What I Wore | Last Day at the Beach

WhatIWore: If you saw me walking the beach or strolling through town in Anna Maria Island, chances are you saw me in this romper - I wore it just about every day! I asked Adam to quickly snap these photos on my way out the door to go shopping one morning - nothing too complicated -  just a cute and easy spring outfit! 

When: March 17, 2016

What:
Hat: Stars + Field (self made)
Shades: Karen Walker ‘Super Duper’ in Crazy Tort
Romper: Old Navy (purchased with a left over gift card of previous partnership)
Bag: Coach
Sandals: Clark’s

Where: Hanging out on AMI

What I Wore | Beach Baby

WhatIWore: You guys! I’m so excited to share my first ever completely self made head to toe outfit! Our beach days have been foggy, but this morning it was a great backdrop for my little chambray play suit and self made hat and espadrille shoes. Pattern details below!

When: March 15, 2016

What:
Hat: Stars and Field (e-mail me to pre-order this style!)
Bra Top: Simplicity 1426, View A
Shorts: Papercut Patterns, ‘Rite of Spring’
Shoes: Self Made (see details in this post)

Where: Anna Maria Island Beach

I chose to make a coordinating play suit using a dark chambray fabric and only needed a yard and a half (with enough to spare to make a matching band for my hat). This fabric is so fun to sew with… as were the patterns I used today!

Sometimes I can be so cheap at the fabric store. I waited for ages for this pattern to go on sale, missed it, and then went back and forth paying full (40% off but still expensive) price. In the end I was in a hurry and wanted to make it for this trip so I just bought it.. but I’m glad I did. It was so much fun to sew and went really quickly. I added a little contrasting white piping to coordinate with the shorts. Let me tell you more about those… 

I’ve made the shorts once before (seen here) and they’re such a breeze to stitch up. I think next time I’ll want to use a fabric with a little more body because these soft chambray shorts got a little more wrinkled with normal wear than I’d prefer. No matter - they’re still cute! 

On the accessory side of things I decided last minute to make myself a larger brim sun hat for this trip. I cut my wire a bit smaller than the natural brim to pull it in and give it a vintage look. I didn’t tack down the chambray band I made so perhaps later this summer I’ll sway with a scarf or another piece of fabric.

And the shoes! The shoes guys! I made shoes!! I’m most proud of these puppies and they’re so comfortable. I actually don’t like sandals at the beach and these kept the sand out nicely. Read more about how I made them (and links to supplies for you to make your own, here)

What I Wore | Poolside

WhatIWore: Although I’ve been wearing a lot of fit and flare style skirts and dresses to go out for this vacation, around the rental house I’ve been straight lounging! I’ve been alternating between this dress and a striped one piece for going between beach walks, bike rides and pool time. I like having casual comfy pieces that look just as good doing nothing as running out. (For example, when we ran out of ice, I jumped on a bike and headed to the general store wearing this dress!) These kinds of soft knits pack really well and don’t wrinkle much (say… for a tropical snooze in the hammock?) And stripes are one of my favorite things for warm weather… coastal chic! 

When: March 15, 2016

What:
Hat: Stars and Field with vintage scarf band
Shades: ZeroUV
Dress: Purchased with gift card provided by Old Navy

Where: Hanging out in Florida!

Big thanks to our longtime partners at Old Navy for sponsoring this post and providing me with a gift card to choose this dress (along with a few other goodies for my trip!) 

What I Wore | Going Green

WhatIWore: Here’s what I wore this morning to grab donuts with Felix and Adam! I really wanted to save this dress for St. Patrick’s Day, but IU is playing Thursday so I’m going to be decked out in cream and crimson then. Plus everyone is celebrating St. Paddy’s all week on the island, so why not?! This is my vintage refashioning/upcycling project!  I bought this dress at a vintage shop knowing I could update the silhouette to make it more modern. I love the colors and bias stripe details (plus a full skirt never hurt anyone, am I right?)

Here’s what it looked like before…

When: March 17, 2016

What:
Shades: Karen Walker ‘Super Duper’
Dress: Vintage, re-fashioned
Belt: Vintage
Sandals: American Eagle

Where: Stroller walk to The Donut Experience 

I started by removing the sleeves and neckline and reserving some of that fabric for the straps. They’re simple bias spaghetti straps made to coordinate with the front of the garment. Once I had the dress ready to play around with, I put her on the dress form and pinned a halter neckline in place, basted it and then tried it on to see if I liked the silhouette (first try was a success!). From there, I created facings and sewed my new raw edges. I also ended up taking in the side seams a little bit at under the arms and converting some pleats on the back bodice into darts. Finally I under stitched the lining, trimmed bulky seams and sewed my straps into place. The colors look different under the Floria sun and fog, but the color is closer to the indoor shots I took of the 'before’ dress. 

This is a cool project for me because it’s an awesome way to give an 80s style dress a new lease on life! I’m really pleased with the final results! I really like this kind of neckline, so I’ll probably draft my own pattern when we’re back into the groove at home and make another top/dress/romper using this silhouette! I also love this color, which looks so pretty in spring and summer time! More pretty green options below!