repeat offender

graphic top - totem via Topshop / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / purple jeans - Uniqlo, thrifted / woven flats - UO

Remember these pants? I loved them so much that I couldn't help borrowing them from my mom to wear to dinner over the weekend... and then again to the aquarium yesterday. I love the bright plum color and the slightly cropped length. They also proved the perfect complement for this colorful top, I picked up on a trip to London four years ago and have never really figured out how to wear, as it seems to somehow fall in between work-wear and casual-wear. Somehow these purple pants (magically?) make it feel infinitely wearable. For dinner out (with dear friends S. and her husband), I dressed this outfit up with a black blazer and studded flats, but a quick shoe-change made it feel equally appropriate for a fun day-trip with Chris.

Be sure to head over to Everybody Everywear today to see how other bloggers styled up their favorite colored pants!



P.S. Thank you all so much for all your sweet comments on my new haircut!

pattern play

necklace - vintage, great grandmother's / striped sweater - H&M / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / skirt - homemade from vintage fabric / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / ring - Amsterdam shop / woven flats - UO

Happy Pattern-Mixing Day! Today's edition of EBEW feels like it might as well be an official blogger holiday. I've happily dabbled in some pattern mixing myself, and this floral (well, herbal) printed skirt has been the basis for a lot of my favorite looks incorporating mixed prints - I recently wore it with navy and white stripes, and paired it with a fun cat-print blouse a few months ago. I think the subtlety of the white-on-yellow print makes this an ideal piece for pairing with more graphic prints like stripes (or cats), and since pink and yellow has been a favorite color combination of mine for some time, I was surprised to realize I hadn't worn this skirt and sweater together yet. Finished with a white belt and a few gold accessories, this outfit was perfect for a breezy day-trip to historic Kutná Hora, home of the Sedlec Ossuary - a chapel decorated by Cistercian monks with the bones of over 40,000 people!


And home to some pretty sweet skeletal pattern-mixing, if you ask me!

To see a few more of my favorite pattern-mixing looks, click here, here or here, and be sure to head over to Everybody Everywear today to see how other bloggers styled up their favorite mixed prints!



Also, in a bit of blog housekeeping, I've recently installed a widget for Google Friend Connect, so if you'd like to follow the other emily through GFC, you can now find it in the right sidebar! And as always, you can also subscribe to posts via Bloglovin', Google Reader, RSS feed or email.

ombre

necklace - vintage, Brooklyn flea market / ombre blouse - thrifted/ bracelet - gift from another Emily / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / overdyed skinnies - Zara / brogues - Primark

This is not what I'd originally planned to wear for today's special thrift edition of EBEW - I'd had an awesome, 100% thrifted outfit in mind for about a week now. Unfortunately, the weather was not interested in cooperating with my plans (which included shorts, again), and this morning all I wanted to put on were some jeans and a sweater - and somehow, despite the fact that about a third of my current wardrobe is second-hand, all of my jeans and sweaters were purchased new. Suddenly, my cold, rainy day seemed like the perfect time to go check out the massive second-hand store down the street from our apartment (how I'd resisted its gravitational pull 'til now, I'll never know). Suffice to say, I hit the jackpot, and it took enormous willpower not to bring home more than might reasonably fit in my suitcase for the rest of our trip.

This sheer, ombre blouse was one of my finds of the day - I love finding trendier items like this while thrifting, because it lets me try out the trend with very little financial investment, and once I'm over it, I can always re-donate. For now, I'm looking forward to trying out some more daring ways to wear this blouse, along with my other purchases. (Just wait 'til you see you the crazy printed pants I bought - hello, Man Repeller!)

If you'd like to see some of my favorite thrifted looks, click here, here or here, and to see all my outfits incorporating thrifted items, click here. Also, be sure to head over to Everybody Everywear today to see how other bloggers styled up their favorite thrifted items.

stung

necklace - vintage, Brooklyn flea market / silk blouse - mommed  / belt - vintage, thrifted / shorts - vintage, thrifted & hemmed / watch - Arkonaplatz flea market, Berlin / ring - Primark / woven flats - UO

Happy Yellow Day! If I could only wear one outfit for the entire rest of the summer, this would probably be it. This cheerful shade of sunny, marigold-y yellow is my absolute favorite color, so I couldn't have been more pleased when yellow was chosen as this month's Everybody Everywear theme. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to debut these awesome yellow shorts that I thrifted in Massachusetts last month and subsequently hemmed - paired with this dreamy silk blouse and a few favorite pieces of gold jewelry, this was a perfect outfit for a sunny trip to the awesome flea markets of Mitte and Prenzlauerberg on Sunday.

My sunny shorts did have one drawback though - bees like them too. A curious yellowjacket flew right up the back and stung me on the leg! It had been a while since I'd been stung, and man, I'd forgotten how much that can hurt! Fortunately I'm not allergic, so aside from some awkward public cursing and flailing (having a bee up your shorts can lead to some highly embarrassing gestures), I haven't suffered any real ill effects.

A few of you have asked me for a packing tips post over the last few months, and your requests have finally been answered - I have a guest post over on sartoriography today that's all about how I pack! You can read it here, and then be sure to head over to Everybody Everywear to check out how other bloggers are wearing my favorite color!

jumping the gun

necklace - Anthropologie / silk shell - vintage, thrifted / belt - vintage, thrifted / skirt - homemade from vintage fabric / tights - Target / brogues - Primark 

A confession: I may have been so excited that this month's Everybody Everywear theme is yellow that I jumped the gun a bit and wore mine a week early. Between the fact that I haven't had the last two months' EBEW items and that yellow is my favorite color (and a close second favorite to wear, right after pink), I admit that I am especially excited to participate this time around - and that I might have done a small happy dance when the winning theme was announced. Not to worry though, despite my early start with this skirt, I still have plenty of yellow in my bag for next week!

Tomorrow is yet another moving day - packing up my suitcase on a weekly basis is really starting to wear me down! Fortunately we'll be in our next place for a month, so we'll get a little more time to settle in (not to mention a proper kitchen, woohoo!). I'm really looking forward to this next one - it's one of my all-time favorite cities, and Chris has never been, so I get to show him around. I'll have a scheduled post up tomorrow (featuring some actual hot weather - finally!), but I'll be sharing pictures from our amazing new home on Thursday.

massimo abito

sunglasses - H&M / necklace - vintage, MyMomsBasement via etsy / purse - Athens tourist shop / maxi dress - H&M / belt - vintage, thrifted / red T-strap sandals - UO

Or, 'maximum dress,' in my very-likely-mangled Italian.

When I first saw hints of the return of the maxi, I ignored it. I didn't even glance at longer length dresses and skirts when I saw them in stores, assuming they'd be far too long for me and too much trouble to hem. After those hints grew stronger, and I saw some of my favorite bloggers rocking the look, I rejected it; I thought it was one of those styles that could only be pulled off by taller girls (which I am not), or by those wearing heels (which I am rarely-to-never).

However, I've recently been reconsidering most of the conventional wisdom about 'dressing for my body type,' and decided that a great deal of it is utter crap. I should be doing everything I can to dress in the way that makes me feel good, whether that makes me look taller and thinner or not.

So, after my bout of epic crankiness last week (and my blaming a good portion of it on the seemingly irreconcilable needs of dressing for warm weather and for cathedrals) I decided to take action (i.e., shop). In a real fit of wardrobe pique, I popped into an H&M on the way home, muscled through the slightly overripe crowds, and emerged triumphant with not one, but two breezy ankle length hemlines.

After wearing this dress all day (and carrying a cardigan for the occasional church pop-in), I am completely sold. I love the easy chicness of a longer length, and how it balances out the bare shoulders and racer-back; I love the paint-daub print; and of course, I love how it feels like wearing an incredibly comfy, socially sanctioned nightgown. I can tell this dress (and it's cousin, which I'll debut on the blog later this week) is definitely going to be a great summer staple for me.


Be sure to stop by EverybodyEverywear to check out how other bloggers styled their maxi skirts & dresses today!
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