I Can't Keep Calm

"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open” - John Barrymore

Welcome back FI readers!

Let me start by saying that when you’re a style blogger you don’t drive by a pink wall (especially if you live in a city that is challenged location wise) without hopping out of your car, digging for a pair of shoes that work with your outfit (my trunk is a mobile closet hehe), doing a quick straightening of your clothes and taking a few shots pacing and posing.

It’s safe to say I have a crush on midi pencil skirts. A whole section of my closet is dedicated to them. In fact we are having an affair and staying very faithful. Are pencil skirts your thing too? You have like 43 of them and still drool each time you come upon another one. Your eyes would literally light up and you just won’t walk by without holding it up, putting it up against your body, sizing it up in the mirror, checking the price tag, looking for your size (and sometimes you’re relieved if your size is not available cos it wasn’t planned for anyways), walking away, walking right back. And then the familiar voice of a sales associate rings "May I start you a room ma'am"? You reply with a very enthusiastic "Yes please". "Would you like a bottle of water"? Another 'yes please' accompanied with a smile escapes your mouth. You try on the skirt, take a selfie and the rest is history. Sound like you? I bet it does!

You my friend are a confirmed pencil skirt maniac. No no, don’t try to wiggle out of this. Cos you are and you know it. About time we set up a group therapy for us all, hehe. 'Help is here for the confirmed pencil skirt maniac' might be a good name for the group, hehe. You can tell I’m having fun with this writing huh. I apologize but something happened earlier this week that got my oh so happy juices flowing and my spirits soaring. Hard as I've tried, I Can’t Keep Calm and it’s showing through in my writing today. My bad.

The star of this look is the vest with an exaggerated lapel/collar. Something about me I never shared before is that I tweak most items of clothing to make them uniquely me. I’d stuff hems to make my skirts balloon, I’d add bands to make my skirts high waisted, I’d add lacing to my tops to make them either look different or fit better especially if my chest would not cooperate, I’d wear a tutu underneath to give a skater dress a wow factor, I’d stuff my pockets to create an illusion of fullness, I’d cut or stitch the bottom of skirts or dresses to create an asymmetrical hem. Symmetry is so overrated anyhow. Now you know all my secrets, what?? My daughter always says ‘mom you do very strange things to your clothes’. But I’m creative like that. So when I set up a 'buy my look' page on this blog, you may be shocked to find your purchase looking a little different than it looked when I styled it on the blog, hehe.

So I did it again with this look. I wanted a dramatic look so I stuffed the lapel and took it from laying flat and looking drab to sticking up and looking fab. I got asked a few times where I got this “very unique vest’. Quietly I thought from that store at your neighborhood mall honey. It’s that vest you walked right by and didn’t look twice. But I did, cos I knew exactly what I’d do with it.

A pair of red shoes, a black bag and a show stopping neck cuff that added a fierce flair completed this casual look. Your thoughts?

Thank you everyone for participating in the contest. Congratulations Marija Marovic from Serbia on winning the gorgeous gemstone jewelry. I've sent you an email and your prize will be mailed out as soon as I receive your mailing details.