Lemon Zest : Part I

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Did you know that color is the first thing that you notice about any object that you see? Some people, me for instance, especially respond to color; often the color the one thing that really makes me like an article of clothing or an accessory. Incorporating a novel color into your outfit is one of the easiest ways to make a modest outfit look contemporary. Twice a year, the Pantone color authority releases a review of the top ten colors for the season. This is after they analyze the trends on the runways at New York Fashion Week. One of those trending colors for Spring and Summer of 2013 is a beautiful yellow they have named "lemon zest."

This week I'm going to be doing a mini-series on this cheerful color. Here's some inspiration from the runway, the street, and lookbooks for wearing yellow this spring.

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So, what's the rest of the mini-series look like? Tomorrow I'll show you some modest clothes and accessories in lemon and other yellows. Wednesday, I'll make some dream outfits on Polyvore showing you how you can wear a little or a lot of yellow depending on your complexion. Thursday, I'll show you how I wear yellow in a way that becomes me. But not just me. It helps to see how lots of real girls with different skin tones wear this color. If you have an outfit with a dash of yellow that you want to share, send it to fashionedanddesigned (at) gmail (dot) com, and I might feature you in Thursday's post!

Sound good? What wardrobe theme would you like to see me cover next?

30x30 Challenge : Day One

Hello ladies! It's day one of the 30x30 Fashion Challenge, and I'm kicking things off with one of the items I told you I don't like: this skirt (Give me some color!). I combined it with one of my favorite things: this fiery orange top. And I love the resulting outfit! This is also Outfit #1 I Have Never Worn Before. (I've set a goal for myself of 20 new outfits coming out of this challenge. Hopefully I'll get more than that though!)

I bought the skirt four or five years ago, when I was still a teenager and figuring out how to dress. It came with a blazer, which I needed for an event with a "professional" dress code. I didn't love it, but I liked it well enough. Afterwards, I wondered how to style it, so I looked the outfit up on the store's website, and one of the reviews called it "matronly." I was still in that stage when I wanted so desperately to fit in. I was mortified that I had worn something "matronly," and promptly moved it to the far back of my closet. I donated the jacket a while ago, but for some reason, I hung on to the skirt. Deep down, I just knew it had potential. (So, my personal style tip of the day: If you want to be true to yourself, don't read product reviews after you've already bought something!)

I wore it just like this for church this morning, but I'm going to throw on the white denim jacket when I go to work in about an hour. Does that make it one outfit or two?

What I'm Wearing:

4) Red peasant tee- LOFT Outlet (under the crochet top)

7) Orange crochet top- LOFT Outlet

15) Tribal print skirt- JC Penney

23) White denim jacket- LOFT Outlet

29) Wedge sandals- Famous Footwear

Wooden bead necklace from India and Forever 21 belt (not included in the 30)

I can't wait to meet more bloggers through this challenge, and see your creative outfits! For those of you who didn't come to my blog via the link-up, I hope you'll join in! The button below will take you to the host, Ashley's, site Bramblewood Fashion.

30 for 30 Remix Challenge at Bramblewood Fashion : My 30 Items

I'm really excited about the 30x30 Challenge, which is starting tomorrow! For those of you who have never heard of a 30x30, it's when you take 30 items of clothing and shoes and use only those 30 to mix and match your outfits for 30 days. Mathematically, that's far more than enough clothes to make only 30 outfits, but it's a little more difficult than that in real life. Notice I didn't mention jewelry and accessories. That's because those don't count in the 30; you can add on as many accessories as your heart desires!

A few noteworthy items about my set of 30:

1 : I purposely included several items I rarely wear and don't particularly like (the white ruffle blouse, the green tunic, the brown skirt, and the tribal print skirt) so that hopefully I'll be forced to find some good ways to wear them.

2 : I already mix and match my clothes quite a lot, although I don't have a relatively large wardrobe, and I'm always trying to find new ways to wear my favorite clothes, so I'm setting a goal that makes sense for me: 20 of my 30 outfits should be a combination I have never worn before.

3 : My black heels are not here!!!

4 : I'm not going to do any clothes (or shoes or accessories) shopping during the 30x30. That's an optional rule for anyone taking the 30x30 challenge.

Sooooo, here's what we've got:

Tops left to right:

1 : White ruffle blouse- Kohl's

2 : White tee- Marshall's

3 : Blush pink lace tee- LOFT Outlet

4 : Red peasant tee- LOFT Outlet

5 : Burgandy tiered tee- LOFT Outlet

6 : Floral peasant tee- LOFT Outlet

7 : Orange crochet top- LOFT Outlet

8 : Green pinstripe shirt- Wal-Mart

9 : Green asymmetrical tunic- Made by me

10 : Chambray shirt- LOFT Outlet

11 : Gray beaded tee- LOFT Outlet

12 : Black peplum shirt- Kohl's

Bottoms left to right:

13 : Polished denim bermuda shorts- LOFT Outlet
14 : Blue pencil skirt- Made by me
15 : Tribal print skirt- JC Penney
16 : Floral skirt- Kohl's
17 : Zebra print skirt- Made by me
18 : Knit denim skirt- Made by me
19 : Tiered brown skirt- Target
20 : Boyfriend jeans- LOFT Outlet
21 : Gray trousers- Kohl's

Jackets, cardigans, dresses left to right:

22 : Denim vest- ?
23 : White denim jacket- LOFT Outlet
24 : Lavender crochet cardigan- LOFT Outlet
25 : Light blue cardigan- LOFT Outlet
26 : Polka dot dress- LOFT Outlet
27 : Maxi dress- Made by me

Shoes:

28 : Yellow flats- LOFT Outlet
29 : Wedge sandals- Famous Footwear
30 : Brown flats- Target

If you want to take the challenge for yourself, go Ashley and Gabrielle's blog Bramblewood Fashion for all the details and to link up your 30x30 posts!

The Chambray Shirt : Part IV {How to Make Removable Faux Pocket Flaps}

There are lots of chambray shirts in stores that have been embellished with panels of patterned fabric, prints, or pockets and trimming in a darker shade of denim. I don't want to pay for another chambray shirt, so I found a way to jazz it up- just a little. These pocket flaps are really just big denim brooches; I can remove them whenever I need the shirt in its plain-jane state.

I : Make a pattern for your pocket flap, adding 1/4" all around for seam allowances, and cut out two pieces (a front and a back) for each flap.

II : Add sew-in or fusible interfacing to the back side of each front flap. I did this to keep the flap from bubbling, but it's optional. Don't include seam allowance in the interfacing so that your seams aren't too bulky.

III : Chalk mark your seam line in the areas that you want to embellish as a reference point for placing your designs. It's also helpful to chalk mark the seam line on the back if you're going to sew by hand.

IV : Embellish however you desire! I just added some round studs at the point, but you could embroider it, topstitch some lace or ribbon, sew on a snazzy button, etc.

V : Sew it up. Since my studs were so close to the seam line, I didn't want to risk hitting them with the machine needle, so first I sewed the point area by hand using a backstitch. I sewed the rest on the machine, leaving the top open to turn it right side out. Clip the corners and with a warm iron and press the seams to make them crisper. Turn it right side out and stitch the top shut with a slipstitch.

VI : I stitched safety pins in the corners of the back of one flap, but I found it looks best if you don't attach pins and just pin it from the back of your shirt. Maybe you can find some other type of pin, such as a lapel pin, to stitch into the back of your pocket flap that would look better.

VII : And you're done! I made two sets in different sizes. I added some colorful studs in a pattern to the smaller ones.

After I made these, I thought some pocket flaps made out of a pastel floral calico with some lace trim would look really good for a country look. And since my shirt is collarless, what about a denim collar necklace to go with it? I'll keep you all posted on whether or not that turns out...

The Chambray Shirt : Part III

For the Chambray Shirt Mini-Series I challenged myself to come up with two new outfits of my own, one for a day at work and one for a day off. I also asked you, my readers, to show me how you wear chambray, and Vicki did, so you'll be able see how chambray works for her style as well as mine.

So here I am looking business casual in chambray, a knit blazer, and a pencil skirt.

Chambray Shirt, Knit Blazer, and Silver Tooth Necklace: LOFT Outlet

Pencil Skirt: Made by me

Shoes: Target

My shirt isn't true chambray; rather it's a lightweight cotton that only looks like chambray on the surface. I like the nondescript patch pockets, the mandarin collar (since I never know quite what to do with a shirt collar when I wear it with a blazer or jacket), and the roomy boyfriend cut that blouses nicely when tucked into my skirt.

Now here's one way Vicki wears her chambray shirt while still being true to her own style. She writes a modest fashion blog called Decked Out in Ruffles, which pretty well describes her charming, feminine look.

Here's what she told me about this outfit: "I think this is the first time I wore this shirt, and I layered it over a short dress/tunic and leggings and I had a cute and comfy outfit."

I like her attention to detail- folding back the edges of the shirt to expose the intricate pattern on the tunic, rolling up the cuffs to allow for a bracelet, and belting the shirt at her high waist to accentuate her figure.

She wrote a full blog post on this outfit before, and you can see it here.

Trying to loosen up for look number two! The roll-tab sleeves are one more plus for me; they are cute and comfortable in the summer, but I can still roll them down for less bulk and wear a long-sleeved blazer over them.

Chambray is a neutral color that goes with anything, but I especially respond to outfits that incorporate bright, warm hues like reds, pinks, and yellows.

Chambray shirt, tiered skirt, and necklace: LOFT Outlet

Shoes: Target

I just can't get enough of this shirt. You might have seen me wear this shirt before on the blog here with fur and a wooden necklace and here with lace and pearls.

I'm going to finish off the week with an illusion pocket flap that I made to wear when I want to add a little zazzle to this shirt, and maybe a few dream chambray outfits I put together on Polyvore.

Now, as promised, the theme for next week is yellow! The color of sunshine pops up every summer, but I'm seeing more of it this season in every intensity. You might think it doesn't look good on you, and you know what- it doesn't usually look that good on me either, but everyone can add a little dose of yellow in their accessories. If you have already found a way to wear this happy color and would like to be featured on the blog, go on and send your images to fashionedanddesigned (at) gmail (dot) com. Be sure to leave me your name and a link to your own page so that I can properly credit you!

The Chambray Shirt : Part II

Chambray shirts are easy to find, and a lot of them are modest. There are of course some that have a lace or open back or that are cropped above the waist, but for the most part they can button as high as you desire and have either a classic or a boyfriend cut- helpful for avoiding that annoying gaping between the buttons.

Here are a few of the many shopping choices I've found. There are more in the ShopStyle widget in my sidebar.

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 The fine dot print on this C&C California shirt is casual but classy. I like shirts with roll-tab sleeves so that you can vary the length. You know it will look good tied, which opens up more style possibilities and it's a sign that it's a lightweight fabric that will be comfortable all summer. I don't see why you couldn't tuck this into a skirt either if you wanted to.

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 This Brooks Brothers camp shirt has high pockets. I'm a bit busty, so I like it when embellishments aren't on the widest part of my chest- for modesty and just a flattering look.

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From the Etsy shop Tamar Landau, this is an example of an office-appropriate denim shirt. I like the Mandarin collar; those can be easier to style with a blazer or collared jacket.

I picked mostly simple, classic shirts because they can be dressed up- well, as dressed up as any denim can be- but depending on the accessories you wear with them, you can still get the ultra-casual, 70's, bohemian look that a lot of the Forever 21-esque embellished chambray shirts have. Friday I will show you some accessories I made to transform my more polished shirt to a more modest version of this youthful style and back.

New Blog Feature : Modest Style of the Week Mini-Series

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Here's how it will work: Each week's mini-series will revolve around a theme. It might be a trend- anything from a color to a shoe style to a type of sleeve- or it might be a wardrobe basic. Either way, we will find  ways to wear it with modesty and touches of personal style. Every Monday the mini-series will begin with inspiration from the runway or the street. Tuesday we'll cover where to find it, particularly if modest variations of the style aren't abundant. On Wednesday, I'll show you some ways to style Tuesday's finds. Then on Thursday I'll show you how I wear the look using my own clothes and announce the theme of next week's mini-series.

I've chosen the chambray shirt as the very first Modest Style of the Week. Here are just a few of my favorite ways to wear it:

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Use it in place of a blouse with a pencil skirt and blazer.

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Brighten it up with warm, bold colors like red and yellow.

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It acts as a foil to toughen up delicate fabrics. Got a skirt made of lace, tulle, chiffon, or floral calico? A chambray shirt is just what it needs. In t-shirt form it's a clean backdrop for statement jewelry.

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If jeans or a denim skirt with a tee is your daily uniform, this is the same look- in reverse. Put your denim on the top and your eye-catching pattern and color on the bottom. A necklace with colored stones makes your face the focal point still.

Tomorrow in Part II of the Chambray Shirt Mini-Series I'll show you a few versatile chambray shirts. I enjoy looking at fashion articles, browsing online stores, and styling clothes, so I can do this all on my own. BUT it's even more fun when you do it with someone else. So if you have styled an outfit- either your own or on Polyvore- with some chambray in there somewhere, please send it to fashionedanddesigned (at) gmail (dot) com and I will try to feature it later in the week. Include the name you'd like to go by and the link to your blog or site if you have one; I always credit and link to my sources.

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