The Wardrobe Architect Week 5: Color Theory

Thursday, February 27, 2014
This week's post from the Wardrobe Architect was all about exploring your color story. Since color can elicit an emotional response, it's important to figure out what colors make you feel best when wearing them.

A System of Seasons

I started this exploration by taking a look at several color analysis blog posts to try to get a better idea of what colors work well for me and do not.

I have dark brown hair that used to have a reddish tint to it (now it varies from my home color kits), I have olive skin with a yellow tone and blue eyes that are nearly grey. I used to think that this made me a Deep Autumn type, but I never looked good in the recommended colors with deep yellow or golden undertones as they always tended to wash me out.

According to alookinthemirror.com a Deep Winter's best colors are black, white, dark charcoal, and true shades such as true red, green, or blue, burgundy, hot pink and brown/black. Deep Winter's should avoid warm colors like golden orange, brown, peach and light beige (no problem). Most pastels might wash out a Deep Winter, but icy pink will look great. Plus I prefer deep colors, so I think I'm more of a Deep Winter type.

Deep Winter Color Palette 

For make-up, it is recommended that Deep Winter's stick to deep browns and purples on the eyes and true reds, ruby's and burgundy on the lips (which I've found to be most flattering on me anyways).

Some websites I looked at are:

The Exercises

First we were asked to review the words we came up to inspire out wardrobes and pick out color words that we associate with these words and review our style mood-boards.

easy- grey

timeless- black, white, red, blue, emerald green

artistic-pattern

quirky- prints, polka-dots

modern- pantones color of the year, radiant orchid, ice blue

Next we were asked to review the colors and patterns we have in our closet and fabric stashes and add those colors to our list of colors to form our ultimate palette. Here's what I came up with:


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My Life on Instagram: February 2014 recap

Monday, February 24, 2014


I drink Fairy Drink with almost every work lunch
My friend is featured in an article in the March issue of UK Men's Health
I also got a write up in the latest issue of Crafty Magazine. Sadly, this is the last issue of Crafty :-(


Back in the States the Groundhog usually made his prediction before I woke up, but this year I live-streamed  Punxatawney from the UK. He made his prediction at 12:30pm my time. 

I convinced my husband to take me to Nancy's Vintage Tea Shop in Newmarket for Valentine's weekend lunch


I tried some sweet red wines


Great noses of history: Me and The Duke of Wellington- Birmingham Art Museum
Birmingham, UK

St. Phillip's Cathedral, Birmingham
British Telecom Tower, Birmingham
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What's Making Me Laugh: Kit Harington Reads Craig's List Ad

Sunday, February 23, 2014

If you haven't checked out Comedy Central's new show @midnight with Chris Hardwick, you're really missing out. Anyways, this week Chris Hardwick had Kit Harington (Jon Snow on Game of Thrones; star of the film, Pompeii)make a brief appearance to read a Game of Thrones themed Craig's List ad and the results are hilarious!
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What I'm Listening To: CHVRCHES- "The Mother We Share"

Saturday, February 22, 2014

This week I've been listening to Scottish Synth Pop band, CHVRCHES. If you recall, I previously posted about them here. The group will be touring throughout the UK and Europe in March but unfortunately they're already sold out, but my friends in the States can catch them this spring/summer. The song "The Mother We Share" is one of my favorites right now.
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Wardorbe Architect Week 4: My Silhouettes

Thursday, February 20, 2014
Week 4 of the Wardrobe Architect series was focused on creating silhouettes that we feel most comfortable. For the exercise we were asked to create some formulas for what we like to wear. First I thought I'd examine some silhouettes I actually wear.

Summer Wardrobe

1) trapeze tank + skinny/straight leg jeans-
      Normally I'd think that this silhouette might be unflattering to my pear/triangle figure since the top skims the smallest part of my body (my waist), but some how this seems to work on me.

2) fitted t-shirt + printed shorts-
     Usually I try to avoid shorts because I don't feel that my legs are my best asset (and let's face it, I don't like to shave), but sometimes the hot weather makes shorts unavoidable. Because my printed shorts are black and white they almost act like a neutral colored short and disguise my bottom half.

3) fitted scoop neck 3/4 sleeve + high waisted shorts
     My striped 3/4 sleeve tops are my favorite clothes of the moment because the neckline is flattering and it shows off my shape. The high waisted belt on my shorts hits close to my smallest part accenting my small waist.




Typical summer wardrobe 2013


Fall/ Winter Wardrobe
Since I currently work in a school, my fall/winter wardrobe mostly consists of what I wear to work. I like for my clothes to be easy to mix and match freely.

1) colored/ printed button down + straight leg jeans (or bootcut jeans)-
     This is my typical work uniform on days when I don't feel like giving my clothing too much thought.

2) fitted long-sleeve tee + bootcut jeans (or straight let jeans or colored crop pants)-
      Another work uniform. I'm not sure if the colored crops work with my pear shaped figure, but sometimes I like a pop of color.

3) sweatshirt + skinny/straight leg pants-
     This is my attempt at being a little trendy in the casual work environment although I'm not sure how flattering the sweatshirt is on my figure.


Typical Work Attire

It's really important for me to wear silhouettes that flatter my triangle/ pear shaped figure, so next I examined silhouettes that I like, but don't necessarily wear.

1) a-line midi skirt + tucked in button-down ( or fitted tee)-
     I don't have a good day-to-day midi skirt, but it seems like this would be a good silhouette for my body shape.

2) circle skirt + fitted top-
     I do own a circle skirt, but I don't get to wear it as much as I'd like to.

3) ruffle top + bootcut jeans + cardigan (or blazer)-
     Not so long ago I used to live in cardigans and blazers in the fall and winter, but blazers and cardigans seem to formal to wear at my current job. I'd love to re-incorporate them into my weekend wear.

4) dresses that accent the waist (with a belt or change of color)-
     I don't wear dresses very often, but when I do I feel that these are the most flattering.

5) flat front shorts + fitted tee-
     I don't think I have any "flat-front" shorts, but it's likely that this style would be most flattering for me.

As Sarai said, this exercise was a huge eye opener for me and really helped me to see where the holes in my wardrobe are, and where I could be a little more critical. I can't wait to see what the next challenge will be.
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What's Making Me Laugh: Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville on the Graham Norton Show

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Now I'm sure many of you had better things to do than to watch the Graham Norton Show on the BBC this past Friday, but if you caught it you would have seen a hilarious interview with Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville who were on the show promoting their latest film, Monuments Men. I'm pretty sure they all had a little something to drink before coming on the show. All I can say is, I had no idea Lord Grantham was such a lush! 
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What I'm Listening To: HAIM- "The Wire"

Saturday, February 15, 2014

This week I just can't seem to get enough of HAIM. I've been jamming out to HAIM's "The Wire" karaoke style. I just can't get it out of my head and it's so fun to try to imitate their inflection!. Give it a try and you'll see what I mean.
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Wardrobe Architect Week 3: Let's Talk About Shape

Thursday, February 13, 2014
The third instalment of Coletterie's The Wardrobe Architect explored shape- as in the shape and construction of the garments we prefer to wear. The worksheet asked us to rate the fit, length and shape of various garments on a 1 to 10 scale to show our preferences.

My ratings tended to favor garment shapes that are said to flatter a pear shaped body. Right now my closet tends to favor bootcut jeans to skinny jeans. I tend to prefer fitted tops with sleeves (no cap-sleeves or tube tops), I favor full skirts to pencil, and I prefer knee-length and longer skirts.

One of the tops I feel prettiest in right now is a 3/4 sleeve scoop-neck Breton shirt that I purchased from Banana Republic because it is fitted on top and modest yet flattering to my neckline. However I don't get to wear it as often as I would like because it exposes my back tattoo and I'm afraid that it would be too easy for the small children that I work with to tug down my collar. :-\

Similar Style

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Peter Pilotto for Target

Sunday, February 9, 2014
Hello everyone! The Peter Pilotto for Target collection was released today and so far there are still tons of pieces available online.

image source


The collection is a bit too print heavy for my tastes (which is saying a lot because I love prints), but after seeing some celebs show off some pieces at the Target launch party, I got a better idea of how these pieces could be incorporated into an everyday wardrobe.
Taylor Schilling, Dree Hemingway, Alexa Chung and Diane Kruger in Peter Pilotto




Here are some of my favorite pieces from the collection:
  1. Sunglasses $16.99

  2. Green/Grey colorblock cardigan $34.99
  3. Black/white print skirt $34.99
  4. Black/white print shoe $29.99
Will you be picking up any pieces from the Peter Pilotto for Target collection? I would love to hear your reviews on how the pieces look/fit in person. Let me know in the comments below.
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What I'm Listening To: Avicii- "Wake Me Up"

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Here's a song I've been hearing a lot lately. Avicii's "Wake Me Up" was featured during the London New Years Eve fireworks display and it can be heard in the Lego Movie trailer. Check out the official video and prepare to have it stuck in your head for the rest of the year.
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Wardrobe Architect Week 2: Developing My Personal Style

Thursday, February 6, 2014
Last week I told you about the Wardrobe Architect personal style series on Coletterie. This week the worksheet (available here) was all about uncovering the styles that make you feel like yourself and attaching words to them.

When you are wearing your favorite clothing, how do you feel (e.g. confident, sexy, poised, powerful, etc)?

When I'm wearing my favorite clothing I feel confident and perky like a freshly groomed poodle (that's my own personal analogy). My favorite clothes tend to make me fell polished and tailored and are flattering to my body shape.

When you’re wearing something that is not quite right, how do you feel? What are the feelings you want to avoid about the clothes you wear?

When I'm wearing something that's not quite right I feel: 

self-conscious- I worry that other's will think I'm trying to hard, I'll look out of place, or I'm exposing too much skin.

frumpy-  Nobody likes unflattering clothes.

boring- I worry that my clothes are too generic with no personality and just fade into the background.

Who do you consider to be your style icons? What is it about them that appeals to you?

There isn't one particular celebrity that really embodies my personal style, but there are several that I admire because they seem to have developed their own, marked personal style that works for them.

  • Katherine Hepburn- She wore those classic menswear inspired pants outfits that looked so effortless. I rarely wear dresses and love a good pant and I love menswear fabrics and prints.
  • Alexa Chung- It's not secret that I love Alexa's style (see here and here). I love that she has a hip, young,edgy and easy style with hints of vintage and feminine pieces.
  • Zooey Deschanel- I'm not sure if the feminine look really works for me, but I love that Zooey has a girly and quirky style. Her outfits seem to reflect her personality and they always make me smile.
  • Sofia Coppola- While I don't always love her movies, I do envy her minimal, modern, menswear inspired style. It feels very French.

Follow Sarah O's board Personal Style on Pinterest.

What are some words that describe styles that you like in theory, but are not quite you?

Feminine- I'm not all pink and sunshine.
Retro- I like vintage style but I don't want to be a total rockabilly chick. It looks like it'd take too much effort.
Glam- This seems too frivolous and fussy for my lifestyle.

Finally, I had to come up with 15 words that were descriptive of my previous answers and narrow them down to a list of 3-5 words to describe my style. My words are:


 easy. timeless, artistic. modern. quirky.

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What I'm Reading: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Warning: This post may contain spoilers


One of my New Years Resolutions was to read more in 2014 and I just finished reading The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer which was the January book selection for A Beautiful Mess' online book club. The story follows the lives of (primarily) four friends who meet at a summer arts camp called Spirit in the Woods in the 1970s as they grow into adulthood: there's Ethan- the ugly one who is a brilliant illustrator and the moral compass of the group; Ash- the pretty one from a well-to-do family and seems to have had success handed to her as she becomes a playwright; Jules- the awkward comedian who attends camp on scholarship and longs to be an actress, but instead becomes a social worker; and Jonah- the son of a folk-singer and has the talent to be a musician himself, but an incident from his past leads him away from music and towards engineering.

One of the ironic things about the title is how un-interesting and ordinary the characters are (which isn't to say that this is not an interesting read). Although I myself did not ever attend a summer camp and I'm of another generation, it was easy to relate to these characters at times and to relate these characters to people I have known. Perhaps the most interesting character of the bunch is Julie aka Jules who starts of as the outsider of the bunch, but for reasons unknown the group decides to let her in. However later in life, as Ethan and Ash become successful in the arts Jules again plays the outsider as her friends become wealthy but she is not.

This book touches on many heavy themes such as the idea of classism, jealousy, and feminism and there is an incident that happens at the end of their summer-camp days that leaves us to question the morality of one family.

If you've read the book, you can join in the discussion on A Beautiful Mess and if you'd like to join in on February's book, they are reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It looks like a tear jerker! 

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What's Making Me Laugh: "Lemonade:The Kansas 'Anchorman' Tribute

Sunday, February 2, 2014
In December one of the local news anchors from my home-town, Wichita, Kansas, made a fatal mistake. Thinking that the cameras had cut away and turned off the sound, Justin Kraemer dropped the f-bomb, saying "lets get the f*ck out of here", but unfortunately his mic was still on and some folks at home recorded the blunder which later turned up on The Gawker, The Huffington Post and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Consequently, Justin Kraemer lost his job at KSN.


Rather than go into hiding, Justin Kraemer decided to capitalize on his new-found fame and released a YouTube video about his life after the f-bomb. It's actually pretty funny! Enjoy!
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What I'm Listening To: Arcade Fire- Here Comes the Night Time

Saturday, February 1, 2014
WARNING: The following video is over 22 minutes long. 


Whether you love the new Arcade Fire album or think the album is a career ender, their 22 minute video for Here Comes the Night Time is a MUST WATCH. It's filled with celebrity cameos from James Franco, Michael Cera and more, and Here Comes the Night Time is a pretty catchy song. 
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