If I could do it all over again...

My friend Lisa over at Solo Lisa tagged all her readers to come up with their fantasy prom get-up. Though I actually never had a prom (just a graduation promenade where we walked around the school gym for an hour while excited parents took pictures) I do sometimes think about what I would have done differently. For one, I would have gotten my hair and makeup done by a professional. I did it myself and it looked a little clownish, to be honest. Pulled-tight hair, too-red lipstick, overly-lined eyes... typical gaffes for a young girl just discovering makeup and with no idea what to do with her hair. My dress, I liked. It was a red traditional Chinese choengsam done in lace with high slits to show off my legs. It was very flattering and lovely. My shoes on the other hand... just... fug.

So, being the creature of imagination that I am, I jumped to do this tag. In fact, I had so much fun, I did it twice. Behold: Striking Arty Prom (gotta love my crappy title...)

fantasy prom by serenakay on Polyvore.com

And Luxe Hippie Prom in honour of my hippie-ish ways in high school. Seriously. I wore sarongs everyday in Grade 8. Of course, this Missoni dress is much prettier than that dastardly piece of batik I wore so faithfully.

luxe hippie prom by serenakay featuring Christian Louboutin shoes

Diane's Obsessed Too!

First of all, sorry, sorry, sorry for abandoning my blog for so long!!! Can't promise I'll be back for good, but I'll do my best to update more often.

Okay, bad-blogger grovelling over!

I saw this pic of Diane Kruger on WWWD yesterday and instantly zeroed in on it. Did I ever mention that I saw her a few weeks ago? It was so bizarre! Her boyfriend Joshua Jackson is from Vancouver originally so I guess they were visiting? I was just walking down my street, mindin' my own business and I notice this couple walking along. She looked pretty stylish so I noticed her and then as I get closer, it's Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson! I'm not really a fan of either of them but it was just so strange to see people in real life that I'm used to seeing on a printed page... Anyways, I've totally derailed myself... Right! This outfit:


I clicked onto Lucky's website this morning and realized that Kruger's outfit was the exact replica of an outfit shown in the magazine in April! I just love that the look is affordable, too. Still not affordable for me but that's another story...

Top - Splendid, Skirt - Charlotte Ronson

Photos from luckymag.com

Odd Style Inspiration

No one is more surprised than me that I'm totally digging Britney Spears' video for 'Circus'. I've never had any strong feelings about Britney, besides feeling sorry for her when she went apeshit and shaved her head. She seems to be back on track (and likely heavily medicated) now and trying to do the comeback thing.

The aesthetic of the video is of course circus-inspired but it's also just pretty. There's a lot of nudes and washed-out creams accented with black. The diamonds are lovely though the product-placement is hokey. I love the curly, 1920s loose bob she sports for about half of the video. I'm totally going to do that more often! Basically, I'm baffled but amused by this style inspiration.

Also, watching it on mute is hilarious. So many gratuitous hair-flips and weird hand motions!

So good

no no no no no!

I wake up this morning, ready to spring out of bed and face the world. I look out the window and gasp, choke. Snow! *Insert primal scream here* Gah! I knew all that sunshine was too good to be true. In rainy Vancouver, it was sunny for 8 days in a row. I revelled in it, I sang, I laughed. Well, maybe I laughed too heartily and the wrath of the snow gods has come down upon my head. Haha, man I am over winter. Look how dramatic it makes me!

But of course, this blog is not about the weather. The upside of this chilly development is that I can go back to my winter wardrobe of cozy sweaters and knits and play a little longer. Since my camera was left behind at my man's parents' house last weekend, there will be no outfit pictures until next week, but I do have an inspiration photo to illustrate how I hope to dress when I go about my merry way this snowy Thursday.

I love the roomy coat (from Isabel Marant) over simple skinnies and smart wedge boots. It's a very simple look but the proportions are great and she looks stylish but still warm. I'll try my very best not to whine about the snow anymore. Instead I'll adopt a similar attitude to this girl, "Ouais, it's cold. But I look fabulous. What of it?"

Yes.

Photo from luckymag.com

Under the Influence

You know it's coming. I'm a little behind on the times but I just ordered the Olsens' new book Influence. I'm not too sure why, but I really like books on style. Mayhap it's because I just like books in general? The psuedo-academic approach to style and shopping has always appealed to me, probably because I love lists and organization. God, such a Virgo.

I've been thinking about my personal style a lot lately. It's always been pretty fluid, encompassing a little bohemian, some hipster 'chic', some ladylike... but having recently cleaned out my wardrobe, it all seemed so disorganized and schizo. I'm all for experimentation and I've enjoyed trying out different looks, but I feel the need now to narrow it down so I can start buying pieces that will last and will all come together more cohesively. Oh man, I sound like a grown-up. I guess I kind of am. I'm done my undergrad and I'll be hitting the grown-up work world in a matter of months for which I will probably need a suit... Okay, I just shivered a little. I'm not ready for a suit.

Anyways, I was browsing through the Lucky magazine Guide to Mastering any Style and they seem to have gotten my style down. They call it "Posh Eclectic" but I like to think of it as an eccentric and inappropriately dressed European aristocrat who raids her grandmother's attic for accessories. Another style they dissect is the Bombshell. So I guess I'd be two-thirds Posh Eclectic, one-third Bombshell.

The only bad thing about narrowing down my style is that I want to go shopping when I really shouldn't.