Sunday, July 21, 2013

Men's Shirt & SILK TROUSERS


Bon aprés-midi!
Today is a beautiful, breezy Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, which makes me quite excited because I can finally take out my silk trousers!

Although topping this look off with a sheer, breezy blouse would have made it the perfect casual look for such a cool day, I felt a bit more on the formal side this morning and popped on a crisp, striped shirt, which is actually from the men's section.


I think the mix between masculine/feminine style gives women a lot of wiggle room to be comfortable.
In being able to wear clothing that's a bit loose, women can ease up on pieces that stick to their every curve and move around comfortably on those putty-belly days.

 

Although some women go all-out when choosing to man-suit themselves up for the day, I prefer my overall look to have a feminine *ring* to it, which is why I paired hyper-girly heels and plopped on an oversized necklace.











Here is the beauty I purchased from the Street Art Fair and as you can see, I have switched the center with a clean, transparent marble.



These pictures were taken at the University of Michigan School of Public Policy, which is a building full of velvet furniture and bustling graduate students. 

My mother always reminds me, "Work hard, play hard," so it's always encouraging to see students living to their fullest: Studying their butts off, cracking jokes in the lounge, doing a little chat-and-chew outside a restaurant on this breezy afternoon.

It always feels better to take a well-deserved rest after you've worked hard 
or rev up to work after a nice period of relaxation and fun.
I hope everyone remembers to dip their toes in both, even when stress levels fly through the roof~

Here are some resources that have helped me to understand more about stress
and steps that can be taken to reduce it:


STRESS IN A NUTSHELL:
If you don't feel like reading through all that, here are some key points that I took away from other articles:
Stress is basically your body’s natural instinct to protect itself: the theory of a “fight or flight” response. When we're placed in a dangerous situation, our body prepares to either fight or run away, both of which require the body to pump that much more energy in preparation.
Now, this was useful for our ancestors (i'm talking cavemen) because they actually faced life and death situations but in today’s society, we don't really come across life threatening situations on a daily basis. 
Stressing yourself out causes your body to react in this same manner (as though you're in a life/death situation.) 
As a result the body is sending constant streams of danger impulse signals, telling it to produce surges of energy and brace ourselves for the danger (adrenaline rush).
This is an example of "the response" being out of proportion to the actual "threat." Our body is producing maximum energy for danger but we don't really need all that energy! We're certainly not preparing to run away from a tiger! but rather, most of us cause our bodies to react this way due to emotional stressors. This experience is called dis-stress. 
When Emotional stressors such as frustration with a job or a relationship accumulate, the fight-or-flight response is constantly ramping up.  If we're stressed out all the time, we're making our bodies constantly produce this energy without rest. 
"We become overloaded" and as a result, we begin to feel tired, edgy, and rundown. This can eventually wear down our body, exhausting us, weakening our immune system, and much more.



I always picture a little fellow in my brain, cycling to produce energy for my body.
If I'm always stressed, that little guy cycles all day/ all month/ all year...
Everybody needs some rest and although resting your mind is definitely more challenging than resting your body, I believe there are ways for everyone to breathe and shake thoughts away; you just have to find what works for you.

I'm quite a fan of bikram yoga. 
Of many other lessons, it's taught me that even simple, 2 minute, breathing techniques can gradually release a frustrated, tense, cluttered and tightened mind.



It can also help to be like Gwyneth Paltrow and take a bath at the end of each day, using salts that specialize in relaxing the mind and body, as commercialized as that sounds. I've found that Lavender salts work wonders for me!


I hope this helps and that the rest of your Sunday goes swimmingly!
Thank you for taking the time to read!

Outfit:
Top: French Connection
Bottom: Rag & Bone
Bag: Chloe
Shoes: Walter Steiger
Accessories: Kate Spade necklace, ring from http://www.gotallyourmarbles.com/


6 comments :

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you! I can appreciate it more because the straps don't hurt your arm, even when you cram a lot of thing in the bag! :)

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  2. Wow, this looks great! I like how you've combined the different patterns of the blouse, the pants and the bag to one perfect ensemble :)


    AT LEAST BLOG

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merci!
      I think I was fortunate to have matched lots of staple colors: the navy, the tan, black, white.
      I'll definitely try to be bolder next time and throw pops of color in there! :)

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  3. Great outfit, I love absolutely everything!

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    ReplyDelete