Behavioral Patterns

This is probably my first post on unrelated things within the same theme. Usually my topics are very compartmentalized, but sometimes change is good. "Compartmentalized" sounds too neat and a tad boring.

I used to wear solid colors almost exclusively. It was easy, and it was cheap, but somewhere down the line, it also became boring. I expanded my solid colors collection to bright orange, green, and even hot pink--much better, but I wanted to be more adventurous. Adding clothes with prints on them was not easy. It was hard to find the right print, and I usually stayed on the conservative side. But once I started embracing crazy patterns, there's no going back.

While I was studying for the bar, I went on a thrifting run. I got a couple of things I couldn't wear then due to the hot weather (which breaks my usual rule of wearing something ASAP instead of buying and forgetting about it) but now that the weather has cooled down, it's time to bring them to action. One of them is still in need of repairs, but the other one has already entered the rotation.

I still can't believe I bought this top. What really got me interested was the tie-neck style. The pattern was at once crazy and unique. I really wavered back and forth before plunking down a couple of bucks for it. When I was in the store, I tried on the top with gray cropped pants and my electric blue heels. It looked great, which is why I bought it. But once I got home with it, I wondered if I had gone crazy; I liked it, but it was clearly ugly.

The weather has finally cooled down enough for me to wear this cool-weather piece. I thought about wearing it with plain dark jeans, but it just wouldn't do. The pattern felt too busy, so I wore my new Target tee over it. Perfecto! It's still crazy, but tastefully so.

Some would call this a "hipster" outfit. I don't consider myself a hipster at all, but I don't care. Wearing the blouse to work is a bit much, but it's a really fun weekend piece.

Patterns permeate other aspects of my aesthetical leanings. A lot of my jewelry designs are centered around mathematical patterns, which is why I arranged a bunch of drawings of patterns on the wall in this particular fashion:

It's a bunch of patterns within a single pattern. My sister originally did all these squares for a class project examining lines and curves. She made tons of these, and I took the leftovers she didn't use. It's been a couple of years since I've had these, so I'm glad that I can finally put some of this free art onto my walls. To make things interesting and to cover up as much of the pillar as possible, I made things stagger a little bit. Everyone who walked by my office stopped to marvel at it. I think that even if you can't draw, you can achieve the same interesting effect using brightly colored cardboard (my personal preference would be blue). It's a cheap and cute way of bringing modern art to your home or workspace.

I still wear solid colors most of the time, but it's nice to break out of the mold.