outfit of the day: when outfit dreams don’t work out (plus a giveaway!)

May212013

First of all, I am heartbroken by the news coming out of Oklahoma. I’m so sorry to anyone going through that tragedy right now. If you can, please consider donating to the Red Cross – text “REDCROSS” to 90999 for a $10 donation. And make sure you have an updated weather app or radio. It’s only the beginning of storm season for the U.S.

A striped dress with a baseball cap makes a fuss-free weekend look

Gap striped sleeveless jersey dress • J. Crew Cece flats (similar color) • hat from the best college in the world

Do you ever have an outfit in your head that you’ve been thinking about for ages? You try and collect all the pieces and excitedly put it together – only to realize it doesn’t quite live up to your outfit dreams. I was inspired to create a cute weekend outfit by the Herve Ledger Fall 2013 collection – mostly because of their awesome mix of bandage dresses and baseball caps. While the runway is out of reach for me, I fell in love with this dress from Gap and saw it in my head as going perfect with my beloved IU cap and thought it would be finished perfectly with my new Converse sneakers. Not so much. This dress is about three inches too long, and I’m seriously considering hemming it. With my sneakers on, I may as well have been wearing snowshoes, my feet felt so big.

Sigh. Have you ever had a perfect outfit in your head, only to be disappointed with reality?

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And now, a picture for Jojo. This is a bit of an inside joke (my grandmother requested more relaxed photos, and I ended up pricking my finger on my roses.)

A striped dress with a baseball cap makes an easy weekend look

On the plus side, I’m also excited to be participating in a giveaway hosted by a blog I sponsor, The Tiny Heart! Thanks Sharon for organizing this – some GREAT prizes available!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 Comments Filed Under: outfit of the day, weekend wear Tagged With:

monday vlog: two easy hairstyles using surf spray

May202013

Happy Monday! We seemed to have bypassed spring and gone straight into July – yesterday was the hottest, most humid day this year. But hotter temperatures mean time for my favorite hairstyle – the beach look! This look is meant to be messy and casual – I love it for the weekends with a sundress and cute pair of sandals. Salt sprays will give straight hair like mine some wave and texture. I just got Bumble & bumble surf spray and so far love it – though I wish it smelled a bit like the ocean! I will never get over John Freida discontinuing their beach blonde surf spray – why did they do that? It was the Best. Stuff. Ever.

Linking up with Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons!

4 Comments Filed Under: vlogs Tagged With: ,

weekend wishlist: purse, earrings, wedges, curler

May192013

J. Crew Edie purse, Sarah Potempta beachwaver, Sam & Libby wedges, Kate Spade Saturday circle studs

Kate Spade Saturday circle studs • Sarah Potempa beachwaver curling iron • Target Sam & Libby Kelly wedges • J. Crew Edie purse

You can follow all my picks and much more on my Pinterest boards.

2 Comments Filed Under: weekend wishlist

outfit of the day: peplum for girls who hate peplum

May162013

Black and white patterns with pink, yellow and orange accents

Black and white patterns with pink, yellow and orange accents

Ann Taylor blouse • Old Navy striped jersey pencil skirt • J. Crew belt • J. Crew Factory pumps • LOFT necklace

Ever since it started showing up in every store, I have tried on peplum tops and dresses to no avail. From more expensive ones to peplum from Target, nothing worked. I’m convinced that peplum isn’t for me – but the idea of peplum is still incredibly flattering and easy to recreate. One of the frustrating parts about peplum tops for me is that the peplum often hits my torso at the wrong point. By using a belt, you can adjust where the “peplum” starts in order to most flatter your figure.

Just grab a longer blouse or top, and add a belt at your natural waist. The fabric shouldn’t be too flowy, because part of peplum’s advantage is structure. This look goes great with pencil skirts and pants equally.

I really, really liked this outfit. The neon accents were fun and added much-needed color. This is a definite outfit repeat.

Also: shoulder pads, when used correctly, can be incredibly flattering. The more you know.

Black and white patterns with pink, yellow and orange accents

I almost forgot to tell you all – my second column for a magazine produced by my local newspaper was published! It’s all about building a wardrobe based on classic pieces – you can read it here (go to page 5)!

Linking up with Mix and Match Fashion today!

22 Comments Filed Under: outfit of the day, trends, work fashion Tagged With: , ,

a peek into our lives + whatever works wednesday

May152013

I had a blog years ago. It was part-angsty (I thought I was supposed to be an angsty teenager), part pathetic ranting (“OMG 22 is SOOOO OLD! What am I going to DO WITH MYSELF?”) and part stream of consciousness. I had a following of about seven, and I didn’t care. It was my teensy, microscopic, online home, I was the only editor, and I could write about whatever stupid movie I saw or news story that made me mad. It was the world’s window into my pretty much problem-free home.

Because that is what blogs are supposed to be in my mind: windows, tiny peeks into our lives. This blog just happens to have more of a theme and direction – and for the most part I stick to it. But if something made me mad or cry or laugh, I want to share it with you all. Because I like to hear the same things from all of you – what did you do today? Nothing? That’s ok – I want to hear about your day anyway.

There was an interesting conversation on one of my favorite blogs, J. Crew Aficionada, that centered around an online code J. Crew gave to Rachel from Pink Peonies to share with her readers. I found it strange that J. Crew gave one blog a specific code when they are very anti-blogs and anti-customer promotions on social media – and commented that while I think Rachel is lovely and has great style, one of my major pet peeves from her and Blair of Atlantic-Pacific is that I know NOTHING about them – except that they have great style (and possibly a large budget). They post where they got the items (or who they got them from), and little to nothing else about their lives. One commenter took this as “bashing” poor Rachel (seriously, has she never heard of the borderline bullying site that is Shamepuff?), but it’s honestly just a difference in taste. Rachel and Blair’s sites are lovely and perfect when I want outfit ideas. But one of these days I wish they would just tell me how their days went.

What do you all think? Do you like hearing about randoms in my life? Or am I annoying you all by telling you my mundane day-to-day details? And if you made it to the end of this essay, congrats. You’ve earned this link-up!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy!

~~~

It’s time for Whatever Works Wednesday!

Whatever Works Wednesday link-up party on smalltownbigwardrobe.com

 

How it works:

  1. Make sure your link is no more than one week old (older links will be deleted).
  2. Add your link (please link to the specific post and not to your main blog page).
  3. Add a link to my blog in the post you linked up to!
  4. Visit as many other links as you can!



27 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

monday vlog: a review & demo of hairuwear extensions

May132013

Extensions have always been that strange celebrity hair trick that I’ve wanted to be try but never understood how it would be easy enough. I am so not good at doing my hair – but Hairdo by Hairuwear extensions make it easy! I got to review the 20″ Wavy Extensions in ginger blonde, and demonstrated how easy they are to put in your hair (and how natural they look!) in today’s vlog.

Don’t forget – there are TWO more days to enter my Stella & Dot giveaway! Seriously, guys, I wish I could win this prize, I love it that much.

While I was provided these extensions for free, my opinions are 100% my own. As ever.

10 Comments Filed Under: vlogs Tagged With: , ,

to my mother

May122013

mom and me

Whenever I’m asked who my fashion icon is, I can only think of one person: my mother.

My mom has always been the most fashionable person in my life. I remember when I was little, I’d sit on her bed in the mornings, waiting for her to do my hair as she picked out an outfit. I’d often suggest shoes or necklaces, always pushing for something sparkly and colorful. My mom is responsible for my love of shopping, though at first I hated it. Dressing rooms scared me, and I refused to try anything on until I was about 12 or 13. She drilled in me some of life’s greatest rules (NEVER wear open-toed shoes without painting your nails first) and is the first email I get after cursing in a post (“your GRANDMOTHER reads your blog!”).

Even though I pretended otherwise, I always value my mom’s opinion on everything – though I like to shake things up sometimes just to see the shock on her face. I went through a phase in high school with my friend Lindsay where an afternoon of boredom was spent dyeing our hair crazy colors, and my mom never reproached me for it – except when I got red hair dye on the bathroom floor.

I have been a blonde most of my life except for senior year of college and grad school when I decided to go dark. The running joke I told was that I eventually went back to blonde because I didn’t want to look too much like my mom – heaven forbid that! We already have similar voices, expressions and I swear even handwriting.

But the truth is I would be so lucky to be just like my mom. She more than my fashion icon – she is the most wonderful woman I know.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Don’t forget to enter my Stella & Dot giveaway – I LOVE this prize!

7 Comments Filed Under: family Tagged With:

my favorite jewelry from stella & dot + a giveaway!

May102013

I should never have waited until I was 26 to get my ears pierced. Everyone (especially my mom and cousins) told me earrings were so much fun to buy – and it took me 26 years to believe them. But ever since then, I’ve realized they were right – and gone slightly crazy with earrings while adding to my necklace and bracelet collection. That’s why I love Stella & Dot jewelry – their pieces are simple, beautiful and reasonably priced! My cousin Frankie gave me a beautiful Stella & Dot necklace and earrings for Christmas last year, and I’ve been obsessed with their jewelry since then. I picked out my favorite pieces for you – why not treat yourself?

my favorite stella & dot jewelry

Maya pendant • Renegade cluster bracelet • Pyramid studs • Seychelles chandeliers • Serenity small stone drops (I have these and LOVE them!) • Sunset beach charm necklace • Demi layering necklace • Camilla ring

I love all these pieces – and YOU can win one! I’m giving away a Stella & Dot Maya pendant in the color of your choice (there are three to chose from!) to one lucky reader. The contest ends Wednesday, May 15 at midnight. Thanks for entering – and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note that purchasing Stella & Dot jewelry from the links on this post will result in a small commission for me. But I honestly believe you will love these pieces – that’s why I am featuring them!

40 Comments Filed Under: jewelry Tagged With: , ,

outfit of the day: primary colors

May92013

IMG_8795  IMG_8833

Talbots blazer and shell • J. Crew Factory skirt • Payless wedges

I hate changing my mind about what to wear at the last minute. I was all ready with an outfit based on this one I saw Olivia Wilde wearing on a movie set, but striped shirts are tricky bitches when you have big boobs like me, and my version of this look did not work. Which of course I figured out five minutes before I had to walk out my door. I’ll try that Olivia look again someday. For now, I’m thankful that my blazer and a red shell didn’t let me down.

I wore this (mustard) yellow skirt to participate in a link-up with one of my favorite blogs, Marionberry Style! Thanks Marion for having this link-up!

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11 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

splurge or save: wedge espadrilles + whatever works wednesday

May82013

Target Marguerite espilladres and J. Crew Seville espilladres

Target Margurite canvas espadrilles • J. Crew Seville wedge espadrilles

Summer shoes are one of my favorite things to buy when the weather gets warm. Espadrilles with a jute heel are cute with summer dresses – and can be worn to work. I love J. Crew’s simple style, but saw an almost-identical pair at Target for $100 less. Both are cute and perfect for going from summer days at the office to outdoor parties at night. I resisted getting the Target pair a few days ago, but may have to go back and snap it up.

Perhaps the bigger question than which to buy is exactly how DO you say espadrille? Espa-drill? Espa-dri-yay?

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy and Because Shanna Said So.

 ~~~

It’s time for Whatever Works Wednesday!

Whatever Works Wednesday link-up party on smalltownbigwardrobe.com

 

How it works:

  1. Make sure your link is no more than one week old (older links will be deleted).
  2. Add your link (please link to the specific post and not to your main blog page).
  3. Add a link to my blog in the post you linked up to!
  4. Visit as many other links as you can!



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