Evolution of Fashion Part 3: What I am wearing these days…

Over the past year and a half, I have (hopefully) been developing a style that showcases the fact that I am a female. It started out rather conservative — think pencil skirts with tights and a blouse tucked in. Now my style has become a little more casual, a little less pencil-skirt centered. For your entertainment, I have put together an extensive collection of outfits I have worn (which I think look good?) from the past year or so.

This was an outfit from Fall 2009 (work). I thought style meant a cardigan, dress or skirt, and some other accessory. Still a big improvement. This is a little too boring for me now. This is an outfit I wore out to lunch one day, and again to work later on. I soon realized it was mucchhh too short for work when I had to bend over to pick something up. I like this outfit because of the great layered look with the fuschia cardigan under the fitted blazer and the cute pop with the teal shoes. If I lived in a climate where it was ever appropriate to wear spring clothes, I would be wearing this right  now. This is a work outfit I wore for the “Summer style event” 2010. The theme was basically animal prints and “spicy” colors (so says Alia Ahmed-Yahia). This cardigan is one of two animal print items that I own. Without the blazer over it, it hurts my eyes to look at. Also, I fail at making a face in a photo

My NYE outfit. Just making excuses to wear that giant flower belt.

This is something I wore to the LOFT girls event at my store back in March. I got to meet Lisa Bradkin, one of LOFT’s senior stylists (http://www.lisabradkin.com/) and Meg Bedford of Lucky Magazine. In the end, I didn’t like this outfit that much. You probably can’t tell in this photo, but I had to use leg makeup to make my legs not look like those from a dead body pulled out of a lake (I know, gross!). This is probably the most recently documented outfit. I wore this one on St Patty’s day (green jacket, gold sequin top). Fun fact: I got that top for $6. And the Michael Kors wedges I am wearing were only $22 (the people at Buffalo Exchange clearly do not know the value of some of the stuff they’re selling, but I benefited from it!).

Hopefully I will be able to document some more outfits this spring (if it ever comes!!).

That’s all I have for now!

-Leah

Evolution of Fashion, part 2: What Not to Wear

Fortunately for me, my style, or lack thereof, has only really been electronically documented for the last few years. Even in the past 6 years, the change has been dramatic. For your enjoyment, I have compiled several before photos (after photos in next post).

What NOT to wear:

Outfit 1:

Granted that this photo was taken during a camping trip, this outfit is still not appropriate to leave the house. I have highlighted some of the features of this fashion-forward outfit in MSPaint.

This was the sweatshirt that I essentially lived in for about 5 years. I actually still have it, and if you were wondering, yes it is still that big on me. This sweatshirt has actually become my painting outfit and has battle scars from store set (dark blue walls, 14 windows worth — we essentially painted a city’s block worth of walls).

Those shorts are history. I don’t remember their demise, but it probably occurred sometime right before college (thankfully!)

Outfit 2:

For some reason, in my mind at least, denim jackets were cool for about 10 minutes. Luckily I did not partake in the Canadian Tuxedo look, but I did wear this jacket with hand-me-down green chinos which I wore for years and were always a size too big. In contrast, the top I wore under the jacket had been shrunk several sizes (by the way it says Led Zeppelin in sparkly letters, a rare Walmart find).

The self-cut bangs aren’t helping this look either.

The only redeeming feature in this outfit is the fact that I had a decent watch at the time, a gift from my now ex. This watch went mysteriously missing about 3 years later. I finally got a replacement this past November.

Outfit 3:

This outfit showcases what used to be one of my favorite sweaters. Ironically, I tried to return this sweater to the Gap after I ignored the wash instructions and it got shredded up in the washing machine. I actually called them and told them I had handwashed it according to instructions. But then, inevitably, I felt too guilty about lying and decided to keep it. I wore this most often with a pair of ripped boycut jeans (also Gap) and a peacoat (which actually became a peecoat about a year ago and I finally discarded it about3 weeks ago).

While I still have this as well, it is now my Folger’s coffee moment sweater. Appropriate for making coffee in the morning, or if I am sick. Frump-a-dump!

One more, for good measure.

Outfit 4:

This one was taken about 3 months before I started finally developing some, well, sense. Note particularly that these jeans 100% do not fit. I used to think that because I was short, I had to always cuff my pants. Never did it occur to me that shorter pants may exist somewhere.

Ignore the cute 7 year old in this picture (which was somehow mistaken as mine on the day this was taken).

I’m holding an ipod in my hand above. My ipod and my cellphone used to be how I accessorized my outfits. I clipped both of them to either side of my pants. This finally stopped after a particularly well-dressed friend informed me that electronics should never be part of one’s outfit. How was I supposed to know? Who makes up all these rules anyway?!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my embarrassing pictures.

Until next time….

To be continued…

My Evolution of Fashion, part 1

Over the past year and some, fashion, or fashionability if you will, has come to take over my life. Working at a women’s retailer will do that to you, I suppose. When I look back on little Leah, or high school and college Leah, the last things she cared about were clothes and shoes. My idea of fashion was a gold velvet peasant top (okay, not really, that top got made fun of incessantly the one time I wore it) and baggy boot-cut jeans. Not anymore, no sir-y.

My favorite shirt as a small child was a lavender Beauty and the Beast graphic tee. This shirt mysteriously disappeared at the age of four when I had to be put under for surgery. “Do we need to cut this off of her?” “No, no I can take it off!” Then the lights went out. I think they cut it off, the bastards. How dare they destroy my favorite shirt in order to put my arm back together.

From ages 4 to 7 I’m fairly sure I picked out none of my own clothing, I was merely allowed to veto based on itchiness. At least I hope I didn’t pick out the antique floral babydoll top with matching floral leggings which I wore to learn how to square dance in the first grade.

Around 7 or 8 I started sporting stripes, baggy jeans, and AirWalks. This was clearly a revolt against the feminine clothes my mother attempted to dress me in previously. My absolute favorite striped shirt at the time died in a freak pie-throwing accident. Technically it had been washed, but it sure as sin did not smell the same ever again. A friend at the time, Rebecca Santos, took a Polaroid of me in a tree wearing that striped shirt, my favorite jeans, plus the AirWalks; the sun trickled through my streaming golden hair. Re-finding that photo in the kitchen junk drawer was one of the first times in my life when I felt that I could be pretty.

The rest of elementary school and middle school were very confused, fashion-wise. By early highschool I somehow began to start wearing tight jeans and low-cut tops (not like there was much to see!). This was probably a failed attempt to get boys to notice me. It didn’t help even remotely. Plus I began to feel awkward being such a teacher’s pet and yet dressing a little bit on the risque-side. By about 11th grade this phase died off (praise Allah!). I went into serious “get into a good college, get a good job, have a good life” mode and essentially lived in an oversized Stanford sweatshirt for the rest of highschool and much of college.

To be continued…

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