Mixing Casual with Vintage | Outfit

There are approximately 548 ways to style a basic grey tee. Go ahead. Google it. Pinterest it. I'll wait.

They're everywhere on the internet style hubs, am I right? I've come to associate them with the cool, casual, effortless air of street style. The kind of style that makes bed head, over-sized everything, and plain basics look impossibly modern and chic. The kind of style that does not want you to sit with it at lunch.

While I can admire that type of style - from afar - it's more like being at a museum with giant signs saying, "DO NOT TOUCH THE EXHIBITS" as it is so dramatically different than my own style or even the average style of the region I live in.

When I thrifted this pleated skirt a couple of weeks ago wasn't sure how to style it in the interim of me deciding it's fall and September catching up to my decision, I took to the internet for inspirantion and Pinterest was very clear in it's commandment. Wear it with a grey tee. Which makes a lot of sense because pleated skirts are quite trendy right now and there's nothing that street style does better than trendy. I was definitely attracted to the juxtaposition of the laid-back style mixed with the hyper feminine skirt and I knew I was going to give it a shot in spite of it's street style origins.

When I put the outfit together I felt instantly cool. I could have fit right into a google search for "fashion blogger." But as this is a style blog, why stop there? I wanted to prove that this easy, casual style could reflect my personal eclectic, retro style while still maintaining the easy, chic vibe that's so popular right now.

The best way for me to achieve this was to mix in some signature markers of my own style. A bold lipstick because I'm very comfortable with dark, edgy lips and they jive well with the look as is. A headscarf for that retro, thrifted touch. I'm absolutely sure there is no outfit that doesn't benefit from a headscarf. They're niche enough to set you apart, but almost everyone seems to enjoy the funky, stylish quality it has. I get many compliments while sporting a headscarf no matter what the rest of the outfit is. And finally, a vintage novelty brooch for oddity. But, I opted for my pirate ship brooch to add whimsy without the cuteness and I rather enjoyed the masculine edge it had.

Overall, I was very happy with the outcome and even wore it twice in one week. I officially deem the grey tee an acceptable basic for any style. Let the rejoicing commence!

Skirt: Thrifted (similar and similar vintage finds, similar is straight sizes, similar in plus ) | Shirt: Target (similar in plus) | Brooch: Vintage (similar) | Shoes: Target (similar) | Lips: Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in Unicorn Blood (similar)

Succulent Print Skirt | Outfit

You want to know what one of my biggest insecurities is? One of the biggest things that holds me back from taking advantage of opportunities and making connections with people? The thing that makes everything in my head go "pop, fizz" when having a totally average conversation with someone? It's the fear that I have nothing of value to add. It's the fear that who I am as a person is so sub par that I do not benefit the people around me. Even when I do something right and I am applauded for it, I am filled with a terror that I will have to find exactly the right combination of steps to repeat whatever good thing I did over and over again because now I've created an expectation!

I avoid situations that might lead to me being required to contribute and when I can't avoid them, I work so hard and put so much effort into contributing something decent that two things happen. I completely burn myself out and I go so over the top that I often get accused of being an overachiever. After I graduated college, I actually had a teacher tell me that they were dramatically reducing the expectations of our final portfolio presentations because of students like me who took it to extremes. I felt so utterly deflated. I had worked so hard to show my value and I had somehow broke the whole system? What?

I've grown to understand that it's an unreasonable fear because it's impossible to be valuable to every person and situation I encounter. Sometimes I will fail and sometimes I will succeed. I know this. But, it's a matter of feeling this, as well.

Last fall I made the decision to be more open to people and opportunities that come my way and I think I've done a good job. I started this blog back up, I said yes to so many things that I would have hid from before. But, it's also made me keenly aware of why I hid from so much. Not being good enough sucks! I feel rejection to my core and I take on every situation like I'm taking on a charging bull. With the hard expectation of critical failure.

So, at the precipice of another autumn, I'm pledging something else to myself. I will see my own value. I will value my time. I will value my talent. I will value my intelligence. I will value the entirety of my parts and what that allows me to offer to other people and at the same time I will accept that it is ok if someone else doesn't value me the way I do. 

You can fail a test. You can fail at a game. But, you cannot fail at being a person.

That means I am not going to point out all the ways that these photos make me feel like a failure. I'm going to try to see all the things in these photos that are the exact opposite of failure. Yes, it was raining and I was rushed. Yes, I was struggling with a remote and getting the camera to focus on me. But, why would I let those things eat me up when I went out and did any of this in the first place? I was brave enough to dance around in front of a camera while people watched. I was skilled enough to make my own skirt. I took the time and effort to style this outfit and package up my creativity into this blog post and I am happy to put all those good, valuable things out into the world.

And I want you to know all the same things about yourself! You are wonderful and valuable and there is good in everything you feel like you failed at just because you did it and you did it like no one else could.

Skirt: Handmade (similar fabric, tutorial on making a gathered skirt) | Shirt: City Chic (similar in straight sizes) | Shoes: Modcloth (similar) | Necklace: Charming Charlie (similar) | Scarf: Kohls (similar) Lips: Colourpop's Liquid Lipstick in Scrooge (similar)

Fifties Kitchen Dress | Outfit

I made a dress! But, more importantly I made a great dress! The last handmade dress I shared was the test run for this beauty and I'm so happy I worked all the kinks out and learned the best way to handle some steps because this dress has been filling my head since February.  I came across the Bernie Dexter dress in the same print and was lost to it. I have a giant, mooshy soft spot for kitchen motifs and this print shot an arrow of love straight into the vulnerable underbelly of my soft spot. I told myself that $170 dollars was completely reasonable for a dress. I could totally buy it!

Then reality, responsibility, and reason set in. I said farewell to the dress and moved on. That is until I realized it was Michael Miller fabric. Widely available and easy to find Michael Miller fabric. I snagged a few yards. Found a book that could help me grow from occasional skirt maker to dressmaker and dove in! Except, not really because I made darn sure I could do this right before I cut into the good stuff.

I am so glad that I didn't let my impatience take over because I was able to hone my skills and modify the bodice pattern to suit my needs exactly. I learned how to change the fit of the pattern because the bodice of the first dress was too wide and short for my torso. I got brave and drafted a longer version with deeper darts and was impressed with the improvement. Then I had the idea to create a more flattering neckline by tracing the lemon print dress as that neckline makes me feel like strutting and the existing one made me feel like a frump. While this dress cost a fraction of the Bernie Dexter dress, it is customized perfectly to my body and is even better than the store-bought version because of that.

I would highly recommend the Love at First Stitch book to anyone interested in beginning to learn to sew or to improve their skills. Because I was already knowledgeable about sewing, I skipped right to the last pattern, but the book starts with very basic sewing and builds up. Even after making the Lilou Dress, I know I will benefit from the other patterns, especially the button up shirt pattern! I must confess I am terrified of sleeves! And buttonholes. Don't judge.

Dress: Handmade (similar, fabric, pattern) | Brooch: Erstwilder | Belt: Torrid (similar in straight sizes, similar in plus) | Shoes: Modcloth | Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Spicy

Golden Girls Dress | Outfit

This dress is my little pride and joy. I've only had it for a few weeks and it's already been worn more than any of my other dresses this summer. Someone said that it reminded her of the Golden Girls and suddenly my love for this floral off-the-shoulder dress tripled, filled with with stars, and became a pal and a confidante.

That is how this dress became my Blanche dress. Did you just hear a choir of angels? I did. Nothing makes me happier than a thing that I love that references another thing that I love.

My little princess, and I say princess with all the intended grandeur and pomp that a princess demands, wanted very much to be involved in this photo shoot. Which, of course, I obliged because I am her most loyal and worshipping subject. Plus, I only get to photograph her when she deems it an acceptable time. I admit I melt into a puddle when she twirls and strikes dramatic poses for the camera. I even have several photos of her performing "Let It Go" because, obviously, that's the princess's favorite song.

I would never be the kind of mom who forced my daughter to wear dresses and do girly things if she didn't want to, but that is not going to be a problem with this one.

Dress: Thrifted (similar in straight size, similar in plus) | Belt: Target (similar in straight sizes, similar in plus) | Shoes: Modcloth (similar) | Lips: MAC Lipstick in Sounds Like Noise (similar)

Floral Overall Dress and My Retro Lifestyle | Outfit

Spending so much of my time cultivating an online life that is filled with similar minded people often allows me to forget how "other" my style actually is. That is until I'm standing in a crowd of parents at my sons' school and no one looks like me, I'm again asked if I'm going to a wedding while running errands, or when typing in "fall outfits" only brings up some combination of boyfriend jeans, button up shirts, and blanket scarves in every image and I have to start adding a long string of adverbs to find the right style inspiration that appeals to me. In those moments it is oddly off-putting to me how naturally subversive to the norm I am.

Maybe it's because I spend so much time "oooohing and aaaahing" over blogs and instagram accounts with the same aesthetics that I see my inclination to eclectic, retro styles and my habitual over dressing as common place. In my mind the world is full of people like me, and it is, just not in my immediate physical world.

But, even when I know my appearance is more instagram worthy than grocery store worthy, I still do it. I still step out in a pin-able outfit inspo with #ootd swirling around me because I like living up to the person in my head more than I dislike the stares and odd comments. I voluntarily set myself apart from the world to become a part of the smaller, prettier world of vintage lovers and retrophiles.

And in more ways than just clothing. It's in the home I chose, the furniture that fills it, the music I listen to, and the movies that collect in my netflix queue. It's in the fact that I spend more time in antique and thrift stores than in malls and that I know more about the evolution of corsets than the Kardashians. It's not exactly a subculture but it's pretty dang close and it's definitely a lifestyle choice. Within this world there are smaller subsets that are more defined; pinups and lolitas or rockabilly and burlesque. There are vintage purists who only dress in actual vintage, there are those who create an almost theatrical characterization of past style movements, and there are people like me who dabble in several eras to create an eclectic, modern interpretation of vintage. Skye from My Kingdom for a Hat does a great job of detailing these exact categories in this post here. It's a varied world that encompasses everything from edgy and alternative to elegant and demure, but it's always a celebration of artistry, the human form in all shapes and sizes, and a proclivity for the history and styles of the 20th century.

This outfit is the perfect reflection of my corner of the retrophile world. Part reproduction and part contemporary, I combine bits of old and new to create a wearable look that would never be in a magazine or be labeled #streetstyle. I've taken a trendy, casual piece like an overall dress, found the most unique one that existed in the entire world, and actually managed to make it fancy.

Would this fit in anywhere other than the facebook groups (heyoooooh, mermicorns) I hang out in, retro style hashtags, or stylized pinterest boards? Noooope. But, blending in has never been something I know how to do so I'll just stick with my strengths for now.

Dress: City Chic (similar, similar, and similar in straight sizes, similar and similar in plus) | Cardigan: Modcloth | Belt: Amazon (similar in straight size) | Shoes: Macy's (similar) | Lips: MAC lipstick in Sounds Like Noise (similar)