The Tiny Closet

I am after all, a minimalist to.the.core.. But I'm going to get a little dressier, this year.  A little sexier and more indulgent in the pieces that I choose to make up my seasonal capsules.  Instead of using my lifestyle to influence my clothing choices completely.  This year, I'm going to let the clothing I love influence my lifestyle as well.  Just a bit.  

Still sticking with 15-20 pieces per season, let's turn it up a notch and get dreamier with our clothing!   Less pedestrian, more opulence!  Less utility, more extravagance!  The Tiny way :)

Follow along with me as I indulge in getting back to the fun, feminine, lavish side of clothing, style and maintaining a closet you love.

The days have been like Summer here and the nights are barely cool.  I haven't been too interested in wearing lots of clothing.  But when am I ever??  Ah yes, I am a 1 to 2 piece gyal so I've been welcoming this sudden signature Summer camp weather... 

...with cutoffs and a tee. 

lips: Milani Flamingo Pose / nails: Revlon #571 Posh 

I've so been enjoying my new cropped cut!  But even more, this sizzling, bright weather has been giving me life.  I want my makeup and accessories to be equally vivid and vibrant.

I've been exploring fun color coordination again with my beauty routine.  Can't wait to show you some new ideas I'll be playing with this Summer!

 It's always fun to alter classic looks with a trendy "now" twist.  That's what's so amazing about my lil Tiny Closet.  

I've had both this top and shorts for over 5 years and yet I've never worn this outfit before.  

The endless, simple ensembles I can get from a paired down wardrobe and some creative imagining never cease to surprise me.   

I take that back.  Do what you want with your wardrobe!  

But consider adding a circle skirt to your Tiny collection maybe?

Here's why:  next to the almighty high waist pencil skirt, the circle skirt is the most feminine skirt you can own!  In one move, you can completely and classically "fem-ify" your entire look.  Throw on wedges / Toms / Keds / boots / heels and a tee and the circle skirt will pull it allllll together.  Effortlessly.

And that's exactly what I did.  I grabbed one of my favorite day dresses and wore it as a striped top.  Then I tucked it into my linen circle skirt and topped it off with a pair of Toms. 

While taking a walk in my favorite park in downtown in this ensemble, I thought a few photos of this trio would be fun.  I traded my Toms for these cage lace-up heels and flirted very lady-like for the camera.

tee: StyleMint / circle skirt: Tiny Closet Collection / heels: Forever21

And maybe you recognize this top?  It's a dress!  In Tiny style, I wear this piece all sorts of ways.  Two of the ways, you can check out are here and here.

So if I've been at all convincing in this post, get a circle skirt!  They look good on everyone, fabulous on all figures and sizes and not that this is important but... 

men adore them on us!

Shop for one or make your very own circle skirt using this tutorial by Geneva Vanderzeil, my favorite diyer!

See you next week!

After a long and sunny vacation, I returned to the great Northwest and had some trouble getting out of my Summer clothes...

One item in particular I have always favored over my other Summer dresses and jumpers: my AllSaints cotton maxi!  While emptying my suitcase, I couldn't help hanging up this one, front and center in my Tiny Closet instead of storing it away again in my seasonal trunk.  I have certainly worn this item from season to season before but I feel like I'm finally getting a good sense of its abilities for Fall and Winter.

Out for some lunch and vintage shopping, I decided to take pictures of my uncharacteristic outfit.  Very prairie-like, very Western.  

The wind was also quite dramatic that day so my outfit turned out to be a ball for the occasion :)

I decided this time, to wear the maxi as a skirt.  I folded down the scant bra top and pulled on a comfy fitted scoop neck tee by James Perse.  

I also dug out my enormous cowgirl belt and wrapped that around the skirt and top.

The shoes, I spotted them crunched in the back of a rack in a Buffalo Exchange.  While doing a feature shoot there, it was hardly about me but I quickly put them to the side for safe keeping until the shoot was over!  And pssst,

Can't wait to share the style feature later this week!!

Aren't these just the coolest though??  I thinking cowboy-meets-Jil Sander.  Perfect for the city.  Perfect for a hoedown.  What can't they do?

earrings: AllSaints / scarf: Zara Man / top: James Perse / leather jacket: Muubuu / belt: Forever21 / maxi: AllSaints / shoes: Buffalo Exchange (name worn off)

So!  

It's December and already the month has brought new sewing projects, style collabs and... big news!

But more on that later...

Hope your Thanksgiving was as happy and crazy as mine!  Glad to be back and posting again.  I've so missed sharing with you :)

top: H&M / belt: Ross / harem pants: Philippines / bangles: Philippines / sunnies: Ann Klein / 

bag: Gustto / sandals: Et Fiancees

As my curls grow longer, I realize I can finally wrap them up like I used to.  Being that it's the only other style I can tolerate doing daily, I am very happy.  

me: jacket: Free People / top: Zara / pants: Zara / scarf: Zara Mens / brogues: CMG / bag: Dooney & Bourke -- her: top, shorts and all accessories: Forever21 / boots: Lucky Brand

About a month ago, I wrote a beauty/lifestyle piece for The New Fairy Tale.  I actually decided to post it for The Tiny Closet as well since here at TC, I'm all about maximizing on what I got.  Basically the piece was about looking like a knock out every day.  Because there's absolutely no reason not to.  I believe and have always believed that any woman can feel great about the way they look every single day if she wants.  And who doesn't want that?  So I gathered together all the best tips and advice that I could ever remember receiving through the years and listed it for others to read and hopefully feel as inspired as I did.  As we were all brunching it up, I realized every time I see this lady she blows me away with her style and a signature glamour. In fact, I was thinking the whole time, dang, this girl totally embodies everything I wrote about!  So of course, I asked her if she wouldn't mind being in some photos with me.

Later on that day, we got to talking about the reality of "looking good", how it doesn't have anything to do anyone but you, and also just how simple it really is.  I became totally inspired and empowered by what she explained "looking good" was for herself.  One comment she made was that wearing heels won't necessarily improve or even give you femininity.  This was something I hadn't really thought too much about and perhaps have been giving heels too much credit (gasp!).  Some women can't even stand wearing them!  I'd always just lumped those ladies together in a group that I figured I'd never understand buuut she had a point.  And actually, I only wear heels 40% to 50% of the time anyway so what do I have to say to that?  She and I both happened to have opted against heels that day (as do millions of other women every day) and I still felt attractive and womanly in my brogues.  As did she in her boots.  Hmmm.

So perhaps I should make an amendment to this helpful list of mine...  Maybe the formula for that "x-factor" look doesn't always have to include the heels ingredient.  Because I feel pretty damn great in a good pair of flats.  

What do you think?

Don't forget to leave a comment!

I was finally able to wear jeans and a tee today (ah!).  And something I've learned while digesting fashion and style for the past decade is when all else fails (to impress) one shouldn't underestimate the power of a great bag and heels.

When it comes to evaluating my daily look, I actually prefer window reflections instead of mirrors and photographs.  Catching a glimpse of my reflection as I'm walking by a Barney's display window, the candid image is honest and usually tells, for real, if my hair or ensemble really does look as good as I thought it did that morning in my bedroom.  Standing in front of a mirror or posing for a photo, I don't always look the way I actually look when I'm walking down the street thinking of places to have lunch.  What I'm getting at is, the reason why I was finally able to wear jeans and a tee today is because I usually don't.  Why?  Because when I walk down the street in downtown gushing over the new Spring displays in the store windows, I don't want to see my sorry jeansandtee reflection staring back at me!

That is until I remembered a simple rule: a great bag and heels can make pretty much any outfit.

Since I have been experimenting constantly with color these days, today I decided to play with teal and gold accents.

heels: Dumond / bag: Yves Saint Laurent

Gold goes better with my skin color than silver.  Still, gold tends to blend so for a pop color, I like the coolness of grays and blues and opted for teal to offset all of the warmth.

 With these two accessories, I feel more ladylike and stylish while I'm enjoying the common comfort of a pair of denims and a loose T-shirt.

This parka is one of the chicest items I've ever found at H&M and I will have it in my Tiny Closet for years to come.  Light and versatile, I also wore it here.

scarf: Zara Men / bangles: Philippines / tee: Zara / denim: United Colors of Benetton / parka: H&M

And in other news: I am still shopping around with my gift card from Beso.com!!  New items from my winnings coming sooooon!  Keep visiting because you're going to love them :)

Don't forget to leave a comment!

So you know by now that I am allll about making the items in my closet go a long way... so these heels with jeans, leather pants, tweed slacks, leggings, slouchy silk shorts, a shift dress, whatever - they will go with everything! 

And the rabbit fur "charm" hanging off the heel is exquisitely sexy am I right?  The answer is Yes.  Reminds me of a sultry lady fox with a sassiness similar to that "seasoned" lady dog in Lady & The Tramp.  Have the right man walking behind you in these sisters and "Hello, lovah", they will do all the talking.  Back to the point though, the asymmetric square toe is subtly edgy and modern, which is a nice twist on a classic design.