My very first maxi dress

Hello everyone!  Sorry about yet another hiatus, I could bore you with excuses about moving, painting, and school but you don’t really care, do you?  

My apartment is finally finished and over the weekend, my parents and sister came up to visit and we threw a little housewarming party!  We had such a great time and took these pictures because we had to kill time.  We had to kill time because, in typical Michael fashion, we were ready for the party two hours before anyone was due to show up.

This dress was an impulse buy, as I had never tried a maxi dress before.  The style always intimidated me and I never thought I could pull it off.  Needless to say, I was wrong!  I chose the mint green since the color is super on-trend right now and kept the accessories simple. I was comfortable all day and night and got tons of compliments!  Of course I dripped pizza sauce on it, but that’s par for the course.  Thank god for oxi-clean.

Aren’t my mom and sister gorgeous?!  I still maintain that they got the good genes in the family.  

dress- Forever 21, necklace and headband- J. Crew, earrings- Etsy, watch- Worlds Apart (Lexington, KY), shoes- Tropeziennes 

Law school prom

Here are some pictures from Barrister’s Ball, fondly known as Law School Prom.  The event features a meal and an open bar- what could possibly go wrong? ;-)

I didn’t take any pictures of just me, but I thought it would be fun to post what everyone else looked like too!

My dress is Badgley Mischka via Rent the Runway- highly recommend!

I guess I should point out that even though this blog is called “Rarely in Heels,” I am, in fact, wearing heels in this picture.  What can I say, sometimes you just have to!  The only ones I wear though are the Nike by Cole Haan line.  These are the medium height “Air Talia” style and I have a pair in low height (not kitten- gross) in black and brown closed-toe for interviews and the real job I hope to get someday.

I’m baaaaaaaaaack

Hello there.  January and February were consume with moving into a new apartment and getting a new camera- hence my long, inexcusable absence.  I now have a nice little Canon powershot (still playing with the self-timer as you may be able to tell) AND I’m back to blonde (much more natural and easier to maintain).

Sorry for the blurry nature of these pictures, the sun is in the background and I played with it for about thirty minutes to even get this far.  I’m wear 4 of my very favorite things in this:

1) The Tropiezienne sandals I got in Nice in March of 2010 on my spring break when I studied abroad in Vienna, Austria

2) The coral pants- oh how I love the J. Crew Bennett fit

3) The watch- after a week where I thought it was broken, the best boyfriend used tools and stuff to put it back together

4) The earrings- heavy but so worth it

As for the rest of the outfit, the shirt is more pink than it appears in pictures and has a sheer panel about 4 inches high in the back.  The belt is new, scored from Zara final sale online and is actually navy blue and aqua- not black as it appears here.  

As you can see, I’m wearing RED lipstick!  I went to a Mary Kay party a few weeks ago and tried it on and was convinced by everyone to buy it, so far I’m a big fan!

I promise I won’t be a stranger now that it’s spring!

sandals- Tropeziennes, pants- J. Crew, belt- Zara, shirt- Gap, watch and earrings- Worlds Apart boutique Lexington, KY

Kind of impractical

Woke up this morning and saw snow on the ground, so naturally I wore a see-through shirt.  What you’re seeing isn’t the exact outfit I wore- I had a cardigan on sometimes and wore my boots because y’know the snow.

I got this shirt at Nordstrom rack a few weeks ago and had been dying to wear it- the lace is so pretty!  It was such a dreary kind of day that I felt kind of out of place in such a bright color, but then again I liked it.  The necklace and the watch seem to be getting a lot of wear lately.  I never used to be much of a jewelry person beyond simple earrings and my one ring, but in the past year I’ve gotten kind of obsessed.

It’s cold and gross so of course now I’m in warm clothing but I’ll be back with weekend wear before you know it.

shirt- Nordstrom rack (unsure of the brand, no tag in it), lacy tank underneath- Old Navy, jeans- Gap, flats- Tory Burch via eBay, watch- Geneva, necklace- Worlds Apart, belt- Silpada (old)

Best sweater ever

The J. Crew Tippi sweater is the very best most wonderful sweater in the history of wool.  Lightweight Merino wool, 3/4 length sleeves, comfortable, doesn’t cling in unflattering places, and is monogramable (I think I made the last term up, go with it)!

I was wary of this bright bright “citrus lime” (looks waaaay brighter in person) color but got compliments on it today and love the blue of the monogram against the green.  I actually may just take some sweaters I already have and get those monogrammed too.  You saw it first on RiH, thank me later.  Seriously, J. Crew, if you happen to read my blog (stranger things have happened) send me one in every color thank ya!

The rest of my outfit is blah- thunderstorming this morning+walk to class from car=blah.  Don’t ever say I didn’t try to teach you something.

Lazy outfit

Today is the first day I’ve really gone out since I’ve been sick.  I’m 100% recovered now, yet was still too tired to fix my hair properly.  I have several of these scarves and tie them on purses, in my hair, and y’know wear as actual scarves.  People typically looooove/try to take down and play with the large utensils in our kitchen, so I thought it was time to share them with the blog (also it was dark out by the time I could take a picture).

I wore this to go to lunch and to see Iron Lady with some friends and then ran what seemed like a thousand errands, one of which was to get links taken out of my new watch- you likey?

This shirt is actually my boyfriend’s.  Now is the time to tell you, my fair readers, of my perpetual hunt for the perfect button down.  My problem with most every women’s option is that the sleeves are too tight around the upper/arm shoulders to the point where I can’t move/feel like I’m in a straightjacket.  You don’t like feeling like you should be in a padded room either, you say?  I have a solution- men’s button downs!  

Back to school tomorrow- I got several new items from the huge Lands’ End Canvas sale and (of course) a new J. Crew purchase so stay tuned this week and tell your friends!

scarf- Vera Bradley, shirt- Lands’ End Canvas (mens), jeans- Gap, boots- DSW (old-ish), ring- Lagos, watch- Geneva, bracelet- Pandora, glasses- Tory Burch, lipstick- NARS in Falbala, necklace- J. Crew, belt- Silpada (old)

Going to ride a horse or something

I’m finally sort of recovered from my illness and dressed in something other than yoga pants and a sweatshirt today!  It started snowing for the first time this winter today so I had to wear my giant parka (never to be featured on this blog), though my morning class was cancelled so all in all it was a good day.

These are seriously the most comfortable pants ever, I don’t know why I don’t wear them more often.  Although I do have a tiny little horseback rider vibe going, but whatever I’m from Kentucky.  I feel like all I ever wear are jeans and boots, but as I remarked in an earlier post, I think it’s so much more flattering.  I chose this outfit because I wanted to wear these pants and this scarf and the rest kind of came together.  This blue belt is maybe the most versatile accessory I have ever owned, which is probably why I seem to wear it so much.

I’m also a huge fan of tucking shirts in, but it can get tricky.  I think the key is to have pants that have a low enough rise and that there is enough balance on top and bottom to make the tucked-in shirt look ok (again the boots make it possible- what will I do when it gets warm again).

shirt- MNG by Mango for JC Penney, scarf- Lands’ End Canvas, belt- J. Crew, pants- J. Crew (Bennett fit), boots- DSW (old)

I’m pretty sick today, so no outfit post.  However, I didn’t want to leave (all 10 of) you hanging so here are my thoughts on something: socks with boat shoes and other supposed fashion faux pas.

I am overwhelmingly positive on this front.  It’s cold in Indiana a lot of the time and I don’t want to wear boots every day.  I can’t wear socks with flats, nor can I wear tennis shoes every day, so where does this leave me?  Socks with boat shoes, but of course.  Seriously, my Target-brand Smart Wool knockoffs are cute (I have 4 pairs) and warm AND my boat shoes are so damn comfortable.  

Who says we can’t do stuff like wear boat shoes with socks/black with brown/white after labor day/leggings as pants (so long as the butt is covered)?  You are not beholden to these mystical “rules” of fashion.  There is no fashion police and you can do what you want- I know I do.  

In summary: sick, cold medicine, ranting, comfy/warm feet, ginger ale.

Back to school

After nearly a month off, I went back to school today.  It’s been one of those days- I’m tired, hungry, cranky, and generally pretty irritable but I give you a blog post nonetheless.  I thought I’d stick with the back to school theme in all of the pictures.

I kind of don’t love the way this looks on camera.  However, if I didn’t post an outfit just because I didn’t like any of the pictures I don’t think I’d be able to have a blog for very long.  My issue with this is mostly about the way it seems to accentuate the wrong areas, though I thought it looked good this morning.

Wearing skinny jeans and regular shoes/flats always seems to draw all of the attention to my thighs- something I so do not want.  I find that this is less of a problem when I wear skinny jeans tucked into boots because the long line of the boots distracts from the thigh area.  The thick horizontal stripes of this shirt probably aren’t doing me many favors either in retrospect but I love layering this shirt with the cotton cardigan (it’s actually a really light material).  This is a pretty standard school outfit.

Bottom line- I LIKE this outfit!  I like that it’s casual and comfortable, yet still looks put together.  I think I owe that to the always trying to wear 3 pieces- the jeans, the top, and the sweater- and that always seems to help.  Anyway, enjoy your Monday everyone!

sweater- J. Crew, shirt- h&m, jeans- Citizens of Humanity, shoes- no idea, got them when I studied abroad in Vienna, Austria 2 years ago, bag- longchamp

Adventures with the DSLR: Part One

I was home alone before I met up with my law school friends for a night out so I decided not only to learn how to use a DSLR camera for the first time, but also how to take good pictures using a self-timer.  This outfit post is the acceptable, albeit blurry, result.  The big knife you see in the picture also has big fork and big spoon counterparts and those are, without fail, the first thing people that come to our house comment on (and usually make awesome jokes about).

I’ve had this Nicole Miller top since maybe early 2008 and though I go through phases of liking animal print, right now I am REALLY into it.  I wanted to wear jeans and boots since it was cold out, but not super cold and I don’t like to take a jacket into bars if I don’t have to.  Priorities, eh?

I like the pop of turquoise with the belt (thanks, boyfriend!) against the red and black of the top/sweater/scarf combo.  These are the only jeans I will wear with boots because they are jegging-esque (but still with pockets and are thicker like regular jeans) and, more importantly, THEY HAVE STIRRUPS.  It may not be 1988, but stirrups are genius for tucking pants into boots.

As for the second picture, what did you notice first- the bling or the bar? ;)

I love this outfit and will probably repeat elements of it, but not any time soon because I’m too lazy to do laundry more than twice a month and now everything reeks of cigarette smoke.  THANKS, CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS.

sweater- Lands’ End, top- Nicole Miller (old), scarf- gift (old), belt- J. Crew, jeans- Gap, boots- DSW (old), ring- Arden B. (old), bracelet- Tory Burch