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Fashion Blog (Archive)
Monday, August 18, 2003
posted by TheBroadroom.Net at
11:23 AM (Pacific)
Hi Josie! You know, I asked my boyfriend once where I look like I come from based on the way I dress and groom myself. He said French too. Maybe it comes with having the nationality. Or having a French mother. Ah well.
Speaking of European style, when I was in Peru, there was another canadian couple. They were from Toronto. All four of us were explaining the differences between the three major canadian cities. So Vancouver has a West Coast style. Surprised? I've yet to go but that city fascinates me. Then Toronto has an East Coast style. That leaves Montreal. Montreal is neither West Coast nor East Coast. Montreal has a distinct European vibe that mixes with a North American base. And everyone seems to agree with this. I read a bit of a Lonely Planet guide to Montreal and even it said that Montreal was European. Which isn't better, just different. Why do Americans idolize French style so much? (This is according to magazine articles and some observations on some beauty messageboards so it may be off.)
I would love to visit the West Coast and East Coast big cities to compare styles. I find it fascinating. I may not like something. I may even be caught saying things like "sweat pants are a criminal offense". But at the end of the day, I just want people to wear things they like. So it's really interesting to see how people dress in different places. It says a little bit about the society there.
You may be right about the 20's too. I just repeated what I'd read in an article which was kind of stupid of me. I know better than that. But it actually sort of rang true for me. When I was a teenager, I dreamed of suits. I still think they look so nice and put together. But they're not me. There's stuff that I bought two years ago that I hardly wore last year. And now, I'm wearing the stuff again. There are purchases I've made that weren't very smart. I'm getting much better at it now.
Yesterday, there was a private sale at Mexx stores. I had an invitation card so I went. Well, duh. Walking down the street with my boyfriend, if I see a Mexx store, I move towards it. If he keeps me away, I start saying, "Mother ship, mother ship". I'm pathetic, aren't I? He thinks it's cute at least :) Anyhow, they had 20% off the new collection and 15% off sale items. I spent a mean chunk of money. I'm bad. But ya know what? I fell in love with each and every item I bought AND I left some much loved items behind...
So being as this IS a fashion blog, here's what I bought:
-dirty looking jeans with an embroidered waistband; and I'd just said I only wore dark rinse jeans! But gosh darn it, I just changed my mind! These are tight but very stretchy (so comfortable), low-rise but not too low-rise (about an inch or two bellow my belly button). They fit like a dream!
-natural coloured linen pants; the ones I got last year have a rip. I've repaired the rip and will be putting a little sunflower patch over that but there's no way I'm leaving home wearing 'em. They've become very elegant lounging pants... So I got some new ones this year and these are much cooler. They're low-rise like the jeans but not tight. They're really nice and flowing and have this extra piece of material on either side that you tie towards the front with these ribbons that go all round the waist and back front. The ribbons remind of canvas but more pliable.
-brown microfiber camisole; I just love microfiber
-sheer colourful long bell-sleeved top; this is very hard to describe. Very. It's brown and beige and dark pink and some other colours. I intend to wear it over the brown camisole
-black camisole with lace in the front; will NOT be wearing this to work. The cami itself isn't that low-cut but you can see quite far through the lace. The lace stops just in time for a bra to remain hidden so it's not that bad. Just not work appropriate.
-fuchsia top; this has cap-sleeves, fuchsia applique flowers, and some silver dots. It has a bit of an asian flair with the flowers and the collar.
-black jersey dress; spaghetti straps, rather tight and goes about to the knee. The cut asymmetrical and there's a ruffle running down on a diagonal. Very pretty and since the top part is tight, I could wear a top over the dress and pretend it's a skirt. It works: I tried with the fuchsia top.
-cream turtleneck; it's shortish and not tight but not bulky. It has brown leather lacing on either side of the upper abs going down from about where the upper abs start to the bottom of the sweater. Cute.
The jeans and linen pants have me thinking about these jeans I had in university. I loved them to pieces. When I got a hole on one knee, my mother covered it up with some cute material (red with cows jumping over the moon on it). I loved those jeans and wore them often. Now, I wouldn't wear patched up jeans unless I was doing yard work or repainting the walls or something of the sort. I still think they're cute but I'm too old for them now. The jeans I got yesterday, now those are age-appropriate but not too serious. The 20s really are the best decade for fashion...
By the way? How does one define stylish? I think I know what "unstylish" is. I would say that's just wearing whatever. Covering yourself up rather than dressing yourself. Like if you like sweatsuits, think they look great and only wear that, then you're not "unstylish". But if you wear sweatsuits because you can't be bothered to make more of an effort, then you are unstylish. But stylish? Is stylish wearing the latest trends? I don't think so. Is it wearing just classics? Looking rich? What? I like to think that stylish is wearing clothes that are you. Yeah, that sounds right to me...
Side note: I think most people have worn something that was older than them at some point in their life. For instance, I'm sure some of my baby pj's were older than me :)
Raphaelle
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