flasher

trench - H&M / necklace - vintage, Brooklyn flea market / red & white striped shirt - Lucca Couture via UO / leather belt - vintage, thrifted / leather wrap watch - La Mer / shorts - H&M / tights - Calzedonia / canvas flats - UO

I finally caved to my craving for red! Chris* and I were walking around the Barri Gotic the other night, and I spotted these bright tights through a shop window. I snatched them up in a heartbeat, and now I can tell I'm going to have to watch it or I'll wear them every day! There's nothing like bright legs to keep a limited wardrobe from feeling stale, and since they pack down so tiny, I don't have to feel too guilty about adding to the suitcase. I suspect I'll be sublimating a lot of my future shopping urges into more and more colored tights.

I definitely made an effort to keep my trench open while I was out and about today - otherwise I was worried it would look like I wasn't wearing pants! It's funny, I don't feel overexposed at all when wearing shorts with tights, but as soon as the shorts aren't visible, I feel like I look indecent! Does anyone else feel uncomfortable when their jacket is longer than their hemlines, or is that just me?



Oh, don't mind me, I'm just *cough* pretending to be tall....

This shirt is one of those weird garments that feels great when you're wearing it, and seems to flatter you in the mirror, but just does not photograph well at all. I think it's a combination of there being some truth to the old warnings about horizontal stripes, the unflattering optics of which are only emphasized in a photo, and that the stripes on this top are so narrow and close together that they can be a little dizzying.
In theory, all the ingredients are there for this to be a favorite of mine - stripes! red! boatneck! 3/4 sleeves! - but for all that, I'm not sure it was one of the better choices to pack in my oh-so-small suitcase.

I may have an opportunity to exchange a few things with home in the next month, so I've been working on evaluating my packing choices so far. Being so far from my (admittedly overstuffed and under-edited) closet is definitely turning into a learning experience about my style and the way I like to get dressed, so hopefully beyond the chronic sense of garment-deprivation I'll actually return with some insight into how to use my wardrobe more effectively. I'm also hoping in the next few weeks to put together a round-up post about what I brought, what I wish I had, and what in my luggage I really could do without.

*yes, he does have a name; I just asked permission to use it recently - I should have done that years ago, it would have made introducing him to my family so much easier.