How to: Dress for the winter and still be fashionable

The first snowfall has arrived! You know what that means- it's time for a greater social acceptability to look like a bundled up snowman that just got out of bed.  Okay fine, it is possible to look good in the winter, but it's a tad harder if you live somewhere that's known for its brutal winters.  So for that one week in Canada where winter is actually pretty, or if you live in a warm enough climate where dressing for light flurries is acceptable, here's a little guide on how to stay trendy in the winter:

You're gonna want a cute coat.  It would probably be something in the camel or black wool peacoat variety.  The coat is important- you're gonna spend most of next season in it.

Stock up on sweaters.  Cardigans, oversized knits, fitted sweaters, whatever!  They're warm- wear them.

Learn to layer.  Ohh, layers.  Admittedly, sometimes I can hardly move with all the layers I'm in.  But if you're gonna wear a coat that isn't the warmest, then layers are definitely the way to go.

Find some waterproof boots.  This is where the practicality (and common sense!) comes in.  I don't care how warm they are, if your UGGs are full of salt and slush stains, that ain't pretty.

Accessorize for winter how you would for any other day.  Y'know, be matchy.  Find something unique and you.  +1 if you can find a hat and scarf that don't make your hair all frizzy.

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And on this first snowfall, I sat in the library in my bum clothes with the intention of studying, but managed to stare out the window and write poetry for hours instead.  Happy haiku hump day!

Monochrome beauty 
Awaken the slumb'ring child
Eyes dance, heart frolics

Dedicated to duct tape

I'm pretty much the most non-artsy person you could know.  I can't draw, my penmanship looks like a five year old's writing, folding paper always looks uneven, and I can rarely draw a straight line...using a ruler.  Have I ever told you about the time I tried to make a paper snowflake and it ended up looking like a pair of conjoined lungs? I kid you not.

So for me to actually want to be crafty, well that's super out of the ordinary.  After struggling with being too cheap to buy a halloween costume, I decided to make one.  Yes, I'm in the process of making a dress made out of duct tape.  It's a long process, but I'm surprisingly enjoying it.  So tell me, how acceptable is it to wear duct tape clothing on a casual day? Because duct tape creations can actually look pretty snazzy.  Here, take a gander at some of my inspirations for future designs.  I swear, if I manage to pull something off remotely like these, I will declare myself a duct tape diva.

via The Outnet


Sneak peek? Just a tad. Don't mind my mangled fingers- duct tape has the tendency to tear nail polish (and flesh) when things go wrong.

I'm still in the midst of making my dress, but I'll definitely keep you updated. That is, if I don't duct tape my hands together...again. Yes, that really happened. 

Oh and hey, here's a haiku for your hump day:
Jaundice skies silent 
Stagnant and without a tear 
Breathes without a sound

Western hippie(ster)

What do you get when you cross a cowboy, a hippie, a native, and a hipster?
Something along the lines of this outfit, I'd say.

This was just one of those days where I felt like playing dress-up, so I paired a fringed vest with pleated wide-legged pants.  I haven't been brave enough to wear the pants in my typically fashionably conservative city- there's a limit to standing out and being weird, even for me.  This is one of those confused outfits where I'm not quite sure what look I was going for, but it was just fun to throw a bunch of things I wouldn't typically wear together.  The pleated pants, I probably won't be wearing again.  But the fringe vest I'll do once spring rolls around again when I can pair it with a muted outfit.  Unless someone can give me a suggestion of how to pull off fringes under a fall jacket.  I mean seriously, what's up with the awkward look of a long cardigan or vest under a short jacket.

What I'm wearing:
-Fringed vest
-Wide legged pleated Anthropologie pants

Happy haiku hump day! So I do Music Mondays and Tune-y Tuesdays, I wanted a little something for the mid-week too.

Skies chasing dead leaves
Wistful cries echoing through
Laughter of silence