(Almost) 31 Days of Halloween

Happy Halloween! It's been a hot minute since I last wrote a blog post, but I shared nothing but Halloween looks on Instagram all October so I wanted to give a little bit more detail as to how I did it. I've never been the biggest Halloween fan, but the past couple of years I've started to dip my toes into getting excited about the season. This year, my girl Alyssa decided to do 31 days of Halloween outfits, and since we take most of our outfit pictures together, I decided (with her help) to go along with the theme this month as well. I actually found it extremely inspiring to stick to a theme for the month. Even though I still had the question of "what do I wear?", it really narrowed it down. I think I want to start doing more theme months, so I'll be doing all fall looks in November and all Christmas looks in December.

My hesitance toward Halloween looks previously has been that I've found it hard to justify spending money on items that I can only wear for a month. I still bought some new pieces for October, but here's how I did it on a budget:

• Bought fall items that I could easily style for Halloween, but also wear outside of the spooky season (the outfit above is a good example).
• Used anything black, white, orange, green, and purple that I owned. 
• Bought affordable accessories (like earrings and pins) that could make outfits more Halloween-friendly, but wouldn't break the bank. I bought most of these from small, women-owned shops like Femme de Bloom, Em and Sprout, and Mint Julep Maven.
• Borrowed items from Alyssa. I recognize that I'm fortunate to have such a stylish and generous friend who wears the same size as me and has seemingly unlimited Halloween goodies, so this tip isn't for everyone. But still, sharing items with friends can apply to anyone!

You can see all of my Halloween looks on my Instagram, but here's some of my favorites (so...most of them) and details on the outfits.

Retro Summer Babes

You'd think that I love summer based on how much I love summer clothes. I hate the heat and being outside for too long, but I live for summer dresses, fruit prints, and sandals. So even though I may not be pumped for 90 degree days, I AM excited about this darling Lindy Bop dress and styling it all season long. 

As promised, here's my other matching outfit with Alyssa (scroll down to see!). Our matching in the last outfits was nothing compared to wearing the same exact dress and then going to get coffee and pop into a couple of vintage/consignment stores. Plus, not too many people dress like we do where we were so we didn't exactly blend in. It was a hoot, and people commented on it pretty much everywhere we went. A couple of women even asked if we worked in a diner. Fair. 

When we found out that we both had picked out the exact same dress this time, we thought it would be fun to show how we each style it. The funny thing was, we both expected the other one to accessorize it in the same way. I texted Alyssa the day before to see if she was going to wear a straw hat before I did, and she was convinced that I was also going to show up wearing my dress with saddle shoes too. 

Alas, we managed to style the dress in completely different ways. I love shirt dresses, and the color and arm ties screamed summer to me, so I really liked how it looked with a boater hat and these fun watermelon earrings. I felt ready to go to a BBQ or a picnic...but I was much happier getting coffee and going vintage shopping. 

3 Summer Outfits

It's been far too long since I've put together an actual outfit post for this blog, but I took some cute photos today and it gave me the motivation. I'm not naive enough to think that I'll write a separate blog post for each outfit, though, so here are three outfits that I'll be wearing all summer.

Side note: strange as it is to say, last week marked 7 years (!!!) of blogging for me. It really does feel like yesterday that I was dragging my sister-in-law outside to help me take my first set of outfit photos, and I couldn't even imagine the community I'd find through doing this. I usually try to do some sort of giveaway to celebrate, but considering I'm not doing a great job of keeping this up, it didn't feel right to make a big deal out of celebrating. Well, that and I got lazy. But also the other thing.

Dapper Day Spring 2019 Recap

Looking through my recent posts, it kind of feels like I only blog about Dapper Day now. Well, Dapper Day and weddings. I'm still only blogging when inspiration hits, which isn't too often these days. So when a big event happens that makes me want to share, it's one of the few times I actually decide to dust off the old blog.

I also don't think I'll ever be tired of talking about Dapper Day. It's such a special event, and I always feel a natural high coming out of it. It's amazing to be surrounded by so many old friends I don't get to see often, Internet friends I've never gotten to meet in person, brands I love all in one place, and overall just a ton of like-minded people with similar interests all dressed to the nines.

Cacti with Karina Dresses

Hello, hello? Is this thing on?

You know, it's been so long since I've blogged, I was worried I'd forgotten how to do it. 

Nice to meet you, blog, I'm Elana.

Okay, FINE. Enough dad jokes! I'm back with a post for the first time in a long time partially because I miss writing about the mundane things in my life, but mostly because I love this dress and felt it needed a proper post. I've been wanting to try Karina Dresses for a while now, and I'm so excited to get the chance to work with them. WOW did this dress live up to the hype! 

If you're unfamiliar, Karina Dresses makes clothes in super flattering shapes in a breathable material that doesn't wrinkle. I know them best for their wrap dresses, and I've been wanting to try one desperately. They just launched their new Western Collection, and I couldn't get over how adorable this cacti print was on the signature Ruby faux wrap dress. 

I cannot stress this enough: this dress is a dream. It's always a relief when an item I'm gifted is something I like, but it's even better when it's something that I then insist on wearing at least once a week. This dress is so comfy and lightweight, and it was the perfect thing to pack when I went to the Midwest last week. I'll be honest and admit that I didn't read the descriptions on the website well enough and thought it was a real wrap dress, and I was slightly disappointed when I realized it wasn't. Honestly, though? It ended up being a blessing in disguise. Because it's a faux wrap dress with a higher neckline, it actually works great for larger busts, which is something I am always on the lookout for. 

As for fit, the dress runs true to size, but because it's so stretchy, there's definitely some room to play. The size chart is a little tricky due to the nature of it, and I found myself in between sizes. The chart indicated that I might be a medium, but since I'm usually a large, I decided to play it safe and order the large. It ended up fitting perfectly, but because of the material, I think I would have been okay with the medium as well. Moral of the story? This is the kind of dress you can eat in, and if you ask me, that's the best kind of dress.

Weekend Wears #2

Considering I take photos of my outfits every weekend, but can barely muster up the motivation to blog them regularly, I figured that sticking to a consolidated format would work great. Going forward, I'm going to be sharing a few outfits at a time, with some exceptions. I have a few of really exciting collaborations coming up, and I'm starting to feel optimistic about keeping this up again!

As for this past weekend, it was the first one in weeks where I had virtually no plans. The last few weeks consisted of my sister-in-law's bachelorette party, my brother's wedding, and Dapper Day, so needless to say it's been a little exhausting (in the best possible way). I wanted to take it easy this week so I slept in, did some cleaning, and caught up on a lot of TV - both myself and with Jon. We watched all of Barry, and I'm so into it. I can't wait to watch more. 

On Sunday, we did some grocery shopping and photo shoots before going to a friend's place for Thai food and even more TV. This first outfit is what I wore on Sunday, and I'm obsessed with this dress. It's a bit different from what I normally wear so I had a little bit of struggle with styling it. I actually wore it out to dinner on its own during the bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs, but I felt much more comfortable wearing it with a cardigan over it. I wouldn't call myself a "modest fashion blogger," because I'm all for others sharing their skin and showing off what they've got, but I always feel a little naked without a sweater. I swear I have some skin under there though!

Last Things: #1

While I have the motivation to blog (who knows how long this will last), I want to try to write about all of the things I've always meant to. I've dabbled a bit in lifestyle and pop culture blogging, but it's never really stuck. Seeing as I always enjoy seeing other bloggers' recommendations, I figured I'd at least try to start a series about what I'm into at the moment. If you want to talk pop culture or shopping, shoot me an email or find me on Instagram so we can chat!

Westworld art by Dustin Goebel

Here's the last thing I...

Watched (TV): Westworld. I watched the first season as it aired, and I'd been anxiously the return for the past year. As expected, the new season offers far more questions than answers, but that's half the fun. Watching Westworld kind of reminds me the golden age of watching Lost. While it can be frustrating, it's fun to watch week to week and hypothesize about what the hell is going on. Fingers crossed it all comes together in a much cleaner way than Lost did.

Also: Silicon Valley, finally catching up on the newest season.

Re-watched (TV): Frasier. My obsession is strong. I can't get enough of '90s-early 2000's sitcoms, and for me, Frasier is the gold standard.

Listened to (Podcast): Sandra. I am a huge fan of Gimlet Media podcasts, and seeing as I loved their last fictional one (Homecoming), I was excited to learn that they were releasing a new one. With a voice cast including Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wigg, and Ethan Hawke, this one follows a woman (Shawkat) as she starts working for a virtual assistant company, much like Amazon's Alexa or Google Home. I finished the series already, and while I could make complaints about the plot if I really wanted to, it was a fun listen. I do wish there were more episodes as I feel like it would have been better if they had more time really expand on the world and develop the characters. That said, it still manages to be captivating, and the voice cast is perfect.

Listened to (Music): Dr. Dog, Critical Equation. I just started to listening to Dr. Dog's newest album so I can't speak too much to it just yet, but they're one of my all-time favorite bands so it's safe to say that I'm enjoying it already.

Purchased: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I am obsessed with the podcast My Favorite Murder. I recently purchased tickets to their live show on Halloween (which I'm only slightly freaking out about) with a few Instagram friends, and we started talking about creating a little MFM book club. The most exciting news to happen this past was that police ARRESTED THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER. It's crazy. I've been wanting to read Michelle McNamara's book on the case since it came out, and this book club we're starting gave me a good excuse. I wish I had read it before the news came out, but I'm sure it will only be more satisfying reading it now.

Wanted to Purchase: I honestly haven't found as many Modcloth items that I've wanted lately, but I've been drooling over their collection with Collectif. My must-buy list includes this Gnome dress, cacti cardigan, and t-strap heels.

Welcoming Spring with Lindy Bop

I am very aware that I will regret saying this in a few months, but man am I glad that it's warm again. I'm tired of wearing tights, and I'm ready to break out the spring dresses. Speaking of which....this dress. It's incredible. Last week, Lindy Bop reached out to me about reviewing a couple of items, and I may or may not have freaked out about it. Lindy Bop is one of my favorite brands, and I have yet to be disappointed with an item from them. 

I debated a lot about this dress. It's certainly not an average neckline for me, and I was worried that I wouldn't wear it much. I finally decided that this was exactly the opportunity to try something new, and it was worth it. This dress is a dream. The neckline ended up being far more flattering than I was expecting, and the retro girls on bikes is the cutest print I could ever hope for. Not only do most Lindy Bop dresses have pockets (like this one!), they're all amazing quality as well. 

If my dazzling recommendation has convinced you that you too need this dress in your life, size down. I'm usually a large, but I've found that most Lindy Bop dresses generally have a decent amount of stretch and fit best when I order a medium. Just another reason so love this brand.

Puppy Dress Addict

What's up, first post of 2018? I'm running on a new year high of new motivation and new clothes. I hadn't purchased anything new in a couple of months to prepare for Christmas...and then I immediately bought a ton of items during sales the day after Christmas. I have no self control, but I'm stoked about the new items I got so I'm not even that mad at myself. My favorite item by far is this puppy dress for obvious dress. You may remember that I have another puppy dress so it should come as no surprise that this one is also from Dangerfield Clothing. Have you ever seen a dress more perfect? I'm so happy with how this one fits, although if you're considering buying it, I'd add that it's runs a little large, particularly in the chest. I highly recommend it.

Of course, if you follow me on social or caught the end of my last post then you already know my biggest news of the year so far. I launched a pin shop! It's called We Said Shop, and I'm running it with my brother, Lucas. After being so into pins, I had the idea to create my own sometime last year. I wanted to make ones that I'd like wearing - pins with quotes from my favorite TV shows - but work got hectic, and I never made it happen. Fast forward to a few months ago, Lucas had started getting into pins as well, and he asked if I still wanted to start a shop. We decided to do it together, and it's been such a blast coming up with designs and working on all of the business aspects. We just launched last week with three designs based on our favorite shows: The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Arrested Development. I'm so excited to see our store grow! If you haven't already, please check out the shop and follow us on social!  

Sisterhood Is Powerful

Hello again! I'm back for a moment because I loved these photos so much that I thought they deserved their own post. My love for Luella has been no secret, but this tee is by far my favorite item from the brand. I've been eye-ing it for a while (especially after Nicole rocked it so perfectly), and it's even more amazing in person. I keep thinking of 2017 as the year I truly embraced wearing color, but it's also the year I embraced T-shirts. I was so adamantly against them for too long, but I've loved learning how to incorporate them into my style. Of course, it helps that there are so many great brands and designers creating cute ones. Seeing as "feminism" is officially the word of the year (though, let's face it, it's the unofficial word of every other year), it seems fitting to be celebrating sisterhood and love these days and all days. It felt like fate to find this "Love Never Fails" wall as well. 

You'd think I would have more of a life update after not posting for a month, but nah. Same old around here. Work is crazy (especially working in ecommerce this time of year), but we had a great Christmas party last week. Jon and I won a Google Home Mini and a PS4! Other than that, I finished all of my Christmas shopping, have been re-watching Bob's Burgers with Jon, have been binge watching Will & Grace for the first time on my own, and I visited a mansion in Beverly Hills with Erica over the weekend. I'm hoping to actually get to another blog post this week so share more about it. I just got Lightroom, so I'm actually pretty excited about taking the time to edit photos again, so maybe it'll happen! I'm also working on a project that will be a HUGE announcement soon, so make sure to be following me on Instagram for that in the next few weeks. I'm so excited, I can barely contain myself.

Wish-Fall Thinking

Hello and welcome back to those of you still reading whenever I decide to resurrect this little ol' blog! Yes, it's been some time, but I'm happy to say that I have officially survived Black Friday/Cyber Monday and am still alive and blogging occasionally. Working in e-commerce, the past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy, but it's finally (almost) over. Now, I have more time to focus on my own Christmas shopping and trying to not buy myself everything in sight. Actually, I don't really have a choice. I had to get my brakes fixed right before Thanksgiving, and it was not cheap, which means my shopping habits right now are more about trying to squeeze in as many Christmas presents as possible and less about buying those cute dresses I'm eyeing on sale. 

Regardless of car issues, I'm still enjoying with little fall weather we get and getting excited for the holidays. It's been getting slightly cooler here for the most part, and I am loving being able to wear tights and boots again whenever the weather allows. My favorite part though? Decorating for Christmas. Jon and I spent the other night blasting Christmas music while hanging up our Christmas lights and decorating our TINY tree. Believe it or not, Jon has a weird obsession with candles, so our place has been smelling extra comforting as well lately. My favorite scent by far is vanilla, which is why I was so excited to try The Body Shop's new vanilla pumpkin line as well. I'm not usually a big lotion person, but I can't get enough of this hand cream. It smells so good and like fall in a bottle. Even if we don't quite get fall weather, I can least pretend when everything smells so much like the season at home! 

Four Outfits With Novelty Vinca Jewelry

T-Shirt: Daisy Natives via Hello Holiday / Skirt: Modcloth / Ice Cream Earrings: c/o Vinca (exact)

When I was in jr. high, I had a strong obsession with big earrings. I lived for pairs from Claire's, and the longer they were, the better. Of course, I eventually got older and the trends I liked when I was 13 no longer seemed cool. Over the years, my taste in jewelry has gone through a number of incarnations. I went through my "pile on as much possible" phase, my "wear a million rings at all times" phase, my "statement necklace only" phase, and my "dainty gold jewelry" phase, among others. Lately, I haven't been wearing much at all and have been leaning more toward scarves and such, but I think I'm finally ready to jump back on the big earring train.

Of course, it helps getting the opportunity to try it out with adorable pairs from Vinca, an awesome women-run small business out of Austin. They kindly let me choose some AMAZING jewelry, and I couldn't help but style them all immediately. The ice cream earrings are clearly my favorite (especially after seeing them at the Museum of Ice Cream), but keep reading to see how I styled my other pieces. It's not every day you get jewelry that matches all of your true passions: ice cream, eggs, dogs, and french fries.

(P.S. Don't forget to check out my Orange County photo locations guide!)

Watermelon Fall

Oh, oops, is it supposed to be fall? Let me just break out my blanket scarf and knee high boots in this crisp 90 DEGREE weather. I know I complain about the heat every damn year, so I'm trying to embrace it for once. It's not that I necessarily like the heat, but I feel like I really found my style this summer. I had a lot more fun with color, tried new brands, and picked up some solid pieces that I think I'll have for a while. I normally would never say this in any other year, but well, I'm not ready for fall clothes. Don't get me wrong, it would be nice to throw on some tights and not melt in my cardigans, but have you seen this watermelon dress? I can't wait to wear this sucker all year long.

I don't have much to say today, since once again my entire life is mostly devoted to work. I do get to see my friend Katie tonight at Disneyland while she and her husband are in town from Washington, so I'm pretty pumped about that. I also finished watching The Golden Girls finally, so there's that. Any suggestions for long running series that I should watch next? I'm pretty set on finally tacking one of the Star Trek series next, but I'm open to suggestions!

Museum of Ice Cream

What does one wear to the Museum of Ice Cream? It feels like a lot more pressure than it should be. I spent more time than I care to admit trying to put together the perfect outfit, and after all of that work, I like to think that I succeeded. 

I went to the Museum of Ice Cream on Saturday with Erica, and it was a TON of fun. We got our tickets back in May or June, and it was worth the wait. We started off the night getting delicious pizza down the street, and then immediately were handed chocolate when we walked into the museum. It was everything I was expecting, but also quite fascinating to see in person. While the desserts and artwork were amazing, it really was just a long line of people taking photos for Instagram. Not that I'm complaining; that's obviously why I was there too. That said, it was hard not to chuckle once I realized that every room would be a moment of looking at what was in it until everyone would disperse to find the perfect spot to pose and take pictures. Considering how social media obsessed people are, it's a pretty genius concept for a museum. Even after being hyper-aware of the true reason of its existence, I couldn't resist it. I like to think that I don't fall into many of the negative traits of millennials, but when it comes down to it, I'm a millennial through and through. How could I not take photos with the pink phones, the hanging bananas, or the rainbow gummy bears? What am I, some kind of monster who can get on a swing and not take a Boomerang? Nah. I'm still about that life, and I'm so happy I had Erica with me to do cheesy poses and know when to take a camera shot vs. an iPhone shot. That's what true friends are for.

And as for the perfect outfit? I got a Modcloth gift card recently, and I couldn't help but get this skirt with ice cream and pie on it. It seemed like a match made in heaven with my pink leather jacket (which, yes, was the exact same shade of millennial pink as the sprinkle pool) and my rainbow wedges. I want to live in this cheerful outfit every day, but I also want to live in this museum. That pink soft serve at the end was messy as hell, but I still can't stop thinking about it.

Disney Darling

Have you been able to tell that I'm seriously loving having a Disneyland pass again? Well, I am. I've been having an absolute blast going about once a week after work, and it's been so much fun feeling that infamous Disney joy on a regular basis. The best parts of having a pass: 1. I don't feel the pressure to go on every ride each time I'm there because I can come back whenever I want and 2. it opens up an entirely new facet of my blogging/outfit photo hobby. So many new locations to take photos at, new themes to plan outfits around, accessories to buy... it's exciting! If there's one way I think I've grown in the past year or so, it's learning to not be embarrassed by this hobby. I've spent a lot of time in my five years of blogging acting sheepish about taking photos and apologizing to the people I'm with. When it comes down to it, it's a silly thing to do, but it's also my favorite. I love planning shoots and learning about photography and what kind of aesthetic I like. I've done a lot better at owning up to the fact that this is something I enjoy and not a thing to be embarrassed by, but this weekend really drove that point home for me.

For starters, I went to the Museum of Ice Cream on Saturday with Erica. I have a dedicated blog post coming this week so I won't elaborate too much just yet, but the entire museum was filled with people trying to get the right Instagram shots. At Disneyland, I started to notice more than ever just how many spots had lines of people waiting to taking photos. What I'm trying to say is that, well, we're all doing it. It's silly and self-indulgent, but you know what? It's fun. And though I used to be convinced of it, no one is judging me. They're all just waiting to get their own perfect shots. In a way, it's just another lesson that Disneyland taught me. That and, always double check that they put alcohol in your drink because I'm pretty sure my Spine Chilling Lemonade did NOT have vodka in it even though I paid for the alcoholic version. You win some, you lose some.

I'm genuinely curious, how many of you have also had to deal with learning to not be embarrassed about style blogging? Or did you naturally have no shame about it from the beginning?

I was thrilled to bust out this dress yesterday for the first time. Despite the fact that I've been drawn to bright colors lately, this black Voodoo Vixen dress caught my eye recently, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I got a Unique Vintage gift card last week, and I looked at just about every single dress on the site, but I kept coming back to this one. The material is much stretchier than I had expected so I think I might have been better off sizing down, but it's not nearly noticeable enough to return it. If you're short like me, you may want to consider doing so as I kept having to pull it down in the back so it wasn't too large in the shoulders, but it was still comfortable enough. It's super breathable, and it ended up being great for a long day at the parks. 

The best part of this outfit though has to be the ears. Erica made them for me when I showed her a pair made out of Rifle Paper Co. fabric that I wanted to buy. I got the fabric for a fraction of the price as the ears I had seen, and Erica was a true angel and made them for me. Don't they look amazing? I'm going to wear them All. The. Time.

Dress: Voodoo Vixen via Unique Vintage (exact dress here)

Shoes: Modcloth (exact shoes here)

Ears: made by Sweets and Hearts (similar here)

Back At It

Hiya there. Should we talk about the fact that I haven't posted in a month? Nah, you get it. Work, exhaustion, being an adult...the blogging thing has just kind of fallen by the wayside for me, and I've still been questioning if I feel fulfilled by it. So, I took another short break, and I'm glad I did. I'm feeling re-energized lately, though, so I want to get back into it. Before I really do, I thought it made sense to share these outfits that have been sitting on my computer for a while. While I haven't been posting, I've still been taking photos regularly and posting them on Instagram. It's still part of my regular routine, I just haven't been taking the time to edit them and write about them. So please enjoy these Instagram outfits (they're some of my favorites), and look out for some actual outfit posts soon. Hopefully. I think. We'll see. 

Thrifting Again

Well, well, well. It's been a minute, hasn't it? My blogging habit has dwindled over the past year or so, but I certainly didn't mean to take a few weeks off. Work has been so crazy lately that I've been working at night often, and when I'm not, I'm usually so exhausted that I just want to watch TV and fall asleep. I'm not sure if I even want to keep posting as regularly as I used to, but I still enjoy having this blog around for whenever I do decide to make the time. Taking outfit photos is still part of regular routine, though, so you can still find those from me almost daily over on my Instagram.

For a while there, I was buying a lot of new items, and I hadn't been sharing thrifted pieces as much as I once had. I like keeping a healthy mix, but I visited my favorite thrift store last week, and got it me inspired to start getting creative with secondhand pieces again. This top is actually a dress that I found for 50% on Labor Day, and I've already worn it twice. I actually found this skirt at the same thrift store months ago, but when I tried it on, it didn't fit well. It was so cheap and cute that I decided to get it anyway and try to sell it. It hasn't sold (obviously) so I decided to give it another try yesterday, and it fit great! I'm pretty positive that I have NOT lost weight since I last tried it on so I'm not quite sure what happened that first day (maybe it was just a bloated day? I didn't try hard enough to pull it over my hips? It happens.), but either way, I'm excited to get some use out of it. 

Colorful Life

I owe this entire post (and probably the next few to come) to Jessica from Midwest Muse. She's in town visiting, and not only has she been my excellent photographer this weekend, but she's been the best sounding board for outfit advice. Jessica and I met through blogging four or five years ago (we started Flock Together with each other!), and she's been the person I've gotten to know the best through the Internet. We've been emailing back and forth for years, but we've never gotten the chance to meet in person, despite always talking about it. Finally, Jessica was able to score cheap tickets out here, and like a totally normal person, I invited her to stay with me and picked up a complete stranger from the airport on Friday. 

As expected, it hasn't felt like a weird thing at all. Jessica is exactly like how I expected her to be, which is what you always hope for Internet friends. It feels like we've known each other forever, and it was evident from the moment we met in person that if we lived closer, we'd hang out all of the time. We've spent the past couple of days doing everything I love - walking around Balboa Island, eating a lot of breakfast, trying a ton of coffee shops, and taking cute pictures. We also met up with Erica and Ashley in Burbank for breakfast and vintage shopping, which of course, was the best time. Those girls are seriously so wonderful and fun to hang out with.

I wasn't sure if I'd like these pieces together, but Jessica confirmed my belief that these colors would make for a killer outfit. It was the best opportunity to bust out this incredible colorful clutch from Teluna. I was so excited to find this brand because not only are all of the pieces seriously adorable, but Teluna donates proceeds from every piece to worthy organizations. This Colorful Life clutch is SO fun and supports Reef Check, which focuses on preserving oceans and reefs. I am a huge fan of cute items that also do some good, and this one is no exception. I may need to get all of the Teluna clutches soon.

Seashellls

Hello from Las Vegas! Well, I'm writing this before leaving, but by the time this post goes up, I'll be on my way. I'm going with my work for the Magic tradeshow, and it'll be first time at the show. I'm so excited to walk the floor and see some of my favorite brands and retailers. Plus, my bosses are taking us out to dinner and to a show, which will no doubt be a great time. We're seeing Love, which I actually saw when I was in Vegas in December, but it was so amazing that I don't mind seeing it a second time one bit.

As for this outfit, isn't it perfect? I nabbed this skirt in the big 50% off sale at Collectif, and I've been waiting weeks for it to come in. I just got it in on Saturday immediately wore it on Sunday. It's my first piece from Collectif (although I got a few in this order), and that subtle seashell print is just too good. Jon and I decided to look for somewhere fun to go that would also make for a good place to take pictures, and we ended up going to the Japanese Gardens at Cal State Long Beach since it's only 20 minutes from us and neither of us had ever been. Well, it ended up being kind of a bust. It was beautiful, but it was so small and full of people that it took us only mere minutes to walk around it. It would have been impossible to take outfit pictures there with all of the people, so we ended up walking around the campus a little bit until we found this great simple wall in some shade. Better than nothing!

Courage and Succulents

I've had this dress sitting in my closet for three weeks before I finally worked up the confidence to wear it this past weekend. It seems a little silly considering it's really not that different than the dresses I usually wear, but in a weird way, it represented an insecurity of mine. The dress is by Voodoo Vixen, one of the brands that pinup bloggers wear that I usually can't afford. It was a fraction of the usual price on Zulily last month, and I decided to try it out. Other than too long straps (a common short girl issue of mine that I usually fix with some janky safety pin work), it fits great and is absolutely beautiful. So why was I afraid to wear it?

As I follow more and more pinup and vintage bloggers, it's only natural that my style would start to shift that way. Until now, though, I've stayed away from brands like Pinup Girl and Bernie Dexter, and I've only recently started finding out that I could afford things from brands like Lindy Bop and Collectif. I've been incorporating some of the styles I always see into my wardrobe, but I've yet to go full pinup. I'm not necessarily sure if I want to, but I've been nervous that once I start shopping with more these brands and going full out with the styles, I would lose my identity in a way. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the girls on Instagram who I see wearing these items. There's a reason why I follow so many. That said, I've been worried that if I did too, I would come across as trying too hard to be like them and I'd just end up looking like everyone else. That's not even to mention that I've always felt that pinup style came with an amount of confidence that I just have never felt like I possess. The hair, the poses, the way they look like they can command a room...that's just not me.

I don't think there's a way for those insecurities to ever fully go away, at least not overnight, but I'm proud to say that even though I still worry about what people think (it's almost impossible not to in this Instagram age), I still bought and wore the dress. And you know what? I felt damn good in it. Sure, it's not the most pinup item I could try and it's really not too different from my other dresses, but it's a step in that direction. Maybe I'll invest in a petticoat and a sweetheart top, maybe I won't. Either way, I'm still taking baby steps to figure out what I really like vs. what is trendy, and wearing what I want regardless of my insecurities. I know I've mentioned this thought process of mine before, and if you read regularly, it's possible that this is a little redundant. I suppose this is more of a "style journey update" of sorts. 

There's probably a lot more to be said regarding what Instagram does to our self esteem, but that's a longer post for another day. For now, I'm excited to see how my style evolves.