Aida ~

When I saw Angie's cheerful homage to the mothers in her life I just knew that I wanted to find a way wear something similar. How fun is that color combo, especially in beautifully fitting Modern Classic pieces?? The weather has finally cooperated, which worked out well because I did want to wait for my own little gray pumps to arrive before wearing this since it makes me smile to share that one exact element. My style isn't as MC-centric, so I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that my version has a huge dose of 70s (and a little bit of 80s) to it.

My very limited items in yellow and light blue pretty much dictated how this outfit came together. Since my only light blue tops are in the form of periwinkle cat prints (why yes, plural), I deemed this acid washed denim vest "light blue enough" -- of course, it does give a totally different vibe than a tuxedo shirt, even though I buttoned it up ;) To keep the collar put, I've got the ends discreetly safety-pinned down; the pins completely disappear against the wash. And happily I was able sneak a little actual light blue in the form of earrings. The gray pumps in my version are a less striking element than in Angie's outfit because I've actually got gray in my skirt, but the suede still adds to the textural richness. I also wanted to don a similar lip color, so I tried layering two of my pinks but in retrospect I think a pink and red would've been a better combo. Still, the juicy pink shade is totally in the spirit of Angie's watermelon lippie and I do like how fun it looks with this outfit.

The slightly awkward not-quite-ready-for-the-snap center photo is courtesy of me not remembering to charge the camera battery last night ^^ As an aside, I dunno what's with it but my hair is extra crazy today. Not at all like Angie's cool, contained wildness. But I suppose that just adds to how this outfit is me.

I'm super happy in this today, and am thinking it'd even be a great option for the meetup later in June. Thanks for always being such wonderful inspiration, Angie! <3

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

At first I was bummed that today was forecasted to be so cool (when the next week is going to be soooo pretty), but decided instead to look at it as a great opportunity to bust out this heavy ponte shirt once more! Lemonade from lemons and whatnot, right?

Previously I'd worn this top with gray+florals, red floral, and olive+black. Today I thought it'd be fun to pair with plaid to echo the top's boxiness in a somewhat less obvious way. I've actually got a few pairs of pants that are checked in one way or another but with the clouds I knew the cheerful red had to be the one to wear. Same with the cream booties, a much more cheerful option than black (which would've worked just fine); I picked the booties over pumps for a (marginally) tougher vibe. Accessorized with dainty spike-themed jewelry, spiked bracelet and pyramid studs in gold and brass respectively, both to echo the little gold buttons on the shirt's shoulders and to play up the punky pants. I wanted to keep the shirt the white star, so I went with my black clutch which stands out a bit less than white or another color would. Finished with a soft cherry-pink lip gloss because, well, it was all too matchy already ;)

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

(Bonus little bumblebee that was sunbathing out on the patio ^^ There are loads of them right near this photo spot right now thanks to the rhododendrons, and they don't have good aim at all: I get bumped at least once whenever shooting!)

One of the main reasons I really wanted a pair of distressed, ultra faded BF jeans this year was to pair them with black (inspiration: 1|2|3|4). I find the contrast so delightful: full pigment vs. faded pigment, tough and urban vs. coastal and cool, inherently dressy vs. inherently casual, high contrast yet soft because it's not white. Of course I don't wear much black and fully plan for these jeans to be paired with primarily light and bright colors as usual, but for now I am enjoying exploring (like here and here) how black looks with light/pastel shades. You can't really see the jean distressing in these photos, it's much more noticeable in person.

The "one ultra faded denim item" + "all the rest in black" is a simple combo, but really my skin plays the part of a third color (the snakeskin on the belt and peach sunnies also fall into that category). Initially I tried this with booties that fully covered my foot, but I liked having the extra skin there showing. Then my plan was for black pumps except, strangely, I'm sore today (yet wasn't yesterday) from dirt biking on Monday so out came the black loafers which add even more to... whatever the vibe of this outfit is. Had to add a little bit of glam with the giant doorknocker earrings, dainty gold spiked bracelet, retro sunnies, candy pink lipstick, and double-coated mascara (also my hair); in addition to a peek of my pretty lacy blush bra if you happen to be at juuuuust the right angle and I'm moving juuuuust the right way. While I have very few black tops with which to try variations on this theme, for today I really like this extra slouchy outfit!

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

Today I was up early for an early morning eyebrow appointment (finally!), but this time I planned my outfit ahead so I wouldn't have to think while sleepy. I purposefully picked something I knew would work (the tank and cardigan is a favorite combo) and had a backup plan for the shoes in case the BIG roll didn't work (black metallic-capped flats). Needless to say it was a much less stressful morning!

I don't think I've ever worn the top half with white bottoms before, usually it's black or denim. But of course it's no surprise that I just love all the white, makes me feel much happier. White is definitely giving my olives new life! I debated (briefly) rolling the jeans more normal/small but thought the BIG roll was fun; I think I'd like it even better on skinnies vs. straights like these. It's a little less impactful without the contrast lining as you'd get with dark washed denim, which is just fine in this outfit. I'm also glad it worked because I love how the ankle strap looks with the stripes up above. Finished with retro sunnies and sequined clutch to play up the retro vibe of the ankle shoes and pomp-pony. I think this might be the best I've ever gotten this lightweight rayon cardigan to photograph!

In camera news -- I didn't have a good non-sunny place to shoot that early in the morning, so I got to play with the new camera's built-in HDR mode which worked quite nicely. I added a fun windy+nonHDR photo (#3), which shows a big difference in softening the angled sunlight (as well as how airy the cardi is!). I have to say, the camera's color capture is pretty amazing; I'm not needing to do much if anything to prep my outfit photos, though I'm having some "new camera user" issues with consistency ;) Bonus macro iris photo (#4) straight out of the camera, all I did was crop it (this is a near 100% crop).  Not too shabby for a compact camera!

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

We closed out my birthday weekend with a fun afternoon of very muddy dirt biking! It was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery. Everything was very lush and soooo green and springy. Plus there were puddles EVERYwhere. I got myself stuck a few times and got my fill of splashing around. The bikes were appropriately dirty by the time we finished, as were we ^^ [EDIT: for fun, a gif]

At my husband's suggestion I brought a separate set of clean clothing to change into after riding. Probably the best sartorial approach versus trying to find something that pulls double duty -- it allowed me to be totally worry free about what I was wearing whether that was for packing, riding, or whatever we do on either end (we often eat breakfast out on the way up and/or a meal out on the way home). I am still working on getting dedicated dirt bike gear, but for now I wore an old cotton/cashmere sweater and thick black work pants with my street riding boots and armored gloves. Easy to launder and no biggie when they get muddied up.

After all the bike stuff was done and packed up, I changed into the casual outfit in #1 for the rest of the evening (a favorite color combo: orange + blue + white, this time with a shot of red thrown in there). The hat was necessary to disguise some serious helmet hair ;) I am definitely going to need some summery openweave hats! We stopped for dinner at a little restaurant on the way home and I felt great because I wasn't concerned about looking grimy nor geary. Still getting used to the new camera, so far so good (if a little inconsistent).

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

I must start by again thanking everyone who posted birthday wishes on the birthday thread, I was so touched by all the sweet comments. Thank you all so much <3

First up, the day! My husband and I started with a delicious breakfast at Chandler's Crabhouse, where I had a yummy crab cake benedict and coffee cake (#2, 3). After that, we met my sis at the ballpark where we spent the rest of the day and evening (#4). I was hoping one of us would catch a BP or foul ball, neither of which happened, though my sister found a mystery ball (scuffed and unstamped!) tucked underneath her seat so we're counting it :D Unfortunately the game was a blowout in the wrong direction, but it was '70s throwback night (#5) and we still had plenty of fun. Any day I can spend at the ballpark is a Good Day.

Second up, the clothes! I wore a reprisal of Thursday's ballgame outfit but swapped the cream heels out for nude booties (the better to walk all day in), along with '70s-inspired sunnies and sequins. For breakfast, I substituted a sheer silk blouse for the hoodie (#1). I had a teal tank on underneath so it wasn't a big deal to pop off the blouse and pull on the hoodie at the ballpark. I should've also grabbed my furry vest to really go for the 70s night thing!

Third up, sartorial gifts! I'd asked for a pretty purse, so I knew that one was coming -- unfortunately I'm not sure if I'll be keeping it, as the scale feels too large on me (#6). Still debating; I do wish it was 60% the size. But the big surprise was what I found inside the purse. Remember how I broke my camera on Thursday? Well what I didn't know is that my very sweet husband promptly ordered a new one on Friday and had it overnighted. I had no idea! I'm counting this as a sartorial gift because, well, the camera's primary use is to take my outfit photos every morning ^^ Sissy's gift will show up later, I'll share it when it does.

All in all I had a lovely day! Birthday weekend continues: Today (Sunday) we're relaxing at home, and tomorrow (Monday) we're planning to go out on the dirt bikes. Hope you're all having a fabulous weekend! Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

Today I had to get up several hours earlier than normal to carpool with my husband so I could get my car, which I left at his work before the baseball game yesterday. I am not in the least a morning person, so you all get to enjoy super sleepy faces. As I mentioned in my comment at the end of yesterday's post, at the game I managed to drop and break my beloved little camera. The one I've used daily for the past 4 years to take outfit photos. Hubby insists that it'll be good to upgrade but I'm not looking forward to it at all >< We'll tinker with the camera this weekend and see if it's fixable, preliminary signs unfortunately point to no. I'll be using a cheapie backup point-and-shoot until we find a good replacement but the exposure and processing on it bothers me tremendously. Bah. That's all the complaining I'll do about the camera, please pardon the (hopefully) short-lived lapse in my usual photo quality :)

Hubby was sweet enough to snap these photos real quick before we left this morning. Plus I was able to stop by a favorite little bakery that I don't get to visit often after moving away from that area, and had a delicious spinach and goat cheese baked croissant for breakfast. Yum! That was enough to perk my day up ^^ I also ended up having an impromptu birthday lunch out with my folks and sister in the middle of work, finished off with birthday boysenberry gelato. More yum!

I'm pleased with the outfit, even though I was totally half asleep when I put it together! I went into full auto-pilot mode, relying on a favorite fall-back formula, but one I usually wear in fall/winter -- it's extremely gloomy out today, rain galore. Decided to go full on with the neutrals because I knew they'd all work nicely together without having to think about it. I was planning to put my hair up but couldn't muster the energy, so I popped on a new extra slouchy openweave beanie. Happily I did have enough thought-power to swap my purse things to the taupe clutch (the black foldover from yesterday would've looked silly) as well as grab a cheerful bright orange lip balm. A success considering how ineffective I usually am when that sleepy!

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

Like yesterday, today I wanted floor-sweeping hems since rain is a-comin tomorrow and over the weekend. The baseball game that I thought was last week is tonight (it's sriracha night!), and though I had hopes of adapting what I wore then it's not quite warm enough for it work tonight. So I kept the jacket, teal tank (unseen), and light shoes though these are my taller cream booties. The jacket is too cropped for the low-rise jeans to wear done up like I had planned. Instead I added my team hoodie and popped the denim moto over the top. Simple accessorizing, just my watch and chevron earrings to add a little more mariner stripe action; finished with matching blue mirrored shades, black foldover clutch, and double-coated mascara and soft cherry-pink lip color for a little extra femme.

As an aside, I haven't had a chance to wash and air dry these flares but I am wearing these with taller heels and they are still too long so I am pretty certain that I will have to go back and have them hemmed up further. I think they need another inch!

It actually ended up being warmer than I expected today (10 degrees warmer), so I spent most of the day sans moto with hoodie sleeves pushed up. Incidentally, we might also go to the game on Saturday for my birthday which is 70s throwback night. If so, I'll be wearing this again really soon. Hmm, maybe with boots and retro cap... Anyhoo, I'm very happy with the extra casual sporty vibe today. Off I go :D

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

I wanted to give my floor-sweeping hems a quick whirl before the rain comes back for a short visit. Today's weather was very pleasant, warm and breezy, so I started with these lightweight very fluid trousers. The wind made them even more swishy than normal!

My recent foray with a black top and light bottoms has me thinking about pairing black with softer lights as opposed to pairing with white like I would normally do. It's a softer high contrast alternative, and I'm especially interested in pastels as the light shades. These pants usually get paired with lights or brights, but today this black crane tee was extra appealing because I liked how the gold looked with the gray. Went full-on matchy with the rest of the outfit: black pointy pumps, black foldover clutch, and giant gold double-hoop earrings. Fluffy curls and a soft natural pinky-red lip color for extra boho touches.

Normally I wear a wide-strapped tank underneath this tee, as the neckline is excessively wide and likes to move around quite a lot as I do. But today I wasn't feeling the sporty vibe that provides. So , inspired by Joy's comment in her recent post on Galway street fashion about the French woman she saw, I did something I rarely do: I skipped the tank and just wore a pretty lacy blush bra underneath with the intent that it might be "glimpsed". The pretty straps only show occasionally when the neckline slides, and the rest only a little peek if you were at the right angle as I were moving. Normally bras are just utilitarian for me, and I'm not often into showing them for myself, but I did like the effect today; the seam didn't show as much in person as it does in the photos, I promise.

This is a pretty heavy volume-on-volume look. But the mostly exposed arms and neck along with the pointy pumps provide enough structure for me, plus even though the pants are very oversized they're still tailored. I think it looked even better in person, the fluidity made it very tough to photograph.

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Last week Anna posted a fabulous outfit featuring orange and plaid. There are so many details about Anna's outfit that grab me: the contrast between the cool moto and the strict buttoned-to-the-top shirt, how the bright orange and dark black look with the faded/distressed denim and white shoes, matching bright oranges for lipstick and jacket, a vertical line of white from sunnies to belt to shoes, the structured black handbag that picks up on the structure of the plaid shirt even though all the other accents are bright or white.

Even though I don't have the exact pieces in these colorways, I do have plenty of orange, white, black, plaid, and denim in my wardrobe. In fact, I came up with 4 outfits inspired by Anna's but only two felt properly in the spirit of hers. One I am filing away for fall, and the other I am wearing today since it's projected to be the coolest day of the week (yay!). Obviously the types of pieces I used differ, but I was able to get in nearly all the key elements that I was drawn to in Anna's look down to the matching orange lips. The two major differing points: less sassy footwear which I compensated for with sassy hair, and no structured black bag because I do not have one! Bonus fun that this inspired me to pull out my rarely worn white sunnies, which I enjoyed wearing today.

I don't know that I'd have thought to put these pieces together in this way, but I love how it turned out. Thanks for being such great inspiration, Anna :D

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.