Cognac, Mustard... and Runny Nose.

Hi all and Happy Friday to you!! My Friday has been spent mostly curled up in bed, coughing, sneezing, drinking lots of hot tea with honey and lemon and taking my vitamin C. Which means I took a sick day from work today. I wish I had tomorrow off instead of Sunday so I could shake off this cold that has gotten me but I don't. =( Anyway... When it is cool in the morning, even cooler at night and quite hot between 11.00-3.00 during the day, and if you walk a lot and go from a bus to another, from an air-conditioned office to a less cooler work environment, to home where currently at room temperature it feels good, one is bound to get sick. Unfortunately there isn't many types of meds I can take since I am pregnant. But I think so far what I took, it has helped.

So, here is a recent outfit worn to work. It is a little casual for me but I did incorporate some Fall colors on a warm but not super-hot day. My Cognac/Brown Pants go well with that Bright Mustard Tee. I added two more colors to the mix: Apple Green (the flats) and Lavender (the necklace). There was a colorful mini toy flute hanging around the main office (we sell them at the Bookstore) so I decided to use it as a prop. I guess I was being silly/funny, whatever - these are the pics you get. LOL

 

Bright Mustard, Cap-Sleeve, Loose, Breezy, Cotton/Modal Tee: Club Monaco.

Cognac/Brownish Cropped Pants w/ Removable Leather & Canvas Belt (it comes with): Koton.

Long, Beaded Lavender Necklace w/ Magnetic Oval & Skinny-Square, Magnetic, Glass Stones: Street Vendor @ the Beach.

Black Headband w/ Large and Smaller Tulle Rosettes (Off to the Side): The Limited.

Black Patent Leather & Apple Green Faux Suede, Bow Ballet Flats: Simple Shoes. 

Friend Friday: Location, Location, Location.

Friend Friday: Location, Location, Location.


1. What Part of the World do You Blog from?
I blog from Tirana which is the Capital of Albania. Albania is located in Eastern Europe, by the Adriatic Sea and we border Italy, Greece, Serbia and Macedonia.

2. If you were to describe the overall Mode of Dress, for where you live, what would you say?
Tirana is a melting pot of styles. You will see everything here from totally sporty with Converse sneakers and cutoff shorts or ripped jeans, to sexy girls with 7-inch stilettos and mini skirts, to button-up professionals. I have still kept my own style (coming from the States) while fitting in my current city, I think.

3. Do you fit in with the Status Quo around you or do you break the mold?
A little bit of both. White I don't totally fit in since I have developed my own style and it is not what I would say the majority of girls and women my age wear, in Albania. At the same time I don't quite break the mold because I don't think I stand out as the girl who dresses weird or whatever. Since there are so many kinds of women in so many different styles here, breaking the mold is totally like something you wouldn't see here at all. What a typical 20-year old wears in Tokyo for example, would me breaking the mold.

4. If you have lived or traveled to another part of the country/world, did your clothing choices evolve?
I lived in United States for 15 years so of course that country and the stores, brands and styles there have affected the way I dress and style myself, especially since I lived there part of my teenage years and all of my adult years, except this last one. I think as a person I evolve a little bit every year style-wise, especially since for almost a year now, I live in Europe. I have still kept the overall mode of how I dressed in US but at the same time, I have made my style accessible to my current city, my actual job as well as this part of the world. After all, Albania and USA are so different in so many aspects and style is one of them. I still wear mostly American brands - and I think the way I would define the way I dress: girly, elegant, chic - if I could I would shop and wear American brands all the time. Next time I visit USA, I plan on going on a big shopping spree. I feel like stores and designers/brands such as The Limited, Loft, Ralph Lauren, J.Crew, Express, Banana Republic, Gap, H&M, etc. are a lot more my style than most of the European stores, here. =)

5. If you had to describe your style by naming a specific city, what would you be?
This is a very difficult question to answer. There are so many great, big cities which have set styles as well such as Rome, London, New York, Los Angelos, Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, etc. My style is a melt of Midwestern USA let's say Chicago with a dressy yet casual European city thrown in the mix like London. So between these two cities, it's where my style meets, I think. But then again this is not 100% defined.