How To Wear A Vintage Wrap Dress

Wear it any damn way you please. That's the answer. But personally, I prefer mine with some giant gold hoop earrings and a wide-brim hat, arguably the two pieces in my closet that are getting the most mileage this season (and these sandals too). I found this vintage wrap dress at a secondhand store here in Portland where it was masquerading as a duster jacket. But I knew it could be more – specifically, it reminded me a lot of current dresses from Reformation, which I love but cannot afford unless I'm up for spending a solid chunk of time scrolling through previously-loved options on Poshmark (where I found this one actually).  Luckily, like most things, it's all been done before and wrap dresses are easy enough to find vintage or secondhand wrap dresses. Will you have to make some adjustments? Probably (I've had to pin the interior of this one to make it less boxy). But doesn't it look cute with my new ride, Gertie the Volvo?

Details: Dress & bag: Vintage, Hat: Clay LA, Sandals: Sam Edelman, Earrings: Rackk & Ruin

Happy 2012!

Coat: J.Crew (cinema coat, last year)
Radiant Panache Sequin Top c/o Ruche
Shirt: Ralph Lauren (thrifted)
Jeans: Madewell High Riser (last year)
Loafers: Ralph Lauren (thrifted)
Bracelet c/o Motherland

Happy 2012! Did you have a wonderful time celebrating the new year? Chris and I stayed in because I was sick, but we still had a great time cooking food and hanging out. Because of my mystery sickness (we still don't know what it was, despite going to the doctors), this is about as sparkly as things got (on Thursday). But I love having a versatile sequined top in my wardrobe now! I have so many plans on how I want to remix this!

Have you made your New Year Resolutions yet? I've actually been thinking a lot about mine. 2011 was such a great year, I want to keep that momentum going. So, here are my 2012 Resolutions:

1. Continue to learn.
I've noticed something in the past few months: I haven't been reading as much. I want to push myself to get to the library when I say I'm going to, to check out new classes in the area, and to follow my interests.

2. Explore our new city and explore our new region.
We're now living in a part of the country that neither Chris nor I have ever really explored. Now that we're close to all these new states, I want to take advantage of that with plenty of road trips and new experiences.

3. Continue to push myself athletically.
In 2011 I went from using three pound free weights in my weight training regimen, to using twelve and a half pound free weights. This is something I'm extremely proud of, I have my arthritis under control and I'm stronger than I have ever been. I never saw myself as someone who could stick to an exercise regimen, but suddenly I am that person. This year, I want to get outside more for hikes, and start swimming at the gym.

4. Pay off debts and start saving for a home.
This will be the year that I significantly pay down my student loans and my credit card. Last year was hard, this year I'm vowing to get it done.

5. Go on more dates with my husband.
more romance is always a good thing.

6. Make more of an effort to write letters, and keep in touch.
This was one of last years goals as well, but it's especially important now that I live so far away from everyone I love.

7. Be more outgoing.
Here's my little secret: I have a terrible habit of being a recluse. This is another thing that is very important for me to change since we've moved. I want to do more and meet new people!

So, these are my resolutions! Are you making resolutions? What's top on your list for things to do this year? Things to change?

Shake! Shake! Shake!

Dress: Thrifted
Tights: Hue via TjMaxx
Shoes: ModCloth

OK, so I admit that these photos are from a couple of weeks ago. Because the holidays completely ambushed me, I have quite a few outfit posts on the backburner, BUT now that all that insanity is over, back to business! On this particular day at work, we were instructed to wear something with sequins. Easy, done. Or so I thought. Turns out, this dress is the only item I owned that remotely resembles having sequins (at the time- I have recently acquired a glittery shirt). I thrifted this sweet dress back when we were living in Beverly, put it in my closet, and pretty much forgot about it. It was perfect for a day of sequins though, especially because it's super fun to do this:

(imagine lots of manic shaking)

Did you have a nice holiday? We're back in Pittsburgh from our trip North, and I'm sadly home sick today. I'll be posting photos from our trip tomorrow though!

September 28, 2011: Some Summer Leftovers

Top: Thrifted ($5?)

Belt: AA or J.Crew...can't tell

Skirt: Madewell (sale)

Bracelets: Swapped

Sandals: H&M ($7)

I've had these photos on my desktop since June, no joke. Since I'm feeling under the weather today, I thought what better time to share them? Especially since Fall decided to masquerade as summer anyway. I've been taken down by a nasty cold that I'm pretty sure a handful of my friends have, along with half of the customers at the cafe, I didn't stand a chance against this beast. Ugh, what makes you feel better when you're sick? I like laying in bed and watching tv and reading magazines.

July 27, 2011: Black, Brown, Floral

Jumpsuit: Thrifted ($2)

Sandals: H&M sale ($7)

Bag: Thrifted ($10)

Belt: AA

Necklace: Black Sparrow (gift)

Quiz: What do you wear when you wake up and feel like every muscle in your body hates you? Answer: This. OK, so I may have been out a bit late last night, did you know the Swapaholics made Stuff Magazine's Hot 100? That's worth celebrating! I know a wide leg, floral jumpsuit is a fashion risk, but I think it's a risk worth taking, especially for $2. I went thrift shopping with my mom this past weekend, and found the 90's jackpot near where she lives in Maine. I love thrifting outside of the city, some of my most favorite items have come from charity shops and church basements. I also love that this entire outfit cost less than $20 (excluding the necklace which was gifted and the belt which was from an old job), it always feels really good to refresh my closet at a really low cost.

I wish I had more to say today, but I haven't had my coffee yet. So here's a question: what's the biggest fashion or style risk you've taken lately?

July 26, 2011: Chartreuse, Navy, Creme, Brown

Tank: J.Crew sale ($10)

Skirt: Madewell sale ($65)

Sandals: H&M sale ($7)

Bag: Thrifted ($10)

Belt: J.Crew outlet (gift)

Necklace: Black Sparrow (gift)

Barcelets: Vintage & Swapped

This is definitely one of my favorite and most comfortable outfits, possibly ever. I wore this last week to work, after two and a half days of being confined to my apartment with a terrible cold, I was happy to finally get dressed and look nice. Long flowy skirts feel incredible when they brush against your legs in the breeze, which is one of the reasons I love them. This Madewell skirt is one of my favorites, when I can easily envision incorporating an item into three seasons worth of outfits, I know it's a keeper. I can't wait to style this for fall, I think a nubby sweater is just the thing for it. For summer though, I added some cheap-o sandals from H&M and a navy tank.

July 19, 2011: Denim, Linen, Leather, Canvas

Shirt: Thrifted ($5)

Dress c/o ModCloth

Shoes: Thrifted ($10)

Silver bracelet: vintage (old)

Wood bracelet: Swapped

Bag: Thrifted Coach ($15)

Well, it turns out all that sleepy-headed-ness of last week was just me being slowly and persistently stalked by my annual summer cold. This happens every year, and as much as it sucks to be sick in the middle of July, at least it's not the middle of August (wedding times). Blah. I've been laid up for two days at home, I'm getting antsy!

At any rate, this is what I wore on Friday, pre-sick. I'm glad I coerced Chris into taking these photos or else I would have nothing for you. Friday was a day spent running errands, but I wanted to look nice since I've mostly been rocking my cafe uniform 24/7 (cut-offs and tank tops), and I worry Chris may be forgetting that I have the ability to look nice.

I'm a little bit obsessed with this denim top, five bucks goes a long way: I can wear it alone or atop dresses to completely change the outfit. I'm thinking I may need a few more like it.

You can see this dress styled another way here!

July 14, 2011: Melon, Denim, Leopard, Navy

Denim top: Thrifted ($5)

Linen skirt: Thrifted ($6)

Belt: Thrifted (came with dress)

Shoes: Thrifted ($10)

Bracelet c/o ModCloth

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may know that I hit thrift gold yesterday with a vintage 60s bridesmaid dress (here's a photo). I haven't had good luck thrifting in a few months, maybe it was because we were transitioning into summer, I don't know, but yesterday Savers finally delivered. Along with the dress (which I think I'll wear to our wedding reception), I found a bunch of dessert stands (good for our dessert table), this denim top, and this pretty melon colored skirt. As soon as I got home, I knew exactly how I wanted to style it, I love oranges and blues together so naturally I just paired the two and added a leopard print belt. I broke out my favorite pair of espadrilles for the first time this year as well.

We finally got some rain last night, and it must have cooled down by 15 degrees, it feels great outside! I'm feeling about 100x better than yesterday after finally getting a good nights sleep. It's funny because the cats have been so peppy, they're finally getting their energy back too after those hot hot days. Well, I'm off to get my car inspected and drop that pretty dress of at the cleaners, have a great day! xo

July 4, 2011: Patriotic!

Dress: Swapped!

Belt: Thrifted ($3)

Bracelet: Vintage ($5)

Necklace: Spotted Moth ($34)

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell ($70)

I've been saving this dress for months just for the 4th of July, it's perfect! When I found it at the last Worcester swap, I scooped it up, and fell in love. To add some volume beneath the skirt, I added a light full skirt that was slightly shorter so it wouldn't show. To round out the patriotic color scheme, I added a red bracelet and and red belt with my favorite party-time necklace. Red, white, and blue is one of my favorite color combinations, it's so simple and I think the contrast is so striking.

I wore this yesterday to a barbeque at Punky's, I love summer barbeque's! I'll be posting some instagram photos of my weekend highlights later today. It was great to have a busy and distracting weekend. How was yours?

June 21, 2011: Black, White, Blue

Shirt: American Apparel

Vintage Skirt: Thrifted ($3)

Shoes: Thrifted ($5)

Necklace: Brimfield ($1)

Bag: Borrowed from Punky

photos by Punky, thank you lady!

Punky and I had a little photo shoot in the hallway at the office yesterday afternoon, I love working with other bloggers, they don't look at you like you're a freak for wanting to take portraits in a stairwell! I wore this outfit briefly on Sunday evening, and decided to re-create it for work yesterday. It's hard to tell, but the bag matches my little black and white necklace beneath the collar of my shirt. I wish it stood out a little more, that's why I usually wear longer necklaces. Is it obvious that blue/navy and white is my favorite color combination? I feel like every outfit I've worn lately is the same recipe, but blue and white is so summer to me. It just always feels fresh. Do you have a favorite color combination? One that works every time?