Plaidanimal

If I had to pick a favorite pattern mix, it might be animal + plaid.


Blouse, FY2 (thrifted). Dress, Bitten (shortened). Shoes, Libby Edelman. Earrings and necklaces, vintage. Ring, Raffia & Bossa.


I’ve mixed plaid and animal a few times before:


That was just the warm-up. I’ve got even more plaid and animal pieces to mix in the upcoming months!

It All Makes Sense Now

Commuting to and from work, I wore my peach ballet flats. The rest of my color choices didn’t really make sense until I got to work and slipped on these floral peep-toes.


Jacket, Charlotte Russe (dyed). Dress, Merona (shortened). Blouse, Charlotte Russe. Shoes, Nine West. Purse, Simply Vera. Earrings, Night Owl Crafts. Bracelets, vintage, Claire’s, and Mixit.



Here are all of the outfits, so far, that didn’t quite “go” until I added these shoes:


Mostly, it seems I use these shoes as a way to tie in my vintage coral and turquoise earrings.

Creative Juices

I bought this dress for $1.30 in January. I thought it would be perfect for the warmer months. I imagined it would be in constant rotation because of the easily mixable print, flattering cut, and lightweight fabric. Instead, it’s only made two appearances. I’ve planned each week’s wear, looked at it hanging in the closet, and dismissed it as boring, unable to think of a single interesting way to style it.



I took my best shot at non-boring styling today and, whaddyaknow, new outfit ideas popped into my head all day. Sometimes, I just have to spend some quality time in a garment to get an idea of its true potential.





Cardigan, Rodarte for Target. Dress, Allison Taylor (thrifted). Belt, Banana Republic. Shoes, Nine West. Bag, H&M. Earrings and owl ring, vintage. Coral and turquoise ring, shopgoodwill.com. Sunglasses, Girl Props.









Jumping is also good for stimulating the creative juices. (Especially in too big shoes and oppressive humidity.)





This is how I’ve styled the dress in April and July:





What future outfits do you suggest?

Mine

I was true to my word; I’m never giving this dress back to Colette. Instead, I bought the same dress (NWT) from eBay and gave that to her. Now this dress is mine, ALL MINE!





Shirt, J Crew. Dress, Richard Chai for Target. Shoes, Colin Stuart. Earrings, Julie’s Inspiration. Watch, Vivani (gift). Bracelets, Epcot Morocco.





I’ve been frantically remixing the dress over the past 10 weeks, trying to get every wear possible out of it before I had to return it.





Now, the pressure is off, but I don’t think I’ll slow my remixing pace down much. It has so many layering possibilities for fall and winter!

Stir It Up

I’m a day late with my Everybody Everywear pattern mix. I hope it was worth the wait!





Dresses, Jovovich Hawk for Target (on top) and London Times (underneath). Shoes, Gianni Bini. Earrings, Nine West. Bag, Liz Claiborne (gift).







I don't think the girl on the right (above) likes pattern mixing.







Photos by Beefy Muchacho



I may have mixed a pattern a time or two before. These are some of my favorites (and boldest):







My pattern mixing has gotten progressively wilder and more frequent, but my approach has remained the same.