Fun Fashion

Today I got my braces off! I'm so happy it finally happened! I've had braces for TWO AND A HALF YEARS--I got quite tired of them. So, although I'm no master at smiling (or taking pictures) yet, I decided it would be a good thing to share, seeing as this is a fashion blog and teeth are a big part of how your face looks.




(I'm much better at my crazy pout, at least I think so.)



Anyway, enough messing around, here's what I wore today. Nothing too complex, just a frilly shirt, crest choker, grey vest, striped pants, and a few chains. (hey that's not very much for me)

Here's another view--to show you the varied colors of blue in the sleeves of the shirt I chose.

And a little close up on the details: Here is the choker (it's handmade so good like finding one like it)

(And the chains across the vest)

Here are the shoes I wore with this outfit. They're legit vintage shoes (Value Village Rocks) and so they're a little scuffed, but I don't care. They're one of my favorite pairs of shoes (and only cost $10).

So, you might be wondering how I decide to wear this in the morning. I don't--like some people do--plan out what I'm going to wear for several hours before I go to bed and then put it on in the morning, I decide in all of about five minutes in the morning, just throwing together stuff that will look good. My philosophy is, that to get something good looking you have to go for a mood and wear things that correspond with that mood. The outfit I wore today had a very "refined victorian" mood to it, which was what I am ultimately going for. The frills on the shirt, the button-down vest, the ribbon choker and the shoes of course are all fashion staples of the Victorian Era.

Another rule of mine is never wear more than one color. I've tried it before, and--well lets just say it only looks good on me on halloween. Today the color of choice was blue. To add depth to the outfit I rounded it out with grey and black (I consider them neutrals, not colors).

And finally, make sure the patterns you're wearing don't clash. The frilly shirt has a very bold, large pattern thats very intracate. If I had worn something else with an equally complicated, large print, they would clash. But the pants I chose to wear with the shirt had a very small, barely noticable stripe pattern which worked well with the vertical stiches on the vest, and, of course, the vest was plain.

All these things don't really run through my head while I'm picking out my clothes in the morning--I've gotten so practiced at deciding what to wear, I just subconsciously pick whatever I think will look good, always keeping the mood I want to portray in mind (the mood is the most important thing) but because I know the things I mentioned above and have practiced them, I don't even have to think about it.

And finally, style isn't about what everyone else is wearing. It's about conveying your personality, looking nice and having a little fun. Fashion is an art form--so explore it some, find what works for you. Maybe you're like one of my best friends who can make magenta and neon green look good together--I have no idea. But whatever your personal style preference is, make sure it's your own.