Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Me-OW...

Dressing myself has been rather tough in this hot and very humid mid-atlantic summer. It is already warm and muggy when I walk out the door at 6:30 am, and by the time I am coming home, I am absolutely melting.
In the middle, however, is my overly-air-conditioned office where I shiver the day away. I usually run a space-heater under my desk, but thanks to a recurring rash on my ankles, doctor's orders are to use it as sparingly as possible now.
As such, I'm forced to dress creatively, in layers that can be piled on in the office and removed for the commute home, without me fellow Metro riders becoming too concerned that they are traveling with *that* type of working girl.

6-29-10-collage

Cardi: NY&Co
Skirt: thrifted
Shoes: Merona, thrifted
Cami: Macy's?
Earrings: Claire's
Nail Polish: both from American Apparel

Closeup:
6-29-10-full

Cardigans and camis/tanks/tees have been my go-to so far this summer. Dresses and Skirts all the way. Sure, I have tossed on a pair of jeans for the occasional after-work or weekend activity, but leaving my arms and legs free to feel the wind has been the best plan of action so far.
The challenge I have faced is this: while I can pile on the layers (meanwhile injecting my personality into my outfits) in the office, when I shed the layers outside, I often feel like I am also peeling off the details that make my outfit interesting; that make it ME. Remove the heavy necklace, strip off the cinching belt, get rid of that sweat-inducing cardi. Now I'm just left bare with a plain dress, or a top and skirt.

How do you create interesting outfits with minimal layers and pieces that still feel unique and personalied?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Deja Vu...

Yes, I know I promised new outfit photos, but they just haven't happened. It is now officially summer, and I am just melting by the time I get home from work -- too melty to take photos. I need to figure out a new routine, then everything will be hunky dory.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a bit of deja vu with you.
Way back in April, I wore this outfit, one where I felt great and just knew I looked good:

4-16-10-full

So imagine my surprise when I'm browsing the clearance dresses over at Torrid and I see this:



Guess I'm just ahead of my time, y'all.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Excuses...

I have not taken any outfit photos for you this week. You see, I unexpectedly had an AMAZING start to the week by making last-minute plans to have dinner two nights in a row with lovely ladies who I haven't seen but maybe once in the last decade!
My friend Erin and I went to high school together, and I have literally only seen her once in 14 years -- and that was when I just ran into her while shopping. We only spoke for like 30 seconds before we had to be on our way, and we weren't able to exchange contact info before doing so. Thankfully, we got back in touch recently, and I had dinner with her Monday night.
I went to college with Joi, and I have also seen her only once since then. I didn't even know she was in town until she sent me a message Tuesday afternoon, so I quickly arranged plans for her to come over for dinner. (Thankfully, I actually had something thawed out in the fridge to cook!)

It was wonderful to be able to catch up with these two lovely ladies, and they are the reason that I feel not-at-all guilty about not snapping any photos for you.

What I will offer you in the meantime, until I get to taking pictures again is this website that was pointed out to me by a friend.
Jamie is an 18 year old student who has just graduated high school and has lived the last month of her life according to the rules, tips, and tricks out lined in Seventeen magazine. The goal of her project is to explore what she calls "a dying aspect of teenage culture." She wears what the magazine tells her to wear, performs the beauty rituals the magazine prescribes, and does the activities it recommends. Meanwhile, the blog serves as her outlet for her own thoughts, feelings, and ruminations on the outcomes and connotations of the assumptions and tones of the magazine.
I find her to be a very perceptive and intelligent girl, and her blog makes for sometimes funny and often thought-provoking reading.

I find this project fascinating.
If you are interested too, check her out at The Seventeen Magazine Project.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Summer Blackout Challenge Roundup...

I only participated Monday through Friday, since I'm too much of a slacker to take weekend photos. Here is the collection of what I wore during Sal's Summer Blackout Challenge:

Monday:
6-7-10-full

Tuesday:
6-8-10-full

Wednesday:
6-9-10-full

Thursday:
6-10-10-full

Friday:
6-11-10-full


Which outfit of the week was your favorite?
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
  
pollcode.com free polls

Giveaway...

Tina over at T Minus, T Plus is hosting a giveaway!
She is offering up a beautiful orange tote, courtesy of CSN stores.
If you're interested, check out the details over on her blog!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Black-Out Challenge, Day Five...

Though the challenge technically lasted for a full week, I rarely take weekend photos, so Friday was the end of the challenge for me. For the record, I wore no black on Saturday, but I did finally wear black on Sunday: I wasn't feeling well, and the brown comfy-pants that I had been vegging out in really needed to be washed, so I ended up wearing their black counterparts. So really, I was *thisclose* to going completely blackless for the full week.

6-11-10-collage

Dress: Anne Taylor Loft
Earrings: Claire's
Necklace: bought from a friend
Thin Bangle: thrifted
Thick Bangle: Claire's
Shoes (not pictured): given to me by a friend

Closeup:
6-11-10-full

Despite the photographic evidence showing otherwise, there were shoes in this outfit. However, it was a GORGEOUS day outside, and I just didn't feel like wearing them come picture time. Plus, this is much closer to how I wore the outfit all day -- the shoes were kicked off under my desk 99% of the day. Anywho, they were nude wedges. Nothing exciting, but I'm not sure that they've made it onto the blog before (or at least not recently) so maybe I should have snapped them. Oh well -- can you forgive me??cl

Giveaway

Fashion for the Economically Challenged is celebrating her 1-year blogoversary!
To celebrate, she is hosting a giveaway for a $25 gift card. If you win, you get to select one of the following stores:
TJMaxx
Target
JCPenney
Jcrew
Ann Taylor Loft
Macys
Lane Bryant

Head on over to her blog for your chance to win!