Can I Pull This Off?: Zooey Deschanel

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?

So Kaley and I decided to start this whole journey out by answering a little questionnaire. Despite the fact that we created the questions ourselves, some of these were a little hard for me to answer. I wish we'd thought to ask something simple like what is a table? or have you ever seen a bug?, but instead, we decided to challenge ourselves with some doozies of questions. The following are my answers (Kaley's will come soon), and hopefully they give you some insight into why we are doing this.

Oh, also, I'm Christy.

Where are you located?
Last month, I relocated to Brooklyn, New York. According to Emmy nominee, Lena Dunham, being from New York makes a person automatically interesting. I think my daily subway sweat stains would beg to differ, but I am just going with it. I live in a neighborhood called Ditmas Park where I believe a spontaneous musical is bound to happen any day now. It's really great. I am not sure whether I can claim being a New Yorker yet, but I definitely think tourists in Midtown walk too slowly and that anyone who talks loudly on the subway should be fined one month’s rent.

How would you describe your personal style?
Probably “Wizard Chic”. Lots of cloaks, pointy hats, owls as accessories.

Not really.

I am probably super wrong about this, but I guess I would say I have a subdued nerdy, retro vibe. Is that even a thing? By the way, it took me about 15 minutes to write that description. I definitely do not have my style down to a science at all. I can, however, tell you the types of clothing I am attracted to. High-waisted pants or skirts are my jam. I belt almost everything I own like an addict. It’s all about that waist. I like colors. Bright colors. Colors that can usually be found in a sunset or on a Lisa Frank sticker. Patterns are great too. I like bold jewelry, though I don’t have much, and I wear simple flats daily, but I would rather be wearing heels. Wedges freaked me out at first, but I am coming around.

Describe/provide an example of your style on a good day and a bad day.

Let’s start with the good news. Sometimes, by my standards, I dress pretty well. Here is me on my best day:

And by “best day”, I mean best day I will ever have. In this picture, I am making a face like mmm mmm mmmmmm, which is how I felt that day. That’s Kaley in the background fiercely fluffing my train like a champion MOH. But legitimately, me on a good day…let’s see…

This might not be the absolute best example, but I like it. Here I am wearing my favorite color, a kooky pattern, and a bold piece of jewelry. I also have on my signature glasses, which (I hope) spice up any ensemble. Ordinarily I would have tucked and belted. Not sure why I didn’t that day. Obviously the hand on the hip is to indicate sass.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that I have more awkward fashion days than fabulous ones. Here I am on a bad day:

Proud to say I have not untagged this picture of me on Facebook

Yeesh. Even my fierce glasses couldn’t save this ensemble. T-shirt and Nike shorts. Totally off-putting toilet seat accessory. No sass to be found.

This picture was actually taken while I was working at camp, but I am not going to pretend that this exact same outfit doesn’t make an appearance or two in my week-to-week looks. I usually leave out the toilet seat though.

What is the story of your friendship with your co- writer?

Kaley, being older and wiser than me, was a camp counselor when I was a camper. She and her twin sister, Lauren, were always so funny and interesting, saying things like “fabulous” and performing selections from musicals. When I went to college at Baylor University, Kaley and Lauren were also there. For a long time Kaley extended a standing invitation to watch Spiceworld together (one of the better movies of the last century). This never came to fruition, however, as I assumed that camp counselor Kaley (who was so cool that she once made her hair look like Rita Repulsa from Power Rangers) was just being nice and wouldn’t actually be interested in hanging out with little ol' me.

When we worked together the following summer at camp, I realized that Kaley wasn’t so scary-cool at all. She was actually kind of just regular cool and sometimes she was even (in the best way possible) a major dork. From there, BAM. Friends for life. She became the person who hemmed my skirts, made lame days in Waco bearable, and stood beside me when I got married.

Provide a picture that best describes your friendship. Explain.

I actually have a series of pictures, if you don’t mind.

These are all pictures of Kaley and I attempting to “smize”, that is “smile with your eyes”. According to Tyra Banks, smizing is the key to modeling. Even though we used to get together every week to watch America’s Next Top Model, that’s not why I chose these pictures. I chose them because while I am legitimately trying to get a good smize in there, I either look sad or deranged, but Kaley is actually doing it! What talent! And smizing is not her only talent. She is absolutely glittering with gifts that I so admire. I really respect Kaley and even though I’m the one who looks like a lizard in all of these pictures, I know she respects me too, and that is a great foundation for friendship.

What is the purpose of this blog?
Recently, I was on my way to a job interview at ABC when I saw Clinton Kelly (of TLC’s What Not to Wear). I was so excited because I seriously had just been watching this guy on TV before getting on the subway. He was on the corner talking to some fans, and he just seemed like the nicest man. Also, he looks as classy in-person, I swear. I was thinking about heading over and talking to him, but then I took a good look at myself. This is the man who, with his fashion-partner Stacy, taught me that clothing is a statement to the world of how you feel about yourself. I was dressed for an interview, but I kind of felt like my clothes were saying, “I want to take a really long nap.”

I now work at ABC and if I run into Clinton again, I want my clothes to say, “I am an interesting person who showers regularly and has big life goals.” The purpose of this blog is to hold me accountable to that but also to sympathize with other women who are normal and sometimes look awesome and sometimes look kind of dumpy. This blog is also a great way for Kaley and I to connect on something we are both excited about. She lives in Texas and I’m in Brooklyn. Plane tickets aren’t cheap, y’all, so being able to work together like this is really exciting for me.

Who are your style inspirations?

Stacy London