Never Fully Dressed but Always Overdressed!

If you're puzzled by the title of my post, let me explain. The first half of the title comes from the designer of my colorful spotted dress, which is Never Fully Dressed. In my opinion, the brand's name perfectly captures what went on with most people's wardrobe during the pandemic! While I can't speak for everyone, I spent most of the my quarantine life never fully dressed and wearing mostly pajamas, only getting dressed up for a video conference (trying to look good from the waist up!) or the occasional blog post. Well, truth be told, I actually like to be overdressed when I go out of the house! Luckily for me, despite its name, the brand Never Fully Dressed makes some amazingly colorful dresses that will definitely have you stepping out of the house in style if you are lucky enough to have somewhere to go!

The idea of having somewhere to go brings me to my next point regarding the dress. While, thankfully, many places are opening up here in California, I still feel like I have nowhere to go and, thus, getting dressed up won't really be a part of my daily routine for a while. While it is exciting that we are now free to dine in at some restaurants or shop at some stores, I definitely have mixed feelings about jumping back into my old routine. At this point, my plan for the summer is to ease into life as it used to be by visiting some interesting outdoor places (and hopefully chronicling my adventures here on my blog or on Instagram) and then maybe working up to other activities, depending on what unfolds. There are just so many uncertainties right now that it's hard to say what will happen or what life will be like over the next few months. One thing I do know is that when things do get back to normal, I'll be dressed (and most likely overdressed) for the occasion!

Dress: Never Fully Dressed here
Shoes: J. Crew similar blue pumps here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Sunglasses: Celine similar white sunglasses here

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Rainbow Buttons

Memorial Day, which marks the unofficial beginning of summer, is just around the corner and, for those who play by strict fashion rules, it also marks the start to being able to wear white. Like most women, I think I have come to embrace the idea of wearing white all year round. Certainly, nothing is as chic as wearing white, although it does have its drawbacks like attracting pesky stains! This year, I decided to spring for a white skirt and take my chances with getting it dirty! Naturally, I had to get one that had a little something extra and colorful, which is why this white linen skirt with rainbow buttons from Boden ended up being the perfect fit for me! (If you love the idea of rainbow buttons as much as I do, it's also available in a dress and blouse!)

This skirt proves that good things come to those who wait. Because Boden is a British company that ships from overseas, they indicated that there would be some shipping issues due to the pandemic. I didn't really mind because, after all, it's not like I'm going anywhere soon where I need to wear a white linen skirt! While I wasn't concerned with getting my skirt right away, after about a month I began to worry. After checking the tracking number, I noticed my parcel had been sitting in New York for weeks! At that point, I came to the conclusion that my skirt was lost or stolen and I was even getting ready to cancel my order but, luckily, it showed up at my door a week later. Well, I still have nowhere to wear the skirt but we did end up taking some cute pictures at this local pastel wall while practicing social distancing, of course. To be honest, it felt nice to be dressed up again and next to a happy, colorful wall!

Skirt: Boden here, dress version, blouse version
Top: Target similar here
Shoes: J Crew similar here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Earrings: Charming Charlie

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Leopard and Bunnies

Last week, this leopard shirt dress arrived in the mail. I love the 1950s housewife vibe of the silhouette, albeit mixed with a fun, modern take on leopard print! Since we had a cool and overcast weekend and the colors of this dress are perfect for fall, I wanted to take my dress out for a stroll right away. My only question was what to wear in terms of footwear with my new purchase.  Well, J. Crew's website provided a little inspiration because they styled this dress with a pair of black and white loafers, which seemed like pure styling genius. At first I was dismayed that I didn't have a similar pair of shoes and then I remembered that I did indeed, in the form of these cute bunny loafers!

I don't wear these bunny loafers a lot but when I do, they sure turn heads! Much like the dress, the idea of the shoe is very classic but with a fun and unexpected twist once you realize that the loafers have ears! I was in the supermarket in this outfit and a few people did stop to compliment me on my footwear. So, while this look might have 1950s house wife written all over it due to the shirt dress and round vintage bag, it's definitely the look of a very quirky and stylish housewife who apparently loves animals and animal prints!

Dress: J. Crew here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Loafers: here, J. Crew black and white loafers here
Sunglasses: Alice and Olivia

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In Between Days

Now that fall is officially here, I am torn between the desire to start dressing for fall and the need to stay cool in the hot, Los Angeles weather, which normally lasts well into October. One way I have found to satisfy both needs in these "in between" days is finding clothing that is made of lightweight fabric but that also features a color palette that is appropriate for fall. This striped dress that I have been eyeing for months now and just recently purchased (and which is currently on sale, I might add!) fits the bill perfectly! Despite the fact that it has long sleeves, it kept me reasonably cool for the very hot and even muggy weather we have been experiencing here lately. A great plus is that it got me a few compliments along the way, too!

This dress arrived a couple weeks ago in the mail and I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to wear it. (In other words, the perfect wall to pair it with!) I have a favorite mural near where we were going for the day and I had my heart set on it as the ideal backdrop for my new dress.  Unfortunately, when we arrived at the location, the mural had been painted over with the visage of a rapper who had recently died. Not being one to be detoured by a wall that didn't work out, I found this graphic black and white wall just a bit down the street. While it wasn't my first choice, I like to think that I make the best out of what I have to work with, be it dealing with less than ideal weather conditions or walls that no longer exist!

Dress: J. Crew here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Shoes: Christian Louboutin here
Earrings: J. Crew similar blue raffia earrings here

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Shaping Up

I love a fun, playful geometric print, which is exactly what this shirt dress from Anthropologie has to offer! I fell in love with the dress as soon as it landed in the new arrival section on Anthropologie's website (especially because it's from one of my favorite designers, Corey Lynn Calter), however, I waited a little bit to buy it. What was it that finally got me to make the purchase? Well, after seeing it featured on Instagram, I was smitten by how great it looked and it was then that I knew it had to be mine! I guess that just shows you the power of influencers!

My discovery of this wall was also a result of the influence of social media, as one of my favorite Pasadena Instagram accounts featured it months ago and inspired me to go seek it out! Much like my dress, the mural features a host of playful shapes and designs, which makes it the perfect backdrop for what I'm wearing! I wore the dress to a lovely dinner that featured champagne pairings with each course. I guess I like to think of my outfit and mural pairings as something similar to a chef figuring out what wine to pair with a meal. Perhaps the pairings don't always work out but when they do, it's so satisfying!

Dress: Anthropologie here
Shoes: J. Crew similar gold sandals here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here

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Stripes and Kaleidoscopes

One of my favorite prints is back on my blog and, in my opinion, is better than ever! I've posted this kaleidoscope print a couple times before on my blog in the form of a skirt (you can find these post here and here) but, of course, the print was so good I couldn't say "no" to buying it in a top! While I paid close to full price for the skirt in the same print, the kaleidoscope top was a steal during a recent sale at J. Crew. I think if you really love a print, you can never have too many items in it!

While this is not an outfit that I wore to work (these photos were taken a couple weeks before the school year began), it does represent the type of outfit that I like to wear for work. The striped pencil skirt and colorful, busy print makes the outfit fun with the colors and pattern mixing. However, it's still professional. Also, how fun are these pink pom pom shoes? While I might opt for flats if I was wearing this for work, because I'm on my feet all day, these shoes, I think, are definitely the perfect complement to this fun, yet polished, ensemble!

Shirt: J. Crew here
Skirt: J. Crew similar striped pencil skirt here
Shoes: Anthropologie similar pink suede pumps here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here

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Rainbow Separates

Last week, we had a quick lunch in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. In addition to a number of tasty restaurants serving up some quick bites, Eagle Rock is also the home of Occidental College, where I went to school, so being back there was a trip down memory lane! Things have certainly changed quite a bit since then with lots of new shops and restaurants. It's fun going back every once in a while and trying some of these new places out and maybe even feeling like a college kid again! For my stroll down memory lane, I wore this rainbow two piece set from J. Crew. Even though it's a skirt and a top, it sure does look like it could be a dress. In fact, my husband and several strangers that complimented me on the outfit all referred to it as a dress!

I actually purchased the skirt first, thinking I would be content with just that one piece, however, after seeing it paired together with the top, I started to regret not getting that too because I really liked the look of the two pieces together! So, once the top came back in stock in my size, I went ahead and got it. (Just a quick heads up, these pieces have been selling out fast, but they do pop up regularly on the J. Crew and also Nordstrom websites. I've linked to both stores below!) I love the versatility of being able to pair the top and skirt together while at the same time having the option of wearing them as separates for a totally different look! Plus, did I mention that it's rainbow print? That just makes it all the more appealing! I think my college self would have definitely loved these pieces, which makes me feel young again!

Top: here and here
Skirt: here and here another rainbow skirt option here
Shoes: here
Earrings: similar raffia style earrings here
Bag: here
rainbow bag here

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