Fashion Friday :: curly hair updos

Posted on 6 December 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

Can we file “hair” under “fashion”? I don’t know. But today I am, because this is what I want to talk about for Fashion Friday.

I have long, layered, very thick, very curly (3B, if you know curly hair categories) hair. For the first ten years of my life, it was only slightly wavy. For the next ten years of my life, I fought with it. Somewhere in my twenties, I began to make an uneasy truce with it. And finally, in my late twenties, I embraced it. I never brush it, I never straighten it, I never do a blow-out. I just (mostly) let it do what it wants. I get a good cut, use great styling products, and try to treat it well, but otherwise, I don’t do much to it or with it. I like having a low-maintenance routine, and I can live with the fact that my hair doesn’t really look “professional” (the way some people think of “professional” at least – sleek, crisp, controlled – i.e., STRAIGHT).

almost always a little bit messy

But lately, I’ve been finding that I’d like to experiment with my look a little bit. I basically have always just worn my hair down, even at my wedding. My only variations ever is the very, very occasional ponytail. At home, I almost always pull it back in a clip, but it is not really a good look for me for wearing out and about.

This time last year, I went to my stylist for a haircut. She knew I was getting ready to go out for a Christmas event, so she offered to put my hair into an updo for free. I had never, ever had an updo before (like I said above, not even for my wedding); I gave it a go.

feeling fancy

I really liked it!

When I took it down that night (which made me sad!), I was staggered by the number of bobby pins it took. I think there were like 60! I had watched my stylist carefully as she worked, but I remained unconvinced that I could try this at home. So I didn’t.

But then it was time for Halloween this year, and I wanted to go as Lucy Ricardo, from I Love Lucy. This called for an updo!

I basically just kept piling hair up in the back and pinning it with bobby pins, while trying to keep the front loose.

a little bit messy

I think keeping the front loose is really important for me to feel comfortable wearing my hair up. I have a rather large noggin and my full hair seems to help balance it out a little bit.

But I still don’t feel I have the hang of this. For the Lucy costume, I seriously just pulled up hair and pinned kind of blindly (I don’t have a mirror system in my bathroom where I can see the back of my hair without a handheld mirror). I think it looked okay, but nothing like what my hair stylist managed.

Still, I’m interested to try this more, and I’d love to know any advice, tips, examples, etc., that any of you have for updos. So here are some of my questions:
– Do you ever pin your own hair up? Especially if you have thick curly hair, what are your tips for making this work?
– Where do you wear this style? Are there casual-style updos that you would be comfortable wearing out for work or for casual events?
– Are there websites and/or tutorials that any of you have seen that you would recommend? I have of course been looking up things on Pinterest and elsewhere, and have found some good-looking stuff. Most of it is aimed a people whose hair isn’t really as thick or curly as mine, but some of it is for us curlygirls, which I appreciate. But I’m always interested in links that people can actually vouch for as being helpful. So hit me with your best stuff!
– And beyond updos, what other styles – besides just down – do you think look good for curly hair?

Okay, so it may seem like I have now written an awful lot about my hair, but trust me when I say I could write/say so much more. I will spare you … for now.

Fashion Friday :: Stitch Fix Review #5

Posted on 22 November 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

So on Monday, I received my fifth Stitch Fix* box.To see my previous views check them out here:

That last one was a full two months ago, and I have been anxiously awaiting my next Fix almost ever since. The wait time has gotten longer than when I first started last May. I was pretty excited to finally get a box.

good mail!

It was wrapped a bit differently than past boxes, perhaps because some of my items were bulkier. I didn’t see a list of the items with the prices (and in fact never found it until I was putting things together to ship back). So I tried everything on without knowing the prices, which turned out to be unwise of me.

When I unwrapped everything, things looked promising:

nice neutrals

Some white, some charcoal grey, some navy, some stripes. Looking good so far. I love neutrals (especially grey), and I’ve been wanting more stripes.

The second set I unwrapped looking even more promising:

Sweater! Jeans!

In my last Fix, I received a blazer that I dearly loved, but it was way too small. I asked if I could have the same piece or something similar in the next size up. My stylist indicated they didn’t have that piece in a larger size, but she picked out this heavy cardigan for me instead. I adore brown, so I was happy to see this yummy chocolate-y color. And jeans!! This is the first time I’ve received any kind of pants or jeans in my Fix and I was super-excited. On with the trying on!

white button-up blouse

I love a crisp white button-down blouse, but this was so long and billow-y I didn’t know quite what to make of it. I’m not really sure how I would wear it. The collar and sleeves are very cute, and I love the pleats, but I feel swallowed up in it.

jersey skirt

This was cute enough, but the flimsy fabric feels like a summer piece to me. Nothing about this looks or feels like fall/winter, and I’m not sure why it was sent to me in November. I would have loved a new fall skirt, but this is not it.

hmm, is she pregnant or is she just dressed that way?

Oh, y’all, WHAT THE HECK. This is a dress but there is no way I was going to show it to you without some kind of pants on because the hem hits at the upper thigh. I checked to see if maybe it was supposed to be a tunic, but no, it is a dress. Also, the stripes. Do you see how they curve upward, by design, at the top of my midsection? It makes this look like a babydoll-styled maternity minidress. Also it’s really tight. This would probably look really cute on someone half my age. It looks anything but cute on me. (Also, note the 3/4-length sleeves. This does not strike me as a fall/winter piece, which, again, is what I would be hoping for in late November.)

brown geometric print cardigan

Now we are getting somewhere. I like the cardigan, even though the geometric print isn’t something I would gravitate towards on my own. I love the toggle buttons, I love the chocolate trim and cuffs, and I love how this looks with my brown boots. This seemed a possibility, especially paired with the skinny jeans (as shown).

skinny jeans!

I’ve been wanting some true skinny jeans for so long. I have some jeans that are sort of skinny, but they aren’t quite tight enough in the lower leg, so I struggle to fit them in my boots. These jeans were for real skinny, and they had this sweet brown leather detail around the waist. I was instantly in love, and my only concern was that they looked too small. They seemed it going on, but I managed to shimmy into them, and I found that, with the lycra, they expanded to accommodate me. Well, sort of. The waist hit very, very low, but with the right top, that would be okay (perhaps this is the point of the voluminous white blouse?). They were still really, really tight, but they weren’t exactly uncomfortable. I was really digging them, though they weren’t perfect – I felt that one size up probably would’ve been ideal.

cardi+jeans

I was definitely liking the two pieces together. The cardi also wasn’t perfect – you can see the little side pockets, right? Those hit right at the hip, and from a full-on front view have a tendency to make the sweater – and its wearer – look pear-shaped. Still, I was considering keeping these two pieces. I have a nice little credit in my Stitch Fix account, thanks to you lovely readers, and I figured I could splurge and keep two pieces.

Then I finally found the price list.

price list

WHAT. I can’t even. WHAT? My previous boxes have all totaled $250-300 for five pieces (less with the 25% discount, which you get if you keep all five pieces) (but from each previous box, I have only kept one or two pieces, all reasonably priced). $458 for this box? And guess which prices are for the two pieces I thought I might keep – that’s right, the 3-figure ones. I liked the cardigan well enough but certainly not $106 worth. That was easy.

But the jeans. Oh, the jeans. I had fallen in love with them, despite their seriously low waistline and their too-tight fit. I really wanted those jeans. And using all of my credit to keep them it would’ve been like spending nothing. But y’all. $148 for jeans? I just couldn’t. Not even with a credit that made them seem free. Call me cheap, but I’m just not a person that wears $148 jeans. I just really couldn’t stomach it. Also, they were made in China. I certainly buy things made in China all the time, as most of us do. But again, the idea of spending three figures for a pair of jeans that someone in China was getting almost nothing for? Couldn’t do it.

$458 worth?

Do I sound judgey, cheap, and/or up on my high horse? I hope not. But whatevs, y’all, this box was a BUST. It’s the first time I’ve not kept anything. Psychologically, this set-up really makes you want to keep at least one thing so your styling fee can go toward the cost of that, rather than just be something you spent to get a box of clothes to try on and not keep. But seriously, I’d rather be out $20 than $128 more on top of that. I’m disappointed, especially since the style questionnaire explicitly asks you to name your preferred price point for each type of items, and in no case did I select anything over $100.

At any rate, I went ahead and scheduled my next Fix. Sadly, it won’t come until the new year (like I said, the wait time has gotten a lot longer since last spring, I’m guessing because more and more people are joining). Sorry not to have a better report this time, but here’s hoping for something nice to show in the new year!

*Stitch Fix is a personal shopping/styling service – you fill out a style questionnaire on their site so that they get a sense of your “style profile.” Then you pay a $20 “styling fee” and they hand-pick five items for you, based on your preferences. They ship the box to you, you try everything on, and then you select what, if anything, you want to keep; the $20 styling fee goes toward the cost of anything you choose. If you don’t want to keep anything, you ship everything back in the package provided (they keep the $20 styling fee). If you decide to keep everything, you get a 25% discount (minus the $20 you already paid them). I do not receive any compensation from them for reviewing my experience with them.

But I *do* get a credit towards my next Fix if you schedule a Fix for yourself via my referral link: here. If you have questions about how it works, you can see their FAQ here – and I am more than happy to answer any questions based on my experience, too.

I tried, I’m trying :: legwarmers, out and about

Posted on 13 November 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

So you guys have some opinions on legwarmers, eh? As I mentioned in that post, I typically wear mine under my jeans, but your enthusiastic input made me decide to try something I haven’t done since middle school. I wore my legwarmers on the outside, showing.

I was wearing flats today and thought the legwarmers would help keeps my ankles warm on this chilly day. In terms of warmth, they were great (of course).

Stylewise, I wasn’t totally sure:

They are so bright! They are so striped! They are so mismatched! These are all the reasons I love them, of course. I’m just not sure I can pull them off regularly. But I tried, I’m trying, to expand my style sensibility, bit by bit.

Truth is, I’d like to knit myself a few more pairs….

Fashion Friday :: let’s talk about legwarmers

Posted on 8 November 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

Are they still a thing?

I mean, for awhile they were really hot in the knitting world. Legwarmers were one of the first thing I wanted to make when I first learned to knit. Specifically, I was taken with these Postmodern Legwarmers by Stefanie Japel. I never made them, but I always loved the looks of them.

But I finally made my own pair in early 2010:

These are made from my own handspun and I LOVE them. They were a kind of loveletter to my twelve year-old self. You can read all about that here (as well as reading about how I made them).

These legwarmers still make me happy, but I mostly wear them in ways unseen. Either under my jeans when it’s super cold:

Or around the house with multiple other handknits when I’m looking for some extra cozy. Don’t you think I need to add a pair to this fetching ensemble of knee-high handspun socks and handspun slippers?

But to be honest, I never wear them out in public, where they can actually be seen as legwarmers – like with a skirt, for instance, or on top of skinny jeans. And I’m not sure if I’ve noticed other people wearing them much either. So I’m wondering – are legwarmers a thing right now or not? Do people besides knitters like them these days? (and are they even a thing in the knitting world right now?) I feel totally out of touch with where we all stand on this particular trend at the moment.

Legwarmers are such a handy thing to make out of a 4-ounce bump of handspun. I’ve thought of occasionally making some for gifts (I certainly don’t need more for myself), but I don’t like making things for people that won’t actually get used.

What are your thoughts on this very pressing fashion question?

Fashion Friday :: styling a spring sweater for fall

Posted on 1 November 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

When I first bought the yarn (The Plucky Knitter Plucky Sweater in “Chlorophyll”) for my Cape Cod last April, I had in mind a sweater for cool spring/summer nights. The gorgeous lime green just screams “spring” to me, and I was imagining pairing it with a white cami, white capri pants, and sandals.

But then I didn’t finish the sweater until right around Labor Day – just in time for fall! The cool fall weather has actually been perfect for this sweater, but I needed to reimagine how to style outfits around it. Inspired by seeing the musical “Wicked” on Broadway in early October, I realized exactly what I needed to pair with this sweater:

black shirt, black corduroy A-line skirt (handmade), grey tights, black boots

Boom! A fall ensemble.

I’m pretty happy with the combo.

I’m pretty happy that corduroy-wearing/boot-wearing/sweater-wearing weather is here, too!

(all pictures taken by Little Buddha, 9 years old)

What else would you pair with a lime green sweater to make it appropriate for fall or winter?

And how do you transition some of your favorite warm weather pieces into a more autumnal mode?

Fashion Friday :: the sweater dress

Posted on 18 October 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

O Rhinebeck, I am so sad not to be in you this weekend. I will miss being with so many wonderful knitty friends, and seeing all the wool and fiber, and petting all the animals, and eating all the fair food. Those of you who are going to be there, I hope you have a fantastic time! (I know you will)

I’ve gotten to go to Rhinebeck twice, once in 2010 (when I broke my ankle the day before leaving town, and had to ride around the fairgrounds on a motorized scooter and meet people from below eye level and basically be in unremitting pain all weekend – and yet! it was still fun!) and once in 2011. Last year, I couldn’t get away due to my doctoral studies and this year I just can’t afford the time away due to work, family, and the fact that I have already been gone so much this year. I do hope to get back there sometime (next year?), because it really is a lovely and magical experience.

For Rhinebeck 2011, I did something I hadn’t done before (and haven’t done since – YET). I knitted a dress. A babycocktails design, it was a completely yummy experience. I made it out of Plymouth Tweed (discontinued within a month of my falling in love with it), in a delicious autumn gold:

This is Allegheny, from the first volume of Brooklyn Tweed’s Wool People.

Man, I love this dress. It looks so great with purple tights and my chocolate boots:

And the cable-y detail is just perfection:

And the fun thing is that once I got to Rhinebeck, I discovered that one of my housemates, the gorgeous and amazing Elspeth, had also knit an Allegheny for Rhinebeck! Do you know what is even more fabulous than walking around Rhinebeck in a babycocktails-designed handknit tweedy fall dress? Walking around with this gorgeous creature in her own version of the same dress. To wit:

(photo by Kirsten Kapur, used with permission)

We hadn’t planned on matching, but once we realized we’d made the same dress, Elspeth threw on some yellow tights and I threw on a purple scarf (my handspun Damson, actually a shawlette), so we could just be full-on color-coordinated. We had a hilarious and wonderful time.

Sigh. I am missing my housemates, and my carmates, and seeing all the wonderful fiber-type friends this weekend.

But I digress! This post is about fashion! It is about the knitted dress! A thing I had never made before, because I was always scared of the stretch factor (because who wants to spend all that time knitting only to have something that ends up with a saggy bottom?), and I was also not sure I would wear it. But I do wear this one, very much. And it has held its shape right well. Which makes me wonder, why haven’t I made another one?

This pattern was wonderful, and it truly didn’t take much more time than knitting a sweater. For awhile I had thought I might design a knitted dress myself, but for now the design I had in mind is still locked in my mind, bumping around with all my other un-knit and un-released ideas.

And what about you? Have you ever knitted a dress? Would you? What do you think of the concept in general, and have you seen any knit dress patterns in the last couple of years that really caught your eye?

(By the way, I have scheduled my next Stitch Fix! It won’t come until next month – waaah – but I’m looking forward to it. Have any of the rest of you received and/or reviewed any new Fixes?)

Fashion Friday :: these shoes

Posted on 4 October 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

Live blogging here from NYC. Had a little downtime in a salon chair and I thought I’d do a bit of microblogging. With all the walking we’ve been doing (over 18,000 steps yesterday), shoes have been at the forefront of my mind. I agonized over which pairs to bring that would look good for many different kinds of events but could also support lots of walking.

I had planned on boots but the weather is dictating clothing for which boots are not quite working. We are mostly doing touristy stuff the first three days here, and this is what I settled on:

Good ol’ Chucks!

What do you wear for cuteness+walkability?

Fashion Friday :: cowls

Posted on 27 September 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

“I like a church; I like a cowl / I love a prophet of the soul” – from “The Problem,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you try to find the history of cowls online, you will mostly find references to monk’s hoods or the cloaks that have the hoods on them. I’m finding very little about the history of what we knitters mean when we refer to cowls. What we mean by the term “cowl” is usually a knitted tube to be pulled over the head and worn around the neck – it can be quite small, and very close to the neck; it can be large enough to pull over the head like a hood; it can be long enough to wind more than once around the neck – or a small rectangle that can be buttoned at the neck. Other names for cowls include: neckwarmer, snood, infinity scarf, eternity scarf, circle scarf, and so on.

I much prefer knitting cowls to knitting scarves – they are usually done more quickly, and they are usually knit in the round. I also like wearing them more than I like wearing scarves (here I am only talking about the knitted version worn for warmth; anyone who knows me in person knows that I like wearing all manner of scarves as accessories). Unlike with a scarf, there is no worrying about how to tie a cowl, or about a cowl coming undone.

Over the years, I’ve moved from making primarily close-fitting cowls:

Awbrey Cowl

(read more about this design – one of my free patterns – here)

To making much bigger versions:

Sweetgum Cowl

(read more about the Sweetgum Cowl – my first published design, and also free – here)

I love upsized cowls. The first time I ever made one was three years ago, inspired by a bulked-up version I had seen on Ravelry. I’m still in love with this “New New Shale” design.

Rings of Fire Cowl

I always break this out at the beginning of fall; I just wore it a couple of days ago, and I still get nice comments on it. It is SO cozy and comfortable.

I often now wear these bulked-up cowls loose around my neck, like this:

Sweetgum, loose

I like long and slinky cowls, too:

Liquid Amber Cowl

(another one of my free designs)

I’m working on another handspun cowl design to be released soon, and I have others in my head that I hope to eventually get knitted up and written down. But I’m interested to know what others of you think of cowls, and what you perceive the current trends to be. Last winter, I saw a lot of University of Michigan students in big chunky cowls that sort of stood up (and out) around their necks; I’ve not seen many knitting designs like that. I know the long-ish infinity scarves (both knit and otherwise) are still pretty popular around here (and everywhere?). But what else? What are you noticing in terms of neckwear this season? What are your preferences, as a knitter and/or as a clothes-wearer?

Fashion Friday :: Fingerless Mitts

Posted on 20 September 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

are you a fan of fingerless mitts?

People tend to have strong feelings about fingerless mitts. I am one of them. I adore them. ADORE THEM. I know that mitts without fingers don’t make sense to some people, but I find them very useful. There are lots of time when I want my hands and wrists warm but need my fingers free – for typing in a cold office, maneuvering a key into my car door, KNITTING.

I knit my first pair in November of 2006:

I still love this pair, though they are pretty pilly now (part of the territory of knitting with Malabrigo). This pair actually got me one of my biggest compliments ever.

I proceeded to make a pair for my friend CJ:

I still love this simple, basic pattern from Knitty (Voodoo Wrist Warmers).

One of the interesting and easy things about this pair of mitts is that you make the thumbhole as a little buttonhole – such a simple concept. So these mitts are not only fingerless, but thumbless, too. My Romney Mitts have a similar construction:

Of course even simpler is no thumbhole at all:

Toast, one of my first handspun projects and still one of my favorite things to wear. Four years later, and I still break them out for fall. In terms of simplicity of knitting, they can’t be beat. What could be simpler than a tube?

And they are really practical for wearing, too. I have the use of my fingers and thumbs when I need them, but then I can pull my whole hands up inside these mitts when I want the extra warmth. I do this all the time when driving – use my fingers and thumb to start the car, pull my hands up inside before putting on the steering wheel. See how clever I am?

A couple of years ago, I made my first pair of fingerless mitts that actually had a partially knit thumb. I really liked how these turned out.

with thumb

Albina Armwarmers, in handspun, for a friend. I would highly recommend this pattern – it is super-customizable and a fantastic use of handspun. I love the refined look of partial thumbs with fingerless mitts.

So much so that I ended up designing a pair like this myself.

My Shameless Mitts. Unlike a lot of fingerless mitts, I didn’t design these to finish with ribbing (though the pattern includes that option). So the thumb, like the rest of the mitt, has a bit of slouch. Again, perfect for pulling fingers and thumbs inside the mitts when not in use.

I’m currently working on another fingerless mitt design and I am really torn about which thumb option to use (no thumb is not an option – so it will either be a thumbhole or a partially knit thumb, but not ribbed). So I’m curious – what do the rest of you think about thumbs on fingerless mitts? What’s your preference for knitting, and what’s your preference for wearing? I’m really interested to know what other people think about this very pressing fashion question!

Toast, in situ. (The picture is from three years ago, I’m not on crutches now!)

Fashion Friday :: Stitch Fix #4, a review

Posted on 13 September 2013 by Stacey Simpson Duke

Not long after I posted my Fashion Friday Stitch Fix review last Friday, I received my fourth Stitch Fix* box.

Good mail!

I knew as soon as I opened it that I was going to love it. The first top (the taupe-ish, there on top) is exactly my style (and color), and I was getting a good feeling about the peeks of other pieces I could see.

I tore into it and tried everything on. Before trying on, I really thought I had four (out of five) keepers, but I was sad to discover that the blazer, which I loved, was too small:

polka dot trim!

Such a cute blazer, and the price was right, too, but I just couldn’t make it fit (even though it was marked as my size). I loved the styling suggestions, too:

Blazer styling suggestions

This really would have been a great piece for my wardrobe. Oh well, onward. Maybe I can find another piece similar to this (thought the price would be hard to beat).

Here is the whole box:

Stitch Fix #4

(upper left) Hawthorn Blazer. Cute but too small. Sent back.
(lower left) Black Dolman Sleeve Top with gold zipper at top of back. Loved this so much and I don’t own any other dolman sleeve tops. Keeper!
(middle) Shoulder Button Striped Shirt. The stripes! The colors! The fit! The buttons on the shoulder! I love everything about this top and I am going to get so much wear out of it. Keeper!
(upper right) Braid-Details 3/4-sleeve Top. This shirt is so far inside my comfort zone/native style, I can hardly believe it. I love this color and have a lot of it, but I don’t have anything quite like this (and some of what I do have really needs to hit the giveaway pile). I love this. Keeper!
(lower right). Ridiculously expensive ugly 80’s style scarf. (that’s not what it was called on the label – I think it was something like peacock print silk scarf or some such). But y’all. UGH. What is this mess? I really dislike everything about this. To me, it screams 1980s and not in a good way. And it was $50! Sent back.

Dolman Sleeve Styling suggestions

I think this will be a very versatile top. I have my eye on a patterned pencil skirt from White House Black Market, but I can also see wearing it with pants for work or jeans for going out.

Dolman Sleeve Back Zipper top

I really, really like the cut of this, and the material is drape-y and sort of silky.

Striped Top styling suggestions

Super-cute suggestions, right? I see myself mostly wearing it with black skinny jeans and my red ballet flats. I love the shoulder-button detail.

Shoulder Button Striped Shirt

I don’t have nearly enough stripes in my wardrobe, and I am very happy to change that.

Braid-detail top

This is probably the most “me” item of clothing I’ve received from Stitch Fix so far. I’ve been very happy to get pieces that are not what I would normally notice in the store – that’s part of the reason I’m using this service, to shake up my style a little bit. But it is really nice, too, to get something that is exactly what I would’ve picked out for myself.

This box was fantastic, and I was SO happy to receive so many tops (and nothing sleeveless!). I am really looking forward to getting a lot of use out of these three pieces this fall (and beyond).

What about the rest of you? Some of you tried Stitch Fix through my referral link (thanks for the credit!) – I’d love to know what you thought of what you got. I also love seeing what other people got, to give me more ideas for expanding or remixing my own wardrobe.

earthchicknits

Tag Archives: fashion

Fashion Friday :: curly hair updos

Fashion Friday :: Stitch Fix Review #5

I tried, I’m trying :: legwarmers, out and about

Fashion Friday :: let’s talk about legwarmers

Fashion Friday :: styling a spring sweater for fall

Fashion Friday :: the sweater dress

Fashion Friday :: these shoes

Fashion Friday :: cowls

Fashion Friday :: Fingerless Mitts

Fashion Friday :: Stitch Fix #4, a review

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