June 27, 2011

hot 'dam

Borneo-Sporenburg Bridge, Amsterdam: 27 juni
turquoise, pink, white & coral
Borneo-Sporenburg Bridge, Amsterdam: 27 juni
coral & green
woven
Borneo-Sporenburg Bridge, Amsterdam: 27 juni
leggy
coral, cognac, gold & green
Borneo-Sporenburg Bridge, Amsterdam: 27 juni
necklace - Forever 21 / purse - Athens tourist shop / pink v-neck - Target / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / rings - Amsterdam shop / shorts - thrifted and hemmed (check out great tutorials here and here) / woven flats - UO 

So you remember waaaay back at the beginning of the month when I posted this little snapshot of some Massachusetts thrift finds? And then you caught a glimpse of some fancy little scallops peeking out of my suitcase? And then last week I griped about 'dressing my best' when so much of my best still needs to be bundled up under sweaters and scarves, lest it freeze off?

Well, evidently the universe heard me loud and clear because today the Netherlands experienced a little one-day heat wave, and I finally got to break out these shorts and show off some leg! I love my legs - I rowed crew in eighth and ninth grade, and they've been sweet enough to hang on to most of that rower's muscle tone for almost fifteen years now. Their slim-ankled, feminine silhouette belies some serious power; I can easily beat my soccer-playing boyfriend in leg-wrestling (what, you don't try to best your partner in physical combat?) and my left calf is almost certainly my strongest body part. (It's also bigger than my right - driving a stiff-clutched manual transmission for a decade will do that to you.) So while I wasn't thrilled to be sweating buckets on an un-air-conditioned tram ride, I was still glad for the opportunity to show off my gams in my frilly pink shorts.

(To continue our tour of Dutch architectural landmarks, this is one of the Borneo-Sporenburg bridges by West 8.)

academichic-dybw1

To learn more about Dress Your Best, and to find other bloggers who are participating, please check out this post at academichic.

28 comments:

What Would a Nerd Wear said...

i love the shades of pink and your long-legged-ness. such a wonderful look!

Sorcha said...

Those shorts are amazing. Scalloped shorts seem to be haunting me, I'm seeing them everywhere! Clearly this is the universe sending me a sign that I need to get myself a pair!

Courtney H said...

Wow! Those shorts look awesome on you. This is probably my favorite outfit that I've seen you wear. 

Megan Nielsen said...

looooove this hun! I adore those shorts!! I feel like i now either need to dye mine pink, or find a pink pair to alter too! 

jill said...

love how your shorts turned out! 

sartoriography said...

I will please marry this outfit?  I love the colors, of course, and the adorable scalloping.  And word on the buff legs.  If there's anything I appreciate about us Emilys, it's our leg muscles.  ;)

Angela Osborn said...

I love the scalloped hem of the shorts!

Anja_AHeartandSoulStory said...

oh sooooo cute! Those shorts look so pretty and very well done!!! I am in love with them :) It also got really hot over here, every layer is one layer too much. Super cute inspiration, now I only need those shorts :) Send them over? :)

AmandaB. said...

Great shorts! And yay for girls driving stick shifts! It's becoming a lost art! I have a 6 speed manual mini cooper. :)

Kelly said...

I brought some scalloped shorts a few weeks ago & I'm also waiting for it to be warn enough to wear them, only problem is it's winter here is Australia :(

PS purposeful matching of your header? :)

Kelly xo
Elegantly Academic

sunshinerebellion said...

those scalloped shorts are adorable. also, you have every reason to be proud of your legs :)

Archives said...

THIS! shades of pink with a pop of green on your ring - fan-freaking-tastic! 

ps -you're incredibly lucky! my legs have been my most loathed body part my entire life! :S 

emily said...

 Thanks Tania - I think in my case I might as well have renamed "Dress Your Best Week" "Wear Pink Week," because that certainly seems to be the pattern these last few days!

emily said...

 Thank you! If you're comfortable using a sewing machine, I absolutely recommend checking out thrift stores for some cheap shorts to DIY - I'm always finding tons of these high-waisted 'mom' shorts in awesome colors!

emily said...

Thanks Courtney! It's definitely a favorite of mine too, any time I get to wear multiple shades of pink is a good day for me. :)

emily said...

Thanks dear! You even got a preview of this one, haha. Definitely check out thrifts for some pink ones before dying yours, I love that creamy off-white shade on you!

emily said...

Thanks Jill!

emily said...

Haha, well, you'll have to take it to New York first, because (shockingly) it's totally a girl. :)

Anddefinitely - the leg muscles and the rapier wit.

emily said...

Thanks Angela!

emily said...

Haha, thanks Anja! This was my first scalloped-hem project, so making them was definitely a learning experience - and way easier the next time I did it!

emily said...

 I know, I always felt extra-cool for driving stick. I've had four different manual cars, but the best one so far was a little black '87 Honda Civic hatchback named Maxine. :)

emily said...

 Oh no! I don't know if I could stand to wait all the way until spring - maybe in the meantime you could style yours up with some tights and a cute cardigan. :)

And yes, I totally match my header all the time! I designed it with a lot of my favorite colors, so it's no surprise that I have a lot of clothes to match!

emily said...

Haha, well thank you - on both counts. :)

emily said...

Hee! I'd actually worn this once before, sans ring, but I just saw this look on flashes of style the other day and I couldn't wait to wear it again with a hint of green. I actually went out first thing in the morning to this jewelry store I'd been scoping in our neighborhood, scooped up these two rings on the spot and wore them right out of the store. (I did pay for them first though.)

amanda said...

love love love love love love this.  the colors the sweet little scallops.  the shoes.  everything :)

emily said...

Aww, thanks Amanda. :) Of course it's always nice to get compliments, but that's especially nice to hear because this outfit felt super 'me,' you know?

bluecollarkyla said...

LOOOOOOOVE.  Great job on the shorts!  I know this isn't that difficult of a DIY, but it's much more precise than I tend to be.  I may just have to break down and do it, though, because it looks awesome.  And again - GREAT color combo!!!

the other emily said...

 Thanks Kyla - you should absolutely make a pair! Sewing the scallops takes some care and attention, but even so, the whole project can definitely be done in an afternoon. I wound up scalloping two pairs of thrifted shorts recently, and I definitely did better once I had a little practice! Biggest advice is to make sure your scalloped seam isn't too close to the hem fold, it makes it hard to cut around the scallops nicely.

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