Armor Bijoux | Frivolous Universe

WAITING ON MY FASHION MULE: What to wear when you haven’t done your laundry in a month, your dry cleaner closes at six, and your wardrobe has to make an international border crossing

By: Kim Philley

13-02-2012

Ho-hum skinny jeans and tank top collide with red coral and turquoise Tibetan breastplate:

The New York Times says the fall runways abound in “harmonious collisions“–Ruth La Ferla’s elegant euphemism for fashion mashups. I was feeling a bit the collision myself last night after jumping off Evel Knievel’s motorcycle (a.k.a, the Thai moto-taxi who drove me down Chong Nongsi doing a breezy 65mph).

Ten months ago, I left 90% of my wardrobe in a restaurant storage closet in Phnom Penh. Long backstory. Cambodia being tropical temperature, my beloved clothes proceeded to grow technicolor mold. My good friend has been assiduously removing the Spore Life with a spray bottle of grain alcohol and water, and will be arriving in Bangkok tonight with my resurrected clothes in tow. Which brings me to the subject of today’s post: What to wear when you’re waiting on your fashion mule:

Tank top: J. Crew

Skinny jeans: Genetic Denim (Fancy Pants, Boise)

Soda water is perfectly legal, but there should be a law against dry cleaners that close at 6pm. Yesterday I ran out of clothes–shirts that don’t double as underwear; jeans that hadn’t been worn so many times they stand on their own two legs. When you must wear something predictable and shopworn, pair it with an over-the-top ethnic breastplate. I received a lot of compliments yesterday on my mashup. As long as the coworker wasn’t within whiffing distance, I nodded a demure “thank you.”

Tibetan ceremonial breastplate: Armor Bijoux (Christmas present from Bethany Walter)

Having to photograph myself this week gave me a new appreciation for the contortions Nicole Orabona pulls off. But as G.K. Chesterton said, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” And while you’re at it, why not have cheesy fun with FxCam filters? Oh, Nana Chen, please come back!

Only do this alone. Say “David Bowie” ten times and then open your eyes.

Saddle oxfords: ZARA (Bangkok)

Jacket: AXARA Paris (Saigon)

Belt: Fly Now (Bangkok)

Days after styling me in the green hot chili peppers dress for last week’s FU / ASS posts, Asia Street Style’s Nana Chen came across this new Dolce & Gabbana creation in American Elle. Apparently, the collective unconscious is a Thai-Mexican love child. Nana will be returning to Bangkok in March. Thank goodness I’ll only be photographing myself for two more weeks.

If Robert Frank could be resurrected and rephotograph The Americans, he’d find a lot of us in mirrored elevators in Bangkok, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, taking furtive photos of ourselves at work.

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JEANS, BOOTS, and a BLAZER: How to Keep it Snazzy on a Lazy Sunday

By: Kelly Lynae Robinson

13-02-2012

Kelly: Jeans and boots are easy, too easy…

Nicole: So easy that you can stumble out of bed after one-too-many beers (which in my case, is 2), throw them on and ride your mechanical pony to brunch in 47 seconds.

K: When I’m pressed for time to pick an outfit that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to be photographed in, I almost always default to menswear. In this case, a plaid wool blazer layered over a distressed denim vest. No, resorting to wardrobe staples is not brilliantly creative, so I added wow accessories. Both gifts from fellow bloggers, this Indian silk scarf and vintage Turkic pendant are precious to me.

N: My outfit was put together so that I could easily change into work clothes. I had to wear the black skinny jeans and Frye boots for work, so to make it more interesting I threw on this multi-colored floral blouse and navy blazer.

K: Ahem, we call this the gay pirate shirt, probably because it looks like Tobias would wear it.

K: Nicole’s navy blue blazer is by Luella Bartley for Target and used to be mine. The contrast stitching accentuates the tailoring and it has apple print lining! My jacket has a contrast fabric under the collar and the color palette of my scarf is repeated throughout the outfit. We never tire of saying it: Details, details, details.

N: The gay pirate shirt is vintage by Terry of Chicago, and has the most awesome colors and pattern and funky draped neckline. With so much happening I didn’t want to overwhelm it with too many accessories, so I just stuck to these red square studs from Idaho Youth Ranch.

K: Don’t forget the creepy baby ring. Creeeeeepy….

K: My bottom layer is a 70s vintage Sears blouse in red and black check(?) print.

N: Love, love, love all the print mixing.

N: I hate to admit it, but my boring work jeans are Forever 21. Please don’t judge me (too harshly). Boots are Frye, and worth every penny. Mine are finally starting to wear out a bit after 2+ years of continuous wear.

K: I’m on the Frye bandwagon too, even though we normally don’t advocate buying new.

K: My boo spotted my cowboy boots at the Idaho Youth Ranch on Chinden for $7.50 (holy shit) and she gave me these Levis cropped jeans after I repeatedly told her that her ass is too big for them. (It’s a spectacular ass, but that don’t make the jeans fit.) Also alpaca mitts, crocheted by me, and red leather purse, which was practically free at ReStyle.

N: Bundled up in my vintage wool coat (brand name un-readable…) and crocheted wrap made by boo.

K: Check out a different iteration of my outfit (jeans, boots and a blazer part 2) photographed yesterday by Thomas Lea at Boise Style. Yesterday was another lazy day. Bethany did a killer job on my pictures.

Breaded Cats make us happy.

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Are you staring at my breastplate?: How to feature your best accessory.

By: Bethany Walter

10-02-2012

Bethany

Traveling all the way from the hills of Tibet, this ethnic breastplate has had quite a history. I do not know much about it yet except that is old, possibly a lot older than myself. Ethnic jewelry has a way of making me feel linked to another place and to the distant women who handmade and wore the jewelry before me. So far I have never seen any Tibetan breastplates like this one. It was crafted by people from the Naga tribes in East India. It is made out of shells, colored glass beads, and leather. Last week I discovered it when I was on a buying trip for my jewelry company Armor Bijoux.

For the last 10 years, I have been collecting ethnic jewelry. In the last few years, I have noticed modern jewelry designs based on antique ethnic jewelry. As much as I like what I see, I prefer jewelry with heritage.

Old Tibetan breastplate made out of shells, leather, and glass beads beads

Vintage Tibetan breastplate: handmade by the Naga tribes of East India, Armor Bijoux

Some women might be too timid or disinterested in wearing vintage ethnic jewelry because they don’t know how to incorporate it with their wardrobe. Ethnic jewelry is bold either in color, size, and intricate design. It is easiest to wear solid colors and make the jewelry the focal point rather than just an accessory. The advantage of bold ethnic jewelry is that you can wear something as simple as jeans and a t-shirt and still look intriguing.

Tibetan Naga breastplate