What do I actually dress for?

In case anyone wondered, I am a PhD student specialising in the migration patterns of  high skilled migrants, at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

To finance that, I moonlight as an editor and translator in the combination English-Spanish, with a slight twist of Dutch. This is the Netherlands, after all. Currently, I have a very good client in Arnhem, the Netherlands, that’s why I commute everyday. A medical association that shall remain nameless. I also (mostly) work for different NGO.

In my free time, I like browsing through websites of clothes that I cannot get (a.k.a. any brand in the US) , checking my email compulsively, reading compulsively as well and writing short stories. I also like thinking about combinations of clothes that make me look good. Then again, I don’t always succeed in practice.

I have been diagnosed with IBS (it may be a bit gross to read, so click at your own peril), which means I try to eat super healthy, and I follow a strict gluten-free diet for medical reasons. So no luscious cake postings on my feed. That makes me sad!

That’s me all excited about finding gluten free treats at a random food place in NYC

And that’s me eating a fabulous gluten free hamburger in NYC

If I could have one wish it would be to move to NYC where there are so many options to eat gluten free safely, and buy clothes to further develop my quirky style.

I am Mexican by birth and Dutch by choice 😉

For a visual overview:

The Creative Closet

So now that I am starting this project in earnest, I have looked for opportunities to link with different people who share this interest.

On instagram I found this great challenge of sorts, set by Jana, of Life Could Be a Dream, and Maegen from The Modern Tulip.  The idea is to get a prompt, and upload a picture every Tuesday (the actual rules can be seen here).

The Creative Closet

I had already set out my wardrobe idea, which was something like this:

A very simple sheath dress, on a hot day

But of course yesterday my mood was a bit more somber, and I ended up wearing a weird combination of things with very little white. And decidedly not hot.

Plus the weather did not cooperate with me, it was so cold yesterday!

So I did this instead:

Not quite as hot as I expected…

The next challenge is Bold & Bright. But even if it is in the rain, I get another excuse to try my hand at colours!

I should probably add that I was waiting a bit to post about my monthly buy, which was that very same white jacket, bought in XXS from the new collection at Mango.

One of those days… (outfit fail!)

Everyone has one of those days…

Today I woke up a full hour before my alarm and could not get back to sleep. I was not rested at all!

So zombieface (me) decides to throw together an outfit that’s all in line with the weather last night (guesses?). I generally plan carefully, but this morning my brain was not yet up and running, apparently.

As I am about to leave the house, I realise (horror of horrors!) I have a very important meeting with my new boss. It was only the we-are-deciding-your-future-at-the-company sort of meeting, so no biggie.

All of a sudden that loud red button-up makes a lot less sense than 2 minutes ago. So I quickly change into a beige sweater and throw a gray blazer over my shoulders. Is this the moment to say I was wearing black jeans?

Due to my little wardrobe mess I missed my train connection. No need to panic, there’s another train 15 minutes later. But then THAT ONE’s delayed which makes me miss my second connection (the glamorous commuter life, sigh).

Then I finally open my eyes and I look at myself in the mirror. I look dark. Very dark. Bags under my eyes, disheveled hair, black on gray with beige combo. What was I thinking?

Thankfully I am not hired for my sartorial skills (yet?), so I get to keep on editing, at least for the foreseeable future.

Moral of the story: plan your outfits, Alba. Even being a morning person cannot always work.

On the topic of jewellery (Josephine Colsen’s to be precise)

I have a short neck. Sometimes this really annoys me because I like the chunky necklaces, but I end up looking like I have no neck.

So I generally go for small pendants on long chains, like this one:

As you can see, my jewellery collection is not really big, and I choose to use other accesories (mostly bags, come to think of it).

Yesterday I was walking down the Sint Jansstraat in Amsterdam’s (in)famous Red Light District, which has been made home to design ateliers in an effort to give it a more family-friendly reputation. I came across this window with beautiful jewellery hanging from it. I wanted to snap a picture to remember the name of the artist, but a lady tapped on the window and said I couldn’t.

I totally understand her perspective. Her creations are unique, and very creative. I did, however, manage to find her work online, and I am posting the piece that I most would like to have, because this IS a statement necklace!

Copyright: Josephine Colsen

name: necklace mondriaan

material: brass

measures: length necklace 50 cm length object 6 cm

price: 45,- euro

design: josephine colsen

available at: http://www.colseninteriorproducts.nl/

It is based on a paiting by Piet Mondriaan, and of course I fell in love. I am not yet sure how it would fit with my wardrobe decisions, so I am waiting before buying it, but I think I will definitely keep her designs in mind if I ever want to buy jewellery.

I don’t know the artist, but I am already in love with her work.

 

Work outfits that work for me

The Dutch have a very laid-back approach to appropriate work attire. I have even seen people go to job interviews wearing jeans and tattered t-shirts, I-kid-you-not. Also , this is apparently the country where it is totally normal to go out wearing red trousers, even to work.

However, I always try to dress the way I would anywhere else in the world, but with jeans instead of more formal trousers. It is quite unique, I think, that my colleagues always say I look fabulous when all I did was wear a dress. At my office nobody ever wears dresses.

This is a very simple dress that I bought on a trip to Japan. I love it because it fit right off the rack, even though I am curvier than your average Japanese girl.

And this is how it looks on me

I think it it is quite ok to show up at the office wearing this, and between you and me, I love the elastic in the middle, although I generally cover it with a gold-coloured belt, so that it doesn’t look that elasticky.

I do not wear high heels (I should), but the shoes are pointy and make my day because they are comfortable.

So this is what “dressing up” for work looks like where I work!

And since I hadn’t let my face be seen:

That’s me right there, getting ready for a day’s work!

Some inspiration for this project

Since I returned from the US, I have begun following some bloggers who serve as an inspiration for this blog. My favourite are (in no particular order):

Jean, with her Extra Petite blog. She has some killer work outfits that can be turned into more going-out outfits.

Annie, at Stylish Petite. Her outfits are so light, yet look so polished –and comfortable!

Wendy, from Wendy’s Lookbook, because she wears flats sometimes and I appreciate that.

I love the way these fashion bloggers dress, and I love how they are so secure and comfortable in their own skin.

That brings us to my biggest problem. Unfortunately for me, I cannot just waltz to the next Ann Taylor, Loft, or Banana Republic sale to buy petite sizes. (Also, importing clothes … yikes! Definitely outside the budget range)

Then again, I live in gorgeous Amsterdam, so I am not complaining

See? It is gorgeous!

However, when it comes to clothes…

People here can be so tall that they don’t find long enough clothes, so us petites make a very tiny (no pun intended!) share of the market.

The challenge is, then, to find pieces that I can wear off the rack (like skirts, or blouses with 3/4 length sleeves), or that I can easily alter.

So these bloggers give me inspiration, but they also have made me think of how I can get around the issue of height in a country where nobody else has that issue.

Wish me luck!

The rules of the game

Today I read that the most you should spend on clothes is 5% of your salary.

I am a freelancer, and right now things are going well, but you never know when people might need my proofreading and editing services.

So I have a limit, and a very clear one. Never more than 100 euros per month, no matter how much I like the clothes or accesories.

This means I am only allowing myself to buy basics, rather than super trendy things.

Also, I am looking out for sales! I love sales! And these days things seem to be on sale perpetually, so there’s that!

Another goal of mine is to learn to sew. It’s on top of my list, together with learning to bike (a necessity that I have managed to skip in the last 3 years I lived here)! If I can learn to alter things, a whole world opens up for me, I think!

The journey begins

“studies showed that young Dutch adults are among the tallest people in the world, with women measuring almost 171 cm on average and men 184 cm on average in 1997″

(Schönbeck Y, Talma H, van Dommelen P, Bakker B, Buitendijk SE, Hirasing RA, van Buuren S (2013). The world’s tallest nation has stopped growing taller: the height of Dutch children from 1955 to 2009. Pediatric Research, 73(3), 371-377)

I live in the Netherlands. I am 154 cm tall (that’s a nifty 5’0″).

Clothes here are too long, too wide, too tight in places where they shouldn’t be. So I wear tents and trip over my own knees.
I am also used to the bulk around the hips, from where my neatly tucked shirt just creates an idea of a rounder me. Not that I need that, my latin roots give me plenty of hips already!

During a short trip to the US, I went into a shop and was confronted by my rather inadequate and ill-fitting wardrobe. It ended with me buying half the store in petite sizes, but not before one of the associates told me (and I couldn’t be making this up!):

“Seriously, if I were you, I would just go home and burn all those clothes you have on. I’d never go out wearing THAT!”

When a girl younger than you, who is trying to sell you something, says that, you know you are definitely not on the right track!

After this epiphany, I decided to be more mindful of what I wear, but I don’t want to break the bank.

So I thought, let’s experiment.

1. Let’s get rid of all the clothes I haven’t worn in one year or more.
This has to do with space (or lack thereof).

2. Let’s get a few items that I will be able to wear until the end of time
So nice but not super-trendy things, in neutral colours,

3. Learn how to sew, to alter things to fit.

I know, I am a bit late to that party! But you are never too old to learn!