MidoriLei

My Favorite shorts? Hot pants. Got these black ones from J. Crew. They are like tailored, perfectly fitting shorts that can go casual or business casual. I love wearing them with heels or blazers like I did here. The girly, tiny white polka dots and black high collared shirt is a nice juxtaposition to the short’s length.

I think one of the secrets to great style is in combining opposites. Feminine pieces with masculine pieces, brights with neutrals, and in the case of this outfit, something sexy (like shorts) with something modest (like a 3/4th sleeve, high collar blouse). Too much of one thing – sexy + sexy, sometimes translates to = trashy. That’s why if you have a lot of leg showing…

you want to hide the cleavage. Or if you have a plunging back, you want to have a very modest front.

Style is also about surprises and unexpected details.

My bag is Fossil:

My shoes are BCBG Paris:

With hot pants, you might even be able to pull off an “office” appropriate outfit:) Would you wear them to work? I’d love to know.

Some people would say that you can’t wear these two colors together. I would disagree! I wrote a guest post about how you can pull it off. You can click here to check it out.

Here is another brown/black inspired outfit. Like I said in the guest post, the secret is the leopard prints and red:)

How would you define your personal style? For me, I’m kinda all over the place. Mostly I think you could call them fashion moods.

Why Fashion?

I think with fashion, you should have freedom. Above else, fashion should give you liberty to showcase to the world, without saying a single word, how you want to represent yourself that day. If fashion isn’t freedom, then it’s pointless.

I think it’s important to dress to express (whatever creative fashion mood you’re feeling) more than to impress. No matter where your day leads you, at least at the beginning of the day, you can look into your closet, and that can be your moment of inspiration. Your creative outlet. The time for you, even if it’s in just this small way, to be decisive, to take control of an aspect of your life. It’s empowering, really.

And to let the moment pass, without even a care, a second thought, or an understanding of the freedom and the power you have in that moment to choose how you want the world to view you that day, is such a pity:(

If you live in a country where you have that freedom, realize that not everyone has that blessing. Living in the United States, I have that freedom. And every morning from the moment I choose what to wear, choose what I have for breakfast, and even choose the job I want, I want to take it all in.

I want to have awareness of my blessed lot in life. When I stare into my closet, it’s just a reminder that nobody is forcing me to make any decisions I don’t want to make, beginning with my choice of clothing. And if you really sit down to think about it, isn’t that absolutely liberating?

Some people may think fashion is pointless, shallow, and superficial. But to me, fashion stands for something deep.

Fashion means you’re free. And I love that.

So… Onto my various “Fashion Moods:”

When I feel energetic, and want to be really comfortable…

I like to be casual and sporty, with that kind of hip hop edge. I like to play with men’s hats and bright colors. Street chic. Hipster. I’m not afraid to throw on more than one bright color on at a time.

When I’m feeling powerful and productive and want to seize the day…

I throw on some heels and dress “office appropriate,” but with my own little twist. These are the moods when I want to take myself and my to do list seriously:)

When I’m feeling ultra girly and flirtatious, like, let’s say, on date night with my hubby…

I like to throw on something that screams “feminine.” Floral, ruffles, big skirts or polka dots usually do the trick.

When I’m feeling optimistic and happy…

I like to wear lots of brights.

When I’m feeling introverted and introspective, lost in my thoughts and don’t want to draw too much attention to myself…

I’ll gravitate to neutrals or all earth tones.

And sometimes, it has nothing to do with how I’m feeling and everything to do with just wanting to create a character.

Whether it’s combining sporty and nerdy:

or playing the grown up school girl:

I think in every woman, there’s still that little girl who never stops wanting to play dress up. Fashion is our grown up version of playing dress up:) Do you have fashion moods? Have a great weekend!

This blue 3/4th shirt is one of my favs. I wear it with a lot of things. Remember this? The scoop neck and sleeve length is flattering, the sleeve poufs are fun, and the color is bright. Today I paired it with my favorite cream colored wide leg pants.

Wide leg pants can be awfully tricky. If done wrong, they can make you look twice as big. The key I think is in finding light material with a bit of stretch and a fit that hugs your bum. Most importantly, the pelvic and crotch area should fit properly. This means you should be able to still see space between your legs. The crotch area should not fall below where your natural crotch is. You should clearly be able to see where your legs meet in the middle.

Basically, the wide leg pant should only be “wide” in the leg area, not in the area surrounding your bum and pelvic region. If the wide leg pants have any kind of “bunching” going on in the front, that’s a huge red flag. Don’t get them! The front should lie flat. I got mine from Kohls:)

Remember this red floral peplum top I love? I decided to throw on a black vest and some wide leg pants. I love how peplum can go from flirty date night to office appropriate:)