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Harem Jumpers: Stylish & Comfy Style or 80’s Fashion Relic?

harem jumper OOTD

I am a child of the late 80’s/early 90’s and I loved every wacky, bodacious second of it. Although as we reflect back on those years, it is undeniable that an overwhelming majority of our most painfully awkward and embarrassing pop culture moments occurred in the 80’s.  It was a decade that produced some of the most memorable cringeworthy style fads of all time, such as: Acid wash jeans, scrunchies, hairspray and perms, neon colored wind suits and of course harem pants. Inspired by the greats of the era, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice.


 

(I still firmly believe those were the greatest fashion years of my life. Sometimes I wonder if it was growing up in the late 80’s early 90’s that gave me my flare for the dramatic when it comes to clothes (hence wearing an oversized jumper in 2015 and loving it))

Just recently I saw a picture of everyone’s favorite overgrown man child, Justin Beiber, wearing some serious harem pants and  I literally said outloud: “Hammer did it better.” Bc. how could anyone forget this:

or this:

and while we’re at it, this:

unfortantly, hammer pants were one of the few fashion items my parents refused to purchase for me (along with glittery  pink, fringed cowboy boots). I see now that my parents were doing me a favor because i have a feeling my hammer pants wouldn’t have gone over very well with all the kids at my school in West Texas. So, thanks guys for that.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t fulfill my Hammer Time fantasy as an adult! I am free to make my own bad decisions! Sometimes being an adult IS great, because no one can tell you “no” if you want to buy an oversized diaper jumper and wear it in public!

I was pleasantly surprised with how it fit, although it’s a very thin jersey knit fabric so it attaches its self to unappealing areas (the crutch and the butt). I did wear it on a really windy day which didn’t help with that though. It is really comfortable and I actually really like the styling and draping of the fabric. I had to be careful when I walked because this particular jumper always ended up giving me a wedgie. The jumpsuit I purchased was the cheap version (as usual) which may speak to the thinness of the fabric. Shopbop has a designer brand option which is undoubtably better quality in their  Basic Terrain Harem Jumpsuit, for $158.00:

basic terrain jumpsuit


to wear or not to wear:

It’s not an item I will be wearing very often but it’s really fun to have in my closet for days when I  am feeling bored with everything else in my closet and also because I like to put it on and do the Hammer Time dance in the mirror when I need a quick trip down memory lane. Plus, I bought mine on Amazon for less than $15.00

In conclusion: no one pulls it off like the Hammer but I have a feeling the harem jumper hasn’t had it’s final style moment yet…
harem jumper street styleMy Outfit details: Spaghetti Strap Harem Jumper, $14.95, vintage tooled leather bag, Gottex Women’s Laurent Felt Hat, $79.00 on Amazon, Yara Birkenstock Thongs $120.00

yara birkenstock thongs

 

so the final question is: would you? I am totally okay if your answer is a resounding no.

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Fringe Benefits: My Favorite Fringed Pieces for a Boho Update to Any Wardrobe (12 Items under $100!)

fringe skirt ootd

You know those trends that come and go (mom jeans, Birkenstocks, dr. martans, etc) but you can’t let go of? They always hold a special place in your heart and your wardrobe, and no matter how “in” or “out” your beloved trend may become,  you cling stubbornly to it and refuse to let die.

Fringe is that for me. Well, one of many in a long list of fashion faux pas I commit every time I get dressed.

But no matter how ridiculous I may end up looking I pass up a good ole fringed clothing item without picturing myself twirling gaily in the wind wearing said fringed clothing item, ala Buddy the Elf…

elf-buddy-im-in-love

Usually these daydreams involve meadows and music and ponies….but that’s a story for another day.


 

I stumbled upon my new favorite fringed clothing unexpectedly while browsing the boutiques on a mini vacation to Traverse City. I almost passed it up because even for me, I was worried it might be a” bit much” (and for me that’s really saying something) but the imagined twirling I was doing while wearing that skirt was too glorious to pass up.

fringe skirt ootdmy outfit details:Sam Edelman Women’s Faux Suede Fringe Skirt, $53.30, Scoop Neck Woven Camisole, $13.00,

 

So I was inspired to compile an extensive list of some of favorited fringed wardrobe items for even the most conservative of wardrobes:

bcbg drap fringe dress

BCBGMAXAZRIA Women’s Maddie Drape-Front Cocktail Dress (53.00)

topshop fringe sleeveless dress

Top Shop Sleeveless Fringe Dress, available at Nordstroms ($58.00)

freepeople nomad cotton shroud

Free People’s Nomad Cotton Fringe Shawl ($329)

free people suede fringe skirt

 

Also from Free People (the leading authority on boho chic) Free People’s Sedona Leather Skirt, ($329)

asos glamorous wrap cami dress with fringe skirt

Asos’ Glamorous Wrap Cami Dress  ($69.00)

471-Minnetonka-Women-s-Classic-Fringe-Boot-Boots-in-Brown-Suede-Hardsole-1

Minnetonka Women’s Classic Fringe Hardsole Boot $43.00 on Amazon

forever 21 bib necklace

Forever 21’s Fringe Bib Necklace(22.90)

matiko brendan fringe heeled sandals free people

Brentwood Fringe Heels ($150)

fashion union crepe wrap back top with fringe detail asos

Asos’ Fashion Union Crepe Wrap Top($44)

hm fringe bag

H&M’s Black Fringe Bag ($29.90)

french connection spotlight fringe

French Connection Women’s Spotlight Fringe, $90.00 via Amazon

topshop fringe maxi slip dress

topshop maxi slipdress

Topshop Fringe Maxi Slip Dress($90) available at Nordstroms

asos mini suede fringed backpack

Asos’ Mini Suede Fringed Bag ($60.00)

forever 21 tiered fringe midi skirt

Forever 21’s Fringed Midi Skirt ($29.00)

sam edeleman fringe faux suede skirt

Sam Edelman Women’s Faux Suede Fringe Skirt ($61.55)

And just in case you thought I was kidding about the swirling and twirling, a picture that should never see the light of day…

ootd fringe skirt

 

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Personal Style File Game of Thrones Fashion Geek Out Edition

The last few days have consisted of binge re-watching Game of Thrones with my boyfriend. Previously, I had made it up all the way through to the dreaded Red Wedding Episode in Season 3, which after viewing I decided I needed a GoT break). He hadn’t seen any or read any of the books up until  about three days ago and now, we are up to the middle of season 3,  a good 25 hours logged of GOT. Hey, go big or go home right??

yeah, no, I have no life. It’s okay, I should just accept it.

Watching GoT the second time around has proved beneficial (or so I try to tell myself) Besides giving me a GoT storyline refresher and giving me the chance to annoy my boyfriend with all my GoT knowledge and foreshadowing of things to come…

I’ve mostly enjoyed taking a closer look at the opulent costumes the badass female characters wear throughout the show.

One of the characters who has slowly become one of my favorite female characters (besides Khaleesi of course) is Shae, the *cough* *cough* courtesan, who wins over the heart of Tyrion Lannister.

ShaeAndTyrion

I am in love with the style of dress she wears in just about every scene she appears in, especially the dress’ drapey open back. You can get a good look at the design of the back in these pictures:

tyrion-and-shae-house-lannister-35788873-4255-2820

I love how versatile the dress is and how she (or the really the costume designer) changes it up adding a thick embroidered fabric belt and metal fastenings or allowing the dress to flow freely behind her.

game-of-thrones-season-4-sibel-kekilli-hbo-shae

So I quickly became determined to find a similar style dress to try and pull off and would most likely bring shame to the Lannister family name.  So here is the best I could do:

twisted draped back dress

 

Although there were some good costume replicas of Shae’s dress on Etsy, they were out of my price range and  I unfortunately I couldn’t find anything else in the lovely lilac color Shae wears.  So I settled with some purple daisies.

The dress I ended up buying online was this Twisted Back Dress available online from Chiquelle for around $60.00 (they are British so their prices are in euros):

chiquelle twisted back dress

ootd: Game of thrones geek edition

Besides the dress I bought, I was able to compile several other similar styled dresses (and one top) available out there for anyone who might be interested in geeking out with me:

 

1. This Twisted Back Maxi Dress available for only $9.00!!!! via The Iconic:

zalora basics twisted back maxi dress

2. Another online steal from Maykool with their Beige Round Neck Twisted Back Charm Dress for $24.00:

dresses-beige-round-neck-twisted-back-charm-dress-007700_3

3. This BCBGMaxazria Karli Twist Back Top for $78.00:

BCBGMAXAZRIA top

4. For the fancy route, this Drape Back Jersey Gown
Badley Mischka, for $495.95:

badgley-mischka-ivory-jersey-drape-back-evening-gown-white-product-0-735228649-normal_large_flex

5. Zimmerman Back Drape Dress via ShopBop for $395.00:

zimmerman back twist dress

6. Another Evening/Cocktail dress, this one from Max Studio 50% off at $198.00:

max studio draped back dress

 

7. And finally, this scandalously low back Staring at Stars Crochet Cut-Out Cover Up Maxi Dress from Urban Outfitters, $59.00:

staring at stars crochet cut out cover up urban outfitters

Do you have any outfits inspired by your favorite TV shows? I would love to see! And also it would be comforting to know someone else out there is as nerdy as me…..please be my friend.

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Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, Summer Maxi Dresses: Ten of My Favorites for Every Occasion

It’s finally summer (hooray!) But of course, I can’t just enjoy the weather I’ve been waiting for all year long and instead I have to find something to stress over.

The summer weather poses a few problems for me:

1)  Blindingly white, pastey legs.

2) Lots of uncomfortable sweating in areas best left unacknowledged.

3) And Shaving, lots of shaving…hours and hours of shaving…

 Solution to this very first world problem: 

Maxi dresses!

1) Complete coverage of said sunless legs.

2) Comfortable breeze to sweating nether regions.

3) Coverage of lazily shaved legs.

romantic summer maxi dress forever 21 summer maxi dress

The above maxi dress is from Forever 21 although it looks like it’s not available anymore I found a similar dress also from Forever21 that I think I like even more than the one I purchased:

love21 white lace paneled dress
Love 21 Lace-Paneled Maxi Dress, $34.90

My Sandals are Enzo Angiolini Women’s Jeat Sandal, $84.80 available on Amazon:

Enzo Angiolini Women's Jeat Sandal

Now in no particular order ten of my favorite maxi dresses that I day dreaming of buying to cover up my pastey legs with this summer:

1. In a Dream Maxi Dress from Free People ($350.00):

In a Dream Maxi dress Free People

2. Serilida Maxi Dress from Anthropologie, $198.00

serlida maxi dress anthropologie

3. Maybe Lady Dress from Free People, $118.00:

free people maybe lady dress

4. Motel Wrap Front Maxi Dress with Thigh Split in Floral Print from ASOS, $95.00:

 

5. Chloe Silk Full Length Draped Dress, for *cough* *cough*, $3,660.74 from Far Fetched: 

chloe silk maxi dress summer 2015

 6. All Tied Down Maxi Dress from NastyGal, $68.00

all tied down maxi dress nasty gal

7. Lisbon Dress from Need Supply Co., $98.00

lisbon dress need supply

 

8. Tribal Print Maxi Dress from Forever 21, $27.90:

forever 21 tribal print maxi dresstribal print maxi dress

9. Faded Floral Flutter Sleeve Maxi Dress from ASOS, $98.00:

asos faded floral flutter sleeve dress

 

10. Summer Solid Lady Maxi Dress from Free People, $148.00:

 

and one more that doesn’t do much to cover up the pastey leg problem but I am day-dreaming of none the less…..

11. For Love and Lemons Marina Maxi Dress available at Free People, $202.00:

Any “must have” maxis for this summer that you think I missed??

 

 

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Style Tutorial: Three Ways to Wear White Denim in Winter

 

I don’t wear white often because of a few reasons (like being unable to go more than 10 minutes without spilling something) but the after Labor Day rule isn’t one of them . But, I’ve seen a lot of cool styling this winter with white denim or trousers and I don’t know if it’s becoming more fashionably acceptable to wear white after the designated time. I kind of think wearing white is perfect in the winter, especially when I am getting sick of all the black I wear in mourning for the summer.

so here are three different ways to casually style white denim jeans for winter wear….

winterwhitedenimoutfitonestripe-cardigan-fringe-bag-white-denim-zara-nordstroms-beanie-winterwinter-white-denim-style-inspiration
white-denim-suede-wedgesplaidscarf
winteroutfit3white-denim-wedge-booties-zara-plaid-scarf-nordstromHow do you guys feel about white denim during winter? Yay or nay??

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My Midi Dress Dilemma: 4 Tips for Wearing a Midi for the Body Conscious Woman

6 marvelou smidis(all 6 dresses available on asos top left: ASOS RED CARPET Premium Embellished Midi Dress With Plunge Front $227.40, top middle: Asos Midi Wiggle Dress in Paisley Print $113.17, top right: ASOS Baroque Embellished Midi Shift Dress $161.08, bottom left: Self Portrait Lucille Midi Dress  $473.75, bottom middle: ASOS Petite Wiggle Dress with Wrap Back $85.28,  bottom right: ASOS Gray Floral Drape Back Midi $94.75)


I really, really love the midi dress look and I emphasis the word look because the way a midi dress looks on a model (stunning) is not how a midi LOOKS on me. The models’ curves (or lack of them) are perfectly highlighted in the form fitting style of a midi and the length accentuates their slim legs. I don’t know if I really thought that I would look the same as the 100 pound 5ft 9 model did in the same midi.

Here is the midi dress I purchased:

jersey midi asos
Asos Midi Cami Body Conscious Dress

but…SURPRISE! I didn’t look anything like the model. It accentuated my curves alright, every friggin nook and cranny was on display. It probably didn’t help that the midi I bought was thin jersey fabric, which is probably one of the least forgiving fabrics there is. So I buried the dress in the back of my closet and tried to forget I ever thought I could pull the look off.

The thing is…I’ve never liked my body, but I also think most women in America have struggled with loving and accepting their bodies at some point. I’ve been working up to writing about the journey I am on to loving myself and it’s been a long, bloody battle for me but….(and I swear all this has to it has to do with the midi dress!)

But since I turning 30 this year, it really hit me how much of life I have wasted and how many experiences I missed out on because I’ve been to busy disliking myself and caring to much what people think.Doing these self-absorbed, materialistic Personal Style posts was a coconscious decision of mine to do what makes me happy and to (try) not to worry about whether or not people like it. Also, it’s nice to actually start caring about myself again 🙂


So, when cleaning up my closet, I stumbling on the crumpled up midi dress of disappointment and gave it another go (outfitted in my spanx body armor) and decided to give it another try and I came up with a few different ways to wear a form fitting midi with more confidence.

#1 Oversized Cardigans like this one from Revolve Clothing, are your friends.

drapey cardigan

Wearing a big, drapey cardigan helps me feel like I have a layer of protection and it keeps all my lumpy areas that I am self-conscious about covered. But the open front still shows off the cute length and style of the midi.

midi skirt winter outfit

#2 Wearing shoes with heels (booties are my favorite for winter) add much needed length to your frame.

Here are a few pair of booties that give me the warm fuzzies and that I think would look good with a a casual style midi dress:

Joe's Cutout booties

 

 

above: Joe’s ‘Abby’ Cutout Leather Booties available at Nordstroms for $119.37 (40% off from original price of $198.95) Sam Edelman booties

 

Above: Circus by Sam Edelman “Talon” Booties  available on sale at Nordstroms for $87.06 (originally $129.95)

wedge booties

Above: Naughty Monkey ‘Angle Tangle’ Toe Wedge Bootie also at Nordstroms for $129.95

For a dressier look here are a few heels I am currently drooling over:

Gucci Gold toe Heel

above: Gucci’ ‘Coline’ T-Strap Cap Toe Heels at Nordstroms for $398.98

capped toe heels

 

 

above: Joe’s  ‘Ali’ Ankle Strap Pump, on sale at Nordstroms for $72.95dark blue pumps

 

above: Louise et Cie ‘Sarmienta’ Pump at Nordstroms for only $79.95 (50% off)

Most midis cut off at around calf-level (depending on height) which I love but also has the tendency to make legs look shorter and bulkier.

#3 Layer it up to create different looks.

A midi is fun to play around with different looks and is a versatile dress that can be simple and classic or fun and trendy.  Adding colorful layers, like my favorite crazy plaid pants, creates lines, and helps to “distract” the eye from those worry areas.


IMG_6163 - Version 2
midiandblacktopA split sided basic top is perfect to throw over a midi because it covers my least favorite areas (my tummy and the booty) and I like the look it creates.

#4: Spanx is also your friend.

Good ole trusty spanx, instilling confidence into the self-conscious since the dawning of time.