I have a different attitude on Spring Break than others -- I live in an ultimate Bohemian paradise, why would I ever leave even when I still was in college? So, I make two rules since graduating three years ago (three years? damn) on proper Iowa City Spring Break etiquette
1. Talk to EVERYONE you can on random silly comments. (Because people, whether behind the cash register or that cute girl in the sundress and motorcycle boots hanging out at the coffee house -- ahem, not talking from experience -- are just naturally nicer than any other week in the year.
2. Ladies, take advantage of the great weather and wear only skirts, dresses and leggings for the week, it'll amp up your attitude a little more.
So in light of these two rules, or more rule number 2, this is what I did my spring break, or rather the highlights, or the highlights surrounding spring break (and mind you, I have a love-hate relationship with spring because I get hot really easily so I either have to wear less layers or more layers depending on the weather and spring is a difficult little bastard like that.)
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| Saturday, March 10th |
While a little nippy for this adorable dark blue and light purple polka dots (obscure colors for polka dots), I found this lovely little shirt-dress, or maybe a mini-night gown for $8.50 at Ragstock on the "Modern Dress" rack (my new God). While it's probably not spring material I did wear an awkward open long sleeve cardigan (the ones that are asymmetrical at the bottom) tucked it in and went around feeling the wind through my bra, but my cleavage never looked better than that night meeting a bunch of my guy friends's friends via Applebees and bowling all the while explaining Don Marquis's comics and poems collection "Archy and Mehitabel." (I am a geek, profoundly.)
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| Monday, March 12th |
This is the dress that's made famous by
Trendy Spring Commandments # 1, there is nothing wrong with finding a dress and building a whole outfit on it just to wear the first day of Spring Break, and unleashing all your upperback tattoos. While the waist hits me at just the right spots, clearly this dress was made for a bustier girl (case in point, finding it at Ragstock on the "Modern Dress" rack as well for 8.50) then running into said bustier girl who was wearing the dress the same day as you!! (awkward). Needless with my super-round shoulders this dress is a mix of fail and win. The win? THE BOOTS! Oh Sweet Baby Buddha the BOOTS! These bad boys are from Lorenz 2.0 (a great local shoe store that always has great sales, great for off-season shoes) and at the cheapest of their fashion boots at 25 dollars. After having to break them in for a few days earning a really narly scratch on my heel it was sooo worth it. Now they don't hurt anymore and they look amazing with all these dresses on this post!
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| Wednesday, March 14th |
I wouldn't wear the polka dot "night shirt" without a belt because the pattern is so tiny it would otherwise look lifeless on me, but when you have colored jeans, it can be used to your advantage -- in pure 40s style. And that I did with this, my $12 red jeans, rolled up and slightly cuffed with black sandals to look so completely pin-up girl inspired, right along with bright-red lips, pig tails with my Juno "Puppy-Dog ears" layer of hair falling to the sides of my face and the most important part to this outfit -- the perfect cat eye. This may or may not have resulted in many Marilyn Monroe inspired pictures with her facial expressions -- like you've never done it in the privacy of your... vanity...
Ragstock has been very good to me over this past March, but skirts are so touch and go with me -- they say short girls with my height should wear long skirts, it helps us look taller but I still look like an oompa loompa and I have to find a "just right" skirt that hits right above my knees given a girl like me always has to wear leggings or a spanx like under every skirt and dress because the thighs are danger zones that stick to each other. So when I make the occasional scavenge in the 8 dollar hippie skirt rack, most often I won't be disappointed like when I look through the mini-skirts. Very rarely do I wear anything with bare legs, but unfortunately you cannot see my shoe choice for this outfit with my black sketcher tennis shoes and scrunched down argyle socks looking very 80s with the vest (which I am wearing right now actually) and mix and matching the patterns from the tie-dye effects on the skirt with the pin stripes. This is in right now, and while more bold prints are in vogue, some of us have to be very careful with what prints we put on our body (I'm looking at you, Glamour magazine!)
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| Friday, March 23rd |
And of course, the "Obligatory Floral Print Dress" which every fashionister should have in her closet this spring/summer, and one that flatters her as well as doesn't overpower any of the curves, which is so important to look pattern placement. BE PICKY! And I was completely picky with this 16 dollar dress, pulling Trendy Spring Commandment # 1 again with the buying of a white cardigan to put over this when Spring has her period and gets a little nipply. But either way, even I cannot stop staring at the picture of this dress -- I could make a list of all it's magical attributes (and this wasn't the dress I was looking for!)
- Blue and pink - I hardly ever wear either color! (Looks up at skirt, well, sometimes...) But my ideal pink always has a tint of brown in it because dirty pink looks so good with my skin tone Blue though? I have a strange relationship with the color blue, I used to love it in high school but now I reserve it for accessories in more green-tinted shades (the necklace in the above picture and the blue manicure I have right now) to really show off its blue-ness. I like my blues to pop out, and the blue flowers on this dress is no exception.
- The formation of the dress in general is too perfect for my body, there's just a little tightness in the outward seam in the shoulder that hangs over my tiny-as-hell arms but I forgive that BUT THE BEST PART is what you can barely see on the left portion of the dress, the oh-so tiny pleats that start from the idea waistline for me (right under the breast, if you're reading and attribute your body size to mine, this is your ideal dress shape) but after staring at the dress for awhile there is even tiny ruffled pleat around the waistline of this thing that helps lift up the boobs and accentuate the hips.
- This is the dress I want to style my hair in pin curls into and go completely Mad Men inspired. But unfortunately some of us are blessed with very flat thin hair that hates all product if it isn't Got2B or anything for thin hair, yet a girl can dream...
Don McLean @ the Englert July 27th
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