Gig-worthy

Labels Consignment top, Gap Outlet jeans, Nine West wedges from Ross

One side effect of being in a band is that every item of clothing I buy now get scrutinized as either gig-worthy or normal. Anything I deem "gig clothing" inevitably feels cool and gets worn just as much as more classically feminine or casual stuff, which means I feel extra-awesome in my daily life. But then when I'm picking out an outfit for a show, I don't have anything really special to wear. I mean, I could save my pleather miniskirt or this perfect flowy top strictly for band appearances, but what's the fun in that?

Ode to a flip-flop

What do I do when I'm wearing a pretty vintage dress and a nice hairstyle on a hot day and none of my regular sandals look right with it? Throw on some turquoise Old Navy flip flops, apparently. The flippy-floppy sound they made all day was very nostalgia-inducing, considering I used to live in these and a burgandyish dark pink pair all summer for years. And a couple other colors I don't remember. I actually used to work at Old Navy, so the classic five dollar price tag was even lower for me. I still have fond memories of when I was on the logistics team (people who went in at 6:00 am to put out new stuff), rolling giant bins the size of small dumpsters filled with flip-flops out to the sales floor and tackling the set up of the flip-flip wall for the year. And now that's officially too many times saying flip-flip.

They're back

Value Village sweater, Pacsun jeans, those sandals again

Earlier in the year, I read a book called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and loved it. I won't get into the plot too much, but it was basically about a future world where everyone spends most of their time in a virtual reality computer game-based world. It's mostly action-adventure, and though that's not always my first choice genre, I would wholly recommend it. So when I spied You by Lev Grossman, another video-game themed book, I hoped to be just as enthralled. I enjoyed most of it, but only in a mildly interested way, and found that the last section dragged quite a bit. It was basically a coming of age story in that way that coming of age seems to happen in our late twenties instead of teen years these days. And the the end was dragged down by too much technical babble and very little of the personality that had kept it somewhat afloat until then. The cover art is awesome, though. So here I am holding it.

These sandals again. You haven't seen the last of them.

Goodwill jacket, cool shop in Chester, NJ shirt, UO skirt, Steve Madden sandals from Nordstrom Rack

Elephants are the best. The store where I work currently has elephant-print scarves and I sometimes wear one while I'm working while trying to decide whether or not I should buy it. But really, I should buy it because I need more elephants in my life.

Grounded

Old Navy jacket, Old Navy top from Labels consignment, Pacsun jeans, vintage Ferragamo shoes from Buffalo Exchange

There is so much color in this outfit, I might have to wear all black for a week to recover. Somehow the neutrality of the denim jacket made me feel better about the whole thing, even though it was too hot to wear it at work and went most of the day without it.

Wishful dressing

UO t-shirt and skirt, vintage belt, Steve Madden boots

Here is my attempt at willing fall weather to come faster by wearing boots. It did not work. 

Two for one

secondhand AE cardigan, Buffalo Exchange dress, Bass sandals

Gap sweater from Labels consignment, self-cutoff AE shorts, LL Bean boat shoes from Value Village

So summer is ending and I can maybe wear pants again sometime soon without getting heat stroke at work. Meanwhile, here are a couple of tips on making the transition into fall a bit smoother. 

1. Get a Slurpee while you can. They are available year-round, but let's be honest, they're never better than in warm weather. Make sure you layer at least 3 flavors, beginning and ending always with Coke.

2. SWEATERS. Put them over shorts, flowy skirts, minidresses, and very soon skinny jeans with a great pair of boots. Find at least one really comfy, versatile sweater to add to your wardrobe and make it your signature piece. I got lucky with the one in the second photo, it's a lovely fit and sooooo soft it makes me want to pet myself.