Daily Outfit: Blue in Green

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Diana

I bought this dress way back in May, but I’ve only worn it a few times since. Why, you may ask? Well, strapless dresses are not easy to deal with, in my opinion. Wearing them on their own requires constant adjusting of underthings, layering over them or under them is a bit warm for summer. I loved every detail about this dress except for the fact that it was strapless. What’s a girl to do? How about buy a second dress in the same color and size and perform some surgery to get two brand new garments?

dress1

I cut off the bottom 5 inches of one dress, stitched the fabric into straps and sewed them on this one. I added ribbon halter straps to the shortened dress, which is now a halter (you’ll see it soon). I don’t normally buy something new with the intention of altering it, and I’ve never bought two of something before like this. But here was my reasoning: I love this dress. The length is perfect, so I didn’t want to change that. I love the color, and I thought it would be too jarring to make the straps in a different color. I knew exactly what I wanted. The dress was on sale ($38) and yes I bought two, but I ended up with two garments that I love, instead of one that I rarely use.

back

I was originally going to add straight straps, but that seemed like it would be a bit boring. Then I realized that I could make criss-crossed straps in the back to match a racer-back bra, allowing support and sexiness. I am thrilled with the result.

back2

Have I ever mentioned that my back freckles are my favorite part of my body? I know it may seem weird, but I just love them.

shoes

You will be seeing this dress much more now that it’s been altered. And I’ll debut the tunic version sometime next week.

dance

Dress: Urban Outfitters (re-conned)
Sandals: Born Savory
Purse: Morelle Charlotte
Scarf: Vintage by Lyzzie
Earrings: June Designs
Necklace: Pixisette
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Daily Outfit: Shades of Blue

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Diana

Twee

Okay, I admit that the above pose is a bit twee, but it was just too cute to not include it. This outfit began with trying to figure out a way to wear my beautiful Anthropologie full mini skirt. It can be a difficult piece to pull off. The fullness of the skirt means that I want something relatively structured on top to balance it out. The khaki color is very muted, so it looks better with something vibrant and colorful. After trying a few combinations, I settled on this one. I was really surprised at just how well aqua and seafoam look together.

details

That belt is fast becoming a new favorite. I bought it last weekend when I was quickly stopping in a new thrift store. It was really disorganized, and I wasn’t in the mood to hunt for buried treasure, so I just looked over the accessories and got this and a silver necklace. Definitely the best $1 I’ve spent lately!

tops

I’m so glad I found a way to wear this skirt. It’s so cute and comfortable and has such darling details. I need to get more bright and structured tops to wear with it.

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Blazer: Forever 21 (via Revolve)
Blouse: Anthropologie
Skirt: Anthropologie
Sandals: Dansko Neve
Purse: Morelle Oyster
Belt: Thrifted
Earrings: June Designs
Necklace: Target
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Etsy Love: Strawberry Fields

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Diana

Even though strawberry season is in the spring here in Florida, I have a strong association between strawberries and summer. Maybe it’s just that these delicious berries seem to taste even better during the hot days of summer. Inspired by a love of summer strawberries, here’s a collection of strawberry related items from Etsy.

Strawberry Earrings

Clever Girl

Strawberry Necklace

Strawberry Necklace in Silver and Concrete

Lulu Bug Jewelry

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Fraise de Juin Ring

Lara Lewis

Strawberry Coin Purse

Lil’ Strawberry Coin Purse

Sweet and Light

Sweet Strawberry Necklace

Sweet Strawberry

Jamie’s Jewels

Daily Outfit: All about the bag

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Diana

dress

I had a lot of fun with this outfit yesterday. My main goal was to showcase this lovely bag that I won from Mary over at Undergrad Fab. Since the bag has a very strong and vibrant floral pattern, I wanted to limit everything else to solids and colors that would compliment the bag instead of distract from it. And there’s no more perfect canvas to showcase a beautiful bag than a little black dress. I layered a green blouse underneath it to add some visual interest with contrasting necklines, as well as to create a purple/green color combo, which is something I always find pleasing.

top

I went for beautiful and bold silver accessories that wouldn’t take away from the bag, but add additional visual interest. I recently thrifted that lovely belt for all of one dollar, and I created an echo of it with the chunky silver cuff. I kept the earrings to simple small hoops, and chose a necklace that would follow the deep v of the blouse.

necklace

I’m really, really pleased with how it all came together. The colors were vibrant, the feel was simple and summery, and because everything was jersey, it was super comfortable. Perfect for an easy summer day.

bag
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Blouse: Forever 21 (thrifted)
Dress: American Rag Cie (via Revolve)
Sandals: Dansko Neve
Bag: Giveaway from Undergrad Fab
Belt: Thrifted
Earrings: Sara Westermark
Necklace: June Designs
Bangle: Thrifted

Daily Outfit: Aqua and Red

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Diana

outfit

Sometime ago, there was an Etsy treasury that focused on items that were aqua and red. I loved this color combination so much, that I printed out the page and stuck it in my inspiration notebook. The other day, I was determined to wear my new cardigan, and I ended up re-creating this color combo quite by accident. It was only later in the day, as I happened to open my notebook, that I remembered the actual inspiration from months ago.

Etsy inspiration.png

I tried it wearing the cardigan both buttoned up and unbuttoned, and I like both ways. I got this cardi on my very successful trip to Revolve last week. Now you may remember that during my discussion of wardrobe gaps, I mentioned that I really didn’t need more cardigans right now. However, I consider this an exception, and here’s why. That list was the short version of many longer lists that I keep with me when I shop. And on those lists, the items “red v-neck cardigan” and “short-sleeved cardigan” both appear. This satisfies both of those. And it’s modal. And it’s one of my favorite brands. And it was basically free with my store credit. So I think this definitely qualifies as gap-filling.

Cardigan

I don’t normally wear two items of the same color so close together, but I felt that this outfit really needed a chunky necklace, and my lovely turquoise statement number fit the bill perfectly.

necklace

Since I recently acquired so many Dansko wedge sandals, I thought it would be fun to do a photoshoot of all of them together. My neighbor’s cat decided to join in on the fun, and here are the adorable results.

Dansko Nolita Sandals: Kitty tested, human approved.

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I received a question yesterday about comfort issues with this line of Dansko sandals, so I thought I would put my response here, because I realize that it’s something I haven’t really addressed on here:

“When I first got my Dansko Neves (which have very similar straps to the Necci), they gave me blisters every time I wore them, and for a couple months I just stopped wearing them altogether. About a month ago, I tried wearing them again, and this time they barely hurt my feet at all. I still wouldn’t want to take any of these on a long walk, and the heel of the wedge is about as high as my feet can comfortably get. But once I got the shoes broken in, they were much more comfortable and now they’re some of my favorite sandals.

Of course, everyone’s feet are different, so it’s possible that what works for my feet won’t work for your feet. I would suggest wearing them for short intervals for awhile, with a back up pair of shoes on hand. Usually for me, that stretches the straps just enough to make the sandals a lot more comfortable.”

Blouse: Anthropologie
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT (via Revolve)
Capris: Erik Stewart
Wedges: Dansko Nicolette
Purse: Morelle Oyster
Necklace: Express
Bangles: Jill Popowich
Earrings: Sara Westermark

Shoe Lust: Dansko Nena

Posted on July 26, 2009 by Diana

nena

Dansko Nena $175

Yes it’s still summer, and I’m blogging about boots. But I’m falling in love with Dansko’s now discontinued Nolita line, and I’m thinking ahead to fall. I already have three pairs of Dansko Nolita sandals: Neve, Novalee and Nicolette. And while I love all three, open-toed shoes aren’t allowed where I’m hoping to work in a few weeks, so I need to be considering some close toe options.

These lovely ankle boots were reviewed over at Barking Dog Shoes and Already Pretty. Now I’m scouring Ebay regularly, hoping to find them before fall. If you wear a 40, 41 or 42, Amazon still has them in black.

My Wardrobe Essentials – Clothes

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Diana

Going through my wardrobe inventory challenge has really got me thinking about what my wardrobe essentials are. With a small amount of space for clothes, I find it really important to consider what I love wear and wear frequently, as these items get the most priority. I want items that are versatile and can be used in multiple ways. I want my closet to be well-edited enough that everything isn’t crammed in and difficult to get at.

Here’s some of the items I’ve identified:

My little black dress:

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American Rag Cie Dress, bought used at Revolve

This beautiful black jersey dress is probably one of my absolute favorite items. It’s amazing versatile. The cut of the neckline is too deep to be worn on its on, so it makes for some amazing layering opportunities. In the Winter, I wore it with tights and sweaters layered over it, or wore long sleeves under it. In Spring, I wore it with belted cardigans and sandals. Now in the summer, I’ve tried layering both jersey knit blouses and button-downs underneath it, and felt lovely and comfortable all day. Since it’s a layerable neutral, it lends itself to accessorizing with just about anything I own.

My off-white bolero:

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Ann Taylor LOFT Bolero

When I first bought this piece, I had planned to wear it as a bolero over dresses. Soon after buying it though, I realized that it looks amazing as a draped cardigan. This piece is so much more versatile than I thought it would be, and the thin cotton jersey fabric is perfect for Florida.

The Perfect Jeans:

Express Stella Jeans

I own multiple pairs of Express jeans, but the Stella cut is probably my favorite. They’re the only jeans I’ve found that I consistently like the fit of. Express just recently introduced a new variation of them, the Barely Boot cut, that I’m eager to try.

My Black Capris:

Erik Stewart Capris

I can’t remember if these were gifted or thrifted, but either way they’re second hand. Many style essentials lists contain long black pants as a wardrobe staple, but I find that I rarely wear mine. However, I’m constantly wearing my black capris. These fit wonderfully, have a nice balance between elegant and casual, and have a somewhat European feel to them.

Colorful Cotton Camis

While my camis don’t get their own Flickr set, they are absolutely a wardrobe essential for me. I love them for layering, I love them for adding an extra pop of color or texture. These are something I could not live without. I do want to invest in some better quality ones though.

My favorite skirt?

You may have noticed that none of my skirts are in my wardrobe essentials. That’s because, even though I love the ones I have, I don’t feel that I’ve found that perfect essential yet. Some of my skirts have fit issues, some are too casual for work, while others are too dressy for play. I have a feeling that when I find that perfectly fitting, dark wash denim pencil skirt, it will fast become an essential.

Daily Outfit: Tutti Fruity

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Diana

fruity

When I first put this outfit together, the vibrant shade of pink with green accents made me think of summer strawberries. However, when I ate some watermelon at lunch, I realized that this outfit really echoes that fruit more. So tutti fruity it is!

blouse

Normally, I don’ t like to wear pink blouses. In fact, I just got rid of several. But I bought this blouse at Revolve Clothing Exchange last week for several reasons. 1) This shade of pink is vibrant and saturated, as opposed to pale pastels of which I’m not a fan, 2) the neutral colorblocking at the top of the blouse keeps the color from being directly next to my face. I can’t read the tag on this, but I think it’s one of the independent designers that Revolve often stocks. If I can figure out what it is, I’ll let you know.

scarf

That green scarf in my hair is another recent Etsy vintage buy. I recently realized that I owned hardly any green accessories, even though it’s one of my favorite colors. I’m working on fixing that.

strawberry

And just to have the proper dose of cuteness and cheekiness, I threw a strawberry zipper pull on my Morelle bag. Too fun!

Blouse: Revolve Clothing Exchange
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Jeans: Express
Sandals: Clarks Rime
Purse: Morelle Oyster
Necklace: Pixisette
Bangles: Jill Popowich
Earrings: June Designs
Scarf: Vintage by Lyzzie
Zipper Pull: Kidrobot Luckies

Daily Outfit: One is Never Enough

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Diana

dress

This outfit includes two new items – one that filled a wardrobe gap, and um, one that didn’t. Last weekend, I did some non-budget damaging shopping by using up some store credit at one of my favorite places to shop - Revolve Clothing Exchange. I got a great selection of items within my store credit range, including this beautiful seafoam short sleeve blazer. This was something that I had actually tried on the last time I was there, but didn’t get because I was short on cash. This helps me with my “lack of structured jackets” gap.

blazer

So which part of this outfit doesn’t really fit into a wardrobe gap? Um, try my third pair of Dansko wedge sandals. I absolutely adore my Dansko Neves and Novalees, and managed to convince myself that I needed to get a solid black pair, this time the Nicolettes. I found them for a good price on Ebay and I don’t regret buying them, although I probably should have bought some ballet flats first. I’ve made an agreement with myself now that I have to buy a pair of ballet flats before I’m allowed to buy any more sandals. We’ll see how that goes.

nicolette

Just to keep you updated, I had another interview yesterday, this time at a school that would be my dream school to work at. I’ll let you know when I hear something, but please do send some employment vibes my way. I always get so nervous at interviews, that I can never tell if I did well.

necklace

Dress: Express
Blazer: Forever 21 (via Revolve)
Wedges: Dansko Nicolette
Purse: Morelle City Bag
Scarf: Vintage
Bangles: Jill Popowich
Necklace: Kira Ferrer
Earrings: Gift from cousin

Etsy Vintage Love: It's a Mod World

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Diana

I’ve been doing Etsy love sets for a long time now, but rarely have I ever focused on vintage items. For some reason, buying vintage online used to intimidate me. Recently, I bought a few vintage items on Etsy, and now I’m hooked. You can find truly amazing and unique items for really great prices. So to help others who may have online-vintage-phobia, here’s a set of items from one of my favorite vintage styles: Mod.

sunnies