It's Good to Be Back, Chicago

A domestic ungulate, known as "Cow"

Going from a city to a small country town is not easy. You realize, for the upteenth time, why you did not want to live there in the first place. You put up with "townies." You see the shirt that says "There are three kinds of racks that I like: the one on my truck, the one on that deer, and the one on my girlfriend" way too much. The mullet is still in style. Wearing short dresses and high heels is kind of unheard of (thus making half of my wardrobe unwearable). I wore flip flops to go out. Gasp. Oh, and look! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bought these at DSW, 50% off!
Lulu Townsend, Effie

This is why, my friends, it's good to be back in Chicago. Not only can I go out in adorable clothing, and just be part of the scene, I can head downtown on the train and be within a million billion little boutiques and department stores in about a half hour. Can't beat that (my wallet groans).

But I've been good. I love that I can sit in Jamba Juice sipping (technically slurping) an overpriced but highly delicious Peach Perfection and watch Chicago stroll by. Impromptu break dance contest? Sure, why not. Three girls all wearing mostly the same tank top with grey and neon yellow stripes? There are other colors of neon out there ladies. Love it, but branch out.

The Ubiquitous Neon Striped Tank Top
(thanks Polyvore)

I adore looking at other people in cute clothing (don't make fun of me) and possibly incorporating their style. I love the club life, and the fact that bars are open till 5 and then can open again at 6am. What what. Ok, I never actually stay out that late, but it's nice to have the option.
Basically, Chicago is pretty fantastic. If you ever get the chance, you should probably check it out.

The Guide to Geek Glasses

I fully admit that I am probably maybe a little bit sort of definitely a hipster, despite the fact that I don't know a whole lot of bands and I could take or leave PBR and I don't use Instagram for the very simple reason that I don't have a smartphone. I'll give you all a moment to recover and go light a hemp candle or whatever it is you need to do to return to normalcy. I'm kind of ish very close to being a hipster mostly because I love scarves and flannel and wearing glasses when I have 20/20 vision.

Rachel and me. And YES. I'm wearing a scarf. And plaid flannel. And an Explosions in the Sky shirt. And fake glasses.

I'm not the only one, right? Spectacles are GREAT. They're excellent accessories (they're in that rare category of being okay as Third Accessory), they make you Look Smart (if you choose the right pair), they can cover for you if you're having a bad mascara day, and, I've found, that they can even help get you in the right frame (badumpsh) of mind to be productive. True story.

1. Much like being funky, the key to wearing geek glasses is to Own It. Be confident! You have miles of hotness for which the glasses are simply a window!

2. Don't be afraid to get super large frames or a funky pattern, just don't do BOTH.

3. Retro is always a good play.

 

I was trying to find a picture of ugly retro glasses that no one could pull off, and I just couldn't find any. Seriously. It is possible to rock all kinds of vintage looks.

Wear glasses, friends. Even if you have 20/20.

Hannah and Rachel Talk: Accessories

Dear friends in fashion, we've gathered you here today to talk about accessories. They're a problem. They're smaller than your clothes, but they're also pretty limited in terms of what they GO with and then there's the whole pressure of keeping up with trends and if you're anything like me you have all this stuff that you feel guilty about since you never wear it and it's not like it's the accessories' fault and geez, just grow a pair and wear the necklace made of walnuts you bought at the flea market that one time. One morning I was getting ready to go to class and I spent probably a whole five minutes debating which earrings to wear, even though I was giving up my opportunity to eat breakfast in the meantime. One of my roommates quietly watched this process for a bit and then rhetorically asked, with something like admiration and amusement and pity and horror, "You do this every day? What is your life?" What indeed. So yeah. Accessories. They can be a pain.

The lovely Rachel, who is all things lovely, is aware of the sort of agonies I suffer over accessorizing, so she asked if I could lend her a hand in that department. Since my summer wardrobe is mostly raggedy jean shorts and a Dartmouth Football t-shirt, I was more than happy to reawaken that part of my brain.

Damn gurl, you lookin' fine. Anyway, the first consideration when it comes to accessories is to ask yourself what you want the focus point of your outfit to be. This is the easy part: what's your favorite thing that you're wearing right now? Exciting: you get to choose. And you can choose your accessories. That is allowed. Now, I don't know how Rachel feels, but my favorite part of this outfit are her shoes. Luuurrrrvvveee the color. Focus point: identified.

I'm a pretty big fan of the whole "less is more" rule, so this outfit really doesn't need that much. I love stripes because as long as there are only two colors and one of them is in the white-brown-black family, they can act as a neutral. Your accessories should either direct the eye toward your focus point or stand out on their own. Rachel's shoes already stand out pretty solidly, so I would recommend a funky belt or bracelet, maybe with a tinge of blue in them. Or a blue-ish pair of earrings maybe. Stay FAR FAR AWAY from the matchy matchy. Trust me. I went down that road in high school and it was NOT PRETTY. Frankly, she's got lots of options here, since basically everything she's wearing can act as a neutral or solid without too much distraction. She could wear a scarf or a righteous hat or a chunky gold necklace. Notice that I said OR. OR, people. Not AND. Pick two max.

Talk about SHOES. I dunno if you can tell from the photo, but those are glittery zebra print heels, dears. They should DEFINITELY be the focus of the outfit, even though the color and the neckline of the dress are pretty and eye-catching. It's all about the sparkle here. The dress is colorful enough without needing any assistance from the accessories to give it a bolster. If Rachel put her hair up, either in a ponytail or a top knot, and then wore some dangly sparkly earrings, she'd be ready to rock and frickin' roll. Maybe a bracelet too, as long as both the bracelet and the earrings are only sparkly (no colors or heavily-colored metals, like gold) and sort of go together. Matchy matchy in that instance is okay. They just can't be zebra print too, basically.

Rachel, godspeed on your journey of accessorizing.

Super Useful Fantastic Shopping Sites

To be 10000% honest, I should be packing out my closet for my move to ChiCity, but I felt that this blog post, if not more important, was definitely less stressful.

(OMGIMFREAKINGOUTITSFINE)

Ok. So, that being over with, I am about to give you The List. This is my daily "hey, let's window shop online and try not to buy anything because there are really good prices" list of websites that I check.

1. Tobi

Awesome website that features 30% off their new arrivals. And let me tell you. YES. They have fantastic dresses and tops, and they regularly get colored skinnies in. Check this out, or just go bury your head in the sand.

2. iDeeli

If you haven't heard of iDeeli, go there now. It features designer clothes and other items (I mean, you know, top of the line Hello Kitty mixers and the like) at major discounts. All you have to do is go to the site and click the "Sign Up With Facebook" button. Don't pass this up.

3. Urbanog

Yeah, don't know how you say it, if it's Urban-og or Urban-oh-gee, but they have way low prices, especially on shoes, my favorite item. Just a word of warning: when buying cheaper shoes, try to stay away from the shoes that have the add-ons--studs, sparkles, and the like. They are more likely to fall off and kind of ruin the look of the shoe. But for basic shoes, go to town!

4. FlirtCatalog

You might go to this site and think I'm crazy. I mean, I am, but not because I shop here. They have great prices on club dresses. Need something to go to a concert in and not worry about it getting ruined? Go here. Don't ever be afraid to check club wear/lingerie sites for awesome dresses and shoes. Sometimes they have the best deals and the best shoes. 

Kk chicas, these are the websites. Use them wisely and with great abandon.

I have to go finish packing. GAHHHHHH.

#YOLO XOXO

Lessons From (Little House on) the Prairie

I'm back in it's up to you, New York, New York after a lovely week visiting my family in South Dakota. Let me tell ya, it is a whole new ball game out there. I've been every year and every year I'm always astonished at the bigness of the sky, the flatness of the ground, the creepy proximity in accents to Western New York, and the absence of covered wagons and cowboys. Little House on the Prairie really stuck with me as a kid. South Dakota isn't exactly a hotbed of trendy fashion, but Little House on the Prairie DEFINITELY should be:

1. Braid it UP. Emma Watson is totally rocking the Heidi braid, which was one of my favorite styles back when I had long hair. Easy peasy.

 

2. Small floral prints can be worn like a neutral, i.e. with practically anything. This mannequin looks tee-rrific.

 

3.  Ankle boots and lace up boots are wonderfully flexible; they can be casual or fancy and say, "I'm a fashion-forward person who knows what they're doing." They always seem to be the mark of trendiness, which I don't really understand, since they're always in style, totally defeating the point of a "trend." Anyway. Wear 'em with jeans, dresses, skirts, or pajamas and you are guaranteed to be stylish.

 

4.  If you're not feeling particularly great about your outfit, find a cowboy (or cowgirl). He/She is just as guaranteed to make you look stylish as your ankle boots. Marlene Dietrich is wearing a TERRIBLE outfit. But she's got Cowboy Jimmy Stewart on her arm, which distracts from the awfulness of whatevertheheckshe'swearing and informs her audience that she must be pretty swell to get a good-lookin' cowpoke like Jimmy to stay around.

 

The moral: when in doubt, consult old movies and your childhood books for fashion inspiration. 

How to Wear Really Really Short Things

You've seen her. That girl on the subway, walking down the street, etc. The drunk girl wearing the dress without the underwear (you know, because the bottom of the dress has definitely risen a few inches since she put it on), who can't stand on her 5" heels. Don't be her. There are really only 4 rules for this "How-To," and your mother already probably told you three of them.
1. Bend over carefully, or don't bend over at all.
2. Keep your legs crossed. [You should have learned this one the first time you wore a dress]
3. Try to pick really short things that don't have a tendency to ride up.

***Fun story: I own a white LBD (I know, I know, but it's the best way to describe it) that has a liner. The dress is by NikiBiki, and looks fantastic on me. I'll post pictures as soon as it's done getting a zipper installed. The dress has a liner...that is only anchored at the top of the dress. Needless to say, the first time I wore this dress out, I got a lesson in "riding up." The entire night, I was either pulling the liner down or the dress itself down. People definitely saw my underwear. You live, you learn, and you sew the liner to the inside of the dress.***

4. How much you drink should be directly proportional to how high your heels are and how short your dress is (refer to previous post on how not to die in high heels). Know your limits. The "Bucket of Unknown Liquor With Sugar" is probably not a good drink for this outfit. But hey, your prerogative.

My favorite short dress (that I have a picture of) is from Tobi:

Photo courtesy of Chad Stephenson Photography

#YOLO chicas; don't be shy about showing off your legs before you get cellulite! XOXO