Double D

This week's IFB Project is all about the greatest fabric of them all: denim! 

At first I simply wanted to post an outfit of the day but there were just too many options, all of these looks did, however, include one item: my good old denim shirt.
 

I wasn't always a fan of denim shirts. I live in jeans, and in my opinion  the whole denim on denim look was just one pair of western boots away from a cowgirl costume - but I recently discovered how wrong I was, and now I find myself rocking the denim on denim style at least one a week. 

All it took were the right accessories! 

(and a little inspiration from J. Crew)

Chambray Shirt / H&M lace Skirt  / Mango Skinny Jeans 

Keds Sneakers / Necklace / Leather Belt / Wallace & Barnes weekender

What's your favorite way to rock denim? 

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers
Laura

Get Gatsby

There is indeed one thing that I am more excited about than Baz Luhrmann's new adaptation of the Great Gatsby, and that is the movie's soundtrack.  

picture via Amazon

You can listen to a preview on  rollingstone.com  here, and pre-order the album on iTunes starting tomorrow before it will officially be released on May 7th ...which seems to be awfully far away.

As for favorites, I will have to go with Jack White's mind-blowing cover of U2's Love is Blindness (hardly a surprise),  and Florence and the Machine's Over the Love.  But that being said, there isn't one song on it that I didn't enjoy, even though some of the featured artist aren't exactly what I usually go for (*cough* Fergie). 

I can't wait.

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers

Laura

What's Your Story?

This weeks IFB project is all about jewelry, be it costume jewelry, family heirlooms, or that plastic ring you found in a cereal box when you were ten.

Before I begin I have to say that I'm not a jewelry kind of girl. I hardly wear earrings, prefer watches over bracelets, and if I wear my signature charm necklace twice a week, then that's a lot. But if I do put on jewelry it is always a piece with a story. And I'd like to share a few of them with you:

Let's start with the most meaningful one, and that would be the Tiffany's pineapple charm necklace. My grandpa used to give me and my cousins an allowance each month. My cousins, who lived right next to him, got their's each month. I, however, only saw him on holidays, and usually got a year's worth of allowance all at once. When he passed away two years ago, I wanted to spend that last money from him on something to remember him by, and a piece of jewelry seemed like the obvious choice. Why a pineapple? There are many reasons, some private, and some as silly as that he loved Toast Hawaii.

Then there's the Betsey Johnson anchor necklace, which was nothing but a splurge to reward myself for acing a tough exam, but I think it's important to have items that remind you of accomplishments, even small ones.  

The tennis racket, lady bug, horse charm bracelet is the very first piece of real jewelry I owned. And most of the charms have their own little stories, some funny, some sad, some more meaningful than others, but everytime I put it on it's like opening an old photo album.

The pearl necklace and the art deco bracelet are the family heirlooms in my collection - although technically not my family's. Both were given to me for my 20th Birthday by my neighbor, who got them from her best friend. They had known each other for over 70 years, and the pieces always remind of that strong bond between best friends.  

What are the stories behind your jewels? I'd love to hear some of them.

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers

Laura

Work it Girl...

At first a was thrilled when it was finally warm enough to break out my ballet flats and boat shoes, but it wasn't long before I started missing my trusty old work boots, and it may have something to do with this picture of Kiernan Shipka for Foam Magazine:

source

I guess boot season isn't over yet, and there are so many to choose from...

 ASH / Steve Madden

Copo De Nieve  / ASOS 

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers
Laura

Botanic Blouse

When I saw Alexandra Chando wear this gorgeous floral print blouse on the Lying Game a few weeks back, I knew I had to have it. Garden Festival Season is coming up, and how cute would this look with a pair of jean shorts and green wellies? 

source

I was even more excited when I found out that the blouse is from Zara (as I am saving up for a very special coat, and don't want to "waste" money on trendy items I'll wear once or twice), but the excitement disappeared as soon as I realized that it is from last season, and sold out... 

But that should make the chances of it being on ebay higher right? Well sort of. It was on ebay, but other Lying Game fans were after it too, and the price was far beyond anything justifiable...

So I moved on until I stumbled across this: 

AHAI SHOPPING

Ahai Shopping is a Korean online store that sells ...let's call it designer inspired pieces. I actually went on the site because a friend recommended it for Betsey Johnson-esque costume jewelry, and while I didn't buy any jewelry I finally got my blouse for $9.99:

Floral Shirt

The only downside is that the worldwide free shipping is on the slower side. I've shopped on similar Asian sites before, and when they say 15 to 30 days you should expect 29. I usually don't mind the wait, but since I want to wear this to an event in the very near future, I didn't want to take any chances, and decided to pay the $16 express shipping fee - which is still a steal compared to the ebay price.

So check out Ahai, you might just find something you've been looking for.

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers

Laura

It's a Cycle...

This week's IFB project asked us to blog about sustainable style, and what it means to us. Well for me it means mainly one thing: Recycling. 

A good half of my wardrobe comes from thrift stores, flew markets, or my parent's closet.  Ever since I was a little kid I loved shopping at thrift or secondhand stores. The main reasons were A) I loved having things that no one else had, and B) the mystery: Who had owned the clothes before me? Where had they been? And what had they been through? The Nancy Drew in me found it fascinating.  After I grew out off my finds I usually sold them at the Sunday morning flew market - long before I discovered Ebay.

It was a cycle. I found something,  enjoyed it for a while, and passed it on to someone else. And except for Ebay entering the equation not much has changed.

These are only some my favorite finds, and yes that's a real Mulberry, and it cost me less than a venti latte at Starbucks, because the leather was stained - which just makes it that much cooler to me.

So give "recycling" your clothes a try, you'll never know what you might find.

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers

Laura

Sail Away...

This dress:

Mod Cloth

this bag:

Moschino

That's all. 

I need a beach vacation.

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers

Laura

Watercolor Princess

How perfect was the season finale of the Carrie Diaries?  I tuned in at the beginning of the season, expecting a cute little show that's perfect to watch while cleaning the house. But now, I can honestly say that it has been my favorite show of the year. It's just so raw and relatable underneath all the tulle and teased hair. So here's my favorite look from the finale, and less theatrical versions for everyday:

Carrie starts her summer in the City in a fantastic Alice and Olivia dress

Alice And Olivia Lollie Dress

 But since we can't all be Carrie Bradshaw, and go to school or work in an 800 dollar party dress, you might want to have a look at these:

Ted Baker

Mod Cloth

H&M

Just add your favorite Denim Jacket and leave your own mark on the world - Carrie Bradshaw Style.

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers

Laura

I'm Not Dead...

First of all, sorry for not posting anything all week, but I actually have a very good reason. 

I was supposed to get my wisdom teeth out on Tuesday afternoon. No big deal I though, I already got the top ones out at 14, and that was a cakewalk...  But  well, it was a little more complicated this time. On the first try a root broke and got stuck on a nerve. My terrified dentist (he was more freaked out than me) sent me to a specialist, and after a night of agonizing pain and a two hour  surgery on Wednesday morning I was finally root free. 

The rest of the week was a painkiller induced blur, but now I'm almost pain free, and just waiting for the swelling to go down, because right now I do look look like the kid from A Christmas Story (blond pixie cuts and swollen cheeks will do that to you). So until then I leave you with this:

                                                                                          Source: Burberry on Pinterest

I want to live in this campaign (and the Body Tender perfume is pretty amazing, too)

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers,

Laura

Spring Fever

Even though it finally stopped snowing, the temperatures are still way below what would even be remotely acceptable for Spring...  but I'd rather freeze than put on my down parka one more time.  Especially if there are so many cute Spring jackets out there...

River Island via ASOS

Free People via ASOS

Anthropologie

From biker jackets to trench coats this season's spring outerwear seems to be in full bloom, and the fun prints are sure to cheer you up until the real flowers finally come out...

Peace, Love, and Spring Showers

Laura