Outfit log: Leggings as Pants!

I've had this long dusty-rose colored, short-sleeve, long-length, belted cardigan in my dresser for over a year, but never could figure out a way to wear it that worked. Then I thought about layering OVER it, and voila!

Occasion: Casual workday, Friday May 21, 2010

Details:
white sweater - moth via anthro
dusty rose cardigan - mark shale, clearance
pale pink tank - costco
abalone shell necklace - gift
leggings - hue
sneakers - vans outlet

Since the dusty-rose cardigan covers the tush, I figured I could get away with leggings as pants. I really loved this outfit, particularly the different shades of purple, pink and rose together. Between the leggings, lack of belt, and sneakers, this was a perfect comfortable outfit for a Friday at work.

Makeup:
eye shadow - from lorac palette
eye liner - mac fluidline in blacktrack
lip gloss - laura gellar in chilled maple
blush - lorac

I kept the makeup pretty simple with a little cat eye and berry lip gloss.

Style Challenge: Sweet and Rough

When Jessica of What I Wore issued her latest style challenge, I was all over it immediately. Okay, so maybe I came up with this outfit the night before she announced the challenge while Nic was out on the town with her friend and I was home alone having a blast putting together potential outfits... but it totally counts still, right?

Occasion: Date Night with Nic, Saturday May 22, 2010

Details: all remixed except pumps & dress
western shirt - lucky outlet
belt - swapped
necklace - anthro
dress (worn as skirt) - f21, hand me down
patent pumps - tahari via dsw, on clearance

This outfit was inspired by two bloggers, one of which was actually Jessica, who recently donned a red dress styled as a skirt. When I saw that post I immediately thought of the green dress above given to me my friend Jenny who bought it for herself, but never wore it.

So I started thinking of how this dress might look best as a skirt, and then was hit with my second pop of inspiration! Jentine, of myedit, always puts together the coolest combinations of fancy-pants pieces with rugged and/or edgy items. Specifically recalling her rad remixes that incorporate plaid (like this one, for example), I reached for this western shirt and then a similarly western-inspired belt. I finished the look with patent nude pumps and a girly-liscous necklace.

Also, you will likely notice that the cats wanted desperately to be involved in my outfit shoot. The top picture is my favorite -- I guessed I missed the memo on posing with a disinterested stare...

Did you participate in this style challenge? If so, be sure to include the link to your pic or post about it in your comment!

Outfit log: Dressing My Age

I feel like I'm in this in-between stage in my life... always working towards the future, trying to figure out where I'm going and what my adult life will look like. I know I'm already an "adult" with a full time job and bills and responsibilities who's about to turn 27 next week and is getting ready to get married, but not having a set career path makes me feel like I'm still kind of a kid.

Occasion: Casual workday, Thursday May 20, 2010

When I'm existentially ranting to my mom about this limbo period of life, she always reminds me of the time she asked her grandmother (whom I was lucky enough to know as a child before Alzheimer's took first her mind and then her body), "when will I feel like an adult?" This must have been when my mom was my age or younger, and Buck was in her late 70s. She responded "when you figure that out, let me know."

Details:
necklace - anthro
skirt - anthro, on clearance
tights - hue
tee - hand me down
sneakers - vans, outlet

So I guess maybe I'll always feel a bit like a kid on the inside, even as my career and responsibilities and maturity and relationships continue to grow. Yesterday's outfit felt just right for me right now... a bit on the childish side what with the sneakers and tee shirt, but with adult flare in my makeup, hairstyle, and necklace. The combination felt very comfortable, a bit on the eclectic side, and just very me.

Makeup:
eye shadow - from a lorac palette
eye liner - mac fluidline in blacktrack
lip liner - mac half red
lipstick - mac rebel

I'm really excited I got to debut this FANTASTIC lipstick. I saw Hillary sporting it months ago and immediately emailed her for the name of the color. I finally got my hands on it last weekend, and it has become my new favorite!

Outfit log: Doubly Wonderful

 This is the coolest belt I've ever seen. I love how it makes me look totally creative for pairing two similar but differently patterned skinny belts together, but they came attached so really the genius is the designer.

Occasion: Casual workday, Wednesday May 19, 2010

Details:
coral tunic - anthropologie
cardigan - jcrew outlet
belt - anthropologie
jeans - gap
loafers - target
earrings - hand me down from friend

To create the rest of the outfit I just pulled out some colors from the pattern in the belt. The tan/cream houndstooth print in the cardigan was muted enough to do a little pattern mixing without going overboard (since the belt already does some pattern mixing itself!).

Since I felt so sassy on Monday in my dangly earrings, I decided I'd try another pair yesterday that I scored from my friend Kate! They are really beautiful, but my hair swallowed them up for most of the day. I think dangly earrings might just work better on straight hair days (or when I pull it back).

Makeup:
eye shadow (all over lids) - lorac
eye sadow (inner crease) - MAC saddle
eye shadow (outer crease) - MAC embark
eye liner (top only) - MAC shadow in embark
lipstick - MAC cremesheen in creme cup

I tried another shadow in the lorac palette my mom brought me all over my eyelids, then used my good ole mac shadows to add in some contouring and liner.

Outfit log: Wide Legged Love

Well I already showed you most of the top half of this combo yesterday in my weekend update, but now you get to see it styled for work!

Occasion: Fancy workday, Tuesday May 18, 2010

Details:
wrap sweater - anthropologie
white tee - gap
wide leg trousers - limited
clog mary janes - dansko
necklace - gift from mom

I paired this gorgeously-patterned sweater with my wide leg gray trousers. I love how the wrap of the sweater cinches in my waist without the discomfort of a belt (yeah, I said it. belts can be uncomfortable! but I love 'em anyway), and creates a fitted shape up top, contrasting with the width of the pants. This silhouette is one of my favorites to create, and is the reason I love wide-leg pants so much!

Outfit log: Simple with some Splash

Oh holy moley, last week was awesome! I just adored "Dress Your Best Week." It was truly refreshing to see all ya'll flaunting your favorite bits, so THANK YOU! And a huge shout out to the gals at academichic. This project of theirs played a huge part for me in the body image revolution so many of us are a part of.

And another thing. I meant to post last Thursday, but I just didn't find the time. If you've been following my blog for awhile you know that normally I take indoor photos at my office (such as this outfit from yesterday), but for two days last week Nicholette (my fiancée) was amazing and took my photos in gorgeous locations. While these photos were just so fun to take, they took a lot of time to sift through and edit, and I was just spent after all of that effort on Tuesday & Wednesday. So forgive my lack of posting for the rest of last week, but know that I was following your fabulous DYBW posts and loving each and every one of them!

Phew! Glad to get that off of my chest. As you can see I'm back inside so far this week mostly because of crappy weather, but I hope to feature outdoor shots more frequently (just not everyday), so stay tuned!

Occasion: Fancy workday, Monday May 17, 2010

Details:
grey elbow sleeve tee - nordstrom
skirt - anthropologie, clearance rack
tights - calvin klein
oxfords - clarks outlet
eariings - hand me down from buddy

Yesterday I donned a few new pieces I picked up while my mom was visiting for the weekend (more on that below): this cool black linen skirt and my first pair of tights with a colorful pattern. I mostly built the outfit around the tights, and figured keeping everything else simple color-wise would be a good start. To add some color to my top half I wore some dangly earrings that my friend Kate bequeathed to me. I don't often sport dangly earrings (something about being a necklace addict, and a fear of sporting big earrings and a necklace at the same time), so this was kind of an accomplishment :) I figured out throughout the day that I had to keep my hair behind my ears for the earrings to really show, which was different, but I liked it!

Makeup:
eye shadow - from a lorac palette
eye liner - MAC eyeshadow "embark"
lipstick - MAC cremesheen in creme cup

My mom brought me an eyeshadow/blush/highlighter Lorac palette that she picked up in St. Louis, so here I tried a couple of the eye shadows on my lids. Unfortunately I didn't note the names, but I'm loving the orange-y colors.

--

Weekend Update: 

I had just a joy-filled weekend because my mom came to visit. We did some shopping, Nic and I brought her up to see our potential wedding venue, and she met some more of Nic's family. It was a whirlwind of a weekend (and poor Mommy ended up having flights cancelled on BOTH ends resulting in 14 hours of travel both ways), but was just so much fun. My mom and I have always been close (I'm an only child and she was a single mother for much of my life), so living far apart can be hard, but like Jerry Jeff says, we "let the good times carry the low."

Since we were so busy having a great time together, I forgot to take pictures, but here are a couple we took at Mom's hotel in Union Square:

Laughing with Mamacita... we do that a lot!

Debonair, no?

Mom's signature "video vixen" pose, term coined by Reiko at God's Favorite Shoes :)

My VV rendition!

I love these women SO MUCH!

Outfit log: Confessions of a Belt Addict

Nic loved the photos she took yesterday so much, she surprised me at work today during my lunch hour and whisked me off to Golden Gate Park for another photo session! Lucky me :) You'll notice that there are therefore a plethora of pictures posted below, but each is beautiful in its own way, and I hope, interesting to look through. My lady is becoming quite the photographer!

For Day 3 of Dress Your Best Week (check out Day 1, and Day 2), I chose to highlight my favorite part to decorate (hello, belt-obsession!) - my waist.

Occasion: Casual workday, Wednesday May 12, 2010

all photos by Nic

Details: all remixed except heels
blue empire waist tee - nordstrom
skirt - gap
belt - H&m
shoes - madden girl, hand me down
necklace - charlotte russe

Would you believe that a year ago I had yet to wear a belt at my natural waist? In fact, I remember claiming that I just couldn't wear belts because the only belt-wearing option I could think of was to slide them through my jeans' belt loops and buckle in front. This posed a problem because I've got a short torso and long legs, and belting at my hips just doesn't feel like the right proportions for me.

Then into my life stepped... style blogging. I finally found the courage to experiment with belts after seeing so many other bloggers rock the crap outta them, and ended up falling desperately in love. Belts draw attention to just how narrow my natural waist is compared with my shoulders and hips, and the resulting hourglass figure makes me feel like a million bucks.

My favorite way to flaunt my waist is to exaggerate my overall hourglass figure with a belted high-waisted full skirt, and fitted top to show off my girls. This blue top works particularly well because while it accentuates my bust, the little puff sleeves also add a little extra attention to my broad-ish shoulders. I rocked some heels with today's look to also celebrate my height (5'8" in case you're curious). Tall chicks can rock heels too!

photo by Nic 

Makeup:
eye shadow - MAC retrospeck
eye shadow in crease - MAC saddle
eye liner - MAC eye shadow graphology
lip gloss - bobbi brown pink sugar

I think I'm only gonna be able to do one more DYBW post this week, as my amazing Mom comes into town tomorrow! We're hoping to get some outfit shots together.... so stay tuned for them next week!

Hope ya'll are enjoying Dress Your Best Week as much as I am! And tell me, what are you flaunting today??

Outfit log: Baby Got Back

Day Two of Dress Your Best Week has arrived, in which the fabulous women at academichic have challenged us to a week of body-positive dressing, that is, "instead of dressing to mitigate your so-so, you dressed to highlight the parts of your body that you love most".


In addition to seeing how A, E, and S are flaunting their favorite parts over at academichic, go check out the other bloggers participating in this project too. The amazing amount of self-love pouring through my Google Reader is freaking contagious! I don't feel envious or jealous or insecure reading why others love their bodies, even if they're different from mine... instead I'm filled with awe, appreciation, and inspiration!


For the women whose favorite parts I can relate to (being tall, small waisted, large-calved, for example), I am gaining more love for my own parts that sometimes I overlook. For those celebrating aspects of their bodies that are completely different than mine (being petite, dainty feet, piercing eyes), my own definition of beauty is expanding and evolving and I'm becoming more aware of how beautiful we all are in our own ways, and how I can unabashedly admire someone else's different physical traits, without coveting them or feeling inadequate when comparing them to mine. So basically it's just a whole bunch of mutual self-love and positivity, and I freaking love it :)


As you may have gathered from today's post title, I'm celebrating my curvaceous booty today. 

I may have hinted at this before, but back in middle school I was terribly self conscious about my body. I refused to wear tank tops because of my arms, and hated the way my legs looked compared to other girls. I was afraid of two-piece bathing suits because of my stomach, and basically just felt that my body was all kinds of wrong and I would never measure up to my "prettier", slimmer friends. But, somehow despite all these insecurities, in the beginning of high school and then throughout it I was able to fully appreciate and unabashedly adore and take pride in... my butt. 

 

A lot of this appreciation initially came from hearing Sir Mix-a-Lot's song, "Baby Got Back". That seems so ridiculous that such an objectifying song could promote confidence in a young girl, but it's freaking true! In my peer group, no one talked about wanting an ample ass, in fact having a big booty was deemed a bad thing. You called people "fat ass" and wondered if your ass looked big in whatever. But when I heard the lyrics to "Baby God Back", I realized that there were people out there who actually celebrated a big booty!

 

From then on I told people how that song was my anthem, and I memorized the words and requested it at school dances. I never remember getting complimented on my rear, but it didn't matter because how I felt about it was the only thing that mattered. I just wanted to DARE anyone to say my butt was big like that was a bad thing... it never happened but I know I would've responded, "yeah, and fabulous!"

photos by Nic

Details: all remixed
jeans - gap
pink blouse - h&m
cardigan - jcrew outlet
belt - jessica simpson via dsw
necklace - gift
flats - boutique on haight street

So, today I pay tribute to my booty. It started the ball rolling on my own body confidence and self-esteem and for that I am just hugely grateful :) To highlight it's curvature, I chose my favorite skinny jeans for today... and added a layered combo on top I'm particularly fond of. Of course a little leopard never hurts!

photo by Nic

Makeup:
eye shadow - MAC retrospeck
eye shadow (crease) - MAC saddle
eye liner - MAC fluidline in blacktrack
lipstick - max factor

I've updated my cat eye look with a little extra eye shadow (though you can't really see it). I'm wearing a sparkly nude on the whole lid, with a darker tan in the crease. Then liquid/cream liner. I love this lipstick color so much, especially paired with this eye makeup!

Special and huge two-part thanks to my amazing ass-loving fiancée: (1) in general for fully appreciating my awesome booty and (2) in particular for taking me up to Twin Peaks for my outfit photos this morning! I was locked out of my office for a about an hour and forty minutes (forgot my darn key at home), and she insisted we come up to this glorious spot and pass the time taking pics for my blog. She even suggested a jumping picture, a first for me! I'm one lucky son of a gun :)

Outfit log: My Hips Don't Lie

Dress Your Best Week has arrived! I am so enjoying seeing everyone's outfit posts already :) It is truly inspiring to see real women flaunt and appreciate their favorite parts, and also gives me a deeper appreciation for the multitude of ways that people can be so uniquely beautiful, and confident!

For my first DYBW post, I'm celebrating my hips... please excuse the terribly cheesy post title, I just couldn't refrain from quoting Shakira*!

Occasion: Casual workday, Monday May 10, 2010

Details:
cardigan - target
tank - old navy
belt - jessica simpson via dsw
skirt - max studio outlet
tights - hue
mary jane clogs - dansko

I love my hips. They are round and plump and sway from side to side when I walk or dance. While these days they act as a perfect perch for a basket of laundry, I look forward to the time that they'll help me to balance a baby (or two!). My hips make me feel womanly and sensuous.

I chose this LBS** because of the way it accentuates the roundness of my hips by dipping in and flaring out at the hem. I belted the cardigan at my natural waist to reveal the top of the curve that completes the round oval shape that my hips create on my lower half.

Makeup:
eye shadow (inner lid) - MAC juxt
eye shadow (inner crease) - MAC juxt
eye shadow (outer crease) and liner - MAC graphology
lipstick - clinique almost lipstick in black honey

*I've always loved the lyrics to Shakira's song "Whenever, Wherever", particularly this verse that celebrates parts of her body that wouldn't normally be openly appreciated by the mass media:

Lucky that my lips not only mumble
They spill kisses like a fountain
Lucky that my breasts are small and humble
So you don't confuse them with mountains
Lucky I have strong legs like my mother
To run for cover when I need it
And these two eyes that for no other
The day you leave will cry a river

**LBS = Little Black Skirt