Transitioning Between Seasons--And New Shoes!

Yesterday was freezing outside--around 40 degrees--so I reluctantly pulled my jacket and scarf back out from my winter drawer. Today, however, was much warmer and sunny, and I was happy to get a chance to wear my new cutoff shorts that I just made. So, if you've ever wondered how to transition from a winter to spring wardrobe, this is basically how I did it this week.

Here I'm wearing a cold weather outfit: my usual black jacket from Target, an old scarf and striped shirt of mine, denim cutoffs that I just made from an old pair of jeans, and brown sweater tights from T.J. Maxx.
I wasn't sure about the brown tights in this outfit, since I'm usually sort of hesitant about combining brown and black, but they are WARM, and it was freezing out. The shorts were really easy to make: after cutting them to a length that was a bit longer than desired, I rolled them twice to get rid of the fringed, cut-off look (sometimes I like that, but not for this pair). The only problem is that they keep coming unrolled, so I'll probably do some sewing to make them stay put.

Here's the spring version of this outfit:
I was obviously inspecting my legs in this picture and thinking, "Hm, I could do with some sun."Anyway, same shorts and striped T-shirt. I simply ditched the tights and traded the jacket in for a lighter cardigan from T.J. Maxx. I layered some necklaces and added a huge, cheap pair of sunglasses for accessories. But best of all:

...These new shoes that my boyfriend just bought for me! (Sorry for the blinding glare of my white, white leg. It was a mistake to take this right in front of the window.) They're Vera Wang Marjorum Dress Sandals from Kohl's, and they were originally $7o but were on sale for $40. I was lamenting to my boyfriend the fact that I couldn't get them, and he just insisted on buying them for me. Um, best boyfriend ever? I think so. Here's a better, if very pose-y shot of the shoes:
I love the combination of these heels and shorts because of how ridiculously long it makes my legs look. Trust me, my legs are not very long, but when I'm wearing these shoes, I'm almost five inches taller (they're a 4.5 inch heel, with a bit of a platform). They're definitely my new favorite spring/summer shoes, despite the fact that they're a bit painful to walk around in for too long. Hopefully they just need some breaking in. I can't wait to pair these shoes with a short floral dress or t-shirts and shorts in the spring and summer, and even with tights or thick knee-high socks in the fall.

It's supposed to rain the next two days, so it'll be back to the rainboots (although I love those too!) and warm clothes until later in the week, when it warms up again. I can't wait for this weekend: I'll be enjoying the sunny 70-degree weather, celebrating Easter at home with my family and boyfriend--and wearing my new shoes!

Hurry Up Spring: Things I Can't Wait For

After finishing the previous post, I had the idea to write this one. Here's all the things coming in the spring that I'm looking forward to!


Hopefully finding a cute bikini (this one is Victoria's Secret):

And storing away all my heavy winter clothes (yeah, I WISH my closet looked like this):
The trees being full and green with leaves:
Watching "Where the Wild Things Are" now that it's out on DVD:
No sleeves:
Being able to turn off my alarm clock when the semester's over:
Dusk that lasts till 8 or 9 at night:
Lilacs (my favorite flower):
Riding my bike everywhere (from The Cherry Blossom Girl):
Bonus points for florals:

Being silly in public with my best friend (not to mention catching up on Gossip Girl):
Staying up late talking with my sisters:
Wearing a dress by itself--no cardigans or tights or leggings or coats or layered tees:
Cherry blossoms (from, of course, The Cherry Blossom Girl):
Napping on the grass outside:
The warm spring breeze and sunshine coming in through my window:
Cute sunglasses (from The Selby):
Easter with my family (yep, that's all of us):
And my grandparents coming home from Florida:

What about you? What are you looking forward to this spring?

Happy Weekend

It's too cold and dreary to even think about going outside this weekend, so I'm holed up inside looking at pretty pictures to cheer myself up. Next weekend is supposed to be sunny and in the 70's, and I'll be going home for a short, much needed break. Until then, though, here's some nice things to look at.

Sparse and pale fits my mood and the weather:
Someone I know just got this studio, and I'm so jealous. It's gorgeous: the wood floor, the tall windows, the light. I'm dying to move in.

It's currently to cold to even think about going to the beach yet, but seeing this picture actually gave me that feeling of rising up on the crest of a wave.

And here's drab with pops of bright, warm yellow:
Love those shoes...
And this dress. Yet another place that I want to move into immediately. There's just something about the simplicity in this picture that I'm yearning for. I tend to cram colors and pictures and clothes and blankets and so on into spaces, so I think a weekend in this room would be a refreshing change of pace. Maybe not longer than that, though. (Although I'll totally keep the dress, thanks.) Oh, and this room makes me think of Iron & Wine's song "Love and Some Verses." ...Probably because I was listening to it while writing this. Anyway, check it out. I think just the combination of listening to the song and looking at this picture will have the same effect as a weekend in this room.


What's that you say? You need more color and I'm just depressing you more than the weather? Whoops, sorry. Here we go:


God, I love Joel McHale (he's my boyfriend's celebrity twin--how awesome is that? It's like I'm dating the guy from The Soup! Yes, I am guilty of telling people that without the "it's like" part.) And I love Community. If you are unaware, please, hustle on over to Hulu and educate yourself.


This picture, and the one underneath, are truly perfect "Spring" pictures (although I'm not sure how I feel about the orange and blue cloud; I like the bottom half more). Pretty sure I got them from My Love for You.

The above picture has also been my desktop background for longer than a week now, which is like a record for me.

*Sigh* I miss playing with my Barbie dolls. My Nan would keep hers in a suitcase, too, and they're soooo much fun to play with. I mean, were. Anyway, she still has them, but I have to wait till she gets back from Florida in May. Hurry up, spring!

My Newest Accessory: Dorky Glasses!

Ah yes, my dream has come true, although not in the exact way I expected. Remember a while back when I posted about my love for dorky glasses? They were all the overly-large, kinda round type, like these (the pic is either from the Sartorialist or Street Style; I'll get back to you on that):
However, what I ended up with was these:

They're still big, just in a different way. The frames are sturdier than most of the other ones I looked at, and I just didn't like the look of the smaller, more delicate rectangular glasses. So naturally I picked these, which are rather on the larger side. I like them a lot, even though after I took them home, my sister looked at the label on the side, and well, this happened:
Sister: Giggle
Me: What?
Sister: Nothing, it's just... the label. Sean John.
Me: Huh? Oh, yeah, guess so. What about it?
Sister: Um, google it.
Me: Oh... my... god.
Sister: Uproarious laughter.
Me: DAMNIT.

Go ahead and Google-Image it if you're not as familiar with the label as my sister is. Then you'll see what's so funny. For the lazier people, I'll just show you this: Yep.

By the way--if that's your kinda style, awesome. But it's funny because... it's not at all mine. I am sorry to say that I am the whitest girl ever. But whatever, hopefully no one will notice that I'm rocking gangsta glasses and if they do, maybe it'll earn me some street cred? ... God, I hope I didn't accidentally buy men's glasses... I did, didn't I? Whatever, just tell me I look hot in them anyway, please.


From now on, I'll be expecting everyone to address me in the way that my good friend Jill did after reading this post:

Jill: yo dawg.
Jill: those be some hawt shades son.


Damn right, bitches.

Celebrity Fashion Inspiration: Carey Mulligan

Okay, can I just say that this girl is a total cutie? I probably wouldn't have even looked at British actress Carey Mulligan twice with her long hair, but after her attention-grabbing performance in this year's "An Education" (which I really need to see) and her awesome pixie cut (you know I have a soft spot for those), I keep seeing her everywhere. Mostly with Shia Labeouf, which kind of sucks--I am so not a fan--but oh well. As for Carey's fashion, I think she has her own unique style. She's not likely to, you know, don a swan tutu or anything like that, but she's definitely a bit quirky. Take for example the dress she wore for the Oscars a few weeks ago:
I love: the smile, the newly-blonde hair, and most of all, the tiny little forks, scissors, and whatever else that's attached to her dress. ADORABLE.
Admittedly, not loving: the bottom of the dress being so short, and those shoes. They're okay, just not great, and probably not with that dress. Otherwise I think she would've been perfect. As it is, she's already wayyy up there in my book for wearing a dress that HAS TINY SILVER UTENSILS ALL OVER IT. To the Oscars! That's my kind of style. Cute and quirky, and looking good while doing it.

I thought I had a bunch of pictures of Carey's style saved on my computer for this post, but they're gone. Damnit. So here's just a few more that I re-found online real quick. Check out these examples of her style--some casual and some dressy--and see if it's something you like!






Maybe I'll add words later. Now I have to get to class. Tomorrow, I'll post a picture of myself wearing..... my new glasses! Hooray! Till then, keep looking at Carey and going "Awww," and trying to figure out how to pronounce her boyfriend's name.

Spring Inspiration

It finally feels like spring is here (already, in the middle of March!) and I thought we could celebrate with a bit of pretend shopping. I can't wait to have a big shopping spree in May--with what money I do not know--just to flesh out my summer wardrobe a bit, since it is severely lacking right now. It's all ratty tank tops and oversized t-shirts from junior high school, and ONE pair of shorts that are so high waisted they could double as a bra. Sad, I know.

Sooo, today we'll be pretend shopping at one of my favorite online stores, Topshop. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll ever buy anything from there for real unless I suddenly strike it rich. I rarely find stuff for less than 40 bucks on there. Anyway, I put together ten spring-inspired Topshop outfits using Polyvore (if you've never used Polyvore, I suggest you check it out because it's awesome--obviously, since I just admitted to wasting hours on there doing this):

1. First up is kind of a tomboy outfit with some florals to give it more of a feminine feel.
It feels very French to me. I don't know if I could pull it off, particularly the tummy-baring shirt and the rather menswear-style shoes, but I'd definitely love to see it on someone who could.

2. Here I have two ridiculous swimsuits that I sort of like on paper (or on screen, I guess) but just wouldn't work in the real world. The black one has the issue of being uncomfortable with all the studs, and the second one poses a real tan line problem. Underneath those, though, you can see that I did put together an actual beach outfit.
Both bikinis are cute, and I included an even cuter cover-up dress. The huge blue bag would go nicely with the dress and is helpful if you tend to enjoy overpacking for the beach (I know I do), but if you're one of those weirdos who only need their cell phone and suntan lotion, then the yellow clutch would go perfectly with the yellow bikini. Also, those shoes are awesome; you just have to mentally do away with the weird cardboard thing they stuck into it. I assume it's just to keep the straps up, and not actually part of the shoe. Please, God?

3. Now, I had to think of titles for each outfit while saving them on my computer. This one's clever title is, "Sugar and Spice, Naughty and Nice." I know--how do I come up with these?
It really does get the essence of the outfit though, I think. The ruffled skirt and cupcake shirt are sweet and feminine, while the studded clutch and black wedge ankle boot balance it out with some bad-girl vibes. The red watch was just because I wanted something to match the cherry. Yes, I warn you: I'm apparently feeling very matchy-matchy today.

4. Here we have an outfit I'm not too sure of. It was the first one I did. It's pretty simple: the shorts struck me with the cute pink and red belt, and the shirt had to be included because I'm in love with stripes this spring. The shoes I'm not sure about, and the umbrella... just matched. What if it rains? You never know, okay??

5. Now this one was a lot of fun to do. I just saved it as "PIRATES." I think that's all that needs to be said.
Okay, fine, I do have to say something about the shoes: The red are awesome and give it a much needed pop of color, but then the gold shoes caught my eye (because they're just the kind of shoes that do that). If I were actually wearing this in public, I'd go with the red, but I really love the gold just for the pure ridiculousness; and it does go with all the other gold in the outfit. Besides, pirates love gold. It makes sense.

6. I'm not sure about the jacket in this one. I love the jacket on its own, but it's a bit much altogether, and it's supposed to be spring. I think you'd get hot wearing that.
Everything else about this outfit, though, I love. The pop of pink in the shoes, the feathered grey skirt, and the armour ring are all awesome.

7. This next one is a cute outfit for class. Wanna hear my clever title for this one? Of course you do. After ages of trying to think of a rhyme that worked, I came up with "Hearts for Smarts."
I love the brown and the blue and the grey, I love the skirt sooo much, I think the backpack and the belt are awesome (and the belt is much needed for that shirt, let me tell you), and the ring just kinda went with the theme, you know?

8. I basically envision myself wearing this outfit while casually sight-seeing around France.
Not sure if the beanie would work for me, but whatever. It's cute. Oh, and I don't know HOW I forgot to mention this, but the skirt has heart shaped pockets! Love.

9. This outfit I kind of hate but I included it anyway. It's sort of business casual, only not that casual, I guess.
I don't know if it's because it doesn't work or if it's because it's just not my style, but I can't imagine wearing this. Oh well, I tried. It's just not for me, but maybe it's for you, or someone else? Or maybe it's just a sucky outfit.

10. This one got me in the mood to go bike riding. It's still a bit chilly out, so long sleeves are appreciated (and of course stripes!), but shorts must be worn after you went through all that trouble of shaving your legs. I thought the accessories in the top of the picture were cute, especially the time ring (I seem to have an obsession over those). Also, on the right is sensible flats and a hobo bag for all your stuff that you can sling over your shoulder if you're actually planning on riding a bike in this outfit. On the left, however, is a prettier bag and heels if you're not actually going to be biking (or if you can ride a bike in heels, in which case, I SIMULTANEOUSLY LOVE AND HATE YOU).



And that's all of them! Whew. I was going to do a LOT more but I stopped myself. For today, that is. I make no promises for the future. Topshop is lovely and completely my style, and Polyvore is so much fun.... Together, it's just too much to resist.

Tell me in the comments, what did you think of my outfits? Any favorites? Would you wear any of them?