Friend Friday...

Welcome to this week's edition of Friend Fridays, sponsored by ModlyChic.

1. As a someone who writes/blogs about fashion, have you placed
yourself into some sort of blogging category?

I actually don't consider myself so much a fashion blogger as a personal style blogger. I think fashion bloggers actually follow the world of fashion, trends, runways, brands, couture, etc. I don't follow any of that. I may pick up on what's trendy from the blogs I read or the people I see, but that's about the extent of it. However, I have always reserved the right to blog about anything that catches my interest, so long as it is related to the world of fashion and style.

2. What keeps you from or encourages you to label yourself as a
certain kind of blogger?

While labels are useful tools to help describe yourself, your outlook, or your blog, they also serve the dual purpose of putting you in a box. Once you label yourself a certain way and present yourself that way to people, it becomes more difficult to do or present something different. Too often, people become trapped inside the box and can't find a way out.

3. When picking blogs to read and follow are you drawn to ones that
indicate a certain group or way of thinking/being?

Yes and No. There probably is a certain theme I am most drawn to in the blogs I read, but I don't actively seek out blogs that say/do/show something specific (ie "I will only read blogs about thrifting" or "I will never read blogs if they participate in the 30x30"). My decision to read a blog is based on a multitude of different criteria, most of them subconscious.

4. Do you think there are benefits in labeling yourself or others?

As I said before, labeling does have the benefit of helping to more quickly identify things. If I know someone is a daily style blogger who likes to thrift and remix, I have an idea of what their blog is like, and I know I would be more likely to be interested in that blog than, say, a blog that is all about high fashion.
However, those labels alone won't keep me reading a blog. And certain labels may turn me off of reading a blog that, otherwise, I may actually have been interested in, had the label not lost my interest.

5. Agree or Disagree -- We're all just people; we don't need all the
labels.

At the heart of that statement, I agree.
However, I think we, as people, have a certain need to qualify things. We want to know what is similar and what is different. We want to be able to quickly identify things, and thus, labeling happens, even if we don't want it to.

I think what we really need to do is to understand that while we may throw a label on something (or someone), that label is not the end-all be-all definition. People aren't black-and-white -- we are much more complex and there are so many subtleties that it is such a shame to not explore further. Further, people change! We grow and evolve, and if you've thrown a label on me in the past, you may not see who I am today.

So I guess what I'm saying is, sure, feel free to write a label on my forehead, but do it in pencil, not permanent ink.

Giveaway...

Thanks to this wonderful world of blog-land, I have discovered my love for dresses and skirts. They really are a girl's best friend! You can go up or down a few pounds (or many pounds) and somehow, they still fit and flatter. They are MUCH easier to find and more forgiving than pants. Dresses -- YAY!

As such, the gals over at The Pretty Life Anonymous are hosting a giveaway of the Ashley Dress by Mikarose.

Now, I would love to win this lovely dress for myself, but I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't share the opportunity with you too, dear readers.
If you'd like a chance to win the dress for yourself (or hey, for me!) head on over to their giveaway post.

Don't say I never did anything for ya. ;)

Friend Friday...

Welcome to this week's edition of Friend Fridays, sponsored by ModlyChic.

I missed the questions from June 24, so I thought I would take the opportunity to answer them now.

1. Since you began blogging do you notice a change in the types of
things you gravitate towards while shopping?

I definitely buy more dresses and skirts than I used to. I am more willing to try different things and things that I assume won't be flattering on the off-chance that they are. I have rediscovered my long-lost love of thrifting. I have been pulling more pattern and color into my wardrobe. I have also discovered a slew of stores (both online and brick + mortar) that I wouldn't have known about or considered had I not seen their clothing on other bloggers.

2. Do you find, as a fashion blogger, that you dress differently from
your family and friends? Do they comment on that?

Like everyone else, I think I kinda of always dressed differently -- for better or for worse! Nowadays, I am a little more fashion-forward than most of the people I see on a regular basis (but I am only speaking relatively here -- I don't think of myself as being very fashion-forward at all!).
There is a set of ladies who work in my office who comment every day on my outfits -- they think it's awesome that I have a blog (they are some of the only people I know who know I have a blog) and every day they comment on how "cute" I look. I must admit, it's a really nice ego-boost. ;)

3. What's the weirdest fashion that you secretly like, even if you
aren’t bold enough to wear it?

Nothing specific comes to mind. It's not "weird" but for the longest time, I was afraid to try leggings/jeggings because I thought they wouldn't work with my plus-sized body. Now I own 2 pairs of jeggings and leggings are on my must-have shopping list.

4. Looking at current trends – what would you like to try but need to
build up the courage to do?

Again, nothing specific comes to mind.
I did just build up the courage to make yet another drastic change to my hair. If you're my friend on Facebook, then you already know what it is, but if not, you will have to wait a little while for photos.
(Nothing like a juicy teaser to keep people coming back!) ;)

5. Toot someone's horn – what fashion blogger out there inspires you
with her bold fashion choices?

Audi, Christine, Suze, Terra, and Erin, just to name a few!

Honeymoon Dress...

When hubby and I got married 8 months ago, we honeymooned in Disney World at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Having gotten married at the end of October, we predicted autumn-like weather for our time there, and holy cow, were we wrong! We had packed mainly jeans, tshirts, and hoodies, but we were so hot on our first day out, I knew we wouldn't make it through the whole week dressed like that. Luckily hubby had brought a few pairs of shorts, but I don't own shorts and hadn't thought to bring a skirt other than my dressy outfit. I knew I had to remedy my sartorial situation STAT!

Our first day out, we decided to visit Animal Kingdom. I spied this dress and instantly fell in love. It was a tad more expensive than I normally would have paid for a piece like this (yay, tourist-pricing!), but I knew it would be a nice souvenir of our honeymoon, since I would be able to wear it again! (And I did -- every day that week -- talk about a capsule wardrobe!) I knew once I got home I would be able to wear it on weekends and after work, but I wanted to find a way to make it office-appropriate. On weekends I would just wear this dress solo, but for work, I wanted to ensure there would be no wardrobe malfuntions, so I opted to wear both a bra and a cami underneath, just in case. All straps are hidden by the cardi, which was also needed for extra warmth in my overly-air-conditioned office.


Dress: Disney World
Cardi: Target
Shoes: Fioni via Payless
Ring: Laila Rowe
Earrings: gift

Closeup:


I love being able to make more casual clothing work for the office. While my office is business-casual, we are really allowed to lean a little heavier on the casual side. I'm lucky in that respect. I know not everyone would be able to wear a dress like this one to work, but I love that I was able to pick up a fun reminder of my wedding and honeymoon that won't just sit on a shelf. Every time I wear this dress, I remember all the fun we had and how lucky I am to have such a fabulous husband.

Do you have any souvenir clothing that has special memories for you?

Friend Friday...

Welcome to this week's edition of Friend Fridays, sponsored by ModlyChic.

1. What’s your go-to outfit formula?

I don't know that I have one specific formula, but I guess for work, when I don't feel like thinking about it, I usually grab a dress, a belt, and a cardi or else I swap the dress for a top + skirt. If it's cold I will layer under the dress and throw in a pair of tights.

2. How did you come about this formula?

I hardly wore dresses + skirts before I started blogging, and I almost never wore belts. Now, those are my favorite pieces -- dresses and skirts are more forgiving to my figure, and belts help define my waistline.
I rediscovered dresses and skirts after I discovered the world of blogging, and now I'm hooked!

3. Do you have different formulas for different occasions in your life?

I suppose I do -- when it is the weekend, I tend more towards jeans and tshirts, though I usually try to dress it up either with a better-quality T with a fun pattern or feature and a nicer pair of shoes.
If I'm headed to a concert, I love wearing my over-the-top jewelry, some crazy hairdo, and a little too much makeup. ;)

4. Has it morphed over the years?

Certainly. I used to be strictly jeans-and-a-tee for weekends. Work was just pants-and-a-top. Nothing interesting. Nowadays, when I walk into the office, people are checking in to see what interesting piece or combination I'm wearing. I have to say, it's really flattering!

5. Which other blogger’s outfit formula would you like to swipe?

I'm so schizophrenic with the styles that I like; it's so hard to choose!
When I'm feeling funkier, I would totally go for something along the lines of Audi or Erin.
When I'm feeling more classic, I love the clean lines of Allie.
I also really love the looks Hillary pulls together.