daily duds: inspired by diane (again)

Remember this wardrobe replica post where I was inspired to re-create a Diane von Furstenberg shirt dress that I had been coveting for weeks? Well, I’m at it again. I’ve seen this pink and purple DVF REARA DRESS (which is a take on the current color-block trend) all over the Internet lately and admit that I was smitten with it from the start.



Now while I adore the DVF line, I live a less-than-lavish lifestyle and would have to sacrifice my son’s college savings in order to add her pieces to my wardrobe. The REARA DRESS retails for more than $300, but in order to keep my son’s college savings intact (and my bank account out of the red), I created a similar look for a teeny fraction of the REARA’s astronomical price tag. With the exception of the handbag and the earrings, the entire look came from Forever 21 (although the skirt was thrifted).



I’ll be honest and admit that despite my love of color, I probably would have never thought to pair purple and pink but was obviously more than eager to give it a go after laying my eyes on the REARA DRESS and re-discovering a purple skirt and loose coral blouse in my wardrobe. Since the colors of the skirt and blouse are a bit bright, I allowed those pieces to take center stage and kept everything else low-key by accessorizing with shades of brown, including a belt and pair of leopard print sandals.











words of advice: When wearing multiple solid pieces, a print accessory (like the leopard print sandals above) can take your look up a notch.

[SKIRT (Thrifted), BLOUSE, BELT, SHOES, BRACELETS and RING: Forever 21; EARRINGS: Gold Beauty Supply (I think); HANDBAG: Thrifted; PHOTO CREDIT: Nordstrom]

daily duds: blue collar worker

When I landed my first job at a local advertising agency after college, I was so excited and felt like such an adult. So much so that soon after I accepted the position, I headed to the mall to stock up on dress shirts; I remember always thinking that they were the epitome of professionalism and since I had become a working woman, I wanted to dress the part. However, it didn’t take long for me to deem those dress shirts, which I had previously thought of as professional and conservative, as too stuffy and formal and plain, and they soon began to take up residence in the back of my closet; while I had previously thought of the shirts as professional and conservative, I soon deemed them to be too stuffy and formal and plain. Despite my sudden unenthusiastic feelings about those dress shirts, I could never bring myself to toss them whenever I cleaned my closet. I just kept them in the back of my closet, certain that I would eventually find a purpose for them in my wardrobe. And today I finally did. I layered this purple dress over a rarely-worn light blue dress shirt (although it looks white in the pictures), which is a bit of a creative and unexpected pairing that has created an entirely different look than had I just worn the dress alone. It works because blue and purple are in the same color family, and the silver accessories pull the look together.







words of advice: When it comes to layering, get creative and don’t just think tees and tanks. Dress shirts can be worn under dresses, sweaters, and even other dress shirts. For more tips on the concept of layering, check out these words of advice.

[DRESS: Thrifted; DRESS SHIRT: New York and Company; SHOES: Bakers; EARRINGS: I don’t remember; RING, BRACELETS, and BELT: Forever 21]

just words: unwritten

As a little girl, I always wanted to be a writer. I never wanted to be anything else. I envisioned myself holed up in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere, feverishly churning out written works of art that would make the New York Times Best Seller List. So I took what I thought were the necessary steps to get to where I wanted to be: I excelled in my high school AP English courses, I majored in journalism in college, I accepted any freelance opportunity that came my way and I honed my skills by attending workshops and conferences. Then I grew up. I became an adult with responsibilities and financial obligations and a boisterous little boy following me around calling me Mom. And my dream of writing became just that—a dream. I had allowed it to become an unattainable fantasy that was collecting dust in the back of my mind. But deep down, there has always been that little girl in me that secretly thinks she can change the world with just a computer and the thoughts in her head.

Unfortunately, on the surface there’s a woman who sometimes struggles with bouts of uncertainty. I don’t doubt that the ability is there, but with the advent of text message shorthand, magazines filled with more advertisements than articles, and the ability to broadcast your thoughts in 140 characters (or less), I often wonder if my God-given gift of creating compelling composition will ever translate into a meaningful contribution to the world we live in.

When I started words & wardrobes, my aim wasn’t fame—I didn’t aspire to design handbags or star in television commercials or partner with big-name brands. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m into fashion and definitely wouldn’t turn down any of the above-mentioned opportunities if presented to me, but all I wanted for was someone to witness how effortlessly my thoughts flow from brain to keyboard to computer screen and present me with a chance to make my dream a reality. Delusions of grandeur, I know.

Here’s the thing: Ten years ago, I never would have imagined that I’d be where I am right now. I had a plan, a blueprint for the life I thought I would be living at this age. But I’ve spent the last year enveloped in a cloud of unbearable uncertainty and apprehension and anxiety, unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel like I’ve lost a lot of things in the last year or so, and on more than one occasion, I’ve found myself curled up on the bathroom floor in the fetal position bawling my eyes out* and questioning everything—my life, my purpose, myself. (Yes, I can be a bit of a wuss sometimes.) But really, I just want to write. I want to be the woman that I imagined I would be—the accomplished, award-winning author. But I’m scared. The circumstances are ripe for me to do great things, but fear has me paralyzed. Stuck. Afraid to make the one move that could completely turn things around for me. I know I just need to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

I have the tools. I have the drive. I have the talent. I have the support. I have the time. Now the only thing I need to have is the courage to get out of my own way...

*I’m joking about the whole fetal position thing. However, the tears, which came complete with blubbering speech and gasping breaths, were very real. Hey, I’ve already copped to being a wuss. What do you expect?

daily duds: lavender lines

As I’ve mentioned before, one thing that I love about warm weather is that getting dressed for ninety-degree weather is pretty effortless. For me, it means simply reaching for a dress and a few accessories—and that’s exactly what I did yesterday. Despite the constant warnings of rain by local meteorologists, the sun managed to shine peek out from behind the clouds every so often (even though it was accompanied by bothersome gusts of wind). I picked up this lavender-and-white striped strapless dress a few weeks ago at the thrift but struggled to decide which shoes to wear with it. Lavender shoes were out of the question, lest I feel like I was headed to church to recite an Easter speech. When it was all said and done, I settled on shoes that I felt complemented my muted accessories. I don’t think it turned out half bad...











words of advice: Reach for a neutral when accessorizing. Colors like tan, brown, and navy can complement your look without overpowering it.

[DRESS: Thrifted; SHOES: Bakers; NECKLACE: Borrowed; BRACELETS: Forever 21; EARRINGS: Borrowed]

the return: renewed, refreshed, and recharged

Despite my recent uncertainty about the future of words & wardrobes, it only took me eleven days to realize that my absence was indeed a temporary hiatus and not a permanent ending.

During my short-lived sartorial sabbatical, I realized that many of the ‘reasons’ I mentioned for not wanting to blog anymore actually had less to do with the blog and more to do with my dissatisfaction in other areas of my life. So instead of permanently abandoning words & wardrobes (and my readers), I figured that the best course of action was to find solutions for the things that were causing my feelings of discontent so that I can happily resume blogging (without putting a heap of unnecessary pressure on myself). Apparently ‘blogger burnout’ is fairly common, but I regret that I was so weak-willed as to consider shutting down words & wardrobes for good.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “In writing, there is first a creating stage—a time you look for ideas, you explore, you cast around for what you want to say. Like the first phase of building, this creating stage is full of possibilities.” For me, my creating stage seemed to begin the instant I decided to step away from the blog; I started finding inspiration everywhere and coming up with new ideas and rediscovering the excitement that I felt when I first started words & wardrobes nearly a year ago.

So let’s just call this a lesson in tenacity. In other words, after a much-needed, nearly two-week long break, I’m baaaaack…

the end

Six. That’s how many times I’ve posted since April 1st. Out of 41 days, I only posted on six of those days. Every day I tell myself that I’m going to post...but I don’t. I think it’s a combination of things: lack of motivation, personal issues, waning interest, a strong desire to write more and photograph less. Whatever it is, it’s caused the blog to take a backseat and become pretty low on my list of priorities. With that said, I want to let you know that I’m not going to be posting anymore. I don’t know if this will be a temporary hiatus or a permanent ending, but what I do know is that I’m grateful for all of your comments, your e-mails, your support. You’ve all been very good to me and I appreciate that. I love you guys.

daily duds: accordion to you

It has finally happened. I think I’ve found a new obsession, something that I love more than my faux leather jacket (and you know how much I looooove that jacket). It’s easy and breezy and perfect for summer weather. And if I could wear it every single day, I would. Okay, so I’m being a bit dramatic, but I really like this accordion pleat dress…so maybe I would wear it once a week.



I found this dress last week and brought it home without even trying it on. I love the pattern. I love the colors. I love the fact that it’s a tad bit longer in the back (you also know how I looooove asymmetrical hemlines). But what I love most about this dress is that I scored it for a whopping six bucks. Six dollars! Can you believe it?! It’s so comfortable and I know that it’s going to get a lot of wear in the approaching months. I kept the accessories neutral and simple and let the dress be the star. Sigh. It’s official: I’m in love with this dress--the faux leather jacket is now my second fave.















[DRESS: Factory-2-U; SHOES: Forever 21; CLUTCH: Thrifted; BRACELETS: Forever 21; RING: Forever 21; EARRINGS: Borrowed]