i’m all about the super casual vibes this summer. so much so, that i could not resist this super beachy woven set that i received as a gift from cardigan ny. it’s just so soft and comfy and cool, and it makes me feel like i walked right off the set of the classic 1959 film gidget. as a kid, i watched that movie so many times that i could probably quote the entire thing verbatim. i mean really, who could resist those hunky beach bums in their woven ponchos, straw hats, and little swim trunks? so even though i’m not spending much time at the beach, i’ve still been enjoying all of the ways i can mix and match the different pieces for super casual looks to wear around town.

look one:
cardigan arequipa poncho and shorts with the gisella stripe top
saltwater sandals
jasper sunglasses courtesy of warby parker

look two:
american apparel crop top
cardigan ny arequipa shorts
tuto sandals
j.w. hulme medium legacy bag
rayban round classic sunglasses courtesy of sunglasses shop

look three:
cardigan arequipa poncho
lauren moffatt fishtail romper
swedish hasbeens braided sky high
vintage coach bucket bag
rayban round classic sunglasses courtesy of sunglasses shop

if you looked at this post and last, you’d think i was on a bit of a wide leg kick. they’re really the only two pairs of pants i own in this silhouette, but i tend to dress in themes that slowly evolve over time. if i were ever to manage to actually photograph my outfit every single day, you’d see that certain styles will repeat themselves in slightly different variations over the course of a few days or even weeks. i might wear the same top or pants two days in a row as i slowly add in different elements to change the look. or i might focus on a certain silhouette or a color scheme or some other vague idea that i sort of play around with until i get bored and move on to the next idea.

i’ve been wanting to try a pair of pants like this for a while now, so i was pretty excited to find this pair to play around with. as i suspected, a pair of wide leg pants in bright white are definitely hard to pull off. i had originally envisioned an entirely oversized look with a big, billowy top, but i’m not sure if the proportions are quite right to work with my frame. now that i look at the pictures, i think i’d need something fitted in the hip and thigh to make it work. these i think will look even better with a more fitted top. like a stretchy white crop top or even– dare i say– a leotard. i also kinda wanna try hemming them up so that they’re a tad bit shorter in the length. i know “they” will tell you that a longer hem will lengthen the leg, but i think in this case, it might work to show off an ankle to balance out the proportion and show that you actually have a leg under there, ha. like i said,  i’m gonna keep on working on it until i find a way to make the silhouette work for me. i’m convinced it can be done!

wearing:
jasper sunglasses courtesy of warby parker
american apparel top
flared jeans courtesy of front row shop
manhattan lacquer sandal courtesy of steven alan x dr. scholl’s
dooney & bourke bucket bag

since moving to redlands, i’ve had to adjust to yet another new climate. it’s still in southern california, and it’s only an hour away from los angeles, but the summers here are brutally hot. to give you an idea location-wise, we’re located at the halfway point between la and palm springs. brendan keeps telling everyone that we live in the desert, but as you can tell in my photos, it’s not quite so dry. i was curious exactly what you would call this area, so i looked it up. redlands is technically a chaparral with a hot-summer mediterranean climate, in case you were interested. ha.

anyway, my point is that it’s hot. so hot that i’m now wishing i owned more tank tops and shorts. but in the meantime, i’ve been pulling out all of my loose-fitting, lightweight cotton clothes to keep cool during my daily activities that find me outdoors. these pants are actually a lauren moffatt jumpsuit that i got last spring that i’ve worn on the blog a few times before. and they’re coming in a lot of handy this summer as well.

wearing:
lauren moffatt spring 2013 jumpsuit
jasper sunglasses courtesy of warby parker
american apparel loose crop top
swedish hasbeens braided sky high
clare vivier messenger tote in navy

i suppose we should probably start with the obvious today: yes, i am indeed wearing a fanny pack. technically speaking, it’s a vintage coach belt bag. which means that it’s a tiny purse with a detachable shoulder strap that has conveniently placed loops with which you can use to fasten to a belt. but who am i trying to kid? it’s a fanny pack and i know it. and i don’t care that the entire planet seems to have collectively decided that they are incredibly uncool, no matter how many “fashion” iterations have been designed over the years. in fact, i think that’s probably part of what makes me like it. you know, i was that annoying kid in high school who always had to be different. i dyed my hair pink and shopped in the little boy’s section at the thrift store. so yeah, fanny pack.

and for whatever reason, it just seemed like the absolute perfect accessory to go with my new dress by au lait. you might remember that i wrote about this cool new company several weeks back. all of the dresses and tops are designed to be worn before, during, and after pregnancy with particular attention to nursing moms. it looks like a simple jersey dress, but it’s made with a nifty double layer so that i can still easily breastfeed without having to completely remove my dress or risk stretching it out by attempting to pull it down. it was lovingly designed and made right here in the united states by a super talented and dedicated mom who definitely understands the art of dressing with baby in mind. and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it is also made with the most luxuriously soft and comfy jersey i have ever worn. so much so that it doubles as a nightgown on the days that i wear it.

wearing:
x-back maxi dress courtesy of au lait
vintage coach belt bag (i found mine on ebay)
swedish hasbeens braided sky high in natural
san diego hat company oversized straw fedora (found at t.j. maxx)

things are a bit busy over here lately. i haven’t talked too much about what’s going on behind-the-scenes, but we decided to move out of our adorable little apartment in los feliz in favor of a little upgrade. now that we have adam, we’re beginning to see how nice it would be to have a house with a yard and just a little bit more space. unfortunately, nailing down the right place has been a bit more hectic than we had expected with everything else going on in life. so things might be a little quiet for a couple of weeks, but i’m sure once we get settled, things will be better than ever. 2014 is a year of change, that’s for sure.

so when it comes to my clothes, you’d better bet i’ve been adopting a pretty simple uniform between caring for the baby and running all around to view houses. i’ve been wearing a lot of denim. not jeans necessarily, but denim pinafores, chambray tees… i recently found a cool pair of white wide leg denim pants. it’s the summer denim!

wearing:
everlane box cut tee
denim sleeveless dress courtesy of front row shop
clare vivier messenger tote
swedish hasbeens braided sky high

when it comes to how much vintage i’m wearing, i’d definitely say there is an ebb and flow. sometimes i can’t seem to scratch the itch, i find myself popping into thrift stores almost compulsively, feverishly digging through the racks with the hopes of scoring something amazing. other times, i get frustrated when i go to countless vintage shops and come out empty handed. everything i want seems to be one inch too small, or else i’m bummed that i have to say goodbye to a well-loved vintage piece that’s finally too threadbare to continue wearing. lately, i’ve been on a major vintage kick, so it was perfect timing when taylor of a wild poppy asked me if i’d like to style a few pieces from her latest vintage collection. the moment they arrived in the mail, i got all giddy with excitement. the sheer eyelet dress is what dreams are made of, and i love the intricate embroidered pattern on this simple white skirt.

she sent pieces to several different bloggers to style, which will culminate in one big spring/summer lookbook, which you will be able to shop on her site. so consider this a little sneak peek, because both of these pieces will soon be up for grabs at a wild poppy!

if you follow me on instagram, you may remember that i posted this little gem a few weeks back. smitten with all of the jumpsuits i’d been seeing online, but a little wary of the price tags, i decided to take things into my own hands and try sewing-up something of my own. i picked up this navy cotton/linen blend, and after browsing through vintage patterns on etsy, settled on a few good options to try. mind you, i haven’t sewn anything since i was in high school, and even then, i think my mom probably ended up doing the bulk of the work. obviously i didn’t want anything too complicated, so i went with this oversized style, essentially made with four panels of fabric.

i followed the directions without doing a proper fitting, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when i discovered that it was several sizes too big. a few alterations later and here’s my progress. i think i might make the legs a bit more tapered, but either way, it’s been good practice and now i’m feeling confident enough to try something a bit more complicated.

as far as the styling, the look is a little more cabbages & roses/mori girl/kinfolk than i had intended. i had just bought that fedora about an hour before taking these pictures, and i happened to have pretty dirty hair, so on it went. that coupled with the linen is definitely giving a more crafty vibe than i’m used to, but i still really liked the look. so here’s to more sewing projects this summer!

wearing:
monki blouse
handmade linen jumpsuit
vintage coach bucket bag
san diego hat co. straw fedora
swedish hasbeens braided high

so it turns out that everything in my wardrobe post-baby is either navy blue, black, or white/cream. granted, my wardrobe is still pretty small at this point, but it was kinda funny when i realized this fact the other day. i carefully cleaned out my garment rack with only the pieces that currently fit and are practical for wearing daily. and there it was, an entire rack of almost completely navy clothes. it’s long been my favorite color to wear, both of these pieces were in my wardrobe long before i became pregnant, but i guess i let it get a little out of hand recently. i’m going to chalk it up to a still incomplete wardrobe, but it’s a good reminder to myself that i need to remember to add a few more colors into the mix every now and then…

wearing:
equipment silk mina blouse
lauren moffatt skirt
peep toe high sandals courtesy of swedish hasbeens
vintage coach bucket bag
ray-ban clubmaster sunglasses
double hoop necklace courtesy of giantlion