Fashionable Friend: Mary

Hey Guys! I'm excited to present yet another one of my fabulously fashionable friends: Mary! I love that all my friends have unique styles so whether we're in the cafeteria or at a party, everyone looks super cute yet different. Mary's a dancer and I think that lends a lot to her style. Her clothes are feminine and tailored with the perfect mix of occasional prints and details. She wore this first look to a bonfire this summer but its also something she'd wear to school. I love the details and color of the top plus the denim shorts are a classic Mary look.

Cute sandals! I'm searching for some new ones.

As I mentioned, Mary's a dancer and this summer she went to Austria to perform in a dance festival there. This is one of the many cute looks she wore while roaming the European boutiques and cafes. The print on the skirt reminds me of the Aztecs or Mayan with its interesting geometric pattern. Now that I look at it, I think I have that same shrug in green! (worn here) Another great look!

Being the shoe afficionado I am, I'm in love with these flats. Black flats match everything and give your look a feminine, classy touch.

I met Mary about three years ago when she moved to Chicago from Tennessee and her style has evolved so much from then. She wears a lot more dresses to school now and I think she has a more definite personal style. This dress fits in perfectly with the current worldwide denim obsession. Its cool how it brings out a girly side of such a utilitarian, Americana fabric. BTW- if you can't tell from the picture, Mary's a tree-hugger in the best way possible. She's currently tending to her own vegetable garden and starts most conversations with, "Omigosh, my squash are getting so big!!" or "Look at the cute little cucumbers!"

As usual, I asked Mary a few questions about shopping and personal style. I kept the classics but threw in some new questions.

1. How would you describe your style?

I would describe my style as simple/comfy but sophisticated

2. Why do you think personal style is important?

Personal style is important because it allows you to express your personality to others in a fun way that makes you feel great and comfortable with who you are.

3. What is one piece you couldn't live without?

I couldn't live without a pair of comfy jeans- they're so versatile! You can dress them up or down to wear on almost any occasion.

4. What is your favorite bargain store?

Forever 21- You can find ANY style/trend- no matter how crazy- in that store for a great bargain.

5. If you could steal anything out of my closet what would it be?

I would steal your shoe collection. You have tons of adorable sandals and flats, so I'd never have a problem finding a pair to match what I'm wearing.

6. If you had all the money in the world where would you buy your clothes?

I would buy my clothes at those unique little stores that you can find hiding on the narrow, old streets of Europe. They are filled with exotic clothes that are stylish and trendy, but oftentimes way too expensive to buy on a regular shopping trip!

7. What type of girl are you? What do you obsess over? (ex: i'm a shoe girl)

I am a..... I don't really obsess over anything **

**while she thinks this is a bad thing, it'd be great not to be obsessed over something and waste all your money on it :)

Oh you dancer, you

Before & After: Closet Makeover

Hey guys! This is a momentous occasion. For the first time in seven years I cleaned the tiny box I call my closet. After staring at the mess for basically half my life I decided it needed a thorough cleaning and proceeded to empty my entire closet. My old style of organization went like this: if it will stay on a hanger it goes in the closet, if not, it is shoved into the little squares on the right. It felt great to finally go through all of this old stuff and finally sort out what I want to keep. The main reason my closet looks so much cleaner is just that I threw so much out. Maybe its just me being a packrat, but its so hard to part with all those useless trinkets that bring back childhood memories. I found all this stuff I thought was lost plus stuff I forgot about all together. The most exciting find was my classic denim shorts that I basically cried over when I lost them. This summer I bought a new pair from Forever 21 but the oldies are still my favorite.

Ta-daaa!! The actual hanging clothes might look just as random as before however I organized them by jackets, summer tops, winter tops, skirts, fancy dresses, casual dresses, and scarves.

A small sampling off my purses. I use the small clutches as decoration on the walls. The close-up picture of my shoe nook refuses to load correctly which is annoying.

Glamorous Bohemian

Hey guys! According to my mom, this outfit looked "exotic". I'm not sure I would use that word, but this look did bring together some unexpected pieces. Let me just say that this was the fastest I have ever chosen an outfit in my entire life. I wanted a dressier look since my friends and I went to Flattop so I started with skirts. It was between this skirt and a dark floral one, both of which I haven't worn since the holidays. For some reason the sequins and dark color of this skirt made it feel wintery so I never thought about making a summer look. The white tee was the first thing I saw and it matched so that was a given. The brown belt added some interest and shape to the outfit while the bag brought in some pattern. I never would have chosen this had I not been in a rush but I felt cute and comfortable in it. Adding detailed accessories to basic outfits is a great, simple way to style a new look.

Shirt: Old Navy
Skirt: Loft
Belt: Vintage (stolen from mother)
Shoes: Loft
Necklace: Kohl's
Bag: Peru

I'm very determined to take my blog pics-- even if its 10:30!

Isn't the embroidery great? I like pieces like this because I know I won't run into anyone else wearing it.

Divine Inspiration

Hey guys! Lately Olivia and I have been picking out each others outfits and we're exploring different places to find inspiration. Usually I come up with new outfits in two ways: either I find a new trend or style to experiment with or I have a focal point for the outfit and I just build off of that. Yesterday while looking through my shoe collection I realized there are a lot of bright, fun shoes that I haven't worn very much. Until this year I didn't own cute boots so I wore flats year round (read: lake-sized puddles, feet of snow, and upper 90s temps) but I forgot about some of the adorable summery shoes in the back of my closet. With Olivia's help I decided to switch it up and make shoes the focal point.

I wanted to wear a light, summery dress so I tried a few of my classics: coral spaghetti strap, purple striped, and grey crocheted. None of these went perfectly with the bright turquoise of the shoes but LUCKILY, in the deep dark corners of my closet, I found this old striped Wet Seal dress that I bought in eighth grade. I think of it as a "younger" less sophisticated style I have now, but it was perfect for walking to lunch in the steamy weather.

My sister and I went to Bluemax Cafe right by our house. We both got chicken paninis: mine with pesto and hers with bacon.

Dress: Wet Seal

Bag: Juicy Couture

Shoes: Random Boutique in Spain

Sunglasses: Wet Seal

Earrings: Ten Thousand Villages (gift)

Although I didn't really see it at first, these turquoise drop earrings from Ten Thousand Villages finished off the outfit nicely. Ten Thousand Villages is great for unique jewelry and gifts. Many of their products are made in Central America or Southeast Asia and procedes go to the native people who created them. Thanks Kathryn! Click here to check out her Fashionable Friend of the Week Post.

I like how the stripes go in different directions! Also, the low waist is a refreshing change from popular high, empire style waistbands.


The shoes that inspired it all....Olivia decided to wear her turquoise flats too and pics of her outfit will be up soon. These shoes are great in that I can perfectly match them like here, add a burst of color in a neutral outfit or clash with another bright color for a fresh look.

I got a little nostalgic looking through posts from the last half a year and admired my old self for posting almost everyday in the first months. I need to make a set time everyday to take my pictures because thats how I was successful at the beginning. Even though I'm disappointed that my posts aren't as frequent, I'm happy with my style evolution and hopefully each post is more thoughtful than the last. This is in no way a conclusion to this blog, in fact, its more of a self-evaluation that will make future posts even better. Its been a great six months! Keep on reading and feel free to email me at victoriastylerush@gmail.com.

Family Picnic

Hey Guys! My family kicked off this Fourth of July with a picnic in the park. It was super yummy and fun! I packed the food (leftover chicken panini and pizza) while Olivia chose activities for us to do (Rummikub, cards, Scattergories).
Cherries from our farm!

I kept my outfit simple with purple checkered shorts a la picnic blanket. This white tee is the only top I've found that matches these shorts. I think this time its not a matter of what's in my closet because I went through all the possible colors in my head and can't think of what would match. Any ideas?


Top: Old Navy
Shorts: American Eagle Outfitters
Shoes: Spain
Sunglasses: Wet Seal



I finally ditched my go-to silver sandals and went for the white ked-type sneakers.

Topped it all off with white sunglasses --man was it sunny!!

Bit O' Floral

Hey Guys! Sorry its been a while--I've had plenty of fashion inspiration lately, I've just been having too much fun to take pics. I wore this outfit on thursday for about five minutes when I got a text asking me to come paint someone's house. As I said before, I have field hockey camp most mornings so I'm kinda pooped and not mentally prepared to get dressed up. Its kinda funny because when I actually do get cleaned up I feel energized and ready to start my day. It felt like a dress day so I went for the thrifted DIY floral dress my mom picked up somewhere. Last time I wore the dress with a thin brown belt so I opted for the white this time. I can't decide which one I like more....My pink Loft sandals finished up the look in a very matchy-matchy sort of way.

Dress: Thrifted (DIY hemmed)

Belt: Loft

Sandals: Loft

For some reason these pictures are not cooperating