30 for30

THE TOPS

THE CARDIGANS

THE BLOUSES

THE DRESSES

.

THE SKIRTS

THE SHOES

THE LAST MINUTE ADDITION


I'm over the top thrilled to participate in the fall 30for30 remix hosted by Kendi. I'm a big fan of remixing mainly because I have a large family to... feed  and there is never enough money but also because I want to be a responsible consumer and good role model to my kids.
By taking part I hope to push my boundaries in creativity , connect with other bloggers and keep an eye on what they do. I'm a bit anxious though, if I picked the right 30 but I guess I 'll have to wait until the challenge is over to know that! Happy remixing everyone!!!

Just checking if the colors blend well

 

 

Global wardrobe

I've been all over the place today! My mind refused to follow with everyday activities including what to wear.
I needed  a no brainer but I love how it turned out.
Now, it's later in the evening and  I am capable of more complicated thoughts .While preparing for Kendi's 30 for 30 remix , it crossed my mind that around the world many women  connected in no other way are preparing as well.
Internet has become our powerful tool to connect globally and I'm thrilled to be part of this global wardrobe
remix.
Have you found your 30 items yet? Are they co ordinated or are you open for surprise? Do I have to include my little black dress?
Happy creative month and thanks to Kendi for organizing this.

Think before you buy?

On this post I'll be brave enough to showcase my biggest shopping remorse. It's this pair of jeans. Actually is the least unflattering, the most expensive piece of cloth I own and the one I made the most research before I bought it a year ago.
I still cannot explain how I ended up with this pair I have the least desire to wear.
I wear it still, to justify the money I paid for but....it makes me feel sad and well...fat.
Does something like that ever happened to you? It wasn't an impulse buy ,remember? What to do with it?

Belt the way to style

Today my camera refused to co operate. Only when I uploaded I found out that the photos were as dark as the night.I used modern technologie and that's the best I could come with. Excusez-moi. My outfit today was around my belt. It's new and I try to experiment with belts lately. I consider belts an aquired taste as they are not that easy to use but when you get hold of the concept you can have really stylish outfits...out of nothing! I just put on a shirt , a skirt and a cardigan and I beleive that the belt transformed my outfit into something stylish. What do you think? Is it just my idea or belts are great ...Transformers ? Do you use belts a lot and if not why? You want to get more info? Then study this classic post about belts byAudi over at Sal's.

 

 

 

 

The A line project .... The true fashion story behind A line skirt

Do you ever wish there was a cloth so easy to make and even easier to wear ? Do you ever wish to own a cloth so versatile and flattering scoring high on comfort , too? Well look no further. It's the A line skirt.
By A line I mean a fitted skirt on the hips that widens as it reaches the hem and in this way it resembles the letter A thus the name of it.
But as familiar as we are with this shape today the concept of A line silhouette didn't appear before the mid 50s.
It was then that French designer Cristian Dior introduced the simple modern A line silhouette as part of his New Look.
It was, though, in the early sixties that A line skirts or dresses  blended  well with the modern vibes of the time. A line skirts became even more popular when the first lady of the US Jackline Kennedy began to wear them. The rest is history as so many women have copied her look.
 A line skirts  appeal to me for one more reason. I'm a novice  at sewing and I need an easy pattern to ...reveal my skills. A line skirts are generous both to my body and skills .
Have you ever tried to make an A lline skirt? Do you feel exited  when you inject style in your wardrobe in such an easy way?Without breaking the bank?Do yo like to learn a bit about the clothes you wear?

How maths saved my style!!!

Have you ever wondered how many combinations you can have out of your clothes?  Do you read like crazy the pages on Lucky that picture a few clothes +accessories+shoes+bags and then show you how to make different outfits for every day of the month?
Then you have a very good idea of how maths can help with your Wardrobe. You still don't see how they relate? Let me give you an example.
If you have 10 tops (of all sorts) and 10 bottoms (skirts,pants....) and you mix each one of them with all the others  you score 100 outfits in no time! Then you can show up in the office wearing a different outfit every day for at least 3 months.
On top of that , if you add belts , shoes , scarves , bags , you name it or the occassional new entry you double the number. Now ,you get the picture and you possibly begin to understand why men never get it  when we stand in front of the wardrobe complaining we have nothing to wear. It's bacause we are no good in Maths.

If not convinced yet go check your wardrobe and start adding!You can thank me later.

Copycat Dolls

Do you sometimes ,well many times , stand in front of a wardrobe full of clothes and you  are convinced  that you  have nothing to wear?
This is a major sign that you suffer from NTW (nothing to wear )syndrome. Don't dispair because the cure is simple and within easy reach. Go and grab those stucks of magazines that have cost you lots of money , or those catalogues that have cost you lack of space and get inspired.
There will always be a look for you to try.
I used this argile vest-like thing that I'm always puzzled how to wear on top of a pink turtlneck and my pink skirt. A combination that would never never come out of my head.
Not persuaded yet? Then go and try for yourself and then contact  Style underdog . I will do the same myself right now.

Basic instict

I love the end of October and the reason is that my husband stops with his seasonal work and we reunite again as a family. This means a lot of fight over the computer time but also long evenings playing board games or listening to music or watching movies together with the children.
It's also the time that it gets chilly  here in Greece , a welcome change from the long and hot summer.
Enough with the intro. My outfit of today is rooted around my skirt. I'm more than proud to say that I made this skirt out of vintage fabric.It's heavy print and I tried to balance it with black in shoes and belt.
I thought a shirt would make it more office appropriate. I proved right.
As for the olive green turtlneck under the shirt I have to admit it was an impulse buy but with basic layering pieces you can't go wrong. It has proved invaluable and has tied together many outfits.
I've come to beleive that these layering pieces are the back bone of my wardrobe.They keep me warm and decent , they create the background of my louder pieces to shine and they ask mimimum maintenance back.
How do you feel about your basic layering pieces?Do ever you have enough?

The best way ever to stop shopping

Have you ever been looked down at because you don't shop till you drop or you don't have any idea of the hot brand names or bacause you beleive you don't really need anything ....because you just have everything and then more so?
If your answear is yes and it is because you keep on reading, then welcome to the wonderful world of
Remixing.
Remixing for me is to use the clothes I have already accumulated over the years, in all ways possible, thus coming up with virtually  hundreds of  combinations. Throw into the mix all the accessories I already have  and the number doubles.
But don't get fooled and beleive you only need  the clothes to remix. Remixing can be very artistic. It requires a multitude of skills you already have but you don't know it  yet or need  perhaps a bit of toning.

• Organisational skills
• Planning ahead skills
• Basic sewing skills
• Take good care of your clothes skills to last for long time
• Study colors , styles and silhouettes
• Re inventing what you already have
• Blog skills ,as a bonus, to manifest your love and commitment to remixing

But it also requires a lot of self determination(you might travel a lonely path in your community) ,creativity , dedication to the stylistic decisions you have made in the past and above all patience for the wealth of your wardrobe to manifest.
I hope it doesn't sound too complicating bacause the high you get when remixing it really makes you feel strong satisfied and calm inside.
And when you really have a need of something new it always finds a way to come to you with very little or not at all money.
Do you remix a lot? What are the skills you have toned? How do you feel about the whole process?
I hope my clothes qualify today for Melissa's breast awareness crusade.

Discover the automn blockbuster

skirt   made by me with vintage fabric cardigan Marks &Spencer black top Berska shoes bargain

You probably never thought what is the real story behind the most worn piece of cloth autumn after autumn for hundreds of years,have you? But you all have worn a cardigan at one point or another and many of you are obsessed with it.
But what's the real story behind this autumn blockbuster?
Do you know that this feminine garment is named after a general?
Major General James Tomas Brudenell , 7th Earl of Cardigan,was an officer who served in Crimea (what we now call Ukraine ) in 1854.
He apparently had a good sense of practicallity as well as style and both his soldiers and him wore a sort of sweater coat often trimmed with fur(it was bloody cold there) or braids.
That was the very first massive appearence of the cardigan .The rest is history as cardigan made it all the way from the battlefield to the office environment of 21st century.
Along the way fishermen in the British islands were protected with it from the chiling sea winds, Harvard students won baseball games on v-neck lettered cardigans and millions of women 's bodies were flattered by the iconic twin set of the 50s.There are even rumors that coco's chanel famous jacket is but a collarless cardigan .
For the autumn blockbuster, it is , I think cardigan surely deserves to be the protagonist of a movie.
Do you ever worry about the history behind all popular elements of clothing? Is it important for you to get to know what you are wearing?

Belts and cardis 101

Cardigans are divine and so are belts. Cardis and belts is a great name for a blog. A blog is a great place to showcase this pair of trousers. This pair of trousers were utterly unflattering but with the help of a cardigan and a belt  looks almost fantastic.
 When I figure out how to do it I will make a collage with how many times I've remixed this belt not to mention the cardigan.

Do you feel that dressing good is like a brain surgery?

When it comes to my wardrobe philosophy I beleive that dressing good is not as difficult as brain surgery.But it helps tremendously  to know the... tools of the trade.I am not a stylist or a style prodigy but by trial and error it dawned on me that I basicaly rotate more or less the same ...tools

• Bottoms (a lot)
• Tops (even more)
• Dresses

That's all if you come to think of it.It's not a brain surgery. Again my own thoughts But if this osmosis thing is real probably other women around the world  think the same way. (If you do please let me know). Back on track now.
Bottoms can basically be divided in skirts or trousers. There are of course hundreds of lenghts or styles or fabrics but when it comes to it , it's one or the other.
Then come the tops.
Roughly I divide mine in

• Inner layer tops(tank tops,t shirts, camisoles,blouses,shirts,...the thin stuff ...)
• middle layer tops(cardis,sweaters...)
• outer layer tops(jackets,coats blazers...)

Again , in a variety of colours , fabrics and styles.
Then god created the dresses. They are divine inspiration made for the female body.

When I had my planets( clothes) in order I only needed my sattelites or little stars to embelish my little universe. It was the next big realization.
According to me this is what qualifies as sattelites.

• Jewellery
• Scarves
• Belts
• Gloves
• Tights
• Shoes
• Hats
• Bags

Every universe has its black hole. Mine is underwear section (yet to find the wonder...bra)

That's about it please fill in the gaps and tell me what you think of my oversimplified theory.
What is your wardrobe philosophy?

Autumn safari

I'm working hard on my one and only pose and I plan to bring it to perfection. Oops! I am suppossed to be working on my perfectionism. That's why I started blogging in the first place,almost a year ago, in order to post everyday not perfect fotos or context and still feel proud of myself.
Enough about me! My outfit was screaming safari so I grabbed this vietnamese hat that my husband grabbed in one of his travels as a sailor back in the 80's.
 For some unknown reason this hat decorates for years my bathroom.Is it the colors that fit? I don't know and never gave it a thought until now.
The blue blouse is mine a vintage piece from the 80's ,the fabric itself dates a decade back from the 70's.
My mother has kept it for years and she gave me this summer. I'm glad I found a way to incorporate it in my wardrobe so many years later.
Is there a piece of clothing that your mum has saved for you and years later you got it back? How did you feel about it? Did you find a way to mix it up with your current wardrobe?

What to do when you have no money to buy new clothes.

It's this time of the year again that we are bombarded to buy new clothes.But the last couple of years ,  the whole world in general  and my country in particular, go down financially and this year will be no different   for many of us.
For some others, there will be no shopping craziness because they have gone past the stage of accumulating things and they 'd rather enjoy what they already own.
Despite of all these women are far from perfect and want to renew their wardrobes quite often. It gets boring to wear the same clothes day in and day out. This is what I personally do to revamp my wardrobe without breaking the bank.

• I've learnt trough trial and error a few basic sewing skills so I can make very simple skirts and dresses. A couple of skirts and dresses are usually what I need to revamp my wardrobe.
• If I don't feel like going all the way I make a visit to my local shop with sewing supplies and I buy a few things to embelish what I already own. I change the buttons of my cardis , I add pearls...you name it.
• I raise hem lines and take in shirts to give a better fit. A well fitted garment usually gives the feeling of something new.
• I keep both summer and winter clothes in the same place and mix them up. In the same spirit I mix the work and play clothes to make new outfits.
• I raid my mother's wardrobe.
• I scarf or/and belt to give my outfits a new special vibe.
• I try new colour combinations. Usually we have a very specific set of colours we use. When I look a tfashion magazines I always notice how colours are combined. Then I try the same colors with my outfits.
• I tidy my wardrobe often and sometimes I put my clothes in order according to color.Other times according to the type of cloth(skirts with skirts,tops with tops...).In this way I always perceive what I have in new ways.
• I see if I can find clever ways to wear my clothes. I wear them in layers,I wear dresses as tops or as skirts, I use scarves as belts ,long skirts as dresses under cardis or blazers ...

• I use different accessories even if I wear the same clothes for some days in a row .This way I get a different vibe out of basically the same clothes.

So , you see I don't need to spend money all the time to buy clothes. The more creative I can be the less new things I need to buy.
Well, what do you do to revamp your wardrobe? Any new tricks that you like to share?

Flower power.

Halleluiah! I am so much more daring in my posing today!!! Sweet Joann from Sidewalk Chalk had a post a few days ago about posing but that's the most I could master. I really need some tips. Anyone?
Back to the outfit now. My skirt has a bit of pink so I think it qualifies for Mellissa's Blogging for breast cancer awareness.
I'm in the mood of making a few skirts with the vintage collection of fabric I got from my aunt. Be prepared.
I'm in creative mood and I love to remix the clothes I already have. Want to see some proof?