number 6 of 7

from the Mr:

"I liked the style when I looked at these shoes in the closet and couldn’t remember if I had ever seen her wear them. I think she’s had them for a long time, so I thought it was time they saw the light of day again."

These heeled loafers. These have been around for a long time, as well – freshman or sophomore year of high school? I’m never brave enough to get rid of them, and clunky stacked heels are coming back, right? RIGHT?!

And they’re brown leather.

And almost perfectly (genuinely) distressed.

And they make me a wee bit taller.

I just never know what to wear them with…so I tried out bootcut jeans and gingham. Not a complete miss. But not a complete hit – I didn’t sink the Battleship…any ideas for next time?

shirt: Kohl's

jeans: thrifted (Old Navy)

belt: American Eagle

shoes: MIA

how to: mix prints

By now I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of people mixing prints (me: here). You might even be a pro at it yourself. But for those of you that aren’t just yet, here are two (easy) examples of print mixing, just to help you get your toes wet. However, if you’re ready to jump in and rock a head-to-toe print mixed ensemble, please do! And then send me pictures or the link so I can check it out and be impressed with your mad print-mixing skills.

 

 

 

 

 

But for the newbies, a few simple steps…

Step 1

Wear a striped shirt. Or maybe plaid. Or polka dots. Or just a printed shirt.

Step 2

Add a printed scarf in a similar color family (blue floral on blue stripes). Black and white stripes can really go with any floral. A similar color family keeps the prints looking cohesive, not like you got dressed in the dark.

Step 3

Put on pants. Or a skirt. Or some type of bottoms.

Step 4

Maybe add a jacket. Or not.

Step 5

Add accessories and shoes. Or not. Shoes would be another great place to add in some unexpected print mixing – think polka dots, stripes, leopard, plaid, etc. (stick with the same color family, though!)

Step 6 (the most important)

Love on your dogs.

left:

 striped shirt: Old Navy

 floral scarf: Target

jeans: Aéropostale

flats: WalMart

belt: American Eagle

right:

striped cardigan: rue21

floral scarf: thrifted

crochet skirt: Aéropostale

jacket: thrifted

sandals: Shoe Carnival

chambray and white jeans x2

 

 

 

 

 

Without realizing it, I wore a chambray and white jeans twice, exactly one week apart. The first with a lighter chambray, the second with a darker chambray and new floral scarf. I mean…if you love chambray like I do, then you should pair it with everything. And often.

left:

chambray: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

white jeans: Old Navy

sandals: Target

right:

chambray: thrifted

scarf: Target

white jeans: Old Navy

red wedges: thrifted

eShakti

What feels like ages ago (but was really only the beginning of August), a company called eShakti reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in ordering a dress through their site and featuring it on my blog.

Of course I said yes

I’d read a lot about this company through other bloggers and couldn’t wait to customize a dress for my short self. eShakti encourages you to customize any piece on their website – want pockets? Sure. No pockets? Ok. Need it a bit shorter? Or a bit longer? Easily done. Ordering by standard size IS an option, but if you’re interested in any of these beautiful garments, I’d go for something a bit more custom. Why not? Why not order something you know will fit you, instead of ordering it, and then having to get it tailored?

I submitted my measurements, took out the pockets, and went with a shorter length on this dress (I’m 5”4’ with short legs, a short torso, and short shoulders. However, my brother once told me I have long arms…what?).

And what do you know? This striped dress is a perfect fit.

I wore this on a date this past Saturday for wine and cheese (same place we went for our wedding anniversary, The Welsh Rabbit – highly recommend this place). Aside from the compliments from my Mr., our hostess/server gushed over my dress, as did another customer at the bar who made it a point to stop by our table and tell me she’d seen me walk in and I looked

“Fabulous. Really. Fabulous.”

Since the dress is black and white, I added some color with my shoes and jewelry, and added a thrifted gold clutch to complete my look.

I’ve wanted to order something from eShakti for a long time, ever since reading about the company through other bloggers, but I haven’t had an occasion that I NEEDED a new dress for (I’m guilty of buying dresses without an occasion, and then allowing them to sit in my closet for ages…whoops…). But when THEY contacted ME, I figured “Why not?!” I’m thinking if we get invited to holiday parties this winter, I can throw on festive tights and accessorize it differently to take this outfit from end-of-summer to colder weather (boo). Not that I want to wait that long to wear it again...

eShakti’s website has PLENTY of other options – more casual dresses, skirts, blouses, and everything in between. Something else that caught my eye was an emerald green tulle skirt…so fun. However, I think I’ll get more wear (and maybe more compliments) out of my black-and-white striped dress than an emerald green tulle skirt *sigh* There’s always the next occasion I need something fancy for…

dress: c/o of eShakti*

shoes: ALDO

clutch: thrifted

*dress provided courtesy of eShakti, however, all opinions are my own

dresses x3

I picked up this gray striped t-shirt dress recently, and I’m disappointed I didn’t find it sooner. It’s so simple, and I can play almost any color scheme off of it.

Brights? Sure.

Neon. Why not?

Neutrals (my new fave)? Absolutely.

Did I mention it’s comfortable? And soft? And striped? Oh, and it’s gray.

*swoon*

dress: WalMart

statement necklace: WalMart

shoes: Nordstrom

This navy blue dress is a favorite around here. Last time, I took a patriotic turn. This time a green and brown approach. Nothing TOO terribly exciting, but a little different. And a belt at the waist makes it feel a bit more put together than say, a plain blue dress with no accessories.

dress: thrifted

belt: reallyyyy old

shoes: Rocketdog via DSW

And here’s the blue striped peplum dress. Feels like I can wear any color belt with it and immediately look put together (it helps that I don’t have TOO many belts that would look funny with it). Oh, and this belt just happened to go with my bright red wedges. Funny how that happens…

dress: Target

belt: thrifted

wedges: thrifted (ELLE)

kid's section

 

 

 

 

I wore both of these outfits in the same day. One for work – the purple blouse and Bermuda shorts, definitely not the flouncy skater skirt. And the other (the skirt & vest) for a double date with friends. We had dinner and drinks, and then hit up Sports Authority, where I snagged some new running shorts (from the kids section…it pays to be short - stuff from the kids section is always cheaper).

Oh, and then more drinks.*

*Just had to solidify my adult-ness after having admitted to shopping in the kids section…

 top:

purple blouse: Eddie Bauer

Bermuda shorts: Old Navy

wedges: thrifted (Steve Madden)

 bottom:

tank: Forever21

vest: thrifted (Levi’s)

skirt: from a friend via Urban Outfitters

sandals: Target