Not quite awesome

Tee: Target
Dress (worn as skirt): some random store in Turkey
Boots: Steve Madden
Belt: Target
Scarf: Target
Socks: gift from sister-in-law
Earrings: Turkey

I want to like this outfit more than I do. I'm not totally sure what I don't like, I just know it's not my favorite. But my students loved it. They told me - and I quote - "You look AWESOME!" I think it's the boots.


I'm not totally sold, though. What do y'all think?

Snug

Tee: Ann Taylor
Jeans: J Crew
Wedges: Nine West
Bangles: gift from my uncle and aunt
Earrings: Turkey
Sunnies: Puerto Rico

This is the kind of outfit I could only wear while coming off the high of Dress Your Best Week. I think I'll be celebrating my body in a slightly less intentional way this week because I'm feeling so confident and in love with the body I have. And it's weird to think that and type that because I'm not the kind of woman who likes to draw attention to herself (even though I share a lot of stuff with the Internet).


But yeah, I put this on expecting it NOT to work, but it did, and even though I was a little afraid of all the body-hugging pieces, I went with it. And then to top it off, I let my hair do the 1960s-meets-1980s thing it was doing all by itself. Because if I'm going for it, I'm going all out. Go big or go home, baby. That's how we roll in our house.


And these shoes? I love them. They're so old, y'all. I've had them for five or six years - maybe even longer. They remind me of some shoes that my mom wore in her engagement pictures with jeans a lot like these. Honestly, I kind of felt like I was channeling my mom circa 1981 in this outfit.


I wore this to go out on a date day with B. We went to the farmer's market down in the nearest city (15 plantains for $2? Yes, please), then off to the mall for a cheap lunch and some bookstore browsing. Then we wandered through the streets of Alajuela where we did a little thrifting (we scored some amazing pieces) and enjoyed ice cream cones. I love our date days.


Oh, and Happy Fourth, to all of you in the States (and my fellow expats). I'll be celebrating on the beach.

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.

Color Rotation - Red

Scarf: gift from Morocco
Tee: Target
Cardigan: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Gap
Belt: came with a jacket
Booties: Aldo
Earrings: Turkey

This is me totally slacking on red for the color rotation. Like I said, red is scary for me. It's bright, it's attention grabbing. Those are two scary things for me. I mitigated the fear of red by opting for this almost ruby colored scarf.


All my planned outfits have been ruined by weather. It's been like walking out into a cloud most mornings - cold and wet. That's why I keep reaching for dark colors.


I shivered all through school. SHIVERED! And my students were all like, "Miss, no one here wears skirts because it's so cold." Which is not exactly true, but I understood where they were coming from. I just really don't like wearing pants.


Shivering it is.

Quitter in red

Skirt: Gap
Tee: J Crew
Shoes: Crocs
Earrings: Turkey
Belt: gift from my mom
Sunnies: purchased in PR

Y'all, I have a confession to make: I quit the 30x30. I wore fourteen outfits, posted nine, photographed ten, and then decided I was over. it. Why did I quit after completing two 30x30 challenges successfully? Well, for one, I felt like I had learned all I could from the challenge. For two, remember the time I had to get rid of or store about 80% of my wardrobe? Yeah, that was a lesson in consumerism greater than the challenge.


And I was already feeling pretty deprived in every other aspect of my life (we're poor, we don't have access to a car right now, there's no public transportation, and there's not a whole lot of choice when it comes to diet). Adding the challenge felt like the opposite of fun. My life is pretty bare bones right now, so I'd at least like full access to the 20% of my closet that's still in my possession.


Anyway, my aunt M got me this red skirt at Gap when I was back in Puerto Rico visiting family. It was $3.97, so I went for it, even though it's a size larger than I usually wear. I'm not sure if I love the way it fits because it's a little lower in the hips than I'd like, but I think I can make it work. I think it might also be good for a mini alteration with my remedial sewing skills - I should be able to take in a waist, right?

Easy as 1-2-3

I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance for being photo heavy today. I didn't feel like doing anything extra over the weekend, so I left the blogging for today....

Saturday:

Belt, bracelet, and flip flops remixed
Dress: some random shop in Istanbul's New District for a whopping 10 Turkish Lira
Belt: Target
Flip flops: Rainbow
Bracelet: gift from my uncle
Earrings: Spice Bazaar in Istanbul

I wore this on Saturday for a grocery run. I got this dress on our last night in Istanbul and paid 10 Lira for it, which is about $7 US. The store was all kinds of random and appeared to be selling factory seconds, which I'm totally okay with buying.


I decided to edge it out a little by doing some pattern mixing. Stripes and zebra? Sounds good to me....


Also, look at these lovely turquoise earrings. B. gave them to me as a gift while we were in Turkey because I told him I wanted some turquoise earrings in my life; he's a good man.

Sunday:

Sandals and tank remixed
Dress: Hecho a Mano, gift from my aunt
Tank: Target
Sandals: Chinese Laundry
Earrings: Turkey

This was me on Sunday, trying to wear one of my most summery dresses before it's officially fall and something clicks in my brain and makes me feel ridiculous about wearing "summery" things. I know, I should just wear it, but my brain says no. I'm weird that way....


B. wanted me to point out that it's completely different from the back. Anyway, I like this dress a lot, even though it's super loud. I got it from Hecho a Mano, a store that my aunt absolutely loves and that I love in theory. It sells all kinds of breezy, beachy, bohemian lovelies - the kinds of things I'd wear all the time...if I lived in a tropical paradise, which I don't. At least, not until January.


Their dresses are made in Puerto Rico, so I can feel good about helping the local economy when I shop there. And besides, look at the little beads on the ties of this dress. It's details like that that make me fall for a piece.

Monday:

All remixed except top and earrings
Jacket: Apt. 9 for Kohl's
Top: Another random store in Istanbul
Jeans: Elle for Kohl's
Flower flats: Target
Earrings: gift from a friend's trip to India
Bangles: Banana Republic

I went in to my part time job this morning to finish some mandatory testing before I actually start doing my job and then I had a meeting for ADE (my future employer in Costa Rica) so I wanted something that would work for both occassions.


Also, to be quite honest, I've been waiting a looooong time to wear an outfit like this. It's finally cool enough to dig out some jeans and a jacket. I felt like this was a great transitional look that was professional and still laid-back.


Also, look at the back of this top! From the front, it's a basic black tee with lacy sleeves, but from the back?! Look at that lace! I'm kind of in love with it, so in love that I may have purchased this shirt even though it's two sizes too big. It's a little loose, but I figure I can work with the flowiness (that IS a word, right?) just so I can have a lacy shirt. Oh, and it, too, was 10 Lira ($7).

Playing with Proportions

All remixed except tee and vest
Tee: Target
Vest: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Gap
Shoes: gift from parents
Earrings: gift
Necklace: gift from my mom

This is me stepping out of my comfort zone in a way. I'm playing a little with my proportions, not tucking in my shirt, and wearing a vest that I have never worn before. I haven't worn vests since about 1995 when I wore them all. The. Time. I guess I'm a bit traumatized from looking at the pictures of myself with the bangs and the glasses, and the fluffy hair that I didn't quite know how to manage yet.


But I've been seeing vests like this one on the blogs and on the streets and I was inspired to pull this one out of the very back of my closet. My mom got me this vest, um, a year ago, and it's just been hanging in my closet since then. I think that the reason I haven't worn this is that the neckline and the sleeves are a little awkward. I'm still not totally sure that I love it, but I was diggin' the outfit as a whole today. Maybe I was just so stinkin' comfortable, but I felt good.


Also, can I just say that I'm really glad it's Friday? I plan to spend the weekend cleaning and catching up on the blogs - I've got a lot of reading to do...



And for today's trip pictures:


A mosaic inside Hagia Sophia.


Columns in the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.

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.

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.