July, 2010

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31
Jul 10

OOTD: Rose garden

At the end of June, my boyfriend was visiting and we spent some time exploring the Oakland/Berkeley area. It is usually a lot cooler on that side of the tunnel, which was my main motivation – ha! Either way, I’d never been to the Berkeley Rose Garden and we spent some time walking around and taking pictures before venturing to Telegraph, UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Hills.

Roses

You’ve definitely seen this dress before, though this is more of a summer version. You know – swap the leggings and boots for shorts and sandals! I think by now I own enough of these Avenue sundresses to wear one each day of the week. Scary!

OOTD - Rose Garden

Dress – Avenue
Cardigan – TJ Maxx
Cami – Avenue
Shorts – Torrid
Belt – Evans
Necklace – Avenue
Flip flops – Old Navy (backup shoes)

One relatively constant themes I’ve noticed in the fashion blogging community is the desire to not “repeat” outfits – or document them, anyway. Problem is, these days a lot of us can’t afford to always be wearing something new. Basics are great and easier to remix for new looks – but I’ve found that patterned/colorful pieces can be more of a challenge. And when you have a closet full of said items, it can be a little disheartening! Come on, Michelle Obama does it – so can we! I actually find it more inspirational to see how people remix their wardrobe for “new looks” than a constant influx of new merchandise. Am I alone in this?

Unfortunately, there is some bad news as well. One of my favorite belts (the coral Evans one pictured above) recently broke, after wearing it for the third time. A moment of silence, please. Hopefully I’ll be able to fix it!

Hello!Details
OOTD — 2 Comments
26
Jul 10

OOTD: Trial run

This is an outfit from several weeks ago – Memorial Day! I was invited to a BBQ at my parent’s house and it was hot. The heat and I don’t particularly get along and where they live is usually 10-15 degrees hotter than my area. I ended up doing a trial run for an outfit I planned to wear camping during the summer and still stay relatively cool.

You see, I like to camp. However, for the most part… camping and fashion don’t mix. You don’t want your nice clothes to get dirty but don’t want to look like a mess either. But I didn’t want to revert to my old habits – bringing a bunch of old, comfortable clothes and oh, a swimsuit. I didn’t want to bring a bunch of clothes either. So I decided to snag a few boho skirts from my collection, mostly thrifted and figured they could do double duty.

Skirt/Dress – Thrifted
Leggings – Torrid
Belt – Torrid
Cardigan – TJ Maxx
Sandals – Evans

Awkward full length photo courtesy of my mother. It is difficult to get a decent picture when you’re trying to explain what you want and how to use the camera! You know, resulting in a lot of pictures with an open mouth or interesting facial expressions… I actually wore this sans cardigan for most of the day but the pictures were too blurry to post.

The best part of the day was probably the looks I got from my mother when I first arrived. When I finally asked why she was looking at me funny, even after telling me I looked cute… she asks, “Is that a skirt?”

Me!
Thoughts — 1 Comment
19
Jul 10

The value of comfort.

That favorite pair of beat up jeans, ancient t-shirts – do you have items of clothing you keep for comfort or nostalgia? Maybe laziness? Over the years, I’ve acquired various pieces that are now “FOR INSIDE ONLY” but keep feeling like I need to purge them from my wardrobe.

365.14 - Peek-a-boo!

Knit pants from an old job, a couple of old t-shirts, various pairs of knit shorts, a knit skirt, a threadbare pair of cut off yoga pants and a few shelf bra camis that were one of my wardrobe staples several years ago.

I don’t need this stuff. I have plenty of clothes! And storage issues to boot! But unlike my regular wardrobe, I don’t mind wearing these to get dirty. My mission lately has been to purge as much as possible – and oh boy, I have. Especially when it comes to old clothing.

Yet 80% of the time, I come home, shed the nice clothes and put on the old. This last batch is giving me trouble. Old, comfortable clothes like this are great for camping, cleaning, crafting… alliteration aside, I do stuff and things get messy. Being a klutz doesn’t help either! I just can’t toss this last group without thinking – what will I wear when they’re gone?

There are a few people who know how hilarious that last thought is.

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15
Jul 10

OOTD: Plaid!

It has definitely been awhile! The last few months have been really busy – time has flown. They are putting up “Back to School” stuff already! I might be a tad late with posting this outfit but figured an old outfit is better than nothing at all.

OOTD - Plaid!

Dress – Old Navy
Cardigan – Kmart
Belt – Off another dress
Sandals – Ross

This dress found its way to me around the middle of May. Because who are we kidding… I love plaid. Last I saw, it was still available on Old Navy’s website. It sat around for a few weeks, waiting to be worn but I couldn’t put together a look that I was happy with. Around the end of my semester, I needed a pick me up! So I pulled things together with new brown summer sandals, shopping in my closet for the cardigan (from last summer, still had the tags!) and a belt stolen from another dress.

Since then I’ve purchased another pair of brown sandals from Evans, which I think will work better. Looking at these pictures reminds me that I need to chop off my hair! It was driving me nuts for a few weeks but that subsided. Anyone know a good stylist in the Bay Area?

Hello!