Tag Archives: boots

4 Quick Steps for Turning ‘Clothes’ into an ‘Outfit’

I’m have a mostly analytical nature. I love having a process or steps to complete for any task. It helps me define is working for me and improve on anything I dislike.

We headed out on Saturday night with friends, these are the ‘boring’ chambray shirt & jeans I was wearing during the day. To walk the dog, clean house, and curl up on the couch and watch Bob’s Burger’s on Netflix instant view (I’m in love with Kristen Schaal). When we decided to met some friends for drinks I wanted to take my clothes and turn them into an outfit. I’ve been working on these steps for a while now, and while I don’t follow this list every time, having quick go-to steps helps me decide what to do next. Like any medium ‘You have to know the rules before you can break them’.

1.) Tuck it & belt it.

  • Add a belt to your outfit, and if you are wearing two pieces tuck in your top. This helps define your waist, and breaks up long stretches of color.

2.) Roll up & Unbutton.

  • My mother used to have to tell me to unbutton my top button, because I thought ‘if it’s there I should use it.’ That’s not really true. Unbutton your top couple buttons, you can wear a bright-colored camisole to add some interest here.
  • Rolling up your sleeves breaks up the color. I feel like it makes my arms look longer and less stuffy.

3.) Accessorize.

  • I’m admittedly not great at accessorizing yet, so I typically limit myself to one big statement piece. Dangly earrings (in this case), or funky bracelets, or chunky necklaces. I like to keep it simple by just choosing one.

4.) When in doubt. Bright lips.

  • Bright red lips are definitely in vogue this spring. In a couple more seasons you might try a bright pink, or a coral, or a dark mauve, or whatever complements your skin color. It adds a bit of contrast to your face and really adds that extra oomph to make you look put together.


Tada! Loren is ready to rock & roll! Or just dance with her friends and try to avoid all the night club creepers. Do you guys have steps for going from drab to fab?

Double Florals

Last week I wore double florals for the first time to work on Wednesday, and then my car broke down. Which means that I now consider double florals to be bad luck.

Also the broken car threw off the end of my week.

The car is already 16 years old, I’ve been driving it for 8. I’m not saying I want the car to die, but I’m preparing for it to die… by browsing for a new car. Like a very old, very sick pet who’s quality of life has really fallen. Maybe it is time? I’m thinking Prius C? Go ahead and judge my decisions now. But tiny car, major MPG, probably won’t need to be replaced for MANY more years. And I have a big ole’ chunk of change in my savings account with no defined purpose…

Progress is More Beautiful than Perfection

I need more skirts with a chiffon underskirt.

Everything seen here is second hand, don’t you love it when that happens?

Please know, I am paraphrasing Rhi from Hey Gorgeous in the title

This has become my mantra for the next couple weeks. Although I would not consider myself a perfectionist, I sometimes find myself paralyzed when things aren’t exactlythewaythatIneedthemtobe. (Is that what perfectionism is?) When that fear stops you from doing something new, or trying something different. Sometimes it is better to push forward than to try & make everything ‘exactly correct’. That is something I’ve been trying here on this blog. Sometimes I publish posts I am not 100% happy with or an outfit that didn’t turn out quite right, because movement & change are sometimes more important that being perfect.

Maybe you know the feeling… that you shouldn’t pick up the pen because you aren’t “talented enough”, that you shouldn’t have friends over because the house isn’t spotless, or even that you shouldn’t wash the dishes right now because you don’t have time to wash all the dishes. These moments, they are the ones that I want to avoid. I’m going to pick up the pen, and throw that party, and only wash five dishes.

Because five clean dishes is better than no clean dishes.

I think that is a metaphor. I’m not exactly sure what for, but I’m writing it here anyway because things don’t have to be perfect!

So I saw nearly this exact outfit on Pinterest a couple weeks ago. And I thought ‘oooo that is really pretty’ and I filed it away for a ‘special event’, or a night that I knew something amazing would happen. And then I waited for the ‘right’ time. But then I read Rhi’s post and decided I would wear it today, because everyday should be ‘special’ and I will make something awesome happen.

The Blanket Scarf

This scarf isn’t anything special, it’s a big yellow pashmina I bought at Old Navy (or was it Target?) for $12 a couple years ago. It’s 100% acrylic the little strands constantly come un-knotted. But it is enormous, and that is why it is my ‘blanket scarf’.

I don’t do a lot of traveling but the one traveling tip I have, take a ‘blanket scarf’. Layover in Chicago have to sleep on the floor in the airport? BAM, blanket scarf! Eight hour road trip to Dragon Con and you are trying to sleeping in the backseat of the car? BAM, blanket scarf! Guy next to you on the plane won’t turn down his little air nozzle thing? BAM blanket scarf! Hot date with your significant other during the summer, but you know the movie theater will be super cold? BAM! Blanket Scarf.

This scarf has been to Boston, Chicago, Columbus, LA and Atlanta with me. It went on my first date with Curly-haired-boy to see a midnight showing of Blade Runner (the best movie ever), it had been to countless other movies and plays with me because it goes with nearly all of my outfits. Overly air conditioned convention centers & movie theaters, outdoor events that start during the day and then get colder when the sun goes down. There are tons of places that I get cold and need an extra layer of warmth. Which I think more than anything just shows… that I have really poor circulation…

 

One of the Reasons I Style Blog

Outfits like this remind me exactly how self conscious I used to be. In high school I never would have walked out of the house in an outfit that showed any skin on my chest never mind a skirt that let you see that I have hips. Now you know my big secret, I was super uncomfortable with myself in high school.

In other news, after photographing this outfit I realized it probably wasn’t 100% work appropriate. It is kinda tight. Also the dress is so thin that it’s impossible to wear without leggings or tights underneath so it is constantly riding up, also it shrunk some in the wash and the length is a little awkward now. Sorry cute striped maxi dress, you are too see through & too short & kind of tight. This skirt puts only a thin layer of cotton between me and wearing LEGGINGS AS PANTS!

Edit 04.27.12 : Finally noticed that I misspelled ‘style’ in the title! Oh the humiliation! No one even pointed it out, probably because I wrote that I have mild dyslexia and now they all just feel sorry for me :(