multiplying like rabbits

it seems that while i was abroad the street-style website population exploded. i won't list them all here because facehunter already has an excellent round-up. visit the site and check out the links in his sidebar.

one fantastic new page i want to highlight is stockholm streetstyle. it appears that it began in july (i say appears because i can't read the swedish faq). i've decided, based on this and hel looks, another of my favorite street style sites, that nordic people are just too cool. this new stockholm site is also ridiculously high-volume--often several posts per day.

here are some of my favorite outfits from the site's two-month history:

shoulder embellishments--good idea or bad?

i saw several instances of shoulder/upper sleeve embellishments when i was looking over the fall runways again. i'm still deciding whether this is cool and interesting, or a bad throwback to 80s shoulder pads.

chanel










pringle










sinha-stanic










from the sartorialist (at louis vuitton show in paris)

my favorite dress shape for fall

i just can't seem to get into the drab, unflattering layering that was all over the runways for this season. perhaps some of the voluminous shapes could be fun, but for the moment count me as a skeptic.

one shape i did see that i liked a lot was a mod dress that seemed to be everywhere--short and a bit boxy with long sleeves. it seems like a reasonably practical choice in cold weather if you wear tights and maybe boots. i saw many of them worn with gloves and they looked very chic, plus they work well with all this season's belts. best of all, they could work in warmer weather too with bare legs!

here are some examples:

costume national










giambattisti valli










giambattisti valli










rochas










temperley










i also saw dresses like this in the collections of antoni & allison, caroline herrera, miu mu, naum, oligo tissew, paco rabanne, sari gueron, stella mccartney, trovata, and versace, but i didn't want to upload all the photos and look too obsessive... check out style.com (and in some cases vogue.co.uk) to see more.

i picked up a cheap fun dress like this in june at goodwill (before i even knew i wanted one so much!), but i'm going to keep my eye out for another in a solid color and a nicer fabric.

fun with trompe l'oeil

lately i've been excited about trompe l'oeil--i've seen examples from all over the place popping up from time to time.

it all started with this fabulous t-shirt that fashionologie linked to a ways back. i ended up making my own version of the shirt by using a photo of a gun to make a cool stencil, then stencilling it on an old t-shirt myself (instructions).






here's some more inspiration:

jeffrey's project runway creation, complete with fake belt. (clearly, he should have won last week.)










one example from tata-naka's fall/winter show. (there were lots.)










a fun fake sailor shirt from cathy90's mystylediary page











one more fun one i've seen around (here from stylebubble's fashion blog)










and finally, my trompe l'oeil jewelry obsession (via sylebubble again). too bad i don't really wear rings, or it might be a fun $90 splurge... you can buy it at etsy (more cool stuff there from independent designers, check it out).

clutches galore

how i am longing for a clutch, that least practical handbag...





two with metallic appliques at mighty flirt.








a great green print at cut x paste.










dots at stylesse, via omiru.

cool, normal clothes

for as much stuff as i post here that's slightly outlandish and risky, i (like most everyone) generally just wear normal clothes. i don't really have as many opportunities to wear fabulous jewelry or crazy clothes as i'd like, so a lot of days i rock the t-shirt and jeans. anyways i wanted to showcase some of my favorite everyday outfits i had found in the mystylediary archives.


user karatelincoln










user i_love_pomegranates (via user absentminded)










user freelancer










user wafferl










user muchacha










user festes_weiss

i'm back!!

hi everyone! i just got back home to alaska after six weeks in europe, so posts should recommence soon. hopefully i still have a handful of readers who haven't given up on me.... expect new content within the next couple days.