Respect the Outfits: You Being You

Isn't it a great thing when we can put together an outfit that is stylish, chic and instantly puts us at ease? Something that not only looks good but conveys confidence at a glance? Welcome to this month's Respect the Outfits reader feature - all about YOU lovely ladies wearing what you love.

These are the outfits that these lovely fella readers have selected to represent who they are sartorially (right now at least) - because as you gals have already told me, it's our perogative to change our style!

Please read on and check out these beautiful ladies just being their chic, unique selves:

♥  Lauren from Small Talk, à la simple yet chic.

Anthro Apothecary skirt / Anthro Aviatrix Tee / Anthro cuff / Anthro Dearie Me wedges / Diana Warner earrings / Palabra Designs necklace

♥  Jessica from Monster Cakes: This picture perfectly captures me because I am a bit geek chic (hence The Great Gatsby shirt and glasses), but I'm also girly and not afraid to embrace both sides. Yey for nerds. : )

♥  Lisa from Sweet Laundry Loves, à la sophisticated and classy with a bit of a twist.

Striped Dress: Jacob / Tights: Hue / Shoes: Nine West / Bracelet: Ann Taylor / Sunglasses: Miu Miu

♥  Stephanie from Bar Chic: I think this is definitely me being me! I think of my style as being floaty and feminine, but also fairly relaxed, so I picked a girly dress and paired it with some casual flat sandals. I'm also being classically "me" here in the sense that the first thing I do when I put on a dress like this is give it a twirl!

Dress: Anthropologie Gull Wing Dress / Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft / Necklace: Kate Spade Twirl Necklace /

Shoes: Seychelles Cream of the Crop Flats

♥  Gigi from Gigi's Gone Shopping, à la modern + classic w/bright pops or touches of sparkle.

Jacket: J Crew 2010 / Blouse: Anthro 2010 / Necklace: J Crew 2010 / Jeans: J Crew 2010 / Shoes: J Crew 2008

♥  EE from Eek!, à la polished but comfy.

top: Anthro / skirt: Old Navy / pumps: Jeffrey Campbell / sunnies: Dsquared / belt: Gap

♥  TG from La Petite Anthropologiest: This look is quintessentially because this whole look is repeated in my closet a lot. My look is always about SHAPE. Shapes are sensual. And I love to shape my body in bright colors and fitted clothes.The shoes with the buckle, the fitted pencil skirt soft white shirt: that's TG.

Top: Anthro Climbing Cowlneck / Earrings: Anthro / Skirt: Anthro san pedro skirt in / Belt: sash from the Anthro Tiny Windows Dress /

Necklace: Anthro / Shoes: GUESS

♥  modernmom from I Dream of Anthropologie: I LOVE pattern mixing, and wanted to copy the product image from the catalog for this skirt. It used a pink plaid top, but I am not a big fan of that much pink. I love taking a risk with fashion, and being just outside the norm.

Shirt: J Crew Perfect Plaid / Skirt: Anthropologie Penciled Abronia / Belt: DKNY / Thrifted Shoes: Guess, DSW /

Bracelet: Anthropologie Omnifarious / Earrings: Dillards pearl hoops

 ♥  Rachel from Promises Like Pie Crust:

Anthro Verdant Slip Dress / Club Monaco cardigan / Hilary Druxman necklace / Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

♥  Jamie from Thrifty Threads: One of the things that I love about personal style is that it can be multi-faceted without being contradictory. Many of the outfits that I post on my blog incorporate beaded cardigans, pencil skirts, bright colors, and plenty of florals. I almost sent one of those signature "Jamie" outfits, but decided to send you a very different outfit: one that is more city sleek than suburban sweet. And I felt just as much myself in this look as I do in my usual assortment of ruffles and lace! I think it's wonderful that personal style affords us the opportunity to explore different aspects of ourselves every day, without requiring that we compromise our identities or chose any one aspect of our personality over another.

J. Crew Wave Tank / LOFT blazer / Hudson Collin jeans / Franco Sarto wedges / Talbots belt / Banana Republic necklace / Kate Spade bag

♥  Tara from Mix and Match Fashion, à la colorful.
 

Blouse: LOFT / Cardigan: NY & Co / Skirt: J Crew / Shoes: Nine West

♥  Kelly from Fashion Fuel: I can't say I always adhere to one particular style, but I always feel my best when I'm wearing a skirt or dress. Plus, blue and green are two of my favorite colors, which makes this outfit one that truly defines me.
 

Esprit Tunic (worn as shirt) / Anthropologie Skirt & Belt / American Eagle Necklace / Jessica Simpson Shoes

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And here iz me in a very Me look and Lauren's skirt twin - bright colors, requisite stripes and a statement-y necklace:

  

Top: J. Crew perfect boatneck (worn here before - similar here)
Skirt: Anthropologie Parameter apothecary (worn here before)
Necklace: Old Navy ethnic statement (now on sale - worn here before)

Shoes: Seychelles she's got the moves (worn here before)

When is it "Too Much?"

Believe me, it takes a whole lot of effort to look so blatantly disregardful of fashion trends, rules of color engagement, look like a nominee for the Big No list for Stacy and Clinton. Why, it wasn't only about a year ago where I was gracing the bloggy world with my pitifully mousy ensembles no need to look back, you'll be bored out of your mind and now here I am going out like a big smiling pattern-blind fashion-schizo:

  

I actually felt pretty good when I put these pieces together last night and didn't really bat an eye this morning when I threw everything together. Heck, I thought I even put together some as-fierce-as-I-can-be outfit pics and was all ready to post and go about my business when I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. That's when the big "Hmm..." hit.

Now I'm typically the first person to say that one of the fun parts of fashion is experimentation and trying new things - and heck, a bad outfit won't kill ya. But sometimes things just look a little off, a little bit like you're on the tip of Fashionable and you start teetering too far towards Tacky. There's a lot going on and sometimes more is not better (though don't tell Man Repeller).

So crazy babble short, I reassessed and this is what I ended up with:

  

When you put an outfit together, when do you consider yourself "done?" When do you consider an ensemble "overdone?" What have you put together yourself or have seen on others when you have thought "whoa, that's way too much?"

  

Jacket: Anthropologie Daughters of the Liberation cropped wisley

Necklace: Anthropologie gold finger

Top: Forever 21 (worn here before - similar here, white here, steal here)

Jeans: Banana Republic classic skinny (worn here before - similar here)

Shoes: Xhiliration by Target teanna (worn here before - similar here, luxe here)

Dress: Anthropologie Maeve slate stripes (worn here before - similar here)

Belt: UO Deena & Ozzy stretch (worn here before - similar here)

Shoes: Nine West patent temani (worn here before - similar peep-toe here, here)

Milanese Wedge

     

Dress: Old Navy coloblock tiered (similar here, here, -ish here)
Top: J. Crew featherweight cardigan (worn here before - similar here, here)
Shoes: Toms kenya stripe (worn here before)
Necklace: Overstock overlay camelia flower (worn here before - similar here)

    

Top: Anthropologie city cousin (worn here before)
Shorts: Xhiliration via Target challis (worn here before - similar here, here)
Shoes: Toms coral canvas (similar floral here)
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff trompe l'oeil mac (worn here before)

Ciao belle! I'm back home between trips for a few days so I definitely want to drop in for a bit to get blogged and play catch up. I'll be headed for France later this week, so I decided to join the 21st century this weekend and get one of these.  And so far all I've really done is play Angry Birds ad nauseum and buy my weight's worth in books. Who says high-technology is wasted on me?

In the interim, here are a few random pics from Milan - I believe I've consumed more than my fill of carbs, cheese, and red wine this past week!

Up in the Air

It's "there's no denying that summer has arrived" week in the SE as temps soar over the 90s Fahrenheit and are expected to stay there all week long. And as it is still technically May, this means that I have about 4-5 full months of back-sticking, shade-finding, mosquito-swatting, near hot-as-Hades weather to look forward to. Which means my hair is one low pressure dip away from a full-on asian fro, and that ain't gonna be pretty.

I've tried a ton of different "de-frizz" products, but so far a combo of Garnier Fructis Smoothing Cream mixed with Citre Shine Anti-Frizz Serum during my daily blowdry has kept my hair at bay without completely flattening it out, but I see the flyaways congregating, and they're starting to gain ground. Plus I feel like I'm lacking in that glossy shiny locks department - wasn't that supposed to be part of my "being an asian" package? So short of tying my hair in a big knot on the top of my head and leaving it alone until October or opting to buy hair spray by the case, how do you gals battle the summer time head frizz? Are there any specific products or "techniques" that work for you?

 

Top: LE Canvas gingham poplin (worn here before)
Skirt: Delicia eyelet via Alloy (worn here before - similar here, here)
Belt: Anthro city safari (worn here before - similar-ish here)
Bracelet: The PS Boutique via Etsy (worn here before - similar here)
Shoes: Seychelles ring in the new year (worn here before - similar-ish here, here)

Sleeper Style

I had someone ask me a few weeks ago to describe my sense of style. And with that question, the usual blathering outpouring that comes from my lips came to an abrupt halt. I think my brows wrinkled in concentration and my eyes squirted off into looking at something non-descript in the distance.

I blabbed out a jumble of adjectives and changed subject to discuss things I have way more know-how with - cold cuts and Christian Bale (whoops, THE Christian Bale). And granted it was no life-changing deep-rooted question by any means, I did get to thinking more about my style.

What do I think my sense of style is? I know what I would like it to be - classic, timeless, chic. Hint of edge. I want clothes and accessories that defy "labels" (as much as I do love you, Anthro and Crew, I don't want to be head-to-toe anything - I would like to be the _____ girl, not the Anthro or Crew girl).

Where am I now? I still think I'm evolving sartorially and I'm not sure if where I am now is where I want to be. I think if you scroll back through my past outfits (and this will take a while, I document myself well apparently), you will definitely see style evolving - but into what, I'm not sure. I'm honestly not sure what a "Lisa look" is, though I know what kind of pieces I am drawn to.

I've always considered "getting dressed" a little to be like "playing dress up" so if I really truly think about it - am I dressing me or am I clothing my body? And then what does it come across like? Eclectic? Conservative? Frilly? Obnoxiously loud? Pattern-blind? Caroline Manzo, YOU can call ME a clown if you want to.

So I am asking for a wee bit of blogee input - how would you describe my sense of style? And even better yet now, how would you describe your own?

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I already posted my Saturday outfit - here's me last Sunday (aka dressed up jammies, aka Lisa no-pants):

 

Dress: Anthropologie Splendid cargo pocket chemise

Necklace: UO multi-stone bib (worn here before - similar here)

Bag: Rebecca Minkoff navajo studs (worn here before)

Bracelet: The PS Boutique via Etsy (worn here before)

Shoes: Mossimo via Target wakana (worn here before - similar here)

I'm still having Blogger comment issues, so I've been visiting your blogs, but I haven't been able to comment on most of them! I am still getting caught up in the endless glitch cycle of login / comment / login / comment / etc. Please fix it already, Blogger! Argh!

D'Armee vs. Navy

Oh I wonder how many cheesy military references the inception of this dress' name is responsible for. So of course I totally had to up the smirk-inducing factor by going full-on girly with my ensemble today, including the Shirley Temple-esque curls (still working out the "kinks" with the curling iron, OK - though the bobby pin was all me).

BF and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I yesterday evening. And though I know the character are supposed to be full-blown teenagers and the actors are even older than that, it was still cringe-worthy to me when I saw Harry help Ginny zip up her dress (really, girlfriend, you're not rockin' a bra or slip or anything?) and {spoiler} even eye-covering in that nightmare scene where Ron saw manifestations of Harry and Hermione totally hooking up. Can I help it if I still envision those multi-millionaire actors like wee little wizards running around in their too-big robes, frizzy hair and squeaky voices?

 

Not sure if my hesitation and squeamishness is due to feeling all nostalgic about these characters/actors not being all young tiny children anymore - or if in the way back of my mind, it is just a reminder to me that if they're getting older, than also means I'm getting older.

So apparently I strike out with a head full of "good ship lollipop" curls and a work-appropriate version of a little sailor outfit. Watch out, at this rate after Part II comes out, I may end sporting my version of a baby new year costume.

Dress: Anthropologie Parameter d'armee (worn here before)

Belt: J. Crew skinny (similar here)

Shoe Clip as Brooch: Lilywinkel via Etsy (worn here before)

Tank: Gillian & O'Malley via Target (similar here)

Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction swim n fool (worn here before - similar luxe here, reg here)

Clutch: Rebecca Minkoff pouch (one of a set - larger version seen here)

Is it just me, or has anyone else had difficulty leaving comments on Blogger today?