JCrew Sale- Scallops & Pink

Wow! I did not process how long it has been since I did an outfit post! August 2015?! This is probably because of how critical I am of photographs and composition (AKA I usually end up hating most photos and never using them) Today, however, I couldn't resist when these beauties showed up on my door step. I'll admit these lace up flats are not a usual choice for me-they are far brighter and busier than my typical style. With the sales JCrew has had going on this week-I impulsively decided to just go for it. Let me tell you, I should break out of my bubble more often because these are probably the most comfortable and fun things I have ever put on my feet (and no wonder, all JCrew leather goods are sourced from Italy.) I am drawn to quality pieces that speak for themselves-and today for the first time in a long time-my shoes did the talking. 

Shop the post: Dress (JCrew old but  Similar Here) Earrings (Kate Spade, old, Similar Here) Necklace (Stella &Dot Available Here) 

I know I for one tend to get far to invested in maintaining a certain unified appearance and style and I forget that going outside this box can lead to some fulfilling and interesting experiences. Today, I encourage you to find your wildcard piece-that one thing that you can't get out of your mind but you also can't quite justify. Give yourself permission to make fashion fun again. 

Tales from the Closet: Pt.1

Love the dress and want to see it up close? Check out this post

In every closet are those special pieces that helped shaped the style surrounding them. 

I've wanted to do a series of posts like this for a while and then I processed that today is Thursday and I knew that today was the day-cause let me tell you, I'm throwing it way back with this story. This dress was my very first item of Lilly Pulitzer clothing-the beginning of a true love story if ever there was one. It was a Christmas gift in 2010 when I was in 8th grade, and it wasn't even supposed to be for me. 

This pretty shift was originally purchased off Ebay (yes you read that right) for my older sister. My Mum had selected a green Lilly dress with pink dragon flies and tank top style spaghetti straps for me. As it turned out the dragon fly number was way too big for me and the colorful shift was too small for my sister, so an exchange was made. 

Six years later and it's still one of my absolute favorite pieces in my closet. I wore to my high school graduation party, I wore to Mexico my freshman year of college, most recently I even wore it to my first rowing banquet with my team this summer only to discover that it now needed the hem to come down. It may have cost less than $80 on Ebay but over the years it has accumulated priceless value to me. 

Speaking of Ebay, I am met with a lot of concerned expressions when I mention that I get a fair amount of my high quality clothing used from the site (perks of being a person who is a size that most people don't wear.) I will say that I have had my share of mishaps but over the years I have developed some failsafe methods for shopping the online consignment market.   

            

1. Does the seller have 100% positive feedback?Honestly, there is really no reason a seller should not have all positive reviews on Ebay. If they don't you might want to look into a a different seller because chances are something went wrong with a past sale and you don't want that next negative review to be you. 

2. Pay attention to what else they are selling I won't say that there isn't the chance this seller just happened to find a gem in the back of their closet that they aren't wearing anymore and decided to sell-but for the most part, sellers sell what they know and if they sell, say, all movies and one Lilly Pulitzer dress you should probably pass.  

3. Look at the tag. Is it vintage? If so, size up!A lot of the Lilly's I find on Ebay are quite a bit older. For the most part, that's why I love them because there is nothing like those dresses in the current line today, and yet many are truly timeless. If you are going to go for a vintage piece (i.e without the current pink Lilly tags) you should size up possibly even two sizes depending on it's exact production year. The dress in this post is a vintage, probably from the 80s, and is a size 2. I have an awesome pink picnic style gingham vinatge Lilly that is even older and is a size 4. Focus on what fits well, not the number!

Hair Raising Year

I'm going to start off by saying that this is not your average hair care post-in fact I pretty much break all the "rules" and still managed to grow my hair more than 6 inches in a year. Basically I learned that there are some hair care principles that can be ignored, and some that need to be embraced and even enjoyed. 

Now I've mentioned a couple of times on the blog that last year did not exactly end up being the amazing fun college experience that I had anticipated and I ended up deciding to transfer schools. If you've ever doubted that stress wreaks havoc on the body, I came home from school for Christmas break and had a hair appointment. It turned out my hair was so dead and damaged that it had to be cut above my shoulders. I don't know if it was the new water, new environment or new food choices-but whatever the cause, my body and my hair did not adapt well. Let's just say that short hair is not my look. As a petite girl I already am mistaken for someone half my age and short hair only exaggerates this issue even when it is professionally styled. 

After the disastrous haircut I was determined to give my locks a little more TLC. In the process I think I watched every Youtube video about growing hair and tried every vitamin and home remedy out there. In the end, not surprisingly, the best, most effective advice I got came directly from the source: my hairdresser.

                

1. Pay attention to what you put in your hair

Before my freshman year of college I was using any old shampoo and conditioner from CVS or Target in my hair without much of a thought. After seeing how dry and damaged my ends were I decided to ask the salon what they recommended I use. Surprisingly I didn't have to break the bank to keep my strands from breaking I just had to read more and pay attention to potentially damaging ingredients. Not so surprisingly my hair became much more silky and thick. I love Matrix Oil Wonders. It smells like heaven and leaves your hair feeling even better. I am currently using Paul Mitchell Anti-Thinning Scalp Care-it's definitley on the pricier end but I love the way it smells and how I can feel it deep cleaning and strengthening. 

2. Pay attention to what you put in your body 

We've all been guilty of indulging ourselves when we are feeling upset or lonely or stressed out. In the midst of a year of craziness I was not only not paying attention to what I put in my hair, I wasn't pay much attention to what I put in my body. I would treat myself to a latte and then over compensate for it later at the gym. Then I would feel like I'd earned a treat with dinner and the toxic cycle would start all over again. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't treat yourself-I still love my daily delicious coffee-now I'm just careful to make sure I am getting enough of the valuable nutritious stuff too. The funny thing about focusing on adding in the good-you often end up satisfied and full without so much of the bad.

3. Heat and hair can mix-if you're careful 

I have naturally super curly hair and of course, and also naturally I want what I don't have which is silky smooth straight hair. My fellow curly girls are familiar with the struggle. Going into this hair growth mission the one thing that was everywhere on the internet was, of course, don't use heat. I knew right away that I wouldn't be able to give up my blow dryer and straightener. I know that it sounds silly but perfecting my hair from frizzy messes to tamed tresses is my armor. I just feel more confident. So I spoke to my hairdresser about how I could be smarter about straightening. The key is upping the hydration and making sure you have a good heat protectant like Dry Bar's Hot Toddy. But the most important thing to swear to if you can't give up the styling is ALWAYS make sure your hair is 100% dry before you use any sort of heat.

4. Pamper yourself & Your Hair Once a Week

And then there are the rules that you should follow. I am always certain to do a deep conditioning restorative hair mask once a week. I love aroma therapy so it's a much a treat for me as it is for my hair. Moroccanoil restorative mask is by far my favorite. It smells like vanilla warmth and leaves with a head of new hair. Don't let the price tags intimidate you: a little goes a long way with this powerful product. I step out of the shower, towel dry my hair, apply the conditioning treatment, throw a shower cap over it and step back in to finish bathing. Tip: the warm steam helps set the product. 

                                         

And because I can't not mention it: how adorable is all of this patriotism coming from Vineyard vines? I got this American flag shirt at a regatta towards the end of this season, and I'm thrilled to see the trend going strong. I feel lucky to have grown up here in the U.S and after the crazy week we've had in this country I am proud to rep our flag.

Ticket to Ride

I recently did another adulting thing that I simply have to share-I got my own car! I have to say, that I never thought that I would be a car person...but I am completely enamored with my ride. I have found myself dedicating the nice days to washing off pollen and conditioning the leather seats. She may be a 2004 BMW X3 but she's new to me. 

I have a funny little anecdote about where my life is right now and getting my first car. I am a college student, which obviously means that I am broke. I am also a transfer student and trying to pick up a second major which means I have little time to work at school. That being said, I capitalize on my time off from school to make as much money as I possibly can. Last year I started working a nanny for a couple of doctors and I simply love it, and the kids. That being said, I put down my deposit on my car and went through the whole process of getting the license plate and registration on a Thursday. Friday I go to the dealership with my mom to pick up the car and when I come home there is a giant package from Amazon on my front steps. What should the package contain? Two car seats for me from the parents I work for. I went from new car owner to soccer mum status all in one blow. 

                                                     

Another quick quirk I have to address: I am one of those people who names everything-so of course I named my car (her name is Luna.) I know a decent amount of other people who have pet names for their cars, and I have to say I always enjoy the choices and better yet the stories behind their origin. 

I chose Luna because of the iridescent silver color and after my favorite Harry Potter (and possibly just all around favorite) character Luna Lovegood. Some names have more, shall we say, colorful backgrounds. My Dad's first car was a bright orange pinto that was quickly traded for my great aunt's, if possible, even uglier brown Oldsmobile which quickly earned the name "Sh** on Wheels" from my mother who had just started dating him at the time. Did any of you name your cars? And if so what and why? 

Graduation Season

This past weekend marked a crazy milestone for our family. My older sister finished her degree Summa Cum Laude from Stonehill College (she's a double major in Arts Administration and Communications if anyone needs a kick ass curator or grant writer.) I can still remember so vividly how hard I cried when she moved away from home four years ago. We've done everything together, including sharing a room, since I was two years old so for me, not having my best friend around me twenty-four hours a day was the strangest transition I could possibly imagine. It's insane to think that we've already come to the end of that journey when it feels like just yesterday that I thought it would never end.  

Before I get too emotional, I'm going to divert the topic to the less heavy side of the day-the clothes. I adore graduation season purely for the many excuses it provides me for wearing pretty sundresses. I always knew that I would wear Lilly Pulitzer, I am, after all, nothing if not a creature of habit, some variation of a sunny shift dress. Sometimes, however, it pays to widen the box a little (I say a little because we both still stayed true to Ms. Pulitzer. Instead of our usual bright summer shades, both my sister and I ended up with lovely navy and gold picks instead.  

Find my dress Here

We got dressed for the ceremony fully expecting to stand out in a sea of bright pinks and oranges and perhaps some pastels-but again we were surprised. As it turns out blue must be having a moment this season because nearly everyone in attendance had opted for cool tones! This sort of incidental coordination certainly makes for some unexpectedly lovely, uniform photos. While around 90% of my wardrobe is navy blue (yes this is how much of my New England based closet is centered around the cold), it was certainly a fun change to see it making an appearance in the warmer weather. How do you feel about cool tones in the summer? Should summer stay sunny?