Technicolor Tessellations: Stars and Stripes

It's finally summertime, and the living is indeed easy. As the neighborhood transforms into a midday symphony, complete with buzzing lawnmowers and jingling ice cream trucks, the urge to go outside is excruciating. Despite the oppressive humidity, flash thunderstorms, and bloodthirsty mosquitoes that can ruin the mood at any moment, it's the perfect time to grab a book and cold glass of ice tea for a nice afternoon relaxing in a hammock.

Aside from the relaxing summer afternoons, summer has one of the best holidays; Independence Day. It stands as the bittersweet mid-mark of the season, and everything post Fourth of July seams to whiz by faster than my mind can process. Back to school commercials infiltrate the once carefree summer advertisements and pre-semester planning is a must if you want everything to be perfect for the beginning of the year. On a more positive note, it's a day of fun and food with my extended family, a time I've learned to cherish.

Barbecue Chic

Every year for Independence day, my family gets together and spends the day at my aunts house. Of course, as most southern families have been raised to expect, a summertime family gathering means there will be a cookout of some sort. I wait all day for the grilled corn, potato salad, burgers, and greens that are the staples of our celebratory feast. Because cookouts are usually outside, I chose a cropped tee and high waist shorts to keep you cool and trendy, yet only showing the acceptable amounts of skin for a family get together. Although the shirt is cropped, the shorts will cover enough so that only a few inches of upper belly will be showing. To accompany the Americana theme, I added a flag pin and eagle earrings, which pair nicely with the flag print shorts. You may be thinking, "Who would wear a white shirt to a barbecue?", a completely logical question if you haven't experienced noontime under the humid, hundred degree sun. Believe me, wearing any color other than white is asking for excessive heat retention.

Lake-side family dinner

My aunt lives on a lake, so after a day of fun, we always have dinner overlooking the water. The outfit feels breezy yet isn't too casual for a nice family dinner. I added the red, white, and blue under the main outfit in order to keep a simplistic look in the forefront. Show off the flag bikini when you jump in the lake for a post dinner cool-down.

Fireworks at the Beach

I'm basically walking you through my family's Independence day traditions, because after we have dinner we go down to the main beach and watch the fireworks. It's always amazing how beautiful the show looks reflecting on the dark waters of the lake. In order to stand out from the dark background of nighttime, the white dress keeps you looking bright and feeling cool in the warm breeze. The denim vest adds edge to the outfit and shoes keep with the America theme.

Party in the USA

You can't have a blog post without a party outfit. I went all out with this. There will be no doubt about your patriotism with these bold flag print leggings and muscle tee. Keeping your hair carefree gives the outfit a cleaned up Ke$ha feel, and the jacket and creepers add edge and comfort, which is a must for a night of dancing.

Subtle for the City

I pictured the final outfit for a casual lunch in the city. Because most restaurants have patios open around this time of year and the laid back trendy nature of the city, I wanted something simple, yet still patriotic but not overtly so. The white unitard looks effortless and crisp, and can be swapped out for a tank, crop top, or even a white one piece swimsuit. The jeans add a more streamlined touch to the outfit than what would be achieved by a skirt or shorts, and red strappy sandals not only complete the red, white, and blue color scheme, but also incorporate one of the "it items" of this summer, a must if you're putting yourself on display outdoors in a fashionable area.

If you are interested in more details for each outfit, click on the picture and it links you to my Polyvore, which shows brand, price, etc., of each of the pieces mentioned. 

Happy Fourth of July!

Technicolor Tessellations: Purple, Orange, and Stripes

With flowers filling the once bare branches and pollen circling the air like a pack of hungry wolves (what?), you know it's time to put away the heavy sweaters and boots and break out your sundresses and flip flops. Or if you're me, keep the boots and heavy sweaters like a crazy person and skip wearing tights. Because wearing a thick wool sweater in the oppressive humidity of the South is the smartest way to prevent overheating in the summer. Casual.

That was supposed to be a joke, but it wasn't funny. Awkward fail.

But anyway, yea I know what you're thinking, "Who would ever pair orange and purple together"? I thought the same thing, but these two split complementary colors are oddly appealing. Great for the transitional Spring-Summer and Summer-Fall months, purple and orange has the ability to transcend the lines between girly and edgy. The stripes help keep the focus away from the odd mix of colors and blend the hues in an eye-catching yet playful manner. So here are a few outfits I put together inspired by the odd mix of color and prints.

Summertime Drive

Please ignore the titles of the outfits. It's the end of the semester and my creativity is basically nonexistent. Anyway, I thought this outfit would be cute on a trip down to the beach. The only thing this breezy top and Lennon-esque sun glasses  are missing is the sweet smell of sunscreen.



Chilly Spring Night

Although it's pretty warm outside, the nights are can be a bit chilly. During the daytime, you can switch out the sweatshirt with a loose fitting tank top and throw on the sweater after the sun goes down.

Breezy Weekend

This has to be my favorite outfit of the collection. The high waist of the lilac pants allows modesty despite the midriff baring top, and the bright shoes and matching bag bring life into the outfit.

Cute and Clean

Not gonna lie, this outfit is on the preppy side for me, but cute nonetheless. I love how the stripes in the unitard continue down into the tights, which brings the top and bottom halves of the outfit together.



Night Beneath the Stars

It's kind of cliche to have a striped dress and heels, but it didn't feel right making a collection including stripes without it. In order to keep the insane amount of pattern from clashing too much with the purple and orange, I decided to keep the colors at opposing ends. The orange lipstick adds just enough contrast to the deep purple shoes, both of which are just enough to balance with the dress.




Feel free to comment with any questions or suggestions!!!

Technicolor Tessellations: Oxblood and Leopard

     Fun fact of the day: this is neither technicolor nor a tessellation. yet I needed an interesting way to say "fashion inspired by colors and prints I currently like". The title just so happened to be the first thing to come into my head. Now onto the post.

     This winter I realized a few things about my developing sense of style. One, I hate the feeling of jeans, especially when it's raining or humid. Two, if I could, I would wear leggings everyday (and yes they are pants if they're opaque, cover as much as my jeans, and as thick as my other cotton pants).  And three, I have an unhealthy obsession with animal print, especially leopard. Luckily  Burberry has brought back the leopard trend for their Fall/Winter 2013 collection. Honestly, I wouldn't care, but it's nice to think I'm on top of things in the fashion world, even if I'm not.

       Mixing my love of the print with the burgundy/oxblood trend, I've found a few practical ways to wear leopard in your daily life. I've tried to cover the four basic style situations, classy, party, nice casual, and comfortable. Keep in mind my ideas of what's appropriate and what isn't may be a bit off (I blame the thirteen years of compulsory plaid skirts and button-downs).

Classy Presentation Attire

If I needed an outfit to show I an an educated, 20 year old, college student with a goal, I'd wear something like this. It's trendy with the peplum top and skinny cut cotton pants, yet reserved in the color, coat, and shoe choice. I'd suggest a bag this large if you're giving a presentation so that it fits your laptop/tablet and handouts for your audience. Deep red lips and slightly winged eyeliner show your youth, but with a post-war era twist. The leopard is kept to a minimum, and can be easily removed if you find it too distracting. Also, the hidden leopard in the bag is a cute touch.

Weekend Warrior

Call me crazy, but I'd consider wearing this to class. Throw long cardigan over it and all is good. Anyway, I made the leopard shorts the main focus in this outfit, which may be the deciding factor in the appropriateness of this outfit for class. Nonetheless, paring the shorts with black tights and wrap-around coat will keep your legs warm in these cold winter months, yet allow proper airflow if you're in a crowded party. The top is simple yet interesting, and paired with the burgundy wedge creepers and knit hat, it relieved some of the attention away from the pants. I attempt to make outfits flow like a well composed piece of visual art - always keep the viewer's eye moving, and with this combination, that goal is achieved.

Casual Winter Rainy Day

It rains. A lot. Actually, it's raining right now. It was also raining when I made these outfits. It rains so much that I keep an umbrella in my bag just in case it surprise rains in the middle of the day. So I thought this post wouldn't be complete without at least one outfit dedicated to rainy days. As stated above, I hate wearing jeans when it's raining. The feeling of wet denim is such a turnoff that every time it rains I wear leggings or a skirt. The tights and skirt combination will keep the disgusting wet feeling away, while the boots will keep you warm and dry. I suggest a faux leather jacket because the polymer base keeps water away quite well. And the umbrella was too cute not to include.

Warm and Comfortable

You may be thinking, "How can this be comfortable when there are four inch heeled booties in the outfit?". Well, I liked the shoes too much to change it to leopard print ballet flats, so I kept the heels. My go-to outfits lately have been knit leggings and an over-sized sweater. Honestly, I think that combination is a bit boring and played out, so I added a faux fur gilet and scalloped gold collar to add interest to the outfit. I envision this outfit being something you can throw together quickly, yet still look like you actually thought about it. But not too much.

Hopefully this has given you some ideas or inspired you to add leopard into your wardrobe. I'll try for another post before spring break.