The Tiny Closet

With festival season near, I've been unusually very much in the spirit of its signature fashion.  Being the modern minimalist that I am, I've never really embraced folkloric, bohemian style. That is until time eventually, and inevitably changed my mind... as it tends to do with my tastes in style and fashion.

And very much in the spirit of my own style, I've been dipping my toes in new looks and pieces - tying them in with my Tiny ol' faithfuls.

 These "festival" shorts as I call them, are absolutely fantastic.  And if you follow my Instagrammies, you may have seen these before.  I actually showed them off a couple weeks ago while in the store LOL 

High waist, contoured in the back, colorful with tradition and handmade.  I'm in love.

The Peruvian woman I bought them from owns a store in the Garment District called Kukuly - a store I visit at least once a week to check in on all the treasures she gets, which is a lot of Peruvian styles and accessories.  Le sigh.

With this Summer-like weather we've been suddenly having in L.A., I've been wearing these shorts a lot lately.  I pair them with a cinched chambray or with my new v-neck tees I've been making for myself.  My James Perse collection is rapidly wilting under years of wear so I decided to design and make my own.  A perfect fitting tee that also flatters is incredibly hard to find.  James Perse has been my one-and-only tee soulmate.  And as much as I've been resolved in the past to spend a few hundred on a good collection of his tees, this year I finally made up my mind to design my own.  At a mere fraction of the price.  A fraction of a fraction!

Learn how to sew.  

It will change your world completely.

This chinchilla grey nail color is so classy and posh.  "Eiffel For You" by L'Oreal Paris.  I'd been eyeing it in the drugstore for weeks.  As grey/lavender is my signature nail color, if you dig this shade, you may like this previous post where I'm wearing "Yummy Mummy" by Butter.  So luxe and understated. 

I'm sorry I've been away recently.  I really don't like not posting but I've been so inspired lately with the 2014 S/S designs and sewing that my passions have been focused there.  I've also been Youtube surfing.  A lot.  Get ready to see more hairstyles, makeup styles and... I'm excited to show you my S/S designs too!  

See you back here on Monday :)

It's amazing how much you can change something just by displaying it differently.

Influenced by athletic wear lately, I decided to make a pair of edgy harem pants out of men's athletic material.  

A stretchy, basketball jersey-type synthetic fabric that I decided would be great as a pair of cool, clubby harems.  Why not?

poncho: Asos.com / harem pants: Tiny Closet Collection / booties: Jessica Simpson

And of course, I had to top it off with my jersey poncho.  This poncho has proven to be stylish for almost any occasion I've found myself in.  From yoga classes, to art walks, to errands, to traveling - it's one of my most versatile pieces.  And since it's mainly for wearing after working out, I thought it's  athletic-type vibe would vibe with my new harem pants.

Yes, far away on the other side of the Pacific, on the tiny island of Boracay, I became acquainted with my very first pair of harem pants.  

These were so long, I mainly wore them as a jumper.  A harem jumper!

Now in L.A. I am still rocking this airy one piece.  In fact, I realize this is the exact same outfit I wore when I first introduced them to my closet.  

At the time I was barefoot...  This time, I think some tan heels are a seamless upgrade, yes?

heels: Aldo  

- all other items were collected from street stands

When I found these harem pants, it really was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.  These voluminous pants have been my besties going on two years now.  

My adoration for the style also spawned five more pairs of harems (surprisingly, way over the national average) and, contrary to style rule books everywhere, 

harem pants are definitely a basic staple in my wardrobe.  

Just goes to show how much you can learn about your own taste and style by being adventurous with clothes and not being afraid to love what you love!

I chose to wear it as a halter instead of  over the shoulders as the way it was designed.  I simply tucked in the back straps and let it drape.   Halters work better for my build.  Why wear something that doesn't fully flatter your shape?   I am always attempting to tailor my clothing to make it fit for me, even in the smallest ways.
And I definitely keep that in mind when I go thrifting.

I love the evening tone of this item.  And it could look a lot more formal if I'd wanted but last night, I  decided some cork wedges would keep it casual for just evening drinks in Little Tokyo.

I am a one piece's biggest fan.

And I continue to promise myself that I will get more jumpers and playsuits and don't.  Now that I'm in perma-sun weather however, if I can pop on just one statement piece and go, that's reason enough to make a small collection for my Tiny wardrobe.

That being said though, I think this is the most daring outfit I've worn to date.  

And I know you L.A. girls are all probably laughing - this is practically a uniform the way I see women rocking this look everyday.  

You Cali ladies are contagious!  Showin all that skin, frolicking down the street without a care.  

I wanna play too!

I actually put this super simple ensemble together right after work in preparation for a midweek happy hour with Theo.  As I've told you before, he loves this jersey skirt - for it's obvious qualities of course and I love it for it's ultra comfiness... and I also love Alexander Wang to bits.

I thought I would change my hair.  For once.  

It was fun :)  Leave it to me though to make an afro-hawk into an updo.  My hair has grown deceptively long so in order to avoid looking like Aunty Entity of Thunder Dome, I bundled up the back of my hawk and pinned it in.... the alteration sort of turned it girly and fancy.

And with this new hair do, this change in perspective, while putting on my chevron mini to go to happy hour last night, I decided to change my routine as well.  Like I've said in the past, I always dress down anything short or sexy.  So instead of wearing my usual brogues or oxfords with my mini last night, I decided to wear a pair of spike heeled sandals.  Yeah baby. 

tee: Asos.com / chevron skirt: The Tiny Closet Collection / sandals: Jimmy Choo for H&M

I debuted this skirt earlier with a crop top.  Needless to say now though, with a mini skirt and stilettos, I had no need for a cropped top.  Could you imagine?  Yikes.  Instead, I chose just the opposite - a drapey flowing tee.  Yes please!