friday super sales

okay people. let's get really excited about the fantastic sales that make up this outfit. i honestly still can't believe these deals...

sweater: while shopping with blair and baby elliot a few weeks ago, i noticed this sweater on a sale rack at anthro and picked it up thinking it was pretty, but not anticipating the price i saw looking back at me. the sweater was originally $118. but written in red, next to the crossed-out triple-digits, were the three little numbers that made my heart leap: $9.95. i promptly RAN to the register, afraid it wasn't true, but it was. despite my love of anthropologie, this is, in fact, the very first article of clothing i have ever bought there. carrying that gorgeous bag around the mall was exceptionally wonderful. i bought it in the mid-july heat, but i'm pretty certain this is going to be my go-to piece this fall/winter. i love everything about it.

jeans: a few weeks ago, a friend of a friend had a moving sale in her home and it was pretty excellent. she had cake and wine and we got to shop in her living room. i'm remarkably sad this lady moved to texas, because judging from the excellent items she was selling and her cute cute house, we would have been good friends. i'm not sure why she was getting rid of the clothes that she was, but i hit the jackpot when i found these banana republic boyfriend jeans for $3. they are a size smaller than i usually wear, which is always welcome, and they look impossibly cool with virtually everything.

boots: oh the boots. here's the best deal...remember when i blogged about how i wanted these boots for my birthday? well, i got them, after agreeing to split the ridiculous $198 price tag with my parents. i say i'm the cheapest person alive, and it's true. they came and i opened them and they were beautiful, but i couldn't get over how much they cost. it just wasn't worth it. the next morning, i was determined to find a better price. first, i found a pair in my size on some random website for $98. i got pretty excited to find $100 knocked off the price, but thank goodness i kept looking. a few minutes later, i found them on super-sale in my size for (are you ready?) FIFTY DOLLARS. with free shipping. i nearly fainted with excitement. that's like 75% off. and that's my kind of sale. i can't wait to wear these babies for the next six months. i will definitely be getting my fifty dollars worth.


also, happy weekend, by the way! i'll be hitting up a big church yard sale in town, helping out at a dance theatre fundraiser, decorating my house for fall, hopefully shopping for some key fall pieces and definitely enjoying my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. sounds perfect, no?

one dress, three ways (part three)

 

hello, friends!
welcome to day three of my fun little series! i actually haven't officially worn this particular outfit yet, but it's only a matter of time (which, hopefully will be sooner than later). i think gray, navy and brown are the single most wonderful color combination. they're not too matchy but they still look fresh and pulled together.

i spent the majority of this little photo shoot sweating my butt off, by the way. beyond ready for fall! i love how this dress will transition really easily. i may even try it out with some colored tights and a heavier blazer come late fall.

hopefully you've enjoyed my attempts at mixing up my closet - playing with pieces is beyond fun for me! and special thanks to my mom for playing photographer and helping make these posts possible.

 

also, if you use your imagination in this last photograph, it kind of looks like fall a little bit. hooray!

dress: self-made
sweater: goodwill
belt: thrift store
boots: steve madden via macy's
necklace: anthropologie (gift)
watch: men's pulsar
bag: h&m

one dress, three ways (part two)

over the last several months, i've had the awesome opportunity to do some volunteer work at our local chamber of commerce, which has been really fun. it's great to feel like i'm contributing to something, to stay engaged in the community and to wear pretty, professional clothes instead of comfortable, stretchy clothes every day of the week. i'm beyond ready to have a job again, so it's been really great to work a little, even if there isn't a paycheck involved.

so, i wore outfit number two to the chamber a few weeks ago, and i love the way it came out. it was one of those days right after all the intense heat and humidity that wasn't so bad, and i felt breezy and pretty. it was inspired by the original atlantic-pacific outfit, and as fall hits, i plan to wear it with a trench as well.

blazer: goodwill
shoes: kohls via goodwil
clutch: 0.50 at a thrift store
necklaces: antique store, american eagle, yard sale
bracelets: forever 21
watch: men's merona from target

see you tomorrow for the third and final look!

one dress, three ways (part one)

back in july, i saw this outfit on atlantic-pacific and was immediately smitten with the blue and white striped dress. the dress itself (from asos) was more than i wanted to pay, but so, so cool. i figured i could probably make something similar, so i set out to the fabric store and found this vogue pattern. it is a bit different than the original inspiration, but i love it. i unfortunately couldn't find fabric exactly like i wanted (who knew stripes were so hard to track down!?), but i found a fairly similar striped print at mary jo's fabric in gastonia (a fabric mecca for all you sewers and crafters out there) and set to work.

 this was my first time sewing something on my own, without my mom's expert sewing help. i kept her around for questions and to make sure i was doing things correctly, but i'm proud to say that with only a few minor meltdowns, i made this pretty little dress all by myself! the pattern was relatively simple, although, i will say the skirt is a full circle of fabric (which was a lot to deal with), and the bodice is fully lined. i altered it a bit to make the ties double-sided (originally they were just supposed to be hemmed, but i thought that would look ugly) and i used fusible interfacing instead of the sew-on stuff, which is so much simpler. i sewed a size 10 (i always sew a size or two above my regular dress size to allow for changes if needed) and it was pretty spot-on with a few minor seam allowance adjustments for fit.

one of things i love about this dress is its versatility. i purposefully made the dress longer than the original asos one a)because i wanted to layer it up for work in the future (assuming i actually get a job someday) and b)because the high waist and fullness of the skirt made the dress look overly sweet and  juvenile when i pinned it up higher. i've already worn it several different ways, and grabbed some photos of three separate looks to share. i love easy, machine washable dresses that can be fancy, casual, or professional with the right styling.

so anyway, look one is rather simple. which is what i prefer when it is 100 degrees outside. this dress requires no bra (hooray!) and looks super with a flat pair of sandals or my tall espadrilles.  it's so easy and pulled together and i seriously can't stop wearing it....

dress: self-made (pattern: $3.99 on sale at hancock fabric, fabric and supplies: ~$30.00)
shoes: target
straw tote: talbots via goodwill
earrings: rugged warehouse
bracelets: forever 21, jcrew via piccolo antique mall, yard sale
watch: men's pulsar

definitely stay tuned the rest of this week for looks two and three!!!

side note... this dress also looks fairly awesome with a mustache. i'm just saying.