A Week in the Life Of...Anam

 

ANAM (Los Angeles, CA)

So I'm taking a cue from Katie's week and saying this is less "one week" and more of a "composite week" determined by whenever I had someone take my picture. Also, several grainy cell shots  to follow. In retrospect I should have used Instagram to clean them up a little, but whatever World: I DO ME.

Let's get on with it!

As we all teeter slowly towards adulthood, I've been trying to make my office wardrobe a bit less "I'm a ~kooky~ youngster who you should hire to Tweet for you~" to "I'm a busy business lady who also does business." This outfit always gets mad accolades--the blazer is a gift from Madame Dream of Horses herself, and the lace shirt and cropped tan pant are both from F21, (hey, there's nothing that says a busy business lady can't buy her career wear adjacent to a mannequin wearing a neon tube dress). 

The face I am making in the self-shot is pretty much what I look like at my desk. 

So I work with the fancy folks at cARTel: Collaborative Arts LA, (if you Google us, please note we are redesigning the website to something more fitting a professional production company, we swear). Anyyyway, the first event I worked with them on was the recent No Budget Film Festival. Here are 2 looks I wore during the weekend-long event:

Green n Things: For the Screening Night, I went ahead with one of my favs: a green body-con underneath an asymmetrical hem skirt. The shoes are Naturalizer, bc even though it's an old lady brand, they make some damn comfortable shoes you can work in.

50 Shades of Blue: That same work blazer + a sheer blouse + my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE AA DISCO PANTS that I wore to our kickoff party. My friends always joke that when those disco pants are on, it means I'm either on a date or trying to bag one. Let's just say, they've never failed me. (Although right after this picture was taken, I did retreat to my car and just took a slight pants breather unbuttoning the top button for a bit, because this party was in a D-Town warehouse-ish space and it was crazy hot and them pants is tiiiight. Basically, living the life of a Hollywood Glamour Girl. Fellas??) 

Personalization: Which brings me to- all of the stuff I have modified myself. I know all the crafty readers of this blog must have their own favorite DIY or fashion hacks. One of mine is that very same No Budget Skirt- I hand sewed the little pompoms on the bottom, (which I had brought back from Pakistan). In PK- people custom make their own clothes. So you go to the fabric bazaar with an idea, browse through laces and embellishments, hand it over to a professional dyer if needed. Every item usually has a story behind it. 

Other personalized projects pictured here: A cheapie blazer culled from TJ Maxx eons ago that I sewed a  bird motif from scrap fabric onto frosh year of college, and a collared shirt where I printed an armband and pocket detail. 

I read somewhere once that French women were more chic because they started their dressing from the foundation up--beginning with good lingerie. Ever since then, I've always been a big fan of curating an inner wardrobe that makes you feel powerful. Even if no one sees it, it has the power to put a little pep in your step. You can try it at home: switch out one pair of sheer tights for a back seam stocking + garter combo. You'll be walking around with a little more confidence, I guarantee it. 

It is Sunday, I don't straighten my hair and I wear harem pants. Deal wid it.gif 

My other-absolute-favorite thing in my closet that makes me feel so ~dainty~ and awesome when I wear it- a layered maxi dress also from Pakistan. (Now I feel like I should link to Karachi Fashion Week- there's some neat non-Talibany stuff going on, I swear).  The picture doesn't do the dress's volume justice-the skirt has layered petticoats which give such a beautiful flow. Further, there's some wonderful detail on the bust, and block printing/macrame knit detail on skirt. I've gotten the most stranger compliments while wearing this one- it really commands attention. Oddly enough, don't have a single good photo of me in it!

 

Some of my fav shoes pictured! I wear the basic black flats + ballet ties about 80% of the time. Also those Louis the fourteenth looking black and white numbers are kind of bomb diggity. 

Some odds and ends. I've been getting into doing improv AND just moved to Los Feliz, ergo, I wear plaid.  Accessory-wise, I travel a lot so my accessory wardrobe is really a collection of where I've been and where I'm going. I'm a big fan of the bold and chunky (a fat jade bangle I picked up in China has been my number one jam for the past year). However, one of my absolute favs is a delicate Marc Jacobs monocle necklace, once again gifted in part by our fair Madame blogger! I usually wear it in tandem with another similarly sized pendant as the magnification looks really cool. re: purses- I never buy tote bags because I always get them swaggily through different events I work for, but I love them nonetheless. Other bags I love: a Moroccan leather one that was a gift from an uncle, a suede green purse I picked up in a random store while waiting for something in the Valley, and one of those ubiquitous Cambridge Satchel Company bags. Pro-tip: order direct from CSC's website instead of a retail store and they will engrave it with your initials!

Welp, that's it for my rambling and ridiculous entry- thanks for the wait; and choosing to include my ridunk style! -Anam (@anamarama)