How To: Style a Striped Dress 6 Ways

In honor of the changing seasons (hot-cold-hot again), and because it's Monday and I'm lazy, I'm recycling what is probably my favorite of the guest posts I've done. In case you missed it when it was up on Rachel the Hat, here are six creative ways to wear the same dress over and over (no matter the season).

Quick side note: Be sure to stop by Jeans and a Teacup today, where Jessica's featuring me on her Tour Through Blogland. (Stay tuned for my tour coming next week).

1. add a T-shirt shirt under:

Wear a thin T-shirt under the dress. This not only provides a little more coverage, but it adds some visual interest as well. In this case, the simple graphic print of the dress really complements the pop of turquoise provided by the shirt.

2. add a T-shirt shirt over:

Knot a T-shirt over your dress for a casual look that allows you to easily add any color you like just by changing the shirt. 

3. "tuck" in a T-shirt:

Belt a T-shirt over the dress to create the illusion of wearing a separate top and skirt. Not sure how?  Here's a goof-proof tip: knot the shirt in the back or front, tuck the knot under, then belt it. 

4. add a cardigan:

For a relaxed look, wear an open cardi over the dress, and cinch it in with a belt to add shape.

5. add a vest:

For those extra-warm days when you just can't fathom anything covering your arms, throw a vest over your dress to keep it interesting.

6. add lots of layers:

When the temperatures begin to drop, pile on the layers for a cozy look. Here, I belted a chambray button up and threw on a chunky cardi over it. A scarf and boots complete the outfit and keep me feeling warm & fuzzy all day long.

I hope this inspires you to remix your favorite pieces in new and creative ways!

link up with my homies

Mind-spiration

{Click here to enter the Craftsy giveaway}

That title, by the way, is supposed to read mind like Mindy, not mind like Do you mind?. So when I tell you that my outfit was inspired by an episode of The Mindy Project, it make a little more sense.
Anyway.
Thanks to getting rid of cable and being a slacker watching shows on Hulu, I didn't even realize how long ago this episode aired until I saw that my buddy, Sharon, recreated this outfit, too.  (Funnily enough, I came across her post while Googling this photo of Mindy). But I just watched it, so it's new to me.

{source}

As soon as I saw this, I fell in love.  And as I filed the idea away (literally - I keep an excel file of outfit ideas because I'm super cool like that), I began to realize that I actually have all of the pieces I need to recreate this look.  So I grabbed an old black & blue striped shirt that I came thisclose to getting rid of when cleaning out my closet last week (see?  Hoarding is a good thing), then grabbed an even older grey hoodie and topped it with a vest.   I wanted to add my one and only sparkly statement necklace as seen here, but just could not find it anywhere.  Incidentally, my favorite lipstick - a 69¢ tube of Wet n Wild - has also gone missing.  I searched for both for a good half hour, and came up empty handed, then had to find acceptable substitutes.  And this is why I am perpetually late showing up to my friends' houses. (Sorry Mike & Tunde!)

Mine:

denim vest: DIY from old jacket | similar 1, 2
hoodie: similar
jeans: exact
shoes: c/o Chicwish | similar (on sale)
necklace: c/o Sheinside | similar 1, 2

Mindy's:
jacket: exact | similar
top: exact (via ebay) | similar

Linking here today.

Knowledge, Yo.

vest: ON | similar 1, 2
sweater: (old) target | similar
jeans: UO | similar
boots: exact
necklace: c/o Sheinside| similar 1, 2
hat: c/o Our World Boutique

_____________________

The weather.  Drinking a daily green smoothie.  My dramatically lower cholesterol levels, most likely a direct result of said daily green smoothie.

These are all topics I jotted down in an attempt to brainstorm something to write about, then immediately rejected on the grounds that they are all fairly boring to discuss.  And still, for lack of a better idea, they remain on the screen.  Since this post is quickly becoming a conglomeration of random thoughts, I'll throw this out there, too.  Today my boyfriend was supremely impressed when I knew that the German name Wilhelm translates to Guillaume in French.  Since he speaks both languages fluently, and my French is approximately at the level of a 4 year old, while my German is limited to about five words, I'm always pretty surprised when I know something he doesn't.  Like when I bought these jeans two years ago - he thought they were a terrible idea, but I knew better.  I knew red skinnies would remain a thing for a while, and look who was right about that, too.

Linking up with my homies.

A Fresh Coat

{similar tank (on sale!) | similar cardi | ON jeans | lookalike shoes}

Coated denim skinny jeans seem to be making their way around the blogosphere lately, and with good reason - they're versatile, easy to style, and just kind of look cool.  But quite possibly my favorite part about them is that they give you that edgy, rock star intrigue, like Axl Rose circa 1988, when in reality you're just wearing a pair of jeans.  And that is exactly the kind of bad assery I can get down with.

Linking here today.

Exhibit D

{c/o ON dress (option) | f21 jacket | kohls sunnies | payless shoes | roxy watch (similar) | sahara jewelry earrings}

I wore this over the weekend, when we had our first real taste of autumn weather.  At first I was confused as to how to dress.  For the last 3 months, it's all been an effort to keep cool; for a little while there it was as if I had completely forgotten how to dress when it actually gets cool.  But then I pulled this dress out of the closet, took my own advice, and popped on some sneakers to run errands all day.  In retrospect, I see that I simply created another version of the same outfit I just realized I've been wearing for the past few weeks (exhibits A, B, & C).  And upon seeing this, my new goal is to figure out how to thoroughly wash this jacket.  I mean, right?

Linking here.

...And We're Back

{target sweater (similar) | gap shorts | ON hat | payless shoes (similar) | UO necklace (so similar) | f21 rings (cute option)}

As you may have noticed, I took a blogging break over the last couple weeks.  It was completely unplanned.  Taking a spontaneous road trip sort of threw off my groove, and when I got home, I had a hard time getting back into it.  I realized that I needed to step away for just a bit.  I felt a little guilty not announcing, well, anything, but sometimes in life an unintentional intermission just needs to happen.  It's good for the soul.  Totally true; Google says so.

Despite fears that I may have jinxed the summer away by going on vacation, I am happy to report that we're still having some pretty warm days (interspersed with chilly ones that require a striped sweater and a hat) here in NJ.  Don't let the long sleeves fool you; it's supposed to be 90 degrees tomorrow.  I'm mentally willing summer to stick around until October.  Hey, it can happen.

Linking up today.

Deleted

Yesterday I did what I feared I would someday do.  I accidentally deleted the outfit photos I had taken over the weekend.  Somewhere between transferring them from the camera to the computer they disappeared, and without checking, I deleted them from my camera.  As soon as my boyfriend noticed me staring at my laptop,  uncomprehending and bewildered, he quickly took over to try to retrieve them.  No luck.  They're gone.  As my dad likes to say, I always knew this day would come.  I just didn't think it would be today.  Ha.

Since I deleted all the photos of the outfit I wanted to show you, I thought instead I'd post some outfits that I never planned to show you (and actually should have been deleted).  They didn't make it to the blog for a number of reasons - the outfit didn't look as good as I thought or the photos turned out wonky.  Whatever was the reason, I was content to keep them safely tucked away on my hard drive.  But due to my airhead moment, you now get to take a peek into what you were never supposed to see.  Enjoy!

Joining these link ups today.

This Weather.

**Have you entered the bareMinerals giveaway yet?**

{target cardi (similar) | gap tank (similar) | f21 shorts | qupid heels (similar) | boyfriend's belt | fossil watch | target, f21 bracelets (option 1, 2, 3) | gifted necklace | vintage kerchief | harmon sunnies (similar)}

In the midst of the heat wave we've been having for the last few weeks, I got the chance to rock a cardigan after a blessed rain shower came and gave us a 3 hour break from the sauna-esque humidity (which has been about 85%, no joke).  Granted, this was a few weeks ago.  Amongst other things (*cough* working out *cough*) this heat is making me too lazy even to post my outfits on time.  Incidentally, it also makes my heat addled brain think it's a good idea to stumble over a bunch of stones in these heels to take some pictures.  I was so happy I didn't break an ankle that this was happening in my head for, like, the next 10 minutes.


In other news, I'm linking up here.

A Belated Birthday

**psst!  Totally fun bareMinerals giveaway happening right here!**

^ surprise camera flash ^

{ON top & hat (similar) | UO skirt (cute option) | qupid sandals (similar) | fossil watch | oasap ring, c/o}

Since it's a few days past the 4th of July, I guess this is as good a time as any to post my outfit from then.  Just a little belated.  Good thing I don't exchange bday cards with this holiday.  I just hate buying those "sorry I'm late, but..." birthday cards; they only seem to accentuate my tardiness and remind the recipient that I'm a forgetful failure.

The weather here has been -I'm just going to say it- unbearable.  I'm talking in the 90s with, like, 65% humidity.  It's swampy.  The night before, we went to a bbq at a friend's, and after sitting outside for many hot, sticky hours, we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it again the next day.  Since the AC unit in our apartment was struggling to do its job, we headed out to the mall for a little holiday shopping, some cool air, and a lovely dinner.  We topped the evening off by walking to see our town's fireworks where the mosquito to human ratio, was again, wildly unfair.  My skirt was top notch at providing ventilation in the mugginess, but my poor legs never had a chance.

In case you can't tell, this is my very loose interpretation of a flag.  Horizontal stripes and a repeating white pattern against a blue background is about as patriotically as I'm willing to dress.  God bless America.

Linking here!