Remix Round Six: Shorty

This dress was my first-ever purchase from Modcloth:

Sci-Fi Heroine Dress

Totally cute, totally interesting to look at, totally too short. I wore it a couple time with leggings, but it was just so, so short that I never felt comfortable in it; plus, I have the kind of legs that just don't look good in leggings, so I still want to conceal them.  I finally reached the conclusion that this dress is just not a dress for me, but it is a shirt.  The only problem with that conclusion, is that this shirt has an elastic band really, really high.  It doesn't look like it in the picture, but it's right below the boobs.

I've contemplated for a while trying to shorten the skirt to make some kind of tunic, but the fabric is slippery nylon and hard to sew, so I fretted that I'd make this already unwearable dress even more unwearable.  I've come up with two potential solutions to this issue, and I now put it to the group for some feedback.

Exhibit A:

Sci-Fi Heroine Dress with high-waist interlock skirt from American Apparel

Disregard the tights--and the wrinkles

Exhibit B:

Sci-Fi Heroine Dress with High-Waist Grey Flannel Shorts

I'm not sure how I feel about the second outfit.  Could be cute, but also could be construed as "wacky" and that really drives me nuts.

Thoughts?  Or should I just give up and try to hem it?

Remix Round Five: Wrap Dress

I almost went two weeks without a remix!  Argh!  So sorry about that; I've been feeling a bit sluggish and fat these days and didn't really want to try on or photograph any clothes--I'm sure you understand.  It's that odd weather time of year where it looks like fall, but occasionally still gets pretty warm.  I'm yearning to wear nothing but sweaters, but then I'd sweat constantly.  Basically, this is a tough time for me, wardrobewise.

I came up with an experimental outfit that I'm quite on the fence about, so would appreciate any and all feedback my lovely readers have for me.

Back Story:
I hate wearing button-down shirts.  I find them uncomfortable because the collars always seem to sit really high on me, they gap in the front, they always ride up my waist, and it always seems like small is slightly too small, but medium is huge and shapeless.  The problem is, I love to wear sweatervests, and I love the way a button-down looks under a v-neck sweater, and I feel like if I'm going to be "professional" I have to own some of these damn shirts, so I keep buying the damn things and then never wear them.

This morning, I was rooting through my closet and I espied these two, short-sleeved button down shirts I bought last year.

Another problem is that I always get really excited and buy two
of everything, and then when I discover the item is imperfect for me
I have two of it.

When I wear these shirts (which is rarely--I think I've worn each once), I usually put a cami underneath and leave the top button undone.  This solves the collar and the gaping problem, but may look a bit sexier than I want to at the public library.  So I thought I might try putting one of these shirts under a basic black wrap dress that I have.

Here's how I usually wear the wrap dress:

Nude or fun-colored cami underneath--easy peasy

Here it is with the silver button-down:

Gah! That collar is grazing my ears--so uncomfortable!

It looks a bit like a romper, which I don't mind, but I also feel like it makes me look a bit fat, though that may be the pizza I had last night and not the outfit.

What's the verdict on this one?  Weird?  Good?  I should just stop trying with the button-downs and let the dream die?

Remix: Round Four

This is not quite a full remix, more a tribute to the power of accessories.

This is one of my favorite outfits.  I'm obsessed with horizontal stripes lately, and I think this is a lovely, classic, slightly Parisian look that I am in very real danger of overdoing.  Usually, I pair this emsemble with a red cardigan and call it good, this time I decided to work in an accessory that I've had for a while but haven't worn yet.

Fabulous blue tights!

Every damn morning I go for a run and I see Brown University and RISD students walking around in kick-ass bright tights.  I've had these blue tights for a while, but could just not figure out how to make them work.  I'd try them on with various outfits, but it always ended up looking silly.  Then I worried that I'm too old for bright tights and that this trend has passed me by!  Then I calm down, and try to figure something else out (it's a process)  I'm pretty pleased with the way this turned out, I have to say.

Once I get to work, I'll need to cover up since it's always cold there, so I jettisoned my bright red cardigan for a more subdued gunmetal and added a kicky scarf:

What do you think?  Also, anyone have any other ideas for the bright blue tights, or am I just completely overthinking things?

Remix: Round Three

I got this dress for $4 at Target about two years ago.

Because it was hella on clearance, I had to take a size large, which is just a wee bit too big, but since it's all loose and flowy, it doesn't matter too much.

I just loved this detail too much to pass it up.  The problem is that this dress has pretty much no coverage on top, and because of the deeps V, I can't even wear a strapless bra with it, meaning I have to go braless.  I do not go braless.  Because of that, this has become my "lying around the house" dress, which works, but seems like a waste since it is so cute.  Now, I am going to try out that whole using a dress as a skirt thing, and I think this is an ideal first candidate.

First I tried wearing the skirt with a navy button-down over it:

Not bad.  The issue here is that because the dress is so large, the belt really pinches it making those gathers which I do not care for. I tried it first with a tighter belt, which was a huge problem, so I also had to settle for the belt with the cut-out shape in the front, which doesn't really disguise the shirt knot that well--that belt had a lot to contain.  Overall, I do not care for it.

I swapped out the button-down for a tank top and cardigan.  The cardigan serves both the purpose of keeping me warm, but also hiding some of the bunching around the waist.  End result:

Much better, I think.  The tank top is thinner, so I feel less bulky overall, and the cardigan handily disguises many of the weird wrinkles.  Add in my pair of brown boots, and we've got some hippie librarian chic!

What do you guys think?

Remix: Round Two, Summer into Fall

This past week, The Everyday Minimalist did a series on remixing outfits that was totally helpful and awesome.  It's like she read my mind! I really like the idea of using a dress as a skirt or a top rather than as a dress, and I think I'll get there soon, but not quite yet.  This week a dress is still a dress, just appropriate for a different season.

Behold, my adorable dress from Modcloth:

Love!

Perfect summer dress and it has enough coverage in the boob area that I can wear it to work at the library.  But since it's a summer dress, that means I have to put it to the back of my closet at the end of August, no?

Hell no:

With a little cardigan and a belt: voila!  Perfect for fall.  It's still warm enough that I could go barelegged with a pair of black flats, but once it gets colder, I can go with tights and boots and be just as cozy.  Double bonus, I have a similar belt in brown, so I can re-remix this outfits in earthier tones should I feel like it.

What's likely to happen in this situation, is that I will remix this dress in so many ways that my co-workers will get sick of looking at it, but who cares!

Remix: Round One

I know that Fashion Instruction Legends Stacey and Clinton always urge people to buy pieces that they can then mix and match, but I find that I keep getting hung up what I think of as the One Outfit Thing.  The one outfit thing is where my brain says: That skirt, you wear it with that top, maybe that other one, but no other.  This results in me not only buying the same clothes over and over, but also wearing the same thing all the time.  I have a full closet, so there's no reason for this to happen.  I also have a tendency to just wear the stuff on the top of the pile, and neglect the clothes a couple layers down, but I blame my closet's poor design for this as well as my own laziness.

Does this happen to anyone else?

This fall, I am going to make a serious effort to remix my wardrobe and trick my brain into thinking that I have more clothes than I do.  Hopefully, this will make my existing wardrobe more fun for me and I'll stop buying new outfits.  I'm also quickly realizing that with fall semester comes the "everyone wants a piece of Andria" time of year.  School is starting, which means that I have to teach a whole lotta classes at job #2, and job #1 is going to start giving computer classes in October, which I will also be teaching.  This means extra running around, and extra standing in front of large groups of people, for which I'd like to look good.

I'm going to spend some time trying on outfits, and, in the spirit of Cher Horowitz from the movie Clueless, I'm going to take pictures of them so I remember what I did.  It would be nice to be the type of girl who just opens the closet door and yanks out the perfect outfit, but I have to admit, time has proven that I am not that girl.

For my first trick, I re-evaluated my navy skirt.  I bought it because it's a classic piece, has a great shape, and because it goes with everything.  What I failed to remember is the part about it going with everything!  The first time I wore it, I paired it with a lighter blue sweater, and the result was apparently so pleasing to me that I haven't worn it with any other top since.

Last week I set out to change that.

This is my standard outfit when I wear this skirt:

Cute, right?

Totally comfortable and cute, I'm just sick of wearing it.

Here's the remix:

White polka dots on a dark brown shirt because,
brown goes with navy!  It took me a while to
figure that out, sadly.

This outfit is a double remix because that brown shirt was languishing in my closet, unworn, due to the fact that it had some serious ruffling going on in the front.  It was just too much ruffle.  Then, when I looked at it, I realized that the edges of the ruffle were unfinished, that means I can cut off the offending ruffle without ruining the shirt!  So I did!  Now I have a shirt that I like and will actually wear, and this outfit inspired a man in a tracksuit to say "I like your style."

The goal is to remix at least one outfit per week.  Let's see how I do.  I wish a had a mannequin...