#44 Final Days of Summer

DRESS Mint Skater Dress, H&M | NECKLACE Cobalt Silver/Gold Statement Necklace, Urban Outfitters | RING Oversized Black Gem Ring, H&M | SHOES Faux Suede Black Tassel Sandals, H&M

It's starting to get cooler and cooler, and I might say that this will be my last "summer outfit" I'll post for 2012. So sad, yet I can't deny how much I am looking forward to cooler weather, leather jackets, warm apple cider, jewel tones (especially cobalt and raspberry), boots and booties, Halloween, thick socks, trees changing colors, patterned scarves, and layered sweaters and collared shirts. I really need to get a tripod so I can take some pictures of my latest fall wear for you!

I'm also looking forward to when September is over. Don't get me wrong: I *LOVE* my school so much and the kids are absolutely amazing. However, every day in September we are required to attend daily meetings after school to help solve problems and work on logistical issues. I work at an extended day charter school, which means we already get out around 5pm, plus evening meetings... it's a long day to say the least. I'm looking forward to having a little more free time, a little more sleep, and lots more availability to take pictures and write blog posts. In the mean time, thanks for your patience! What are you looking forward to this fall?

#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!

#24 Forget Me Not

Remember me? I'm still here... working my butt off. And I have really exciting news that I can't wait to share with you all in a few short weeks!

Back to fashion: I love florals. There's something about them that make me happy. Maybe it's because they scream spring, or because they remind me of a comfy old grandma couch. Two memories that bring a lot of joy. Either way, I'm really pleased that they're really trending in fashion lately. In fact, a lot of my favorite things have become trendy-- comfortable wedges and flatforms, neon colors, florals, lace, and maxi dresses. Clearly I'm so awesome, I'm ahead of the curve. Right... Now, on to the outfit!

TOP Floral Peplum Shirt, H&M | JEANS Classic Skinnies, Eloquii | SHOES All Caps Wedges, Jeffrey Campbell | WALLET/CLUTCH Mint Zip Wallet, UO

Sorry the photo quality isn't perfect. My amazing friend Ellie took them on her iPhone. I'm still amazed at the quality regardless. Oh, and lip color is Schiap by NARS. The lovely Nicolette Mason wears it a lot on her blog, too!

I love the peplum thing. This top is from H&M and they had so many tops like this... I also got it in solid kelly green and a navy top with red polka dots. That's how I roll: find one thing you like and get it in every color. I think it makes me look a little too busty but hell, I'm wearing what I wanna wear! I'm becoming quite a fan of Eloquii, too. I'm pretty pleased with the jeans I got. They're a little bit big and a little bit short on me (I'm about 5'7") but they're still great and really comfortable. I definitely plan to get them in more sizes and colors (and size down and get a bigger inseam). I only wish they had them in bright tropical colors and pastels! I'm drooling just thinking about it!

Another interesting development: I stumbled upon myself on Pinterest. There have been a lot of picture sharing of my outfits, especially this one in particular! It's pretty cool actually. It really built up my confidence to see that people liked my style. If you pinned me, thank you so much and thank you for giving me credit! Happy Spring, all!

#20 Dream Weaver

Long time, no outfit post! :) That's back-to-school life for me. And now that I'm no longer staying with my boyfriend, I rarely have an excellent photographer around. Thankfully, last weekend my friend Ellie and I shopped 'till we dropped, and luckily I was able to convince her to take a few shots of my outfit on top of the parking garage. Pardon the squinting... it was such a beautiful sunny day!

JACKET Rouched Sleeved Jacket, H&M | TOP Black Snakeskin Ballerina Tunic, Urban Outfitters | JEANS Black Skinny Jeans, Old Navy | SHOES Black Strappy Wedges, Target | NECKLACE Dream Catcher Necklace, Vintage | EARRINGS 7/16" Jade Plugs, Body Art Forms | PURSE Studded Metallic Clutch, Marc Jacobs

I love this necklace. It's such a huge statement piece and I think it really makes the outfit. I bought it at a vintage/thrift shop in New York City a few years ago. I rarely wear it, but ever since I've decided to try to wear more of what I own and buy less, it came back into my regular rotation. However, I always feel conflicted about "ethnic" pieces like these: is wearing them a celebration of a beautiful and rich culture, or simply exploiting an oppressed racial group? What do you think?

The wedges from Target are amazing, too. They are a blatant rip-off of Dolce Vita's wedges (which most likely are runway rip-offs), but they are so comfortable and only cost about $30. Sadly, as the weather seems to be getting cooler and cooler, this will probably be my last outfit post featuring open-toed shoes! On the other hand, I can't wait for fall fashion...

Finally, I really want to thank everyone who voted for me in the Talbots contest. Sadly, I didn't win, but I really appreciate everyone who took a few minutes out of their day to vote! Thank you so much!

#18 Unusually Bright

Unusually Bright by zezaftig featuring antique bracelets

Tonight is about demonstrating self-control: I've been really working hard to save money. I have some upcoming traveling I want to do and I'm also really trying to minimize the number of material possessions I own. It's something I've always wanted to do-- I really admire people with few belongings. I see how it can really keep your life from getting overly complicated and keep you focused on the things that are important. I also notice how people (myself included) use shopping as an emotional outlet, which I think can be financially dangerous. I haven't really bought new clothing for months, which has taken quite a bit of restraint. I'm proud of myself, but it's really getting tough to keep this going...

Which gets me to my next point: for the past few days I can't seem to stop fantasizing about shopping! Tonight, I daydreamed up this little fantasy on Polyvore. It's one of those, "If I had a million dollars..." scenarios. I have always been into bright colors and quirky statement pieces, and I think this photo sums up that aspect of my style quite well.

If you want to find out where to purchase all of these quirky, bright, beautiful pieces, just click the photo. My favorite pieces are the glittery Miu Miu salmon heels, the neon green satchel by Cambridge, the cobalt blue body con lace dress from ASOS, the mustard pencil skirt by J Crew, the white seashell heels by Alexander McQueen, and the peacock tights from Mod Cloth. A girl can dream, can't she? This was a pretty fun project and it cost me zero dollars. Not bad.

On another note, my literary wish list includes the following:

A graphic novel's interpretation of The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer. AMAZING.

A collection of essays by the amazing David Foster Wallace.

A new book about self-control and will power. I just read about it in the New York Times this weekend. Goes well with my theme of self-restraint this evening...

The incredibly brilliant Howard Zinn writes about race in America, something that has always fascinated me.

And now, the end to my materialistic rant! While I may never own Alexander McQueen heels, I definitely plan to own these books sometime soon. Surely, they will also make you "unusually bright!" As much as I love fashion, books will always be some of my favorite possessions. I learned to read at a very, very young age and I used to stay up all hours of the night reading as a little girl. My parents even had a small library in the home we used to live in before we moved and I used to stare at all the books on the shelves and promise myself I would read every book that was ever written! It's always been my dream to have my own library in the beautiful home I will own someday. Just day dreaming on a Monday night...

#17 Villa Vizcaya

This week was my first week back at school with students. I work at a charter school with extended school hours, so that means I'm up at the butt crack of dawn and leaving work around 6-7pm. Don't get me wrong though-- it's such an amazing place and I'm so happy to be a part of it. It feels so good to get back to teaching, which is what I love to do. I feel like I'm really fulfilling my life's purpose when I'm teaching and interacting with kids... but as you can imagine, it doesn't leave me a lot of time to do outfit posts!

I've been looking through old photos and feeling nostalgic tonight. Two summers ago, I went on a pretty epic road trip with my boyfriend down South. We drove from Cleveland all the way to Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Palm Beach, Miami, Key West, and then back up to Atlanta. It was one of the best times of my life! I was thinking about this beautiful villa we saw in Miami, called Villa Vizcaya. It was a house built in the early 20th century for businessman James Deering. It's highly influenced by architecture from the Italian Renaissance and is bursting with gardens and fountains. This beautiful place even has an old outdoor swimming pool and a "harbor," so to speak, with steps going down from the house, descending right into the water. It's a magical place, to say the least.

It was a cloudy, rainy, humid day and I was eaten alive by mosquitos, but it remains in my memory as one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and it felt so wonderful to share those moments with someone so special to me. I remember my outfit specifically from that day...

Downtown Miami at night.

The outdoor fountains and the front of Villa Vizcaya.

Inside the Villa.

The outdoor pool area.

Here I am, standing by the harbor. The house is just a few feet next to this beautiful port!

DRESS Striped Mock Two-Piece, Nordstrom BP | SANDALS Black Gladiators, Urban Outfitters | GLASSES Prescription Tortoiseshell, Ray Ban | PURSE Gold metallic shoulder bag, H&M

Now that I think about it, I really love the nautical feel of my outfit-- it goes so well with the harbor/water theme! Wasn't planned at all, but I love the way it worked out. I'm still so pleased with these photos, especially the vivid colors. This was after I bought my first "real" camera (a Nikon D4o) and I remember being so amazed by the quality of the photographs. I hope you enjoyed my blast from the past and I hope that you too can visit this beautiful place someday! It really is a treasure. I can't wait to continue traveling and be able to post more of my experiences in new places.

#8 "Little" Bumblebee

As you may or may not know, I'm a teacher. It's one of the most important things in my life (yes, even more important than fashion!) and part of the reason I'm visiting NYC is to improve my craft. Yesterday, I visited an amazing school in NYC to observe what they do during summer school. This school is such an incredible place and the teachers are so invaluable for what they do. It reminds me how lucky I am to be a teacher and have the opportunity to watch other great teachers! As I promised a day or two ago, today I'm posting something in yellow for the Everybody Everywear challenge, but my outfit has a bit of a professional spin.

Hot and cranky!

One of my favorite simple necklaces.

A close up of my stretched ears. I know some find it gross, but I love them! These are beautiful cubic zirconia tunnels that look like real diamonds. The pic doesn't do them justice.

A close up of the daisy pattern.

TOP Black Draping Body Suit, Urban Outfitters | SKIRT Yellow Daisy Lace Pencil Skirt, Talbots | PUMPS Black Patent Leather Peep Toe Pumps, Nine West | NECKLACE Beaded and Jeweled Necklace, J Crew

I'm not too happy with the way the photos turned out because the lighting in our apartment is pretty atrocious. However, it was almost 100 degrees today in NYC and after a two-hour commute to and from Harlem, I couldn't bear to be outside any longer!

I definitely want to take a second to hype one of my favorite professional labels, Talbots. For a long time, I used to think this was kind of an old lady store and not for stylish 20-somethings. However, for those of us who are in professional (non-fashion) careers, it's a great store to shop at if you want to look stylish at work and if you appreciate classic but colorful pieces. They have a "regular" line that goes up to a size 18-20 and they have a "woman" line for plus-sized ladies that goes up to 24. They also have a petites line and a line for plus-sized petites. I really appreciate how they called their plus-size line "woman."

I'm a bit obsessed with pencil skirts and they often carry these in a huge variety of styles, colors, and patterns. Obviously, my yellow daisy print one is from Talbots and I just bought a beautiful bright green one and a deep purple one for the fall! My other favorite thing about them is that they regularly have pretty good sales and it's easy to find coupon codes online. In fact, they're having a end of season sale right now. And I know what you're thinking... I WISH they paid me to say all that! Just wanted to rep one of my favorite professional clothing lines for women of all sizes. How about you? What's your favorite place to shop for work/interview clothing?

#4 Ancient Meets Modern

Yesterday, my boyfriend and I wandered around the financial district of NYC as well as Battery Park. The diversity of this city is amazing. Though I wasn't too impressed with the area, seeing the sunset over the Statue of Liberty on the waterfront of Battery Park was inspiring and beautiful.

I tried to wear something a bit more comfortable today as I knew we were going to be walking around a lot. Living in the Midwest, you sadly aren't accustomed to walking that much (I drive EVERYWHERE), but I'm enjoying the exercise and the sight-seeing. I tried to attempt "comfortable chic" and I think it worked out pretty well. I'm also happy to say I've figured out how to make my photos bigger-- hope you enjoy them!

TOP Gold "Crop" Top, Forever 21 | SHORTS Black Denim Cut-Off Shorts, Old Navy | EARRINGS Aztec Dangling Earrings, Forever 21 | SHOES Aztec Sneakers, Urban Outfitters | BAG Vietnam-Era Gas Mask Bag, Vintage | GLASSES Green Prescription Glasses, Vintage

I love these Aztec shoes I got from Urban Outfitters. They have lots of different styles, colors, and patterns and they're currently selling them 2 for $30, which is a great deal. They're a little snug so I suggest wearing them out or sizing up before you go on long walks like I did-- my feet were EXHAUSTED by the end of our long trip around the city.

The Native American/Aztec/tribal inspired looks are incredible this summer. I love the patterns on t-shirts, dresses, and sneaks. The jewelry is also so beautiful-- these are some of my favorite earrings I own! Feathers, turquoise, and tribal patterns are so whimsical and I can't wait to find more tribal-inspired items in NYC. I love pairing this trend with more modern style, like this gold top from F21.

I'm a little grumpy about the hanger loops sticking out in the pics-- Forever 21 is notorious for those (as is H&M) and I don't want to get rid of them because they're somewhat functional. Any ideas on how to fix that problem? I've been really impressed with F21's plus line this year. I never am too excited by the website, but I often find the actual stores are filled with some amazing inexpensive finds. I've packed quite a few F21 items on this NYC trip, so you'll definitely see some of their styles on display here. How do you feel about the tribal trend? Are you rocking it this summer?

#1 Welcome to NYC

First post! I'm excited to finally begin my fashion adventure via blog. I've been reading tons of fashion blogs, most especially for "plus-sized" women, as well as tons of blogs about body image and fat acceptance. These incredible female writers have brought out so much confidence in me and have inspired me to to post my own fashion photos, as well as photos of my travel and experiences. I will definitely be giving these stylish ladies shout outs in future posts.

To explain the title: I'm currently in New York City for the month of July, enjoying the summer with my boyfriend and contemplating my potential move to NYC someday in the near future. I have some great professional development opportunities (I'm a teacher) here for the summer, and I'm looking forward to learning more and seeing some fantastic schools in NYC. Right now I'm chilling out in Sunnyside in Queens and we're eventually going to be subletting a place in Brooklyn. Can't wait! And now, on to the outfit!

DRESS Purple & Yellow Striped Dress, Lux from UO | SHOES All Caps Strappy Wedges, Jeffrey Campbell | BAG Vintage Vietnam-Era Gas Mask Bag | BRACELETS Gold Bangles, Forever 21 SUNGLASSES (Not pictured) Gold Prescription Aviators, Ray Ban

I think these photos are very appropriate for a first post because I think they do my fashion persona justice-- they show how my style is bright, eccentric (with a penchant for the weird/strange), playful, and inspired by travel! What's your fashion persona?