my five: random passions

I've been asked to describe my personal style more often this week than in the past...forever, I think. I still don't have a very good answer, but it got me thinking about things I love in clothes. I haven't done a my five list in a while, and thus the post was born! Here are five random things that I love to have in my clothes.

One: puffy sleeves

Not like, Snow White level of poor, but I adore the feminine/romantic touch of a little puff at the sleeve. My favorite coat does this, as do two of my favorite tops. It makes me feel just a tiny bit like a Victorian heroine, which is pretty much my constant goal.

Two: STAFF shirts

T-shirts don't generally come into the conversation in fashion blogs, but here's a true confession: t-shirts still make up most of my wardrobe. (Gasp! Horror!) Now, I love a sassy Threadless tee as much as the next sassy college student (although trying to find one that you won't see coming and going on campus is a hassle, let me tell you) but my real passion is for STAFF shirts. You know what I mean...work at a summer camp, a school program, pretty much anything that requires immediate recognition of people who know what they're doing, and a great gift will be bestowed upon you: a t-shirt that says "STAFF" on the back. Never in my life have I felt more official then while wearing a STAFF shirt. In fact, I'm wearing one right now and feel like I could probably take down the school's administration without anyone saying "boo." That's right, University of Cyber Challenge Staff memeber coming atcha!

Three: Buttons

I really love buttons. I love buttons going down the fronts of shirts, I love buttons on sleeves, I love buttons on boots, I love buttons on pants (but preferably not on backpockets because ow). Just sew a button on it and I'll be good to go. It doesn't necessarily have to open, though that would be nice. Mysteriously, I have a shirt that has buttons that open but...don't actually do anything. That seems like an odd intersection of buttondom but it's cool. I love them all the same.

Four: Outdated patterns

So the patterns that your grandma used to rock are actually starting to come back now, glory be. But I gotta say, I was kickin' it with houndstooth, plaid, windowpane, and argyle before they were cool kids again. There's just something that's undeniably fun about a pattern, but I've never had much fondness for florals or random swirls. The geometric fierceness of the previously mentioned patterns sets something in my loosey-goosey English major heart aflutter. Also: polka dots, but those never go out of style.

Five: Interesting backs

The front of a piece of clothing is usually going to be pretty nifty. That's the part that people spend the most amount of time looking at, the part you see in a mirror or peering balefully at you from a rack calling buy me!. Which just makes having interesting back details all the more fun. Because people do see the back of your outfit, and while a simple expected back is nothing to scoff at, it always makes me feel especially stylish to have a little something extra. I have a shirt I love which has a gorgeous scoop back; whenever I wear it, I feel like it's a secret. I'm all, "Oh, this? Just your average dusty rose shirt but...oh snap! Actually it's totally sassy!" I also love gathers in the backs of vests/coats, especially ones that make a lovely little origami-esque fan.

What about you, kitschens? What do you love to see in clothes?

Semi-related, but I've been considering getting a third-party commenting system running so that we can actually reply to each other. What do you think? Suggestions, fellow bloggers?