Quintessential Me

I absolutely love this outfit because its so me. Both the skirt and the lace tank are staple pieces, but I've never worn them together. The little details like the brooch-turned-necklace, leather belt, and metallic sandals are my go-to accessories. This outfit was also super lightweight, which was great for the sticky weather today. I think a pretty outfit can speak for itself, so I'll leave it at that. Have a great rest of the week everybody!

{lace tank-Target; cami-Aeropostale; skirt-Daffy's; belt-Target; sandals-loft; necklace-vintage}

Field of Roses

I have a little challenge going with myself to wear every piece in my closet by the end of this school year. If I haven't worn a piece by June 10th (not that I'm counting down to graduation or anything....), it's going in the 'donate' pile. I'm adding another interesting challenge: to wear pieces with something I've never worn them with before. So far it's going really well and I'm creating new outfits that have been in my closet for years.

Since yesterday was one of those days I had minimal energy to coordinate jewelry or layer pieces. Instead of slipping into sweats, which is very tempting, I threw on a summery dress that was just as easy but looked pulled-together. I generally like to balance light and dark tones, but I went all out with reds and pinks here. I hesitated to add jewelry because the outfit already had color, pattern and a belt. Also, my wonderful high school has made I.D.s mandatory. That would be fine except that they have to be around your neck....bye-bye cute necklaces! Scroll down for a glimpse of teen angst.

  

{dress-thrifted; sandals-Loft; belt-thrifted}

Pura Vida!

The random clothes and jewelry I bought this summer are finally resurfacing. I bought this hand-made beaded necklace in Costa Rica and struggled slightly to make it work with casual outfits. It looks striking with a strapless black dress (homecoming outfit?) but can overpower a plain shirt. I chose a light pink top to bring out the pink in the necklace and added my signature feminine touch with a lace skirt.

This necklace also reminds me of the Native American/Western looks on the fall runways. Since Western has never been my look, I like incorporating pieces of modern trends into my personal style. Some people change their style completely with the changing trends, but that means they never find what they really like and what expresses their style. Besides knowing what looks good with your skin tones and body shape, developing your personal style is about presenting the best you to the world. The right clothes will make you feel confident, so you'll also be showing everyone the real you.

A little deep for a Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

New Friends

I feel very 'safari glam' in this outfit. The dress is simple enough, but throw on a few gold accessories and it looks perfectly pulled-together. I could deceive you and just say this dress is Calvin Klein, which technically it is, but I found it at the ever-surprising Costco. I always make sure to stop by their clothes section because they often carry brands like 7 Jeans, Lucky, Addidas and lots of Calvin Klein. You never know where you'll find those favorite pieces.

These earrings are also new, as of this summer. I got them on the street in Rome where an old man was selling beautiful gold-plated jewelry he made himself. At least that's what I got out of my minimal understanding of Italian. I pretended to browse his pieces for a few minutes, but these babies caught my eye right away.

{dress-Calvin Klein; earrings-Rome; belt-vintage; shoes-H&M}

The Same but Different

I've worn this top and skirt together recently but I like this version of the outfit a lot more. I love the light, textured fabric of both pieces and bright blues. I'm obsessed with cobalt and turquoise so why not wear them together? I was skeptical if they would go because I remembered those awkward people in 3rd grade who thought just because all their clothes were blue that they matched. (You know who I'm talking about...) Luckily for me, it worked in this case.

The dangly pearl earrings are from Stella & Dot, an adorable jewelry brand I've recently discovered. It's the type of catalogue where I just flip from page to page and circle every single item. They have the perfect mix of dainty feminine looks and bold, vintage-inspired pieces. The earrings are actually the only things in this outfit purchased in the U.S...weird.

{top-Primark; skirt-Zara; flats-Spain; earrings- Stella & Dot} 

What I Wore Book Signing!

Wednesday night I had the pleasure of attending a book signing for Jessica of What I Wore in downtown Chicago. The event was hosted by shopittome.com and Julie Watson personal stylists. It was so great to chat with other bloggers (and lurkers as the non-bloggers called themselves) in a fun atmosphere. It was funny but cool that a lot of us followed the same girls. Sometimes the blogosphere seems so big but meeting other people just like me make it feel more like a community.

I got to talk with Jessica for a little and I asked her a few questions about breaking into the fashion business. She was just as friendly and cute in real life as she is on her blog, which I really admire. I can only hope my voice on my blog reflects how I act and speak in real life. It was so inspiring to see all those fashionable girls and the event definitely perked me up after a hectic first day of school!





Final Moments of Freedom

 I'm not the biggest fan of these pictures, but I love this outfit. I wore it earlier this week before I became a big, bad senior. I can't believe the school year is already in full swing! I'm excited about most of my classes and have some fabulous fashion-related projects in the works. It should be a fun year!

This dress just oozes summer. It's light, floral and brightly colored. I toned down the bold flowers with a cream cardigan and referenced the colors in the dress with bright accessories. I bought this glass ring this summer in Venice because a) Venetian glass is beautiful and b) the orange/gold pattern reminded me of fire! The ring of fire, harharhar. As if I wasn't wearing enough bright colors, I threw on some hot pink sandals and attempted to enjoy the few remaining hours of summer break.

{dress-Nordstrom; cardigan-Loft; ring-Venice; sandals-Loft}

Fall Shopping: Loft

 There's something about the beginning of school that makes me dream about preppy, classic clothes. Ok, not gonna lie, I always dream about classic clothes. Autumn collections just exude that preppy, back-to-school feeling. As I was perusing the Loft website (instead of filling out college apps, woops) I fell in love with the new fall looks. The dresses have slim pencil-skirts and interesting details that update the basic sheath. I love the 'broken leaves' pattern on a few of the blouses and skirts- its like a less sassy version of animal prints.

There usually aren't many shoes in the stores, but the Loft Shoe Boutique online could easily become my guilty pleasure. The new shoes for fall come in earth tones, suedes and flannels with gold and leather accents. I could wear these grey flats to school with anything. I'm thinking a pencil skirt and feminine blouse or jeans and a structured blazer. Last, and definitely not least, is the fabulous vintage-looking jewelry. I would love to add this oversized stone necklace to my collection and the gold snake bracelet is so dang glam!

Senior Portrait

 I'd like to think that, for most things in my life, I make things happen. This outfit just kind of happened to me. I knew I wanted to wear a solid colored, simple top for my senior portrait (hope it turned out!). I had about 1.5 seconds to chose bottoms so I grabbed this lace skirt. Thankfully it matched and I ended up really liking this outfit. It's simple chic with silver details. Sadly this is probably the last season for my silver sandals. I'll definitely need a replacement- they're a summer staple!

Recreating my portrait-"chin up, turn your head, tilt towards me..."

{top-Loft; skirt-Target; necklace-Stella & Dot; earrings-Tiffany's; sandals-Loft}

Settled Down

My wardrobe used to feel like a random collection of boring basics and cute individual pieces that usually only matched one other thing. Now that I've had time to explore what I like and what works for me, putting together outfits is easier and more interesting. I don't like to put a label on my style, but I definitely gravitate towards feminine details, bold colors, oversized necklaces, and classic silhouettes. Oh and shoes! I can never resist a pair of funky flats or ladylike heels.

This outfit embodies a few of my favorite looks. It's the first time I've styled this silver and turquoise necklace from Loft. It caught my eye immediately and, as luck would have it, it was on deep discount. Score! I'm also starting to love the navy/turquoise combo, maybe even more than my beloved coral and turquoise looks. How about you? What looks do you go back to time and time again?

{tank-Calvin Klein, skirt-thrifted; necklace-Loft; sandals-Loft}

Perspective

 To quote one of my all-time favorite Friends episodes, "It's all relative!". In my day-to-day life, it's completely impractical to wear heels. I felt like such a lady in this outfit that I wanted to show how I would ideally wear it, not how I actually wore it. While they're cute and all, I'm not going to pretend for one minute that I wore these pumps outside of the photoshoot.

Since I bought it in the winter, I've always worn this skirt with dark, heavy tops. All summer I've been meaning to style it for warm weather so I paired it with a cream embroidered tank. The sheer lady-likeness of it all inspired me to do a casual bangles version of the WASPy strand of pearls. I tied a pearl necklace around twice and added a silver pearl bracelet. I attempted a jewelry DIY to add a silver chain to the mix, but it didn't look right. Finally, a thin black belt was perfect to pull it all together.

{top-F21; skirt-Loft; pearls-Claire's; shoes-thrifted}