#43 Short & Sweet

Labor Day weekend is always a busy time. There are always events, anniversaries, weddings, and cookouts. It's also the last "hurrah" for me because I teach, and Labor Day weekend always signifies the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. So bittersweet. Labor Day has a lot of meaning for me-- my sister and brother-in-law were married over 16 years ago on Labor Day. My father was remarried to a wonderful woman on Labor Day exactly one year ago. And my brother plans on getting married on Labor Day of 2013. This Labor Day, however, my first cousin Zach married his beautiful bride, Katie!

It was an overcast and humid day, but I really enjoyed spending time with my family and especially, my adorable and amazing niece and nephews. To accommodate for the extreme heat, I wore a short and sweet neon yellow lace dress, lost my thick glasses, but mistakenly straightened my hair. You'll rarely see me with straight hair, as although I consider myself a fashionista, I'm pretty low maintenance and refuse to waste 90 minutes of my time straightening my hair! However, with some down time in the hotel, I figured, why not?

The beautiful bride and groom.

They were married at the bride's farm home, and there are lakes and cattails everywhere.



They had these totally creative place cards with origami swans on them. Love it.

Long hair, don't care.



Yellow on yellow.

I love my cage wedges! They are so crazy comfortable.

Extreme close up!

DRESS Neon Yellow Shift Dress, H&M (current) | BELT Braided Yellow Belt, Target | SHOES Stone Cage Wedges, Guess | BRACELET "Diamond" Rhinestone Bracelet, The Limited | BAG Dalmatian Cross-Body Satchel, H&M (current)

I really like the dual shades of yellow working together. I really think it looks gorgeous to have a bright color and pair it with accessories that are just a few shades off. Is that a form of color-blocking? Who knows... that term gets thrown around so much lately, it no longer has meaning.

Also, I highly recommend you run down to your local H&M and do a little browsing. The clothes are always hit or miss for me, especially in terms of sizing, but I snagged this little yellow number for only $15, plus the current accessories are amazing. My dalmatian print bag is my new favorite. I also bought some red and black plaid sneakers, bright yellow flats (to go with my neon yellow dress, of course), and patent black oxfords. Can't wait to show these off in the next outfit post! Happy belated Labor Day!

#27 Namaste

I had a truly incredible inexperience this weekend... I got to go to my very first Indian Hindu/Christian wedding. The saris and the outfits: jaw dropping. You would not believe! I need to invest in a smaller camera to hide in my purse for fancier events (my giant Nikon wouldn't fit in a clutch!) so that I can take more photos to show you of the events I get to go to. Everyone from both sides of the family were so colorfully dressed and inclusive of everyone.

I had a blast dancing to Lil John and Indian pop, eating incredible Indian food and funfetti wedding cake, sipping on mango lassis, watching two bea-you-tee-ful ceremonies (Hindu and Christian), watching one of my favorite co-workers in a tradition Indian outfit riding in an Indian horse and carriage, and spending much of the day outside on one of the most beautiful days we've had all year, being a witness to two people uniting together who are very much in love. We definitely made some lifelong memories last night.

Although I wish I'd been able to wear a sari, I am pretty happy with this vintage reproductive dress I wore.

DRESS Alika Pencil Dress, Bettie Page Clothing | SHOES Leather Asymmetrical Wedges, Urban Outfitters | BRACELET Ribbon Crystal Bracelet, The Limited

I stole my hairstyle from a link on Little Chief Honey Bee's blog from the Oh So Pretty Diaries. Mine doesn't look is cute/neat in the picture, but for a 5 minute updo I'm pretty pleased with it. I also LOVE this dress! It comes in a pencil skirt and flared options, up to size 4X, and it also comes in red, black, navy, cream, and patterned. I definitely plan on getting another one, probably in navy or red. Gorgeous! One tip: the sleeves are pretty tight. If you have bigger arms like me, you might want to size up and then get it tailored if the rest of the body is too big.

Finally, I just want to say that a year ago I would have never worn this dress. You can definitely see my round belly in it and the sleeves really accentuate my bigger arms. After getting into plus sized fashion and reading so many beautiful blogs (special shout outs to Nicolette Mason, Gabi Gregg, Tiffany, Gazel, and Jay Miranda), I now have the confidence to wear what I want to wear, to shed self-hatred layer by layer, and I have learned to love myself more than I ever have, even when I was 50 lbs thinner. Thank you so much to all the bloggers out there, and for showing me what it really means to love yourself!

#25 Electric Prep

Allow me to make this metaphor: I think some colors are like new albums by your favorite artist. Sometimes at first, you aren't exactly loving it-- in fact, maybe you're not into at all. But, you decide to be patient and with each new listen, you find yourself understanding the intricacies and nuances of their new sound. Over time, as you listen and listen again, you slowly come to love their work.

That's exactly how I feel about acid/electric yellows and greens-- strong dislike at first, but over time, I'm coming to love the unusual acid tones that are currently very on trend. They come with a challenge because they aren't exactly flattering on all skin tones and hair colors, but I'm really into the way neon contrasts with my red hair. I think neons look especially gorgeous on women with beautiful dark cocoa skin-- something about how the colors come together is so breathtaking. Clearly, I am quite the opposite of beautiful dark cocoa; I'm more say... white chocolate.

 

 

SHIRT Acid Yellow Silk Button Up, Ann Taylor | SWEATER Honeydew Light Wool Sweater, Ann Taylor | JEANS Dark Skinnies, Eloquii | SHOES Men's Leather Sperrys, Vintage | BRACELET Ribbon Crystal Bracelet, The Limited

I know neon and neutral is not news but I love the contrast of the shirt with my brown Sperrys (which I got for $10 at a vintage store!). I also love the preppy look spiced up with neons-- I think it all plays really well off of my green glasses, too. Finally, I can't say it enough: I heart Ann Taylor. It's true. I used to think that it was a store that would age me, but they actually have some very trendy stuff in beautiful colors, which helps me be more stylish for work and still look youthful and fashionable. It doesn't hurt that they have 40% off sales all the time, too! I think there's one going on now, coupon code: April40. 

My favorite neon color right now will still be blue-- I have a similar shirt that is blue that I can't wait to show you (also from my love Ann Taylor). What about you? What's your favorite neon color this season?