Earthy

/ H&M T-shirt / Francesca's Collection Necklace / Skirt + Clutch by me / Zara Heels / Michael Kors Watch / David Yurman Ring /

 Happy Earth Day, everyone! I love the opportunity to dress for a specific theme or holiday, and Earth Day is no exception! When it comes to Earth Day and the environment in general, the first thing that comes to mind are trees and the color green. I made this pencil skirt last year and figured that the palm tree print was both on trend (so many tropic prints lately!) and suitable for the occasion. The combination of a t-shirt, pencil skirt, and heels is one that is hard to go wrong with, and by quickly tying the top into a simple knot keeps the prim pencil skirt and kitten heels a little less fussy.

How are you all celebrating Earth Day?

Dress Up

/  The 1960's Decade: Mine is the one in the center /

For today's Dress Up post, instead of a dress that I would love to own, we are featuring one that I actually made. The Junior fashion design class puts on a fashion show near the end of their fall semester and this year the theme was Fashion After Five: The Clothes and Culture of the Cocktail Hour. Each Junior was assigned a decade from 1920's-1990's and created a classic LBD inspired by that decade. As you can see in the caption above, my decade was the 1960's. The show was last Wednesday November 15th at the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse, NY. Most exciting news of all? Each decade had two winning pieces that will get to be displayed in the museum until June. One of the winners from the 1960's decade? Yours truly. The same people in our class always win, so it was exciting to see some other fellow classmates get the chance, as well.  The other winner from the 60's is the dress second from the right in the image above. 

/ Original 1960's Inspiration Board /

My initial inspiration started with the board above. I knew I wanted to use wool and a heavier fabric and knew I wanted a high collar, and after my two rounds of 25 rough sketches, I knew what I wanted to make. Oddly enough, it turned out almost exactly as I had planned. 

/ Close-up of the collar that I beaded and earrings I made /

/ L: My dress the night before the show putting finishing touches on / R: My beautiful model, sorority sister, and friend, Brittany looking perfectly mod /

/ Lining up for the show /

/ Post-show with Brittany and my mom who surprised me with her visit /

Thanks again to everyone who came to see the show! It was really great to be able to share our hard work with people other than classmates and professors for once. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm back home in Texas for the week for the holiday soaking up some warm weather and family.

Embellished Americana

/ J.Crew button down (sample sale) / Vintage Levi's from LF / Zara heels / H&M clutch / Illamasqua polish / 

When I would think of classic American dressing, jeans and a white t-shirt would come to mind. As much as I love a good basic, I wouldn't really call them my go-to. Still inspired by the denim and white combination, and the concept of easy dressing in mind, I pulled out pieces that much more suited my sense of style to update the classic pairing. Both the button down and the vintage Levi's are updated versions of classics in themselves. A white button-down can easily seem quite stiff and conservative, and ill-fitted denim can come across as borrowed from your parents--and not in the chic oversized way. However, with a bit of embellished beads and rhinestones and a fitted shape for the top, and a distressed appearance and lace inserts for the shorts, these pieces are still classics, but for a girl who likes her basics--a little less basic. 

PS: Happy Birthday, daddy! I hope it's full of everything you wanted. xo

Similar Styles

Necessary Clothing blouse / H&M Necklace

This past weekend, I was looking through my closet and was excited when I found pieces that seemed to have a similar style or feel. Whether the pieces were an article of clothing and the other an accessory or shoe, it became a sort of game of matching. A fashion card game, if you will. While I still love this Necessary Clothing triple collar blouse from last year, it hasn't been getting as much attention as it should. Using it as a starting point for this matching game led me to the H&M necklace above that has similar coloring: black, pinks, interesting blue, and touches of gold--just like the one gold button at the neck on the blouse. I love costume jewelry not for its sense of practicality, but for its sense of fun. While this necklace is on the gaudy and large side, with its affordable price, at the moment it provides a nice bit of glitz to the jewelry shelf. I challenge you to go and peruse your shelves and hangers for pieces with similar qualities. You never know what you may have forgotten about or you may realize a pattern in your style that you hadn't before. Go ahead, try!

Do you see similar styles in your closets? Would you like to see more similar styles posts like this one here on Eighty Five Dresses? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

PS. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend with their families + friends. I know I did!