color story

scarf - gift / perfect army jacket - Zara / belt - boyfriend's / bracelet - Berber handcraft, gift from Tunisia / leather wrap watch - La Mer / breton striped sweater - H&M / blue v-neck - Forever 21 / leggings - Style&Co., mommed / boots - Steve Madden

Just a tip for traveling bloggers - it is not always a good idea to take your outfit shots in the airport. We took these photos in the airport at Marrakech because the light was great, the building was interesting, and I actually really liked my airplane outfit - and we came this close to getting in trouble for it! As soon as we'd finished, an uniformed guard approached us and politely asked us to show him the photos we'd been taking. We flicked through them on the camera, and fortunately he decided we were harmless (if a bit odd) and didn't ask us to delete them!



A lot of times, my airport outfits feel a little blah to me, more governed by comfort and security checkpoints than style, but this one worked out really well and I actually felt pretty cute. I wouldn't generally have combined yellow, blue, and green in one outfit, but I think the unexpected combination worked out pretty well - and segues nicely into this week's Friend Friday questions on color.

1. What color dominates your closet?

I spent six years in architecture school, and three working in various architecture offices, so... black. Black black black, with a side of gray. The number of black clothes I own is probably equal to all other colors combined, and the vast majority of the things I brought with me on our travels are black, gray, or blue. This is fairly ridiculous, as I always love outfits that include a lot of color and feel best when I'm dressed colorfully myself - so, I'm working on it.

2. If money weren't an issue how would you change the color emphasis in your closet?

Lately I've been loving bright colors that have a slight earthiness to them, that aren't pure hues. Here are a few favorites from my color inspiration folder right now:


(original image sources: mustard, puce, olive, navy, and rust)

I've been gradually collecting a few of these (olive, navy, and rust so far), and it's probably no coincidence that they all look great with one another too.

3. What is your mantra about mixing colors?

 Just do it. This is something I try to bear in mind all the time now, both in getting dressed and in shopping for new pieces. I don't think there are really that many 'bad' color combinations out there, and lately it seems that every time I put two or three odd colors together I wind up loving the results. I really don't have any hard and fast rules, and often a few carefully chosen accessories can really help soften an otherwise jarring color combination.

4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits?

This is definitely something I've gotten a lot more conscious of since blogging my outfits regularly. I've found the easiest way to inject some color into a predominantly neutral wardrobe is by incorporating some colorful tights ( like these, or these) and accessories, as both can really liven up an otherwise drab outfit. When shopping, I've definitely been on the lookout for color in skirts - a colorful skirt is a bit more unexpected than a bright top, and it can feel more comfortable to introduce color into your wardrobe when it's not right next to your face.

(Here are a few of my favorite recent outfits that make use of color: Jan. 1, Jan. 10, Jan. 23, Feb. 5, & Feb. 6.)

5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color into their wardrobe? 

There are TONS of bloggers who do great things with color - in fact, it's one of the main things that draws me to another blogger's style! A few bloggers whose outfits make frequent appearances in my inspiration folder for their stunning and unexpected use of color are Zoe of Haiku Ambulance, Julie of Orchid Grey, Amanda of Off of Broadway, Kendi of Kendi Everyday, and Christina of Second Skin.

P.S. Don't forget to check out all the other great FBFF posts about color over at ModlyChic!
//

belted

 
necklace - vintage, flea market / red print button-down - vintage, thrifted / white v-neck - Forever 21 / belt - vintage, thrifted / leather wrap watch - La Mer / overdyed skinnies - Zara / flats - Zara

These photos are from our last day in Marrakech. We visited the Jardins Majorelle, a small but lovely botanical garden - and the site of Yves Saint Laurent's ashes. I'd been trying to dream up some different ways to wear this vintage button-down, as it's oddly one of the more challenging pieces I own to remix, and I realized I'd worn it under other things but never over. I decided to borrow a page from S. of Narrowly Tailored's playbook and use a belt to reign in some of the blouse's volume and give more definition to my natural waist.

I'm afraid I'll keep this short and sweet, as I'm absolutely knackered from traveling all day, but I'll be back in blogger-action tomorrow to talk about this week's FBFF topic (one of my favorites!) and to share some surprisingly nice outfit photos taken in the midst of our journey today. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the pub for a nice glass of bitter - I'll give you three guesses where we are now. :)

wearing the pants

ridiculous earrings - vintage shop in Copenhagen / cashmere cardigan - Cynthia Rowley via Marshall's / black striped tee - UO / jeggings - Target / flats - Zara

I am definitely going a bit stir-crazy from having to wear pants every day. We took a ton of photos yesterday, and these are the only ones where I'm not making an overwhelming cranky-face! I have a creeping suspicion that my 30x30 is going to end up sort of lopsided - after having to wear nothing but pants in the beginning, I'll probably wind up wearing nothing but skirts in the end.

I still tried to make the best of yet another pants day - this drapey cardigan always feels a little like a fancy housecoat, so I decided to just go with that yesterday, poofing my bun up as much as possible and throwing on my most over-the-top vintage earrings for a sort of '60s hostess look. By the end of the day, I actually wound up wearing this cardigan sort of half wrapped and belted, which I think I liked even better and will probably repeat in another remix later on.

I'm off to get packing, then maybe take a last sunset walk in the Medina. We've been trying to soak up as much sunshine as we can - tomorrow we say goodbye to Morocco!



There's a smile! Trying to make the best of these durn pants...

creature comforts

 
earrings - Berber handcraft, gift from Tunisia / goldfish pin - gift / wood & brass bangle - vintage, thrifted / perfect army jacket (below) - Zara / fox print tee - Zara / overdyed skinnies - Zara / flats - Zara 
(I didn't think I could come up with a more Zara-heavy outfit than yesterday's, but here you have it! Z, call me about sponsorship anytime.)

Only 1/5 of the way through my 30x30, and I'm already experiencing a little bit of an outfit funk. Between my desire to dress modestly as a visitor (no matter how many tourists I see on the street in tube tops), and the fact that I currently don't even have nine of my 30 items, I was feeling pretty uninspired about getting dressed yesterday. Enter a few of my favorite creatures to cheer me up.

I certainly seem to be amassing a nice little collection of animal-themed clothes, from my fish pin (a gift from my high school boyfriend - as in my boyfriend during high school, not my boyfriend who is in high school (he doesn't have such great taste)), to my fox shirt, my cat shirt, and my poodle brooch. I have never been a big wearer of animal print, but I do seem to wear a lot of prints of animals.

 
Still, I couldn't help feeling like this outfit was missing something, and I (tragically!) don't have a blazer in my 30x30 so I once again missed out on Everybody Everywear.... so of course I ended up throwing my perfect army jacket over it and calling it a day. Are you guys getting tired of seeing this jacket yet? No? Oh good, I knew that wasn't possible.


I did discover the downside of this jacket's magical butt-giving properties though - while we were out walking yesterday, this maybe 12-year-old boy came up and started offering to take us to the big square, Place Djemaa el Fna. This is pretty common, as it's the biggest tourist attraction in Marrakech and lots of kids (and adults) hope you will pay them something to show you the way there (since all Westerners are clearly lost/stupid). Generally when you decline, they'll try offering you six or seven other things, then give up, but this kid went a different route - instead, he began pointing at me and asking Chris, "How much? How much? 100? 120? Nice ass, nice. How much?" (Amazingly, Chris TOTALLY MISSED this entire interaction, as he was studiously ignoring the kid and is generally oblivious to rude comments made in my direction.)

Moral of the story? Beware of jackets with magical powers, as they may lead pre-teens to offer upwards of 100 dh (~$12) for your imaginary ass.

Oh, and we do occasionally venture farther than our lovely balconies. Here are a few photos from our post-tween-solicitation visit to the Palais el Badiî - population, a gazillion storks. You can see one of their nests on the roof in the first picture.

magic mirror

earrings - Berber handcraft, gift from Tunisia / perfect army jacket - Zara / cat print blouse - Zara / overdyed skinnies - Zara / shoes - Toms

I've talked a little bit about how gorgeous our apartment in Marrakech is - there are the multiple sunny balconies, the profusion of awesomely spiky plants, the tiny vintage bottles in every room, the perfectly curated collection of bespoke objets d'art, and, of course, the overwhelming profusion of gorgeous textiles - but some of its greatest features by far are the mirrors.

Every room of this (sizeable!) apartment contains at least one large mirror, and none of them are hanging from the wall. Instead, every single one of these mirrors sits on the floor and leans against the wall - creating the perfect angle to reflect me at a tall and lovely 5'8" at least. As a result, I've found that the longer we've been here, the less I worry about silly things like figure flattery and proportion, and the more comfortable I've gotten wearing things that I'd normally consider 'unflattering' - things like cuffed pants and blouses tucked in below my natural waist. I'm not sure how well these proportions work for me outside of the magic mirror, but I can't deny the mini-ego boost of catching your reflection on your way to the kitchen and thinking, damn, I look good.

So maybe instead of worrying so much about 'dressing for my body type,' I ought to tip all my mirrors back a little and enjoy the benefits of this particular small fiction.

spontaneity

wood & bone necklace - vintage, secondskinstyle via etsy / cashmere cardigan - Cynthia Rowley via Marshall's / gray tank - Anthropologie / painted wood bangle - vintage, childhood dress-up box / belt - boyfriend's / skirt - Zara / tights - Target / flats - Zara

I am a pretty serious planner. I am a perfectionist, Type A, Virgo/Libra cusp - so I make lists. The day that Kendi announced this round of the 30for30, I started a list of what items I wanted to remix, then a series of sub-lists to plan out the different outfits I could make with each piece. Then I started making polyvore sets of all the possible remixes, so I could easily visualize all my options. This is how much I plan just to put on clothes.

Which is why it's shocking that this outfit came together totally spontaneously, and I absolutely love it. I've grown a little weary of wearing pants every day since we've gotten to Morocco, so I thought a lazy Saturday at home would be a great time to break out something a little more 'immodest.' This skirt was a late addition to my 30 (hello, #28!), from the same surprise trip to Zara that resulted in my new jacket, so I hadn't planned any outfits around it yet. I wanted to stick with a pretty low-key, earthy color palette to keep the spotlight on the rusty orange, and topped it off with a wider belt 'borrowed' from Chris and my vintage necklace from the queen of earth-tones herself, Christina. It felt great to get a little more 'dressed up,' even if only for eating grilled cheese and catching up on Gossip Girl.




And seriously, how cute are those scalloped pockets??

totally irrational

earrings - Boston street vendor / purple paisley scarf (below) - vintage, thrifted / perfect army jacket - Zara / red print button-down - vintage, thrifted / overdyed skinnies - Zara / flats - Zara

I have spoken before of my love for army jackets, and believe me, this love cannot be overstated. Some people can never have enough stripes in their wardrobe, others collect gray sweaters* - I get sucked in by heavy canvas, cinched waists, and epaulets. So it was that, despite the three (three!) army jackets I currently have at home, I recently made the clearly irrational decision to acquire this jacket at Zara.

But it is so much better than my other jackets! The color is greener! The length is more flattering! The sleeves can be rolled all the way down! And it kind of gives me the illusion of an actual butt!

Ahem. As I was saying - totally irrational, but also pretty happiness-inducing. Sometimes you just can't deny true love, and I intend to wear the hell out of this jacket - and to donate/gift/sell two of the jackets I already have, so clearly this was more a productive exercise in closet culling than a case of impulse shopping. Clearly.

It was again really too warm for a scarf, but I couldn't help adding my vintage paisley scarf for a few of my photos. My henna tattoos are fading, and I'd been wanting to photo them with a few of my favorite prints before they disappeared completely. We're staying in a textile designer's apartment, so we are completely surrounded by an amazing variety of great colors and textures. It is really inspiring me to be even bolder with print-mixing, and bringing back alternative career fantasies with a vengeance.



*Ok, yes, I admittedly have both of these sartorial addictions as well...

stream of consciousness

 
 
earrings - Boston street vendor / breton striped cardigan - H&M / black henley tank (worn as cowl) - Old Navy / pink tank - Anthropologie / belt - vintage, thrifted / leggings - Style & Co, mommed / flats - Zara

The other day, Kyla of Blue Collar Catwalk noted she tended to remix items in her 30for30 on immediately consecutive days, and I'm beginning to think I have the same prediliction for stream-of-consciousness remixes. After wearing this cardigan in my first remix with pants and boots, I immediately wanted to try it a completely different way yesterday. I loved the way my belt just lined right up with one of the stripes, and paired with leggings and flats this was a perfect low-key outfit for a day of laundry and errands.

My black 'cowl' is actually a carefully rolled up tank top (don't worry, it's one of my 30 items!). I've been loving the way Dotty has been wearing a skirt as a scarf lately, so I started digging around in my bag for something that could be similarly repurposed. The tank worked pretty well - I just folded in the top and bottom thirds to end up with a loose loop. I liked the fit, and the detail of the little button placket peeking through, but it actually wound up being too warm for a scarf!

contrast

breton striped cardigan - H&M / necklace - vintage, thrifted / black scoopneck tee (worn backwards) - UO / jeggings - Target / socks - Target / boots - Steve Madden

I admit, I feel just the tiniest bit guilty posting these photos - just as it seems nearly everyone in North America has been blasted with variously creatively named snowstorms, I'm enjoying temperatures in the upper sixties on my new balcony in Marrakech. It just doesn't seem fair.

This outfit may not be the most exciting start to my 30for30, but it managed to fulfill my recent modesty requirements while still feeling reasonably put together. I can tell already that this cardigan is going to be a pretty major staple of this challenge - the breton stripes make it a fun classic, and the longer length allows me to play around with a lot of different ways to wear it. My basic black tee is another remix workhorse, and one of the pieces that I included in my last attempt at the 30for30 - I've actually got a whopping seven items in my current wardrobe that I used last time. I guess thspeaks well to my commitment to remixing (or puny budget.... same difference).

Beyond the high contrast of these photos, and of the outfit itself, our experience of Marrakech thus far couldn't be a bigger contrast to our time in Fez. To begin with, there are easily twenty times as many tourists here, so we don't stick out quite so much, and the city itself is substantially more European in character. We're living in the new town instead of in the medina, so everything around us is very modern and familiar, and the weather is sunny and gorgeous instead of cool and rainy. Fez was incredible, but tough - now this seems so very easy, a girl could get spoiled.
 


I'm watching you, cactus.

slack

I had big hopes of getting my 30for30 picks up last night, but my efforts were beset with difficulties - not the least of which was our internet access suddenly drying up. We've since moved on to a new (incredible! Maybe the best yet!) apartment, but after an eight hour train ride, I am absolutely wiped. I'll just have to cut myself a little slack, and plan to get seriously cracking on the remix challenge tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a little glimpse of what we've been up to:


The largest working tannery in Fes - the hides are tanned using pigeon guano and cow urine, among other things, so the tanneries are usually pretty ripe. Most visitors are given a sprig of fresh mint on their way in to combat the smell. The yellow hides drying on the rooftops in this photo are the most expensive color - they're dyed with saffron, and the entire process has to be done by hand.

 
A rare photo of me walking away from a shoe store! I haven't done any serious bargaining yet, but I'm not done with the souqs yet....
 

Yesterday's fantastic lunch - camel burger and Cokes! Super deelish - a bit like bison.


The super-shy au pair of the family we stayed with asked me the other night if I would like some henna tattoos, and within minutes my hands were a work of art. She and our hostess were giggling the whole time - since elaborate henna is usually reserved for weddings, they said that now I would just have to get married! They even gave me a henna wedding band on my left hand, and a love note to Chris on my right palm. This photo is before taking off the henna paste that night - I'll be sharing the finished product soon.

fez formula

 
sunnies - thrifted / purple paisley scarf - vintage, thrifted / trench - H&M / jeans - H&M / shoes - Toms

This outfit may be unlikely to make sartorial history, but it's a pretty good representation of what I've been wearing every day since we arrived in Morocco. While it's pretty unlikely I'll ever pass for a local, it's been important to me to dress modestly while I'm here, and to be intentional about the message my clothes send to people around me. Unfortunately, the image of western women held by many Moroccans has been heavily influenced by the widespread popularity of American porn, so licentious comments and advances on the street are not uncommon. I've come up with a general formula for getting dressed that feels pulled together and reasonably chic without inviting a lot of unwanted attention - here's how it breaks down:

These are the pieces I've found myself going back to, day after day.

Pants: There are lots of garment-types that would be seen as immodest here, but fortunately for me, there's no prohibition against skinny jeans and they are as popular with younger local women as they are back home. I do like to err a bit on the safe side and opt for longer tops and jackets, and I think it's probably best to the heed the "leggings are not pants" edict.

Top: A button-down top is perfect for traveling anywhere, Morocco or otherwise - you can button it higher or lower at the collar as need be, and can always roll up the sleeves or layer it to accommodate different climates. While in Morocco, I wear mine buttoned almost all the way to the top or layered over a tee with a modest neckline.

Shoes: Flat shoes are a must in the medina, as streets are paved with rough cobbles, if at all. After our first day out walking in rainy weather, I've decided my Zara flats are exclusively 'indoor shoes' (no worries, the donkey poop and mud came right off!). Boots might really be the best choice, but since mine have been in need of repair, I've been wearing my Toms everywhere. Canvas shoes would definitely be a great option in warm weather, as they're easy on your feet and relatively easy to clean if they get dirty.

Jacket: It's a good idea to keep your chest, shoulders, and arms fairly well covered while out in public, and if you are running short on tops that work, a lightweight trenchcoat will hide a multitude of sins. My trench has also been a good choice as the winter weather can be a bit unpredictable, and I can choose to cover up in rain or roll up the sleeves when the sun comes out.

Scarf: This is probably the most useful and versatile thing I have here - a well-wrapped scarf can easily raise the neckline of most tops. If you're caught by surprise with rain, or if you find yourself feeling particularly conspicuous as a Westerner, your scarf can be refashioned into a headscarf. Done and done.

Sunglasses: It's a lot easier to avoid the unwanted attentions of men on the street and of over-eager shopkeepers if they can't catch your eye - plus, you'll look cool.

Wedding ring: This is definitely something that not everyone would be comfortable wearing, but since I am traveling with my man-friend, it has been substantially easier to just tell people we're married and leave it at that. While it's not illegal for an unwed tourist couple to stay together*, it is frowned on by many people, and it has made both us and those we've met here more comfortable to indulge this small fiction. It's also a little bit of a deterrent to would-be suitors.

While this formula doesn't always result in the most exciting outfits (it is, after all, a formula), it has kept me comfortable in a variety of weather and social conditions. It's sufficiently modest for Morocco, but really these kinds of straightforward, classic pieces could be the building blocks of a traveling wardrobe almost anywhere. I'm certainly not being mistaken for a local, but I am at least being mistaken for a French tourist instead of an American one, which is really the best sign you could ask for that you look reasonably put together. I have still gotten some comments while walking through the medina - my favorite today was, "Hello flower hello sweetie hello hottie" - but I really haven't heard anything worse than what you might hear on the subway in New York.

*That is, because we're both foreign. If either or both of us were Moroccan, it would be illegal.

riadical

Totally catching up on my blogroll...

Check out our new house - in Fez! We tried to take a few outfit shots today, but I can tell it's definitely going to be tough while we're in Morocco. I definitely don't feel all that comfortable posing it up out on the streets of the medina, and immediately after Chris snapped this quick shot the sky went completely overcast and it got extremely dark everywhere in the house. Hopefully we'll have a bit better luck with the interior light over the next few days - I'd love to address some of the particular challenges (and, dare I say it, opportunities?) of dressing while traveling in a Muslim country.