For my latest post on World Ugly I'm investigating the dirndl dress. When I was little my family lived in Germany for a few years and for some reason or another my mother thought it fit to dress us all in dirndl dresses, complete with frilled white blouses and socks. With runways from Miu Miu to Anna Sui taking inspiration from the dirndl I decided to get my hands on one.
The vintage originals can be hard to track down, but are worth the hunt with their beautiful embroidered details and quality fabric. Thankfully, Bows and Bandits is fully stocked with gorgeous dirndl dresses in a variety of colors and sizes, which takes a lot of drama out of the hunt.
For its first outing I donned the dirndl dress backwards, which takes out the Oktoberfest vibe of the dress.

Outfit details: dress- vintage courtesy of Bows and Bandits, belt- secondhand, shoes- Urban Outfitters
I pulled out one of my coziest sweaters for a cooler day and headed down to the closest seashore for a bit of release. The rhythmic sound of the waves lapping against the rocky shore is the most soothing one I know and while it isn't the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, I am so grateful to live near the water... Outfit details: cardigan- Urban Outfitters, necklace- Stadium Swapmeet, dress- Urban Outfitters, shoes- Bona Drag, nail polish- Sephora

It has been a fairly interesting weekend: took the LSAT, hunted through massive Antique Malls, and stumbled over snakes on twisting dirt roads. The golden summer is winding to an end and I am attempting to mentally prepare myself for a Washington State fall and winter...
Outfit details: feather fascinator- vintage, dress- vintage, vest- H&M, necklace- Yellowstone National Park gift shop, shoes- Urban Outfitters
P.S. I wrote a little article breaking-down the trend of mixed prints with some ideas on how to wear it for Weardrobe. You can read it here and look forward to other such articles in the future from different members of the Weardrobe community!

I build my outfits from a single piece; starting with the item I want to wear on that day and pulling other things from there. This outfit was began with my new vintage feather fascinator. I wanted to build off the various warm colors and actually ended up with a very neutral outfit for me. Black, browns, and a small dash of blue and yellow? This is quite different from my usual mad clash of colors.
Outfit details: feather fascinator- vintage, dress- Urban Outfitters, vest- H&M, shoes- Seychelles, bag- Pull and Bear, talon necklace- Talonalia, necklace- Yellowstone National Park gift shop

My favorite collection of Spring 2010 NYFW has been Proenza Schouler. The strategic flashes of neon, the mature interpretation of tie-dye, and the similarities to iridescent beetles, all wooed me like an overzealous beau...besides I already have a love affair with neon yellow.


pics via Style.com, collages by me

"Artists sense within their own work that kind of swelling of possibilities, which may seem a freedom or confusion." -Jasper Johns
If you haven't noticed yet, may I announce: I like color. It is one of the main elements of my style; color and mixing different ones in new ways. While blue is still my favorite color and used to dominate my wardrobe, green has slowly been worming its way into my outfits.
Now with this newish H&M dress (seen first here) and the Tulle coat in this post, I predict a very green fall...
details: tights- Fred Flare, fascinator- vintage, belt- secondhand, shoes- Nine West
coat- Tulle via Fred Flare, scarf- YarnOverMovement, tights- We Love Colors via swap with Calivintage, shoes- Seychelles
fascinator- vintage, jacket- Kimchi and Blue via Weardrobe Swap, shoes- Urban Outfitters
vest- gift from my sisters, shoes- Seychelles
belt- self made, socks- Thank You Mart, shoes- Seychelles from my sisters
belt- vintage, skirt- secondhand, shoes- Dr. Scholls

The other bloggers at the Weardrobe Conference definitely gave me a lot of inspiration for outfits and new swag is also useful towards changing things up. One my of first outfits back in Washington state was inspired by this outfit that Erin (who just received an award on Strawberry Koi) wore.
The vintage dress plus oxford heels feel like a perfect transition into more fall-inspired outfits. My dress was one of the pieces I snagged at the clothing swap on our last morning. Keiko Lynn added it to the mayhem. If you haven't visited Keiko's shop Postlapsaria filled with her own designs and reconstructed vintage pieces I suggest you do. The Seychelles oxford heels were another gift from our sponsors and "Green is Good" tote bag from Hayden-Harnett originally held much of our swag. The heels have a hidden wedge which make them very comfortable and the tote is nicely sturdy--I look forward to using it often. It's remarkable the pieces I received that I feel I would have bought myself and the ones that are outside my comfort zone that I look forward to stretching myself with...
I actually packed this entire outfit to wear while I was in NYC for the conference. When packing I wanted more pulled-together looks and fall colors...but of course the weather in New York didn't cooperate and this ended up seeming too warm to wear. Details: vintage dress, self-made bow belt, secondhand skirt, secondhand shoes, Shopruche purse, Talonalia necklace, and Fred Flare sunglasses.
I'm still loving this matte nail polish which I snagged in gray as well as red. I left two nails red (one on each hand) for variety...Delightfully Tacky just named me "Blogger of the Moment" and there's a wee interview of me here. She asked some very thoughtful questions that I really enjoyed answering. Thanks Delightfully Tacky!

I've been admiring the Kate Spade Fall Lookbook on many of my favorite blogs, but I still couldn't resist a post on it myself. Re-mixed dresses, color bright tights, flats, and prints? This has "me" written all over it...other than the price tag.

via Kate Spade