buttoned up

I have to thank CPL* for sending me a photo worth emulating, and more interesting still for being in line with my style (I had all of the ingredients to reproduce it on hand) yet unlike anything I’ve worn before. Expanding horizons.

*Her blog, geek outsider, is located at the junction of race and geekery. Very cool.

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It’s impressive to me what a difference it makes to do up those top buttons. Loosen the hair and undo the buttons and you have another aesthetic altogether.

I like the simplicity/severity of the clean collar, the white against the black. It seems like you rarely see a clean buttoned shirt like this, so prevalent are bib-style necklaces (and ties). The absence of decoration is almost more distracting than if I had added a detail at the throat.

The lipstick you may remember from my recent lipstick ramble. Oh! I’ve just realized that glasses would have been fitting here.

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Love the clean geometry of the cuffs peeking out. I am won over by such small details.

IMG_8756J Crew buttoned shirt (thrifted), H&M cardigan, American Apparel skinny suede belt, AG jeans (thrifted, cropped), Jeffrey Campbell France strapped boots, Pearls of Joy 8-9mm studs. On the lips, MAC lipstick in Dubonnet.

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the heart studs

Lately I wear studs almost all the time, and these are the current favorites.

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Hand sawed and stamped brass hearts, from the Etsy shop LibiClozet, stumbled upon while I was searching for something else entirely. Isn’t it always the way?

You can choose to get them without the text, and she has other shapes, too.

I like the lack of symmetrical precision, the handmade-ness giving them a childlike feel.

I don’t particularly want anything else heart-shaped or that says love on it but I really liked these. Buying them was one of those whimsical impulses that later feels strangely wise and appropriate, from which I then draw positive conclusions about my nature and mental/emotional state. Those are the best.

Wearing them here and here, though difficult to see, which shows you how small they are; really an excellent size.