Come fly with me...a postscript on what to wear

Plane Outfit C by ejorpin featuring a double breasted coat

Clearly I'm no fashion-guru-type-person. I like frocks and I like shoes but that's about where it ends. On the rare occasion that I do put up a 'what I wore' post it's generally because I'm ridiculously overexcited by the fact that a) I managed to put an outfit together, and b) it looks okay on me.

But if you read my post on Saturday you would have discovered I have fairly strong opinions on what's acceptable plane attire. To recap - no shorts, no thongs, possibly no singlets, no leggings as pants, no pyjamas, and nothing ridiculously impractical or uncomfortable.

Plane outfits can be a bit difficult. Aside from walking that fine line between something you're okay to sleep in and something that is suitable for public consumption, there's the added trickiness of possibly changing seasons, dealing with airplane air conditioning (or the lack of it, sometimes), and having to wear/carry whatever isn't going to fit in your suitcase.

So, here's a few outfits that I'd consider plane perfect. Some are based on outfits I've worn on real life long haul flights, like the bottom one which is basically head-to-toe Uniqlo! The top one is pretty stylish, I think (and I'm a bit in love with that houndstooth dress from ModCloth...). The bottom two are a little more casual - one for cooler weather (knit + boots + scarf) and one with a more Summery feel (crop pants + peep toes + pops of yellow).

Plane Outfit B by ejorpin featuring fringe scarves

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Plane outfit A by ejorpin featuring a cotton tunic

What do you think? Do you have a plane outfit you swear by? I'd love you to share it  if you do! And if you're on Polyvore come find me!

ps. I'm new to all this Polyvore embedding stuff, so if the links for the products etc don't work I apologise. I'm currently on a big boat in the Mediterranean somewhere, but I'll fix it as soon as I can!

Things to love about Korea #4: Random Compliments

So, here's the thing - Korean women are beautiful.  I mean drop dead stunning.  Yes, in the photo above the first one is a model, and the second one's a K-pop star, but that third one is just a lady on the street (thanks to The Sartorialist).  The hair!  Those dark eyes!  The style!  The LEGS!  (Now if my husband was writing this post, he'd stop here, because this is one of the things he loves about Korea, but I've got a different story to tell, so stay with me please.)  

[Fun with fashion, K-pop style : Sistar in polka-dots, Miss A in... ]

Yes, I know Korea has something like the highest rate of plastic surgery in the world, and K-pop stars don't eat, but I see ladies like this on the streets of Seoul every single day.  Korean women are beautiful.

And most of the time I can appreciate the beauty around me and be mature and not fall in to that terrible, terrible comparison trap.  But every now and again I have one of those days.  You know the ones - maybe you had a massive fight with your husband/BFF/dog last night, or perhaps you haven't had a good nights sleep in weeks, or maybe you're completely stressed out and your skin has decided to let the world know about it (or maybe even all three).  

And on those days when I venture out into our neighbourhood - which just happens to be an area where pretty young Koreans flock to get their fashion fix and to flaunt those legs in the shortest hemlines - I can't help but feel a bit frumpy, a bit tired and old, a bit chunky.  

And in that sea of shapely thighs and glossy locks sometimes I start shaking an angry fist at my lack of willpower and my Western love affair with pasta and bread, and cursing my parents for not having a single shred of Korean DNA to pass on to me.

And then, out of the blue, some random shop assistant will say 'you are very pretty'.  Really!  You see, whilst in my home town I wouldn't cause whiplash walking down the street, as a foreigner in Korea I am still a rare and exotic flower.  (I know of another ex-pat who lived in Seoul for several years and was constantly being told she looked just like Nicole Kidman.  Now this lady is lovely and gorgeous and all that, but she'd be the first to say she is not Nicole Kidman's twin sister.)

And what I like best about this, aside from the fact that it is rather lovely to be paid a compliment (we don't do it often enough do we?  Go on, go pay someone a compliment, I'll wait for you), is that it gets me out of my own head.  

I'm actually very, very good at living in my own head (it's generally quite a lovely place to be).  But those out-of-the-blue compliments that are so far removed from the way I'm feeling at that moment make me remember in a flash that not everyone sees the world through my eyes, that sometimes I need to not live in my own head so much.  

That maybe the reason I had the fight with my husband/BFF/dog is because I assumed they knew what was in my own head, and maybe I need to actually talk them through it, and reassure them that I do in fact love them.  That perhaps I haven't had a good night's sleep for weeks because there's all this stuff in my head that I should let out every now and again.  That the thing I'm completely stressed out about is probably totally solvable, if I took the time to share it with someone.  So thank you, random shop lady, for reminding me there's a wider world out there.

Do you live in your own head sometimes?  Does the world have a way of telling you to get out, every now and again?

Three (by three) pairs of shoes I'm loving right now...

[Image of total loveliness by Lola's Room]

So yes.  I am a female.  And I love shoes.  Oh it's all just so terribly typical and cliched and predictable, isn't it?  But, there it is.  Sigh.  I love shoes to the point that I acquired three new pairs this week (it doesn't happen every week, I promise).  I love shoes to the point that I have some in my collection that I can't even wear, they are just so darn pretty it makes me smile to look at them.  I loves shoes to the point that when the step-sons are drawing humorous caricatures of their nearest and dearest they always draw me standing next to my giant cupboard of shoes, or doing some other shoe related thing.

Here are some that are currently in my shoe-dreams:

The lovely Pip from Meet Me At Mikes has written before about her penchant for a pair of Swedish Hasbeens, but it wasn't until this morning, when I saw a photo of her in mid-craft sporting a pair of these 'Jodhpurs', that I decided I needed to add them to my shoe wish list.

Woah!  Check these out!  Is there anything more beautiful than a perfectly formed boot?  To me these are perfectly formed - just the right amount of buckles and straps, curves in the right places, toes that aren't too pointy or too round.  One of each please, Mr Lauren!  Yes, these are from Ralph Lauren!  Not normally the first name I think of when I dream of shoes but their current boot collection is very swoony I think.

And lastly, some sparkly shiny color-bursting fun from Miu Miu!  I swear if I owned that sparkly yellow pair I'd wear them every single day, they are so very happy! (And so very expensive.  Hence that is why they are in my shoe dreams, and not in my shoe cupboard.)

What I wore...

Well, I've finally succumbed to complete and utter narcissism - presenting my first (and possibly, though hopefully not, last) 'what I wore' post!  I've been toying with doing some of these after seeing them here and there over the past 12 months, and especially after seeing them on lots of blogs that aren't 'fashion' blogs.  But then I was kind of put off after asking the husband to take some pics of a favourite outfit one day - his reply? 'that's a bit weird, don't you think?'.

But then I read this great post by Jess from Epheriell Designs about fashion as play which really struck a cord.  Yes, dressing up should be fun!  As a kid I was a tom boy and a bit of a geek - the nerdy outsider with good dose of 'alternative' thrown in.  I had trouble putting together an outfit that I was happy with, putting together something that told the world a little bit about me.  So it's been a pleasant surprise that as I've got older I've started having fun playing dress ups.  And hence, you get to put up with the most narcissistic of blog posts.  Indulge me, please?

I bought this dress from Mango years ago.  I didn't love it at the time but it has gone on to become a firm Summer favourite, the kind of frock that you know you'll miss when it finally does fall apart.  I like how the fabric has aged to, with the background dark blue getting a lovely washed out look which makes the colours jump out even more.  Plus ruching.  And pockets.  Love.  The shoes are my current favourites - wooden platforms from the 70s.  The wooden sole is curved up at the front so you kind of rock back and forth with each step you take!

Dress: Mango

Belt: Zara

Cardigan: Hong Kong street market

Shoes: Vintage Marmalade

Dachshund: Jonathan Adler!

ps. Notice I don't say on what occasion I wore the outfit?  That's because if I dressed for occasions in my actual life I'd be blogging pictures of me in my pyjamas or my week old track pants saying 'what I wore whilst tweeting' or 'what I wore whilst buying the dog food'.  I realised I while ago that I'd have no fun (and spend my life in jeans and a t-shirt) if I always dressed appropriately for the 'occasions' in my life.

ps. Ignore my tan lines, okay?  Thanks...