Creamsicle, or Dress #30

Dress (as top): Akris Punto;

Skirt: Ann Taylor, thrifted;

Sweater: Ann Taylor Loft, gift;

Shoes: Zigi Soho;

Bracelet: Finder's Keepers;

Ring: Shop Kim, 

lovely giveaway gift from La Historiadora de Moda.

How I've worn the dress before: here.

I loved this outfit so much in the fall that I repeated it, but changed out my shoes and jewelry. I kinda like the spring version of it. I loved buying this dress -- it was my college graduation gift to myself. I remember the saleslady saying that it would be a good dress to transition into the new stage of  my life, and she's right. This is very much a grownup dress. For some reason, I like wearing skirts over it rather than wearing it by itself -- it's very much a wiggle dress,  and I think I'm much more comfortable being covered up a bit more. I also think I look like a walking Creamsicle bar this way. The weather has been so nice recently that the ice cream carts have been everywhere around my part of town -- I might have to get some ice cream that way this week!

I won the ring from La Historiadora de Moda's birthday giveaway and I love it. I really need to take a better picture of it, but it's really been a versatile ring to wear. Thanks Kim and LHdM!

Going to curl up to a book before dinner... hope you have a great night!

 

30 down, 15 to go.

Lazy Sunday, or Dress #28

Dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal;

Shirt: H&M, gift from Nikki;

Bracelet: Finder's Keepers;

Moccasins: Minnetonka, gift.

How I've worn the dress before: here, here.

Please excuse the cut off photo and the unimaginative background setting. My usual gazebo photo spot was taken over by some neighborhood picnickers and while I wasn't really that thrilled about it, I couldn't blame them for doing so in the decent weather.

About this outfit. I got the dress for a bargain at Nordstrom's outlet store during a winter clearance. It's been a really dependable frock for parties, tourist-ing, among other things. I haven't really worn the top yet on the blog because it's one of those pieces that always stays wrinkled, but since today was all about comfort, I just threw it on anyways. 

I was pretty excited about my makeup today, maybe more so than my outfit. I played around a lot more and found my Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey and had to wear it (I've been wearing a lot more of my Estee Lauder shades recently). It looks like a dark raisin shade when you open the tube, but it becomes a cinnamon-y red when you wear it. It's one of those shades that Clinique promises is universally flattering, and I could see that being true for most women. I love experimenting with makeup (I did my own for my wedding!) and after being inspired by some of my favorite beauty blogs, I might do a tutorial soon just for fun. Would you be interested?

Hope you have a great Sunday!

 

28 down, 17 to go.

Suburban bazaar, or Dress #27

Dress: R & K Apparel;

Sweater: Target;

Shoes: Zigi Soho;

Jade bracelet: Finder's Keepers;

Bangle: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI;

Satchel: Thrifted.

Two posts in one day, yay yay. This morning we went to our park because there were booths set up for the giant yard sale/craft fair extravaganza today. We ended up not buying anything, but it was good to get outside in the sunshine and just to look at the crazy wares people were selling.  A lot of it was attic/garage clutter -- old baby clothes, baseball cards and VHS tapes. Though I'm sure if we spent an extra hour looking we would have found a gem or two. One woman had a sign at her booth that said,"Ask me about losing three dress sizes in 10 minutes" and I thought it was a riddle for a second until I saw the weight-loss supplements and drinks behind her.

Anyways, because there were many booths on the sidewalk, the normal stairway photos didn't turn out so well (i.e. the fair was distracting) so we shot around other places in the park. I really like this dress because the color just screams "Spring" to me. I also can't believe how much use I'm getting out of my bracelets -- they seem to go with everything!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

  

27 down, 18 to go.

New locations, or Dress #26

Dress: French Connection;

Top: American Eagle;

Shoes: Etienne Aigner.

How I've worn the dress before: here.

This was a tryout in a new location for photos. We always drove by this staircase that overlooked a busy highway, and thought it looked serene and isolated enough to be a good photo location. Haha, wrong. At 5:30 pm, traffic is super-busy and many cars kept going really slow to see what we were doing. This is the only photo where I didn't look like I had that "deer in headlights" look on my face. Scratch that photo spot...

I wanted this photo to work, but I'm thinking I would love the dress more if it were belted. I'm definitely planning on getting more use out of this one, so there will be more experimenting in the future.

  

26 down, 19 to go.

Tricky patterns, or Dress #25

  

Dress: J. Crew;

Shirt: H&M;

Belt: Fossil;

Jade bracelet: Finder's Keepers;

Shoes: Target.

How I've worn the dress before: here.

This dress has been a challenge to style since I've had it because the pattern is very different from the rest of the color palette in my closet. If there's anything this Dress Project has been, it's offered up some fun challenges, so I could  not say no. This dress would work really well in a casual setting, like the beach, but I wanted to try to style it for an office environment without having to just put a cardigan over it. I ended up liking this silhouette quite a bit. I actually got the idea for the striped top the last time I browsed J. Crew -- the sales associate had a sweater in the same pattern as my dress, and she was wearing a blue striped top underneath. Hooray for everyday style inspiration! How do you style tricky patterns in your closet?

  

25 down, 20 to go.

Worth the extra effort

They say it's your birthday, or Dress #24

Dress: Ariella, NYC;

Sweater: Ann Taylor Loft;

Earrings: Finder's Keepers;

Jade bracelet: Finder's Keepers;

Wedges: Zigi Soho.

How I've worn the dress: here, here.

Today is Jeremiah's birthday, and I'm going to make his cake in a couple of hours so it'll be freshly baked when he gets home from work. We've already had a great day together -- had lunch with his mom at a hibachi-style restaurant. Yum, yum.
This is the sixth birthday Jeremiah has had since we started dating (we've known each other for about nine years now) and his first since we've been married, and it's beginning to seem like we've known each other for a really long time. It's fun that I can remember him way back when ... 

About this outfit. So I wore this dress to death during our honeymoon and last summer, and I think it's definitely one of those dresses that works better in warmer weather. I really love the new length on it -- it used to be closer to my ankles, but thanks to my tailor, I don't look like I'm playing dress-up in mommy's clothes anymore. I added some green accessories and felt pretty cute. It got up to 70 degrees and I didn't really need my sweater, which was amazing.

Something exciting happened today. Well, it depends on your definition of "exciting," in which case mine happens to include a lot of things, except clowns. When we were driving back from lunch, I found a mix cd that I made four years ago for the tailgate our university's SGA threw for the football team and its fans. Jeremiah was very involved in SGA in college and somehow got me to make the playlist. (I was an aspiring DJ back then. And by "aspiring," I mean I banged my hands on my desk to beats and made ipod playlists. So, not really. But anyways.) So we had a few moments driving down the highway where we were singing Outkast songs at the top of our lungs. Oh, the silly little things in life...

  

24 down, 21 to go.

Heels at the park, or Dress #23

Dress: Maggy London;

Shoes: Target;

Tank: Aeropostale, stolen from Nikki;

Silver bangle: gift, from Mom;

Jade, black bangles: from Finder's Keepers.

How I've worn the dress: here.

How I've worn the shoes: here.

Thank you for your nice thoughts on my last post, and for your encouraging words about The Dress Project. It was really comforting to hear that many of you associate lots of memories (good and bad) with your old clothes. I think I have quite a few pieces like that, so as Katie from Tinda Keelie commented, it's kind of therapeutic to wear them, which is a great way of thinking about it. The verdict is still out on the dress, and in the meantime it's hanging in my closet, where I'm envisioning some new life for it. I'm thinking I might take it in and get rid of the sleeves so I can wear it year round. I've decided not to change or get rid of any of the dresses until the Project is over, so I'll have some time to reflect on which ones to toss, alter or keep.

So about this outfit. I wore it out to lunch with my mom and Jeremiah because tomorrow's Jeremiah's birthday and she took us to Sydney's, which is a big Asian seafood buffet. Jeremiah loves that place, and I usually just keep to my General Tso's chicken, rice and miso soup because I'm allergic to certain kinds of fish (not like, fake-allergic, which is what I sometimes did when I was little when I was way picky about my food, but swollen-lips-swollen-throat-scary-kind of reactions). 

Still, it was great to see my mom and catch up on life, and I think my outfit reflected that because she was with me when I got this dress for my birthday and she gave me the silver bangle. I haven't worn this dress much because the zipper has given me a lot of trouble because it will skip over some of the parts on the track. I finally remembered a trick from some women's magazine and I sprayed hairspray on the zipper track (it acts like a glue) and it hasn't given me trouble since. Yay! Now I wish I had known that before I got rid of certain dresses years ago that had this problem...

Sorry there's only one picture in this set. We went to the park that's about 1/2 mile from our apartment and it was hopping. Like at least 100 people or so there. Nice weather will do that. All the picturesque places were occupied and I felt really silly and prissy wearing heels to a park, so this one was taken on the sidewalk just before we almost got run over by some dude on rollerblades.

We're going to trivia for the first time in forever. Remember how I told you we won trivia prizes at the Best Picture Showcase? We're going to be sportin' them at Taco Mac tonight: Jeremiah and Vargas in their "This is It" Michael Jackson shirts, me in my "Team Jacob" shirt. Should be fun.

Hope you have a great night!

  

23 down, 22 to go.

Doubts, or Dress #22

Dress: Signature by Robbie Bee;

Tights: Target;

Boots, Kady cognac, Target.

I almost didn't post any photos from this set, but decided against that because I promised myself I would give an accurate representation of The Dress Project. Twenty-two dresses in, and I'm beginning to get into the ones that I only feel so-so about. If you've been reading for awhile, you probably know that I associate lots of memories with the clothes I love. But what to do about the ones that have bad memories associated with them?

This dress was part of my work wardrobe when I worked at a summer internship a couple of years ago. It was an exhilarating time of my life, yes, because I was on my own in a big city and learned a lot from the experience. But it was still a very lonely, insecure time, when I doubted my own professional work and hated how I looked (I gained a lot of weight in the year after my dad died, and am only now seeing most of it come off). I still have some clothes from that weight-limbo era where they don't really fit now, and I'm only keeping them for strange sentimental reasons that I can't shake. And somehow by putting on this dress, I could feel those dismal, insecure thoughts come back in the seams. 

There's nothing inherently wrong with this dress -- the peter pan collar and the cut are actually pretty nice, and I'm sure on the right person it would look professional, conservative and pulled-together, which is why I bought it in the first place. There's nothing wrong with the brand, either. But now on me, I think the dress looks a little matronly and drab. Looking at this photo is like looking at a JoAnn from years past. Or at least it feels that way.

I don't know if I'll get the dress altered, shortened or just retire it to Goodwill for someone else to give it a second life. Maybe I'll give it another chance and associate good thoughts with it. It's funny how old clothes can remind you of the ways in which you've changed since you've worn them. I think I've come a long way in the last two years, and am glad my style has evolved (and is still changing) to reflect that.

 

22 down, 23 to go.

Spring!, or Dress #21

Dress: Ann Taylor Loft;

Tights: Target;

Scarf (as belt): H&M;

Boots: Kady cognac, Target;

Bracelet: Thrifted, gift.

How I've worn the scarf before: here.

This outfit felt like it was missing something when I just put on the dress this morning, and since I couldn't find my red belt to add some more color, I substituted my huge H&M scarf. I basically just folded it into half so it was a giant triangle, tied it at my waist like an apron and did a bunch of tucking until it looked like more of a belt. Aren't the tassles fun? I liked the result and am in love with the color palette. I wanted to wear my boots and tights a couple more times before the weather changes for good. I can't believe how attached I've gotten to tights and boots this season, and I'm going to miss them for the next 7 months.

Such a lazy day -- didn't do anything important today, and it felt nice. 

 

21 down, 24 to go.

Lay down your mind, or Dress #20

Listening to: "Help Yourself," Sad Brad Smith, from 

the "Up in the Air" soundtrack.

Dress (as top): Old Navy;

Sweater: Target;

Shoes: Zigi Soho;

Skirt: Ralph Lauren, thrifted;

Bracelet: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI.

How I've worn the dress before: here, here.

How I've worn the skirt: here.

You may remember my top -- it's actually the dress in this ruffly ensemble. I decided I wanted to play with layering it with a skirt for a more professional look to show how it completely changes the tone of the outfit. I've gotten a few dresses altered that have been shortened just a smidge too much, and have salvaged them by combining them with skirts.

It was SO warm today that I did not wear the sweater for very long. 

Spring, I love you. Thanks for finally coming. Please don't give me major allergies this year.

Hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

 

20 down, 25 to go.

A Maven of a day, or Dress #19

Denim vest: Forever 21, from Jade for the Mailbox Mavens;

Dress: Target;

Sandals: Miss Trish of Capri, Target;

Blue bangle: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI;

Silver bangle: birthday gift from Mom.

How I've worn the dress before: here, here.

So excited to do my first Mailbox Mavens post! The lovely Jade from Lowbrow Style is the owner of this denim vest, which I wanted to grab up immediately when she posted it. Here's how Jade styled it:

 

Love how she paired blues and blacks with the vest -- so chic! For me, this was a fun challenge because I don't own a denim vest, so I wanted to somehow incorporate one into my Dress Project. I decided to go super casual because of the nice, warm weather and went with some fun sandals I bought last year. It was so fun to be adventurous and try out a little bit of someone else's style.

Stay tuned for more Mailbox Mavens stylings! Here's a peek at some of the combinations Jade, Tabitha , Christina, Clare and Terra have done from our group pool.

Hope you all have a wonderful night! So happy tomorrow is Friday!

 

19 down, 26 to go.