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5.05.2014

A Romper in Blush


For Spring and Summer, I've been searching high and low for a few rompers to romp around in for the next 6 months...  My one and only lil altered vintage romper has been wearing down to the seams for the past 2 years so I thought my Tiny Closet was due for a bit of a refresh.  

It's been surprisingly hard to find a romper.  Or maybe I'm just surprisingly picky about rompers.  I suppose I shouldn't take it so seriously, I mean it's Spring and Summer wear - the easiest fashion of the year.  But since I'm showing a lot of skin, I need something that's well-fit and flattering.

And I did manage to spy one oh-so-cute romper while passing through Santee Alley with a bestie who was in town.  After trying it on, I think we made a good call.



It was the wispy light blush color that grabbed me first.  And then the jumbo scalloped edges.  Cute, simple and unique like I like my rompers to be.  Wearing a one piece is always a statement.  No matter how small it may be.  So since it's the focal point, it's got to be chic and individual.

romper: Santee Alley / shoes: CMG / bag: Dooney & Bourke / earrings: Francesca's Closet


Also, last weekend while romping it up, I got a haircut.  I've been yearning for a chic, tidy bob for ages but never thought it was possible because of my natural hair texture.  However, with my new hair routine of sporting more defined curls, I realized I can easily wear a curly bob!  So, before meeting my dad for brunch on Saturday, I got the scissors and my husband helped me cut a nice cropped wedge.  Ah, a fresh new S/S cut!


Here's to a fabulous beginning to the week!  
Hope you're having a great Monday :)   Check out some of the other rompers on my personal favorites list:



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3.03.2014

A Tiny S/S Wardrobe


With the terrible weather we've had lately, I've been keeping myself inside, bouncing between my sewing machine and my computer.  
While the rain continues to pour, I am getting totally inspired and ramped up for Spring and Summer! 

It's been a full year since I moved to L.A. and after going through all the seasons, I can now predict each (predictable) season going forward.  
It's much easier now as I think up a new arsenal of pieces - plus, I can finally implement a new routine for my Tiny Closet...

I'm reading about it more and more and I thought I'd adopt the concept for myself.  That concept being that with each new item I add to my wardrobe, I will donate an old item that I'm falling out of love with.  So each new article of clothing will replace an older article of clothing.  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to show how collecting a few pieces through each season can still keep my collection small while maintaining endless options for styling!  

Starting with Spring/Summer seasons:


I picked 9 important items to be enjoyed mainly during the Spring and Summer of 2014 (and to be replaced if necessary with new items in the Spring and Summer and of 2015):

1. skirt
2. pants
3. shorts
4. a dress
5 & 6. two pairs of shoes
7. top
8. knit tee
9. jacket

I planned all items to be able to be coordinated with each other.  Each piece is simple, feminine and reflecting Spring.  
Equally important, I wanted each piece to able to be worn casual or cocktail :)  
I chose clothing from Asos.com and Zara for my example just because the price range and styles of both are pretty broad and cover a lot of different occasions.  Next, I made 4 outfits out of the skirt, pants, shorts and skirt.  Check it out!


The LWD...dressed down
Layered with a chambray and cropped twill jacket, I thought I'd pair this dress down even further with a pair of dove grey high tops.  

Even though I created just one outfit revolving around this Zara dress, it can be worn at least a few more different ways just with the other 8 items alone!  
Not counting the rest of a complete wardrobe.  
 Pastel Biker Pants
 I love asymmetric tees - especially when they're paired with skin tight pants.  The dropped back tee from Asos goes perfectly with a pair of sky blue biker pants from Zara's Spring line.  The cropped jacket from Zara will go with everything!
Statement Skirt
 This Zara skirt is so versatile!  It can even be worn with just the cropped jacket buttoned up as a cropped top.  Chambray and twill are naturals together so it only seemed right to have them in a Spring/Summer collection.  Since they're also very simple items, they can be put with statement pieces like this skirt.

Dress Shorts
These fancy asymmetric shorts are a refreshing design and again, can be dressed up and dressed down so easily.  To wear the dropped back tee with these shorts is fun and artistic looking.  Lots of drape!  The cropped jacket is again finding its way into another ensemble - as well as those trusty high tops.

So like I mentioned before, the number of ensembles is surprisingly plentiful when it comes to just 9 items to work with.   Having a visual like this helps me maintain simplicity and my minimalist ways while I begin to refresh my closet.  

Hopefully it will give you some ideas as well of just how many ways you can rock the same things.  Especially when you're shopping for new things!
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6.12.2013

Style Vs. Clothing

A lot of people have been asking me lately just how I keep a Tiny Closet.  Well, in the beginning I threw out everything I didn't love.  
And since, at the time I didn't have the means to shop, I had to make the most of what I had left.  But that's not really what has caused me to maintain being Tiny.

From years of shopping and owning countless cluttered closets, the most important thing I've learned is: 

Clothes won't give you style.

As soon as I learned that, I wasn't so interested in shopping all the time.

I mean, shopping is amazing...  But nowadays, I know what I'm shopping for.  When you know what you're looking for, you tend not to buy the wrong things.   You also tend not buy things that won't last. My Tiny Closet is handpicked by me, each piece carefully added to my little collection of only things I adore.  But that wasn't always the case...

When consulting clients, Rachel Zoe would always ask who they wanted to look like.  The purpose of the question wasn't so that she could copy the look for the client, but so that she could see the kind of essence the client wanted to possess for themselves and exude it to others.  

Boom.

When I read that, it changed my world.  I quickly recalled all of my style icons.  I pulled up their photos and studied why I liked them so much.  And Zoe was right.  The iconic styles I'd assumed I needed to copy in order to achieve them myself had nothing to do with the clothes they were wearing.  It had only to do with them.  
The clothing merely reinforced their personalities and traits.  

So thaaaat's why my closets were full of discarded clothing!  The clothes weren't really for me in the first place.

people.com

It wasn't Ashley Olsen's endless clothing collection that I wanted to have per se.  It was her immense class, confidence and her effortlessness that I wanted to have for myself.

karlascloset.com

It wasn't Karla's tiny figure and countless costumy looks I relished over.  It was her keen intuition and unparalleled creativity I was addicted to.  

instyle.com / stylebalzer.com / vibevixen.com

And it wasn't Solange's fabulously colorful aesthetic that I daydreamed about.  It was her unapologetic eccentricity 
and her laser focus on surrounding herself around only things she loves that I wanted to emulate.

If I or anyone else for that matter wore the outfits of Ashley, Karla or Solange, it wouldn't be the same.  The vibe would be different.  Because I'm different.  So I decided to seek out the various qualities that I loved in those women and create the traits within myself.  Clothing eventually came from that in baby steps.

To me, clothing is the last delicious step in presenting the woman and not the first.  I think that mentality is really why my wardrobe is so small :)
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2.01.2013

Sick Day

While I've been taking a turn for the worse (I do tend to get dramatic about these sort of things...) the weather has seemed to be taking a turn for the better.  The sun has been shining without a cloud in the sky for the past couple days so Thursday, I decided to go out for second and enjoy it.

I went to a local market to do some craving-driven shopping.  You know, the essentials:  polenta, coconut water, Justin's organic peanut butter cups and almond milk.  Yeah.



I was pretty layered as I didn't know just how warm it was outside.  Nonetheless, I just wanted to be comfortable with no fuss.  As you probably have noticed, I've been digging mens shirts lately and I've been wearing them nonstop.  Yesterday was no exception.  This one I'm wearing is from Zara Man and it's got a much narrower torso.
If you're looking for a more "fitted" mens shirt, Zara Man caters to smaller sizes.


I love this light weight wool jumper!!!  I wore it here as well with heels.  I learned fast that its open design is hospitable to a lot of different combinations and pairings...
Like denim and an oversize sweater.


I wore the tap shoes to lighten the layers.  And my mood :)

Hope you enjoyed the week!  
See ya back here on Monday!
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4.19.2012

Mall-ing

Taking a break from working our butts off, Theo and I decided to take a trip into the suburbs and go mall-ing today...

For those of you who don't know what the term "mall-ing" means, I will explain.  It is a leisurely walk with 2 or more people; walking through the mall, not with the intent of buying anything substantial but of course a Pink Berry or Red Mango ice cream - or the notorious Cinnabon or Orange Julius.  So basically...

Mall-ing = :)

Mall-ing is literally like a long walk on the beach for me.  Or actually, it's more like a long walk on a boardwalk.  And this is mall-ing in the suburbs that I'm referring to.  I love the novelty stores, I love overhearing the teenagers talking, I love the families of 12 that come all together, the window shopping, ah.   It's become kind of a past time with Theo and me because, get this - he happens to like it too!  Aint' that perfect?

Anyway, taking some pictures outside, things got silly.

I've been wanting to pair brilliant blues with leopard in some way but wasn't sure exactly how to pull it into an ensemble.  I finally settled on these gray pants as to not upstage the vibrance of the patterned shoes and blue layers up top.  These lil spiky, leopard monsters are my all time favorites and suggested by an amazing style/shopping blog Style The Luxe.  Go there!
This shirt has actually turned out to be bomb.  

When I received it in the mail, I was pretty disgusted disappointed with the cut and design of it and never ever wore it.  I got it from StyleMint, a collaborative retail line designed by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.  I was originally completely taken with the concept - you know, like with designers of the year like the Olsens I was thinking the fit would be much more flattering than normal tees buuut, as it turned out for me, the tops are quite roomy, border lining on frumpy and not true to normal sizes.  Me thinks the only reason the top works now is because I tumble dried it and it shrunk to coincidentally, a better size.  

Well played, shirt.  I suppose you will live to see another day.

coat: H&M / scarf: Ross / top: StyleMint.com / pants: Zara / shoes: King from Romwe.com / accessories are thrifted
Okay so to explain this awkwardness above, Theo is always telling me to "play with the camera"... who am I, Gisele Bundchen?  Jeeez.  When he says this, I always go blank and just keep posing.  This time, I wanted to impress him by voluntarily playing around and "interacting" with the lens.  What you see in this photo above is what happened.  Oy.  He was like, "What are you doing?"  I then stopped immediately.  Thought I'd share the embarrassment.

Anyway, returning from Asia, I saw that I'd failed to cancel my StyleMint membership before leaving.  I racked up a ton of credit, bought the first things that caught my eye and cancelled my account for good now...  You'll see the new items later and you can be the judge.

Don't forget to leave a comment!
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