“A casual stroll…”

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Diana

Casual is a tricky realm for me. During the week, I mostly stick to dress-casual ensembles. I like to be professional, and I know that if I dress too casual, students are less likely to listen to me. On the weekends, I tend to stick to jeans and t-shirts, and when I’m just around the house, yoga pants and tank tops. So figuring out weekend looks that are casual yet still put together is not easy for me. But with my new skirt in this outfit, it just got a bit easier.

A few weeks ago, I had a couple of amazing thrifting karma days (Lululemon crops for $8! Jeans that fit perfectly for $1.50! Summer shorts that actually fit decently for $9!). This skirt was part of that good karma experience. I was mainly shopping for workout and yoga clothes, but I decided to check out the skirt section too. When I saw this skirt, I initially didn’t like it. But since I’m trying to get more casual pieces, I went for it. It’s got a drawstring/wide elastic waistband and shorts hidden underneath – yay! This makes it super comfortable, but since it’s a skirt, I don’t look ridiculous sloppy. I paired it with a yellow stripey top and brown accents when I wore it to my cousin-in-law’s baby shower last weekend.

This purse is another awesome find of recent weeks. I was on my way home from errands on a Saturday when I saw that one of my neighbors was having a garage sale. I popped in on a whim, and lo and behold, I found this purse. I’ve been stalking vintage Dooney and Bourke purses on Etsy for weeks now, but hadn’t found the perfect one yet. This one was in pretty good shape on the interior, but the exterior had some type of stains (they looked like rust). For a mere $8, I figured it was worth the risk. I took it to a local luggage repair shop, which was able to basically paint over the stains for about $20. All together, it was still way cheaper than many of the purses I was looking at on Etsy, and I love it! It’s the perfect size for days when I don’t need a ton of stuff.

What are some of your best thrifting/garage sale finds?

Top: J. Crew (via eBay)
Skirt: Target (thrifted)
Sandals: Dansko Cara (via eBay)
Purse: Dooney and Bourke (garage sale)
Watch: Fossil
Necklace: I build pretty things

Quote: Friedrich Nietzsche

“Blue squares and red swirls”

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Diana

I think that blue and red will always be my favorite color combination. There’s so many variations, but with this outfit, I found that pale blue and brick red make a wonderful pairing. I’ve had this dress for awhile, and while I love a good printed dress, sometimes I have trouble finding yet another new way to remix it. This combo did the trick.

Going back through my archives, I realized that I haven’t posted this dress in a long time. Which is weird, because I wear it every other week almost. I’ll have to take pictures of it more often.

Here’s how I’ve blogged it before: (click the thumbnails to see the original posts)

How do you keep your old favorites fresh?

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Purse: Morelle
Shoes: Born Codders
Quote: Brian Andreas

“I dreamed I was buying new shoes”

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Diana

While I buy a lot of second-hand shoes on eBay, I very rarely ever buy second-hand shoes from thrift or consignment stores. I’m extremely picky about what I put on my feet and tend to stick to the same few brands (Dansko, Keen, Fluevog, Born) and I don’t see these brands very often in second-hand stores. But last week, I was shopping at Revolve Clothing Exchange with some store credit when I spotted these beautiful cognac mary jane flats. I figured they would probably be uncomfortable, if they even fit (they were 7.5, which is normally a bit small for me). But they fit like a glove, and so for a mere $12 in store credit, they were mine. The sole has since separated a bit on one of the shoes, but it’s nothing a cobbler can’t fix right up. They’re insanely comfortable and really cute, so they’re worth a little repair investment.

The belt is from J. Crew Factory. I normally wear it as a trouser belt, but I wanted another touch of cognac, so I adapted it for this outfit.

It’s hard to see this bangle in the outfit pictures, but it’s one of my favorite vintage finds. I can’t remember now exactly where I bought it, but I want to say it was a garage sale. It’s such a beautiful, pale turquoise, and it makes a nice subtle accent.

Have you ever bought shoes in a thrift/consignment store? What was your best find?

Top: Sandra Ingrish
Cardigan: J. Crew
Skirt: Thrifted
Belt: J. Crew Factory
Shoes: Earth shoes (via Revolve)
Bangle: Vintage
Necklace: Kira Ferrer
Bag: Angry, Young, and Poor Bread Bag

Quote: Ron in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowling

“The Dandelion in the Spring”

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Diana

Ah, yellow. It’s certainly my favorite color, and mustard and goldenrod are my favorite shades. Whenever I’m looking for something to add some “pop” to an outfit, I know I can turn to some of my favorite pieces, like my trusty Malibrans and this new-to-me vintage belt.

This belt was a great find. Often I figure out what my accessory gaps are when I’m getting dressed in the morning. One day, I was looking for something to add a nice pop of mustard, and realized that a woven leather belt would be perfect for this. A few searches on Etsy later, and I found this beautiful belt on Vintage Grove.

And my Malibrans. I’ve had these lovely shoes for three years now, and I still love them dearly. Many other pieces of my wardrobe have come and gone since then, but these shoes have remained. It just goes to show that sometimes, when you absolutely adore something, you should go for it, even if it’s way more than you’ve ever spent on something before (when you can afford it, of course). And when I consider how many outfits have been made better with these shoes, they’ve been worth ever penny. And I plan to keep wearing them for years to come.

My first outfit with my Fluevog Malibrans, in February 2009

Dress: Soprano
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Belt: Vintage
Shoes: Fluevog Malibrans
Necklace: I Build Pretty Things

Quote: Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

“Green grass breaks through snow”

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Diana

I have a feeling that this outfit might be the last time that I get to wear tights this season. After two unusually cold winters, this year our weather has been extremely mild. It’s basically already spring/summer now. Even on the day I wore this last week, It was 50 in the morning, and 80 by mid-afternoon.

This outfit felt like a good winter to spring transition outfit. Plenty of green, with a leafy motif, and some silver earrings that echo the leaf print.

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Tights: HUE
Shoes: Dansko Sally
Belt: Anthropologie
Earrings: Nankaii
Bag: Angry, Young, and Poor Bread Bag

Quote: Rick Riordan, The Titan’s Curse

State of the Arts

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Diana

Last weekend, I made my annual trip to the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts in downtown Tampa. I didn’t take my camera with me this year, but you can see some pictures of the festival in my post two years ago. I’ve never actually bought anything at this festival before – usually I’m broke and everything is out of my price range. This year however, I had a little birthday money leftover, and I actually found some handmade jewelry vendors that I could afford. So now let me introduce you to my new favorite earrings and necklace (which I’m also wearing above):

The earrings are by Nankaii, a Florida artist with some beautiful pieces inspired by the ocean. I went with one of her simpler pieces, the Marquise earrings, which were a steal at $18. I’ve been thinking about getting a pair of hoops lately, but I find traditional hoops kind of boring. These fit my aesthetic much better.

The necklace is by Carrie Hoffnagle of I Build Pretty Things. I got to talk to her a lot, and I love her design process. She gets her inspiration from mid century modern designs and vintage fabrics. Her pieces are geometric, colorful and bold. I decided on a simple square pendant with a bright shot of goldenrod, one of my favorite colors. It was more than I usually spend on jewelry ($95) but it’s just so “me”, that I went for it anyhow.

And switching gears somewhat, I’m loving my homemade sock bun. I love creating messy looks with my hair, and my sock bun is perfect for creating a messy bun. It can make neat buns too, but that’s just too stereotypical for this librarian. Here’s the tutorial I used.

Tank: Sonoma
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Jeans: Gap Curvy
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylors
Watch: Fossil
Earrings: Nankii
Necklace: I Build Pretty Things

Birthday Blue

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Diana

My birthday was last week, and my mom graciously gave me some shoe shopping money. I originally went for the Dansko Sams (full price) like I had mentioned before, but the color just didn’t impress me as much in person (still a great shoe, and if they make it in matte white or cherry red I’ll buy them again in a heartbeat). So I returned the Sams, found the Stefanies secondhand for half the price, and bought some cardigans on eBay with the money leftover. This is one of those cardigans, and I’m in love. J. Crew featherweight cropped cardigans are quickly becoming one of my favorite things. Perfect for Florida too.

Right now I’m trying out the StyleMe March photo challenge, so I decided to do a half-French braid/half pony tail combo. It’s easy to do, and so much more elegant than a regular pony tail.

Tee: Gap (via Revolve)
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Jeans: Gap Curvy
Shoes: Dansko Sally
Watch: Fossil
Earrings: Gifted
Necklace: Kira Ferrer

Favorite combinations

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Diana

There are certain combinations that I always love to wear. Everytime I put an outift together with one of these combinations, I feel so “me”. Black and white with pops of turquoise is one of these combination. I could wear stuff like this almost every day. Turquoise is such a fun, happy color and it mixes so well with neutrals. And of course, I can never have enough polka dots.

Normally, when I wear a watch, I either wear no bracelet at all, or wear it on the other wrist. With this outfit, I tried layering the watch and bracelet on the same wrist, and I loved it. I think it worked well because the watch and bracelet both have the same shade of silver.

Top: Anthropologie
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Skirt: Thrifted
Shoes: Merrell Brio
Watch: Fossil
Bracelet: Gifted

Flowers in her hair

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Diana

Inspired by my new ultra cropped red cardigan, I decided to put together an outfit that was part flamenco dancer, part librarian chic, and all fun. The outfit (minus the flower) came together in the morning. I kept my hair down, because wearing it up made the librarian effect a little too severe. But it felt like it was missing something, and I couldn’t figure out what I needed at home. A colorful brooch would have been nice, but I didn’t have anything to fit the ticket.

Then at school, I found the perfect finishing touch. Our Culinary Arts students were selling cupcakes and carnations in the cafeteria for Valentine’s Day, so I bought a red one, cut it short, and put it in my hair. This gave the outfit exactly what it needed

White shirt: Sandra Ingrish (via Nordstrom Rack)
Cardigan: Target (via Revolve)
Skirt: Thrifted
Shoes: Merrell Brios
Watch: Fossil
Earrings: Gifted by my cousin

Something old, something new

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Diana

I went to the wedding of two good friends a few weeks ago, and decided to wear both something old and something new. The old came in vintage accessories: a vintage purse (80′s, I believe), vintage pearls from a garage sale, and my grandmother’s ring. The new came in a brand new (discontinued) Boden dress that I bought on eBay. I had to get it tailored, so this was its first official outing.

I didn’t get to take any photos at the wedding, but the location was gorgeous. It was at Cross Creek Ranch, a little rustic spot just outside of Tampa. The ceremony was under a huge oak tree, while the reception was in a quaint renovated barn. It was really beautiful all around, and one of the nicer, more personal weddings that I’ve been to.