Tag Archives: Jeans

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?

I Language vs. You Language

I ordered this top (dress) from Modcloth a couple of months ago and even though I love the pattern & the cutout on the back I literally cannot wear it as a dress because the skirt part does not fit me.

I am pretty much totally happy with the way I look. I love my curvy bits, and my freckles, and my short legs, and my funky short hair.

But still I find plenty of things that don’t fit me, or aren’t flattering, or are just plain weird.

In college I took a business writing class. The professor went into specifics about ‘I language statements vs. you language statements’.

You Language

“Your joke wasn’t funny.’

I Language

“I don’t think that was funny.”

‘You language’ puts the blame on the receiver, and can easily be interpreted as an attack.  So you shouldn’t use in business writing (or arguments with your spouse).

When I am in the dressing room it’s easy to fall into those familiar “I language statements’

‘I am to fat for this dress’

‘My hips are to big for this’.

The truth is that the dress isn’t right. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with me, or with you. We are not at fault when an inanimate object doesn’t look good on us. It’s weird that I still use these statements because the clothing doesn’t have feelings, I won’t disappoint a skirt when I tell it ‘Things just aren’t working out’, there’s no reason to say to a dress ‘It’s not you, it’s me’.

I think ‘you language’ belongs in the dressing room. Lately when I step into a dressing room I’ve been practicing my ‘you language’ statements like.

‘This skirt is to small.’

‘This top doesn’t suit me.’

‘This dress is not proportioned correctly.’

Which is exactly the problem I ran into with this Modcloth dress, the top fits me well but the bottom will not pull over my hips, because my hips are wonderful and this dress is to not proportioned to fit my body type.

A Quiet Lunch

Boots: Chinese Laundry (same), Jeans: Gap Always Skinny (same), Shirt: Levi’s, Jacket: Old Navy (similar ), Scarf, Gloves & Purse: Just Creations (similar tiny purse)

I was really excited yesterday to see lots of other people get that nagging urge to prove they are right. Even if you never tell the person you were arguing with you can tell ME, Loren, your blogger friend. I will gloat with you when you are correct about the name of that guy you knew in high school, or the price of the cookies you tried to buy at the grocery store, or that Cadbury eggs really are getting smaller.

Here’s another ‘Loren Emotion’, I’m not sure if I’m the only person who feels this way. So here it goes.

I love eating lunch by myself.

There, the true is out. Sure a lunch date with boyfriend is nice, or going out with the co-workers on pay day. But the average Monday-Thursday I’d rather be alone.

There’s no pressure to small talk while your mouth is full. No one makes weird comments about how your food is or isn’t healthy. You can put all your potato chips on your sandwich, or pick out all the onions, or dip your fries in your McFlurry without judgement. You can read without interruption. And, as a slow eater, there’s never any pressure to hurry up & finish because everyone else is done already.

I’ve run into people I know on my lunch outings and while they are always very nice the conversation goes a little like this:

Friend: So where’s Kent this afternoon?

Me: He’s working.

*Friend makes a very obvious pity face*

Friend: Oh… so… you are eating… by yourself?

Me: Yep! I’ve got my book I’m trying to finish and then I’m heading back to work.

Friend: Huh… Well… take care.

Dear friends & acquaintances. My solo lunches are awesome.

My Insufferable Need to Be Right

 


Boots: Chinese Laundry (same), Jeans: Gap Always Skinny (same), Shirt: The Gap, Scarf & Cute little purse: Ten Thousand Villages, Velvet Blazer: Thrifted (similar)

Sometimes I get this weird nagging feeling a little one in the pit of my stomach that says ‘I’m right’. I’ll have a disagreement with a friend or family member but I have no proof that what I’m saying is correct, I just feel it.

A while ago, boyfriend and I were discussing the American Beauty because I hadn’t seen it since high school and couldn’t really remember what happened. Curly-haired-boy brought up a conversation from over the holidays, and claimed my sister said ‘the movie had to much gratuitous nudity’. I told Kent he was wrong, my sister didn’t say that becuase she’s never SEEN American Beauty. He insisted that at the Christmas celebration she’d expressed these opinions. I knew I was right, but I didn’t have the proof, or the energy to fight about something so silly.

Several weeks later my subconscious brought this feeling of fidelity back to the surface. I snatched my phone from my purse and innocently sent my sister a text message.

L:  Do you remember that movie American Beauty?

Sara:  I don’t think so, what happens in it?

L: There’s that famous scene with the naked blonde teenaged girl covered only by rose petals.

L: In the end (spoiler alert) Kevin Spacey gets shot in the head.

*Pause while Sara IMDB’s Kevin Spacey to remember who he is*

S: Yeah… I’ve never seen that movie.

Please fast forward to NOW, when I have the irresistible urge to point out that I was right. About a thing that happened months ago, that we didn’t really argue about weeks ago.

So, that’s is one point for me!  And 12 million points for Kent who still knows which actor I really mean when I refer to Will Ferrel as ‘Anchorman‘. Every.Single.Time.

The Camel Bowler

Bowler Hat: Thrifted, Shirt: Old Navy, Jacket: Target, Jeans: The Gap, Red Belt: Thrifted, Boots: Sears, Necklace: Just Creations

The little boots I just can't seem to stop wearing.

It's official I'm obsessed with this shirt, pretend you haven't seen it twice already this week. Or I'm doing a remix challenge... that's it, a challenge...

I can no longer remember if I bought this hat with the pretense of letting Curly-haired-boy wear it. But it’s definitely MY hat now. It’s second hand so I figured it’s ok that’s it’s made locally from ‘Real Beaver Fur’. Which sounds like I’m going to make a dirty joke. But it’s just a fact.

I’m not vegetarian or even really anti-fur, but I don’t like the idea of animals being kept on farms just to kill and skin. However, the idea of a ‘beaver farm’ just cracks me up inside. Them running around inside a little red barn, building dams all over the place.

These photos are from last week, when Curly-Haired-boy’s car broke down so I had to drive him to his show (The Hitchhiker’s Guild to the Galaxy Radio Play. He was Arthur Dent.) While I was taking these photos a guy walked up and stared at me. When I glanced at him a couple times he walked behind a car and continued to stare at me. So I put away my camera and ran away. Because I’m super paranoid.

The show was good though.