#47: You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!

I'm loving being home for the holidays. I got to be with my family in Cleveland, and now I'm hanging out with my best friends in Columbus. It's so rejuvenating to be back with the ones you love the most. I'm looking forward to being in NYC for a more extended period of time and really having close relationships there. I think that's the hardest part about moving-- you get a fresh start, which is beautiful and something I desperately needed, but sometimes you feel disconnected from the people around you. I'm sort of that super awkward person that's like, "Hey! I like you! You seem cool! Wanna be best friends now? Like right this second?" That kind of 0 to 60 relationship doesn't seem to work for everyone... guess that's the Ohio naiveté in me. Okay, end rant.

Pardon the web cam photos but I was flying solo last night! I started using this new strategy on my makeup where you used your eyeliner only on the upper lash line to get some very subtle but very flattering eye definition. I nabbed this trick from The Beauty Department, which refers to this tip as the "No Liner Liner." TBD is one of my favorite beauty blogs for tips-- I think it turned out great and my eyes look really defined but subtle.

My hair used to be about 5 inches longer than this and I got it cut-- at first I freaked out (anyone who's had long hair their whole life knows what I'm talking about), but now that I see how much the natural curl has come back, I'm super grateful. All that length was really weighing my wave down!

DRESS Skater Dress with Lace Peter Pan Collar, ASOS Curve | TIGHTS Polka Dot Tights, Forever 21+ | SHOES Spiky Cap Toe Flats, Sam Edelman | GLASSES Green Spectaculars, Fabulous Fannies in the East Village, NYC

Please enjoy laughing at me re: the pictures above. I was using Photo Booth on my computer and as you know if you have that app, you literally have 3 seconds to snap the pic. Therefore, I was running back and forth like a weirdo trying to get shots of my entire outfit, which provided nearly impossible, unless I made some awkward ballerina poses or bent down in a weird pooping position. Clearly, I am awesome!

These Peter Pan dress from ASOS is one of the favorites in my wardrobe. It's a little big and blousy, but the color is so vibrant and I love the lace collar so much. ASOS Curve has it in red (on sale for $50), mustard (on sale for $35), and cobalt.

Also, I am on the hunt for some amazing wide-calf boots. I feel like my calves aren't that wide (maybe 17"?), but I can't seem to get anything to zip over these babies! Anyone have a good source for any wide calf boots? I was at Macy's and ALDO today and I was sorely disappointed. However, my awesome step-mom got me a gift certificate to Sephora for my birthday so my crankiness quickly subsided after I bought a Boscia skin care sampler, matte red lipstick, and moss green liquid eyeliner!  I can't wait to share these products with you in a future entry! Happy New Year!

#35 Re-Education

Thank you to everyone for your support for what will be called "fat shaming incident #87"-- sadly this is not the first time this has happened to me. But after having a good sleep on it, I am still feeling really proud that I called to let this woman know how I felt. Not just a few minutes after my blog was posted, I received two phone calls from this woman and immediately my mind went to the worst possible scenario. Did she call to cuss me out? To tell me how fat I am? I was a little bit nervous to listen to the voicemails.

To my pleasant surprise, she left two voicemails apologizing. She said she never meant to make me feel like I needed to lose weight and expressed her guilt about the anger she'd caused me. She was actually really sweet. We even texted back and forth and talked a little about our mutual body issues-- what a strange but serendipitous interaction with a stranger. And I know next time, she'll think twice before she hands out her card to a proud curvaceous woman. It's true-- you can never really educate or expand someone's mind if you're not willing to express your thoughts, feelings, and opinions, albeit politely.

Below is what I wore last night. I'm especially excited to show you my new glasses, also bought from Fabulous Fanny's in the East Village. I'm kind of a hater and don't want to share my cool glasses secret with anyone, but... you can buy some of their frames online. ACK. Ok. Secret is out. There are so many hot bloggers that need to share their amazing glasses secrets, too! Hint hint. They're a little expensive, but they're really well made and have some frames that are really flattering on wider faces like mine.

I love the amber and clear! Just clear alone didn't look right on me.

The amber is almost the exact same color as my hair!

Top part of my outfit. Apartment is still in "just moved in" status one month later. Yikes!

Bottom half. LOVE the stripes.

Really old Sam Edelman shoes that have been doctored a little.

A pretty crapstastic picture of my necklace! Doesn't do it justice!

I love this place!

DRESS Striped Black & Tan Maxi Dress, Target | BELT Braided Cognac Stretchy Belt, Target | NECKLACE Bejeweled Elephant Pendant, Forever 21 | SHOES Rhinestone Leather Flats, Sam Edelman

#28 Swag: Warm and Spiky

What up beautiful curvy girls of the world! I am almost at 100 followers and that feels pretty stupendous! 9 more followers and I might just do a giveaway or something rad like that. Anyway, while I don't have an awesome outfit post for you, I did want to give you an insight as to what I've recently tucked away in my closet. I made a tasty photo collage which you can see below. I've entitled my swag masterpiece, "Warm and Spiky."



From top to bottom moving left to right:

Fashion to Figure, Arachnid Top
Lane Bryant, Braided Maxi Dress in Orange (sold out in all colors)
Eloquii, Red Denim Skinny Jeans
Fashion to Figure, Arsenic and Lace Chiffon Button Blouse (available in Mocha only)
ALDO, LaRose Purse (on sale for $13.99!)
ALDO, Blye Flats
H&M, Pink Caged Wedge (not available online)
Sam Edelman, Beatrix Flats (on sale for $89.99 at Nordstrom!)

As you can see, warm colors and interesting patterns and details are really catching my eye. I've always been a fan of spiky things (most likely because punk music really changed me at an early age!) and I'm really into unusual patterns. The citrus pattern on my purse is so cute and perfect for warmer weather-- ALDO has this pattern in several different styles on their site, all on sale! I'm also really pleased with my first Fashion to Figure purchase. The items I got were fabulous and for the most part, fit well. I even got the coral dress Gabi Gregg featured in her makeover post and it looks hottt with three t's. Keep it curvy, ladies!

#11 - Repurposing A Romper

I love rompers. They're cute, they're charming, and they're comfortable-- it's sort of like a skort, except less tennis-y. I recently bought an olive green one from Old Navy and liked it a lot when I bought it, yet somehow liked it a lot less a month later when I actually tried to wear it. Has that ever happened to you? Apparently likability is inversely proportionate to the amount of time you wait to wear a piece of clothing. There's my nerd coming out. Anyway, although I loved the color and the drapy-ness of the top, I liked the fit a lot less and needed to find a way to repurpose the piece. Exhibit A:

TOP Olive Green Romper, Old Navy | SKIRT Taupe Bodycon Textured Skirt, H&M | EARRINGS Origami Paper Crane Earrings, stand at Comfest | NECKLACE Ohio Charm, Tiger Tree Columbus | SANDALS Studded and Jeweled Sandals, Sam Edelman | BRACELET Tribal Silver Cuff, Target

I'm indifferent towards this romper, but I loved how I was able to repurpose it as a top. It's great when you can find one piece you can wear in multiple ways, getting more bang for your buck. I only wish the lighting was better in this room so you could see the beautiful neutral colors together (olive green romper, taupe skirt) combined with a pop of color from my glasses and earrings. Stylistically, that's something I love to do: take a classic piece and make it pop with an eccentric and unique accessory that makes everyone go, "Where did you get that?!" I hear that all the time with my glasses and got lots of compliments on my earrings and of course, my totally rebellious sandals. It's fantastic!

I also can't sew particularly well and don't own a sewing machine. It's something I'd like to learn some day, but if I may, I'd like to recommend something incredibly inexpensive and useful to have in your style arsenal: the safety pin. They're cheap and can completely change the look of a piece of clothing. This romper is wide open, exposing my entire chest (I guess it's supposed to be a swim suit cover up) and is a bit too blousey/baggy when worn with a skirt. I took a safety pin to the chest to make it less revealing and took another to sweep the top flap further over the side, making it look more fitted. When you don't have time to sew: safety pins!!!

#5 Alexander McQueen & High Fashion

Today was an incredibly magical day. Not only did I get to walk through basically ALL of Central Park, eat at the Shake Shack AND Magnolia Bakery (both on Columbus Avenue), I was lucky enough to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (and cut in front of the huge line with a member's card, thanks to my brother's girlfriend). Not to sound like a fashion freak, but I was literally brought to tears by the exhibit. Never have I seen so many incredible costumes, pieces, works of art. The level of craftsmanship, each intricate detail, the subtle (and not so subtle) commentary on the world around us, the immense passion woven into every stitch-- this is what truly made Alexander McQueen a genius. Consider my mind changed about high fashion.

I had always believed that high fashion was some pretentious form of clothing that could never be worn in "normal" life and certainly could never be afforded by "normal" people. While that may or may not be true, today I've come to understand that fashion can truly be an art form meant to express emotion, criticism, history, and beauty, like any other art form that can be appreciated. If you are in the NYC area or if you are planning on visiting before the end of August, I highly HIGHLY recommend you check out this exhibit. It is truly mind blowing.

“There is no way back for me now. I am going to take you on journeys you’ve never dreamed were possible.” – Alexander McQueen

Sadly, no photos were allowed in the exhibit, but there is a whole article about the exhibit with photos on The Met Blog. Here are some photos from that article:

“You’ve got to know the rules to break them. That’s what I’m here for, to demolish the rules but to keep the tradition.” —Alexander McQueen

“I want to be honest about the world that we live in, and sometimes my political persuasions come through in my work. Fashion can be really racist, looking at the clothes of other cultures as costumes. . . . That’s mundane and it’s old hat. Let’s break down some barriers.” —Alexander McQueen

“I try to push the silhouette. To change the silhouette is to change the thinking of how we look." —Alexander McQueen


“I have always loved the mechanics of nature and to a greater or lesser extent my work is always informed by that.” —Alexander McQueen



So I may have just dug myself into a hole, posting all those Alexander McQueen photos BEFORE I posted my outfit for the day, which sadly pales in comparison...







DRESS Pussybow Polka Dot Navy & Green Dress, Forever 21| SHOES Bling Leather Gladiators, Sam Edelman | BAG Vietnam War Era Gas Mask Bag, Vintage

Pardon the quality of the photos, especially the cell phone photo! I left my camera at home today, but my boyfriend was kind enough to lend me his. Since I'm traveling out of town, I have limited access to accessories, shoes, and outfits and it's getting harder to vary my combinations each day. However, I'm kind of enjoying the challenge! I love, love, love this dress and I'm looking forward to wearing it to work as well-- it's so hard to find stylish work-appropriate clothes (no cleavage, not too short) and this dress is perfect and affordable!

Hope you all enjoyed the Alexander McQueen photos as much as I enjoyed the exhibit. I'm feeling truly inspired!

#3 AMURRICA!

Happy belated America Day everyone. Did you know that America's Independence did not really happen officially on July 4th? It's true! The text of the Declaration of Independence was finalized on July 4th, but all those lovely old white men did not actually sign the Declaration until about a month later on August 2. Sorry-- that's the history nerd/teacher in me coming out!

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I did a bit of a color play on the typical red, white, and blue, and I hope you enjoy it!

TOP Striped Underwire Bathing Suit, J Crew | SKIRT Military Style Royal Blue Pencil Skirt, ASOS | SHOES Ionia Flamingo Flats, Sam Edelman | GLASSES Vintage from Fabulous Fannies on the Lower East Side NYC | NECKLACE Handmade Ohio Pendant, Tiger Tree Columbus

I thought wearing coral shoes instead of red ones would be a fun way to spice up the American color palette and I love the pin-up styling of my outfit with the pencil skirt and vintage style gold buttons down the front. Pin-up girls of the 40's and 50's are definitely a huge style inspiration for me!

Corset tops are very in this summer. I've found that they rarely come in my size, so I've substituted an underwire bathing suit to create a similar effect. They have some REALLY cute ones at J Crew right now (in many different sizes) that I suggest you try. The best part is you're getting double the look for your money-- you're getting a gorgeous corset top to layer underneath jeans and skirts, as well as a cute bathing suit to wear at the beach/pool this summer!

I snapped this photo of a garage in Sunnyside, NYC. That's some American pride right there! I love the colors and the unique style of this neighborhood. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. How did you use American colors to celebrate this July 4th?

#2: Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts

Today has been an incredibly lazy Sunday-- just lying around eating, watching bad TV, playing video games, and snuggling with cats. I only got out of my pajamas (see below for proof) to make a quick run to the grocery store for some spaghetti and salad for dinner.

SHIRT Denim Button-Up, Jessica London | SHORTS Black Denim Cut-Offs, Old Navy | SHOES The Exie Sandal, Sam Edelman | GLASSES Prescription Green Glasses, Vintage @ Fabulous Fanny's in East Village NYC | NECKLACE Handmade Ohio Pendant, Tiger Tree Columbus | LIPSTICK Schiap, NARS

I call this look "book smarts vs. street smarts" because I think those two polar opposites meet in this outfit. The "book smarts" come from a classic button up shirt and a pair of thick vintage glasses. The "street smarts" come from my studded/spiked Sam Edelman sandals and bright pink NARS lipstick. I also think that book smart and street smart is a great way to describe the youth of NYC: bright, educated, and well-versed about this hugely complex city. Maybe someday I will be amongst them!

While I've been inspired by the hot weather and lack of central air in my apartment to put on short shorts, I've also been inspired by the many fashion bloggers I've been reading to find the confidence to don these short shorts. I'm really happy with the way I look in them (really starting to love my legs!) and wasn't sweating the length (literally and figuratively). What clothes make you feel confident?