Kaley's Weekly Wear- An Apology

While Christy has been enjoying the Fall weather in New York-- similarly, I imagine, to Kathleen Kelly in the 1998 smash hit You've Got Mail (yes, that was the year it was released)-- I have not had quite had the same luck.

1. The weather took a turn for the warmer here. I haven't worn a scarf once this week.
2. Instead of dreaming about bouquets of newly sharpened pencils, I've been knocking back two cups of coffee a day (which is far above my typical caffeine intake) in order to stay awake and get through the million things I need to get done.

Instead of looking as adorable as a pre-plastic surgery Meg Ryan this week,

 I've looked a little bit more like this:

Except I just wish I had this girl's hair. 

Side note, when I originally looked up images for "busy grad student," this is one of the first pictures that came up:

I'm still confused about that. Although it looks lovely.

Anyway, I'm not saying that to evoke sympathy. I'm saying it to apologize, once again, for neglecting to take pictures for this week's post.

Please accept this photography from the worst years of my life (middle school) as a sincere apology. It was scanned, so it's small, but I think it will bring some joy to your day nonetheless.

In answer to the questions you doubtless have: Yes, that is a horseshoe hanging from my left index finger, and no, I have no clue what is happening here.

Also- although this particularl wardrobe choice was not typical for me at the time, that hair style.... every day.

Except when butterfly clips were a thing.


I'm committed to real outfits next week, guys. It's going to happen.


I hope you get to wear some real outfits, too, and that they're all as fabulous as those on your Pinterest boards!

Christy's Weekly Wear

IT'S FAAAAAAAALLLL!!!!!

It's time to start Pinteresting all of your favorite pumpkin recipes and wearing scarves that probably aren't even weather-appropriate yet. It doesn't even matter. It's FAAAAAALLL! 

In honor of every girl's favorite season, I wore a lot of booted, scarved, and layered outfits. Here was my first fall outfit of the season. 

Dress: Marshall's
Boots: Modcloth
Blazer: Anthropologie
Scarf: American Eagle? I don't remember. I've had it since high school. 

Fun story about that blazer: I bought it for $5 from Anthropologie. What? Yes. When you work at Anthropologie, there is this stockroom that is loaded with every pretty thing you've ever dreamed of. Sometimes these pretty things get forgotten and are reduced by like 90% by the time they are found again.

The only thing missing from this outfit? My trademark glasses. As you may have read in my solo blog, Avoiding Atrophy, I stepped on my glasses and they will never be healed. To rectify this disastrous circumstance, I made a visit to Warby Parker, a miraculous online glasses store where you can buy frames and lenses for $95. 

 

These are my new best friends. Warby Parker calls these frames "Marshall". If you're ever in need of having four eyes instead of two, Warby Parker it. 

Blessings on your fashion choices! Be dumpy, be delicious. Whatever feels right! 

Kaley's Weekly Wear- Becoming an Olsen

Hey- o!

Sorry I'm a little bit late on posting this, everyone. I haven't slept much this week- it's been a little cray.

I love that that's a word, now...

Anyway, despite the fact that I've been all over the place this week, I actually wore a couple of cute outfits this week.

AND- With the cooler we've been experiencing here in Waco, I decided to be exceptionally bold.

I tried to pull off a scarf.

You know how some people (probably many of you reading this) can wrap a scarf around their necks and, with the right pair of sunglasses, look as if they could be mistaken for an Olsoen twin?  (In the best possible sense, guys.)

I'm not sure which one is which- they might be the same person- but look at how cool and effortless they make those scarves look.

Despite my best efforts, I have never been a scarf person. 

As in- I have never been a person that can pull off scarves easily.

Have I been a person that wants to pull off scarves? 

Yes. 

Desperately. 

Seriously. I have several of these types of scarves in my closet. I have pinned the how-to-wrap-scarves stuff on my pinterest page. I have stood- on several occasions- in front of my mirror trying to get just the right amount of nonchalance to give me a hipster look without revealing the fact that I did in fact try really hard to look cool. And all of it was in vain. I usually just end up looking as if I'm wearing a weird turtleneck thing and abandon the effort.

But this week I went for it.

And even though I didn't really get the look I that I had in mind when I opened up my pinterest page, I wore that scarf proudly anyway. After all- it was 75 degrees outside, and I could.

Here's what it looked like:

I've decided that the reason I don't get the effect I want is not because I can't droop scarves well- it's because none of my scarves are long enough. Anything to take the blame off my skills...

Here's the breakdown:

Scarf: This is the best part, everyone. It's from a an organization called fashionABLE. There are women in Ethiopia who make these scarves and are paid fair wages, which empowers them to get an education, provide for their family, buy medication they need, etc. One neat thing they do is attach tags on them with a note saying what they're ABLE to do because that scarf was purchased. It's awesome. Check them out. They have a really great new fall collection.

Shirt: Old Navy

Skirt: Anthro (Holla back sale rack!)

Shoes: Target

So that's it. I didn't take any pictures the rest of the week. At least not of myself. I was busy being in grad school. Sorry, guys.

But in along with my apology, please accept this: (hopefully you haven't seen it yet)

Christy's Weekly Wear

After years of searching for this illusive, seemingly improbable creation, I think I've found it: the perfect outfit.

While this might be an overstatement, I can safely say that the following ensemble is one of my most complimented to date.

THE BEST

Top: Anthropologie
Skirt: Anthropologie
Belt: Forever 21
Shoes: DSW

I wore this to work the other day, and a surprising number of security guards told me they liked my outfit. People on the street were stopping me to offer their affirmation. It was a miracle.

Like almost everything I own, this get-up comes with a story. Get used to it.

Once upon a time I was employed by Anthropologie, a high-end clothing store that many of us consider to be heaven on earth. I got this job straight out of college as part of my post-college life-crisis. I figured I could work there for a while, maybe do a little shopping, and apply for jobs in the meantime. Somehow I believed that the soft glow of the expensive candles and the high thread count of the bedding would produce in me a kind of peace that I was lacking in my life. 

Now that I've left Anthropologie, I think it is my job to inform all of you dreamers that being an employee there is seriously not that great. You have to space clothes perfectly on hangers (a practice known as "finger-spacing") and sometimes rude customers come in and crap all over your day like it's their job to do so. Also, you are daily surrounded by beautiful things that can never be yours. It is a cold warehouse of rejection. 

The upside to my experience was that I randomly chose to work at one of the most profitable Anthros in our district. In the time I was there, our employees were rewarded with TWO days where everything in the store was 50% off. Needles to say, every dime I made from these guys went right back into their pocket as I walked away with an incredible new wardrobe. 

Hence the skirt and top shown above. Believe it or not, after owning this skirt for over a year, this is the first time I have worn it out in public. I just never knew what to wear with it. Then one day it dawned on me. Like a mad scientist, I joined these two unlikely pieces together and stood back to admire my creation. "It's alive!" I screamed as I belted the waistline. Then I cackled and there was lightning and my disfigured assistant cowered in the corner.

If you need a visual of that disfigured assistant, here you go:

THE WORST

I have been calling this my uniform. Every day when I come home from work, I immediately put on this sweatpants/tank-top combo. It was all well-and-good until I went out for groceries in it the other day. 

Also, I am literally wearing it right now. 

When will I learn?!

I don't know. I really don't know.

Kaley's Weekly Wear- Blah

Well, I've had a few pretty good weeks now, so it was only a matter of time before this post.

I'm ashamed to say it, but I didn't really wear anything of note this week. I did wear the dress from this week to a wedding, but otherwise, everything I wore was pretty average and a little bit boring.

Here's my explanation as to why that's the case:

We've had a slight temperature drop here in Waco over the past few days. For the most part, it's been under 100 degrees. On several of the days, it's been under 90. And on a few days, it's actually been under 80. It's insane, I know.

But when the weather gets this cold, I think to myself, "I need to take advantage of this opportunity to wear pants without sweating constantly!"

Which really just means I'm excited to be able to go without shaving my legs for longer periods of time.

So that's pretty much what's I've done all week. Worn jeans and t-shirts.

Now, oddly enough, TWO people have pointed out in the past few days that many people wear jeans and t-shirts on a regular basis. "Does that really qualify as a "worst" outfit?" they wondered.

And to answer that query, I would like to direct your attention to the following photograph:

McKayla and I are both not impressed. By my outfit, or my photo editing skills.

Jeans and a t-shirt, in theory, aren't that bad. When I describe it as my worst, I'm really referring to two things:

1. The fit. Please observe in the picture above how I go from baggy on top to skin tight on bottom. These jeans look great on me other times, but somehow when I'm wearing them with this oversized, drab shirt/sweater combo, they don't have quite the same effect.

2. The overall lack of effort I put into trying to make myself feel halfway decent before walking out the door.

Anyone seen the Princess Diaries? And if so, do you remember the part- pre transformation- when she looks in the mirror and says with an exasperated sigh, "As always, this is as good as it's gonna get." (I tried to find a youtube clip, but this was as close as I got.)

That's how I feel on days like the one captured above. And who wants to feel that way?? No one. That's why Mia transformed herself and became Queen of Genovia.

I know what it's like to look- and feel- better than "Meh." So I'm trying to strive for that more often. I'm hoping to feel great more often than blah.

Obviously I'll have off days (or weeks), but hey, I'm human. And clearly I could do worse than a t-shirt and jeans, but I'm not going to complain about not dressing like this What Not to Wear alumnus:

She has no clue how awesome her life is about to become...

So, all that to say, I do know jeans and a t-shirt aren't the worst thing in the world. If I see you wearing them, I'm not judging you. I'm just trying to push myself to be creative with my wardrobe. I'm young- I'm supposed to be trendy and hip anyway, right?

Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off next week!

Here's hoping you all had weeks better than mine!

Kaley's Weekly Wear- A Ukulele Gig! (and more school)

That's right, everyone. (Or at least everyone who read the title of this post.)

I played a ukulele gig this week.

Okay, it wasn't specifically a ukulele gig, but my roommate and I performed a show as "The Ravens," I played the ukulele, she played the tambourine, we sang, and my sister accompanied us for a few songs. And, guys-- it went surprisingly well.

And it was pretty fun.

AND I pulled together a pretty fantastic outfit, if I do say so myself.

How fantastic?

Well, see for yourself:

I know- we look like angels. I think it's 99% the lighting effect in this shot, but I will take it and make it my Facebook profile picture regardless.

Anyway, we'll do a close-up of the outfit later.

(If you're interested, Christy was once feature with the Ravens in a rousing rendition of Ace of Base's "The Sign." I think it's safe to say it was filmed on one of our off days, so if you watch it, please don't judge our outfits. Or my hair. Thank you.)

Okay. Back on track.

This week I had a rough outfit that will pretty much match my drawing from last week exactly.

Check it:

THE WORST:

Look at this monochromatic wonder.

In last week's self-portrait break-down I mentioned the v-neck, the jeggings, the go-to sandals, and the giant bag. All present and accounted for. I didn't use any accessories here- I was just going to study at a coffee shop. But I did, in all my infinite fashion wisdom, cuff the jeggings. In my mind I somehow thought this would make the outfit a little bit better. Looking at the picture, I'm thinking I was wrong. Especially since it seems as if I did it unevenly. Alas.

But on the upside- I have a really cute computer case. That has to count for something, right?

Okay, back to

THE BEST:

Look, a landline phone! Who has those anymore?? So retro...

Twin pic! (This was after the performance, so I was a little sweaty and gross by this point.)

Shirt: Spice Shops here in Waco, TX

Cami: Old Navy

Favorite Belt and sandals: Target

Skirt and giraffe necklace you can't see: J-Crew Outlet

I love this button-up shirt. It's bright and light-weight and makes me feel like Zooey D. in 500 Days of Summer. At least on her nice days.

Another twin pic! It's like we're identical!!

Because it's a bit sheer, I get to pair it with bright and colorful camis. Saturday I chose teal and paired it with my bright purple skirt. I felt like this outfit was really feminine, fun and classy. I'm pretty sure I could wear it every day. Seriously.

So there you have it. My best and worst of the week. From frumpy to feminine, I've been on both sides of the spectrum. (As usual.)

How has your week been? Did anyone else wear anything exciting?

Christy's Weekly Wear

This weekend, Daniel and I had two wonderful visitors to New York City, our friends Lara and Clint. We were so touched by this visit that our hearts almost exploded with joy!

Our hearts were like this...

NOW THEY'RE LIKE THIS!

In preparation, I did laundry the day they came so that I would have no excuse not to look cute. I basically wore every single outfit I have already featured on this blog, and I was worried I would have nothing to show off. Thankfully, my unbelievably generous friend Lara GAVE me a dress! Here I am wearing it out on the town. 

That's Daniel and Clint on either side of me.

Unfortunately, I don't really have a super high-quality picture to show off how fun this dress is, but you'll just have to trust me. It's from Target, it's got a feather-pattern all over it, and layered ruffle excitement on the top. Lara, being gorgeously tall, felt it was a little short for her and graciously gave it to me, her stocky-legged sidekick.

You also may have noticed the necklace which is strikingly similar to the beautiful accessory that Kaley won a few weeks back. 

This is Lara, the giver of the dress. I am Christy, the wearer of the dress.

I first noticed these awesome bubble necklaces whenever EVERYONE was pinning the following picture all over Pinterest.

Who doesn't want to be this woman? She's got a bold necklace AND an ice cream cone.
This is pretty much my ideal lifestyle.

I found this particular accessory over the weekend in Chinatown. Lara and I started getting really excited about haggling with vendors, and Daniel pointed this necklace out to me. I somehow was able to bring the price down by $7, and I walked away feeling extremely savvy. I tried to be Lara's wingman when she was buying a purse, but I had totally lost my touch at that point. 

You may, at this point, be wondering, "Where is her worst outfit of the week?" I'm pleased to tell you that I had a perfect week, and I wore only things that I felt flattered my body.

PSYCH.

That is not true, and it will literally never be true until I am filthy rich and I live in a castle with an Anthropologie in the basement. I simply didn't take a "worst" picture this week. As my own personal form of punishment, please accept this picture of me from high school:

Am I the meal line?

I will never make this mistake again.