Kaley's Weekly Wear- School Times and a Trip to Dallas

Well, here's the good news, everyone.

I've had a pretty decent week in the style department. Since I took my solemn oath last week, I haven't left the house looking like a total monster. Not that remember at any rate. (I have, since the beginning of the semester, been a bit more sleep deprived than I was throughout the course of the summer, so I guess it's possible for me to have walked out in a crazy ensemble without recalling having done so. But I think it's a bit too early into the semester for that.)

All that to say, I am happy to report I don't have any pictures of myself in Nike shorts/shirts with holes and weird stains on them this week!

The bad news is, I don't really have any pictures of my "worst" at all. I'm still getting used to the hectic class/work/internship/life-if-there's-time-for-it schedule, and taking pictures wasn't at the forefront of my mind. I apologize. That coupled with the fact that I didn't have any epic "worsts" left me with a bit of a predicament.

I could tell you about my weekly worst (classic jeggings and a v-neck, by the way), but that doesn't provide a good visual.

So I decided to do something else.

With that, I introduce to you...

My self-portrait break-down of my typical

WORST:

In elementary school, I asked my classmates to vote me "best artist" every year. I was always confused when they didn't oblige.

This is a quick sketch of what I wore this week and wear all too often on other occasions:

-Jeggings. I know many people think they shouldn't be a thing, but I don't even care. I will stand by them until I either am too old to wear them or become uncomfortably self-aware of how I look in them. I've been told I can pull them off for now, so I'm just going to bank on that.

-V-neck. Simple, classic, boring.

-Huge bag. I love it because it allows me to lazily decide what I want to bring with me that day- everything.

-Basic jewelry to throw people off my trail. Maybe if I look like I tried to accessorize they won't realize it's the exact same thing I wear every week.

There are a few other details on the sketch, but those are the high points. I know- it's weird that I didn't wind up at art school.

Anyway, I wore that type of ensemble once last weekend. But really- if that's my worst, I feel like I'm doing okay. Right??

Onto...

THE BEST:

I debated for a little while what I wanted to use here. I went to my brother's celebratory, "You got a job! Now get out there an sell everyone here life insurance!" dinner earlier this week. It was a fun excuse to wear a cute dress. And I got a sibling picture, but it didn't turn out very well.

Here it is, anyway:

Twin, Bro, Me- all really stylish, obviously.

I know you can't tell, but the dress has a really cute heart print, some bright and pretty colors, and a funky neckline. (Old Navy, FYI.) And of course the Bubble necklace made another appearance!

But let's be honest- my brother is the star of the show in this photo. I might get him to guest blog on men's fashion. That vest? Those pants? Come on! Apparently the receptionist at his office just couldn't get over it.

Anyway. This was a cute dress, and I felt pretty fabulous, but then it occurred to me:

I always wear dresses/skirts in my "best" photos. I have never given you any reason to believe I can pull off a cute casual look.

So I went to a photo I took earlier in the week. This is just an outfit I wore to class one day:

When I wore this I sang "Black and Yellow" to myself all day.

Except I sang "Blue and Yellow."

Shirt and Jeggings: Old Navy

Floral Print Shoes: Hand me downs from my mom (Holla!)

Cardigan (laying on my folder): Target

Bubble Necklace: Plum

Purse: Also a hand me down

So there you have it. A casual look that isn't an average v-neck.

What type of things do you do to create a look that is casual without being boring??

Christy's Weekly Wear

Usually I am more than happy to display my worst outfit of the week. I don't know why. I guess it's because it is far easier for me to take a bad picture than a good one, and with just a little effort towards making a picture bad, it can become pure genius. I'm honestly not trying to put myself down. I assume the same is true of everyone. Doesn't the camera seem to always capture you with four chins and a lazy eye that you don't have? Is that just me?

Anyway, this week's picture is not exactly genius. It's just sad...

THE WORST

This was at Target, so I wore red in honor of it, I guess. I was trying to decide between shower curtains and then I spaced out and I guess Daniel thought this would be a good time to take a picture of me. This is the classic "I give up" picture that I hope to never take again. It has taught me a lot. 

THE BEST

Dress: Milan/some girl on the street in my neighborhood (I'll explain)
Necklace: Forever 21
Shoes: HEB Plus
Lantern: An inspiring gift from my friend Lara

You may be asking, "Why is she holding a lantern?", but the question you should be asking is, "Why hasn't this lantern been in every single photo she has ever taken?" Having a prop made taking these pictures so much easier. I usually hate posing by myself in photos and I seriously never know what to do with my hands except hold them out in front of me like a zombie. I grabbed this lantern and I immediately turned into a supermodel. 

Anyway, this was a dress I wore out on a date the other night, and it is kind of the best thing that has happened to me all week. Here's the story:

One day as I was walking through my beloved neighborhood, Ditmas Park, I saw a girl on the sidewalk with a rack of clothes. I passed her by at the time but decided to come back and see what the deal was. She looked to be about my age, and she had some seriously cute stuff. She kept saying, "It's a blowout sale," to every person who walked by. I started rummaging awkwardly through her things along with a couple of other ladies, and one of them asked how much one of her tops was. "One dollar," she said. Wait. Hold up. One dollar? That top is from Anthropologie, and I know that because I used to work there so I could get a discount. One dollar? 

I started talking to her about why she was doing this. She explained that she was taking a financial management class where she learned that Americans tend to use only 20% of what we own. All I could think about was if these clothes were part of her 80%, what kind of things did she leave in her closet? This stuff was GOOD.

A more normal picture of me, in case you need it.

I ended up buying this dress for $4. I'm belting it in this picture (because we all know how I feel about belts), but it has a cool look without it as well. It makes me feel like a really nice witch. 

I love this dress especially because of its story. It was apparently from Milan and she claims she wore it to La Scala Opera House. I don't even care if that's true, but I like to believe it might be. That's why thrifted items are typically so much more fun. The worn fabric and mystery stains (this dress had none fortunately) tell the life story of its previous owner. 

I was too proud of this not to post it.

Gosh, how great are clothes? Do you have a thrifted item of clothing with a story to tell? Comment on this post and let me know! 

Fashion Friends: Emily

If you have been a regular follower of this blog, you know that we are all about uniting together in both our best and our worst looks. That's why you have seen both me and Kaley boldly post pictures such as these:

We've also posted an assortment of cute ensembles, but today we are going to let somebody else save this entry with a great outfit. For the past couple of weeks, we've been asking you to send in your most fabulous looks (or even your worst, if you're brave enough) so we could feature you in all of your style glory instead of just constantly bombarding you with pictures of ourselves. 

This week, we are featuring our friend (and one of my personal style inspirations), Emily! Emily lives in St. Louis and she keeps an absolutely stellar blog that we should all be reading called Of Seeds and Thorns. This girls writes like a pro, cooks food you can't pronounce, and pretty much just fierces it up every day of her life. A true triple threat. Here she is WORKING IT:

Dress: Ruche
Shoes: Anthropologie

LOVE the asymmetrical hemline. LOVE the super unique color. LOVE that winning smile. 

LOVE THESE BOOTIES.

Not only is Emily fortunate enough to be featured here on Can I Pull This Off? (dream come true, right?), but she is also featured on Ruche's Facebook page. She is currently in a contest through them, and she could use your support. Feel free to click HERE, and just like the picture of her. It's that simple. 

Oh, also, feel free to check out shopruche.com for a great selection of romantic and classic pieces like the one Emily is sporting in these pictures! 

If you have a great outfit, send it our way! You looking great gives us something to aspire to while we wear stained t-shirts and terry cloth shorts. Just tweet me or Kaley! 

Kaley's Weekly Wear- First Week O' School

That's right, everyone. School is back in session. As of Monday.

And while normally that would mean I spent Sunday night in a frenzy of excitement- trying on outfits and nervously debating which one would simultaneously make my teachers think I was a capable student and my classmates think I was a capable dresser- this was not, so to speak, my first time at the rodeo.

Instead of the previous scenario, I just went to sleep Sunday night. And, no lie, I was THIS CLOSE (that's supposed to dramatically imply I was very close) to wearing the old jegging v-neck combo. On the first day of school! It put it on and then decided at the last second to change. And let me tell you why.

I had one saving grace this week. It was a beautiful accessory that made me want to step up my game every day. It's called

The Bubble Necklace.

Here it is, in all it's glory.

I'll tell you more about it in a second, but first let's get through...

THE WORST:

Ugh.

Imagine- one week ago today. I just finished writing my last Weekly Wear entry, and I'm feeling proud of myself for the cute things I've worn and the valuable lessons I've learned from the less successful ensembles. I was wearing the outfit you see above, but it's fine because (as one reader noted previously) I was within the confines of my own home. No one else was around.

But then I realized I was pretty hungry.

I thought, "It's 3PM. I can run over to Which Wich and be back in five minutes; I bet no one will even be there. Who eats lunch at 3PM??"

Well, the answer is apparently half of Waco. At least it seemed that way in Which Wich last week.

When I walked in, I was mortified. I thought about the post I just finished writing. You know, then one that said I thought I could go unnoticed running into the office while looking like a slob but then I ended up walking into a party?

And now this happens. Apparently I learned nothing.

So as I waited for what seemed like years on my sandwich, trying to avoid contact with the table of girls next to me whose clothes I envied, I vowed- with crazed the intensity of Scarlett O'Hara- never to leave the house under the assumption I could go unnoticed again.

(The one exception being if I happen to come upon a Harry Potter invisibility cloak someday. If that happens, I will do whatever the heck I want, wearing whatever the heck I want, whenever the heck I want. Count on it.)

Here's a close-up of the shirt. Please note the stains and holes. Nice.

Alright, back to...

THE BEST:

Before I even get to the outfit, let me tell you about the necklace.

One of my favorite stores in Waco is called Plum. It's in a little shopping center called Spice, and every time I go I wish I could live there. It's like an Anthropologie, but better. Imagine that for just a second.

Okay. Plum just turned two, and while for humans that has negative implications, it will mean nothing of the sort for this store. The Terrible Twos are nowhere in sight. Terrific Twos?Tremendous Twos? Trendy Twos? Yes, all those things plus a million other great adjectives.

To start their second year off with a bang, they did two incredible things.

1. They started their website! This means even if you're in New York (or Russia- what up!) you can enjoy this store as much as I do.

2. They also had a drawing to give away free Bubble Necklaces! And guess what, guys? I won! And I never win things!

So, all that to say, I've been wearing this thing around town ever since. And people love it! I get compliments on it every day. It makes me feel like a celebrity. Sort of.

It's my favorite thing right now.

I'm still pretty excited about it.

(Turns out they also sell these things at J-Crew-- for $100 more than Plum. So if you're going to buy one, I'd suggest checking Plum first. FYI.)

My sister told me to pretend like I was laughing for this picture. Apparently my pretend laugh could easily be mistaken for "You're really annoying me right now, invisible person to my right."

Dress: Shops in Spice

Necklace: I think you know by now (Plum)

All Accessories: Target

Here I am at dinner with two of my siblings, once again rocking the Bubble necklace. Have I mentioned how much I love this thing?

I'm not even being paid- or asked- to say any of these things.

So that's it. That was my week in style. I've learned a lot and worn that Bubble Necklace a lot.

What have you been wearing??

Christy's Weekly Wear

Another week of absolutely WORKING IT. Again, my job is definitely helping to amp up my day-to-day looks. While there is no expressed dress code, I would somehow feel strange wearing terry cloth shorts and pit-stained t-shirts to the office. Go figure.

Not only was I compelled to look good during the week, but this particular weekend happened to be my one year anniversary with my husband Daniel (although we prefer to say that it was our birthday). We started celebrating our birthday the day before on Saturday. Daniel took me to see a matinee performance of Once (the musical) which blew both of our minds. He also made reservations at a fancy restaurant where we ate paella and drank sangria and laughed and laughed and laughed. On our actual anniversary, I spent half of the day writing a tribute to Daniel and then we walked around Ditmas Park and talked about what we were doing one year ago at that exact time. Despite the fact that it was a more relaxed day, I dressed to impress (how could I not as I remembered my attire from exactly one year before?).

THE BEST
I decided to start with the good news this week.

Dress: H&M

Belt: Forever 21

Jewelry: Forever 21

Shoes: DSW

Diet Dr. Pepper: Cortelyou Road Food

First off, let me just say how awkward it is to take these pictures. I always want them to happen in interesting places and then as that's happening, I realize that everyone there is watching me, judging me for the fact that I have no idea what to do with my hands. Thank God for the rails in the subway and the Diet Dr. Pepper in this picture, although it might make it hard to see what is happening in this outfit. The following picture remedies this:

Yep. Nothing says "model" like taking a big swig of Diet Dr. Pepper while looking vacantly off into the distance.

I bought this dress knowing that if I were in Waco, I would be hiding it from Kaley. Now that we've started this blog, it's high-time I told you, Kaley...I sometimes wear things with asymmetrical hemlines...and I like it.

Short in the front. Long in the back. The mullet of my wardrobe.

At first, like Kaley, I was not on board with this trend, but when I moved to New York, EVERYONE was doing it. I thought, okay maybe I'll just try it once, but then I was hooked. This was definitely the gateway dress, but I have more. I love the way it swings. I love the way that I feel like every street is my runway when I wear it. It's just a hemline I can get behind.

I'm also pretty stoked about my shoes, but only in terms of their appearance. They have literally no arch support. I wore them to work the other day and rubbed my own feet on the subway ride home. It was humiliating. Note to self: these are not work shoes.

As for the belt, you've already met this guy. You'll meet him many more times. Until he breaks down, he will be hanging onto my waist for dear life.

The necklace is a recent purchase. If you like it, go to Forever 21 right now before it disappears!

I don't know about you guys, but Forever 21 is where I get a lot of cheap jewelry. Sure, my neck and fingers are perpetually green, but $8 for a pretty solid necklace? I'm not passing that up. I'm always looking for more places to find accessories (cheap or otherwise). Any suggestions?

THE WORST

Just as I started taking this picture, Daniel decided to tackle me, but you basically get the idea. Oversized t-shirt. Workout shorts. My classic frumpilicious outfit. 

Have a glorious week in style, everyone! If you can't be stylish, don't freak out about it. You probably have your reasons. Just be a really good person. 

Wrap Skirt Tutorial

Do you want look this weird standing on a swing? Well then get ready, it's the moment you've all been waiting for...

The Wrap Skirt Tutorial!!!

In all seriousness, though, wrap skirts are great. In case you missed it in the "Sneak Peek", I was inspired to make one of these after I bought one in a thrift store. Thankfully, when I decided to try to make one for myself I was pleasantly surprised to discover they are very simple and pretty quick to whip up! (I made mine in two nights of Olympic gymnastics-watching, so think of how quickly you could do it without that distraction!)

They're also quite versatile. You can choose different fabrics and lengths to dress it up or down. And they're really, really comfortable. So hopefully my love for wrap skirts will be passed on to all of you, and you'll enjoy making and wearing them as much as I do.

Have fun!

(Oh, and please keep in mind this is my first-ever sewing tutorial. So here's hoping it makes sense...)

What you will need:

-2 yards of a main fabric

-1 yard (maybe less) of an accent fabric (or an additional yard of the previous fabric)

-thread to go with your fabric choices

-straight pins

-a sewing machine (unless you're feeling really committed and want to hand stitch- -in which case-- you're awesome.)

1. Perhaps the most exciting part of this process is choosing your fabric. You get to pick 2 different fabrics, really- one for the main part of the skirt, and one for the belt/tie. You'll want to choose a cotton fabric-- one that's thin enough to hang well, but not so thin it will be completely limp. You're not going for jersey material here. You also don't want really thick material that will be stiff. Just typical cotton is great. Here's what I chose:

I went with a quirky "Route 66" themed base fabric and a red accent. You can pick something more normal, if you so choose.

**I got 2 yards of the main fabric and 1 of the accent and had plenty to spare- especially of the accent**

2. It's probably a good idea to iron out the fabric before beginning the cutting/sewing process. I took pictures, but I think you probably know how that works, so I'll leave them out.

3. Once it's ironed, you're going to cut out two big rectangles from the main fabric. This will be the base of your skirt.

Now is a good time for me to admit I didn't really measure any of this. That's sort of the joy of wrap skirts, right? So I can't give you numbers for measurement. I just know you should be able to wrap each rectangle around your body and touch (or almost touch) the edges together. To figure out how long it is top to bottom, I held it up on my waist (keep in mind you'll be adding about 3-4 inches of fabric for the belt part) and cut it about 2 inches longer than I wanted the final product to be. This gave me plenty of room for hemming.

So for me, one rectangle was (circumference of my body) x (the distance from my hips to below my knees)

Tip: I cut out one rectangle and then used it as a pattern when cutting the 2nd.

4. Next, you'll do a lot of pinning.

You'll pin your two rectangles together. The easiest way to do this is lay one on top of the other so the pretty part of the fabric is facing in. (That way it will be facing out when you wear it.) You'll be pinning up the length of it- the part you measured hanging down your body from your him to knee or wherever. NOTE: If you have fabric that is one directional (like mine- which could be sewn sideways or upside-down) be aware of that when you're pinning! I had to re-pin mine once. My B.

Next you'll fold over and pin along the remaining "length" ends of both rectangles. You're just going to hem these.

5. Sew and iron everything you just pinned. When you iron the inside seam (where you combined the rectangles) make sure you open it and iron it flat. Like this:

Make sure you iron it all the way up and down the fabric.

6. Okay. The next part of the process might be a little tricky for me to describe, so I found a website that will do a much better job. Plus it has a picture of a really weird dress that you'll be able to make (almost) once you learn this technique.

You're just doing a running stitch- which adds the ruffle effect. I promise it's easy, but in order to avoid confusing you, it will be easiest if you go to this website and use the "By Machine" instructions.

Tip: I did this by rectangle instead of as one huge block- I found that made it a lot easier.

Sewing parallel lines (remember not to backstitch- just sew straight across)

And scooting the ruffles across the thread.

**As you're scooting the ruffles across, check to make sure the rectangles stay close to the same size- and that both of them combined remain a good wrapping length. You'll want your skirt to be able to go around your body about 1 1/2 times!**

Voila! You have the base of your skirt! Congratulations!!

7. Next you're going to cut 2 more rectangles. This time out of the accent fabric to make your belt. Think about how wide you'll want this section. (I wanted mine to be about 3" wide.) You'll want to double that and add an inch for the height (so mine was 7 inches), and make it as long as the one of the rectangles is now (with the ruffles in it) plus an inch.

So again: the dimensions are: (however wide you want the belt to be times 2 plus one inch) x (the length of one ruffled rectangle plus one inch.)

Tip: Your ruffled rectangles might not be exactly the same length, so it could be necessary to measure these two accent rectangles separately.

8. Just like you did with the first rectangles, you're going to sew the accent rectangles together on one side- up the shorter end- and then iron open the seam.

9. Now you're going to sew the belt onto the main skirt. You'll want to fold the belt over the top of your skirt so it looks like this:

Essentially you're making a little heart with the main fabric in the middle. You're going to press this flat and sew it- so make sure the tops of the "heart" are even when it's flat.

Also- try to line up the ironed open seams of the belt and the skirt when you're doing this. There should be some extra belt hanging off the edges of the skirt- that's a good thing. You'll hem that later.

Here it is when it's flattened (minus the extra fabric hanging over- sorry). You're going to sew just above where my thumb is. Try to make it as straight of a line as possible, because this line will show!

TIP: It will help to pin this down and iron it before sewing. You also might want to sew across the top, but technically that bit is optional.

10. Now you're going to make the ties. You can do this in a number of ways. If you're tired of sewing, you could just get some nice ribbon. Or you could just cut and hem long strips of fabric. I cut four strips of fabric and sewed two together by sewing three sides together, flipping them inside, and sewing the fourth side up.

No matter how you do it, you just want an end product that you'll be able to tie together to keep your skirt up once its finished. I made mine about 24" long, but if you want to go longer/shorter- that's totally your call. Just get a feel for what you want, and go for it.

11. Once you have two ties, we're going to put them on the skirt. Remember how your belt had those two un-hemmed, long edges? You're going to put one end of a tie into each end, fold the edges in, pin it, and sew it. Like this:

You're so close to being done it's crazy. Right now, this is what you should be looking at:

Except more personalized, of course.

12. Now you're going to make a hole for one of the ties to go through. So grab a pencil, take your skirt, and wrap it around yourself wherever you want it to sit on your waist.

Are you doing that?

Okay, great. Now look at the skirt-edge you wrapped under- notice where it touches the other part of the skirt. Make a mark about an inch further over on the belt. (It might seem like that would make it too tight, but it should be perfect. I did mine right where it hits, and it's a bit too loose, so I think this will help you.)

You're going to cut a slit in your fabric on this mark- right in the middle of your belt (or wherever it will line up with the tie). This is what it should look like:

You want it wide enough for your tie to go through easily.

Next you're going to do a buttonhole stitch around the hole. I tried to take pictures, but none of them turned out, so once again I'm going to direct you to a website if you need assistance with this. It will probably be a lot more helpful than me. You could also search the Youtubes. I'm sure there are tons of videos from crafty people there.

Here's a website with a few options for stitches:

Here's my less-than-helpful picture, but maybe you'll glean something from it?

13. Only one thing left!! You're going to fold up the bottom, pin and hem that sucker! I laid the skirt out on the floor to do this. Then I tried it on before sewing it to make sure it looked even. Just in case you want to do that, too...

I had a lot of excess fabric when I finished. Feel free to cut all of that off and (again) iron those seams!

14. ROCK THAT SKIRT LIKE IT'S YOUR JOB!

BAM! FINISHED PRODUCT! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!

SIDE VIEW!

EVEN DOGS LOVE IT!!!

Well, there you have it. The wrap skirt tutorial. I hope it made sense, and that you all go out and make lots of adorable wrap skirts! If you do, PLEASE send me pictures! I would love to see what you come up with! Also- please feel free to leave comments with tips or suggestions!

Or questions. This is my first sewing tutorial, so it's very likely I left some gaps here. I'd be so happy to respond to any questions you might have!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please feel free to comment, pin it, follow, tweet or use any kind of trendy website/app to share the love.

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend!!