I'm Dressing My Best...

"So often, our focus when getting dressed in the morning is how to minimize or downplay aspects of our bodies that we’re just not crazy about. Does this skirt smooth my hips? Does this top hide my tummy? Do these pants make my thighs look slimmer?
But what would happen if you inverted that thought process? What if, instead of dressing to mitigate your so-so, you dressed to highlight the parts of your body that you love most? What if, for a whole week, you committed to self-consciously dressing your best bits?"
-the lovely ladies of academichic



This week, May 10-14, is Dress Your Best Week -- and yours truly will be participating!

Here are the 5 body parts I have chosen to highlight:
1. my “girls”
2. my curvy waist
3. my long neck
4. my boo-tay
5. my eyes

Now, because my posts are often a day or two behind when my outfit was actually worn, there is still a backlogged post or two in store before the Dress Your Best posts will display. To clear any confusion, I will post which day of the week I wore an outfit and which body part is was intended to highlight.

If you haven't already signed up to participate, I urge you to!
Too often we ladies dress ourselves to hide flaws instead of celebrate beauty. Let's embrace our fabulocity!

Artists Can Color the Sky Red Because They Know it's Blue...

I used to have oodles of red pieces in my closet because someone once told me red was my color. Lately, though, I have realized that I actually have very few red items, so I have been trying to keep an eye out for things in that punchy color.



Top: Anne Taylor Loft, thrifted
Pants: NY&Co
Shoes: American Eagle for Payless
Cami: Forever XXI?
Earrings: black coral from Curacao, gift
Necklace, made by me

Closeup:


I love this necklace. Like seriously, when I whipped this thing up, despite having initially made it as a Christmas gift, I knew it would be mine. I think it may be my favorite of the few pieces I have made so far -- I'm darned proud of it.

I also really love this top. I think it was my first Anne Taylor Loft purchase, and I was smug to have bought it thrifted. It is so soft and comfy, and the wrap styling really makes my waist look tiny.

Finally, I really love these new shoes! Payless had the end of the BOGO deal this weekend, so despite trying to save money, I decided to head in there (hey, I need wedding shoes, right?) I wasn't able to find a second pair to BOGO these with, but these were so cute and cheap that I snatched them up anyway.

It's such a happy feeling to be wearing several pieces that you really love.

Take a moment to view the link about the earrings I am wearing. It is really fascinating to me to read about the black coral and the man who makes this jewelry.

The One that Started It All...

I can probably point to my purchase of this dress as the awakening of my fashion revival. Before buying this dress, I was in a serious rut, buying only things that were comfortable. I was utterly upset over my ever-growing weight and body, and shopping for clothes and looking nice was at the bottom of the totem pole that was my list of priorities.



Dress: NY&Co
Shoes: thrifted
Belt: NY&Co
Necklace: thrifted
Bracelet: gift
Earrings: from a stand in the mall, gift from fiance

Closeup:


When I spotted this dress in the store, I knew it would feel good with its soft, comfy fabric and its lack of waist restriction. I tried it on on a whim, and I totally fell in love with it. Suddenly my perspective on clothing completely changed -- I can buy cute clothes that make me look and feel good!
This was about 2 years ago, and I still really love this dress.

Have you ever had any fashion epiphanies?

May the Winds of Destiny Carry You Aloft to Dance With the Stars...

I have coveted this cardi ever since I first saw Hillary wearing it. Gray has quickly because my favorite neutral-of-choice, and I absolutely love the floaty petals.



Top: Marshall's?
Cardi: Loft
Skirt: NY&Co
Shoes: Vera Wang for Kohl's
Earrings: Laila Rowe

Closeup:


I haven't worn this skirt in a while because I had it in my mind that it had gotten too snug and was uncomfortable. However, after buying this cardigan at Loft's amazing sale over the weekend, I thought the softness of the sweater and the kinda-sorta edginess of the snakeprint in the skirt would be a perfect pairing. Surprisingly, when I put the skirt on, no snugness at all!
I wonder why I had that in my mind.
Does that ever happen to you?

Purple Nurple...

Kimberley's Outfit Inspiration Calendar called for a color mix of magenta, black, and white. I'm not sure if this is magenta, but it's about as close as I could get.



Top: Marshall's
Skirt: NY&Co
Shoes: thifted
Earrings: Old Navy
Cami: Forever XXI
Bracelet: gift

Closeup:


Last time I wore this skirt, I mentioned that I never know what other colors to pair it with besides purple and white. Well, black might not be a huge step, being that it's a neutral, but sometimes I work best in baby-steps.
I bought this top probably about 4-5 years ago, and I have always loved how the wrap detailing nips me in at the waist. Sadly, it's age is showing and the poor guy is pilling badly.

Does anyone know how to de-pill a knit top? Or how to prevent it from pilling further?

Lizzie the Lizard...

While this top photographs a little "expectant mother," in person, it wears beautifully blousy.



Top: H&M
Skirt: D'Rae's Closet
Shoes: NickelsSoft, thrifted
Cami: Forever XXI
Scarf: Icing by Claire's
Earrings: Claire's
Lizard Pins: thrifted, originally earrings, altered by me
Nail Polish: very old

Closeup:


These awesome lizard brooches were originally a pair of earrings. One hung by the head, and the other by the tail. Oh, how I wish I'd snapped a picture of me wearing them as intended before altering them into brooches. Really, they were totally hilarious.
I don't often wear yellow gold. It's not a color of metal that I think suit me. However, while I love metal-mixing on other bloggers, it's not something I've mastered yet myself, so I steer clear for now. Instead, I own just a few yellow-gold-colored pieces, just so I can accessorize with awesome stuff like these brooches.

I decided to give myself a home mani-pedi, since I have been in desperate need of one for months now. In an attempt to save money still for the wedding, I opted to give myself a manicure, and I decided to use this purple polish that has been in my collection for years. Seriously, y'all, I have had this bottle since high school? middle school maybe?
Dear fiance pointed out his concerns about makeup that was that old, but I assured him this rule didn't apply to nail polish. Which of course, got me thinking -- so long as it's still the proper texture to be used, DOES nail polish "go bad?" I was shocked that this bottle was still usable, but until he said something, it never entered my mind that it may be bad for me...
What say you?

Blurple...

Years ago, my best friend bought herself a new car. All of the lights on the dashboard were this blueish purple that we had never seen before.
We dubbed this color "blurple."

Behold my blurple dress:



Dress: NY&Co
Cardi: Marshall's
Belt: NY&Co
Shoes: Payless
Earrings: CATO
Necklace: Laila Rowe

Closeup:


(images are fuzzy again today. apologies!)

This outfit is, in essence, the total negative of my Pop of Blue outfit from last week. In that outfit, I wore all neutrals with a pop or two of some color.
This outfit, instead, makes me look like I was attacked by a rabid bag of Skittles, but yknow what? I love this outfit! I did add in some neutrals with the belt and shoes, but really that was the safety rope that kept this outfit tethered to the side of good fashion -- another color and I may have been eligible for clown college.

Do you prefer neutral outfits with a pop of color or colorful outfits grounded by neutral?