Obession du jour: Prabal Gurung for Target

Like everyone else in the universe, I love me a Target designer collaboration. Did I know who this Prabal Gurung was before the collection? No. Did I still have to double check his name when typing the last sentence? Yes. None of this diminishes that I really like the prints and colors in his capsule collection for Target.

Forever 21 Belt

In order to get this long t-shirt, I cut off the  ruffle hem of the drop waist dress. That styling does not do me any favors, as I discovered in 10th grade English during our Great Gatsby unit wrap up party. Drop waists are for women with boyish shapes, or at least more boyish shapes than mine.

Drop Waist Dress

Once I cut the hem off, I found that it was the perfect length to loop around my neck and wear as a scarf!

Forever 21 Cardigan

And finally I picked up a couple pairs of shoes from the collection. Keep an eye out on the blog in the future, I have big plans for them.

Wedge Sandal (also in black & white) / Flat Sandal (also in yellow)

Obsession du Jour: Hot Pink Accessories

Forever 21 Dress  / American Apparel T / ASOS Leggings / ModCloth Scarf / ASOS Belt / Urban Outfitters Bag

American Eagle Moto Boots

JCPenney Pearl Stud Earrings

I wore this outfit to go observe my old French teacher in preparation for my new French sub position. My outfit even matched the visitor's pass! 

Obsession du Jour: Terrier Print Blouse

F21+ Collared Pleated Terrier Top / F21+ Studded Belt

Coach Bag

Special Family Brunch

My Dad and I are baptized Serbian Orthodox. We are not a religious family, but we like to do something special for Orthodox Christmas (meal, gifts) to celebrate our cultural heritage. Today (even though Orthodox Christmas falls on a  Monday, January 7th this year) we went out to our local Czech restaurant for brunch. I argued that the Greek restaurant would be more appropriate since Greeks are also Orthodox, while Czechs are Catholic, but I was overruled on the basis that Czech food is more similar to Serbian food. I digress. I used this occasion to wear my grandmother's gold cross. I also am debuting my new faux leopard coat. Despite the objections of my best friend, I decided to keep it. It is really soft and quite warm. I was inspired by all the fun ways Jessica at What I Wore has styled hers. I look forward to the challenge of creating more outfits around such a statement piece!

Target Dress w/ belt / ASOS Faux Fur Coat / Torrid Leggings / Nordstrom Boots / Kate Spade Purse  

Grandmother's Orthodox Cross / Gold Hoops from France

What to Wear: Chaperone

Recently I was on chaperone duty at my middle school's semi-formal winter dance. I had a great time admiring the girls' dresses (lots of sequins, chiffon, brocade, and hi-low hems). The boys cleaned up nice, too! As for my outfit, I still wanted to be dressed up and festive but also work appropriate. I went with a lace and chiffon overlay dress by ASOS (Spring '12?), a gold skinny belt, and wide-calf leather boots by Naturalizer.  I added a faux-leather flower hair clip from Forever 21, they have some really cute hair accessories this holiday season. I got several compliments from the girls, so I consider it a successful outfit. And as for the chaperoning, everyone was well excellently behaved except for the balloon popping. But what do you expect when you put balloons on a gym floor with 13 year old boys?

It's Easy Being Green...

I know I've been raving a lot recently about Eloquii, the Limited's new plus line. This classic sheath styling with the pleating at the shoulders feels very vintage yet wearable. Here I've styled it with a belt that came with a different Forever 21 dress and a brooch to really drive home the green palate.

Retro Style

This week my students are doing presentations on the decades of the 20th Century. They are getting extra credit for dressing up in the clothing of their era, so I am going to as well.

1940s-Inspired:

Dress w/belt: ASOS Curve, Wedges: Old Navy

I added these Wayfarer style sunglasses to complete the Old Hollywood look:

Old Navy

What I Wore: Christmas Eve

F21+ dress, F21+ leggings , ASOS Curve Belt, Old Navy ballet flats

Obsession du jour: Skinny Metallic Belts

Mirror Skinny Belt in Rosewood, Metallic Super Skinny in Gold, Mirror Skinny in Turquoise,
Shimmer Skinny Belt in Fuchsia, Royal and Bronze

Recently, I've been getting into skinny metallic belts in lots of different fun colors. I wear mostly dresses and these belts define the waist and serve as a perfect colorful accent. They're also super cheap! The ASOS ones on top are on sale for like $5-7 and the Forever 21 ones below are $3.80.  All the belts above are of course plus-size, but ASOS has all the same styles in the standard line, and they're on sale too!

Polka Dot Dress

A couple new polka dot dresses I've gotten from Forever 21+, I'm so excited to wear them in the classroom starting next week.

F21+ Dress, Via Spiga Belt

Bold Pearlescent Necklace

A Gap Brand Work Outfit

 I've stopped working at the Gap call center, but I will start student-teaching this fall.  Here's a work-appropriate outfit I put together, that just happens to be (like most of my outfits) completely from the Gap family of brands.

Gap Skirt, Old Navy Belt & T-Shirt

Piperlime: Hive & Honey Necklace

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Portland, OR: Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

Before we get to the fun parts of Cinco de Mayo, we have to first talk a little bit about the holiday. Let's start off by talking about what Cinco de Mayo is not. It is not the Mexican Fourth of July (Independence Day).  Mexico's Independence Day is September 16, and celebrates the beginning of their War for Independence from Spain in 1810. So if the Fifth of May doesn't celebrate Mexican Independence, what does it commemorate? The Mexican Army's 1862 victory over French Imperial Troops at the Battle of Pueblo, of course.  I recommend heading on over to the Wiki article for a bit more background. TIME magazine comments on the significance of this battle, "Mexico was still occupied by the French a year later, but the Puebla victory came to symbolize unity and pride for what seemed like a Mexican David defeating a French Goliath" (from the article, "Top 10 Drunken Holidays").

The Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in the Mexican State of Pueblo, but otherwise it is an American Holiday. It is a day on which those of Mexican Decent and Gringos alike can celebrate the contributions of Mexican Culture to the United States; whether that be through music, food, dance,  or yes, downing a few cervezas y margaritas. 

After the jump, lots more about  Cinco de Mayo.

A few Mexican-inspired looks

Old Navy Maxi Skirt, Target Scarf,  Gap V-neck T

"You're the only person in the world who goes shopping for Cinco de Mayo. Mexican people already have appropriate clothes."

My best friend may be right, but after working on my gringa musings on Cinco de Mayo for tomorrow, I felt like putting together outfit incorporating some bright Mexican inspired colors and prints. I found this lightweight bufanda with an Aztec inspired print at Target and paired it with my favorite white maxi skirt.

 ON Gauze Top, Alloy Skirt (availble in XS-XXXL)

This second outfit is a bit more evening. This Gauze  top comes in a rainbow of colors, I chose the boldest, 'Warm Sunset'.  If you like this blouse, you may also want to check out the Trends We Love section of the site which lots of cute "Mexicali" pieces. Since Cinco de Mayo is an American holiday what's more appropriate than buying something Mexican-inspired manufactured in India at an Old Navy in Vacaville, California? Nada. Nothing is more appropriate.

I also think the outfit looks cute with my summer bag for this season (from The Sak)

The above skirt can also be worn as a dress. I defined the waist with a skinny gold belt (Old Navy) and added my Mom's necklace (Chico's).

Style Icon: George Michael Bluth

George Michael's style is classically preppy and a little bit dorky. His signature piece is a '90s style printed (often Hawaiian) button down shirt.  It's really all about the shirts.

Tons of crazy patterned shirts and an cute outfit inspired by George Michael after the jump!

Another floral dress!

 Secondhand dress & bag

 Old Navy gold braided belt

Necklaces: ModCloth (whale), Urban Outfitters ('amour' pendant/arrow)

Hipster Plaid

Old Navy plaid shirt dress, braided leather belt stolen from my Dad

Grandmother's vintage Gucci handbag.