It’s been a long soul-searching journey up to this point, but Kanika Green – “Queen of Fashion” and reigning Northwesterner – is happy to be in Seattle, presenting the second annual Sip & Shop event with partner Samarah Fortson of Janrah Boutique.

sip and shop

Her goal is to make a difference by bringing money back to the community, which is why proceeds from this year’s Sip & Shop at Chapel Bar (July 24th, 6p-10p) are going to Sew Beautiful – a local organization offering youth empowerment programs for young women of color by incorporating fashion and art. The event also brings the focus back to local designers and artists including Otra Vez, Flutterbudget Jewelry, Mac Fashion House, and Cookie Lee among others.

Fashion and art seem to be common themes in Kanika’s life – after graduating from WSU and putting in two years in the corporate world, she realized how important it was to get back to these childhood passions, while still thinking outside the box. She had always been driven to draw and sketch, but she felt that in the very complacent working world that drive gets lost. It’s like running on a hamster wheel, forgetting what you love to do. She had always gone against the grain stylistically, crediting her mom for her fashion sense.

Looking outside her Washington roots, Kanika realized that if you’re going to do fashion you go to New York – the “capital of fashion” here in the US. She applied to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, where she realized that it was meant to be, as everything began to slide into place. While at FIT she began to flex her career muscles in fashion merchandising and management. She still took time out to mentor – working with BlackGirlsRock Inc, a DJ program set on empowering and broadening the horizons for young women of color. Her motto was simple; work to engage young girls in something that interested them, planting seeds for brighter futures.

School has taught her a lot about business, and the fashion world; especially how everything trickles down the corporate ladder. She understood that the movers and shakers in New York recognized this – for example Michael Kors was incredibly hands-on and pleasant. This taught her to get in, make her mark, and remember that attitude is everything. New York was the experience of a lifetime.

Of her internships, she says,

“It made me realize what kind of a person I was. I left my comforts – my car, my apartment, etc – to follow a passion. I went from comfort to freedom, challenge and obstacles. It taught me how much courage I had to really pursue what I was most passionate about. I learned how to operate with integrity no matter how long the day is or how people talked. I didn’t quit and I continued to persevere. And many times I wanted to throw in the towel, but I didn’t. I left with a New York state-of-mind: Keep going and power through. It’s much easier to be in your comfort zone than to step out of that. It makes you realize that everything does happen the way it should.”

And it’s that drive and passion she’s brought to Seattle for the Sip & Shop events.

Kanika and Samarah both went to school together and then left the Pacific Northwest, only to reunite here again to incorporate fashion, community, and networking. The first Sip & Shop event was held at Waids last year, as a benefit for the Umoja Peace Center. Kanika and Samarah planned the event from scratch – from start to finish with no street team to help; the biggest challenge was to make the dream a reality. Kanika smiles when she talks about their first event, recalling their success with over 75 attendees, and a number of artfully hand-picked vendors.

This year they’ve stepped up the scale, bringing in twice the number of vendors to Capitol Hill’s hip digs. Working with Chapel Bar, Kanika and Samarah have an even more exciting event planned this year, including VIP goodies and the fashion show presented by Mac Fashion House (8p). The event will offer a fantastic combination of music, art, fashion and community, and the venue couldn’t be more perfect. Each vendor is meticulously hand-picked, Chapel will offer appetizers and cocktails, DJ Topspin will provide the music, and guests are invited to relax, to Sip & Shop.

It seems, lately, the internet has been responsible for a lot of blogger outrage – whether it’s bloggers themselves or commenters jumping into the fray. I wrote a whole post about this phenomenon, citing a really interesting Slate editorial that says:

It’s a prime example of the feminist blogosphere’s tendency to tap into the market force of what I’ve come to think of as “outrage world”—the regularly occurring firestorms stirred up on mainstream, for-profit, woman-targeted blogs … They’re ignited by writers who are pushing readers to feel what the writers claim is righteously indignant rage but which is actually just petty jealousy, cleverly marketed as feminism.

Read the rest of my piece over on IFB (where I’ve just recently become a contributor)!

And our commenters’ thoughts on the matter?

Ellie Di said:

I think there’s something to “don’t feed the trolls”, but I also think that if we ignore the problem, it won’t go away (that particular advice never works). I’m not sure I have a concrete solution, though. Should bloggers block the comments or should they allow people to have their say? I guess the real question is who gets to decide. Perhaps those of us who aren’t trolls should be making more time to think about our responses and measure them out before hitting “submit”.

And Amanda noted:

What a great post. I really enjoyed reading it.
My opinion of the hate on the internet is basically this:
For every logical and level-headed person on the internet who wants actual and meaningful conversation, there are 20 who just want to act like complete assholes.

Hate will always be on the internet, because it’s made so easy for people who can sit anonymously behind a screen. It’s made even easier with hater blogs, encyclopedia dramatica and the like. I feel that if someone reaches a certain level of internet “fame,” that they should expect criticism to a certain level. I can’t stand personal attacks, like that fashion bloggers, why? blog that you posted. That person just spews hate and jealousy, and should consider how she would like it if it was her that was getting made fun of.

Right now fashion bloggers seem to be the target of internet hate…but it’s only a matter of time before they switch to something else. I have a beauty blog where I post my makeup looks, hopefully it’s not next!! :-O

What do you think?

The other day a little tidbit came zipping into my inbox about a set of Seattle women making leaps and bounds in local, eco-chic designs. The women of Prairie Underground have quite the list of achievements under their belts and a hip line of northwest couture to back it up.  Their past seasons are killer and their current season is no different.  Their line is a great mix of easy to match separates that would be the perfect addition to any girl’s summer closet.  The pieces lend themselves to quick layering options that will carry you through early fall – it’s not often you see a line as wearable as this in any season.

From their summer 2010 lookbook:

Your orbit string art poncho & savoy pant - Wear it to northwest art openings at Jam Fest galleries (Like Cullom Gallery) while waxing poetic on Hiroshige’s influence on impressionist art

Flaming heart tank & denim legging - Wear it to work with a boyfriend blazer to battle the difference between the AC in your office and the blazing summer heat.

Pointelle leggings & bullet cami - Wear it on date night, while you’re sipping mojitos and watching the sun set on Alki.

Asymmetrical wrap, flame skirt & pointelle leggings - Wear it to your friend’s Friday shindig at Golden Gardens – because the beach is the best place to picnic and people watch.

The Day Dress - Wear it to that afternoon wedding because it’s both sleek and daytime-casual.

Can you tell I’m enamored?  Also, how do I fill my closet with all these things?  Their website offers a bundle of stores who carry the line including Clementine in West Seattle and a quick list of online retailers.   In fact, Tobi is carrying this hoodie that would be perfect for our strange Seattle weather:

And check out what others are saying about the line.  What do you think, ladies? Love it?

Fashion History, Doing it Yourself, and Breaking Stereotypes

Edited by: Marie Denee of The Curvy Fashionista

My first week editing the Links a`la Mode and it was such a pleasure to peruse the latest jewels from the blogosphere! Imagine viewing the history of fashion through the lens of a exhibition or a syllabus of what you wish was taught. How about taking inspiration from the latest Jeffery Campbell shoe and tricking out your own for less? Better yet, let’s talk about the “nude” trend and its color classification, and while we are at it, let’s question the newest movement in advertising campaigns: Unretouched and real beauty- a breakthrough or a publicity stunt? From fashion tips, finds, and favorite things, this week’s links a`la mode will satiate your hunger for full frontal fashion!

Links à la Mode: June 24th

• Bay Area Style File Shoptalk: Stript Wax Bar
• Bonne Vie Is “nude” a problem? Or just a color palette?
• Fashion Butter How to deal with the girls (dressing a larger chest)
• Fasshonaburu looks back at the fashion rules she set for herself at the beginning of the year to see how’s she’s done following them
• Fish Tank Fashion Are “unretouched” and “real beauty” advertising campaigns just a publicity stunt?
• Grit and Glamour Photography for the Amateur, Stagefright-Afflicted Blogger
• Hello Beauty have a new makeup lesson video with the Bobbi Brown Beach Collection and Treatment Lip Shines on hello beauty! The lesson is by Bobbi Brown education executive Katrina Rau.
• Intrinsically Florrie From 50s swimwear to an 18th century duchess’s wardrobe; a look at her college’s fashion exhibition
• Living Embellished Take a course in Fashion History…you know, what you always wished your college offered!
• Lovely & Lavish With the help of a stylish scarf you can transform an everyday getup into a chic outfit, Lovely & Lavish explores this season’s best accessory!
• Meowsk Dressing for the playground, reminiscent of recess.
• Miss Jones and Me Shares a Few of her Favorite Things
• Miss Vinyl Ahoy DIY Jeffrey Campbell Tick shoes for under $20!
• Profresh Style Combining prints & textures
• Retro Chick Frock love: Hot picks from the world of reproduction vintage
• Simply Luxurious Summer items to add to your wardrobe
• Stylish Thought Everyone Loves a Quirky Girl: Examining quirky style and women who dress the part
• The Coveted Under the Sea, Closeup view of Cynthia Rowley’s Resort 2011 Collection
• The Curvy Fashionista The opening of Full Figured Fashion Week NYC 2010
• Wicked Whimsy How to build up a versatile & comfortable array of shoes
• Tog and Trappings Les flâneurie: How observation of life can inspire creativity

So darlings, I have to ask your opinion.

Recently I came across this site that offers a way to “work the room in disguise”.  It’s a ring, that you can whip out when you’re feeling too many unwanted advances at the bar, or that you can tuck away when you want to flirt.  They offer tees too for the less subtle message (and for ladies who wanted to pre-order, they had a Clairsonic giveaway in the works) – “I do …. not want your number.”  Their site says,

Who says being engaged is all that? The biggest upside is being left alone, once people spot a ring on your left hand. Whether you’re trying to dodge dodgy dudes at the bar, heading to a reunion or visiting your nagging grandmother, slip on your Ms.Taken ring and act as if. It says committed, without the commitment.

And bling it is, sporting a 2 ct Australian Crystal on a stainless steel band.  It’s sure to catch the eye of that eligible schmo trying to talk you up at the bar.

Their site is both cheeky and hilarious, showing pictures of undesirables, offering quotes – “overheard at the club”, and it begs the question – do we need the faux bling to keep douchebags away?  Is a simple “no” really good enough?

Your thoughts?  What do you think of the Ms. Taken campaign?

Two of the most fascinating exhibits at the Seattle Art Museum of recent note are the Warhol and Cobain exhibits. The two seem to go hand in hand – Warhol’s photography dabbles in depictions of beauty and fame as art. The Kurt exhibit shows off more than just that 15 minutes of world fame, bringing a bevy of artists forth to exhibit the telling ways in which Cobain has affected us all, even since his death.

Kurt Cobain by Scott Fife

One of the most effective exhibits in the Kurt exhibition is not the larger-than-life and somewhat morbid rendition of Cobain’s cranium, by Scott Fife (2006). It was fairly impressive and haunting; with large bloodshot eyes staring through you, off into space. It also wasn’t Jordan Kantor’s Untitled (2006), a painstaking collaged rendition of crime scene photos – “perpetuating an air of mystery.” Truly, one of the most striking pieces may not be linked to Kurt at all, in that it could be anybody’s séance – Cobain, Morrison, Hendrix.

Standing Wave Séance by Hadley and Maxwell (2010) was one of the most effective pieces at the exhibit, giving the viewer a chance to enter the “pathos of Cobain’s disembodied voice” both “celebrated and destroyed by the same crowd”. It’s a conspicuous exhibit – fiberboard walls, padded with egg crate on the outside give the artwork a sort of humble appeal. Walking into the piece takes the viewer to a whole different level. A feedback loop plays through the mounted speakers next to a red Fender amp, and a microphone is the central focus, set on top of duct taped mats. This is the artist’s world, lit by a solitary bare bulb. Around the room, the viewer might find a number of artifacts, origami boxes and an accordion cut matchbook could have been a way to relieve the tension before recording or before a show. All these things represent a larger lifestyle, a lonely ascent from a “normal” reality. Clinging to that reality and to a sense of normalcy – taped to the mic stand – sits a lonely wisp of a plant in a plastic cup might suggest the artist’s rise towards the light, towards stardom and fame. The lonely little plant also suggests a wish to stay grounded. As the viewer circles the sound room, the roar of a crowd rises, replacing the feedback loop. The pressure is on, to tune up, to play a show, to impress crowds. Standing behind the mic, the viewer has a glimpse towards the gritty and well-known photos of Cobain crashing into the drum kit behind him at the Rijn. Kurt looks dazed as onlookers stand back and watch. The entire effect of the tiny sound room is haunting, even giving the viewer a sort of trapped feeling – the room is a little too small, too dark. In the background, beyond the room this exhibit stands in, Nirvana’s music floats through the rest of the exhibit with a note of tragedy.

Banks Violette - Lines of Wreckage (Love Songs for Assholes #2)

While many of the pieces in the exhibit are striking – including Banks Violette’s heavy-handed graphite work, some of the pieces seem trite and forced. They’re there as if to say “I want to ride this wave of stellar death.” What’s fashionable in art will always be copied whether through subject or technique and the topic of Cobain’s early demise is definitely still a sore subject.

Slater Bradley’s Marijuana (2004) is one such piece – taking on an air of textbook simplicity and attempting to grab the viewer’s attention through the title. It’s the kind of artwork we’d see taped to a dorm room wall, not from an artist who can get himself into the SAM with pieces like Silver I Love You So Much it Makes Me Sick (2008). It feels forced, showing off the covers of three different magazines, including High Times and Rolling Stone with the same photo of Cobain plastered across the front. The title and the subject matter show an obvious drug reference, but with all the triteness of an illogical connection between marijuana and premature celebrity expiration. It reads almost like a drug-free commercial, where marijuana is the gateway to Cobain’s death. Were the piece titled something different – Heroin, maybe – the connection would be believable. The main focus of the piece – noted from the placard on the wall is that Kurt’s face is used a number of times in different ways, with the only cannabis reference being the magazines featured. Sitting next to Silver, Marijuana definitely shows the gap in Bradley’s evolution as an artist.

Overall, the Kurt exhibit is melancholy, especially if you skip the derisive affront to Cobain’s fan base through Bradley’s elementary rendition of the passing of a rock legend. More so than not, the exhibit will leave you with a sense of loss, and loneliness representing the inner world of someone so tortured.

I just read the most bomb-of-bomb posts at Threadbared about the whole feather headdress hipster appropriation that’s happening in fashion right now.   It’s definitely interesting to me, coming from a native background – a good portion of my dad’s maternal family lives on the “rez”.  Now, don’t get me wrong here – I feel I can view everyone with the same set of eyes – as in this purple person is no different from that polka dotted person over there, who’s no better or worse than me.   I believe in treating everyone as equals with the utmost respect, no matter their cultural background.  What I do have a problem with is using and thereby desecrating important cultural symbols because you want to be *super hip!*

Image from "My culture is not a trend" on Tumblr - the girl on the right? guh! *shudders*

Michelle of Wicked Whimsy and I had this conversation a few months back and we affirmed our stance that when you’re going to borrow “looks” you should at least know what you’re borrowing – know why your look is significant to a culture, so that you can respectfully represent that people/symbol/culture.  Know that there are things that would totally piss people off if you just wore it around like nobody’s business.

So what does that mean when it comes to headdresses?  (I love this image because it displays the significant item with such taste – it’s about the item, not the human figure wearing it.)

From My Culture is Not a Trend

This?  This is the first thing you think of when talking about feather headdresses.  This is a War Bonnet.  Stop and think for a minute about the implications of that name…

From Native Languages.org:

Warbonnets (or war bonnets) are the impressive feather headdresses commonly seen in Western movies and TV shows. Although warbonnets are the best-known type of Indian headdress today, they were actually only worn by a dozen or so Indian tribes in the Great Plains region […]

Warbonnets were important ceremonial regalia worn only by chiefs and warriors. Also, only men wore warbonnets. (Women sometimes went to war in some Plains Indian tribes, and there were even some female chiefs, but they never wore these masculine headdresses.)

In the 1800′s, Native American men from other tribes sometimes began to wear Plains-style warbonnets. Partially this was because of the American tourist industry, which expected Native Americans to look a certain way. Partially it was because many Native American tribes were forced to move to Oklahoma and other Indian territories during this time in history, so tribes that used to live far apart began adopting customs from their new neighbors. In most cases, the feather warbonnet did not have the same significance among the new tribes that adopted it. For them, it was a matter of fashion or a general symbol of authority. But for the Plains Indian tribes, feather warbonnets were a sacred display of a man’s honor and courage, and each feather told a story. Eagle feathers are still sometimes awarded to Plains Indians who serve in the military or do other brave deeds today.

Did you earn the feathers in your headdress?  I know that’s a loaded question to ask, but did you think of that when you purchased that little sweatshop-made gem at Urban Outfitters (of all places)?  And as Michelle noted: “…as far as “ceremonial” items go, not all Natives even have access to these cultural relics any more, due to the poverty within the community.  This makes it especially douchey for UO to do cheap, appropriating knock offs.”  I concur!  And Michelle brought to mind a good point from the Threadbared article:

“So while it’s great that you can walk around feeling like hot shit in your feathered headband, there are many Native Americans still too ashamed or afraid to even discuss their ethnicities or cultures with their children. “

On a contrary note, I have respect for the girl who builds her headdress herself – and I wonder if that’s just being contradictory.  The Warbonnet clearly irks me… but can I really blame the girl who makes her own feather headband?  Hell, I enjoy sticking a feather or two in my hair and heading out to a party.  And are feathers in your hair only representative of indigenous people?  I think using the headdress that looks like a warbonnet – with dipped feathers and all – for all intents and purposes is appropriating something that’s culturally significant.  Pairing it with warpaint is incredibly more ridiculous (I’m talking to you, girls who dress like this for their Myspace pictures)!

From My Culture is Not a Trend

When you look at the meaning there:

The Indian headband is also well-known from movies and other popular images of Native Americans. However, this style of headband was typically only used by a few tribes of the northeast Woodlands. Usually the headband consisted of a finger-woven or beaded deerskin strip with tribal designs on it. This band was then tied around the brow with a feather or two tucked through the back. Not only eagle feathers but turkey, hawk, egret, and crane feathers were also used for Woodland Indian headbands.

Unlike many of the Native American headdresses… both men and women wore headbands, which were not associated with war. The number and type of feather did not usually have special symbolic meaning, though in a few tribes that bordered the Plains eagle feathers were reserved for warriors. For the most part, Woodland Indian head bands were worn for their beauty, and were often decorated with intricate patterns, wampum, beads, and quillwork.

Here, you’re not taking the honor that you may not have earned and turning it into your next hipster party gag.  And where do we draw the line between honoring a culture and oppressing them?  As Ashe Mischief pondered: “and in theory, if I wore one, albeit a sparkly one, how do we know I’m not saying, I’m a modern leader among my tribe?”  To make one yourself – using colors and decor significant to your human experience – is that truly taboo?  In my opinion, if you make yourself a headband to wear feathers in your hair, you’ve earned it (though I still advise against using the warbonnet as a point of cultural significance – I don’t dress like Geisha for shits and giggles, or an evening out and I definitely don’t wear a Ganesha mask to dress-up parties) – but I think that if you didn’t bead that shit yourself (therefore putting your own cultural story into it), or obtain it from someone who made it as cultural memorabilia to celebrate their heritage, stealing cultural symbols is basically as taboo as buying counterfeit bags and slanging them as the real thing.  We all know it’s cooler to DIY anyhow.

Michelle says:

I found extending appropriation to some items a little odd. In a few posts about appropriation I’ve seen it extended to items like bone jewelry, which presents a bit of a conundrum for me…

Something like bone jewelry has existed in a huge variety of cultures over the years, not all of them Native American. Wearing bone or other bits of animals (for lack of a better term!) has a long history …

As the above, previously referenced commenter put it:

“Dressing up as “a Native American” furthers the already popular notion that they aren’t real, diverse, complex human beings.”

I remember a conversation with my dad about the Atlanta Braves – he didn’t see the name as an issue because the team played well and wanted to show their honor and proud, fighting-spirit.  Where does that differ from wearing a headband with a feather in it?  A warbonnet? Does the meaning of the item/word/idea have relevance in making that distinction between appropriate and culturally insensitive It seems as if we’re picking and choosing – but it comes down to not picking and choosing.  Lumping all these unique cultures into one denies their uniqueness.  Dressing with influence from indigenous people is different than dressing like a “Native American”.  Pairing war paint with that pretty feathered headband tells me you don’t know your ass from the cultural history of your country.  It’s hard to know whether or not you understand the significance of what you’re wearing unless you show up looking like a Drugstore Indian (and for the life of me, I can’t find you a good image.  I’ll take a picture of the one on the ave, posthaste).  Your stereotypes are often obvious.

Where warbonnets – the headdress you picture when you think “TV Indians” – were important symbols, feather headbands were worn because they were pretty.  Think about it – just consider the reason that thing you want exists.  Whether it’s your red Doc Martens, your feather headdress or any other culturally borrowed item.

Recently I’ve seen so much media related to the impermanence of our lives. Whether it’s Facebook status related, the digital reminder of another birthday or a poignant blog about losing love or a loved one, the amount of impermanence out there happening RIGHT NOW shocks me, and yet here in my home I’m feeling it too. We all know days are numbered for everything, we just don’t know what that number is. It reminds me, as it should remind you, that the impermanence you feel can only be combated with the pure enjoyment of living in the best way you know how.

According to cosmic calendars, our entire human experience can be summed up into the blink of an eye. It’s the last 2.5 hours of the last day of the year, with everything before that being our Universe’s existence. Our fragility is laid bare, our bones already turned to dust in the time and space version of humanity.  As children our lives spread out like giant canvasses before us, and by the time we’re old enough to be writing posts like this, we’ve already lost so much time to worry, regret and self-doubt.  We’ve lost time to anger and fear, to disciplined ways and stressful encounters and for what?  These small tics on our personal scoreboards are minute in the span of our current existence and more minute still in the span of what’s yet to come.

It’s not that you should shun your personal responsibility, spend all your money and turn a cold shoulder to all the things that irritate you, because you don’t know how to simply let them be a part of your life.  Because we experience such impermanence, it’s important to appreciate what exists now – whether it’s work or play; a life or the memory of one; the time to spend and the time to stay frugal.  Embracing those “small things”, keeping calm, carrying yourself well and looking forward are much stronger cards to play.

So now that I have a more “managerial” position at work, I’ve realized how altering my outfits a little bit changes the impact of my credibility.    My work wardrobe used to be heavy on jeans, funky skirts, tees & hoodies because our environment is so informal.  Moving up in the world, though, requires a little more thought about how I’m presenting myself. I have to play the role of both supervisor and mentor at work, as well as hold responsibility for keeping the office afloat, and it really boosts my credibility to look the part.  It helps to look authoritative if you want the men in this industry to take you seriously.  I’ve recently found that even a boyfriend blazer paired with some classic denim really changes the perspective of how knowledgeable and authoritative you seem.

I didn’t really think about how what I wear impacted my credibility at work until very recently.  I know that your style says a lot about you, but I thought that having worked here for the last 5 years would negate the need for me to “work it”.  After all, they all know me and my capabilities, right?  Well yeah… but  have customers to contend with, a new hire who needs both a supervisor and a mentor, and the people I’ve worked with for so long need to know that I’m taking my role seriously.  I also think it’s truly not about dressing for the job I have, but the job I want.

In a highly mobile environment, where first impressions are important and where selling oneself is the most highly cultivated “skill”, the construction of appearances becomes more and more imperative.

(Ewen, 1988)

Many of the “Dress for Success” mantras focus on proper business wear, not the casual attire so many of our people sport.  Classic “business” attire focuses on suits as a whole.

From Workchic com - this business is too much business!

The common mantra of what to wear to work is all talk about what’s “appropriate” but with so many workplaces adopting the attire of “business casual” and with the importance of self-expression, it can be difficult to know how to make your personal style mesh with a look that speaks authoritatively at work.  How do you do it?  What’s your work style?

I’m currently keeping it business casual with some simple pairings and a lot of creativity: Fun frocks and dark denim stay structured when paired with a cute blazer, or little swing jacket.  Graphic prints or tees are paired with trousers and cardigans.

Funky, fun jewelry is added to the mix to keep outfits fresh – it’s amazing what some bright, bold jewelry will do for a black tee and cigarette pants.  Shoes are well-tailored flats, or fun wedges – nothing over-bold, but with a demure attitude.

Each outfit is a mix of shapes and textures.  Wide-leg denim trousers call for a slim silhouette on top.   Texture is important – boucle skirts call for something sleek finish.  Anything glittery that isn’t jewelry is best left home, but metallics make some of the best accessories (handbags!).   Bright colors are a must!  After the gray Seattle winter, popping into bright colors brings a breath of fresh air into the office.

Cowl scarves are a fun, over-textured way to stay warm in air-conditioned offices and long sleeve tissue tees provide the lighter layers that transition from a/c to outdoors.

I still feel like it’s a work-in-progress.  I’m trying to balance hints of my personal style with the drab dress-code of power-suits.  Looking authoritative helps me feel authoritative and sends the message that I’m here, I know what I’m doing and where I’m going, and I have the means to get things done.

I scanned the internet for a few business-casual inspired outfits and here are a couple I really liked:

Image from Heidikins.com - Stripes, dark denim and bright colors

Image from Workchic.com - I LOVE this look!

What do you think?  How are you balancing YOUR personal style and work wardrobe?

I love the way this outfit came together with the amazing Amenaza Maxi Skirt from EtceteraPeru.

The skirt is an interesting gray, with draping in the front and a backseam (it used to only go halfway up the back of the skirt, but I fixed it so it a) fit me and b) didn’t look like a buttcrack � ).

The full silhouette is very slim and I added a break in the heavy almost Deco-style patterned top with a waist-belt.   The top is a Deco Modiste original!

The rest of my accessories needed to incorporate well with the pattern, but I also felt like I needed a little color.  These green resin earrings came from Banana Republic, and I tossed on some simple silver bangles for fun.   This outfit is worn with my Where CARA brogues.  It’s warm enough for spring in Seattle without feeling overdressed.

I, personally, love the tailored maxi skirt look.  I feel like it’s not done nearly enough though!  The tailoring on this skirt gives it a sort of Steampunk/gawth feel, but is very versatile.  What’s your feeling on the maxi skirt?  Love it?  Hate it!?  Tell me about it!