Manic Monday: Bohemian Florals

During a recent Shop Your Closet post, I featured one of my favorite trends for fall - bomber jackets.  That post featuring a floral bomber jacket from Who What Wear x Target also incorporated another of my favorite fall trends - florals!  Today, I'm focusing on the fall floral trend with a slightly quirky mixed print look by pairing two different florals with a polka dot trench.

Trench:  Who What Wear x Target (Available here)

The subdued colors of this look give it a sophisticated feel, and the black background color of each piece keeps the mixing of multiple prints from feeling garish.

Blouse:  Who What Wear x Target (Available here)

Skirt:  Who What Wear x Target (Available here)

I finished the look with my buckled, open-toe booties and a faux croc-embossed bag. 

I usually go for looks with a little more minimalist feel, but I really love this look!  Fall is all about prints and embellishment, and it's high on the details.  Sophisticated bohemian looks are having a serious moment, so if you have ever had a desire to dress like an Olsen twin (and yes, I actually have), this is the season to give it a try!

Bag:  The Limited

Boots:  New Look

Sunglasses:  Tory Burch

Earrings:  Torrid

Do you like the dark floral trend?  How would you style this blouse?
For the pleated skirt in another look, see here.

Shop Your Closet: The Printed Midi

Ugh....I have been away from the blog much too long!!  I have missed you guys!!  Work has been super busy and has left me with no time for blogging, but I hope to change that this coming week, even if I will still be working long hours!  So today, it's time for another Shop Your Closet post!

 Skirt:  Eloquii (Available here)

Today, I'm rocking this amazing printed skirt from Eloquii.  They have some of the best prints, and this one is just so perfect for summer!  This skirt is the same style as the striped one I previously featured here and here, and there is also a matching crop top. 

Sadly, the crop top didn't work for me in either fabrication, but that's okay!  There are still sooooo many ways to style this skirt, and today, I am offering you four!

For the first look, I went for a little date night chic.  I love the sophisticated and sexy feel of this off the shoulder top. 

Black off-the-shoulder top:  Eloquii (Available here)

I haven't had much luck with off-the-shoulder styles this season.  I have narrow shoulders and big arms, so it's hard to find a fit that doesn't slide right back up on my shoulders.  This top from Eloquii is more like a tube top with an attached scarf that you tie around your arms, so you're sure to get the right fit.

Shoes:  Anne Michelle

In fact, I even tried it out as a tube top and loved that variation too.

Clutch:  Target

Bracelets:  LOFT

To not compete with the tie on the top, I tied the attached self-tie belt to the back of the skirt, creating a bow in the back of the skirt (sorry, no photos).

Sunglasses:  Tory Burch

For the next look, I kept things a little more casual.  I paired the printed midi with a white crop top from ASOS layered over a lace bralette from Torrid.  I debated between white sneakers and wedges, and while both worked, ultimately, the wedges won out.

Tie-front crop top:  ASOS (Available here)

Wedges:  Sugar

Bralette:  Torrid (Available here)

Sunglasses:  Calvin Klein

For work, I decided to go with a bold mixed print look by pairing a striped button down shirt with the skirt.   

Striped button-down top:  Eloquii (Available here)

Shoes:  New Look

Bracelets:  LOFT
Satchel:  The Limited

Lastly, I wanted to create a go-anywhere look, one that I could wear to work but that I would be equally as likely to wear outside of work as well. Pairing the skirt with this simple orange blouse is an easy combo.  

Top:  The Limited (old)

Booties:  ASOS

Necklace:  Eloquii

Clutch:  Boohoo

Which look is your favorite?  How would you style this skirt?

For the orange top in other looks, see here, here, here, and here.

UNCONDITIONAL BODY BEAUTIFUL - PART 7: MY ARMS, MY WINGS

So, it's time again for another installment of  #UnconditionalBodyBeautiful!! 

Skirt:  Eloquii (Available here)

I was so late with last month's post that this one seemed to come so soon, and here I am late again! 

Tank:  Torrid (Available here)

Shoes:  Sugar (Available at Kohl's here)

I've been mad wedding prepping as the man and I are tying the knot after over eight years.  We previously had a wedding planned three years ago, but had to cancel it due to a family emergency.  Now, we're pulling a wedding together with three weeks of prep time and a very small budget!! We are crazy, and I am stressed and tired.  I apologize that I've felt the need to step away from the blog a bit recently as there has just been too much going on. 

That said, I wanted to give you a quick heads-up on what to expect in the coming weeks.  I had a color series planned for July, but it will be pushed to early August, so expect to see lots of color early next month!  Also expect to see some wedding photos soon! :-)

Clutch:  The Limited

Sunglasses:  Calvin Klein

As it is July, it is hot where I live.  Warm weather calls for less clothing, and bare arms are no exception.

For so many years, I hated my arms.  I tend to gain both muscle and fat quickly in my arms, and they were always one of the larger parts of my body, sometimes seeming disproportionate to the rest of me.  Once while wearing a sleeveless dress (and 35 pounds thinner than I am now), my mother who hadn't seen me in a while exclaimed, "Oh my god!!  Look at your arms  They are so big!"  While she later apologized for her reaction, her words stuck with me.  I became much more self-conscious of my arms. 

Shortly after this comment, my attempts to lose weight began.  My healthy attempts at losing weight eventually turned into an eating disorder as I became obsessed with calories, fat grams, and calories burned through exercise.  I honestly don't link her comment with this series of events, but I needed to spell out the timeline because while I had a ton of body issues at my thinnest, I was generally content with my arms at that time.

As I started to put weight back on though, my arms definitely became a source of self-hatred, and I often looked to cardigans to cover up my arms.  As my weight continued to increase, my fashion preferences started to change as well, and I began my love affair with blazers.

Jacket:  Eloquii (Available here)

I still love a good blazer.  They are such an amazing completer piece and give every look a more polished and sophisticated feel.  I wore this look with jacket to work with just a simple black tank, and it felt really pulled together.

Glasses:  Valentino

As much as I love jackets and blazers, I realized at one point that I was often wearing them more to cover up my arms (and other bits) than I was as a fashion choice.

Earrings:  New York & Company

With blogging, I slowly started to wear more sleeveless clothes for pictures, or I would take off my jacket to show what was underneath.  Eventually, this led me to be more forthcoming with doing the same out in my real life. 

Now, I'm at the point where I'm generally fine with showing my arms.  For work, I still prefer my upper arms to be covered because I think it's more professional, and I still have a hang-up every now and then, but for the most part, I've learned that I have the right to bare arms!  Oh, and so do you! 

Don't be hot this summer - lose the cardigan, the blazer, the jean jacket, whatever you're using to cover up!Have you missed parts of the series? 

Catch up here:Part 1:  My Body and I from the Beginning
Part 2:  The Heart (Bust)
Part 3:  My Journey on My Legs
Part 4:  My Belly and Me
Part 5:  My Buttocks
Part 6: Body Hair

Want more?  Read what the other bloggers of #UnconditionalBodyBeautiful are saying about their arms:

Zadry Ferrer-Geddes, Curves a la Mode
http://curvesalamode.com/2015/07/17/unconditional-body-beautiful-part-seven-my-arms-my-wings/

Katherine Hayward, The Glitter Notebook
https://theglitternotebook.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/unconditional-body-beautiful-post-7-my-arms-my-wings/

For the skirt in another look, see here.
For the jacket in other looks, see here and here.   

Screw Perfection

What is perfection?  What does it meant to be perfect? To look perfect?

Tee:  Torrid (Available here)

Perfection is in the eye of the beholder.  What's good for one person is not for the other.  

When we realize that perfection is subjective, then it really puts all the messages with which we are bombarded into perspective.  So many of us have let companies, the media, culture, etc. decide for us what it means to be and look "perfect." 

Cardigan:  Torrid (Similar here)

Skirt:  Peter Pilotto for Target

I struggled most of my life with insecurities - many of them related to my body and appearance, but also related to my social class and other factors.

I've largely overcome most of these issues with a lot of self-work and the increased knowledge that comes with growing older (Wisdom is a good thing, people - respect your elders!)

Bracelets:  Ann Taylor, Torrid, The Limited
Rings:  Earthbound Trading Co., Torrid, The Limited

But... I still have those nagging insecurities that creep about when I least expect or desire them.  I'm still working through my anxiety over my belly, but I know that each day is a process, and I know to remind myself that while my body isn't where it could be health-wise or appearance-wise, it is still my body.  It is beautiful and strong for all the amazing things it does.

I remind myself that beauty and "perfection" mean different things to different people  My excess belly fat, which I so often bemoan, is viewed as perfect to others.  My fiance loves my soft belly, and my daughter tells me that I'm "so comfy." 

Flats:  Target

I tend to be a perfectionist.  I don't like criticism.  I hate doing a poor job at something.  I strive to always do my best at the things that matter to me.

I don't like admitting my faults (is there someone out there who finds this easy??), but I have found that striving to have an appearance of perfection makes you fake to others...because you are being fake.  Trying to put on an air of perfection to hide our flaws and protect our delicate egos keeps people at bay.  It keeps people from seeing the real you.  The real you is wonderful - not in spite of your flaws, but because of them!

So, on those days when you're feeling not feeling so great, remember to tell yourself, "Screw Perfection!" The notion of perfection is both overrated and meaningless.

Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?

For this skirt in other looks, see here and here.