The Summer of the Braid!

Hey Gang!
Summer is in full swing, and that means so many things - including frizzy, messy hair.
I just got back from a week-long trip on the East Coast (which was amazing! More on that later), and while I had the best time, the humidity and my hair did not get along. So I embraced the moisture and just rocked maiden braids the whole time. 
I decided that this summer I'm not gonna to settle for the same frizzy up-do every day, that I am going to conquer a whole handful! 
Here's a gathering of some of the looks and how-to's I'm going to attempt in the coming months. 
Long live the summer of the braid!

First off - General Tips for Braiding

Barefoot Blonde's Hair Tutorials are outta sight! 

Three current favs are:

 

The Triple Braided Bun           The Twisted Braid     The Double Fishtail Bun

ABM's Maiden-Braid Crown steps it up while keeping it simple 

For a more delicate look try out Mara's Wrap Around Braided Bun

From A Cup of Jo:

Braided Top Bun                   Mermaid Tail Braid

And I'm loving these 8 ways to wear a ribbon!

 

What are your summer up-do plans? Got any fun ones you think I should try??

The Worst Oscar Fashion Decisions Ever

The Oscars are Tomorrow! 
Eeeeeeeeeee!

I'm particularly amped for this year because I've seen almost every movie that's nominated. 

I get especially excited for the Academy Awards every year for three reasons:
The Comedy Bits (SO stoked for Ellen!), the Acceptance Speeches, and the FASHION! 

Throughout the last 86 years, there have been a LOT of interesting fashion choices. 
Some amazing (Penelope Cruz), some debatable (I happened to think Bjork's swan dress was refreshing), and some just awful (Sharon Stone.) 
While I could go on for days about some of the most beautiful couture to walk the red carpet, I thought I'd take a different route and focus on some of the mishaps that have occurred over the last decade.

Here are the worst oscar dresses and the only possible explanations for why they happened: 

The reason Demi looks so happy is because she's flooded with endorphins from her bike ride over.

There are 3 important things to know about this photo - 

#1: The woman to Gwyneth's far right is clearly thinking the same thing we all are.

#2: NOTHING about this outfit would be on GOOP.

#3: If the person to her immediate left was allowed on the red carpet, we could ALL make it to the Oscars some day. 

Lizzy Gardiner clearly owed the Mafia a large sum of money and the only way she could get the cash soon enough was by wearing this endorsement from American Express.

Tyra stole this dress from the set of the Made for TV classic, Life Size. 

Oh dear, Celine. 

Obviously other than the Canadian tuxedo, they don't have suits in Canada, because she clearly didn't realize she had it on backwards. 

And the hat? Who does she think she is, Olivia Pope?

You Guys. 

Pamela Anderson not only wore this in public, but TO THE OSCARS!

CLEARLY she had just come from filming a scene at Ron Jeremy's house and didn't have enough time to stop at home and change. 

Poor Anna Nicole Smith was obviously too drunk to realize that she accidentally dressed for her Slimer audition instead of the Oscars.

While most people think Cher's 1986 feather debacle is her worst, I feel that at least that one was dressy and showed off her abs of a goddess. 

This outfit just proves that the 90's made denim think it was INVINCIBLE. 

As the international ambassador for the toreadors union, Lauren Hutton donned their traditional garb and crotch purse. 

At least it's nice to know that the permanent bracelet tattoo she has isn't THE biggest mistake Scar Jo has ever made. 

Geena Davis obviously realized she was so beautiful that her dress didn't need to be. 

This outfit is actually the reason Whoopie went into hiding in Sister Act

What have been some of your favorite fashion flubs? 

Drunk Online Shopping & What My Purchases Say

So. 
As you may or may not have heard, Tuesday was deemed National Drink Wine Day.
Well, obviously I had to take advantage of that.
About two thirds half of my bottle of Malbec into my evening, I decided that it was necessary for me to obtain an entirely new wardrobe. 
So - I made the dangerous brilliant decision to do some online shopping. 
As previously discussed, Forever 21 gives me anxiety, but I needed some disposable fashion in my life ASAP. And, by shopping online, I could avoid the in-person trauma I experience at the store.
It started with a simple thought of "I'll just snag a top & a dress."
HOWEVER - Due to a combination of the inebriation and burning desire for new clothes, I found myself not only binge-purchasing, but making some interesting decisions along the way...

Let's examine some of my new wardrobe items and what they say about me...

This shirt:

Donuts are a priority in my life. 

Thus why I ordered this in Large.

This Jumpsuit:

Who says that only skinny models and beautiful ethnic girls have the monopoly on jumpsuits?!
I can rock one too! 
I WILL ROCK IT!
I AM BEYONCÉ!!!!

This Blouse:

I have an unearthed, burning desire to be Jessa from GIRLS. 

This Blouse:

The collar says hire me, but the crop says SHOTS!

This Maxi Dress:

Only 58 days & 9 1/2 Hours until Coachella.... 
(This will go great with my fanny-pack)

This Boyfriend Shirt:

The goal is Brigitte Bardot. 
But let's be honest and sincerely hope it doesn't end up looking a little more Rosie O'Donnell... 

This Floral Set:

Grab me some Doc Martens and a Hole Cassette Tape, and throw on Clarissa Explains It All, because the 90's will live FOREVEERRRRRER!

In other news -  I will be eating Ramen for the remainder of this pay period...

What Credit Cards Are(n't) For

This past Mondays was one of those perfect days off.
We slept in, we went out to brunch. Then we started day drinking. And drunk shopping.
Tipsy shopping is one of my all time favorite hobbies for so many reasons.
You feel more confident, therefore you tend to make more ambitious choices. 
You have more patience to sift through things at thrift and vintage stores. 
And, you aren't as concerned about money, so you get pretty much everything you want. 
Enter Credit Cards.
I spent a big chunk of time and a big chunk of change at Buffalo Exchange (my favorite place in the world), and I found some stuff I'm in love with! 
But then again, I did get all the major pieces you see below for under $100, so I guess I wasn't too bad...
I was a little rushed in these pictures, but I'm super happy with everything I bought. 
God, I love Buffalo.
And alcohol.
And credit cards.

(I have a sheer split maxi skirt in black and I adore it! I was so excited to find one in this color AND with this print!)

Love that boy! And these yellow stripes!

Can't wait to wear this in the fall with tights and boots!

In. Love. With this vintage cowboy shirt!!! 

I may have had to put these on the credit card, but it was totally worth it! So excited to wear them all!

Rainy Days and Mixed Prints

I LOVE mixing prints. 

I decided to do a couple rounds of mixed print combinations for today's style post, and while I was out, it started to drizzle, making it a lovely rainy afternoon! Normally I would have packed it in, but I was just feelin it, so I grabbed my umbrella from the car and made lemonade!

While sometimes mixed prints can totally backfire, I think they can have the opposite effect as well, turning a simple 2-piece outfit into something super fun and different. I have a real penchant for polka-dots, stripes, floral prints and graphic textiles - those four things make up a massive chunk of my wardrobe - and today I decided to do a grab bag of all of them!

My self-portrait project is coming along really well, and it's so fun to give myself a different challenge every day! 

Today was another adventure in learning more about my style and my photog skills.

Despite the rain making splotches on my lens and the humidity expanding my hair progressively bigger and bigger, I had so much fun putting this together. 
I'm feeling so inspired in terms of photography lately, and I'm so grateful to have a place to put that energy into! I'm also having a blast putting outfits together!

How do you feel about mixing prints?

Sundresses: Rock That Shiz

For as long as I can remember, I've been self conscious about my figure. 

Although I've always been in the medium part of the spectrum,  I've never been super skinny (except for that time I got put on adderall as a teenager) or traditionally "fit".

I tend to fluctuate up and down within about a ten-pound range, and have always been sporadic in my dedication to exercise and healthy eating. 

What can I say, I like to indulge.  

Even through this, I tend to maintain fairly healthy confidence, except for when it comes to certain things. 

Like sundresses. 

I spent YEARS hiding myself in long dresses, concealing my legs out of self consciousness. And worse than that, when I finally embraced shorter dresses which are, to say the least, the effing BEST, I wore them with tights or leggings. IN THE SUMMER!

Me, Three Years Ago, wearing leggings with my dress - During JULY!

Recently, I was looking longingly through my sundress collection. Countless adorable little frocks that have just been hanging there because I've been too insecure to wear them.

And something just clicked.

And that something went a little something like this:

Fuck. 

This.

Noise.

And in that exact moment, I decided to break through my fears and enjoy my summer rocking every sundress in my closet with confidence. 

It's been rad.

So many different prints and cuts and embellishments - It's broadened my wardrobe dramatically, it's so fun picking things out!

Some things that have helped me increase my confidence:

- Tanning lotion: I know, it's weird, but I'm pretty fair skinned. A little bit of Jergens natural glow here and there can do a lot to make a girl feel better. 

- Lena Dunham: One of Pop-Culture's leaders in body confidence, I saw Lena wearing a dress I own during an episode of Girls, and thought "If she can rock it, so can I!"

Hannah Horvath and I have the same outfit, soooo... yeah

- Accessories: Headbands and Bangles and Hats, Oh My! This whole new world of dressing has helped me embrace so many different accessories! So fun.

Being able to wear a certain kind of dress might seem like a silly small thing, but for me, the smaller the dress, the bigger the deal. 
We should all be able to dress with confidence and wear clothes we like, regardless of the unhealthy body depictions in our culture.
Obviously we all want to be fit and glamorous all the time and look amazing in anything, but the first step is taking ownership of our bodies and having the confidence to develop our own style and totally rock it. 
What are you rocking this summer??