Ladylike...

This week, I realized that for some reason I had my camera's flash set to OFF. No wonder all of my photos have been coming out so dark!
I have been meaning to try some of the tips that Kasmira made note of over in this post, but frankly, I've barely had the time to snap photos, let alone play with my camera settings. Turning the flash back on was the best I could do with my limited allotment of time.

This first outfit was what I wore back on Wednesday:


Dress: Merona, I think. second-hand.
Tights: We Love Colors
Boots: Ros Hommerson
Cami: unknown
Earrings: black coral from Curacao. gift from brother.

I often have trouble with wrap dresses, despite hearing that they are supposed to be the one kind of dress everyone can wear. I have broader shoulders and little "ladies" which means that once I wrap them to fit the rest of me, they usually gape at the top, leaving me a little exposed.
However, this dress, which I bought from D'Rae via her closet, fits beautifully! I love that it has long sleeves (with a gorgeous cuff detail, no less!) and that the fabric is a little heavier than what I have seen in most wrap dresses. And it actually wraps all the way, so there is no chance of a naughty breeze coming along and... well, you know!

I received these black coral earrings as a gift from my brother for my 21st birthday. He was stationed in Curacao back then, and brought back gifts of black coral for my mother, his now-wife, and me. He was telling us that the black coral is either endangered or at least very delicate (the details escape me in my decade-old memory) and there was only one man on the whole island who was allowed to collect it, as he know how to harvest it without killing it.
They aren't flashy or amazing to look at, but they are very special to me, and I love them.

This next outfit was what I wore yesterday:


Top: Marshall's?
Pants: NY&Co
Shoes: American Eagle for Payless
Earrings: made by friend
Bracelet: gift from fiance

Hooray for the flash! Now you can see that I am actually wearing COLOR!
I'm not sure whats going on with the blurry photos -- I have my camera set up tripod-style on my gorilla-pod on the counter, and I use a timer to take my photos. I am pretty sure I am posed with plenty of time before the shutter goes off, yet I still get quite a few pics come back that are fuzzy... Any thoughts from those of you who actually know something about photography, unlike myself?
This top is what I think of as an "easy" top -- it has pretty details that make the outfit interesting, so I don't have to try so hard. Plus, it is as comfy as a tshirt, so I don't feel quite so stuffy. I usually don't pair much with it in terms of accessories, but today I wore this bracelet my fiance gave me. I love the different beads that make it up, and I love that each one is different and unique. The only thing I don't love about it is that it is elastic, so I have been considering taking my jewelry toolkit to it and refashioning it a bit.

Finally, we come to today's outfit:


White Button-up: Target
Cream Wrap Sweater: second-hand
Skirt: thrifted
Brown Tights: unknown
Shoes: either swapped or thrifted
Necklace: thrifted
Earrings: very old

Today's Inspiration calendar theme was "Be Pretty in Soft Neutrals." I tried to focus more on the notions of "pretty" and "soft" since these aren't words I would usually use to describe my style. I almost feel in costume today, but I do really like this look.
Looking at the photos, I'm thinking the skirt is a tad too long, and the wrap sweater looks a bit awkward. My legs, however, look about a mile long! I picked up this trick from several fashion bloggers: wearing tights and shoes in the same color family seriously lengthens your leg line. It's such a no-brainer, but I guess I had never been that conscious when selecting my hosiery/shoe combo. Another lesson learned from this wonderful world of fashion blogging!

So, I will be MIA this weekend, as I will be out of town.
Here's hoping I don't get stuck in the snow!
I will try to check blogs on my phone, but I will see all you kids bright and early Monday morning!