits, no?

Links:

Can you detect the fake smiles?
A book of aleatory compositions. For postmodern art and music geeks.
A critical analysis of the mullet symbolism in Star Wars.

♥Anna

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Things I Love Thursday: 8 January 2009

kerosenedeluxe, by Tina Korhonen

Good food. My uncle makes every lunch and dinner for me and my aunt, and he's a wonderful cook!
Supportive people. Kasmeneo left a very positive comment on one of my Flickr photos, and it made my week! He's quite the inspiring person himself.
i'm in like with you. WARNING, this site is highly addictive! It takes classic flash games and puts them all together in a social setting. (P.S. If you join, feel free to friend me. My username is verticaltrout!)
Pilates. I went with my aunt and uncle to their pilates class and it was wonderful. I've done yoga before, but I have to say now I think I like pilates better!
This song. Even though it's mainstream (as if that makes a difference).
Seeing a therapist again.
Susan. She's the aforementioned absolutely crazy-amazing family friend who always makes me smile. (And her cat is so sweet!)