122 The Toga Over Turtleneck experiment
4 September 2008- The month of August brought with it a delightful surprise. Out of the blue, my friend gave me a very belated birthday present, a toga dress with studs at the empire waist. It was too short for me however. Though I was fairly excited about the new addition to my wardrobe, I worried about the scantiness of a short toga dress. It exposes too much skin, both at the shoulders and the lower parts of the body. Since looking cheap and trashy has never been my forte, I had to find alternative ways to wear it.. so I decided to layer a turtleneck under it.
I enjoy juxtaposing two opposites together. Here's a sexy toga on one hand, and a conservative turtleneck on the other.
My turtleneck of choice was a short, flirty piece in a sombre navy colour. The pleated skirt flaring out from under the bust was to create a teeny-weeny bit of volume under the toga dress, while the navy colour, rather than screaming loud contrasts with the black of the toga in a striking colour such as red, was to lend the ensemble an air of chic and to more convincingly fake a one piece dress.
Pictures brightened and contrasted beyond normal to clearly show the distinction between the toga and the turtleneck:
navy cowl neck turtleneck dress (inner) - Forever 21
black toga dress with metal links (outer) - gift
black bow hairband - Diva
red jewel ring last worn here - Fayfey
black wrinkle patent oxfords - Gojane
All day long, I had the added amusement of jingling the metal links that enclosed my ribcage like a body of armour. Cling-cling-cling!, they went, like a weak, cowardly attempt at a war cry or a tinkling bell in my stuff toy rabbit's head. With so many layers on, one would have thought I would be fairly insulated from the biting cold in the seminar rooms. Strangely enough, I still felt chilly, and it wasn't my bare legs. It was my arms, fully protected and covered under long sleeves, that were s-sshivering! Defeated at last in my unworthy reliance on turtlenecks to battle the cold instead of jackets and cardigans, I turned to dear Edmund and took his hand to save myself with his body warmth.
Back home, my mother thought the combination was cute, and was initially fooled into thinking it was a one piece dress.
Chunky and four inches high, these shoes were a disappointment when they arrived. I thought they made my feet look like a pair of lamb's hooves. Everything has its positive side however, and as Renzze so correctly pointed out, this ensemble would never be complete without my oxford booties.
In school I swiped oxfords for sensible pointy flats. Was it laziness that compelled me to do so? Nay, it was good old common sense.
There are two of each accessory today because I couldn't decide which bow to wear - the bow hairband or the bow hairclip, and I couldn't make up my mind on which ring to dress up my fingers as well - the red stone as a contrasting pop of colour or the mod black silhouette diamond ring to carry the black theme even further.
Closeup of bow hairband here.
I enjoy juxtaposing two opposites together. Here's a sexy toga on one hand, and a conservative turtleneck on the other.
My turtleneck of choice was a short, flirty piece in a sombre navy colour. The pleated skirt flaring out from under the bust was to create a teeny-weeny bit of volume under the toga dress, while the navy colour, rather than screaming loud contrasts with the black of the toga in a striking colour such as red, was to lend the ensemble an air of chic and to more convincingly fake a one piece dress.
Pictures brightened and contrasted beyond normal to clearly show the distinction between the toga and the turtleneck:
navy cowl neck turtleneck dress (inner) - Forever 21
black toga dress with metal links (outer) - gift
black bow hairband - Diva
red jewel ring last worn here - Fayfey
black wrinkle patent oxfords - Gojane
All day long, I had the added amusement of jingling the metal links that enclosed my ribcage like a body of armour. Cling-cling-cling!, they went, like a weak, cowardly attempt at a war cry or a tinkling bell in my stuff toy rabbit's head. With so many layers on, one would have thought I would be fairly insulated from the biting cold in the seminar rooms. Strangely enough, I still felt chilly, and it wasn't my bare legs. It was my arms, fully protected and covered under long sleeves, that were s-sshivering! Defeated at last in my unworthy reliance on turtlenecks to battle the cold instead of jackets and cardigans, I turned to dear Edmund and took his hand to save myself with his body warmth.
Back home, my mother thought the combination was cute, and was initially fooled into thinking it was a one piece dress.
Chunky and four inches high, these shoes were a disappointment when they arrived. I thought they made my feet look like a pair of lamb's hooves. Everything has its positive side however, and as Renzze so correctly pointed out, this ensemble would never be complete without my oxford booties.
In school I swiped oxfords for sensible pointy flats. Was it laziness that compelled me to do so? Nay, it was good old common sense.
There are two of each accessory today because I couldn't decide which bow to wear - the bow hairband or the bow hairclip, and I couldn't make up my mind on which ring to dress up my fingers as well - the red stone as a contrasting pop of colour or the mod black silhouette diamond ring to carry the black theme even further.
Closeup of bow hairband here.
