BBCA 1 - Family

Cardigan: Target? gift from my mom
Tee: Ann Taylor
Pants: New York & Co.
Scarf: gift from my mom
Brooch: vintage
Earrings: Target
Shoes: Steve Madden

Well, hello, y'all. Can I start by saying that sometimes a week off is just the right thing? It's been a rough couple weeks. Let me go ahead and confess that it's been a rough nine or so months since we moved. Things haven't been easy and the blog felt like one more thing on my to do list, which wasn't cool, so, a break.


But! I am participating in BBCA, started by Melissa over at A Working Mom's Closet (breaks are apparently going around these days...). I don't own a lot of pink; I don't really like it, but I did want to participate so I've been digging out my pink.


I love this outfit and I honestly built it around this brooch, with its pops of pink. When B and I were back in the States, his grandmother pulled out her jewelry box and let me and B's sister M take whatever we wanted. I fell in love with this brooch, and I love the sense of connection I have with B's family - now my family, too - when I wear it.


And, yeah, I think I've just come to a point where I feel like they're my family, too. Apparently it takes me visiting them four times to get to that point; that's the problem when the family lives all over the place.

Break.

I'm not hiding, I'm just visiting B's family in the States....

FFB: Dating and Relationships

Y'all, I'm going to start by telling you this is going to be a long post. Both B and I wrote for it, which is why it's going to be long. On the plus side, there are pictures (that you can click on to enlarge)!
Now that that's out of the way, for this month's Feminist Fashion Bloggers post, we're tackling dating and relationships. I was trying and trying to think of something to blog about regarding this topic. I briefly thought of having B pick out my outfit, except remember how I hired him to be my stylist and he did an amazing job? He knows what I like to wear. That got me thinking about the things I like that he doesn't (skinny jeans, for example) and that led to this post: a his and hers top five looks.
So here's B's take on the whole idea:

So, Frances asked me to pick five of my favorite outfits from her blog and write a little about why I like them. This is difficult because I like a lot of them and I don't know much about fashion, so my reasons generally consist of "she looks hot in it." But I will give it a try and see how it goes.

And now, the outfits in no particular order:

His & Hers (originally seen here)

His Take: I like this one because it's a good mix of things that make it interesting. The booties and the purple corduroy skirt (yes it's corduroy) are businesslike with a little sexy. After that it gets crazy with the big belt buckle and the leopard print shirt. I like the combination.
Her Take: I like this look because of the mixed neutrals, my favorite booties, a pop of animal print, a crazy belt, and my amazing hair. It was comfortable, functional, and pretty. Win, win, win. (And yeah, we totally picked the same look...)

                
His (originally seen here)             Hers (originally seen here)
His take: I like this one because I love the yellow dress/skirt, I like it when my wife wears bright colors. The colors are simple and the tank top shows off her, um, endowment. And the bracelet is just fun.
Her take: I love the fifties bombshell vibe this look has going on. The color combination isn't too crazy, but it is a little unexpected, especially with the navy shoes. It is a dreamy look that I miss now that we're living in the mountains.

                                   
His (originally seen here)                                Hers: (originally seen here)
His take: This outfit is definitely my favorite! I'm a big fan of the booties and I really like the leopard print skirt, it fits well and shows off her legs. Also one of my favorite blouses, it's a little classy and also very sexy. Once again, I love bright colors on my wife and the blue sweater is a great color for her while not covering up the rest of the outfit too much. And the earrings we bought in Turkey - good memories.
Her take: How could I go wrong with a jersey wrap dress, black and brown, and my favorite booties? I felt so comfortable, beautiful, and powerful in this look. Also, can I just take a minute to say that I also love the look that B picked? That's a great outfit and definitely high on my list of favorite posts.

                        
His (originally seen here)                      Hers (originally seen here)
His take: What can I say, this is crazy and fun. No one around here wears anything like this and it shows how far my wife has come in her confidence in herself and what she wears.
Her take: This outfit was pretty revolutionary for me. It was quite fitted on top and on bottom, there were jeans involved, and my hair was huge. There was no hiding in this outfit and I felt so amazingly confident and - dare I say it? - sexy in it. Plus, it reminded me of something my mom had worn about thirty years ago so there was that whole family connection going on.

                           
His (originally seen here)                        Hers (originally seen here)
His take: This is in the running for my most favoritest as well. The grey heels are possibly my favorite shoes and I don't get to see them too often up here in the mountains. I also love this blouse, it's work-safe and smokin' hot at the same time. I like the elephant earrings because I know they're some of Frances's favorites. And I always like her hair up better than down (apologies to her mom...). The whole outfit is classic-looking but she also looks hot in it :)
Her take: Yeah, this might feel like cheating because it looks a whole lot like the third outfit on this post, but y'all, I like dresses, I like black and brown, and I like these booties. When something works, it just works. Also, my first fishtail braid looks pretty good and I really like that post.

My conclusion? B picked some really good looks - outfits that I felt beautiful and confident and even creative in.  Also, he apparently thinks I'm pretty good looking (which is fine; I think he's pretty smokin', too). Do I think there are some huge differences between our choices? I noticed that he picked a lot of recent looks, but there's not so much of a difference in style.  I think that's because B knows me and my style really well and he likes it (except for my penchant for skinny jeans).

How about y'all? Any favorite looks? Would your partner have chosen super different looks than you?

Dress Your Best Week - Day 5: To lean on

Tee: J Crew
Skirt: Target
Belt: Target
Booties: Aldo
Bracelet: gift from A
Earrings: Turkey
Sunnies: Puerto Rico
Hair: courtesy of this tutorial (though I couldn't quite get the video to load, so I improvised.)

I will admit that I had a hard time deciding on the fifth feature to highlight this week. I was torn between my wide hips or my equally wide shoulders, and in the end I decided there's a lot of similarity between hips and thighs, so I decided to go with the shoulders.


I've often said that I have linebacker shoulders. I don't really know what a linebacker does because I prefer my football spelled fútbol, but I've heard they have broad shoulders. I do, too, especially for a woman of my stature. My mother is so tiny up top, with delicate little shoulders. My shoulders, however, come from my dad's side of the family. There is nothing delicate about my shoulders - they're wide and strong.


And while I've often been self-conscious about most of the other features I've talked about this week, I'm strangely proud of these shoulders. So I decided to play them up with a scoop neck top that's just a little ill-fighting in precisely that area - no scarf to draw the eye down, no necklace to serve the same purpose, just me and my shoulders in a simple tee.


Everyone says I look like my dad - la misma cara (the same face) - but I just don't see it. I do see him in these shoulders, my calves, and my bellybutton, though. (Yes, I know the last one is especially weird, but it's totally true.)


And I love that, because I love my daddy. I see him in my penchant for travel, in my work ethic, in my perfectionism (though I've got that coming from both parents), in my love of music, and my need to dream big. I feel like I talk a lot about what I've learned from my mom here on the blog, and she's really taught me a lot - a whole lot - but so has my dad.


My dad taught me to fight for things, that good things are worth making a sacrifice, that sometimes peer pressure works for the best, that I should demand the best treatment in every situation and relationship, and that I should let myself be led while dancing.


So thanks, Daddy, for all those lessons and for these shoulders. Oh, and I didn't drop anything, I just don't like looking at the camera. ;)

Dress Your Best Week - Day 4: Thunder

Jeans: J Crew
Tee: gift from a friend (similar to this one)
Sweater: Banana Republic
Shoes: Sperry
Earrings: Target

First of all, thanks for the support for yesterday's post. I was scared to talk about my chest on the Internet, but apparently I am not alone in that arena, so, again: thanks.
Second, just when you thought I couldn't get any more awkward, let's talk about my thighs, shall we?


I have thick thighs. Even when I was at the lowest weight of my adult life, my thighs were round and heavy. They've been this way for as long as I've had a woman's body, which as we discussed yesterday, came early in my life. And while I haven't always enjoyed it, and while the delightful young men in my 6th and 7th grade PE classes liked to shout "thunder thighs" when I ran past (it wasn't special treatment, they were that nice to all the girls), I've come to appreciate these thighs.


I appreciate them so much that now I wear skinny jeans (drawing attention the the fact that my leg is not a single long line) with a lighter colored top that ends at my widest point (drawing attention to said "flaw"). Because I'm so over rules that don't make me feel more comfortable in my skin.


These thighs, with their round heaviness, connect me to a line of women I love. My mom and my sister have thighs like these. My aunts and cousins do, too. It's in our DNA. There's something that's almost like validation when I see these quirky parts of me and remember that they connect me to the people I love most.


So, I appreciate my thighs today. No, they're not slim, and no, it's not easy to find jeans that fit in the waist and the thigh, but they're a point of connection. They are strong. They are mine.


Are there any parts of your body that make you feel connected to your family? Am I the only weird one?

Wanna Be Style Blogger - My mamita

Cardigan: Target
Top: Banana Republic via Marcas
Jeans: Ann Taylor
Sandals: Chaps via Kohl's
Jewelry: I'm going to guess Kohl's

This is my mamita. This woman is so many levels of stylish and put together that I can't even stand it. As I've said before, she's the reason I have any kind of fashion sense.


My mom is all about classic pieces and funky jewelry. I mean, seriously, she loves her chunky bracelets, necklaces, and rings. I think she's also caught my love of dangly earrings.


I love the way she finds classic pieces (a black wrap top) with pretty details (eyelet) to keep things from being too boring.


How pretty is my mom, y'all? Also - good genes. If I've inherited her genes, I should look young for the rest of my life.


¡Te quiero mucho, mamita linda!

To be featured as a Wanna Be Style Blogger, email me, find me on facebook, or send me a tweet!

Back

Top: Nectar via Marcas
Skirt: Gap
Booties: Aldo
Belt: came with a blazer
Earrings: gift from sister-in-law

So, my mom was here last week, which is why I pretty much didn't touch the computer. And I'll be honest, I'm kind of having a hard time bringing myself back to the blog. But! I've got all these pictures sitting around! And I have to do something with them, right? So, here I go....


So, my mom's suitcase didn't arrive with her, which meant that we ended up going to the mall to find clothes for her. We ended up stumbling into this store called Marcas (that translates to "Brands") which basically sells seconds from stores like Express, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Hurley.... So, US stores. Y'all! So. Stinkin'. Cheap!


My mom got this top, and I immediately borrowed it because I loved the pattern and the color. It's an XL, which, you know, isn't my size, but I figured I could make it work. And I think it did. The lesson? Sizes mean nothing.

Friend Friday: Gratitude

Hey, look, y'all! It's a Friend Friday post! Remember when I used to do this? Yeah, me too. This week, we're celebrating the one-year anniversary of Friend Friday - started by Katy of ModlyChic, and that kind of coincides with the day that I realized that I'd missed my own blogiversary. I'm lame like that. I guess it's due to the lack of Internet access, general busyness, and planning for my mom's arrival (Tomorrow, y'all. Don't expect me to be around.)

So for this week, we're being grateful and filling in blanks.

1. When it comes to me personally – I owe a lot of who I am to: my parents and extended family. I get my sense of humor and love of music from my dad, my sense of style and sassiness from my mom, my love of travel from my Army brat upbringing, my need for sun from my Puerto Rican heritage.... You know, all of those fundamental things. So, thanks, family.

2. When it comes to be professionally – I owe a lot of who I am to: again, my parents for being models of hard work. Also, Mission Year for giving me a framework for combining my love of justice and service with my faith in my everyday life, because, yes, that's professional. Oh, and Dr. Zuffi, my college advisor who gave me some amazing opportunities and saw more potential in me than I saw in myself.

3. When it comes to the art of blogging, I’m grateful to these people for helping me through some rough spots: First, B, of course. Then, my bestie M and my mamita who secretly and not so secretly read and enjoy. Finally, all my blogger friends. Y'all are such an inspiration.

4. One blogging challenge I’m grateful happened because it made me stronger was... my first experience with blogger burnout, because it taught me just to roll with it and move on with the blog my way. And now I feel better equipped to deal with the same.

5. To my readers, I’d like to say… a million thank yous. Mil gracias, en serio. Thanks for sticking with me through patchy internet connections, a drastically limited wardrobe, an international move, three jobs, and all the craziness that has been the last year and one week of blogging. Y'all are the best.

Oh, is that the music? They're telling me to wrap this up, so....

Color Rotation - Red, round 2, with a twist

Tee: J Crew
Scarf: J Crew
Skirt: Gap
Shoes: Crocs
Earrings: Turkey

The second time around the rotation, I got braver and wore a red skirt. If I do a third round, I'll go for a red top. Baby steps.


Anyway, I've been thinking a lot recently about the way women who care about fashion and style are perceived and how that intersects with what I've learned from other feminists (our topic this week for FFB). Sometimes I get a lot of flak from people for caring about how I look, as if somehow that makes me weak or shallow or insecure.


Except that that's not why I care. That's not why I get annoyed when people make comments about my interest in clothes and style. I get annoyed because the assumption that a smart woman shouldn't care about clothes, that clothes are nothing more than frivolous vanity, that caring about appearances is shallow is (a) not true, (b) misinformed, and (c) shallow. Yeah, I said it. Judging based on nothing but outside appearances is shallow, the end.
Well, that, and that writing off what's traditionally feminine as frivolous is antifeminist in my book.


I don't know if my mom would call herself a feminist, and I'm almost sure that my dad would have a hard time labeling himself as one, but as I look back on my upbringing, I see the feminist tendencies. I distinctly remember my mom telling me that blue was NOT for boys and pink was NOT for girls when I was setting up my Barbie and the Rockers band - an earth-shattering revelation for a five year old. I remember my dad playing Barbies with me when he got home from work so my mom could breathe without small children underfoot. I also remember the way he took me out on long bike rides and trips to the park to fly kites or play ball.


I was encouraged to develop diverse interests, and I think that spurred me to buck stereotypes as often as possible. So here I am, a twenty-eight year old Christian Latina. I like clothes, hunting for bargains, wearing heels, dancing, music of all kinds, boxing, Glee, stupid funny movies, Latin American history, baseball, languages, my hips, going to church, cooking, soccer, serving, reading, shoes, travel, and challenges. You know, among other things.


Because if there's one thing my parents taught me that has influenced my particular brand of feminism is that women (and men) are made stronger by diverse interests. And this is me, confident in my brain, my body, my heart, and my faith. And that's why I will talk style in one minute and immigration policy in the next. Because that's how I roll.

And I'm infinitely thankful that I have parents who've encouraged that. Son los mejores padres del mundo.

Feminist Dress

Cardigan: J Crew
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Tee: Target (men's undershirt)
Scarf: gift from my uncles
Booties: Aldo
Belt: Banana Republic
Sunnies: Puerto Rico
Earrings: swapped

This is me being super late on this week's Feminist Fashion Blogger's post, but I've been thinking a lot about the way I express my beliefs, particularly my feminism in the way I dress, and I do want to talk about it.


I feel like the way I dress does say something about what I believe. I don't think it's obvious, and I don't intend for it to be, but I think that these things are a part of the way I make decisions about what I buy and how I wear what I wear. And now here is where my "Third World feminism"comes into play. One of the things that I believe is really important is the celebration, if you will, of those things that are traditionally feminine.


One of my issues with "traditional" Western feminism is the way that we've been asked to embrace all things that are traditionally masculine and almost disparaging those things that have long been "women's work". As if those things hadn't been the kinds of things on which society was built. And I think that ignoring those things - picking up more of that "men's work" without expecting reciprocal respect and sharing of "women's work" is not the kind of feminism I want to be part of.


And so, when I dress, I like to celebrate that femininity, a shout out to the women of the past. Strong women like my grandmother and my great grandmother. Women who worked outside of the home out of economic necessity, not by choice. Women who raised children who have become productive, intelligent citizens. Women who may not have had the opportunities that I've had, who made choices that I might never make, but who should be celebrated for their strength and their weaknesses, for the lessons they passed on. Women like my mother who stayed home to rear children. And though I may have seen it as a weakness when I was a child, I see it as nothing but strength now.


The thought of being a mother scares me. At twenty-eight, I don't feel my biological clock ticking and pushing me towards that kind of miracle, but I do revel in claiming a lot of traditional roles: wearing skirts, walking in heels, cooking dinner and showing the strength in those things. Seriously, more men should know the comfort of a skirt.