Tag Archives: red

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.

My Favorite Scarf

Vest: NY&C, Pants: Gap, Shirt: Levi, Scarf: Just Creations (Fair Trade), Boots: Some store in the mall

I think every lady has that one item in their closet that they turn to to add a little extra ‘oomph’ to their outfits when they are feeling a little drab.

This scarf is mine, it always makes me feel a little more dressed up. And a little bit like a bandit. I could definitely rob a bank in wild west the 1890′s with this scarf. I’d ride in on a horse in my bandana, and ride out with one of those big bags of gold coins with dollar signs on the side.

Also the horse is a palomino and it’s name is Caramel, because that is what 8-year-old Loren wanted to name her horse before I actually met a few horses and discovered I’m a little bit scared of them. They are just so BIG, and look pretty much nothing like My Little Ponies.

Wear ALL the Colors!

Shirt & Belt: Hand-me Downs, Pants & Jacket: Thrift Store (Similar Pants, Similar Blazer), Shoes: Chuck Taylors! Mine were cheaper because I bought the Children’s size! (Similar)

 

I have a new hair color. I blame all the beautiful red-headed bloggers… and spring. Spring always make me dye my hair.

My father gave me this ‘Lake Woebegone‘ shirt several years ago after he got a little pudgy for it. It was the pride of my high school years, but Prairie Home Companion wasn’t my favorite back then, and I haven’t really listened to it since that kind of terrible movie was made. My mother also gave me one of his old belts a couple months ago. My father used to be a bit of a hippie, can you tell? I used some ‘brasso’ on the buckle & some saddle soap on the leather part and it’s nearly as good as new. Also, when he was skinny he was younger he wore about a 30″ waist, so I feel no shame in fitting into his old belt.

My mom was really pleased to see me wear them on Easter to be with family. I probably should have worn a cute floral dress in honor of the season, but my inner rebellious teenager didn’t want to put on an ‘Easter Dress’. Instead I decided to wear ALL the colors! And Chuck Taylors.

Hope everyone had an awesome Easter. I spent a portion of the this weekend being sick, so I’ve been a little absent from the blog-o-sphere for a couple days. I’m better now though. Please tell me about all the awesome things you did in my absence!

A New URL & a New Way to Focus my Camera

Dress: Thrifted, Shirt: NY&C, Shoes: Target (kids section)

Yesterday was just ‘one of those days’. I looked super cute, but got caught in a mini-monsoon before I could get any photos (these are from a few days ago), I moved my blog to a new URL & messed it up THREE times, I got a call from the Chase about some fraudulent charges on my credit card (even though it was still in my wallet) & had to cancel the card.

On the bright-side. I love the way it smells after a spring rain, I totally had an umbrella in the back seat of my car (score one for the messy chick) also it was nice & cool all evening so we got to sit with the back door open.  I no longer have to explain to people why my blog name doesn’t match the web address, also it is easier to say out loud. I did not lose any money from credit fraud.

Fun fact, in cases of credit card fraud in the US you are not liable for anything more than $50, or if the card is not present at the time of the transaction $0. I’ve seen some credit card companies advertise this like it is an important service they offer. It’s not, it’s a law.

I’ve been abusing my alpha dog status and using Ian-dog as a stand in to help me focus my camera on the right spot. He’s gotten much better at ‘sit & stay’ the past couple weeks. We’ve also been working on ‘Come with a happy voice’. When he runs off to say hello to a neighbor or a visitor, I automatically get my angry voice out and can’t help but scold him when he comes over to me.  So I’ve also been training myself to say ‘good boy’ when he comes over to me and make sure I give him some belly rubs.