What I Wore Today

For the last few days my outfits have been quite unimaginative as I got over my cold/flu/whatever virus I had. So now I post:





Dress- H&M, Sweater- Free People (thrifted), Boots- BP, Tights- Hue, Belt- Guitar strap (no kidding, found it at a garage sale and safety-pin it on)

A good rule of thumb I have found is that in every outfit, you should have one thing that doesn't go with the rest of the outfit a little bit- so the belt and the dress have a common color (pink) but they still are a little clashy.
The boots were a Christmas present. This is the first time I've worn them and I loooove them! They're much more comfortable than I was steeling myself for.
I will post tomorrow too but right now I am swamped in catch-up homework :)

This is the day of verifying codes (also the day of eating lots of cookies, I have decided)

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Sorry!

Claiming Blog on Bloglovin... testing 1, 2, 3...

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My New Years' Resolutions (I mean it this time, I really do) and an experiment

Every year I make New Years' Resolutions and like so many people, they are broken before February. So this year I'm going with bribes. And I'm only setting two, relatively easy (or so I believe) ones. I'm learning that if there are shoes at the end of the journey, my desirable outcome odds go up considerably.
1. I will not, ever again, fall into the teenage trap of using 'awesome', 'cool', and 'seriously' interchangeably in every situation that calls for an affirmation. Instead I will find more sophisticated, intelligent-sounding words. Seriously. OH NOOOO.
2. This is the official end of my Keeping up with the Kardashians fetish. Probably. It's my guilty pleasure. I find their cattiness terrible, but yet I can't stop DVR-ing. Did you see the one where Katie and Kim helped Bruce hold their mom's dry cleaning hostage? Addictive I tell you. Addictive.

I will do what my horoscope tells me to. This is more of an experiment than a resolution, really- it's a resolution to experiment. If I listen to my horoscope every day and alter my actions in some small way, will I snag the guy, learn how to put on liquid eyeliner, and become an ubercelebritized fashion guru?
I saw the Dr. Phil show last week. I'm not going to do anything stupid. Probably. The problem with doing stupid things is that they often are not recognized as stupid until they have already been done. Like after you send the ranting email/ horridly obnoxious text and then just close your eyes and mutter very quietly, "shoot."
So I am using MSN horoscopes as my control. And I figured I would get better results if I also knew what important people in my life were going to be up to, so I am also checking out a select few more signs.
The results will be posted here in two months. I've decided that the experiment will only last that long, so that should something socially catastrophic happen, there will be an end.
Wish me luck!

Salvation Army Swag and thrift stores in general

I finally dragged my mall-loving friend Gwen to Salvation Army last weekend... let's just say it was me rabidly running from rack to rack, grinning ear to ear as metal hangers dig into the flesh of my numb fingers... Gwen maybe needed some help getting in the 'you gotta dive through some crap to get to the cool stuff' mood. Luckily we found her a cute little tweed blazer and she was happy. My fashion craving couldn't be satisfied with one piece, however, and I ended up with several.

I saw a blurb in Lucky a few months ago about lady jackets (those Chanel-like structured, no collar ones) and tie dye tees, and ever since have been dying to try it- so now I have this really cool tie dye t shirt and need a lady jacket to go with it. If I can't find one I will substitute my favorite plaid shirt.

Old Navy Maxi- A little out of season, yes, but cute nonetheless. Now that I think about it, might look kinda cute with the tie dye shirt.

Just a little tank. Cause I'm bored of my solid color ones, it was a dollar, and it came with this little pin-on brooch thats a locket (that I took off when I washed the tank and now can't find...)

The coolest golf shorts ever! Super psyched about these. Gwen just looked at me like, are you sure we shouldn't go to Wet Seal? And yes even though they look like a skirt they are indeed shorts. I even think they're actually women's shorts, cause some of the golfers are girls.

Closeup of shorts

Unfortunately upon closer inspection of the label they're from Macy's. So that kind of ruins their I-can't-believe-something-like-this-actually-exists dorky street cred.

I think I did pretty well. We only had like 20 minutes cause I tried to give my mom directions and we ended up going half an hour in the wrong direction and then we had to take Gwen home. So there was some serious speed-shopping going on.

I love thrift stores cause you never know what you're going to find- I've found some pretty awesome stuff *cough*BCBG, Juicy, Miu Miu*cough* for a few dollars and it's the awesomest thing ever, that that stuff is practically in your backyard.

There are these two thrift stores in Hillcrest in San Diego on Fifth Avenue right across the street from each other. If you ever get a chance to go to San Diego, that is the PLACE- they are epic. One (I think it's called Flashbacks) is part vintage, part consignment and part costume surplus- they've got a luxuriously funky selection of vintage stuff (I found a really cute 50s wool shift), next to a wall of neon colored wigs, next to a circular rack labeled, "UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS". Epic.

And then there's its mainstream sister across the street- the Frappuccino to Flashbacks' espresso shot of fashion. It's got tons of designer labels (ie Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors) for really reasonable prices. Could have spent all day. For every plastic bag you opt not to use when you check out, they give you a token for five cents to drop in the box of a charity- when I was there, it was kids, housing, or cats. Guess what I chose!!

So what are your favorite thrift stores?

My first post! Rodarte for Target review

I was signing/dating a paper and I asked my mom what date it was, and then when she said the 20th I nearly fell out of my chair. "HOLY INEXPENSIVE DESIGNER CLOTHING, BATMAN!" I screamed. "You have to take me to Target. Right now. Please please please...." and it continued like that for a few minutes. But I won. And got there in time to try on several of the pieces I was most psyched about. I will post pictures of how I style the pieces I got soon, but they're Christmas presents and I'm not actually allowed to see them/wear them/breathe in their Rodarte essence.

So until then here's a review for you all who haven't been to target yet, or are wondering if you should buy one you missed on ebay....

My store didn't have the kimono wrap or any of the purple lace/tulle stuff. Bummer right? But I tried on pretty much everything else.

1. The slip dress that everyone's been talking about (you know, the one in Lucky- it's on the left in that picture- didn't impress me as much as I thought it would in person. Maybe it's just my age, but due to a somewhat limited clothing budget that mostly thrives on school shopping/mom's awesomeness and babysitting money (you know who you are, my awesome regular clients you) most things that I buy have to have a purpose in my wardrobe, and I can't see wearing that anywhere where I wouldn't get thrown out. Like school. I don't think my school is going to like me wearing what looks like a piece of tulle thrown over some lingerie. I get the idea and I think for the right person this is really cool, but I think it would look a little... dare I say... suggestive for most.

On a quality note, there is a zipper in the side and a snap at the back on the top. It's like a keyhole neckline backwards. The snap is plastic and really hard to open, and I broke three nails trying to try it on. The bust is awkwardly tailored, and there's just extra ruching there where there should not be- it's a little saggy.

2. The 2nd dress in the pic, the black halter, was really cute! I almost got it but decided on another one. The fabric is of a heavy weight and the dress seems relatively well made. The halter closes with a hook in the back and was a little strangle-inducing. It's not really a lace, more like a 3-D molded fabric where the bumps look like lace? What I really liked about this one was the volume of the skirt- It was super cute and reminded me a little of a tutu. (All this goes for its floral counterpart as well.) The only reason I didn't get it was that the fit was better on another. Which brings me to...

4. The swiss dot dress. This is one of the ones I got. I love it! I plan to put a vintage Katy Perry-kinda spin on it. It seemed to be made well, it's long enough (barely) for school, and I just think it's so darn cute. It's so girly and I love it. It's really versatile too, I think- you could make it tough or sweet. The tulle at the top is a teensy bit itchy (not for cotton snobs) and it had the same hard to open plastic snap... but I still really love it.

5/6. The cardigans... I didn't buy any of them. They seemed well made and I really liked the silky feel of them, but I have soooo many cardigans and these just didn't sing to me. But, if you like the design, you have my blessing- they're cute, I admit, and seem like they're good quality.

7. The tulle overlay skirts... combining these all into one cause I'm lazy.... muahaha. Really cute! So many different spins to put on them... the schoolgirl, tough chic, costumey kinda goth-y... you get the idea. I got the mustard yellow one. I love how the caramel overlay isn't really a color you'd expect with yellow... but it works.

Sorry about the slightly grainy pic, all I could find of this one.

8. The lace print dress I also got. It feels silky and lush. I just pulled it on over my head. It fits really well. A little bunchy around the stomach but it gets pulled in at the waist by an elastic band. I debated for a long time wether to get it or not, as it is pushing my school's limit on how long skirts/dresses have to be- the official is 3" or less above the knee and I think this is probably 5. So I will wear tights with it and slouch my shoulders to appear shorter whenever a school administrator is within sight.

9. The leopard print minidress... the one Dakota Fanning wore in Teen Vogue... it didn't fit. I was really excited to try it on, but the sleeves were too short and too tight. There are three leopard-fabric bows going down the back, which are really cute... wish it had fit. The material is nice and heavy and textured. Kinda feels like the stuff the halters are made out of. I could totally imagine wearing it with some brightly-colored heels (low ones ladies, let's not get into inappropriate territory here with the mini and all.)

10. The tulle lace overlay frock in black fit me better than the blush color did. It didn't have the weird bunchy bust problem. I looooved. It. And wish I had somewhere to where a dress like that. I had visions of myself extending one super-stilletoed bootie onto the sidewalk and gracefully extending out of a taxi onto the territory of the party of the century, but sadly, I live in Milwaukee, and we just go to movies and that rock climbing place.... I'm NOT wearing a dress there. It's so cool in that Sweeney Todd kind of old London, so romantic but doomed for disaster kind of way... like that bad boy with the leather neclace you just can't resist.

That's all I tried on... hope this helps some of you fashionistas out there decide on what to buy. I tried to think of how it made me feel, too, since feelings are such a crucial part of fashion to me. I'd love to hear what your favorite piece from the line was!