Ana's Outfits 7/28/08-8/3/08 - YouLookFab Forum

Hi everyone!

So, this past week was brutally hot. Temperatures reached about 100 degrees everyday, but felt more like 105-107. Plus, the second summer semester is winding down at school, so there are a lot students in the tutoring lab where I work and it's been kind of stressful. I guess all this combined just sort of made me feel "blah" all week. Friday was a high point--shopping with Sarah and Patience was a lot of fun.

Monday:

J. Crew Francis blouse that you all helped me pick the color on, and my white J. Crew shorts. I tried to keep it simple with my gold bag and white watch, no jewelry.

http://i66.photobucket.com/alb.....0604-2.jpg

Tuesday:

My glow-in-the-dark J. Crew Jessie blouse, white shorts again, and a black cropped cardigan for indoors. On my wishlist, I have a black, full length v neck summerweight cashmere cardigan, which I think would be more versatile and flattering (it wouldn't make my torso seem so long).

http://i66.photobucket.com/alb.....0658-1.jpg

Wednesday:

I think ruffles was the theme for this week. What's that old saying that when the economy gets bad, hemlines get longer, is that it? I guess the more blah I feel, the more ruffles I wear. I think I was trying to add some edge and keep my outfit from being overboard preppy, so I wore my gold ring chain without double looping it so it was extra long. The chain just got in the way all day though, so I'll have to think of something else in the future.

http://i66.photobucket.com/alb.....0621-1.jpg

Thursday:

The end of a very hot (107), very long day spent mostly outdoors.

http://i66.photobucket.com/alb.....0622-1.jpg

Friday:

Shopping trip with Sarah and Patience! My new polka dot blouse from J. Crew that you all said was great and I should buy. I got lots of compliments on it (I think polka dots make people instantly happy). I took the rose belt off though when I met them because I knew I was going to be trying on lots of clothes, and the belt isn't easy to put on and take off.

http://i66.photobucket.com/alb.....0631-1.jpg

Saturday:

I don't have any photos from this day because I originally put on my Greyhound t-shirt, clamdiggers, a cardigan and my black Me Too flats because we had an indoor meeting for the Greyhound rescue group I volunteer for. But at the start of the meeting, another member came in and said she got a call from one of our adopters who's dog had escaped the yard and was lost. So I went out to help look for the dog, Ginger. Anyway, we did locate her and she was reunited with her mom, but at the end of the day I was soaked and covered in dog hair and weeds and dirt from traipsing through fields looking for Ginger in the heat, lol. I think a photo would have been pretty unflattering at that point.

Sunday:

I just mostly wanted to be comfortable today, but I knew I had to go out and run some errands. I really didn't know what to put on, so I just went with this. I think I would swap out the jeans for my white skinny jeans (which are being altered right now), the shoes for my yellow AK flats, and I'd wear this on a normal weekday.

http://i66.photobucket.com/alb.....0652-1.jpg

Anyway, like I said, I'm really trying to hone my wardrobe and only keep the great stuff, so feedback is great.

Thanks everybody!

17 years ago

Julia

Active Member

Ana you looked the opposite of "blah" every day this week! I love the ruffles and bright colors on you. I can't pick my favorite, I love all of them. You are inspiring!

Tanya

Veteran

Ana, you looked fabulous each and every day! All of the outfits are superb, I love the ruffles, the gold accessories and white watch, as well as the yellow flower belt.
It is indeed inspiring to see you looking this amazing all the time. I think you are doing an excellent job on picking your clothing cherries

Sihaya

Ana - these are all keepers and yet another great way to wear your lovely yellow belt (I need to go buy one!). You look great in such a wide range of colors. I don't remember seeing you in blue before - it's stunning. I hope these outfits helped chase away some of the blah's.

Taffy

I LOVE the blue francis blouse...it's a great color on you. Also, you do a great job using the flower belt... I would have a hard time incorporating it, and it do it often and well. What type are you jeans that your wearing?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Yum, yum, yum, yummy! You make me hungry. Hungry for more "Ana style"!

All 4 outfits are fabulous! Love the last one best. You look beautiful every day. LOVE your style sister.

Ana

Thank you so much everyone! I think the heat is just getting to me--I didn't grow up with it so it's hard for me to adapt. Sarah (who is from Seattle) and I had a long discussion about this Friday while we were waiting for Patience. I just get tired of literally peeling my clothes off at the end of the day, lol. I *almost* just threw on a t-shirt today, but I knew I had to post a picture here, so I didn't do it! You guys keep me honest. Thank you!

Taffy, my jeans are from Express. I'm loving the skinny/straight leg look right now, and so I'm building my collection of those, but I really like a nice trouser jean, too, so I'll probably invest in a pair of those this Fall (this pair is pretty casual, but comfy).

julijuli

Wow - you look so good! I know it's not a clothing related but I really like your hair (the updo) on Wed. You look like a model

katieck

Ana. Oh my goodness, seriously, you look stunning on a daily basis. I love the colors you wore, the accessories, ruffles, everything. The polka dot blouse is so fun. The yellow flower belt is so unexpected, yet works perfectly.

A++++++++

Anonymous

It's a joy and inspiration to see your photos! Great work

Well darling, how does it feel to be SUCH an inspiration?

Dani

Ana, I love your outfits and I would consider all these items "cherries". I love the dress (Thursday). I can't believe you look that great at the END of a hot and humid day outside I'll have to look at J Crew's dresses a little better next summer.

A very well done week! Hope it perked you up to hear all the great compliments!

Sarah

What I love about your style Ana is that it looks so effortless. I fell in love with your dot blouse on Saturday. Maybe that's part of the reason I gravitated towards the dot skirt? I don't think I've ever owned anything with dots.

Oh, thank you so much everyone! I'm humbled (and my cheeks are red).

Sarah, dots are a lot of fun. I'm not a big pattern person, I usually prefer solids, but I bought the polka dot Lana Blouse from JC earlier this year, and wearing it always makes me happy. So be prepared to get hooked! The dot skirt looks amazing on you!

You look amazing. Well done everyday and you don't look in the least bit like you have the blahs. You look vibrant everyday. I love all your outfits. Each picture made me smile.
I'm learning a big lesson from your evolution here. The same thing Angie always says, "The devil is in the details". Your new lipstick, white watch, and yellow flower belt took you way up a notch.

Patience

Ana, I know what you mean about feeling blah sometimes. (Matt told me we have had 42 days of triple digits this year and I'm guessing there are at least that many more!) But the great thing about your wardrobe is that you're at the point where you have many of tried and true options that you can just go to on these days and no one would ever guess you had a case of the blahs. I certainly wouldn't. I like the last outfit. It's a nice little surprise following the theme of fabulous ruffles.

Becky

Ana, what I love about your style is how you take details like ruffles and a flower (!) belt and make them so *you* without being frou-frou. I like ruffles myself, but tend to shy away from them because I don't like looking too girly or even childish. But you've proven again and again that it can be done with style!

Thank you San, Patience and Becky!

San, since coming here I have learned that details can really make or break an outfit. It's not really a big change from before, but I feel much more chic and pulled together now that I wear my watch and red lipstick everyday. And it sort of creates a foundation to build my outfit on--meaning, I don't build my outfit around my watch and red lipstick, but I know it's something that is always going to be there, and that helps me feel like my outfit is "finished." In the past I've really just added accessories as an afterthought, and I never felt like my outfits were polished in any kind of way. I've become a huge fan of this "signature piece" thing, where there is always one or two things you wear with every outfit. It's sort of like a uniform, without being boring, because it's just a subtle thing. (I'm not sure if I'm explaining things very clearly, sorry).

Patience, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather is really wacky this year, and after all this triple digit heat, we'll get a major cold snap so we can pull out our sweaters and boots maybe in October this year!

Becky, you can definitely wear ruffles and girly accents! What I try to do is limit it to one sort of girly/ruffly item per outfit, and then keep the rest of the outfit very structured and clean. I also try to pair the girly thing with something that is the opposite--a ruffly blouse, and a structured jacket or bag, or maybe a really long necklace or skinny jeans, something like that. On Tuesday, I paired my ruffly green blouse with black and white, and a long gold necklace, to keep it grounded. Does that make sense? Anyway, I think you should go for it if it's something you love.

You're right, Ana. It's all in keeping everything else simple. I'll definitely keep an open mind for pieces with ruffles!

Kyle

Ana:

I truly love every one of these outfits. They are perfection.
The color blue in the Francis top is stunning on you and I love the way you balance the ruffles and clean lines.
The polka dots are fab!
Thank you for the inspiration.

Lena

Ana, you're such an inspiration. You look terrific!

I'm beginning to reconsider ruffles. I used to think I can't do them because I have a short neck, and now I'm inspired to try deeper v-neck blouses. I already pair feminine pieces with more structured "harder" pieces.

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