Wedding Fashion: Not a Dress?

Drafts:

Earlier Drafts:
This skirt has helped me ease into neon.

Composition:
yellow spotted top (Billabong via Swell)
pink skirt (Target)
gold heels (Guess)
yellow clutch (SR Squared by Sondra Roberts)

Usage:
I enjoy wedding season, even the thick, dead-heat-of-summer of it.  The romance, the food, the music, and the reunions with old friends combine to make June and July weekends positively delightful.  Last Saturday, I road-tripped with friends to just such a festive occasion in Connecticut.  I easily planned my casual outfits for the mini-vacation, but I was stumped as to my (semi-)formal attire.  I'm disenchanted with dresses, see.

I'm over frocks because I've cycled through most of my own.  My interior monologue goes like so: "I wore that dress to a bridal shower last week, this one to my brother's graduation, and I'm reserving that one for an outdoor affair in the middle of August."  Not that I own merely three dresses.  But what's with this No Overlap rule?  The one which cautions against outfit repeats, especially at weddings which occur in the same calendar year and with similar guest lists?  Don't the gods of wedding fashion empathize with our plight?  It's nearly impossible to wear a dress differently enough to disguise it as an entirely new ensemble.  (Props to Liz for accomplishing just such a feat earlier this week.)  Sure, a unique clutch, heels in a different shade, and perhaps a belt can infuse a frock with new vitality, but changing the accessories won't prevent your former college apartmentmate from greeting you with, "I haven't seen you since So-and-So's wedding last month!  Weren't you wearing the same dress then?"  Hmph.  Detected.

I'm also disillusioned with dresses because I'm bored with their silhouettes, especially the two to which I most often revert.  First, I'm tempted to purge my closet of all empire-waisted, spaghetti-strapped, knee-length, mono-articles of clothing.  I'm tired of seeing myself in them, and wedding attendees everywhere likely sense my halfheartedness toward donning them, too.  On my curve-less body this look is the quintessence of "Blah."  Second, although I'm grateful for my trusty strapless get-ups, I supremely dislike joining the requisite mob of fellow tube-topped women simultaneously hiking up their uppermost hems in preparation for the bouquet toss.  At the most, I feel cloned and mechanical; at the very least, I feel well-choreographed.  Are we all bored with these silhouettes, or do I need to join the rest of you in branching out?  More variety please, screams my closet!

In my pursuit of more interesting semi-formal options for the Connecticut fete, the color palette of Katie's Catherine Malandrino dress inspired me.  I liked her refreshing combination of pinks and yellows.  Even better, I liked that my limited frock selection prompted me to translate Katie's pastels into a neon-hued skirt + top pairing of my own.  I wanted rose-plus-lemon, but my closet offered the more saturated bubblegum-plus-trafficlight.  I wanted a new silhouette, and I got frills and layers, without venturing down the dress route.  This look feels energized to me.  What do you think?

Next up on my silhouette pursuit: pants to a wedding.  I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try it.  Have any of you ladies attempted it?

Prompts:

• What silhouettes do you normally wear to weddings and other semi-formal / formal affairs?
• How do you dress creatively for events which require more or less standard attire?
• Have you ever worn pants to a wedding, ladies?  If so, how did you wear them?  I'd like to try it, but I need some advice from braver souls first.
• After I wore this top, Liz expressed surprise that I had effectively repurposed a surf brand garment for an explicitly uncasual event.  We're both loyal to beach wear, but we tend to keep it in context, this outfit being an exception.  Would you wear pieces cross-context like this?  To what extent to you heed the marketing of clothing brands? 

Shorts and Stripes

Drafts:

Earlier Drafts:
I started wearing this jacket again when I realized I could cuff the sleeves, and I wore it again with these Chucks in an All-American look.
I showed you these walking shorts before I altered them, and I've been wearing these wedges nonstop since I bought them to re-energize my summer wardrobe.

Composition:
antiqued gold finish earrings (Charlotte Russe)
navy cotton jacket (Gap Outlet)
nautical stripe tank (Gap)
white walking length shorts (Old Navy, altered)
white short shorts (Old Navy)
white wedges (MIA)
white sneakers (Converse Chuck Taylors)

Usage:
After weeks and weeks of searching, I finally found the perfect navy and white nautical striped top-- for $4 at gap.com!  I love navy and white, and I love how crisp they look together, so when I started seeing this trend on other blogs a few months back, I fell hook line and sinker for it (too much with the nautical talk?).  I hope you guys are feeling the nautical-inspired love because I can already tell that I'm going to try to find a million different ways to wear this tank.  (Starting again on Saturday when the U.S. takes on Ghana in the World Cup!)

For my first try, I paired the tank with white short shorts and my chucks in an attempt to beat the unbearable heat when I went out to run errands with my husband.  I've already boasted about how comfortable I am with my runner's legs, so it might not be a surprise that I wear short shorts, though I completely understand why plenty of women feel ambivalent about them.  Oscar seems to be questioning my shoe choice, but I liked how the Chucks gave the look a sporty Americana-esque feel.

Then I immediately began thinking about how I could get away with wearing this tank to work.  I knew it would look great under my navy jacket, so I thought I'd go white on the bottom again.  I  pulled out these "are they cropped pants or are they walking shorts?" shorts, cut off the hem, and cuffed them over.  I've had these "shorts" for several years, and I have no idea why it never occurred to me to alter them before.  My creativity must have been inspired by my love of this tank and my frequent pilgrimage to the blogs written by ladies who regularly modify their own clothing.  I can already tell they'll get much more wear like this.

Finally, I love the nautical stripes with navy and white, but I also like them with pops of contrasting colors.  Though my favorite nail color of this summer, OPI's Mod-ern Girl, only provides a very small pop of color, I think it completes the look.  I put this orange hued jelly polish on my nails several weeks ago and have worn it nearly every day since.  It never chips!  I do think that keeping your nails short is key when you're wearing an almost-neon shade like this, though.

Prompts:

•  Have you embraced this nautical-inspired trend or are you resisting it?
• Should I hem these walking shorts or keep them cuffed?  (You can click to enlarge if you want to get a better look at the cuffs.)  I'm afraid my cuffing obsession is approaching the level of my belting obsession.  Feel free to stage an inter-cuff-tion.
• Can you wear shorts to work, or is that a no-no in your workplace?  I think these are walking shorts are suitable for working on campus during the summer, but I might not teach in this ensemble.
• Are you buying my claim that my orange nails serve as an adequate pop of color?  What apparel color should I try pairing with my nautical stripes next?

Scarving and Summering

Drafts:

Earlier Drafts:
I wore these slouchy jeans for a relaxed night on the town.
I paired these sandals with my favorite jean jacket.

Composition:
Road Trip Wear (above):
nautical patterned scarf (the sale bin at Irresistibles)
violet layered tank (Swell)
boyfriend jeans (Gap)
strappy sandals (Target)

Safari Chic Challenge (below):
green patterned cotton scarf (Old Navy, eons ago)
khaki shirt dress (Gap)
three-strand woven belt (Lulu's)
bangles (thrifted)
aviator sunglasses (Fells Point Surf Co.)
strappy sandals (Target)

Usage:
Many thanks to Sally of Already Pretty and Jessica of What I Wore for featuring Liz and me in your style challenges yesterday!  We had fun crafting the ensembles, and we especially enjoyed joining forces with other bloggers.  For our first-time and new readers, thanks for stopping by!  We hope you stick around.

Today I'm exploring uses of the patterned head scarf, the accessory which Vogue magazine calls in its latest issue (page 64, if you're interested) the "ubiquitous" hairwear of the summer.

Last weekend I embarked on a road trip to New England with my husband, my girlfriend, and my girlfriend's husband.  Our destination?  Connecticut!  Our mutual amigo from college married his gal in Enfield, and the four of us were thrilled to celebrate the occasion with him and his new wife.  Their wedding also served as a great excuse to explore historic Greenwich.  So, on our way back from the affair, we shopped along Greenwich Avenue.  I wore the above outfit to stroll the shops with the locals and to brunch al fresco at an Italian restaurant.  (I'm embarrassed to confess to our native New England readers that I ate pasta instead of lobster that day, but I promise I sampled your famed regional delicacy during the weekend!  Lobster in its original context was as delicious as I had imagined.)

These slouchy boyfriend jeans seem to work better with this purple top than with this baggy brown one.  And the layered tank suits my flat-chested self by adding volume.  The scarf was an afterthought, to be honest, but  I hadn't blow-dried my hair that day, so doubling-over the width of the gauzy fabric and wearing it as a headband served as a great alternative to a baseball cap.  I loved the scarf's hue, and the nautical pattern gestured good-naturedly at my waterside context.  It's always nice when a styling afterthought becomes an outfit's centerpiece.

Feeling emboldened in my scarf experimentation, I repurposed one of the long, cotton variety into hairwear for Jessica's Safari Chic Challenge.  Normally, I wear this particular accessory around my neck, doubled or knotted in various configurations.  Seeing that my khaki shirt dress could use a pop of color, I tried wearing the lime-patterned fabric in this way, coiled around my neck.  It looked too bulky.  I wanted to look breezy, imagining myself on the exotic African plains.  So this time, I wore the scarf like a kerchief, tucking my hair into a knot at the nape of my neck.  The result?  Behold:

What do you think of these looks?  Would you wear the scarves differently, tie them in a knot or in a bow, throw them o'er your shoulder like a continental soldier? Or, erm, abandon them altogether?

Prompts:

• Are you wearing head scarves this summer?  How are you sporting this look?
• Why do you wear scarved hairwear?  Are you exchanging hats for scarves for a bit of sun protection, to escape laborious hair styling?  Or, do you favor scarves for less practical reasons?
• Native New Englanders (and others, too!), what do you think of my Greenwich shopping look?  Should I have worn something more context-friendly, like, say, a navy polo dress and boat shoes?
• What do you think of the Safari Chic look?  Too literal?  Not enough Meryl Streep a la Out of Africa?

Style Blogger Collaboration

We've got some exciting news for our readers today-- we're being featured on two very notable style blogs! 

Liz's black-out week challenge looks can be found at Already Pretty.  Please visit the Already Pretty Round-up post to see all the ladies who participated in Sally's black-out challenge.  To see Liz's own black-out week write-up, click here.  Thanks to Sally for issuing the challenge and showcasing Liz's participation!

Liz and Anne-Marie both participated in the What I Wore Safari Chic Style Challenge.  For your own safari chic inspiration, visit Jessica's What We Wore post and check out the other stylish ladies there.  For Liz's safari ensemble write-up, click here.  Thanks to Jessica for rallying so many ladies to share their style savvy!

And to those of you who are visiting our blog for the first time, Welcome!!  We hope you'll let us know what you think!

From Vacation to Vocation

Drafts: 

 
Composition:
antiqued gold finish earrings (Charlotte Russe)
purple cotton jersey dress (Victoria's Secret online)
white button down (Express via sister's closet)
brown stretch belt (Kohl's)
brown wedge sandals (Old Navy)

Usage:
I mentioned earlier that I was having a lot of trouble finding affordable, easy summer dresses, so naturally I found this one after I had given up searching.  I really like the fit of this dress, and it will be perfect for my upcoming beach vacation, my attendance at a summer ATP tennis tournament, and countless outdoor social gatherings.  The cut of the dress is definitely not work appropriate, though, so I wanted to try to re-style it in order to get some use out of it during my work week.

A while back, I put together this look which featured a belt to disguise the line between my button-down and one of my favorite skirts.  I thought I'd try to recreate that look with this dress since its skirt is an office appropriate length.  I found this short-sleeve button down in my sister's closet, so I wore that over the dress, folded up the bottom of the top, and positioned it under the belt.  This belt is about 2" wide, and all but the buckle is stretch material, so it did a nice job of flattening out the fold and disguising it.  I thought I might end up adjusting this all day long, but I was surprised at how well the belt held everything in place.

When I wear this again, I think I'll wear the belt about one inch lower so it's not right under my bust, but I liked the overall look here.  I'm always excited to find new ways to maximize the usefulness of an article of apparel! 

Prompts:

• Do you tend to keep your work wear and your casual attire separate, or do you try to find ways to mix and match them?
• Do you have any other tricks for making a more casual item of apparel more appropriate for the classroom or office?  (Feel free to share links!)

Wedding Fashion: Bridesmaid Dress

Draft:

Composition:
bridesmaid dress (David's Bridal)
silver heels (BCBGMaxAzaria)

Usage:
(Note: I'm traveling between June 16 and June 28, so I won't be commenting or responding to anything until I return.)

As I mentioned previously, one of my closest friends got married recently.  I served as a bridesmaid, and here's how I looked on the big day.  For me, picking out bridesmaid dresses presented a few problems.  I'm in another wedding this summer and in both cases, I told the brides that I would wear whatever they wanted - a giant taffeta gown, a tuxedo, really anything - as long as it sufficiently covered me up.  The problem is that I am bustier than the average bridesmaid.  To find a dress that fits my chest without looking obscene (hence, the covered up requirement) is harder than it looks.  I often have trouble wearing strapless dresses because they often do not provide ample coverage.  This dress, however, comes up high enough that it makes me look decent for church, much to my (and the bride's) relief.

For my hair, I requested a loose, side-swept updo, and I was pleased with how it came out.  The bride, per tradition, gave us the purple-hued jewelry that we wore on the big day.  Though I had little to do with how I fashioned or styled myself for this day, I ended up happy with the way that I looked.  In this blog, we try to think about the ways that we present ourselves through clothing and the messages we send.  Being in a bridal party presents an interesting stylistic arena as you do not necessarily represent yourself through your look (of course, there are exceptions to this).  I like to think of it as such: you represent your love, loyalty, and support for the bride through your clothing on her wedding day.  In the case of both weddings that I am in this summer, I am honored to stand by these strong, beautiful women as they take this step forward into matrimony.  To L and A, congratulations.

Prompts:

• Have you been a bridemaid?  How many times?  What did you wear?  How did you feel about it?
• Brides, how did think about styling your bridesmaids?

Submission Sunday: Vickie

Introduction:
Liz's sister Vickie recently completed her Bachelor's of Nursing degree and is currently studying for the NCLEX.  She didn't tell us how she would describe her personal style, but Liz would describe Vickie's style as colorful, relaxed, and classic.

Draft: 
Summer Black-Out Challenge: Go Bold!

Composition:

blue v-neck tee (Old Navy)

patchwork skirt (craft fair in Nicaragua)

headband (bowtie from dad’s closet)

Usage:

Since half of my wardrobe made its SSG debut last week, I thought I might try this challenge for myself.  Black is a staple in my closet, as almost all of my accessories are black, and it’s the neutral I find most comforting.  So when I was getting ready for church this morning and looking at the “camp/wedding wardrobe” that isn’t currently at my sister’s house, I found this skirt, and decided that I would not only go without black, but try to make as bold of a fashion statement as possible.

I bought this skirt while on a medical mission trip in Central America, so wearing it always reminds me of good times and great people, and this gave me the extra push to go all out.  I usually wear it with a white shirt, since I think it’s bright enough on its own, but decided to try something new today.  I also thought to myself “what would Emma wear?”

My favorite McKinley HS guidance counselor seems to always pair bold skirts with bright tops, or the other way around, so I felt like I could use that as inspiration for straying away from all neutrals.  I found this pink bowtie hanging on the back of my dad’s door, and was thrilled to find that it fit my head perfectly, and pulled another color out of the skirt.

I agree with Katie’s idea that bright colors can put you in a good mood, as well as Liz’s idea that some items have sentimental value.  Both of those things are true of this outfit.

I’ll admit that I wore black flip-flops when I wore this outfit to church because I didn’t pack many shoes, so it was either those or bright red heels, which didn’t seem to work.  I’ve been working on my cheesy poses since I’ll be spending the next 8 weeks at camp, and cheesiness is a must when surrounded by middle schoolers.

Prompts:

• Is this too bold?  Does it draw away from the skirt to be wearing a non-neutral on top?
• What shoes would work best here?
• Does this large pink bow make me look like a present?