outfit post: vintage purple dress

this is what i wore to church on sunday. i had to sing in front of every one, and i was super nervous and folded under the pressure, in typical katie fashion. my outfit was also typical katie fashion. so at least i felt pretty, even if i didn't sing pretty.

dress: vintage

belt: ebay

boots: ebay

earrings: gift from my favorite aunt!

i thought the modern belt paired nicely with the very vintage dress. i've had this belt for about 2 years now, but i keep forgetting that i own it. it's really nice for cinching in too-big dresses (which i seem to own a lot of...).

on a side note, i might try out this outside picture thing. i realized in a "duh" moment that my apartment has a pretty nice balcony. which i should be taking advantage of. so we'll see how this turns out.

inspired by: the D&G runway

i think i started drooling when i saw these pics.... this is the dolce and gabbana spring 2011 show:

 photos: style.com

holy floral goodness! i want every single one of those long dresses. i'm also partial to the mixed floral prints. i've seen some examples of mixing floral prints in 2010, but this is the best version i've seen yet.... now i have to try it!

inspired by: marilyn, not jackie

while i was holed up at home sick all last week, i watched a lot of netflix. and i do mean a lot. i started watching the "pushing daisies" series (which is fabulous, by the way), and more importantly, my first marilyn monroe movie! i know, i know, shame on me for never watching one before. but seriously, i never understood the world's fascination with her. but i had nothing better to do last week, alone on the couch, so i thought what the heck.

it was "gentlemen prefer blondes", and of course, i loved it! i was mesmerized by the glamourous clothes and the rich, glossy red lipstick. oh, and this outfit (more specifically, the color combination):

in the movie, the colors were much richer gem tones....

don't you love the combo of teal, lavender, and navy?? i already love lavender and navy together, but i would've never thought to add teal. here's my (feeble) attempt:

shirt: target

belt (it's really a scarf): gift from mother-in-law.... i think from spain??

skirt: ralph lauren, thrifted of course!

shoes: somewhere in tokyo

the skirt and scarf around the waist reminded me of something princess jasmine would wear.... so i added my princess jasmine shoes! i bought these way back in 2006, and wore them all over tokyo. i still love them, but i kind of forget that i still own them. i need to break these out more often....

oh, and i also added red lipstick, of course! i never would've paired red lips with a green shirt either, but i don't hate it. if it's good enough for marilyn....

it's here!!

finally, the world's most perfect floral dress just arrived in the mail today! to give you the back story, i've been looking for a vintage-inspired navy blue dress with lavender and pink flowers for a long time. does that sound random or what? i've seriously scoured the internet (and every thrift store) for one for about a year. and then lo and behold, i finally found it.... where else? forever 21! weird....

bah! i can't get over how perfect it is. don't you love it when you finally find the perfect piece your wardrobe has been missing? i'm such a sucker for floral dresses with sleeves that have flouncy, knee-length skirts. that shape is great for my petite shape.

in case you wanna know, i found a couple other navy with purple and pink floral options. i seriously thought about buying this skirt, but i'm so glad i waited for the f21 dress (which was even cheaper!):

skirt, express, $29.90

shorts, express, $34.90

infinity scarf

for christmas, my very silly husband wanted a very silly hat from etsy. it was a knitted beanie with an attached beard and mustache (also knitted). well, the cheapskate in me was skeptical of spending $30+ on a novelty gift that he may or may not have actually worn. so i undertook a top-secret project....

to make one myself! my mom taught me one measly crochet stitch when i was 7, so i figured that knowledge (combined with the magical powers of google) would be enough! well, it was rough and i had to start over three times, but i finally produced something i wasn't too embarrassed of.

well, after that rekindled relationship with crochet, i thought i would try something harder. well actually, i just had a huge ball of camel-colored yarn left over, and felt bad for it collecting dust in my "craft" closet....

so i made this! (good thing camel's so hot this season, huh?)

scarf: handmade!

cardigan: walmart

floral shirt: walmart

for the crochet pattern i used, click here. the pattern's not actually for an infinity scarf, but all i had to do was crochet the two ends together- bada bing, bada boom --> infinity scarf!

new acquisition: huge green cocktail ring

 

just bought this monstrosity at forever 21 this week. i actually braved the crowd of miniskirt-clad fourteen-year-olds looking for this:

....but of course i couldn't find it because the way they organize forever 21 stores makes zero sense to me. plus, call me stubborn, but i hate asking sales people for help locating something.

anyways, back to the ring. what i love about it is that the stone is the perfect color of pale green, and it's kind of shimmery and cloudy at the same time. also, the band is stretchy so i can wear it on any frickin finger i want! any of them!

did i mention it was $3.80??? 

new acquisitions: christmas edition!

some fashion-y things i got for christmas this year....

isn't it beautiful?? this thing is deceptive large. my parents-in-law totally surprised me with this for christmas. oh my goodness. i can't WAIT to wear a floral sundress and skip through the park lugging this baby. speaking of babies, i'm pretty sure i could fit one (or 3) in here. and i'm talking about the chubby ones, too.

i wish i could say my brother also surprised me with this gift, but actually i told him exactly what i wanted. if you haven't read the blog.... well, just read the blog. it's incredible. 

roll-up flats from my cuz! pretty sweet. actually, i don't know if they're street-worthy, because they feel more like slippers, but that's cool because i don't have any slippers! plus i really like anything that can be made smaller and fit inside a tiny bag. neat!

a truly gritty outfit

only i, ever obsessed with aesthetics, could go see "true grit", a bang-em-up shoot-em-up western, and come away with inspiration for an outfit. that's how lame and superficial i am. ah, well. good for the ol' blog, i reckon.

do you see that jacket/belt combo?? i'm partial to the drab color of the jacket paired with the warmer color of the leather belt.

ok, my turn:

jacket: another ugly college choir outfit.... it had a matching skirt but i lost it

belt: thrifted

t-shirt: target

skirt: my mother....?

beads: ??

boots: forever 21

you know what pairs great with a western-inspired outfit? rugged boots, of course!

i'm kinda diggin it. of course, you could wear any kind of bottom with this look- jeans, cords, a maxi skirt, my new red pants i just found at goodwill.... here's another take on it:

second skin

no, it's not a sheer nightgown

i got this dress from my husband for my 21st birthday last year. somehow, he always does a great job at picking out dresses for me. but when i opened it in front of my family at my birthday party, it seriously looked like a see-through nightie haha. i'm pretty sure that's what everyone thought until i (very loudly) thanked him for the dress. can you imagine if he had given me a nightgown for bed in front of my parents? (turning red right now, just thinking about it....)

dress: gift from husband (via ross?)

pants: target (girls' section!)

boots: charlotte russe

belt: ross (it came attached to a shirt i really wanted!)

cardigan: target

my necklace actually used to be an earring.... my friend from college bought these for me in japan at a recycle shop (that's what second-hand stores are called in japan.... cool, right?). but somewhere between japan and here, she misplaced one of them. no problem, i said. it'll still make a friggin sweet necklace! isn't she cute? another friend of mine thought i was a catholic with a saint around my neck.... only if she can be the saint of glamour.

it seems as though i'm in a sentimental mood today.... i keep wearing all these gifted things from people. the "love" ring is from my baby sister who bought it in a toy dispenser. it's plastic, it's cute, and it makes me miss her because she lives in japan.... 

the other ring is from target and it's not sentimental at all. 

do more, dream less

that's my new year's resolution, in case you were wondering. i've been MIA for the past several months because 1) i couldn't find my camera, and 2) it was easier to plan all the fabulous outfits i was going to wear than to actual work up the courage to wear them. lame, i know.

but anyway, here we are in a new year and i'm sick of only dreaming about the awesome things i'm going to do. this year, i'm actually going to do them. my first step was buying a $5 wall mirror from walmart, so i can actually see the proportions of my outfit. how have i lived 2 and a half years without one?? the full-length mirror also makes it easier to take pictures of myself, as i'm not yet one of those super-cool bloggers who get their husbands (who just happen to moonlight as professional photographers) to take their pictures every day in front of a mountain in the backdrop. baby steps guys, baby steps.

ok, here goes. this is what i decided to wear to work and to go to a movie tonight with some friends. i don't like to wear jeans (if i can help it) to teach my music lessons, but i also like to be comfortable and decent, since i see elementary kids all day long.

shirt (it's really a dress): vintage

olive cargo pants: thrifted

boots: forever 21

aren't these boots great? i've been looking for the perfect pair of lace-up boots in a warm brown color with a bigger, stacked heel. i have entirely too many stiletto heels in my life. the chunky heel makes them super comfortable, and they go with everything.

my aunt just bought me this cool vintage (inspired) marcasite necklace for christmas. i love marcasite! kind of vintage and tough-looking at the same time. and the cute little key necklace came from my husband for christmas last year. it's the closest to tiffany's i'll probably ever get in this lifetime ;). i think it was $10 at walmart last year lol.