double jeopardy

necklace - vintage, great grandmother's / blouse - thrifted / tote - Forever 21 / belt - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / shorts - vintage, thrifted & hemmed / woven flats - UO

Ever since pinning this outfit of Tania's a few weeks ago, I've had this vibrant blue and yellow color combination on the brain. I've been daydreaming more than I ought to admit about pairing this incredible blue knife-pleated dress Emily sent me right before our return to Europe with a pair of marigold heels I have in storage (the perfect outfit for an upcoming birthday?), and when I stumbled across this bright blue blouse during my rainy day trip to the thrift store last week, I was all too happy to pay three euros for it. It's pretty big (I actually had to watch out that the hem didn't peek out below the edge of my shorts!), but I love the way the color looks with just about everything I own, and I think it will transition nicely into fall.

Unfortunately I think these shorts may be known as 'the bee sting shorts' forevermore - I got stung the last time I wore them, and today our afternoon picnic was plagued by bees! Despite their inexplicable interest in my face (why, oh why must they always hover right by my face?) I managed to escape uninjured, but Chris was stung in the leg. Fortunately he seems to exhibiting even less of an allergic reaction than I did.

awkward

necklace - Forever 21 / blouse - Target / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / shorts - thrifted & hemmed / sandals - Target, thrifted

If I look just the slightest bit awkward in these photos (by which I mean, more so than usual), it's because there was a guy going back and forth between the door immediately over my left shoulder and a van across the street the entire time we were taking these pictures. I try not to feel too self-conscious while taking pictures, but this was... awkward. He definitely thought we were pretty odd, but I told him if he didn't want random American bloggers taking pictures outside his place of business/residence, next time he should try not painting his building such a sunny color.*

Since the theme of the week seems to be sharing my outfit inspiration, this one is definitely inspired by this look from Kendi, right down to the aqua statement necklace. Sadly, adorable heels are in short supply around here, but I'm always happy to add some extra bling to an outfit with these braided gold sandals.

*I told him no such thing.

inspired

earrings - Anthropologie / pink striped sweater - H&M / purse - Athens tourist shop / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / shorts - Target / geode ring - H&M / gold filigree ring - Amsterdam shop / woven flats - UO

This outfit was inspired by an email I got from a reader. And by inspired, I mean copied in absolutely every detail. That's what 'inspiration' means, right?

You see, about a month ago I got an email from a very sweet reader from Iceland* named Gyða - she had just come back from a recent vacation in France, where she'd picked up this same pink striped sweater from H&M and, remembering this post of mine, worn it on a visit to Versailles.


Seriously, how cute is this girl?

She was even sweet enough to have a friend snap some photos of her there and send them to me (and to let me share them with you guys - thanks again, Gyða!). I was so flattered by her thoughtful note, and I just loved the casual way she styled her sweater with cutoffs and a braided belt, so I decided to recreate it with similar pieces from my suitcase! Sometimes it's nice not to have to even think about what to wear in the morning, and this outfit was just perfect for a sunny afternoon spent sightseeing around the Bundestag and strolling the entirety of Tiergarten.

*Which is incidentally still the coolest place I have ever been in my life, hands down.

decisions

striped shirt - H&M  / tote - Forever 21 / belt - vintage, thrifted / shorts - vintage, thrifted & hemmed / watch - Arkonaplatz flea market, Berlin / sneakers - Target 

Ladies (and - gentlemen? Fairly doubtful.), you are witnessing an historic event: I am wearing my hair down. Longtime readers may recall that I posted photos with my hair down once before, in my milkmaid braids tutorial, but this is the first time I've actually worn it down in public in almost a year and a half. In that time, I've been working on growing out a pixie cut, and I've been wearing my hair up every day while waiting for it to get long enough for a cut I'd actually like.

Well, it's time. I am so bored with my buns and braids and I think it's finally just long enough for a proper haircut, so I thought I'd give having it down a little test run - and I need your advice! I've got a Pinterest board full of potential cuts, but I haven't found the perfect one yet (and, shockingly, Chris is already tired of talking about my haircuts)- something that looks good both blown-out and wavy, that works with bangs, and that will flatter a fairly round face. Anyone have any suggestions?

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!

ich bin ein

earrings - handmade by Carie of Pretty Little Mountains, won in giveaway / purse - Athens tourist shop / tank - Target / skort - UO / wood & brass bangle - vintage, thrifted / woven flats - UO 

...Berliner!* After riding a total of seven trains and one bus yesterday, in what was absolutely the most epicly bad in a recent string of rough travel days, we're now happily settled in to our new home in Berlin. I love the energy of Berlin, so I'm really looking forward to spending the next month getting the know the city a lot better - and the fact that we don't have to pack up and move again for a while sounds pretty good too!

*Why yes, I do mean that - I plan to spend the entirety of the next month covered in powdered sugar.

hot 'dam

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.)



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