september sunday

Oh, Midwest, you tricky little minx. I already started dressing in Fall mode, and here it was sunny, warm, and generally beautiful! At least my colors were equally sunny & cheery:

This has been featured a few times before, maybe not even that differently, but I still thought it was fun enough to share. Dress: Four Stars (size L), brown woven leather belt: thrifted, yellow tights: Gap.

return of the colored tights!

What a week it’s been so far: shake-ups, shut-ups & dress-ups (as for the latter, ahem, why yes, my friends and I did take an impromptu trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire on Labor Day) – and it’s only Wednesday. Anyone else? Y’know what else has suddenly happened within the past week, at least here in Chicago? GLORIOUS FALL! To borrow a word from my dear friend Tate, it’s downright autumnal. And you know what that means…

That’s right, the return of the colored tights!

Ok, so for some reason the sun was being particularly unreasonable this morning, but if you can’t tell, my legs are orange.

candy-coated, soda-shop frock

Despite the fact that this dress isn’t really vintage or retro at all, I get a candy-coated, soda-shop vibe from it – perhaps it’s the colors or the shapes, which remind me of candies or fizzy soda bubbles.

In any case, it’s definitely light and flowy and fun.

strapless boho sun dress

This weekend was quite a roller coaster – some really fun moments mixed with some pretty crappy ones – so please forgive the lack of hilariously clever & amusing commentary today.

My mom bought me this sun dress for $14.99 at Burlington Coat Factory (they have a TON of cute sun dresses right now, fyi):

Smocked & stretchy, this dress by Speed Control (size M) is beyond comfy. Black shrug: White House Black Market. Flip flops (necessary due to some HORRIBLE, inflamed mosquito bites on my feet): Havaianas that I got on serious sale at Gap a while back (I got the ‘Slim’ style, not the regular, which doesn’t appear on Gap’s site but can be found elsewhere, like Zappos).

too hot for leggings!

Tooooooo hottttttt, toooooo humiiiiiid!

No sir, I cannot wear the leggings from the previous post, so I threw on a SUPER old, crappy denim skirt by Misdemeanor (huh?! – size 13) and loose grey & yellow floral tank by American Eagle.

Yes, there are hilarious snaps on the sides of the skirt. I’m not even going to show you the top of it. There are grommet holes all the way around it! Whyyy did I buy this?! Who knows? Steve Madden gladiators to finish it off. Let’s go!

Ok, fine! By request…

yellow & grey monday

Since I felt like such a hot mess on my birthday – and photos live for eternity to remind me – and walked around all wet and gross for a large part of the weekend, I felt the need to dress cuter today in something that made me feel good about myself. I think I succeeded!

It’s nothing out-of-this-world special, but I just feel put-together and sunny and bright, which makes me project an equally bright and optimistic attitude. (Anyone who says clothes don’t matter is sorely mistaken, and I actually pity those who have never felt what clothes can do.) Top matching throw pillow was unintentional, but I left it in view for my amusement. :)

bachelorette beauties

Well! The you-pick-what-I-wear poll was a fun little experiment. I really did plan on wearing what YOU chose; however, I should’ve put a time frame on the poll. I feel bad that I didn’t end up in the winning look, but by the time I had to get dressed & going, there was a 3-way tie! It was between the zebra top & skinnies, the black ruffle dress, and the deep-V dress with medallion accents. So I simply had to just pick one.

I ended up choosing…

easter sunny

Does anyone else miss those childhood days when Easter meant getting a brand new dress with some kind of ruffle or lace and undoubtedly flowers on it? And maybe even an Easter hat and gloves? I do!

These days my family is pretty casual for Easter, as we are for most holidays. Generally we gather at someone’s house for a very chill, low-key celebration of whatever holiday or month of birthdays it happens to be. This year we had so few people that we all fit at one table, which is very out of character for us, but it was, of course, still fun and full of good food & good laughs.

Accordingly, I kept my clothing casual:

Yellow shirt dress: Mossimo (size M), white leggings: No Boundaries (maybe not my favorite with this look, but it was just a bit too chilly for bare legs), purple leather belt: Gap, teal flats: Urban Outfitters.

all in the details

I feel like a lot of my simple looks lately really aren’t even worth posting, but simplicity has its place too. Plus, there are still usually enough fun, unique details to make the looks interesting.

As mentioned in my previous (twofer!) post, I went to Woodfield Mall yesterday to help my friend Sarah find an Easter outfit (she ended up with a fun & oh-so-flattering Maggy London dress and shrug from Nordstrom), and I got out having spent just $20 on 2 belts and a pair of mustard tights ($6.99 in store vs. $1.99 online – but the shipping online makes it about even). Today I paired one of the belts with this:

Oatmeal sequin-trimmed cardigan: Express, jeans: American Eagle, ruffled mustard top: Ann Taylor Loft.

champs-élysées chic

Oh my word, would you look at this thrifted dress I scored for $14 at Crossroads Trading Co. this weekend?

Retro-rific dress by 2 Friends (size 10), black shrug: White House Black Market, grey tights: Express.