Try-it-out (Wednesday): brighter than the sun

      Kahala silk and linen top, Macy's

cardigan in "Sunspot," Gap Factory Store

necklace, Forever 21

     My mom calls Asian people "Orientals." This is standard practice in Hawaii, particularly among folks of certain generations, but in other parts of the United States, Oriental is reserved as a descriptor for rugs and chicken. ; ) I've tried to break her of the habit, but no luck yet. Anyhow, no matter what name we go by, I've always heard that Asians should avoid yellow because we've already got yellow/sallow undertones. (Click here for an amazingly encyclopedic post on determining your undertone and skin tone. I will admit that after giving this post a quick read and examining the photos ... I still can't name my undertone and skin tone. Does it suffice that I'm confident that bright and jewel tones suit me best?). 
      After becoming interested in style and fashion blogs, I changed my mind on the yellow question after seeing so many Asian bloggers rocking various hues of yellow. When my sis and I checked out the Gap Factory Store, I couldn't bypass this yellow cardigan. I thought it would be a great way to add a little sunshine to an outfit and would play well with all of the blue items in my closet.

     Random news: I hope you had a less eventful New Year's Day then we had! The first day of 2013 included one visit to the ER, two trips to the Chinese restaurant (they forgot part of our takeout order the first time), and the realization that the water heater may have gone kaput. Whew. I figure things can only go up from here.
      But back to the clothes: What colors do you suggest I pair with my new yellow cardigan? 

Try-it-out (Wednesday): gold and turquoise

tunic and Velvet Heart skinnies, Ross

shell spiral earrings, New Zealand

      This always happens to me: I wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants to work ... on a day when the A/C is extra-slow to start up. Which means I gave in and pulled my hair up into a ponytail for most of the day.

 

     While I love these pants, I haven't really styled them for work before. The longer length of the top keeps the skinnies appropriate for work and I thought the colors were really fun together. 

Try-it-out (Thursday): all thumbs & imaginary travels

     I can't figure out why I'm having such a hard time getting Try-it-out Tuesday photographed and posted by, well, Tuesday. Perhaps it's that school's over and I'm just not leaving the house much? Perhaps the real time-suck has been Youtube how-to hairstyling videos? Recently I've spent some time watching these videos then trying to (futilely) re-create these styles with my own hair.

Rafaella silk shirt, thrifted from Goodwill for $4.99

 denim pencil skirt, Old Navy

Dansko Sakura sandals, Nordstrom Rack

broken and randomly re-knotted necklace, Forever 21

beaded wrap bracelet, Macy's, very old

         My hair is quite long and I'm not planning to cut it for another month.  Initially, I thought it would be fun to find some cute new ways to wear it. I've figured out that: a) I have exponentially more hair than most of the folks posting these tutorials, which means more hair to fumble around with, and b) I have no patience for braiding my hair. Which means this very simple twisted ponytail is a big deal around here (it's OK if you're laughing). ;)

    After wearing this all day, I realized what a great outfit it would be for traveling stylishly. Lightweight crinkled silk shirt = easy to wash and wear as well as cool for hot days. Dark-wash denim pencil skirt = feminine but still comfortable. Chunky-heeled sandals = cool and perfect for walking tours. Add in some inexpensive jewelry and you've got an outfit.

     Sadly, the only traveling I'll be doing this summer will be courtesy of some riveting books borrowed from the public library. I'm not complaining - it's a great way to spend some much-coveted free time. :)

Try-it-out (Thursday): happy colors & half-tucking

     Lauren petite buttondown, Macy's, gift from CL

Grane flare jeans, Ross

snake print belt, from dress

oia jules bracelet, won in giveaway

seed-bead bracelet, DIY

sandals, Target

 

    I wore this on Thursday -- the last day of the school year --  to make a cupcake run. The usual drill on the last day of the school year: the students show up bearing cupcakes, chips, juice, cookies ... and there's an overflow of food. The last time my teacher friend C had a party, she literally had 50 cupcakes left over. So she and another teacher S decided to avoid that by purchasing an assortment of light, healthy snacks and charging each student $3.00. However, C was disappointed that S had ruled out cupcakes.
     I offered to drop by with cupcakes (mini red velvet cupcakes from Sam's Club) and plead ignorance of the healthy snacks theme. I had gotten to know C's students over the year and wanted to get them an end-of-year treat anyhow.
     Although some of the students brought unhealthy snacks anyway, S stuck to her guns. For every handful of chips, students needed to take and eat one celery stick or 5 baby carrots!

     This qualifies for Try-it-out Thursday for two reasons. First, I'm combining red and turquoise. Somehow those two colors together make me happy, and it was fun to try out a color combination which I've pinned quite often but never tried.

     Second, I pulled off a half-tuck (are those still "in"?). While I liked that a half-tuck allowed the belt to peek out, I'm not sure whether I attained that effortlessly cool and casual look or just looked sloppy.

   Half-tucking: Do you like it and wear it? Or is it already out?