Laced Up

Skirt and T-shirt: Ann Taylor, Shoes: Enzo Angiolino, Necklace: For Love 21,
Sunglasses: Kate Spade, Watch: Michael Kors

When summer finally rolls around, my go-to uniform pretty much instantly becomes my bathing suit and flips flops. I don't mean just for going to the beach. I mean for basically anything I do. Cleaning, cooking dinner, watching TV . . . you name it, I've probably done it in my bikini. Bathing suits are like my summer sweatpants. It might not be a pretty sight to see, but you try living without air conditioning and let me know long you last wearing real clothes. Unfortunately (at least for me) bathing suits are not yet considered work-appropriate attire. So this tiered lace skirt is pretty much the next best thing considering I have to show up at an office five days a week (or at least I'm supposed to). It's loose enough to still be comfortable on 90-degree days, but dressy enough to trick people into thinking I put some effort into getting dressed. Which I did. It took a lot of effort to not just wear a bathing suit. Plus, it's super versatile. I wore it way back here in December with tights and blazer . . . when I was ironically also talking about my bathing suit. That might be the sign of a problem.

MemoriAli

Dress: Ann Taylor: Blazer: thrifted, Necklaces: Lion's Mane Vintage and Elizabeth Ngo

As I do every year on Memorial Day, I spent the holiday weekend in Omaha celebrating my best friend Rachel's birthday and having a mini-college reunion of sorts. This year, a bunch of our guy friends also made the trip, so to truly recreate our college experience we pretty much lived like hobos all weekend. Thankfully I got these photos before heading out to dinner the first night that everyone arrived before things went completely downhill. It was the only day cool enough to even consider wearing a maxi-dress. It was actually chilly enough that I had to resort to stealing this great silk blazer from my friend's closet. After these were taken, I didn't wear much beyond a bathing suit and a water-balloon soaked cover-up for the rest of the weekend . . . even when I went to the grocery store. I'm like a "pioneer of shame" as one of my guy friends put it. But in my defense, there's really nothing else to wear when you spend four straight days playing 4-Square, having water-balloon fights, and hanging out on a driveway in 95-degree heat. 

I also got to visit my friend's new store while I was in town! She recently opened her own vintage boutique in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha, so if you're anywhere near there you must must must go check out Lion's Mane Vintage. I'm probably just a teensy bit biased, but the store is amazing. It's like hanging out in some cool, trendy, hipster closet full of vintage pieces you never even knew you needed. As someone who is in awe of vintage, thrifted pieces (but can never find them on my own) I was blown away. I bought way too many necklaces while I was there, including the turquoise beads I have on above, which I didn't take off all weekend. And just in case you don't make an annual pilgrimage to Omaha like I do, you can also check out her store's Facebook page here or her Etsy page here. 

Love-Hate Relationship

Dress: Target, Belt: J.Crew, Shoes: Enzo Angiolino, Necklace: Tiffany's. Watch: Michael Kors

When I first bought these giraffe-print wedges, I LOVED them. I mean really loved them. The"I like my Sketchers, but I love my Prada backpack" kind of love. Now, we have more of a love-hate relationship. As in, I still love them, but they hate my feet. They're adorable shoes (god knows I love anything in animal print) and great if you're planning to spend most of the day just sitting around, showing off your feet and only have to walk for few minutes at a time. But I made the mistake of wearing them to run errands at Target after work one day and seriously considered taking them off and going barefoot, "shoes and shirts required" sign be damned. (I mean, I was going to keep my shirt on. One out of two isn't bad, right?) Since I spend most of my day sitting at a desk, I thought I'd be brave enough to try wearing them again. It wasn't a total disaster — I managed to hobble outside in them to take pictures since they're so fun with this color-blocked dress from Target, officially the number-one provider of my summer-dress wardrobe. And I even managed not to grimace in most of the photos . . . at least not the ones anyone will see.