blame it on pinterest

More specifically, blame it on some of the people I follow on Pinterest. Even more specifically, blame my burgeoning obsession with polka dot jeans on this board (by which I also mean to blame it on Tracy and Jessica (hi)). I ill-advisedly got onto Pinterest last night, before I attempted to go to bed, and spent a significant amount of time drooling over the gorgeous pairs of pants they'd been pinning. I don't think it's a full-fledged problem yet, but give it time, give it time... In the meantime, some of my favorite pairs of polka dot pants.

1. J. Crew / 2. Old Navy / 3. Forever 21 / 4. Instagram / 5. Paige Denim (on Shopbop)

I like #2 a lot, because it seems like you can't tell that it has a pattern at first, which I find really interesting. It might be more obvious in person, but I just find the concept of it being a little bit of an illusion pretty cool. "Oh, what lovely lilac jeans you- THERE'S POLKA DOTS ON THEM OH MY GOSH!" It's always kinda fun to surprise people, right?

Seriously, though, I'm pretty sure I normally reserve this level of "waaaant" for ludicrously expensive ballgowns.

What are you seriously wanting to own right now?

and this is my life

On Friday the 11th, I moved back into my residence hall after a break primarily spent crying or staring at walls.  Yeah, not a good break.  My style at home reflected that mood - I don't think I wore a single, genuinely interesting outfit the entire time I was there.  Coming back to school has, oddly enough, brought me back to life.  I'm still two seconds away from tears at almost all times, but I'm interested in things again, and it shows.  I also dyed my hair black, and cut it some more.

On Saturday, I went into downtown Cleveland with one of my friends for a meeting.  While the dress code was business casual, which was easy for my friend, who wears lots of menswear, it wasn't so easy for me.  Luckily, I found a solution - and also managed to get use out of a shirt I thought I was going to have to give up on wearing.

Shirt - Deb | Sweater - present | Skirt/belt/shoes - F21

Sunday saw a rather similar look, as I wasn't feeling too creative quite yet.  The only rule was it had to be warm, since I was heading to Target, which involved an hour-and-a-half journey using significant amounts of walking, train, and bus.  It worked!

Shirt - school uniform | Sweater - present | Pants - Windsor | Boots/headband - F21

I forgot to document Monday, but Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday all saw a pretty much identical outfit - skinny jeans, some shirt that didn't even matter, my Homestuck hoodie, and my coat. Basically, I looked like this...

Coat/pants - F21 | Boots - Charlotte Russe | Purse - Target | Hoodie - WhatPumpkin

Friday saw some variation.  And by "some variation", I mean...  Just look at those pants.  Also, check out that shirt, dyed by me, in my washing machine!  And that vest, which was actually the top to some old bridesmaid dress I picked up for $10 at a Goodwill in Chicago.  (The one good part of my break was going to Chicago for my friend's funeral.  Weird that it's a good part, right?  I guess it was, though, because I was with some of our friends, so I had people who didn't just expect me to not be upset and on edge, and so... Yeah).

Shirt - swiped from Mom | Vest/necklace - thrifted | Pants - Wet Seal | Shoes - Target

Saturday was a repeat of Tuesday-Thursday, but Sunday looked much better.  Despite the ridiculously low temperatures, I decided to go for a short skirt.  At least the only time I left the res hall was to eat, or it would have been a much less fun day...  I was super productive, and it was awesome!

Shirt - JC Penny's | Belt - Papaya | Skirt (actually a jumper/dress) - school uniform | Tights/shoes - Target | Headband - F21

  

There we go, my first week of back-at-college outfits. Go me.

Knee-highs and Chambray

Though, just so you know, they aren't in the same outfit. My outfits from this long weekend (okay, from Sunday and Monday only, because I think I slept all Saturday...pretty sure I did, since I can't remember doing anything then!)

The first outfit, I think I just wanted to wear the knee highs and the skirt. I wore it to church - and then! - to the Botanical Gardens, where I conned my mother into taking pictures of me. She's not the best with a digital camera, but oh well - there are reasons she's a programmer and not a photographer, right?

Blazer/Necklace - thrifted | Shirt/Skirt/Shoes - F21 | Socks - gift; no clue | Bracelet - Fallas

 

The next day, Monday, saw me FINALLY using a chambray shirt I snatched on a whim on sale at a JC Penney's outlet. I don't remember my thought process at the time, but for some reason, I thought getting it extra large was a good idea. (It wasn't). This thing also has weird little studs all up and down the center (why, why!?). I don't think I could ever wear it as an actual shirt. But as a jacket...? I liked the outcome, at least.

Chambray shirt - JC Penney Outlet | Tank - F21 | Pants - Target | Flats - Wet Seal

I just love (not) how windy it is here. My hair didn't want to stop flying when I took these pictures. Thing I regret most about this outfit is the lack of jewelry I put with it. It could've used a necklace and at least one bracelet. Oh well~ Mistakes are how you learn.

Buns

Okay, I'm mostly recovered from the argyle chaps. (Mostly... I'm just going "wtf" a lot about them, but less horrified, at least...) Have a few pictures from last week, since I haven't really gotten out of the house in the past two days (yay being sick!!!!!!)

If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen this picture a while back of me at school. See, the story is, a friend of mine gave me this REALLY awesome hairpin from her trip to Taiwan, where she was visiting her mom's family. Of course, I had to find some way to wear it that wouldn't have it falling out. (Let's not talk about the attempt we did the day I got it that involved a braid...) I thought of the on-top-of-the-head bun later. It looks waaaay better at the start of the day than the end of the day, which is, of course, when the following pictures utilizing the bun style were taken.

Our first outfit was taken the same day as the twitpic, last Wednesday, when I went to a meeting for planning my school's senior party.

Hair pin - Taiwan | Blazer/shirt - thrifted | Pants - Target | Oxfords - Wet Seal | Purse - from parental units | Arm party - F21, some handmade, Fallas | Necklace - R21

 

The bun came out again for the next day, mainly for keeping my hair out of my face while we learned blocking for a song at practice.

Sweater - The Limited | Shirt - Kohl's | Pants - I don't know at this point | Arm party - same as last outfit, pretty much | Necklace - old ornament stuck on a chain, I think

 

Anyone have any tips for keeping my hair more "up" that don't involve extra bobby pins? (Seriously, it takes twenty, it's insane!)

These Pants...

I should've had a better post up today...but I found these pants while I was writing it, and I've been in speechless horror ever since.

Maybe the image will leave my mind now that I've passed it on. Maybe.

Who decided argyle chaps were a good idea...?