Good Jeans

What I Wore - Top: Anthropologie (similar), Jeans: Loft, Bag: Madewell, Booties: Sam Edelman (similar)

There is something to be said about finding a good pair of jeans, I honestly can't remember the last time I owned a pair of light wash jeans. I think by the time I entered high school I had sworn them off completely and was wearing only the darkest of washes, and since I wear jeans so seldom I've never been one to collect a lot of different pairs - I like to stick to the basics. The reason I dislike jeans so much is mostly because I find them incredibly uncomfortable and unflattering, something that I think is a fairly common sentiment for a lot of women. And don't even get me started on shopping for jeans, trying to find a pair that fits in all the right places is something I attempt only about two times year because I hate it so much. But recently I feel I've had a bit of a change of heart - when I saw this pair of light wash boyfriend-ish jeans hanging in Loft I felt like if anything was going to make me like light wash jeans it was going to be this pair of pants. So I tried them on and they were so soft and fit really really well and were pretty flattering and now here we are. It's hard for me to not buy something that makes me feel as good as I did when I tried these on. Watch this space for more posts of different ways I style them in the upcoming warmer months!

Ruffled

What I Wore: [Dress: Anthropologie, Shirt: old Gap (similar), Earrings: old Anthropologie (similar), Shoes: old Lucky Brand (similar)]

Sometimes you have a week where you wish there were six extra hours in every day and that you could spend those six hours simultaneously sleeping and doing all of the work that you're behind on, this week was one of those weeks. I know it's quite cliché (admittedly I like clichés) but focusing on little happy things really did make the long days a bit brighter. This week those little things included the ruffled neck on this dress, feeling the sunshine on my bare legs, seeing the piece I am choreographing for my school's Spring dance show come together, and getting massive chocolatey ice cream cones from Salt & Straw.

Oh, and this quote by Warsaw Shire:

“The sun is perfect and you woke this morning. You have enough language in your mouth to be understood. You have a name, and someone wants to call it. Five fingers on your hand and someone wants to hold it. If we just start there, every beautiful thing that has and will ever exist is possible. If we start there, everything, for a moment, is right in the world.” 

Here's to a productive and stress-free upcoming week, for us all! 

My "Back To School" Stack

Since it is basically the middle of August and my countdown to my return to Portland has begun I have decided it is finally time to start talking about one of my favorite subjects.....back to school shopping. Unlike when I was 10 and would purchase the entirety of Limited Too in preparation to take on the new school year my current "back to school wardrobe" shopping strategy is usually just to get a few key pieces to refresh what I already have. Although it should probably be noted that I still do the whole "I'm not even going to touch this or take the tags off of it until school starts" thing to make things feel even more exciting and special. I don't know what it is, but even at 20 years old there is nothing that excites me quite the same way going back to school and the beginning of autumn does. 

Alright, let's talk about clothes. Like I said, my shopping strategy is to get things that will work well with the rest of my wardrobe so I gravitate towards classic styles and patterns that are still current and somewhat trendy. Let's take a peek and what I've collected.....

Tops: I snagged this striped top with fluttery sleeves from Anthropologie (currently on sale!), a light-weight striped popover from Old Navy, a chambray top with an embellished collar from LOFT, and a neutral crew neck sweater from The Gap outlet, similar. None of these tops were purchased for any particular reasons other than "this is cute and I want it", because sometimes you just have to live life that way. 

Dresses: The only dress I've picked up for the up-coming season is a chambray (I really can't get enough of chambray) shirt/shift dress from J. Crew Factory Store. I had been eyeing it online for quite some time and when it went on sale I thought it was as good as time as ever to replace the chambray dress I had been previously wearing to death. Said moment of weakness brought to you by trying to stretch out my lunch break at work. 

Bottoms:  I am not a big pants wearer in general but when I do they either have to be dark dark dark blue or black and I for some reason didn't have a pair of plain black skinny jeans, so to remedy that issue I picked up a pair of super comfortable ones from Old Navy. The one new skirt that I did get (my skirt collection is getting a little out of hand these days) is from J. Crew. I got it on sale for only $20 and I really cannot wait to wear it, it's probably one of the most flattering pieces of clothing I own - it's still available in a few colors and sizes! 

Outerwear: My two outerwear purchases are very "Portland Friendly" i.e. one has a hood and one is a fleece pull over. My reasons behind getting both of them were fairly practical - the fleece, from Mountain Hardware, is intended to be worn during runs/hikes when the weather gets cooler and pretty much any other day I want to wear bright turquoise fleece, and the sage colored utility jacket will be perfect for layering over everything I wear during the majority of those low 50's, dreary, overcast Portland days that I have become so fond of.

Shoes: I'm at a point in my life wear it is just not physically possible for me to house all of the shoes I want to own, so for back to school this year I just got one new pair of shoes because that was honestly all I knew I'd be able to fit in my suitcase/tiny apartment. They are part of black D'Orsay flats from Lucky Brand and they are perfect. Just trendy enough to make me feel cool but still very classic and I know I'll be getting my money's worth out of them. 

And that's about it! It's more than likely I'll be picking up a few new things here and there before I leave but I'm already worried about packing all of my stuff up to take back to Portland, it's always so overwhelming.

Let me know if you liked this style of post, it was a fun one for me to write (i.e. finding a way to justify all of my purchases). Until next time,

Eva

The Perfect Pair

What I Wore: [Top: Anthropologie, Skirt: American Apparel, Shoes: Bass via DSW, Bag: TJ Maxx]

You know those outfits you have that you just put on and never want to take off because you feel so great in them? This is mine. It's 100% my style, extremely comfortable, and works perfectly with my body type. I also love this look a little bit more than usual because my hair is now (finally!) long enough to put up into a tiny top-knot! Because of my 17 years of being a dancer I think having my hair up in a bun is just always going to be the most comfortable and natural style for me. This look was perfect for a day full of running around town and checking things off my extremely long to do list, but I've also worn it during a long day of classes and for nicer occasions with a pair of wedges instead of my flat sandals. You've gotta love versatility! 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead of you - mine will be filled with breaking in my new running shoes, seeing "The Fault In Our Stars", some hot yoga, and plenty of sleeping in :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Eva 

Everything is Nice in Nice - Spring Break Part 1

What I Wore: [Top: Forever 21, Skirt: American Apparel, Boots: Franco Sarto, Hat: H&M, Earrings: Anthropologie, Belt: Forever 21, Lipstick: Bite Beauty Lip Crayon in “Quince”]

I recently got back from spending a week exploring France with 4 of my friends for spring break. And let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. Like the title says, we spent the first part of our trip in Nice on the French Rivera. It felt so good to be able to get some fresh air, sunshine, and slow down from fast paced city life. Although I can’t say we slowed down too much, with such a short amount of time (only 4 days) there was a lot we wanted to see and do in the area, so pretty much everyday was packed. I took the two photos below on our first full day there from an amazing lookout point at the top of a huge hill - getting up there was definitely the most exercise like thing I’ve done since being abroad - but the view was so worth the hike. I was one of my most favorite things we did while in Nice.

The photos above were taken on our last day in Nice as my friends and I stopped for our final helping of the amazing locally made ice cream before we headed off to Paris (I went for the mango sorbet). As I have always had a big spot in my heart for stripes I made sure to fully embrace quintessential French style and pair my stripes with a big “I feel really cool when I wear this” hat.

A post from Paris should be up within the next few days, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, thanks for stopping by!

-Eva

OOTD: Ready, Set, Red

What I Wore [Dress: Anthropologie (on sale!), Shoes: Zara, Necklace: Accessorize]

As much as I miss Minnesota I love being able to wear dresses and ballet flats in the middle of March, sometimes Portland weather is just perfect :)

Hoping things are just as lovely where you are,

-Eva

One Skirt, Two Ways

So this skirt I found thrifting at Buffalo Exchange a few months ago, it’s a black wool pleated Tory Burch skirt from a few seasons ago that would have originally sold for $250! I bought this one for $25 and then took it to a tailor because it was two sizes to big for me, she brought in the waist and made it a bit shorter and now it fits perfectly. This is such a classic piece that can be worn tons of different ways and I am so glad I found it at such an amazing price! Here is an example of how I recently transitioned this piece from a daytime look to an evening look:What I Wore [Top: Anthropologie, Shoes: Vila]

I loved this outfit for class on Friday, the sun was shining in Portland and it was finally warm enough to go without tights! The skirt is also the perfect length for busy days (and being tall) because I don’t have to worry about my butt hanging out when I am running from class to class all day!

What I Wore [Blouse: Forever 21, Cami: Kohls, Heels: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Earrings: Discount Dance Supply]

In the evening I went out with some friends to a cool Vietnamese restaurant in the city to celebrate surviving our first full week of the new semester and I loved that I was able to transition this piece from day to evening. All I had to do was put on a different shirt, throw on some heels, and twist up my hair and I was ready to go :)

Thanks for stoping by!

-Eva