Colorblocking stripes

Happy Wednesday! I  wore this outfit this past Monday, the most recent day of sunshine before we were plunged back into a cycle of rainy weather. The combo of blue, white, and green felt fresh for spring, inspired in part by this look.

And based on several recent positive comments about headbands and headscarves (thank you!), I added this striped headscarf at the last minute. And I’m so glad I did!

Details:  Colorblocked cardigan:  Target, last spring  /  Striped tank top:  Gap, gift-carded last summer  /  Tan trousers:  The Limited, Fall 2011  /  Denim wedges:  Payless, last summer  /  Striped scarf:  Thrifted in Texas, old  /  Drop earrings:  Lia Sophia, gift, old

Link ups:  WIWW  /  Wardrobe Wednesday  /  Whatever Works Wednesday  /  Dress for the Day  /  I Feel Pretty Linkup  /  Trending Pretty Wednesday

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• Blue stripes + florals (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
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• Refashion Inspiration: Colorblocking (christinadesignsart.wordpress.com)

Inspiration Monday on a Tuesday

Today’s “Inspiration Monday” style challenge is coming to you a day late, on a Tuesday, and features an outfit I wore this past Friday. (Any other ways I can incorporate more days of the week up in here? Lemme know! )

This week’s inspiration comes to you via the eternally cool Gwen Stefani.

Inspiration:

Inspiration Monday – May 20, 2013 – Gwen Stefani

Interpretation:

This one may not look too similar at first, but stick with me. I wanted to turn Gwen’s cool casual look into a “casual Friday” look for work.

Gwen’s look is a mix of monochrome (black) and denim (vest), with a pop of yellow (shoes). My look is also a mix of monochrome (navy) and denim (skinny jeans), with a pop of yellow (scarf).  Big sunglasses? Check. Bright lipstick? Check.

And I like that Gwen’s outfit totally matches her rock chick style, while my outfit reflects my more classic style.

Details:  Navy blazer:  Macy’s, winter  /  Skinny jeans:  Target, last winter  /  Nude wedges:  Payless, gift-carded last winter  /  White sleeveless sweater:  Kmart?, old  /  Scarf:  Echo, c/o giveaway  /  Tote bag:  Payless, new  /  Pearl drop earrings:  Bridesmaid’s gift, old

And let’s talk hair. Like Gwen, I went for an easy updo with maximum impact. Check out the Mad Men-like fabulousness below, y’all. And so easy! It’s just a ponytail with the ends not pulled all the way through, and then wrapped around the base and pinned. It’s a good style for those I’m-going-to-eke-out-another-day-without-washing-my-hair kind of days. Y’all know what I’m talking about. And Sam caught the hairdo at its widest possible camera angle, so it didn’t look quite so puffy in real life.

And finally, I’ve waxed rhapsodic about my Revlon “Just Bitten” lip stains before. But I wanted to show y’all what this lip stain looks like at the end of the day. I took the pic below around 5pm, after 9 straight hours of this lip stain — no touch-ups and after lunch and multiple cups of coffee and water refills throughout the day. This bright pink color is called “Lovesick.”

Link ups:  Inspiration Monday  /  Style Sessions  /  Real Girl Style  /  Anything + Everything Blog Hop

Related articles

• Variations on a theme (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Gwen’s love for Zara. (poppys-style.com)
• Inspiration Monday: Classic combo, denim + white (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Gwen Stefani Print Pants (celebstyle.typepad.com)

SIA: Fish out of water

Woo-hoo, it’s SIA time again! This week’s inspiration is a stunning watercolor illustration by 3-time Caldecott Award winner David Wiesner.

Inspiration:

Flotsam illustration – David Wiesner – Watercolor on paper, 2007

Interpretation:

And I was inspired right away! Usually, I have to sit with the inspiration art for awhile — as I like to do when visiting museums, as well, just sit with the paintings and soak up the vibes — but this one spoke to me immediately. I think the Wiesner’s stunning colors helped speed up the inspiration.

My coral salmon-colored pleated skirt was a no-brainer, and I paired it with a new striped top I scored at Old Navy with a gift-card last week. (And the top was on clearance, woo-hoo!)

Details:  Pleated skirt:  Florence Adams c/o giveaway  /  Striped tank:  Old Navy, gift-carded last week  /  Denim jacket:  Kohl’s, old  /  Flats:  Payless, new and on sale  /  Trench:  Marks & Spencer, Abu Dhabi, 2008  /  Pearl cluster earrings:  Old Navy, gift-carded in winter

I also added in extra details to play off the inspiration fish in the illustration. I went to my go-to rope braid hairstyle as it reminded me of gills, and my pearl cluster earrings represent fish eggs for this inspiration look. Tee hee!

And could I resist twirling in my pleated skirt? OF COURSE NOT!

Link ups:  SIA  /   YOLO Mondays  /  Monday Mingle  /  My Style Monday  /  Sunday Style

Related articles

• SIA: Soft and sweet (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
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• Make Do and Mend…..rescuing a permanent pleat skirt that lost it’s pleats (princesspincurls.com)
• Navy + coral pleats (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)

Shades of sun and inspiration

This post is inspired by this week’s IFB project, all about sharing your sunglasses. Yay! I have two pairs of prescription sunglasses and am in the middle of updating the prescription on both. (I got new glasses about a month ago but still need to adjust the prescription a bit.)

If you’re a regular reader — thank you! — you’ll recognize my newest pair of sunglasses:

Except these sunglasses are not new. These are my mom’s frames from the late ’70s that she recently gave to me. They are AWESOME. Remixing at its most personal! I love love love that I’m wearing the same shades my mom used to wear, and that these heavy-duty frames are as old as me (even older?). ♥

I got my first pair of prescription sunnies right before I moved overseas to Abu Dhabi, UAE, back in Fall 2008. I figured that I would need them, and need them I most certainly did. Getting prescription sunglasses was life-changing — especially in a climate where the sun shines about, oh, 360 out of 365 days.

My husband Sam was the one who suggested big frames, and I’m so glad he did! And a PSB (Pre-Style Blog) alert for the following pics!

Oh, the places these shades have gone! They have travelled the world along with me, hanging out in the UAE…

… flying to Kuwait…

… taking a winter break in Austria…

… and up to the Netherlands…

… over to Thailand…

… and finally, back to the U.S. and home to Portland, Oregon.

And these tortoiseshell, classic-shaped shades have played well with both the shortest (Spring 2010) and longest  (Spring 2013) hairstyles that I’ve had in my adult years:

In fact, I wear sunglasses so much now that it’s getting harder to find photos of me without wearing them! (Reason #74 to have a style blog. )

Do you have prescription sunglasses? Please leave a comment and let me know!

Link ups:  IFB Project #96:  Share Your Shades  /  Watch What I’m Wearing

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Striped tee MVP

This week’s “Friday’s Fancies” theme is all about stripes! Instead of my usual Polyvore inspiration board, this week I decided to highlight my long-sleeved striped t-shirt, a definite MVP of my closet. I picked up this navy-and-white-striped tee from H&M back in January 2012 and have worn it so many times, I’m sure its cost-per-wear is in fractions of pennies by now. It even was the one that started it all!

Here are different ways I’ve worn this classic striped tee:

From left to right:  Look 1 | Look 2 | Look 3 | Look 4

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From left to right:  Look 1 | Look 2

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From left to right:  Look 1 | Look 2 | Look 3 | Look 4

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Any personal favorites? Please leave a comment and let me know!

Link ups:  Friday’s Fancies  /  Fashion Friday  /  Friday Favorites Remix

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