Happy International Women's Day! Feliz Día de la Mujer!

image via google

          Three years ago I was introduced to International Women's Day while abroad. Oddly before then I wasn't really aware of the day. It wasn't until interning in Ecuador with a battered women's shelter, La Casa Matilde, that I even knew people celebrated it. The first time I celebrated it La Casa Matilde and other women's organizations put together a march to raise awareness of women's issues. That day was so inspiring as women, children, and organizations that fight for women's issues all marched to raise awareness of women's issues and celebrate women. At the end of the march all the organizations met up and they had different presentations for the audience of mostly children, about hard issues like domestic violence. I and some of the other volunteers got up and took a "Domestic Violence Vaccine" after pledging not to commit domestic violence. They also had domestic violence clowns, which was a bit odd, but obviously a way to teach the kids about these issues. Since then international women's day has become a day that I remember and celebrate with enthusiasm. So today think about the women in your life who have made a difference to you and also think about women less fortunate. If you can, think about donating to a women's organization or volunteering with one. Either way just take some time to remember and celebrate the women in your life and around the world.

Retro Summer Dreams

       Despite it still being February I can't help but daydream about spring/Summer and a time when jackets are unnecessary and skirts and dresses can be worn without leggings or tights. As I live in Minnesota and the weather can be rather unpredictable the arrival of spring is always a guessing game. But, given the incredibly mild winter we've had so far I can only hope we'll have a quick jump to spring weather soon. In the meantime I've been soaking up all the 50's inspired Spring/Summer fashion editorials and ads around the web. I'm as sucker for anything 50's/60's inspired, especially clothing. I'm always looking to add 50's inspired element to my wardrobe, so when I saw this Prada ad and the L'Officiel editorial my mind was buzzing with inspiration and longing for summer heat. Enjoy!

*All images from  L'Officiel Paris February 2012 via Fashion Gone Rogue

Current Obsessions

      So even though I found out my camera was broken a couple weeks ago it took me until this week to finally call customer service. So in a couple days I should be able to send off my camera and hopefully they can fix it. Until I know the status of the camera I probably won't be doing any outfit photos. But fear not I have, in my impromptu blogging hiatus, come up with a ton of outfit ideas. I seriously have a paper list of different outfits, I'm nerdy like that. So when the camera situation is figured out there will be a ton of outfit posts, though they may be of lower quality if my camera is unfixable. In the meantime I'm going to post some non outfit posts.
      To begin with I figured I'd post some stuff that I've been Obsessed with as of late.

1. M.I.A.'s Bad Girls Video

I've been watching this video and listening to the song on repeat since last saturday.I have no idea how they do tricks like that but it's terrifyingly awesome. I love M.I.A.'s personal style, I have love for anyone who takes fashion risks and has fun with fashion. This video definitely shows her quirky style and is just bad ass, enjoy. 

2. Skirts 

via Natalie's fashion Workshop

via Streetstyle Aesthetic

I found this skirt for 2 or 3 dollars at Goodwill and have kind of been obsessed with it since. The skirt itself is ok but I put together an outfit with it, my black boots and other assorted items that I'm really into. This outfit will probably be my first outfit post when my camera is fixed. while spending far too much time on pinterest I found the above photos and have decided I need a colorful chiffon maxi skirt in my life for summer. American Apparel has some that I like, but they're a bit pricey so I'm gonna try and look for some in thrift stores in the meantime. Too bad I wasn't this enthusiastic about skirts when I was doing the skirt challenge. 

3. Curly hair retro style scarf up-do

                                            

I've been getting kinda sick of my hair lately. I need a change, maybe a cut and/or color. In the meantime I've been trying to experiment with different hair styles. So, while searching CurlyNikki for hair-spiration I came across this tutorial from the girls at A Curl's Best Friend. Although I always liked this retro style up-do I had only really seen it on straight hair and I though I'd have to straighten my hair to do it.  Since going natural I have a very low tolerance for the whole hair straightening process so I never really gave it second thought. So when I saw the curly tutorial I was super excited and kind of mystified as to why it never occurred to me to just do this with my natural hair.

4. Downton Abbey

Yup I've become one of those people that's into Downton Abbey. I first heard about it last year when it won at the Emmys. I wasn't really roaring to try it since for some reason the idea of period dramas can often put me off a wee bit. But, after last Saturday's SNL skit and hearing from friends how good it is I decided I should at least give it a try and see what all the fuss is about. Many hours later I've watched the whole first season (available on Netflix) and caught up with the second season via pbs.org. I'm hooked. You should definitely watch it if you haven't if for no other reason then the ridiculousness of Maggie Smith's character. There are also some lovely Victorian fashions and lots of drama. These people hired people to get them dressed everyday, the rich people don't know how to make tea for themselves, they freak out about electricity and the telephone and look down on Lawyers, Doctors, and people that have jobs. All very interesting stuff. If you haven't you should definitely give Downton Abbey a try.

On the same page: Topshop Unique SS12 goes 90's Cleopatra

Apparently Topshop's Unique SS12 line and I are totally on the same page. Though I try and look through at least some of the designer runway shows I am by no means someone who knows them all by heart. So when I checked my e-mail recently and saw Topshop's e-mail about the arrival of their SS12 Unique line I was immediately in love. The line is Cleopatra meets the 90's, with lots of graphic prints and gold. Although my Cleopatra inspiration is more 50's/60's and less 90's I still love the line and it definitely gives a different perspective on Cleopatra. Loves it!

Here are some of my favorite looks from the show:

Black and white

Love the black and gold especially the first two on the left

Black, white and gold

Pinks, love the two on the right

The blues

*All images via style.com

Technical Difficulties and Style Resolutions

Image found via Google

      Even though i'm neither here nor there about New Year's resolutions I did end up making some this year. Most of my resolutions are personal but I did make a few blog ones, mostly updating more and improving the quality of my photos. Eager to start working on my blog resolutions early I went out and bought a tripod. Unfortunately, when I came home and attempted to take photos with it I found out my camera is dead. Luckily my camera's extended warranty is still valid, so hopefully I can get it fixed soon. I also have a cheaper camera I can use in the meantime. But, this may mean posts will be slower with fewer pictures until the camera situation is fixed.

      Anyway I figured it would be fun to also make some style resolutions for the blog. I think it'll help me further evolve my style and take more style risks in this still young year. So here are my 12 style Resolutions for 2012:

     1. wear a completely neutral outfit/ work more neutrals into my wardrobe
     2. experiment more with black
     3. break in my docs
     4. wear/ find more blazers
     5. try out pastels
     6. Thrift more but be pickier about clothes I buy
     7. re-focus on pants
     8. invest in work wear
     9. attempt to wear heels more
    10. experiment more with makeup and hairstyles
    11. experiment more with accessories
    12. Go through closet: donate unwanted and wear unworn

2011 asos purchases

          
             Since I'm newly re-unemployed I'm going back to my "don't buy any new (non thrift/ secondhand) clothes until employed" pledge. I may have to cave and buy a couple pairs of pants at some point, but I'm gonna try and look for them awhile in thrift stores first. Anyway while I was still technically employed (last week) and Asos was having a sale, I decided I should go for it and buy a few last minute pieces I've been drooling over for a while. As you can see this year I'm all about the statement Jewelry, which is good since one of my weaker fashion skills is accessorizing. I'm hoping to step up my accessorizing game this year and, of course, channel Liz Taylor as Cleopatra as much as possible. I'd been drooling over the statement necklace ever since I saw it on Asos and since it was on sale and back in stock I decided the time was right to buy. The earrings weren't on sale but are so cute I couldn't resist. The mesh shirt is a bit of a departure for me, especially since it's January and cold. I bought this black forever 21 dress a couple years ago, as a bit of an impulse buy, that I really like but it's sleeveless. I don't mind sleeveless but this is a short black tube dress and wearing it as is just didn't feel very me. I'd been looking for a good sheer/mesh shirt to put under it but hadn't found anything good, so when I saw this online I knew it would be perfect. I still have to try it on with the dress and make sure it works though. There was another item, a mesh bodysuit, on Asos that also would have worked. But, years of Dance leotards and  less then fond memories of bodysuits I wore when I was 5 deterred me from buying it. I figured this shirt would get me more mileage, it'll work well with the dress, as a shirt with a tank top underneath during the summer and possibly with a blazer during the winter. Anyway if I hate it with the dress I can always return it and get the bodysuit (same price). Finally I've been lusting after this red knit dress for a while. It has a 50's cut to it and seems a little Cleopatra to me. I think with a statement necklace and some cute shoes it'll be fabulous. Anyway you should be seeing these in outfit posts as soon as I receive them and I'll let you know how they are in person.

          So after my few months of relatively little thrifting (gasp) I'm getting back in full gear for the new year. First though, I think I'm gonna go through my closet and see what I can donate and try to come up with creative way to wear stuff that's I already own but rarely wear or haven't worn yet. I love thrifting but I'm gonna try and spend as little money as possible, period, until I get another job. I'm also gonna try and be more selective while thrifting. I'm usually pretty good at this but there's always room for improvement. So that should keep be busy for a while and hopefully drum up some content for the blog as well. 

Happy New Year!!!!

via Google

        It's officially 2012! Happy New Year!!!! I hope you all had a fabulous New Year's Eve and aren't too hungover today. I didn't really write down any formal New Year's Resolution, but one goal I have this year is to post more on the blog. 2012 will be my first full year of blogging and I want to post at least four times a month if not more.

Dress: Asos  Tights and Belt: Target  Shoes: Urban Outfitters

I rang in 2012 at a friends New Year's Eve party then came home and watched Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper on CNN. All in all a pretty good NYE. I knew I'd probably wear this dress on New Year's Eve if I did anything. Thankfully the party I went to had a dress code so I wasn't terribly over dressed. I was probably the sparkliest person in attendance, but everyone likes sparkles right?  As I've mentioned I go this dress as a birthday present to myself back in November. It's a tad too big, and I should probably get it tailored, but since I don't really have the money to pony up for a tailor I just decided to belt it and call it a day. I think it looked pretty good in the end and I was able to ring in the new year pretty fashionably, always a plus.