Posts tagged: gold mini satchel
![05.21.2012 [mon]Backlogged outfit, added 02.20.2013.
Worn to: work, grocery
Behind the outfit:I know orange is the color of the season, but I’m really feeling emerald… and even more the two of them together! This outfit started with the tee and jeans, but it was a little too much blast-of-color for my mood today. Then I was inspired to add in some gray after seeing how wonderful it looks with emerald on Kari recently. I’m definitely still off cardigans, unless they’re buttoned right up. Like a soft, knit blouse! This particular cardigan re-earned its place in my wardrobe after being paired with this very tee back in December, and I’m still enjoying the look so I repeated it again today. I chose my houndstooth flats to add another gray element to tie in with the sweater, and also add a subtle bit of pattern mixing.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/71e5c8e314edcde6aaa8e779f6d1c839/tumblr_mijqylGmSp1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
05.21.2012 [mon]
Backlogged outfit, added 02.20.2013.
Worn to: work, grocery
Behind the outfit:
I know orange is the color of the season, but I’m really feeling emerald… and even more the two of them together! This outfit started with the tee and jeans, but it was a little too much blast-of-color for my mood today. Then I was inspired to add in some gray after seeing how wonderful it looks with emerald on Kari recently. I’m definitely still off cardigans, unless they’re buttoned right up. Like a soft, knit blouse! This particular cardigan re-earned its place in my wardrobe after being paired with this very tee back in December, and I’m still enjoying the look so I repeated it again today. I chose my houndstooth flats to add another gray element to tie in with the sweater, and also add a subtle bit of pattern mixing.
![05.19.2012 [sat]Backlogged outfit, added 02.20.2013.
Worn to: YLF photo meetup (Alki beach for photos, Cactus for lunch, Starbucks for post processing), out to dinner @ Main Street Alehouse, over to Adam’s to play with feretts
Thoughts:Super action packed day for me today! A little while back one of the YLF forum gals, the fabulous Jenava, suggested we have a little meetup that focused on photography. So today we met up at Alki Beach over in West Seattle for a fun day of laughs, food, and some camera practice. Angie’s husband Greg, the guru responsible for all the backend web stuff for YLF as well as Angie’s gorgeous outfit photos, also joined us. I was most looking forward to chatting with him about his post-processing technique, and was happy to learn that our overall process is very similar. We all had a great time, and of course I took loads of photos!
Click HERE for photo set #1 (at the park by the mini Statue of Liberty).Click HERE for photo set #2 (down on the beach).Click HERE for photo set #3 (lunch and coffee. UPDATED: some additional photos by other ladies not covered by my own nor the YLF post).
UPDATE: Read Angie’s fab recap of the day over on YouLookFab!They’ve also posted a great little album of photographs from everyone.And lastly, there were many lovey photos taken of me during the meetup but here’s a link to my favorites of the day.
Afterwards, I met my husband for dinner and then we went to play with our friend’s ferrets while he’s out of town. For fun, some critter photos! Kitty has been dying to get outside all week (he’s an indoor cat), so today I let him out on the patio while taking my outfit photos. That’s one happy kitty! And Adam’s little ferrets are generally too quick to get decent photos of, but I was able to surprise Bert here long enough to snap one.
Behind the outfit:Today I wanted to wear something that would photograph well, or would at least look interesting in the photos. Brights aren’t usually a good option for very sunny days, but I wasn’t convinced that it’d be anything other than half cloudy today so I decided to do it anyway. (The weather sure showed me though, it was bright and sunny all day ^^)
After this past week of warm weather, today was cooler. This pencil skirt is lined, making it impractical for truly warm days but for a cooler warm day it’s perfect. I figured if anyone could appreciate some crazy pattern mixing it’d be the YLF gals, so I decided to go for broke and pair it with my silk peacock feather blouse; there is a bit of pink in the print, the navy picks up on the dark spots of the skirt, the sheerness allows me to layer a red tank underneath for a “hint of red”, and the breezy silhouette works especially well with slim bottoms. I added the nude fishnets for a touch of extra warmth, and even more pattern mixing. Finished the outfit off with my loafers, though I’m probably going to have to try some other flat footwear with my skirts after this! Left my hair down for added softness, and bright silver earrings to add some lightness.
This whole outfit is rather bold, and has a lot going on so I realize that it won’t be everyone’s cuppa tea. Crazy print mix (peacock, floral, fishnets), pencil skirt debombshelling, and more flats with skirts! I liked this outfit a lot, but my husband strongly disliked the print mix here.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/4de0668116e4d8ef32f6e8fccb11d450/tumblr_mijhfzloE81r584afo1_1280.jpg)
05.19.2012 [sat]
Backlogged outfit, added 02.20.2013.
Worn to: YLF photo meetup (Alki beach for photos, Cactus for lunch, Starbucks for post processing), out to dinner @ Main Street Alehouse, over to Adam’s to play with feretts
Thoughts:
Super action packed day for me today! A little while back one of the YLF forum gals, the fabulous Jenava, suggested we have a little meetup that focused on photography. So today we met up at Alki Beach over in West Seattle for a fun day of laughs, food, and some camera practice. Angie’s husband Greg, the guru responsible for all the backend web stuff for YLF as well as Angie’s gorgeous outfit photos, also joined us. I was most looking forward to chatting with him about his post-processing technique, and was happy to learn that our overall process is very similar. We all had a great time, and of course I took loads of photos!
Click HERE for photo set #1 (at the park by the mini Statue of Liberty).
Click HERE for photo set #2 (down on the beach).
Click HERE for photo set #3 (lunch and coffee. UPDATED: some additional photos by other ladies not covered by my own nor the YLF post).
UPDATE: Read Angie’s fab recap of the day over on YouLookFab!
They’ve also posted a great little album of photographs from everyone.
And lastly, there were many lovey photos taken of me during the meetup but here’s a link to my favorites of the day.
Afterwards, I met my husband for dinner and then we went to play with our friend’s ferrets while he’s out of town. For fun, some critter photos! Kitty has been dying to get outside all week (he’s an indoor cat), so today I let him out on the patio while taking my outfit photos. That’s one happy kitty! And Adam’s little ferrets are generally too quick to get decent photos of, but I was able to surprise Bert here long enough to snap one.
Behind the outfit:
Today I wanted to wear something that would photograph well, or would at least look interesting in the photos. Brights aren’t usually a good option for very sunny days, but I wasn’t convinced that it’d be anything other than half cloudy today so I decided to do it anyway. (The weather sure showed me though, it was bright and sunny all day ^^)
After this past week of warm weather, today was cooler. This pencil skirt is lined, making it impractical for truly warm days but for a cooler warm day it’s perfect. I figured if anyone could appreciate some crazy pattern mixing it’d be the YLF gals, so I decided to go for broke and pair it with my silk peacock feather blouse; there is a bit of pink in the print, the navy picks up on the dark spots of the skirt, the sheerness allows me to layer a red tank underneath for a “hint of red”, and the breezy silhouette works especially well with slim bottoms. I added the nude fishnets for a touch of extra warmth, and even more pattern mixing. Finished the outfit off with my loafers, though I’m probably going to have to try some other flat footwear with my skirts after this! Left my hair down for added softness, and bright silver earrings to add some lightness.
This whole outfit is rather bold, and has a lot going on so I realize that it won’t be everyone’s cuppa tea. Crazy print mix (peacock, floral, fishnets), pencil skirt debombshelling, and more flats with skirts! I liked this outfit a lot, but my husband strongly disliked the print mix here.
![05.14.2012 [mon]Backlogged outfit, added 02.18.2013.
Worn to: work, out for tacos
Thoughts:We’ve got some really warm weather projected for this week, so I pulled out my summer jersey dresses this morning! I like having a few inexpensive (trendy optional) jersey dresses for those few hot days when a lightweight dress just feels the most comfortable. Ideally I’ll refresh the small collection each year because they have a rather short shelf life, passing one/two on and adding one/two new ones. Although this year I have purchased a jersey dress, that one is a much higher quality and will last much longer in my wardrobe. I hadn’t come up with this refreshing plan early enough to have dresses to pass on yet, but next year I will most definitely pass a couple on.
On to the (new) sandals! I don’t have ANY flat sandals (and few heeled for that matter) because I find them hard to shop for; I rarely see pairs that I’m unequivocally drawn to, I’m on Team Heels (they are more comfortable than flats for me), and we don’t have a lot of very warm weather anyway. So! I was excited to recently come across these cute little minty sandals which I was immediately smitten with, and my friend Christine even picked up the same pair in blush/rose gold. I’ve been on the hunt for the right pair of nude gladiator sandals for a couple years now, maybe this will be the year *crosses fingers*
Behind the outfit:Even though I don’t repeat often, my favorite topper for this dress is my white blazer so today I just went with the tried-and-true combo! I wanted to continue the very soft, muted color palette, making a nude or almost-nude shoe a must. I’d normally wear heels with this, but I’m really feeling flats with skirts/dresses these days (especially after Friday’s successful pencil skirt+loafers experiment). Since it’s so warm, it made for the perfect opportunity to debut the minty sandals (plus I’m loving the mint with my coral-red tootsies!).
I thought about leaving my hair down, and while I normally like the very high contrast from that, today I was enjoying the soft colors. So I decided to pull half of it back in a little poof instead; it’s less severe than my usual high pony, but still keeps enough hair out of my face. Generally I prefer just leaving my hair down for adding softness, but I still enjoy this much girlier ‘do from time to time ^^ I also added these long dangly earrings I bought at the LA meetup way back in October, which I think work best with either hair down or hair half up.
UPDATE: A bit more on the up-do! How to do it ^^
To style this, I tease/hair spray the crown and gently comb the hair on top to smooth, then pull the sides back into a loose half-pony and secure with a clear elastic. Then I push it in and up a little to make the poof and use two bobby pins right below the elastic to hold the volume in place. The photo below shows it a bit, couldn’t find a better one that shows it straight on.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/0396fbf4a606a9c30f2103977f699871/tumblr_mighv7VdSL1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
05.14.2012 [mon]
Backlogged outfit, added 02.18.2013.
Worn to: work, out for tacos
Thoughts:
We’ve got some really warm weather projected for this week, so I pulled out my summer jersey dresses this morning! I like having a few inexpensive (trendy optional) jersey dresses for those few hot days when a lightweight dress just feels the most comfortable. Ideally I’ll refresh the small collection each year because they have a rather short shelf life, passing one/two on and adding one/two new ones. Although this year I have purchased a jersey dress, that one is a much higher quality and will last much longer in my wardrobe. I hadn’t come up with this refreshing plan early enough to have dresses to pass on yet, but next year I will most definitely pass a couple on.
On to the (new) sandals! I don’t have ANY flat sandals (and few heeled for that matter) because I find them hard to shop for; I rarely see pairs that I’m unequivocally drawn to, I’m on Team Heels (they are more comfortable than flats for me), and we don’t have a lot of very warm weather anyway. So! I was excited to recently come across these cute little minty sandals which I was immediately smitten with, and my friend Christine even picked up the same pair in blush/rose gold. I’ve been on the hunt for the right pair of nude gladiator sandals for a couple years now, maybe this will be the year *crosses fingers*
Behind the outfit:
Even though I don’t repeat often, my favorite topper for this dress is my white blazer so today I just went with the tried-and-true combo! I wanted to continue the very soft, muted color palette, making a nude or almost-nude shoe a must. I’d normally wear heels with this, but I’m really feeling flats with skirts/dresses these days (especially after Friday’s successful pencil skirt+loafers experiment). Since it’s so warm, it made for the perfect opportunity to debut the minty sandals (plus I’m loving the mint with my coral-red tootsies!).
I thought about leaving my hair down, and while I normally like the very high contrast from that, today I was enjoying the soft colors. So I decided to pull half of it back in a little poof instead; it’s less severe than my usual high pony, but still keeps enough hair out of my face. Generally I prefer just leaving my hair down for adding softness, but I still enjoy this much girlier ‘do from time to time ^^ I also added these long dangly earrings I bought at the LA meetup way back in October, which I think work best with either hair down or hair half up.
UPDATE: A bit more on the up-do! How to do it ^^
To style this, I tease/hair spray the crown and gently comb the hair on top to smooth, then pull the sides back into a loose half-pony and secure with a clear elastic. Then I push it in and up a little to make the poof and use two bobby pins right below the elastic to hold the volume in place. The photo below shows it a bit, couldn’t find a better one that shows it straight on.
![05.13.2012 [sun]Backlogged outfit, added 02.18.2013.
Worn to: Mother’s day outings: breakfast w/in-laws and (extended family) @ Majestic, picnic w/my family, cake/ice cream/garden planning @ my folks’. Later: dinner from Mikies, Adam over for some TV
Behind the outfit:We had a very busy Mother’s Day today, complete with full wardrobe changes!
First up was brunch with my husband’s extended family, which I wanted to be dressed nicely for even though it was casual. This fabulous purple sheath and cropped little denim jacket are both gems from the YLF Seattle swap. The dress is very classic (and rather conservative for me) on its own, and needs both dressing down and funking up to feel more like me. So to dress down and casualize the dress I made use of being allowed to wear denim again and popped on my new-to-me cropped denim jacket. And to funk it up a bit I added bright cobalt heels; I just love brights and fun color combinations!
Afterwards we had planned to picnic with my folks and then help my mom with a gardening project, so I changed into gardening-appropriate gear (re-wore yesterday’s outfit). But all of the nearby parks were ridiculously busy so instead we had the picnic at my house on the patio. Then my mom decided to postpone the gardening so I changed BACK into the sheath outfit to go to my folks’ and eat cake!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/0d15ca5a529c015b1192988957bad62f/tumblr_miggmhQaIf1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
05.13.2012 [sun]
Backlogged outfit, added 02.18.2013.
Worn to: Mother’s day outings: breakfast w/in-laws and (extended family) @ Majestic, picnic w/my family, cake/ice cream/garden planning @ my folks’. Later: dinner from Mikies, Adam over for some TV
Behind the outfit:
We had a very busy Mother’s Day today, complete with full wardrobe changes!
First up was brunch with my husband’s extended family, which I wanted to be dressed nicely for even though it was casual. This fabulous purple sheath and cropped little denim jacket are both gems from the YLF Seattle swap. The dress is very classic (and rather conservative for me) on its own, and needs both dressing down and funking up to feel more like me. So to dress down and casualize the dress I made use of being allowed to wear denim again and popped on my new-to-me cropped denim jacket. And to funk it up a bit I added bright cobalt heels; I just love brights and fun color combinations!
Afterwards we had planned to picnic with my folks and then help my mom with a gardening project, so I changed into gardening-appropriate gear (re-wore yesterday’s outfit). But all of the nearby parks were ridiculously busy so instead we had the picnic at my house on the patio. Then my mom decided to postpone the gardening so I changed BACK into the sheath outfit to go to my folks’ and eat cake!
![05.01.2012 [tue]Picture perfect challenge, Day 2: Water lilies, Okavango Delta, Botswana by Frans LantingBacklogged outfit, added 02.12.2013.
Worn to: work
Behind the outfit:This is my favorite photo of the week but unfortunately my favorite aspect of it, the yellowy lily pads, is hard for me to properly represent; I don’t have any yellow clothing items except a gingham shirt which I felt didn’t have the right vibe for this almost-surreal photo. So instead I focused on the moody green and blue shades that surround the lily pads, the soft vertical lines of their stems, and the fluidity and murkiness of the water.
I wanted to wear mostly green since the plants and water are what really set the vibe of this photo for me, and the blue is a reflection of the sky. So I chose my green skinnies (vertical lines) and paired with a breezy (fluid) tee that has a green/yellow print; since the hi-lo hem is cropped in front, I chose a teal tank to layer underneath to pick up on the murky shades in the photo that blur the water and sky. And then added bright cobalt heels as a nod to the small dose of blue from the sky reflection.
Since there’s not really any yellow, I wanted to represent the lily pads as more of an echo; I chose round earrings and put my hair up in a fanned bun to mimic their shapes. Their dark stems are very striking, and though I tried every single dark necklace I own as a nod to them, I ended up going without because I felt they interfered with the soft vibe of the outfit; ultimately, what inspires me most about this photo is the surreal feeling.
I chose a bright orange lipstick as a nod to the small bit of orange in the largest lily pad. And for the outerwear, today it’s very VERY wet so I needed my trench coat. Luckily since it’s dark I can pretend that it’s representing the stems, but really… it’s my only spring coat. So I decided to go with that, and added a printed mustard silk scarf and my gold purse to make myself a yellow lily pad ^^
And here’s a closeup of my bun:
I probably should’ve taken some how-to photos, but hopefully this explaination will make some sense: First I made a very high ponytail, cupped the top half, and pinned it in place. Then I split the remaining bottom half of the pony tail in two pieces, left and right, and twirled each side around the base then pinned the ends underneath. Lastly, I pulled the sides down a bit to give the bun a more cohesively round shape, using bobby pins to pin the sides down which also lifts the bun. And then lightly roughed the bun up by passing my hands over the top a few times.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/03a3ba13bb1b717d6924df7ffd806ce7/tumblr_mi4vouLnj41r584afo1_1280.jpg)
05.01.2012 [tue]
Picture perfect challenge, Day 2: Water lilies, Okavango Delta, Botswana by Frans Lanting
Backlogged outfit, added 02.12.2013.
Worn to: work
Behind the outfit:
This is my favorite photo of the week but unfortunately my favorite aspect of it, the yellowy lily pads, is hard for me to properly represent; I don’t have any yellow clothing items except a gingham shirt which I felt didn’t have the right vibe for this almost-surreal photo. So instead I focused on the moody green and blue shades that surround the lily pads, the soft vertical lines of their stems, and the fluidity and murkiness of the water.
I wanted to wear mostly green since the plants and water are what really set the vibe of this photo for me, and the blue is a reflection of the sky. So I chose my green skinnies (vertical lines) and paired with a breezy (fluid) tee that has a green/yellow print; since the hi-lo hem is cropped in front, I chose a teal tank to layer underneath to pick up on the murky shades in the photo that blur the water and sky. And then added bright cobalt heels as a nod to the small dose of blue from the sky reflection.
Since there’s not really any yellow, I wanted to represent the lily pads as more of an echo; I chose round earrings and put my hair up in a fanned bun to mimic their shapes. Their dark stems are very striking, and though I tried every single dark necklace I own as a nod to them, I ended up going without because I felt they interfered with the soft vibe of the outfit; ultimately, what inspires me most about this photo is the surreal feeling.
I chose a bright orange lipstick as a nod to the small bit of orange in the largest lily pad. And for the outerwear, today it’s very VERY wet so I needed my trench coat. Luckily since it’s dark I can pretend that it’s representing the stems, but really… it’s my only spring coat. So I decided to go with that, and added a printed mustard silk scarf and my gold purse to make myself a yellow lily pad ^^
And here’s a closeup of my bun:
I probably should’ve taken some how-to photos, but hopefully this explaination will make some sense: First I made a very high ponytail, cupped the top half, and pinned it in place. Then I split the remaining bottom half of the pony tail in two pieces, left and right, and twirled each side around the base then pinned the ends underneath. Lastly, I pulled the sides down a bit to give the bun a more cohesively round shape, using bobby pins to pin the sides down which also lifts the bun. And then lightly roughed the bun up by passing my hands over the top a few times.
![04.30.2012 [mon]Picture perfect challenge, Day 1: African elephants at twilight, Chobe National Park, BotswanaBacklogged outfit, added 02.12.2013.
Worn to: work, out for tacos
Behind the outfit:This is the toughest day of this challenge for me, as the beautiful rose and lavender shades, and even the taupe which is my current color obsession, that dominate this photo are completely un/under-represented in my wardrobe. So I looked at the textures instead, focusing on the water and the elephant skin, as well as the very serene feeling of the photo. I have to say that I am super happy with how this outfit turned out!
The water is fluid and clear, which I’m representing with this peach sheer silky top AND because the water is so still I’m sporting the very very rare straightened hair*. The elephant skin is thick and wrinkly, which I’m representing with the (elephant!) wide leg denim which is a structured fabric yet still drapes.
I added my pearl stud earrings to represent the moon and its reflection, light gray heels to represent elephant toes, a long pendant as a nod to the trees in the background, and rose-gold watch because I wanted at least ONE rose item in the outfit. And for outerwear my gold purse to keep with the serene colors, and a vintage silk scarf that has all of the pretty colors from the photo.
(* Side thought: I feel like my hair styled straight shows my Armenian side much more strongly than normal, which comes from my mom. I’m definitely looking more like her today!)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/fd98cb17bb873f798c00bb15347ad51e/tumblr_mi4uu5kOIy1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
04.30.2012 [mon]
Picture perfect challenge, Day 1: African elephants at twilight, Chobe National Park, Botswana
Backlogged outfit, added 02.12.2013.
Worn to: work, out for tacos
Behind the outfit:
This is the toughest day of this challenge for me, as the beautiful rose and lavender shades, and even the taupe which is my current color obsession, that dominate this photo are completely un/under-represented in my wardrobe. So I looked at the textures instead, focusing on the water and the elephant skin, as well as the very serene feeling of the photo. I have to say that I am super happy with how this outfit turned out!
The water is fluid and clear, which I’m representing with this peach sheer silky top AND because the water is so still I’m sporting the very very rare straightened hair*. The elephant skin is thick and wrinkly, which I’m representing with the (elephant!) wide leg denim which is a structured fabric yet still drapes.
I added my pearl stud earrings to represent the moon and its reflection, light gray heels to represent elephant toes, a long pendant as a nod to the trees in the background, and rose-gold watch because I wanted at least ONE rose item in the outfit. And for outerwear my gold purse to keep with the serene colors, and a vintage silk scarf that has all of the pretty colors from the photo.
(* Side thought: I feel like my hair styled straight shows my Armenian side much more strongly than normal, which comes from my mom. I’m definitely looking more like her today!)
![04.10.2012 [tue]
Worn to: work, Type Tuesday
Blouse: Converse (via Target)Blazer, shades: Forever 21Jeans: DKNY (thrifted)Sandals: Seychelles (via Nordstrom Rack)Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Necklace: self madeWatch: Timex (via Target)Purse: Coach (gift)
Thoughts:First off I totally forgot about the type gathering, which I did last month as well; at least this time I had a structured top half, though it still felt a little too casual. Need to program those into my phone so I can be sure to skew more business than casual on those days!
Secondly, this was one of those outfits that sounded good in theory and probably looked OK on the outside, but just didn’t feel great to wear (and was a pain to photograph). Felt very big and overly oversized all over, and not in a good way. This is sometimes an issue when I wear these jeans since they’re so very baggy, so I usually wear something slim on top to combat that. But today my shirt was loose, and of course it blended right into the jeans, which made me feel like a big blob-o-fabric (though the blazer helped a bit). Looking back at the photos it really does look OK, so maybe I just had an off confidence day…
UPDATE: I was quite surprised, but this outfit got a really positive response over on YLF. I may give it another try in the future to see if I was really having an off day or if it truly does photograph better than it feels; if the latter is the case, that’s a pretty rare thing!
Behind the outfit:This outfit follows a great formula Angie (of YLF) posted earlier in the season, which calls for a column of denim with springy accents: a bright blazer, patterned shoes, and a neutral handbag.
The top was an easy choice, as this chambray is the only option I have for that element. Since it was dry and a bit warmer today, I decided to go with these baggy flared jeans. As mentioned above, that wasn’t the best decision in retrospect BUT my blue denim options are quite limited, and even more limited in matching denim washes (just these and my straight legs).
I had a few more options with the bright blazer, but the orange was an easy choice. On trend, one of my favorite colors, the cropped length helps balance the proportions (and also plays into the short-over-long trend), and I just love how orange looks with faded denim. I especially like the pairing with some white, so I added my white watch and a white necklace. (Doesn’t Kitty look great with my outfit? ^^)
I opted for metallic/nude footwear since it was going to be covered by the jeans, and was happy to finally get a chance to wear some sandals! And realized after I’d already taken the photos that this is my first time wearing them for this blog, so I’ll try to get a good photo of them next time I wear them. The metallic elements in the sandals are pewter, so I went with my gold purse to get a subtle mixed metal effect. And lastly, left my hair down to play up the 70s vibe and went with a bright orange lip to match the blazer!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6m50siher1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
04.10.2012 [tue]
Worn to: work, Type Tuesday
Blouse: Converse (via Target)
Blazer, shades: Forever 21
Jeans: DKNY (thrifted)
Sandals: Seychelles (via Nordstrom Rack)
Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)
Necklace: self made
Watch: Timex (via Target)
Purse: Coach (gift)
Thoughts:
First off I totally forgot about the type gathering, which I did last month as well; at least this time I had a structured top half, though it still felt a little too casual. Need to program those into my phone so I can be sure to skew more business than casual on those days!
Secondly, this was one of those outfits that sounded good in theory and probably looked OK on the outside, but just didn’t feel great to wear (and was a pain to photograph). Felt very big and overly oversized all over, and not in a good way. This is sometimes an issue when I wear these jeans since they’re so very baggy, so I usually wear something slim on top to combat that. But today my shirt was loose, and of course it blended right into the jeans, which made me feel like a big blob-o-fabric (though the blazer helped a bit). Looking back at the photos it really does look OK, so maybe I just had an off confidence day…
UPDATE: I was quite surprised, but this outfit got a really positive response over on YLF. I may give it another try in the future to see if I was really having an off day or if it truly does photograph better than it feels; if the latter is the case, that’s a pretty rare thing!
Behind the outfit:
This outfit follows a great formula Angie (of YLF) posted earlier in the season, which calls for a column of denim with springy accents: a bright blazer, patterned shoes, and a neutral handbag.
The top was an easy choice, as this chambray is the only option I have for that element. Since it was dry and a bit warmer today, I decided to go with these baggy flared jeans. As mentioned above, that wasn’t the best decision in retrospect BUT my blue denim options are quite limited, and even more limited in matching denim washes (just these and my straight legs).
I had a few more options with the bright blazer, but the orange was an easy choice. On trend, one of my favorite colors, the cropped length helps balance the proportions (and also plays into the short-over-long trend), and I just love how orange looks with faded denim. I especially like the pairing with some white, so I added my white watch and a white necklace. (Doesn’t Kitty look great with my outfit? ^^)
I opted for metallic/nude footwear since it was going to be covered by the jeans, and was happy to finally get a chance to wear some sandals! And realized after I’d already taken the photos that this is my first time wearing them for this blog, so I’ll try to get a good photo of them next time I wear them. The metallic elements in the sandals are pewter, so I went with my gold purse to get a subtle mixed metal effect. And lastly, left my hair down to play up the 70s vibe and went with a bright orange lip to match the blazer!
![04.09.2012 [mon]
Worn to: bank, work
Blouse: Splendid (via Nordstrom)Jeans: LOFTFlats: Report (via Nordstrom Rack)Pearl earrings: anniversary giftNecklace: Pieces (via ASOS)Watch: Timex (via Target)Purse: Coach (gift)Shades: Forever 21
Thoughts:Over the last two months I’ve been slowly buying (and returning a LOT of) new pieces for spring, filling in some of the holes for my warm weather wardrobe as well as picking up a couple of the trends I was most interested in for this season. I haven’t had a lot of time to shop in person, which I personally much prefer to online shopping; all of the new things have been sitting in boxes in my craft room while I sorted through what to keep and what to return, and this weekend I finally finished all that and moved the new goodies into my closet!
I made sure not to buy much that’s only good for summer, since we have very limited actual warm weather and I’m already pretty set in that department. I also told myself NO MORE TEES which I managed to stick to, so I’m quite proud of myself for that one. Later this month I’m going shopping with a friend to help her find spring/summer work clothing, and hopefully while out I’ll find a couple pieces to round out the rest of the holes I’m missing (blouses, blouses, blouses!!). So, yeah! I’m excited to finally be wearing the new stuff!
On that note, this top is one of those new stuffs. I have been referring to it as my mullet shirt because it’s woven in front, and knit in the back/sleeves ^^ Super, super comfortable! I tried several of this type of mixed-media shirts and this was the only one that worked for me. I wish it wasn’t black but it does fill my black blouse wardrobe hole, and I love that it’s not a conventional button-up.
Behind the outfit:Today’s outfit was actually formed around the statement necklace, also new. I’ve been looking for a good statement necklace just like this for quite a while now, and when I saw this one on ASOS I knew I just had to order it. I had my fingers crossed that the metal and stones wouldn’t look cheap (always a gamble with this style of jewelry unless you can afford the really good stuff), and happily they look great! So for today I wanted a simple outfit that would showcase the necklace.
Since the necklace is set in gold, I wanted something dark to wear underneath it to really let it POP to the max (light would just blend in with the gold, and then only the stones pop which is a more subdued effect). I don’t wear a lot of black in spring/summer, and even less of it on the top half; since I’ve been wearing my hair long for the last couple years, it just blends and I feel like a wall of darkness. So, I put my hair up to solve that little issue and enjoyed wearing this new blouse.
With the top half so dark, I chose light gray jeans to lighten the look (I’m waiting for the white jeans I ordered to come back to me in another size or I’d have gone with those!). I rather liked the earthy vibe of the top half, so I chose to debut my new loafers, which you may recognize from my March “loafers” guest post on Bella Remixes. Found these while shopping with my sister, and I actually tried quite hard to get her to buy them because they were soooo cute on her but she wasn’t feeling them; I couldn’t get them out of my head, and ultimately went back and bought them for myself!
I went with my gold purse to echo the necklace and add in another warm tone to the otherwise cool outfit. And for jewelry I added my pearl earrings and white watch because the outfit still felt dark and I wanted at least a little bit of cream/white (my skin didn’t feel like enough). I’m pleased with how springy this turned out, despite my misgivings about wearing the black top!
(As an aside, I wore the light pink lip butter with this outfit and am still not feeling it. Definitely going to look for a warmer pink!)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m67qzc7eL71r584afo1_1280.jpg)
04.09.2012 [mon]
Worn to: bank, work
Blouse: Splendid (via Nordstrom)
Jeans: LOFT
Flats: Report (via Nordstrom Rack)
Pearl earrings: anniversary gift
Necklace: Pieces (via ASOS)
Watch: Timex (via Target)
Purse: Coach (gift)
Shades: Forever 21
Thoughts:
Over the last two months I’ve been slowly buying (and returning a LOT of) new pieces for spring, filling in some of the holes for my warm weather wardrobe as well as picking up a couple of the trends I was most interested in for this season. I haven’t had a lot of time to shop in person, which I personally much prefer to online shopping; all of the new things have been sitting in boxes in my craft room while I sorted through what to keep and what to return, and this weekend I finally finished all that and moved the new goodies into my closet!
I made sure not to buy much that’s only good for summer, since we have very limited actual warm weather and I’m already pretty set in that department. I also told myself NO MORE TEES which I managed to stick to, so I’m quite proud of myself for that one. Later this month I’m going shopping with a friend to help her find spring/summer work clothing, and hopefully while out I’ll find a couple pieces to round out the rest of the holes I’m missing (blouses, blouses, blouses!!). So, yeah! I’m excited to finally be wearing the new stuff!
On that note, this top is one of those new stuffs. I have been referring to it as my mullet shirt because it’s woven in front, and knit in the back/sleeves ^^ Super, super comfortable! I tried several of this type of mixed-media shirts and this was the only one that worked for me. I wish it wasn’t black but it does fill my black blouse wardrobe hole, and I love that it’s not a conventional button-up.
Behind the outfit:
Today’s outfit was actually formed around the statement necklace, also new. I’ve been looking for a good statement necklace just like this for quite a while now, and when I saw this one on ASOS I knew I just had to order it. I had my fingers crossed that the metal and stones wouldn’t look cheap (always a gamble with this style of jewelry unless you can afford the really good stuff), and happily they look great! So for today I wanted a simple outfit that would showcase the necklace.
Since the necklace is set in gold, I wanted something dark to wear underneath it to really let it POP to the max (light would just blend in with the gold, and then only the stones pop which is a more subdued effect). I don’t wear a lot of black in spring/summer, and even less of it on the top half; since I’ve been wearing my hair long for the last couple years, it just blends and I feel like a wall of darkness. So, I put my hair up to solve that little issue and enjoyed wearing this new blouse.
With the top half so dark, I chose light gray jeans to lighten the look (I’m waiting for the white jeans I ordered to come back to me in another size or I’d have gone with those!). I rather liked the earthy vibe of the top half, so I chose to debut my new loafers, which you may recognize from my March “loafers” guest post on Bella Remixes. Found these while shopping with my sister, and I actually tried quite hard to get her to buy them because they were soooo cute on her but she wasn’t feeling them; I couldn’t get them out of my head, and ultimately went back and bought them for myself!
I went with my gold purse to echo the necklace and add in another warm tone to the otherwise cool outfit. And for jewelry I added my pearl earrings and white watch because the outfit still felt dark and I wanted at least a little bit of cream/white (my skin didn’t feel like enough). I’m pleased with how springy this turned out, despite my misgivings about wearing the black top!
(As an aside, I wore the light pink lip butter with this outfit and am still not feeling it. Definitely going to look for a warmer pink!)
![04.08.2012 [sun]
Worn to: errands (Walgreens, Albterstons, Fred Meyer), Easter dinner @ my folks’
Dress, cardigan: TargetTights: DKNY (gift)Heels: Anne Klein (via DSW)Earrings, neckalce: giftsWatch: Fossil (gift)Trench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)Scarf: Dress BarnPurse: Coach (gift)Shades: Forever 21
Behind the outfit:Today’s dinner isn’t necessarily a dressy affair, but I know that my folks do tend to dress a bit nicer for Easter dinner as it’s one of the few holidays my mom celebrates. The pastel colors of Easter don’t do me any favors so I decided to wear something lady-like that hints at pastels, but with colors that are still saturated enough for my coloring.
It was most definitely too cold for this outfit BUT I wanted to wear it so I did! I started with the cardigan, which is the closest to a pastel clearly-non-casual thing in my wardrobe (recently pulled out for spring/summer). After looking over my dress options, I chose this one because I liked how the blue looked with the aqua cardigan (though a sweater dress would have been more weather appropriate). I wore nude microfishnets to mitigate a bit of the coldness, and chose my most lady-like heels to complete the “Easter vibe”.
Normally I like to wear a belt with this dress because leaving the exposed elasticy band really bugs me, but today I decided to just leave it be. I chose silver accessories to play into the cool colorway for the indoor look, and gold/leopard to contrast the cool colorway for the outdoor look. And hair up so it would say out of my food ^^](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5w5vc4kVd1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
04.08.2012 [sun]
Worn to: errands (Walgreens, Albterstons, Fred Meyer), Easter dinner @ my folks’
Dress, cardigan: Target
Tights: DKNY (gift)
Heels: Anne Klein (via DSW)
Earrings, neckalce: gifts
Watch: Fossil (gift)
Trench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)
Scarf: Dress Barn
Purse: Coach (gift)
Shades: Forever 21
Behind the outfit:
Today’s dinner isn’t necessarily a dressy affair, but I know that my folks do tend to dress a bit nicer for Easter dinner as it’s one of the few holidays my mom celebrates. The pastel colors of Easter don’t do me any favors so I decided to wear something lady-like that hints at pastels, but with colors that are still saturated enough for my coloring.
It was most definitely too cold for this outfit BUT I wanted to wear it so I did! I started with the cardigan, which is the closest to a pastel clearly-non-casual thing in my wardrobe (recently pulled out for spring/summer). After looking over my dress options, I chose this one because I liked how the blue looked with the aqua cardigan (though a sweater dress would have been more weather appropriate). I wore nude microfishnets to mitigate a bit of the coldness, and chose my most lady-like heels to complete the “Easter vibe”.
Normally I like to wear a belt with this dress because leaving the exposed elasticy band really bugs me, but today I decided to just leave it be. I chose silver accessories to play into the cool colorway for the indoor look, and gold/leopard to contrast the cool colorway for the outdoor look. And hair up so it would say out of my food ^^
![03.26.2012 [mon]
Worn to: Walgreens, work, tacos w/Kindah and Michael
Blouse: Old NavyBlazer, scarf, booties, shades: Forever 21Jeans: Empyre (via Zumiez)Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Watch: Timex (via Target)Purse: Coach (gift)
Thoughts:I picked up some springy tinted lip balms today! After trying the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in “Peach Parfait” (which I’ve been wearing as a slightly-more-pigmented-than-my-natural-lip color for a month or so now, wearing it today in fact), I decided to pick up a few other shades when I saw that they were buy one get one half off: red (“Candy Apple”), orange (“Tutti Frutti”), cream (“Creamsicle”), and light pink (“Strawberry Shortcake”). Hopefully I picked good shades for myself, I am still not entirely sure about which make-up colors suit me best. I’ll do a short review of these soon!
This is also the last time you’ll be seeing these flared jeans until fall comes back around. I have a thinner, baggier, lighter washed pair that I wear in spring/summer. I usually swap them when spring starts, but since the weather has been crummy I decided to wait an extra week. I started doing this last year and found it helps me keep my staple denim feeling fresh each season (not to mention last longer). Ideally I would also keep my light gray skinny jeans for spring/summer and swap to charcoal in the fall/winter, but I have yet to find a good charcoal pair. Maybe this year!
Behind the outfit:This outfit was inspired by a great plaid+sequins look over on YLF, but as I don’t have any sequins I substituted in this scarf which has loads of sparkly silver threads running through it. I started with the golden gingham shirt, and since it’s still cold enough to need a topper (but not cold enough for a coat, yay!) I immediately got the idea to pair it with the orange blazer because, well, I just love adjacent color pairings. And bright colors make me happy.
From there I decided that the cheerful top would make a good seasonal send off for these jeans, plus the darker color helps keep things somewhat toned down (so does the neutral scarf, though its silver threads certainly don’t). I chose cognac booties and gold purse to pick up on the warm tones, my default spring watch in white for added lightness, and plain silver hoops because there is more than enough interest going on around my face already. Not a look for the color shy, but I felt super cheerful in this today!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m28raa7Fl11r584afo1_1280.jpg)
03.26.2012 [mon]
Worn to: Walgreens, work, tacos w/Kindah and Michael
Blouse: Old Navy
Blazer, scarf, booties, shades: Forever 21
Jeans: Empyre (via Zumiez)
Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)
Watch: Timex (via Target)
Purse: Coach (gift)
Thoughts:
I picked up some springy tinted lip balms today! After trying the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in “Peach Parfait” (which I’ve been wearing as a slightly-more-pigmented-than-my-natural-lip color for a month or so now, wearing it today in fact), I decided to pick up a few other shades when I saw that they were buy one get one half off: red (“Candy Apple”), orange (“Tutti Frutti”), cream (“Creamsicle”), and light pink (“Strawberry Shortcake”). Hopefully I picked good shades for myself, I am still not entirely sure about which make-up colors suit me best. I’ll do a short review of these soon!
This is also the last time you’ll be seeing these flared jeans until fall comes back around. I have a thinner, baggier, lighter washed pair that I wear in spring/summer. I usually swap them when spring starts, but since the weather has been crummy I decided to wait an extra week. I started doing this last year and found it helps me keep my staple denim feeling fresh each season (not to mention last longer). Ideally I would also keep my light gray skinny jeans for spring/summer and swap to charcoal in the fall/winter, but I have yet to find a good charcoal pair. Maybe this year!
Behind the outfit:
This outfit was inspired by a great plaid+sequins look over on YLF, but as I don’t have any sequins I substituted in this scarf which has loads of sparkly silver threads running through it. I started with the golden gingham shirt, and since it’s still cold enough to need a topper (but not cold enough for a coat, yay!) I immediately got the idea to pair it with the orange blazer because, well, I just love adjacent color pairings. And bright colors make me happy.
From there I decided that the cheerful top would make a good seasonal send off for these jeans, plus the darker color helps keep things somewhat toned down (so does the neutral scarf, though its silver threads certainly don’t). I chose cognac booties and gold purse to pick up on the warm tones, my default spring watch in white for added lightness, and plain silver hoops because there is more than enough interest going on around my face already. Not a look for the color shy, but I felt super cheerful in this today!
