The Tiny Closet

tank: Jockey / belt: Forever 21 / skirt: All Saints / wedges: Trouve / sunnies: RayBan

I've been enjoying the downtown peace for the Memorial holiday today.  Since Theo will be shooting til the afternoon, I plan to wear this ensemble to go out in afterward.  To Venice Beach, a downtown bar, the movies, or I dunno, I gotta wear it somewhere, it's simply perfect for me!   An absolutely effortless outfit.

So, I've been mentally planning for tomorrow for about a decade.  I can't believe it's already here.  I'll tell ya all about it later but for now, I'm enjoying the moments leading up.  Everyone is out of the city, celebrating the holiday, no tourists, no traffic, I'm going to continue sketching and sewing and I'll be back tomorrow to share, share, share!  

...And show yet another new outfit put together from a very Tiny Closet :)

This recent purchase I made, a flirty chic white dress with dolman sleeves, was planned to be a hot little Summer dress for happy hour and dinner dates.  Shame on me for only thinking I'd wear it with some sandals and a glam belt and that would be that... I mean this is The Tiny Closet.  And this dress is meant for more.

Since it's been cold and cloudy lately, I thought I'd add some thicker elements to this light piece.

Some leather here, some leather there and here I am!

Feeling warmer but still Summery I'd say, yes?

leather jacket: Muubaa / dress: Fluxxus / belt: Forever 21 / heels: thrifted / sunnies: RayBan

My faithful cowgirl-esque, bootie-like heels :)

The moment this downer weather clears and the sun really starts beating down, I will have to show you the swimsuits I've been putting together.  

I went to three different places in search of the perfect two piece.  Mixing and matching! 

Keep visiting to see the outcome of my pursuits! 

Off to the movies with two of my favorite guys, I had no time to dress in the outfit I'd intended.  Plus, speed walking, in the sun, in woven strappy sandals so Theo wouldn't miss grabbing the best seat and watching all the previews didn't sound like a blast so I chose a jersey tank dress and some Chucks in order to keep up.  

The ensemble for that outing will be in another post perhaps, but for Monday, I was still stuck to the idea of coral, yellow, orange and pink.  All together...  Like a candy wrapper!

Hope you are having a wonderful week so far!

Thanks so much for visiting :)

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.

I've decided to finally work to materialize, one by one, all of the random clothing design ideas I've been thinking up.  One random idea being a hybrid version of a muumuu.

If you followed me during my trip through the Philippines, you know how in love I am with muumuus, or, house dresses.  Also, since I'm in permanent pool weather now, I have been settling my attention for the first time on swimsuit coverups.  Coverups have never appealed to me before, I think because the concept of them was just never applicable to my lifestyle (stepping from the pool into some glitzy sandals and a coverup to grab a drink at a nearby beach bar or to take a stroll on the boardwalk - yeah, I can say I've literally never needed to do that before) until now.

So - with our rooftop pool and 90 degree weather in the shade, I am finding my beloved muumuus to be a bit overbearing with their full coverage and heavier fabric.  And while I like the sexy femininity of a sarong or coverup, it has no place in the city at dinner or happy hour.  

I  wanted something more transitional and multi-purpose than a suit coverup or a muumuu.

So I created this:

I wanted something sexier, prettier, something elegant to look at.

So while I am definitely still attached to all the more traditional muumuus I've collected over the past year, creating the muumuu 2.0 gives me a more transitional piece to wear stylishly everywhere.  In fact, I went to dinner in this particular piece.  Popped on my cropped jacket and oxfords and headed out to celebrate a bday.  I love when clothing is dynamic!  Don't you?

Such is the Tiny Closet way...

I will definitely be wearing my new and improved muumuus all Summer long so if you're needing to see more pictures, come back next week!!  
I will surely have more for your viewing pleasure :) 

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.

My cropped denim vest is proving to be more useful than I thought...

As a topping to my parachute style maxi Summer dress, I realized it goes almost too fittingly with the ikat printing and overall design of the dress.  A very desert, South West look, yeah?  All I was missing was cowboy boots.  But no, I chose house slippers as I was just dressed to accompany Theo to pick up some Chinese food down the street after getting off from work.  You can't see them... which is probably a good thing :)

denim vest: thrift & altered (used to be this) / dress: All Saints

Been loving my new gig at my favorite fabric store :)
Fabrics day in and day out y'all.  Learning a lot about the textile biz so you're girl is pretty happy over here.  Happy and tired!

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!

Wearing a repurposed vintage item, I decided this time to dress the floral romper with a more sophisticated approach...hopefully.  With my linen pointy toe wedges and my all-season tweed blazer,  my romper, while always worn for play, was this time ready for a casual work day.

We spent yesterday evening on the roof sighing over the view.  It never gets old.  And on days when I'm tired and spent, the downtown L.A. skyline is an instant peace bringer.  

Thought I would share some of the view with you... again :)

By itself, this once frumpy midi dress, turned elegant romper is perfect for brunch, casual dates, personal days and even a work meeting here and there.

 wedges: Castaner / earrings: Frencesca's Closet / belt: Zara Man / all other other items were thrifted 

This romper was actually very easy to make from the dress it was.  (You can get a better view here).   As L.A. slides deeper into Summer weather, I plan to find some more vintage dresses to remake as a my daily easy breezy staple!  More on that later :)

Tying up loose ends before my *big day, I hurried around all Tuesday morning and afternoon, cleaning, shipping, grocery shopping and getting to the bottom of the latest scenes in Game of Thrones (not Rose!!).   Digging through my leggings box (I so need a dresser) I again, came across my denim cut off mini skirt, 

an item I bought on a careless whim with a large gift card I received in a contest.

So instead of wearing my ritual leggings, hoodie, and Pumas to sprint through my to do list, I decided to girl it up a bit and swap my leggings for this denim mini I am always overlooking.

Oddly enough, I never really know how to dress a denim mini skirt.  I have a knee-jerk reaction with anything revealing or "mini" to downplay, downplay so - 

I guess it was only natural to put this skirt with some running shoes and a modern hoodie. 

So instead of permeating "laundry day" vibes while waiting in line at the post office, I felt cute, sporty and feminine.  Put together, yes?

denim skirt: Paper Denim / hoodie: Asos.com / shoes: Puma

About my big day, *as you probably already know, I frequent the Garment District all. the. time..   I am thankful that I live a glorious short walk away and because of that, the fabric stores are my second home.  So when I was finally offered a job at one of my favorite stores, I took it!

Working in textiles, crafts and sewing, I will now be immersed daily at one of my most favorite places in the universe.  Starting today!  So wish me luck and fun :)

I've got some awesome new projects coming up so keep visiting!!