Last week, I styled this skirt to look like Joan Holloway. Today, I went with more of a Peggy Olson look. I love how vibrant all the colors looked together. I’m not so sure how I feel about having all black on the bottom half of my body, though. I think this would have looked amazing with some white pumps. I know a lot of style advice columns recommend matching shoes to tights to elongate your legs, but to me, it felt just a bit boring.
Originally, I was going to wear a strand of pearls with this outfit, but that felt just a bit too prim and proper. Tying the blue scarf in a bow threw an extra color into the mix, while still retaining the vintage flair of the outfit.
Unfortunately, this will probably be the only time I’ll wear this green sleeveless button-down. I got it while thrifting last week, but it’s a bit too short and the arm holes are a bit tight. I could fix the arm hole problem, but the length is a bigger concern. Even though this is my highest-waisted skirt, the blouse kept popping out when I would sit down. I don’t like garments that I have to constantly fuss with, so this will likely go to the swap pile. I might hang onto for a bit longer in case I get some true high-waisted skirts.
Do you incorporate vintage stylings into your wardrobe? How do you make them look modern?
Cardigan: J Crew (via Ebay)
Blouse: St Johns Bay (thrifted)
Scarf: Thrifted
Skirt: Semantiks
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Earrings: Sara Westermark
Quote: The Red Balloon, by A. LaMorisse
Oh how I love Ebay! I’ve been longing to own some J. Crew cashmere pretty much since I became aware of its existence, but their sweaters tend to retail at $150 plus a pop, so they’ve been out of my graduate and now post-graduate-still-searching-for-a-permanent-job budget. But it didn’t dawn on me until recently to simply look for one second-hand on Ebay. I scored this gorgeous sunshine beauty for a mere $50! And it is the softest, most luxurious thing I have ever owned. The color is so fantastic. This has quickly elevated itself to a new wardrobe staple for me.
Wearing items of good quality does something to you. Having soft, comfortable fabrics close to the skin just makes you feel so good. I think that every one should own at least one 100% cashmere item.
This outfit, by the way, is also what I decided to wear to Eyeliah’s virtual birthday party. Nothing like a pretty dress and a sunny cashmere cardigan for dancing the night away, virtually or otherwise.
Dress: Ella Moss (via My Mosh Posh)
Cardigan: J Crew (Ebay)
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Purse: Morelle Oyster
Pearls: Coryell Design
Watch: Target
Quote: Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (Classic Seuss)
By Dr Seuss
Sometimes I end up with an item of clothing where I love how it fits, but the color has grown dingy over time, or wasn’t a color that I like to begin with. When this happens, and I’m feeling motivated, I’ll mix up a batch of Procion MX dye and give new life to my garments. That’s what I decided to do with this cream cardigan, which you last saw here. The cream was looking more and more dingy, and it was started to make me feel frumpy wearing it. But I didn’t want to give up on it, so I dyed it purple, and now it’s like having a brand new cardigan. I love how the white buttons contrast now.
I dyed a pink blouse with this batch too, which you’ll see before too long. My preferred method of dyeing garments is in a top-loading washing machine, but I don’t have one in my house, so I just use a 5 gallon bucket, lots of hot water and lots of manual stirring. It takes about an hour and a half, start to finish, but it ’s worth the effort. I almost always use more dye than what’s recommended, otherwise the colors don’t come out strong enough for my liking.
Blouse: Anthropologie
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT (over-dyed)
Trousers: Express
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Headband: Anthropologie
Earrings: June Designs
Necklace: Kira Ferrer
Purse: Morelle City Bag
Watch: Target
Quote: One
by Kathryn Otoshi
Normally, I tend to shy away from trends. I usually prefer classic styles, and trends come and go so quickly, that it seems pointless to spend too much time worrying about them. However, sometimes a certain trend will really resonate with me. When that happens, I will wear, even after it’s gone out of fashion. Today’s outfit embraces two current trends: belted cardigans and layered chain necklaces.
I. loved. this. outfit. so. much. I felt amazing all day. The combination of wearing my new favorite belt, my beautiful new necklace, and my pencil skirt which always looks awesome, was the perfect storm. Not to mention my beautiful new $2 Ann Taylor tank.
All this has made me realize something. I MUST buy more pencil skirts. In good fabrics with quality tailoring. I think I will be spending my Christmas money next month at J. Crew.
Tank: Ann Taylor (garage sale)
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Belt: Anthropologie
Skirt: Semantiks (Nordstroms)
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Necklace: from a local boutique
Purse: Easy Spirit Outlet
Watch: Target
Yes, uber original title, I know. I wore this outfit when there was a big principal’s meeting at the school I work at. It was hosted in the media center, so I wanted a polished, professional appearance.
I think this black and white blouse is quickly becoming one of my favorite thrifting finds. The material is so soft, the print so modern and versatile. It’s definitely becoming a staple piece for me.
Whenever I need to look really professional, I always reach for my pearl necklace. To me, no other jewelry looks quite as polished and sophisticated.
Cardigan: Handknit by me
Blouse: Ann Taylor Factory (thrifted)
Trousers: Express
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Purse: Morelle
Pearls: Coryell Design
Brooch: Vintage – 5Gardenias
Inspired by Kimberly’s Inspiration Calendar, I decided to try a color combo that I’ve never ventured into before: navy, black and brown. I usually shy away from all-neutral combos, because I really love color. But I still found this a fun experiment.
The funny thing is, the entire day, I kept thinking about a character I performed in a play in high school. She was Estelle, leader of the popular clique. My main line was this: “Oh my God, did you see what Becky was wearing at the party last night? A brown belt and black shoes. Ugh. That is such a social no-no”. This made me smile, since I was totally breaking that rule today.
I think that this look might have worked better with a short black cardigan, but since my only black cardigan didn’t really work with this dress (because it’s a crew neck) I had to improvise. I think it would have looked fantastic with a cropped black blazer as well.
Dress: Ella Moss
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Shawl: Target
Belt: Thrifted
Headband: Anthropologie
Necklace: Kira Ferrer
Anyone want to send some cold weather down to Florida? There’s so many fall looks that I’m itching to wear, but ever since our one cold spat, it’s been in the eighties most days. So I’ve decided that if the fall weather won’t come to us, then I’ll make fall looks work for warm weather.
Today’s look is very similar to what I wore on the one cold day so far, except with this version, I’m wearing a summer scarf, a light cotton cardigan, cotton leggings and sandals. I had to remove a few layers during the hottest part of the day, but otherwise this worked fine. Take that Florida heat!
Dress: Express
Leggings: Target
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Scarf: Express
Belt: Vintage
Purse: Morelle City Bag
Sandals: Clarks Rime
Necklace: Kira Ferrer
Earrings: Gift from cousin
I’m not sure how I managed to take so few photos of this outfit, because I absolutely loved it. I felt kind like a secretary on Mad Men all day, although this outfit still pales in comparison with Joan Holloway. I just recently got this skirt altered. The fit just wasn’t right before. I got the waist taken in and the hips let out, and it looks much better now.
I love how the amethyst necklace made the cardigan look more plum than burgandy. And you better believe that’s cashmere. One day I hope to own lots of cashmere.
Blouse: Ann Taylor LOFT (thrifted)
Cardigan: DKNY (via Revolve)
Skirt: Semantiks (Nordstrom)
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Purse: Easy Spirit
Headband: Anthropologie
Necklace: Red Chair
I’ll be completely honest in saying that this outfit didn’t exactly wow me. I like the magenta and navy color combo, but I’m just not sure about how the whole outfit came together. Maybe it would have looked better with a magenta skinny belt? Or with a skirt instead of grey pants? (Which are looking much better since I got the legs tapered a bit). Or maybe it was just that the fact that the blouse is a poly-cotton blend was staying in my subconscious all day. And while I love this purse (thanks Mary!) I’m not sure that it works with this outfit. How would you re-style this outfit? Or do you think it’s just fine like this?
Blouse: Storm (thrifted)
Pants: Banana Republic (altered)
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Scarf: Vintage
Purse: Won from Undergrad Fab
Earrings: Efy Tal
Notice a difference in the hair? I love, love, love how these bangs turned out. I really wanted bangs similar to Zooey Deschanel’s, but with short hair instead of long hair. I love how the bangs are sweet without being too childish. And once again, they make for awesome headband opportunities.
I actually had the image from Zooey’s ad for Cotton in mind when I put this outfit together. It certainly isn’t a literal interpretation, but I feel like I got the spirit of the image down.
I’m going to put together a photo tutorial of how I tied my scarf up soon. It really is a fun way to wear a medium length scarf, and it’s super easy to do.
Blouse: Anthropologie
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Jeans: Express
Shoes: Clarks Marilla
Purse: Morelle City Bag
Headband: Anthropologie
Earrings: Efy Tal
Scarf: Thrifted
Watch: Target
Daily Outfit | Diana | 
March 5, 2010 7:00 am | 
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