Real Life goes nuts, I wear two scarves

     Yeah, it's been about a month. Not quite, but almost, yikes! But this time I actually have a valid excuse-rather than pure laziness-to blame. Basically a month ago the Canadian embassy surprised us by telling us that my visa and PR was approved, so since then we've been running around like crazy to get ready for our big international move that is coming up fast in 3 weeks time. I'm looking forward to re-starting this blog when we're in Toronto... actually, it'll be my first Western Christmas in years... I've almost always been in Singapore or Japan for the holidays, so I can't wait! And we'll be joining the rest of the civilized world by finally getting iphones, so I'll also have access to a much better camera. Yay!
     I'll try to keep up with posting more, though I'm sure you all understand why it's been rather quiet lately.

In the meantime, I'm loving these two scarfs:

Synthetic leather jacket (old) and faux fur scarf by some random Japanese store

Sweater and metallic-effect scarf from Zara

And not loving the fact that our apartment looks like this:

Warehouse-chic

Over the knee socks: yay or nay?

     So Autumn marches on... rather slowly, unfortunately, I mean it's November and at night Tokyo is still just under 20C and rather humid. C'mon, get cold already!
     This mild weather is also annoying because it allows for the continuance of one of the most annoying hosiery trends: over the knee (OTK) socks. There. I said it. Some people may laud the look, and fashionistas and style mags may try to push it, but I'm not buying it.
     Now, on some occasions, even I can admit that OTK socks can be the cute, even practical. Under tall-shafted boots? Sure. Even cuter, peeking out from said boots against opaque tights of a similar or complementary color. Warm, layered, and perfect for winter, I don't doubt.

Even Gossip Girl couldn't make OTK socks happen Stateside. And with good reason, if they can make even Blake Lively's legs sport a little hosiery muffin-top.

     What I shudder at is the fashion of wearing them against bare legs, paired with micro-shorts or skirts, and high-heels/mary-janes/whatever.  Even worse are the OTK socks that are not socks at all, but sheer tights/stocking material.

Why??? Just go all out and wear tights. Or better yet, pants. 

     Luckily, despite cropping up in magazines over the last few years, OTK socks are usually restricted to runways back in the States. Girls in Tokyo, however, love this look, but really, it doesn't do anybody any favors. It can make even the slimmest legs look bulgy, and really, what's the point? Tights are much more practical. It's just my opinion, but I doubt anyone takes a glance at such a look and thinks, "wow, that's so classy and elegant." I even (rather evilly, I admit) refer to them as "slocks," combining "socks" with a rather unflattering term (that you'll have to figure out on your own, haha). And I always wonder, how comfortable can they be? Inevitably they'll start to slip down, giving the girl yet another thing that she has to monitor/touch-up during the day.
     I do wonder, however, if my abhorrence is merely due to the fact that about 70% of the girls I see are sporting these oddities. What do you ladies think? Are OTK socks haute, or horrid?