the shirt dress.

{dress: Gap | jacket: h&m (similar) | clutch: dooney and bourke | shoes: shoe mint (similar)}

This is my first shirt dress. And even though I'm wearing it, I'm still not sure how I feel about shirt dresses.  Even though I've worn other dresses that are this length or shorter, there is something about the loose fit and shirt like feel that just occasionally startles me into thinking that I forgot my pants.. After a few seconds I remember that this is a dress and I am fully clothed in public. Phew. 

Do you wear shirt dresses? Am I alone in this feeling? 

lounge skirt

{jacket: h&m (similar) | shirt: thrifted (similar) | skirt: loft | bag: foley and corinna | shoes: target | scarf: h&m}

I picked up this skirt on sale (and 40% off) in the "lounge" section at the Loft. There is something great about wearing clothes from the lounge section. I think just by name alone they become more comfortable. This skirt is as soft as can be and the textured gray color couldn't be more versatile. 

If you need me, I'll be busy lounging.**


** April fools. I'll actually be at work....whomp. whomp. 

Camping Shirt

{Shirt: Urban Outfitters | Skirt: Urban Outfitters (similar) | Shoes: Ciao Bella (via Piperlime) | Watch: Michael Kors | Necklace: Thailand}

I bought this shirt right before a camping trip last summer. I didn't have any flannel and it seemed like an essential part of my camping wardrobe. I started calling it my camping shirt. Turns out, the weekend I went camping, it was over 100 degrees, even in the mountains. My camping shirt never made it out of the tent.

Since then, I've enjoyed working this flannel wonder into my everyday wardrobe. It became my Christmas tree shirt, my Sunday picnic in the park shirt, and most recently my spring transition shirt. It's just warm enough to pair with a short, bright, summer skirt when the weather is still on the cooler side.

Dotted and Striped

{Shirt: Loft (similar) | Skirt: Anthropologie sale rack | Shoes: Payless | Bracelets: Loft | Necklace: Eastern Market}

I haven't known most of you for very long, so I didn't expect you to notice, but yes, I got my hair cut. A whopping 4 inches (even though I only asked for 2). Is it just me, or is a good hair stylist hard to find? Not that there aren't plenty of good hair stylists out there, it just seems that I don't know them. 

For this recent cut, I picked a reputable salon on my walk home from work. Obviously, I didn't want to be inconvenienced by walking out of my way. I read the stylists profiles and some reviews online, and picked the stylist who "has a passion for hair and is an expert at creating soft, long layers." Sounds great right? Well, maybe in a week or two that's what I'll have. But for now I've got that "I just went and got my hair cut and should have paid more or gone elsewhere so that the ends of my hair wouldn't look like they were cut on a chopping block."  

To me, one of the attributes of a great hairstylist is being able to give you the cut you want, but to trim the ends in a way that doesn't scream "I just got my hair cut". Well, for this head of hair, maybe next time. Fortunately, hair grows. Until then, beware the screaming. 

Mellow Yellow

{Shirt: Anthropologie | Pants: Express | Bag: Foley and Corina (via Guilt) | Shoes: Nine West | Watch: Michael Kors} 

It has been a rainy week in DC. 3 non-consecutive days of rain. The weather obviously can't make up its mind. Which is something I can sympathize with. I am not sure when it happened, or if I have always been this way, but I am the queen of indecisiveness. Decisions don't come easy and I change my mind, A LOT. Sweet potato fries or regular? Game of Thrones or Mad Men? Pants or skirt? Get work done or read blogs? It's these decisions that plague my days. 

Fortunately, there are rare circumstances where my mind is set. Like when I bought this shirt. The minute I saw it in the Anthro catalog, I knew I had to have it. Unfortunately for me, the price tag and my conscience did not agree. That seems to happen a lot when I am at Anthro. It makes me feel gloomy, or maybe grouchy? I can't decide. 

But then, the clouds cleared and a sale was announced! And I took home this beauty for half price! If only all decisions could be so easy. 

Pink Wish

  

{Cardigan: banana republic | Tank: banana republic | Skirt: banana republic (similar) | Shoes: Target | Belt: H&M | Bracelets: LOFT}

I know what you are thinking. Could that girl be wearing any more banana republic? Well actually, I could. My shoes, belt, and bracelets could be from banana also. But I like to mix things up.

In the spirit of making excuses, I got this skirt 2 years ago for $14. Can you believe it? Well it's true. And it has pockets. The pockets alone should be worth $14. (but that would be a funny looking skirt).    As for the rest of my outfit, a few weeks back banana sent out one of those "LOOK HOW MUCH MONEY YOU CAN SAVE" emails: 50 percent off of 5 items. You heard me. 50 percent.  How could I pass that up?

So I walked on over to my local banana and picked up this cardigan and tank. I mean, they were practically giving it away (right?). So here I am, dressed neck to knee in banana, making wishes on dandelions.

Double the Fun

{Shirt (actually a dress): thrifted | Pants: Paige (via Nordstrom Rack) | Shoes: Payless | Bag: thrifted | Watch: Michael Kors}

When I thrifted this dress, I feel in love with the colors but wasn't sure if I'd actually have the courage to rock such a short, bright, bold dress. I tried it on, debated in front of the mirror, put it back on the racks, kept my eye on it as I perused the store in case anyone else tried to snatch it up, waited in line, got to the register, and only then did I ask the cashier to wait while I bolted back to the rack and grabbed this beauty. Then of course it sat in my closet for months, until the light bulb finally went of in my brain. Dress=Shirt. Yep. Turns out, many of my dresses can be worn as shirts. I just doubled the value (and fun) of the left side of my closet where my dresses hang in color-coded and seasonal order. Don't judge. 

Cold Rain

{Shirt: Jcrew | Skirt: H&M | Belt: Anthropologie | Boots: Hunter}

You couldn't tell from my outfit above, but today is a cold rain day in DC. NPR told me this morning that it's the coldest day in 6 weeks. NPR doesn't lie. Imagine the above with tights, a trench coat, a scarf, and maybe some gloves.  That pretty much sums up what I would need to stay warm today. Unfortunately, my Monday morning sleepiness prevented me from dressing accordingly. So you can either pretend that I have tights on above, or pretend that it's warm in DC today. Choose your own adventure.

Bow Ties

{Blazer: Loft (similar) | Blouse: Nordstrom | Pants: Banana Republic (similar) | Shoes: Payless }

Finding places to take outfit photos can be a challenge. Since I use a tripod and timer, it's just me, standing in front of the tripod, striking different poses, making different faces, and all together acting the fool. People walking by tend to give me strange looks. A few even stop to stare which makes me feel uncomfortable and makes getting the right shot even harder! So I've been choosing to hang out in back alleys. Less people, less stares. Unfortunately, back alleys in DC are not well cared for- hence the hanging wires and overgrown grass spilling out of the wall crack. Can I get someone to tidy-up these alleys for me? 

In other news, this grey, knit blazer is like a dream come true. Sweatpant-like material that I can wear to work. Genius. 

Work Rush

{shirt: thrifted | Skirt: banana republic (similar) | belt: banana republic | shoes: nine west (similar)}  

Dressing for work in the morning can be an easy, fun experience- or a frustrating- take half of my clothes of their hangers, try them on, sigh, thrown them on the floor in a pile- experience. When it is the latter, I either make myself extremely late to work, or I grab from a few key basic items and go. 

Pencil skirt. Printed blouse. Flats.

For this outfit, I added a belt at the last minute to jazz things up a bit. Minimal effort, maximum reward. (apologize for the wrinkles...this skirt was either victim to the pile on the floor only to be re-grabbed for the final look or it was worn at work all day before I had a moment for photos. Or both. Either way, I think the skirt is sick of my excuses.)

Striped Attitude

{shirt: Jcrew (similar) | Pants: Urban Outfitters | Shoes: Payless | Scarf: Halogen  | Hat: H&M}

I went on a coffee run yesterday with a coworker. When at Starbucks, we always pay with our Starbucks card iPhone apps.  When we got there, my coworker realized he forgot his phone. My alarmed remark was "how will you pay for your coffee?" He looked at me strangely and reminded me that he had a wallet. Come to find out, Starbucks still takes cash and cards. Phew.  

This outfit has nothing to do with my coffee run. In fact, I wasn't even wearing this while at Starbucks. Ha. But I do love coffee, and stripes, so technically, it all relates. 

Hat Girl

{Tee: Loft | Jeans: Citizens | Shoes: Payless | Hat: H&M | Scarf: Zara | Necklace: DIY (via Dismount Creative)}

Usually, my favorite outfits are the simple ones. Jeans, t-shirt, and a few accessories to add some flare. I wore this to an evening BBQ and it turned out to be a perfect DC evening. It wasn't perfect because of my outfit (although looking good can't hurt). It was perfect because the weather was 70 degrees, I was on a roof top, and I was eating a smart dog.  What is a smart dog you might ask? Well, it's a meat-free, hot dog shaped, soy substance that vegetarians sometimes eat at BBQs. Add some ketchup, mustard, and sauerkraut and people might even mistake you for a meat-eater. Now that's what I call smart.