2012.03.05 - embroidery

This is my outfit from yesterday. It wasn't super appropriate for the weather considering that it snowed, however. 

embroidered dress - thrift
grey sweater - thrift
white v-neck - Hollister
white leather belt - mom's closet
black tights - Walmart
black oxfords (not pictured) - Ross

I found this dress at my local thrift store. One of the store employees was stocking the new arrivals rack and this dress was one of the pieces that was brought out. I picked it up immediately because I was drawn to the  embroidery down the front of it. It was clearly too large for me, but I decided to get it anyway and try to come up with a way to wear it. I belted it with a white leather belt and pulled it up to make it shorter and change the shape. It is sort of a chambray material and the embroidery around the bottom hem goes all the way around. I threw this grey sweater, which is quite a bit warmer than it looks, on top of it. It actually has a single button, but I wore it open. The button is on the inside, so when it is closed, the button is not visible.

I also wore my black oxfords this day. I tend to throw on a pair of plain oxfords when I'm lazy, which is almost always. I wore my black ones on this day because my outfit didn't have any brown-toned items. Under my dress, I wore a white v-neck to add another layer for warmth. It also helped act as a camisole, which was good because I didn't realize the neckline of my dress was as low as it was.

I hope you enjoyed this quick, outfit post. I will be back tomorrow with the outfit I wore today. Remember to check back and follow to see more!
AprilLily

Nail Art - simple, graphic zig-zag

After having some pink Sharpie flowers drawn on my nails from being bored in class yesterday, I decided to do my nail a bit more nicely with polish.

 I wanted to try out the pale blue polish, Blue Lagoon, that I recently purchased. I didn't feel like having a solid manicure; I had just had one of the dark green (Jaded Night). I decided to do a simple, bold design with a matte, dark purple. OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark is a beautiful eggplant color in the bottle, but looks almost black on the nails. It does, however, have a wonderful matte finish. 

I used tape to get the zig-zags. I painted my nails with Blue Lagoon first; it took one thin coat of white and two coats of Blue Lagoon to get the bottle color. I then place a strip of tape, which I had cut with zig-zag craft scissors, down the center of each nail. Last, I painted the sides with Lincoln Park After Dark. After it was completely dry, I peeled off the tape. I find that the tape method leaves cleaner edges if the tape is removed quickly as opposed to slow, careful removal. 

Hope you liked this simple nail design! Leave comments if you have any requests for nail art and I'll try them out.

AprilLily

2012.03.02 - daisies

Yes, this is long overdue. I haven't photographed my outfits in a while because I've been staying out after school most days and when I get home, either my outfit isn't in its best shape anymore or I'm too tired to snap pictures. But, enough with the excuses! Here's my outfit from yesterday.

daisy dress - my closet from when I was little
black faux leather moto jacket - Burlington Coat Factory
brown leather belt - mom's closet
grey thigh highs - Forever21
rose&pearl earrings - Forever21
black oxfords (not pictured) - Ross
cream lace romper (worn as lining) - AlleyKat

Sorry for the poor photo quality in the overall outfit pictures. I used my phone, whose camera is supposed to be pretty good, but I don't think it had the ability to compensate for the bad lighting.

This dress is actually from a super long time ago. I don't mean that it's from a few seasons back; it's from when I was a little girl. It's one of those somewhat fancy, frilly dresses with layers of tulle poofing out the skirt. It had been in the back of my closet for maybe a decade (!) and I tried it on one day just to see if it fit. I actually liked the way it looked, so I decided to try to modernize it and make it wearable for someone my age.

I believe the waistline was supposed to be around the hips, but now it fits nicely around my natural waist. There was a white, satin bow in the center at the waist, but I cut it off and might use it for something else. The skirt part of the dress had a strange, stiff lining that I also cut out. The remaining skirt is only the outermost layer, which is a fine tulle with daisies. The centers of the daisies are metallic gold. I like the bit of shine that they add to the dress. I shortened the daisy layer a bit, to make it about mid-thigh length. Now you may have realized that the bottom layer of this dress is just a thin layer of tulle. It has no lining anymore, so I had to figure out something to wear under it. The top of the dress is also pretty sheer, so I thought about wearing a white dress underneath it, to act as a lining for the top and bottom. When I walked to my closet to try my white dresses, I saw my cream, lace romper. I hadn't worn it yet, even though I bought it quite a while ago. It was the perfect length and the strapless top acted as the perfect lining for the top of the dress. This was a good alternative because I had been looking for ways to wear this romper as it is also a bit sheer.

This dress feels really summery and because it was so girly, I decided to balance it out with my motorcycle jacket. I also covered the divide between the top and skirt with a brown, leather belt. It has gold hardware, which matched the daisies. In the morning, it was fairly warm, so I wanted to go without tights. I wore my thigh-highs instead, but this was a bit of a mistake as it kept getting colder and colder throughout the day. My shoes were my plain, black oxfords.

The girly feeling of this dress inspired me to wear my new earrings. They can be found in my last haul, which is here: http://lilyinlace.blogspot.com/2012/02/haul-thrift-forever21-nordstromrack.html. I kept my jewelry minimal because of the gold on the skirt and belt. I tend to skip necklaces when I wear belts around my natural waist.

I hope you enjoyed this outfit. Thanks for checking out my blog and check back for more (and more frequent) posts!
AprilLily

Haul - Thrift, Forever21, NordstromRack

I'm one of those people that has a lot of trouble saving my money for more than a few days. After getting a bit of money from dog-sitting my a family friend's dog, I couldn't help but to go shopping and spend most of it in just a few days. The first place that I had to go was my local thrift store, of course! (sorry, this post is a bit picture-heavy)

All product info will be posted at the bottom!!

The first thing I got at the thrift store was this pair of heeled oxfords. They're really dark navy blue and real leather. I was super excited when I saw these because they're just my style, size, and price range. They had also never been worn before (stickers still inside and soles completely intact). The heels are pretty low and they feel totally flat when I walk in them. They're amazingly comfortable and I'm looking forward to wearing and styling these!

Next, I got this heather grey sweater. I guess it's sort of a cardigan because it has a button, but I'll be wearing it unbuttoned anyway. It's super cozy and just slouchy enough. It's an XL, but basically fits like an over-sized medium. I tried it on in the fitting room with sweater leggings and a tank top and really liked the look, so I'll see if I can incorporate it into outfits that don't involve dresses.

I grabbed this shirt off the 99 cent rack just to try on. Somehow I had never picked up anything with sequins on it before. Super shiny and glitzy things aren't really my style, but I still think it's a good idea to have something like this in your closet. Because the small sequins and bead on this t-shirt are black and match the fabric, they don't stand out too much. I'll probably use this shirt to jazz up a casual outfit with plain jeans or shorts. It'll be great for a lazy day because I could just throw it on and not have to worry about jewelry.

I've always had a thing for lace and don't think I'll ever get tired of it. I already have a number of dresses and tops with lace, but this I picked out this shirt because it's a bit different. It's a really flattering shade of pink and the floral print on it reminded me of vintage designs. The body is lined with a wine-colored silk and the sleeves are just lace.

Another fabric that I haven't been able to get enough of is velvet. I knew I wanted this top as soon as I saw it. I couldn't believe it was on the 99 cent rack, but of course I wasn't complaining. Usually I see velvet in black, navy, maroon, or maybe dark green. The bold, floral print on this tank top was obviously more unique and I could totally see myself wearing this with high-waisted denim shorts once the weather gets nicer.

This is just a simple cardigan, but the fit and color were enough to sell me on it. It's a bit more turquoise in real life. I loved the feel of the fabric: thin, soft, and sturdy. Also, I always need to have pockets in my outfits, so I was glad that this cardigan had two on the front. The length was another thing that I loved about it. I usually buy outwear with longer lengths to pair with my dresses. This means I often buy cardigans a size up so they'll be longer, but this also results in them being wider and generally less flattering. This cardigan, however, is simply designed longer and is still really slim.

The color was what first drew me to this halter top. It's a rich, saturated blue and I thought it would go well with my skin tone. I also don't have any clothing with zipper detailing, which has been popular for quite a while. Even though this trend seems to be dying down, I tried this top on and really liked the way it fit. It's much better looking on than on the hanger or lying flat. It'll be a simple top to style and wear on my lazy days in the summer.

I've been really loving cozy sweaters recently. I grabbed this black one because of the open weave on the bottom of the body and sleeves. It's not really anything  super special, but it'll be easy to style. I'm sure it will fit in with my other clothes and I can already picture a ton of outfits with it. Also, the material is an interesting thick knit. I have no idea what it is, but it's not fuzzy at all and is more smooth and sleek than yarn. I'm hoping that that means it won't get fuzzies under the sleeves after it's been worn.

This is the last thing I got at the thrift store. I glanced at the jewelry rack when I was walking to the register and this big pendant caught my eye immediately. It came on a silver chain, but I didn't particularly like it or its length, so I'm just going to use one of my own. This pendant is probably about 2-2.5 inches in diameter and will be a nice statement piece. The turquoise bits are lovely and bright and I was a little surprised to see that none of them were missing. Also, my jewelry collection had been lacking turquoise (apparently I was missing a bunch of key pieces!), so I'm glad I found this. I'll probably be wearing it all summer.

The next things I got were from Bartell Drugs. The Revlon nail polishes were on sale, so I decided to pick up a couple.

This first nail polish is a gorgeous shade of deep green. Basically the name, Jaded Night, tells you what it looks like. It's a dark, but bold, forest green. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like a glossy creme. This one, being a new shade, was on sale for $3.50.

The other nail polish I picked up was a light, pastel blue. It has small clear glitter in it. I'm excited to see how the glitter looks when applied to nails. Because this wasn't one of the new colors, it was only $2.50 on sale.

I'll post pictures of these polished on my nails when I try them out!

Lastly, I stopped at the mall really quickly today while my doggy was getting his hair cut. I was mostly window shopping (I can't justify these prices after discovering amazing thrift stores!), but I did pick up a few things.

This cute earring set was from Forever21's accessory store, Forlove21. I was mainly attracted to the bottom pair, of course, but I'm sure I'll wear the other two pairs of studs as well. I'm also hoping to get second piercings on my lobes soon, so I'll want a bunch of small studs to wear. I'm really thinking about getting my snug pierced. Google an ear-piercing diagram if you don't know what that is!

The only other thing I got at Forlove21 was this fedora. I tend to like lighter-colored fedoras more than the darker ones and this one was perfect for me. It was exactly what I had in mind when I pictured the fedora I wanted. The striped ribbon is perfect for my taste and I'm excited to wear this in the summer!

Finally, the last things I got today were two pairs of tights. I usually spend much more for my tights, but I found these at Nordstrom Rack for only $3.97. I don't really think that's all that cheap for a simple pair of tights, but I always find myself having to spend much more than that for decent pairs. I've been wanting dot tights for the longest time, but had yet to find any for under $8-10!. I never really bothered to look at the hosiery much at Nordstrom Rack because I assumed they would be just as pricey, if not more. I was actually in the accessory section looking at wallets when I saw these. I didn't want to stand in line just for one pair of tights so I grabbed the floral lace ones as well. I already have a pair of black lace tights, but the pattern is really noticeably different. Also, because I wear dresses almost everyday, I don't think I'll ever have enough pairs of tights. I'll probably break these out and wear them with shorts on the chillier days this summer. Clearly, I already have summer dressing on my brain... It's just too bad that I live in Washington state and it'll probably be relatively rainy and gloomy until well into April or May. 

Alright! I'm going to cut this post off before it gets even longer. Thanks for sticking all the way to the end of it! I'll be back up with another post soon, so check back for that. 

Don't forget to follow and leave any questions or comments below!

AprilLily

Thrifted:

navy heeled oxfords - 4.00

grey sweater - 0.99

black sequin shirt - 0.99

pink floral lace top - 0.99

floral velvet top - 0.99

turquoise cardigan - 3.97

blue zipper halter top - 2.97

black sweater - 3.97

turquoise necklace - 3.00

Bartell Drugs:

Revlon in Jaded Night - 3.49

Revlon in Blue Lagoon - 2.50

Forever21:

earring stud pack - 3.80

fedora - 10.80

Nordstrom Rack:

floral lace tights - 3.97

sheer dot tights - 3.97

2012.02.06 - professional & valentine's day nails

navy jacket - Macy's
black&grey tiered dress - Wet Seal
red camisole - Costco!
white lace camisole - American Eagle
navy tights - mom's closet
black heeled oxfords - consignment store

This outfit is a bit dressier than I usually look because I had a presentation. I'm not one of those people that thinks brown and black or blue and black can't go together. I find that if it looks like you meant to put those colors together, it will look fine. I chose to wear navy and blue this day simply because I wanted to wear this jacket. It hadn't been worn in quite some time and it was just about the level of dressiness that I wanted. To make it look intentional, I wore close to equal parts navy and black. Because my outfit was so dark, I added a small pop of color with my red camisole. It wasn't super noticeable, but made I felt better knowing that I wasn't blue and black from head to toe. As a side note, I swear this dress doesn't look as short in real life as it does in these pictures! It could be because of the camera angle...


Basically I used my presentation as an excuse to wear these heels. It's a little strange to me when girls wear heels to high school without a good reason. I have yet to see a good reason for a girl to wear legitimate pumps to school, but booties and others shoes with a higher vamp (the part on top of the foot) are much better. Really petite girls also seem to be able to pull off wearing heels sometimes because they don't tower over everyone. Now I'm not that tall at a little over 5'5", but with heels I can be about 5'9". 

And I know it's a little late, but these are the nails that I had for Valentine's Day. They were pretty simple and I got the idea from those cute, couple pillows. I don't know if there is a pillow set with this particular design, but I thought it would be quick and easy. It's a boy throwing a paper airplane to a girl. I was going to make the thumb nail a piece of binder paper with the blue lines, but I didn't have the right blue. 

It took me three coats of white polish to get it as opaque as I wanted, which made me a bit impatient for the remainder of my painting. It's pretty evident because you can probably see a number of smudges that I was too lazy to fix. I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out though!

Hope you all are having a good day and stop by soon for a quick thrift haul!

AprilLily

2012.02.01 - mulberry

Sorry I've been away for a while! Just the usual: homework, school, tests, family and friend stuff, and I got sick for a week. 

This outfit is from a couple weeks ago. I haven't even been taking pictures of my outfits for a while because I've been out for 12 hours at a time on most days. When I get home I'm just too tired (and lazy) to spend time taking pictures. I also look pretty ruffled by the time I'm finally home, so it's hardly even worth it to take pictures. 

This day was fairly casual, but I spruced it up a bit with my watches. 

cream cardigan - thrifted

mulberry shirt - ModBod Clothing

black shorts - Levi's (vintage from my closet)

tights - Forever21

black oxfords (not pictured) - Ross

silver Geneva watch - thrifted

rose gold watch (Style&co.) - Macy's

lilac nail polish - Urban Outfitters in Crowded

I wore all solid colors this day, but my cardigan was the focal point because of the pretty ribbon and pearl details on it. Under my cardigan, I wore a basic shirt with elbow-length sleeves. The neckline is supposed to be a rounded V, but it's basically just a high scoop. It's a pretty maroon, mulberry-ish color and surprisingly warm. Next, I wore my black high-waisted Levi's over a plain pair of sheer, black tights. I wanted my outfit to be relatively plain so the details on the cardigan would stand out even though they are all the same creamy color. Also, I wore my black oxfords, but had taken them off at this point. (:


In the second-to-last picture, you might be able to see that my shorts have a bunch of white fluff on them; this cardigan tends to shed. I rolled up the sleeves so I could wear my watches. I also just liked the look of my cardigan better with the sleeves rolled up because they were a bit big. I find that I can buy large and extra-large shirts and cardigans and they will look like they are meant to be over-sized if the sleeves fit. Even though the sleeves on this cardigan showed that I purchased it in a larger size, I made an exception because the ribbons and pearls on it were so pretty. It was in great condition and I couldn't pass it up since it was under $5. It wasn't even missing any pearl beads or buttons!


As for why I'm wearing two watches...I had seen this look a few times before, including from SecretLifeofaBionerd. Look her up on youtube or ThreadBanger if you haven't seen her before! I've seen this come up a couple times, but I don't think it's really an established trend yet. The first time I saw the idea of wearing two watches at once was in the third outfit in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_575643&feature=iv&src_vid=T5M5qx8jHmk&v=rd-ThSINsVk

I'm on mid-winter break this week (thank God), so I'll be trying to make up for my absence. It feels good to be back on my blog! Thanks for checking it out, and come back for new posts soon.
AprilLily

Nail Art - refreshing

I thought I would post something other than an outfit today for a change. With my schedule being filled to the brim, I  haven't really been painting anything interesting on my nails. I do still have some older pictures that I never posted, however. Hopefully I remember to set aside some time this weekend and start up my habit of painting my nails again! But for now, enjoy the pictures.

Graphic palm tree design

Shoddy attempt at bamboo on light silver background

Variation on the usual black lace over pale colors. I must say I prefer to do my
lace nails with any color other than white, but it was still worth trying out. 

Simple, cute panda nails for going to the zoo

Halloween last year. 

Thumb: witch shadow over moon, with autumn leaves surrounding.

Index: tombstone and ghost

Middle: haunted house

Ring: black cat on fence with moon behind

Pinky: RIP tombstone with hand coming out of grave

Ocean scene

These are most of the remaining designs that I found pictures of on my computer. I might check and see if I have any others that were taken on my phone (which explains the poor photo quality). Leave me a question if you want to know what any of these polishes are, or how I created the designs.

I'm thinking about taking pictures throughout the process of my next nail art design, so I can put up a mini tutorial with photos. Let me know what you think!

Also, if you are interested in seeing my previous post with more nail designs, check here: http://lilyinlace.blogspot.com/2011/12/ready-for-new-year.html

Hope everyone is having a wonderful new year so far. I can't believe we're already a month in. Thanks for stopping by, and follow for more nail art!
AprilLily