gimme all the shoulder tie tops.

HOWDY! ‘write blog post’ has been on my to-do list for a while now. since the last post, life was coming back to normal with work but i ended up visiting Japan! recovering from jet lag took longer than expected and finding life’s normal rhythm again took some time but it now finally felt like a good day to sit down and put something together that i’ve been meaning to put out there! and it FEELS SO GOOD. this is my happy place right here.

usually before summer hits, i take a couple of outfit photos to get me through the summer months. thank goodness because summer this year has been BRUTAL 🥵 it’s so hot to even be outside for more than 5 mins! scary what August will feel like. hopefully all the backlogged & Japan content will get me through to fall (my favorite season of fashion) 💯

i am pretty much a sucker for all shoulder tie tops and dresses. why? the bow/tie adds a fun-flirty-feminine detail to the outfit and this particular one, the Sézane doll blouse in cara red was the perfect shade of bold red (also avail in a matching skirt!!). the material (100% silk) made this an elevated top, so i styled it with some tailored shorts. while i love chino and denim shorts, they lean on the casual side and sometimes you need a pair of shorts that are good enough to wear to date night with tops such as this one that pulls the whole outfit together.

taken at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in the Theme Garden which is easily my favorite area. i love the arches, the vines, walkway, greenery. @janeyunphoto did an amazing job!

side ramblings: i’ve been back from Japan for a little over a month and every week i find myself missing it! if i could put Japan in one word, i’d say orderly. people actually follow the rules there, it’s so clean, people are nice/respectful. i LOVED Japan and plan on going back sometime in my future. dedicated Japan posts coming soon! on another note, i saw Past Lives and it had been forever since i went to a movie theatre — the movie itself was very good and thought provoking. the more spiritual/woo-woo side of me does believe in past lives and an afterlife in the sense that sometimes we meet people that we feel we’ve known forever, some sort of connection you can’t quite put your finger on/identify. it also made me think about people who have also touched my life for a season and didn’t really stay around for other reasons — maybe i’ll see them in a different life with different lessons. either way, it’s all comforting to me at the end of the day.

currently on my playlist: monster by Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber

currently reading: 8 rules of love: how to find it, keep it, and let it go by Jay Shetty sometimes i spend time scrolling, before bed… and i’ve come across a lot of Jay Shetty clips. he always says things that resonate, that make me grab a pen and write it down. so i ended up picking up his latest book to read. it’s very interesting with exercises to practice on. much to unpack here and i’m only halfway through! it’s a great book for everyone at any stage — single, in a relationship, or married. it makes you ponder past experiences, how you could’ve approached it better and the future in terms of what you plan to do differently by working on yourself. it’s always about learning & improving, amirite?! 💗

top c/o | Sézane doll blouse in red cara (wearing size 4 USA) — the red cara print is also avail in a matching skirt too (regrets not getting it!!)
bottoms | Aritzia Wilfred the effortless short 5” in light birch (wearing size 6) — similar from A&F // similar in linen
hat | GIGI PIP faye boater hat (old) — newer version // similar
earrings | Mejuri charlotte bold hoops in gold vermeil — similar for $49 by Quince // also available as huggies!!
bag c/o| Sézane mini farrow bucket bag in natural raffia
shoes | Sam Edelman gigi sandals in cognac (old) — newer version
watch | Michele 29 mm deco diamond watch in gold and silver
rings | gorjana diamond row ring in 14K gold // gorjana diamond stacking ring in 14K gold

until next time,
JD

photo credit: @janeyunphoto

the wide leg pant obsession.

wide leg pants have always been in my rotation, but mainly cropped ones. i didn’t really have any regular length wide leg pants …until recently. and somehow managed to accumulate… many pairs in the last couple months. regular wide leg pants can be tricky to style IMO. esp if there are pleated details in the front. while the pleats look good, sometimes it can pull a little masculine so you want to be sure you’re styling these types of pants with a feminine top — even showing a little skin in a tasteful way helps! here i’ve styled these brown wide leg pants two ways. look 1 features a crop top to wear more casually during the day. look 2 features a little shoulder action for date night.

#styletips: other tops i’d style these brown pants with include a cream lace cami or satin cowl neck cami, an off the shoulder bodysuit, a sweetheart neckline tank or long sleeve sweater. in terms of color, i’d pair this with cream colors or heathered oatmeal, black or white would even look nice too if you’re going for contrast. i also would even play on the brown hue and go with a tan/light brown shade too. add a belt for good measure or even drape a half zip sweater over the shoulders.

side ramblings: i randomly stumbled upon the 28-day ab challenge by @lazygirlfitness and thought to myself… yea i could do that. without realizing there are 100 crunches at the end of this thing. #sendhelp. the 2nd annual lunar new year festival was so much fun & it was also a special holiday since it fell on my mom’s birthday as well. 2023 is year of the rabbit which symbolizes peace, longevity, and prosperity. you can read more about year of the rabbit here and see which chinese zodiac sign you are! in asia it’s a celebration that goes on for two full weeks! so it’s serious business. some things we do for lunar new year: honor our ancestors, clean our house before LNY, wear red for good luck, & smile/be happy because it sets the tone for the entire year ahead!

currently on my playlist: easy lover by Ellie Goulding