Pops

All remixed except cami
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Tee: Target
Cami: Old Navy
Belt: Target
Shoes: Restricted via DSW
Bracelet: Chaps
Earrings: gift
Headband: Goody via Target

This skirt. I hate it. I love it. It's a nice enough skirt, but the fit makes me crazy when I have to do a lot of sitting and standing. It fits in the hips, but it's big in the waist, so things shift around when I move a lot. Things I didn't have to think about when I was teaching....


Anyway, I wore this teal cami underneath for a pop of color (and for the sake of modesty) and then went with my crazy red printed shoes. Red and teal/turquoise is a color combination that I absolutely love - it's bold but classic. Besides, it plays nicely with my mixed neutrals.


I wore this little headband because I got it for our trip to Turkey. I figured there's nothing like a headband to spice up travel hair. Y'all know what I'm talking about, right? That crazy fly away look that you have going on after a day of wandering the city or flying on planes? Or am I the only one with that issue? Before I take things on the road with me, I like to test them out. This headband works pretty well: it's comfy, it's easy to wear, and it's just a little bit of flash.


Y'all, we leave on THURSDAY MORNING! I feel like we've been planning our trip to Istanbul for so long that I almost can't believe that we're going. And I'm packing in a backpack and a purse. For a two week vacation, y'all. I managed to convince B. that it was a good idea to travel with nothing but carry-ons, so we're doing it. Believe that there's a packing post in the future.

Better late than never

All remixed except skirt
Skirt (worn as dress): Indian Festival at Penn's Landing (2009)
Belt: Target
Earrings: Target
Bracelet: gift from uncle
Sandals: Target

So last year all the bloggers were turning their maxi skirts into strapless dresses. And I didn't own any maxi skirts, so I didn't follow suit. I got this skirt last fall at an Indian Festival, and I have never worn it, partly because it's so stinkin' long and partly because it's more hippie chic than my usual style.


But as I was cleaning out my closet on Saturday, I rediscovered this crazy skirt. I tried it on and remembered that it's about three inches too long to be conducive to graceful walking. I'm not quite 5'3" (159 cm) and I try to avoid anything too long because I feel like I just look shorter than I am. So then I tried yanking the skirt up.


Add a belt and the skirt becomes a dress. And it's still long! This is usually an awkward length for me, but I like the way the whole thing turned out. I'm not sure that the skirt has suddenly become a keeper, but I did manage to wear something I've never worn before.


Even Kiku approves.

I'm on facebook!

So I finally made a facebook page for Mad Dress Game. It's lookin' a little lonely right now, so go on over and like the page so I don't feel so bad about myself. ;)

Boho

All new, except sandals and earrings
Dress: Target
Bracelet: won in a giveaway from No Guilt Fashion (Yay! Thanks!)
Earrings: Something Like Laughter via Etsy
Sandals: Chinese Laundry

My hair was insanely cooperative yesterday. It was big and glorious (and freshly washed) so I just let it fly, which just added to the boho look I had going on with this dress.


This is the dress I got for $5 at Target. Five bucks! B. was impressed. He's also a big fan of the dress, which surprised me since he usually thinks that anything floral is "old lady". I felt so easy, breezy and beautiful in it and did I just pretty much use the Cover Girl slogan in a sentence? Oh, advertising....


This bracelet is sooo stinkin' pretty, too! When I got it in the mail, I knew I wanted to wear it with this dress on Saturday for the block party and shopping for travel related gear (glasses case, contact solution, converter, TSA approved everything...). It looks great with this dress, I think and was just right for the breezy boho look I was going for.

Trés Nice

All remixed except shirt:
Shirt: vintage - thrifted and available here
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Belt: thrifted
Shoes: gift
Headband: F21
Earrings: Kohl's

So this outfit is a little matchy-matchy for my usual tastes, but I really like the way it came together. I've been trying to find a way to wear this top since I found it at the thrift store, but I couldn't quite seem to make it work because it's pretty stinkin' long. How did I never think to tuck it into a skirt before? Sometimes I'm a little dense.


This is pretty much the striped shirt of my dreams. The stripes are just right, I think, and I love the length of the sleeves. It feels pretty retro. I'll admit that the embroidery took some getting used to, but I'm kind of digging the tourist vibe it's giving.


Also, I'm in love with my hair today. I'd like y'all to know that I haven't washed it since Tuesday (though I did rinse it with conditioner yesterday), I've been using a new natural hair gel type thing, and I slept with my hair up last night. And then I let it loose this morning and I thought, "I've got some big hair goin' on. I love big hair." So I went with it. All day long I've been feeling like a woman from the south of France with Texas big hair, and I kind of love that feeling.

Leopard + Pockets = Love

All remixed except skirt
Top: Express
Skirt: Target
Bracelet: gift from uncle
Necklace: gift from mom
Shoes: gift from parents
Earrings: Target
Hair pin: BlumeBloom via Etsy

This is one of my purchases from yesterday. I washed it last night just so I could wear it today. In Spanish, we call this estrenando - I believe the fashion blog term is "debuting". The difference is that you'd actually use "estrenar" in a normal conversation, whereas "debut" sounds a little weird when you're talking about clothes.


And if you're Puerto Rican, when you're estrenando, someone might tease you and say something like, "¡Qué fiebre!" which basically means that you're so stinkin' excited about your new clothes that you don't even have the decency to wait a couple days before trotting them out.


So, yes, there's a little fiebre going on here, but y'all just don't know how long I've been searching for a leopard print skirt that was in my size and not very expensive. I thought about wearing this skirt with teal or green or red, but when I tried it on yesterday, I was wearing a black cami, and I loved the simplicity of the look. It let the skirt take center stage, so I stuck to it. Besides, I get to keep this forever - I can wear as many things as I want with it at later dates.


Oh, and this sassy little skirt has pockets. Pockets! And leopard! I might move in, y'all. You can just forward my mail to my leopard print skirt.

Bright textures

All remixed except earrings
Dress: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Nine West
Earrings: gift from my mom

This is not what I originally planned to wear. I'd put on a skirt and a plaid top and then I heard the weather report and they said it was supposed to get up to the eighties, even though it looked like it was going to be cold and rainy, so I changed. I've got to take advantage of the heat while it's still around and wear some seriously summery pieces while it's still summer.


Today's outfit is super simple, but there's actually quite a bit of texture going on. The dress has ruffles and a circle pattern woven into it. My shoes have a little snakeskin going on. The earrings are lacy. Lots and lots of texture. Also, this is a bright look.


It felt pretty much perfect for a day of translations and errands. Also, I must confess that I bought a skirt and a dress when I went out for errands. In my defense, the dress was $4.96 and I can see it working for a lot of different occasions and for many seasons. The skirt is a piece that I've been searching for for a while and finally found. That said, I've got a lot of clothes to get rid of. Mostly pants. I really hate wearing pants, and there are way too many pairs of pants in my wardrobe doing nothing but taking up space.

Boston and blue suede

All remixed
Tank: Target
Cardigan: Banana Republic
Jeans: Banana Republic
Scarf: J Crew
Bracelet: gift from my uncle
Earrings: Target
Flip flops: Rainbow
Bag: gift from my mom
Umbrella: Target

Monday was our last day in Boston and it rained all day. I was really glad I'd worn these jeans on the trip down because dresses weren't going to cut it on such a rainy day. I'll be honest, though: I felt sooo uncomfortable in this outfit because A) I don't usually wear jeans and B) when I do, I don't usually wear them with such fitted tops.


I still don't really know how I feel about the whole look, but I do know how I feel about Mike's Pastry: Yum! (BTW, I just found out you can order their cannoli ONLINE?!)



All remixed except skirt
Tee: Banana Republic
Skirt: I made it
Belt: Target
Shoes: Nine West
Earrings: Target

Today I decided it was time for me to wear the skirt I made (using this tutorial) out in public. I was a little nervous to do this because I'm basically prancing around in a curtain in this. Also, the hem is uneven and the pockets are poorly made. But why am I going to make myself a little skirt and then never wear it? Yeah, that's what I thought.


I embraced all the color in the skirt by wearing it with an orange top, green earrings, and blue suede shoes. Yeah, it's a whole lot of color, but I think it turned out pretty well. This from a girl whose love of neutrals is deep....
Anyway, I'm keeping this short for now, since I didn't sleep so well last night and it's been a long, busy day.
Our vacation to Turkey is coming up in mere DAYS, y'all! I'm so excited!

Classic with a twist

All remixed except shirt
Shirt: Gap
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Steve Madden
Belt: Banana Republic
Earrings: Kohl's

This is what I wore Friday to volunteer. I have to say that I like button up shirts more in theory than in practice. I love the look of this outfit, but I hate feeling like my shirt is gaping all day long. It cooperated, mostly in this outfit, but I changed into jeans and sandals for the drive to Boston, and then my shirt decided it hated me.


Anyway, I really like the way this looks, especially with the bright blue shoes. Y'all should prepare to be tired of these shoes and this belt. I've been wearing them a ton this summer, and I don't see that ending any time soon.


I guess I just can't resist brights and leopard, especially together.
We'll be back from our mini-vacation in Boston on Monday, and I should be doing some regular posts after that. Can I just say that if it weren't for the winters, I'd be all about living in Boston? I just really hate winter....

Not so creative

All remixed except shoes
Dress: Banana Republic
Cami: Target
Shoes: Nine West
Bracelet: Vietnam
Earrings: Target

I apologize for the picture quality. I took these pictures myself with the old clunker of a camera we're using until the new one is repaired and it's not so conducive to self portraiture without a tripod. Yeah, I don't use a tripod when I take my own pictures. Crazy, I know.


I've worn this dress with this cami before on the blog. I was not feeling too creative this morning. Or rather, all my experiments didn't work as well as I wanted, so I went with an old favorite because I was getting frustrated and had an insanely busy day ahead. I volunteered this morning, started my part time job, and then had dinner with a couple from our church and talked Costa Rica and Haiti (they're on their way there soon). So anyway, I considered it a feat to get dressed today, even if I wasn't terribly creative.


I mixed it up a bit with these neon yellow snakeskin pumps, though. Yellow and fuchsia totally go, right? Anyway, about these pumps: these are the shoes I wore for our wedding in December. I'd gotten them from B. for my birthday six months before that, so they weren't new-new on our wedding day, but I was NOT interested in buying a pair of white shoes that I was never going to wear again. And I love yellow shoes and snakeskin and the fact that B. had picked them out for me. These are some great shoes.

Pattern mixing

All remixed
Tee: Ann Taylor
Skirt: New York & Co.
Shoes: Restricted via DSW
Belt, earrings, and bangles: Banana Republic

I love this outfit. Love it. It's got a bit of a Marilyn vibe in that it hugs my curves and has a retro silhouette while still feeling very modern and not over-the-top sexy.


I also like the subtle pattern mixing: leopard belt and floral shoes. Oh, and my reds don't really match. Lately I've just been putting on any old pair of shoes with my outfit. Who cares if the colors don't really match? I still think the shoes work well with the whole look, so I don't care about discordant reds. I wore this to the office on Tuesday, and then changed to drive down to Maryland.


Tee: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Target
Belt, earrings, bangles: Banana Republic
Flip flops: Victoria's Secret

Y'all, this is my crazy patterned skirt turned inside out.


I've been wanting a navy blue skirt, and there it was inside this summer stand out. So I turned my skirt inside out, belted it to hide the waistband and went on my way. I might try tucking up the excess fabric next time, but it was too hard to keep everything in place when I was going to spend three hours in the backseat of a van.


I was pretty stinkin' proud of myself, but B. thought it was weird. And yes, that's the same shirt I am wearing in the outfit above in a different color. I'm not usually one of those people, but I do have two of this shirt.


Dress: Ann Taylor
Jacket: New York & Co.
Belt: Banana Republic
Shoes: gift
Earrings: gift
Scarf: J Crew

This is what I wore for our presentation this morning. I was there as a note taker, so I was mostly in the background, but I figured I should look presentable. I'm not a huge risk taker when I'm packing, because I want to feel comfortable when I travel, hence the denim dress.


I made it AC appropriate with the jacket, and livened it up with some accessories: red shoes, a patterned scarf, and my leopard print belt. Yay for pattern mixing! Also, I don't know WHY I'm the same color as the wall in that picture. The flash kind of quit on B. and we weren't all about figuring it out so soon after getting home.



Y'all can pray that our camera gets back to us before we leave for Turkey on the 2nd of September. It'd suck if all our pictures of Istanbul had that same chartreuse tint/creepy dark quality. That's what we've decided our two-continent adventure would be this fall: Istanbul. It beat out Southern Spain/Morocco because it's a bit easier to navigate and not as intimidating during Ramadan. Have any of y'all been to Turkey? Any tips?

Interview!

So B. and I are going out of town tonight on a business trip (which makes me feel like I've officially become an adult), so I'm not sure about regular outfit posting. I've got my fingers crossed that it'll happen, but in the meantime, check out my interview with Tessa from Rethinking Style where we talk 30 for 30, creative remixing, and working with what you've got.

Rawr.

All remixed except shoes
Dress: Target
Belt: Target
Shoes: Kohl's
Bangle: H&M
Earrings: Kohl's

Do y'all ever have days where you just don't want to get dressed? Like, you wake up and it's grey and steamy out and you just want to stay in your pajamas inside? That was me this morning. When that happens, I put on a dress. Because it's easy to put on dresses.


This dress is one of my go to pieces. It's professional enough for the office, and casual enough for a day of running errands. I had to do both today, so this dress was a go.


And it's got that safari vibe I like so much. I threw on the brown belt to make it a little interesting and a big, plastic bangle to make it a little more modern.


And because I'm trying to wear all those things that I hardly ever/never wear, I put on these leopard print wedges. I have two pairs of leopard print shoes, and they're both just a little too big, which hurts my heart because I love leopard. You can tell that these are big in the picture, but they stayed on, and I didn't clomp around in them.

Overall, not bad for a day when all I really wanted to do was stay home.