Pink Linen in the Rain

We had big plans on Sunday to attend Barrio Escalante's La Luz outdoor food festival in downtown San Jose -- but we woke up to rain. (BTW-the rainy season was supposed to be over in Nov -- we are more than ready for the beautiful summer dry season!!) We were going to the festival with a group of folks in a rented 21 person van. The instructions were to meet at La Terraza B&B for breakfast at 9am and leave for San Jose at 11. Usually the rain here is intermittent and a shower in the morning is not indicative of rain all day but as luck would have it, once we arrived, we found out that the forecast for Sunday was for rain -- all day! So, our event was canceled -- however, since we were already there and a couple of folks had cameras, we decided to take some photos of the beautiful grounds. 

Also one of the ladies is a videographer and was shooting film for an upcoming ad for the B&B which I just might have a bit part in (stay tuned).

While cameras were out I had my other half take a few pics of me in my pink linen and also a couple of video clips of me using the bridge as a make shift runway. 

Canceled due to rain! from Devon on Vimeo.

What your clothing says about you

Things are a changin!

but...

one of the things that has not changed, is my love for fashion and design. 

We moved into a furnished house in Costa Rica. I brought very few of my personal belongings and the space did not feel quite like "me". After living with what we had for a while I decided to buy a couple of Costa Rican Rockers and also some pottery from Nicaragua. Next I added some other odds and ends like lamps, a few pictures and some kitchen items. Although it still isn't quite "me" it's coming along. We are planning to make a trip to Guatemala soon and I am eager to bring back some of their beautiful textiles for our home. 

My next project...

my clothes

Since we were not bringing a lot of clothing, I downsized my wardrobe and then selected the clothing I thought would be most appropriate for our new life and a very different climate (mostly based on what I had read from other expats).

Since we have been here almost 5 months I have learned quite a bit about how I want to dress and it turns out that I brought many of the wrong items.

It is next to impossible to have packages shipped into Costa Rica so I thought I would have to live with what I had brought, until, an expat friend told me that she makes trips back to Houston a couple of times a month and would be happy to bring back some clothing items for me.

So I set out to find myself some new clothing.

YES!!!!

(thank you Deborah!!!)

BTW - up until now I have NEVER ordered clothing online (unless it was something I had already seen and tried on in the store) 

So this was completely new to me.

I took to Amazon, reading the reviews and checking each piece very carefully as I knew that it would be very hard to return any of the items that I did not like or that did not fit properly. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered a site that specializes in 100% natural linen (the perfect fiber for the hot Costa Rican weather)

I want to feel comfortable and confident in my clothing

My new favorite place to shop online is Vivid Linen!!

Vivid's linen apparel is cool, stylish and comfortable. The boutique meets the demand from both men and women on linen wear.

link  Online Store

I found so many pretty things on their site that I went a little overboard (I bought tops only) and I was super happy when my friend delivered them to me.

I might also note that the packaging is 1st class. They are individually wrapped in plastic and then slipped into a very nice linen bag (picture below does not do it justice).

The clothing quality is amazing!!

I plan to take some photos of me modeling the clothing (I also bought linen slacks from another retailer) and will share them here at some point in the near future. Stand by

link this is the yellow top pictured in the photo

It might be late in the year for some of you in the U.S but consider for warmer weather.

The styles are also very comfortable for those of us who like a looser fit.

They have a physical store in Hong Kong but thank goodness you can shop them online! 

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

What's my size? The wacky world of women's clothing sizes

A question crossed my mind over the weekend as I was doing some online shopping for clothing. When it came to size selection, I had NO idea what size I should order. I am a person who usually has to try everything on to make sure it fits.

I'll let you know when I receive my orders. I might even post them here on the blog since I have not done a fashion shoot since I moved to Costa Rica. Stay tuned...

The women's clothing size issue has caused problems for me most of my life.

Men’s clothes on the other hand, seem to be labelled with pretty reasonable sizes. Shirts are labelled with chest sizes or collar sizes; trousers tend to come with measurements for the waistband and leg length. 

Unlike men's clothing, women’s clothes are a minefield. No matter what the item, whether it’s a blouse, skirt, pair of jeans, or a dress, it comes with a single size on the label: an apparently arbitrary number that refers to none of the item’s measurements. And as an additional complication, that size isn’t standardized across different brands, so someone who wears a UK size 12 in one shop might be a 10 in another, or an 8, or a 14, and the only way she’ll find out is by trying things on.

Have you ever wondered why?

“True sizing standards didn’t develop until the 1940’s,” says Lynn Boorady, fashion and textile technology chair and associate professor at Buffalo State University. “Before then sizes for young ladies and children were all based on age — so a size 16 would be for a 16-year-old — and for women it was about bust measurement.”

As American girth increased, so did egos. And thus began the practice of vanity sizing. Hence, there really is no standard sizing and the stores and manufacturers are free to choose whatever sizing they choose.

So, if you’re a woman, what all of this means is that you’re doomed to continue trying things on, or obsessively checking sizing charts online, until you find the size that’s right for you – most of the time, the number on the tag won’t tell you what you need to know. And as long as women’s clothing is mass-produced the way it is right now, that’s not going to change.  source

Costa Rica Wedding Day fashions

The wedding (of 9 couples)  was today and it was a wonderful event!!

I took photos and video so now I have the tedious task of editing.

Not sure how long it will take, hopefully should be done to upload by Wednesday (fingers crossed)

Till then, here are a few pictures of my outfit.

 Balloons mark the path to the event location

Taking some photos in the bedroom of one of the brides. 

Ms Jane with the veil she made with material she purchased in town a few days ago 

Me & Kathleen (one of the brides)

A beautiful setting. Don't you agree?

See you back in a few days with the video!

There's gonna be a Wedding!!!

Not me of course!!!

The other day Kathleen, Jane and I went into town.

Our mission: To find an acceptable fabric for Jane's veil

Jane & Kathleen are both part of the expat group of 10 couples 

that will be re-married  (under Costa Rican law) on El Cajon ridge this Saturday.

We went into town to get some last minute wedding items. Jane has a tiara which she plans to wear (a very heavy one) but beyond that -- she has no idea what else she is wearing (and the wedding is tomorrow)

This should make for a very interesting affair!!

Here's a clip of our little shopping expedition 

She's getting married! from Devon on Vimeo.

BTW- I will be one of the photographers and video folks who will document the event on Saturday!!!

Plus I feel a fashion reveal coming on

Stay Tuned!!!

Good Morning from Costa Rica

Off to do some shopping in town

Have a great weekend!

What's Underneath

The other day I bought several cute swimsuit cover ups by Raviya. I may use them to cover up swimsuits but I also wanted to be able to just wear them around when I'm in Costa Rica and the weather is hot. 

The problem was, I didn't have a bra to wear underneath.  Let's just face it, my breasts are way too big to go braless! And I am way too old to have my bra straps showing. The last time I tried to find a strapless bra I was much younger (although I have always had ample size breasts). I remember not being able to find a bra in my size in a strapless that would hold up my breasts so I gave up trying, and to this date I figured I could not wear a strapless bra.  

Well, obviously things have changed on the bra scene because I marched into Norstrom the other day and discovered I had several options in strapless bras.

They were very comfortable and actually held the boobies up! 

So I bought 2. They are by Wacoal and also come with straps so you can wear them under other clothes as well.  Go figure!!

What's Underneath by urbandoggs featuring a full figure strapless bra