Fashion Therapy - Short Changed

The weather hasn't been living up to it's full potential lately, but I keep wearing shorts anyway. Sorry about the pot holes and unsightly background, but I've been running too late every morning to take photos, so I ran outside on my lunch break. Shirt and shorts are both Crossroads finds; I love the daisy bathing cap, I need one!

top - via crossroads | belt - thrifted | shorts - f21, via crossroads | shoes - ross

Here's a nicer picture of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, not from the same day but from a little jaunt last week. Growing up around such a tourist attraction makes me pretty immune to it, but a lot of people come here on vacation every year and have the time of their lives. I like $1 hot dog and ride days ;]

Introducing my friend Lindsey: we both subscribe to the idea that every day is a day to dress up, and I love how she layers things. We both wore shorts to work the same day. While we don't have the most similar styles, we often end up wearing our own versions of the same outfit on the same days.

Her boots were a flea market score, how lucky?!

Paintings of the Day - Léon Spilliaert

*Photos/inspiration directly from Pandora's gorgeous blog. 

I just loved these painting so much, I wanted to share them.

 Moonlight and Light, 1909

Vertigo, 1908

Night, 1908

Fashion Therapy - Dr. Suess

I haven't updated in a few days, and it's been... weird. I have a sort of trunk show on Friday night and I've been busily trying to prepare for it, so my weekend consisted mostly of spending time with my dog, cutting out patterns and fabric, and sleeping.

For some reason, this green top reminds me of The Cat In The Hat, even though the stripes are the wrong color and direction. It looks like a summer beach chair, but is much more comfortable.
When one of my cheap forever 21 rings broke, I saved it and glued on a piece of beach glass I found. I want more of those ring backs to make rings out of old buttons and multi-color beach glass!

top - self made dress | belt - thrifted | shorts - thrifted | shoes - via crossroads | rings - f21 | polish - revlon

I found these shorts in the men's section of a thrift store! I think they're part of a uniform — I wonder what kind of ancient dude wore these? I can't figure out why only one of the back pockets has a button & button hole. The wedges are some of my favorites, but not the most comfy height for standing all day. They're Michael Kors in lovely condition that I found at Crossroads for $15. Remember finds like that make me almost miss working there... almost...

Happy Monday!

Giveaway Winner

Ines!

  

I used a random number generator this time, not the actual number out of a hat ;]

Thank you everyone who entered, I have lots of music downloading to do!

Fashion Therapy - Wedge Wednesday

Wednesdays are my Friday when it comes to the day job, so I was tired and grumpy before getting dressed this morning. I really felt comfortable and good in this outfit, though!

I want a different hat for every day right now. This one's a sort of straw cloche that got a bit bent up in my closet. It just adds such a whimsical, different element to the casual shorts & plaid. The shorts I've never truly liked until this outfit, and I'm thinking of lots of ways to run with this sort of schoolboy-uniform silhouette. And I don't know why I get so excited about color-coordinating this top & wedges, but I do!

hat - new deal | top, shoes - new york & co. | shorts - ?, altered to fit

Today's Yays ♥ cake, cake and more cake! ♥ temperatures cooling to bearable ♥ a nail art extravaganza ♥ finishing a sweet drink cozy with a big bow ♥ "dusk" stretching on past 9 p.m.

What made you Yay today?

Photo of the Day

source

Fashion Therapy - Yoo Hoo

One of the good things about having a personal style blog is getting used to what you look like outside of a mirror. Yes, I'm standing still posing, but after yesterday's post, I realized some neat things: my hair has grown in the past two months! Leaving no space between mirror image shots looks sooo much better, thank you to Mariel for showing me this! I need to go back to that eucalyptus tree stand for photos again!

On another note, wearing the psychedelic print dress yesterday made me think of the tie-dye trend resurfacing and how I just cannot get into it. Like I mentioned, I live in a town that could be termed a hippie resting home, though there's also a lot of "new-agers," college hippies and wanna-be Rastas. I've seen tie-dye t-shirts on everyone and their mom since I was born, so it's not a novel trend to me, it's an multicolor part of every day.

top - rue21, sale | shorts - wesc, thrifted | boots - journey's, sale

Soo I decided to skip tie-dye and do urban-cowgirl-doll? I don't know what I was thinking, really. I kind of freak out when I try to style these shorts. I want to add a little cuff to each leg to make them more like "bloomers."

listening to:
"wagon wheel" by old crow medicine show, on repeat

~~~

* KelleeGrace - I'm so stoked you used my tutorial! Do you have a photo of the gingham skirt you made?
* Loogie2 - thanks for the lighting tip!

Fashion Therapy - Psychadelichic

I found this vintage dress a few months ago and have only worn it once before. I love the psychadelic colors and print. Can you believe the label says it's a size 12? I have to mention that I live in a town full of aging hippies, and I was really catching the eye of old men today; maybe I reminded them of their long-lost love at Woodstock? Or of some wonderful acid trip they had as a youth? Let me just say, men over forty don't generally tell me "that's a great dress." I guess I need to find some trippy fabric and start making loose dresses! While trying to figure out "against the sun" photos (any tips? Do I have to use the flash?) I realized that the dress is see-through in the light! Good thing I was inside most of the day, I think one of my co-workers would have warned me if it was that bad...

When I was taking it off for post-work shower time, I ripped open the front seam, whoops! I can fix it! I bought these canvas wedges three years ago and I can't believe how much I wear them now. They sat in my closet for many, many, many moons, but have been revived. Now I need to figure out how to clean them!

 

dress - thrifted  |  shoes - target 

The Weekend's Yays
♥ a nice relaxing day at the beach, watching seals cavort in the ocean and cute dogs being walked ♥ a delicious dinner of cesear salad, sourdough bread & spinach dip, pasta w/artichoke basil sauce, & cheesecake for dessert  ♥ sleeping ten hours last night ♥ "tipsy" arnold palmers: sweet tea vodka + lemonade ♥ a sale on etsy! :) ♥ learning how to make crocheted bows - yarn spree ahoy!

What made you yay today?

Giveaway Sunday

It's time for another reader-appreciation giveaway! Thank you all for your comments & visits.

Win a gold cube necklace, turquoise purse, and a pair of the white rosebud earrings I can't stop wearing!

Entries will be accepted until noon June 24th.

 

To enter you must:

1.) be a follower of this blog

2.) leave a comment telling me which album you can't stop listening to

3.) leave an email if I can't contact you through your blog

Fashion Therapy - I Spy

Sometimes I feel great not getting dressed or leaving the house all day, and sometimes I feel lousy. Sometimes I feel like "getting ready" for no reason, or just to go to the grocery store. This day I slept until two, cleaned, went to Whole Foods, made mahi mahi & veggies for dinner, and alternated between reading the latest Vanity Fair and cutting out patterns. Oh, and blogging. What a life.

I was trying to keep it simple, and since I'm always sweating in the car and freezing in the grocery store, I thought I'd wear my new white hat for the jaunt. Simple dress and accessories were all I needed. The hat made me feel super dressy, and the cashier complimented my nail polish and we spent a few moments trading ice cream flavors that it resembles - Pistachio! Mint chip! Green Tea!

hat - d&y, via crossroads | dress - self made | necklace - moms | shoes - classified | nail polish - revlon "minted"

However, I can't help but think of Spy vs. Spy when I wear my new hat.

 I'm gonna have to pair is with a white dress and talk my bestie into wearing a black version.

Fashion Therapy - California Poppies

I stopped for photos pretty much on the side of the road when I saw all these flowers blooming. Lavender and poppies attracted a gang of bumblebees, all humming and buzzing around each other. I love how they look like they're bobbing for pollen.

I was in the field behind this a few weeks ago and the grass is already all scorched and dry, as are some of the flowers. I forget how short spring is. I need to get on my summer resolution of swimming in the ocean, no matter how bone-chilling it is! We're supposed to have the hottest Indian Summer of for-ev-ver so maybe I'll wait until then...

top - wet seal | skirt - self made | shoes - via crossroads

Today's Yays ♥ catching up on my blogroll - I get a little upset when there's not enough hours in the day to do this! 

♥ sleeping in with my pup ♥ Zachary's tofu scramble w/potatoes ♥ my hair turning out nicely after I washed it

What made you go Yay! today?

Links a la Mode

You, Only Better

 

Edited by: Ann Colville Somma of Holier than Now

It's a strange culture we live in: we're always told Just be  yourself!, yet the bestseller list is chock-full of self-help books and memoirs depicting radical change. Finding the balance between total  transformation and chilling in our pajamas is difficult, but that's why  I love the blogosphere. Here, inspiration is served up one manageable  bite at a time. Want to save the world? Start with vintage beachwear - the  purchase benefits disaster victims. Hoping your man evolves into a  sharp-dressed diaper-changer?  Let's begin with a chic- and sustainable- Dad's day gift. Looking for  your dream job?  Take baby steps by revamping your  work wardrobe and taking notes from inspiring entrepreneurs.

Links à la Mode: June 17th

• A la Modest A Uniform Response to Chaos: Janelle Monáe
• Amateur Couture Art-inspired looks
• Awakened Aesthetic Men are notoriously hard to shop for... these gifts are all sustainable.
• Despising Life is So Passe A reminder that no gain is found without work put forth
• Dramatis Personae 10 Things Carrie Bradshaw Taught Me About Fashion
• Fabulous Finds Karl Lagerfeld says the crowd at AMfar is real and Oscar fashion is fake
• Fassonaburu Vyque looks back at five months of trying to follow strict fashion rules
• Grit and Glamour Meet Amanda of Amanda Deer Jewelry
• Holier than Now Rethinking a  previously rejected look
• Hundy & Undy Casual doesn't have to be so casual
• Market Publique Market  Publique & ModCloth auction vintage beachwear to benefit disaster  victims
• M.I.S.S. Interview with IFB founder Jennine Jacob
• On the Racks Finding summer outfit inspiration in the strangest of places
• Style with Benefits Father's Day stylish gift guide by Esquire's Best Dressed Real Man in America
• Stylish Thought How to ban  boring business attire from your work wardrobe
• Tale Teller What famous designers said about fashion
• The Greyest Ghost Art meets fashion at the Whitney's 2010 Art Party
• The Seventeen Magazine  Project One high school senior lives by the dictates of Seventeen  Magazine for 30 days
• Tog and Trappings Les flâneurie: How observation of life can inspire creativity

Quotation Marks

Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about

your outer self. It's about accepting all of yourself.

You've got to learn to accept the fool in you 

as well as the part that's got it goin' on.

~ Tyra Banks               

Fashion Therapy - Cut Off Cowgirl

** this was featured on weardrobe, right under Zoe yesss! Thanks gals!

Summer heat is upon us at last! Most of spring's greenery has dried out already, though flowers are still in bloom. This past week has been gorgeous and sunny, which I enjoyed on my lunch breaks. I have the next few days off and I hope it stays pretty! I'll need some sunshine breaks from sewing in my cave. On the way home I stopped for more fabric and things for my big sale in a few weeks. I'm really excited and nervous that nothing will sell, or that everything will sell!

top - charlotte russe | shorts - cut-off express jeans | boots - journey's

I've been loving these gray boots so much. Comfortable enough for ten hours of standing up, cute, and there's some air flow! This was the perfect day for a frozen treat: warm enough to warrant it, but not so hot that milk was a bad choice. Check out my weak first attempt at nail art with my co-workers paints. I've felt like painting my nails lately, so I got some new Revlon pastels to show off soon. It's funny how something as little as a bottle of nail polish can feel like a big treat ;]

listening to:

the black keys - magic potion

Fashion Therapy - You Had Me Pegged

dress, vest, belt - via crossroads | shorts - wet seal | shoes - ross

I couldn't resist trying the lace-trimmed bike shorts since they were only $6.50. They worked perfectly with this too-short dress for work. Depending on how much I want to wear them, I might invest in an all lace pair!

Fashion Therapy - Little Bug

Happy Monday every body! I hope you are all feeling happy and healthy! We're already almost halfway through June, I can't believe how quickly time sometimes flies! This weekend was sooo warm, sometimes already seventy degrees by 10 a.m. My work does not have air conditioning, so I had to take some drastic measures. Sometimes I get so hot I drape wet paper towels around my neck and stand in front of the fan.

Ode to the "street style" going on behind me. Sweet pants, bro. I found a ladybug on the sidewalk, so I thought "photo op for my rings!" I don't know what was wrong with its wing, but I hope it's still alive somewhere, eating aphids. After work I headed to a friend's house to celebrate her graduation and ate way too much cake. What frosting does for me is beyond description.

top - diy  |  skirt - self made  |  shoes - classified  |  rings - crossroads/f21

 

Quotation Marks

quote:buddha photo:me

Beachy Keen

Though my weekend is not really Saturday & Sunday, I thought I'd share some photos from a little beach day I had on Wednesday. The boats from the nearby harbor race on Wednesdays, but I was too lazy to get up from my towel and walk closer to the shore for pictures. 

 The sun was warm and the sky boasted a ton of cloud types (Can anyone name some? I almost failed Meteorology).We decided this must be where the ocean likes to keep it's stump collection. I'm glad there were no nasty bros whistling, just some hilarious middle-schoolers figuring out their sexuality.

Fashion Therapy - Bright Lights Big City (Kinda)

Night time photography eludes me with my only working digital camera. Especially at shows, so I'm sorry I don't have any better pictures to share from last night. I went up to San Francisco to see Radio Moscow play at one of the city's finest, "premier" dives called Thee Parkside. I love the classy use of "thee." There were only about 35 people there, so I was extra happy to be able to enjoy an awesome show and keep my personal space  ;]  I'm glad they came all the way here from Iowa! 

  

It was well worth the 75-minute drive & missing my bedtime — *yawn* — except for the 15 miles I drove on the wrong freeway in the wrong direction. Getting through the mountains and then driving in the "big city" is so harrowing sometimes! I think my dog ate one of my insoles, so I just wore one and felt kind of lopsided all night.  

  

top - rue21  |  jeans - wet seal  | shoes - jeffrey campbell
    

I got these shoes a few years ago at a boutique sale in Santa Barbara. I think of the items of clothing I acquired while going to school there my "Santa Bro-brah" finds. It was hard being in close proximity with Betsy Johnson & anthropologie stores and not having much money! The priciest shoes I own, and the most uncomfortable. But cool to look at!

* Karen Beth - the h&m cardigan is from last summer's sales ;]

Links a la Mode

Fashion Blogger’s Delight

Edited by Jennine/IFB After a small hiatus of Links à la Mode it was great to revisit all  the wonderful links submitted to the community each week. As bloggers  grow, so do concerns about growing pains. Sugar & Spice talks about  bridging the gap between her online identity and real life one, Retro  Chick ponders the pros and cons of niche blogging and Miss Vinyl  Ahoy shares tips protecting your content with a Creative Commons  license. But that’s not all… there are loads of interviews from Fasshionaburu meets Rachel Roy and M.I.S.S. interviews a vintage vixen for a  stunning video (try saying that 3x). All a great mix, so grab a cuppa  tea and enjoy!

Images via Poetic & Chic,  Confessions of a Fashion Editor, Parker + Muse, and M.I.S.S.

Links à la Mode : June 10th

• 365 Fashion Rehab – Lookbook #1-White Blouse 4 Ways    
• a la Modest – The Invisibility Cloak: The Desire to Be Noticed    
• c u f f i n g t o n – Easy, inexpensive tricks in wearing your chic flats without socks and not succumbing to blisters and calluses.    
• Confessions of a Fashion Editor – Playing ‘Dress’ Up    
• Dedicated  Follower of Fashion – Prized! – Win a T-Minx Cropped Tee!    
• Fasshonaburu – Interviews the glamorous, yet down to Earth, Rachel Roy!    
• Fete a Fete – iPad Leather Covers from April in Paris    
• For Those About To Shop – Plus-size Fashion Good For Business    
• Holier Than Now – Shoes You Can Use    
• Independent Fashion Bloggers – Are Bloggers Getting  Stressed?    
• kaKofonie Of si(gh)lenS – Interview with Heather Martin of mono    
• M.I.S.S. – Follow the Leader, Episode #1–Vintage Vandalizm    
• mimosas in bed – SF indie mart    
• Miss Vinyl Ahoy – Protecting your blog and copyright    
• Parker  Muse – Interview with Felice Lee’s Wabi Sabi    
• Poetic & Chic – The Great Shoe Wake    
• Retro Chick – Don’t Box Me In    
• Return to Sender: A Fat Girl's Letters to the World – Urban Outfitters: Eat Less. Actually, just Shut up.    
• Style Eyes Fashion Blog –  Age Appropriate Dress    
• Stylish Distractions – Ring Toss    
• Sugar  and spice and all things nice: – I write a fashion blog… And I’m  proud of it.    
• the  Citizen Rosebud – the Bobby Burns    
• The Coveted – Late Night Drugstore Haul

Fashion Therapy - Ruffles 'N Boots

I wanted to wear something easy-breezy to run errands today. Plus I couldn't resist pairing my grey boots with this dress; even though there's no grey on it, I just think "grey" when I see it. People always ask if I made it, which I didn't. It was really windy today out in the field, which made jumping and rolling around being disheveled more fun.

My dog just follows me back and forth while I set the self-timer. I wonder how or what she thinks about.

cardigan - h&m  |  dress - new deal  |  boots - journey's 

I found a ton of materials to start craft overload: big googly eyes for "you lookin' at me?" earrings, day of the dead fabric for totes, striped jersey for tops and dresses. Pretty much all my money is now going toward getting my store stocked and ready for July 2nd! But now, it's time to change & get ready for the Radio Moscow show in San Francisco tonight! I'm extremely, super, very excited! 

listening to:

Ladyhawke/My Delerium