I'm here. . .

    Hey guys---as you can probably tell, I've taken a little break from the blog.  I've been doing a lot of stuff with my new business and getting it up and running has taken a ton of time.  Coupled with my computer being mean to me and there being about 4 weeks left of class and I've been exhausted. 
 

    BUT I have good news!  I've been thinking of ways to combine my blogging and crafting and I'm really excited about this.  I've also been planning some really cool posts and have several really great outfit posts just waiting for me to download pictures off of my camera.  

    I'm not abandoning my blog, I like it *way* too much, but I may be scaling back a bit.  I've realized that it takes a lot of time, effort and energy to continue posting as often as I've been doing.  As my life is getting more chaotic, I don't have enough time, effort or energy to keep it up and stay sane and enjoy this last month of classes of my life (ever!).  So not to fear, I am still here and hope to stay around for a long time to come. 

<3, A-C

Spring!

    Yesterday was a beautiful Spring day.  I am so happy Spring is finally here! The weather is warm and its consistently sunny.  Also, I can wear dresses without tights!!!  Like this one.  I got this dress in January before my shopping ban went into effect.  It is from Bravissimo, and for the most part I love it.  In fact, I love the dress itself, my complaint is really with Bravissimo for not providing measurements withe their sizes.  Had they done so, I wouldn't have bought a dress that was too big.  Unfortunately, because Bravissimo is based in the U.K., international shipping is rather expensive.  So I decided not to try to return the dress for a smaller size.  I'm going to try to wash it to see if maybe that will shrink it a bit.  Otherwise, the dress is beautiful.  It's cut to give ample room in the bust and not expose the girls for all to see.  I absolutely love the print of the dress too.  It is a light blue cotton overlay with transparent fans that show through the white cotton underlay.  

    Even though the weather is down right heavenly right now, it still gets a bit chilly in the shade and downright cold in certain classrooms.  So rather than risking frostbite in a sleeveless dress, I figured I would just layer a cardigan over the dress.  The problem was choosing the cardigan.  My mom gave me this cardigan last summer when we visited in Puerto Rico.  Its my favorite shade of chocolate brown, but it is NOT my favorite shape.  It's both too big and too boxy to be as short as it is.  So up until now the cardigan has just been chilling in my closet waiting to be worn.  UNTIL I saw this post by Sally of Already Pretty.  It gave me the idea to cinch the cardigan in the back with a brooch.  And it worked!  I even got compliments on it!  The cardigan was a lot less boxy with the brooch and I got an added bonus of adding some sparkle to my outfit.  

    So it seems that my DIYed skirt from yesterday was rather popular.  Would you all like me to do a tutorial to show you how to turn a pair of jeans into a skirt?

The Details:
Dress: Bravissimo
Cardigan: Target
Brooch: Consignment
Sandals: Aerosoles (DSW)
Necklace: gift

Craftiness

    I am SO excited about this post.  You see, as soon as I bought my sewing machine a couple of months ago I *knew* I just had to cut up a pair of old jeans and turn them into a skirt.  I FINALLY DID IT!!!  I finished it up Sunday night and of course wore it yesterday.  The hem is total crap.  I got impatient and knew that no matter what it would end up terribly.  So I started sewing in a straight line (sort of) and went over it several times.  Turns out I didn't do so horribly.  In the back it dips down almost evenly and in the front its pretty close to straight across.  What do you guys think, can you tell I made it or put it together?

 The Details:
Jean Skirt: Guess DIYed by me :)
T-shirt: Old Navy
Blazer: Old Navy
Flats: Target
Necklace: Gift

Pretty Patterns

    Since my computer died for the second time in a week (this time the hard drive failed.  Got a new one, hoping it will last) I've unfortunately not been able to blog as much as I would like.  Nor have I been able to catch up on the blogs I read.  I did manage to update and move my blogroll.  You can now see it if you click on the link up top that says "Blogroll" or you can see it by clicking on the link to the right that also says "Blogroll."  It seems that I just keep adding more and more blogs and I really really like it.  It's cool to see how different people from all over dress for different climates, body types, styles and the like.  If you have a blog or know of one that I should check out, please let me know! 

    Now on to the important stuff, the clothes!  I wore this last Friday to work.  It was warm and sunny and I wanted to celebrate spring.  This scarf is the one I mentioned in this post.  I also got it for $2.50 at Target.  You can see it better in the close-up pictures, but the scarf has different shades of blue and turquoise and even some green thrown in there.  It is very springy, which is exactly why I chose to wear it on Friday.  I feel like it added a whole lot of interest to an otherwise plain-ish sweater + pants combination.  Moreover, I feel that adding scarves is a great (and cheap!) way to add interest through patterns to outfits.









The Details:
Top: LOFT
Scarf: Target
Pinstripe pants: Gap
Heels: Nine West

And the Winner is. . .

Entry Number 13 Chelsea!  Congratulations!

Chelsea said...thanks for reminding me about your giveaway :) I'd love the simplest one-color woven headband in pale blue or pink... I just love how pale shades go with my new(ish) auburn hair!

I'll email you in the next day or so to finalize your order. Thanks everyone for entering my giveaway!  If you still want to get your hands on a headband, head on over to my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ACsCrafts and place an order.  For the rest of March, if you mention Law School Fashionista in your order you'll get 25% off your order! 

Apologies

    So for the second time in a week I've had to wipe my hard drive and re-install Windows 7.  This time around though, I had to wait to get a new hard drive.  I'm SO sorry I haven't been able to keep up with everyone's blogs (there are 124 unread items in my reader waiting for me).  I'll try to catch up soon! 

Don't forget, the giveaway ends today!  http://bit.ly/al8H3q

Favorite Color

    So, my favorite color is blue.  Can you tell?  In the past several weeks I've worn several blue-centric outfits (not all of which have made it on the blog yet) and even made blue the central theme to my capsule wardrobe challenge.  I find it can be both calming and exciting depending on the shade.  Also, because of jeans, its easily a neutral in most outfits.  But the reason I think its my favorite color is the sky.  The color of the sky after sunset and just before the world goes dark is the best shade there is.  

   Now that I've finished waxing poetic about the color blue, let me tell you about this scarf.  I walked into target the other day hoping to find some tights on sale.  Now that its spring and all I figured Target might be clearancing out their tights.  Well I managed to find 2 pairs, but the really exciting thing is this scarf (and another one I'll post next week).  In the front of target there's usually a $1 section where they have seasonal stuff that's $1.  Well amongst that stuff I found this scrunchy scarf (my term) for $2.50.  TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS!!!  I got excited.  So I bought it.  And do you know the only reason I even thought about buying it?  Blogging.  Yep, I have climbed the mountain, looked over the other side and seen that it is good.  This scarf totally reminded me of this yellow scarf of E's of Academichic which just added to the coolness.  


What do you all think, am I crazy for being so excited about a scarf?  Or do you get this excited when you come across something unexpectedly too?
   

The Details:
Tank: ON
Jeans: ON
Belt: Target
Cardigan: Target
Scarf: Target ($2.50!)
Flats: Puma 
Sunglasses: Target

Don't forget to enter the giveaway: http://bit.ly/al8H3q

Giveaway Update

Halfway there and only 8 entries for my giveaway!  Better hurry!  http://bit.ly/al8H3q

Comfy Florals

    Last Wednesday I went to work wearing this.  I managed to mix patterns and textures and different shades of blue and gray IN THE SAME OUTFIT!  Yes, it's that big of a deal. :)  At least for me it is.  


The Details:
Gray Men's undershirt: Hanes
Cardigan: Target
Necklace: gift
Headband: Forever 21
Skirt: American Apparel
Floral Tights: Hanes Outlet (detail below)
Flats: Target

I just *had* to show you all this picture.  Proof that the world does revolve around shoes. :) 

Don't forget to enter my Custom Headband Giveaway!

COUPON!

I have a 30% off coupon to Banana Republic, BR Factory Store, Gap, Gap outlet and Old Navy from March 18-21.  The First 30 people to leave a comment with an email will get a coupon forwarded to them.  Can be used online and in store.  AND if you use it in store you can use it as many times as you like.  Online use is one-time only. 

Grand Opening!

   If you follow me on Twitter at all, you know that this weekend I opened my etsy shop.  I make and sell ribbon headbands.  An example of me wearing a headband is to the left.  In Celebration of my new shop I will be hosting a Giveaway!  The winner will get their very own customized headband.  Any color(s) or design can be chosen. 


The Rules:
- Go to my Shop and leave a comment on this post telling me what headband you would like and in what color(s).  In the comment please leave a valid email address.  (All entries without an email address will be deleted).
For additional entries do one or more of the following (and let me know in separate comments):
- For a second entry blog about the giveaway.
- For a third entry twitter about the giveaway.
- For a fourth entry become a follower of the blog.


The Giveaway will be open until Sunday March 21, 2010 at midnight EST.  The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be announced Monday March 22, 2010. 

Pops of red

    I love this dress.  I bought it at the end of last summer on sale AND with a coupon.  It is wool and lined and fits me wonderfully. But it is sleeveless.   And as such, I didn't know how to wear it while it was still cold.  I didn't want to wear a cardigan because it would cover up the silhouette of the dress, and to layer something underneath would take some thinking.  So for this outfit, I thought hard and chose to layer a white button down under the dress.  But to give it a pop of color and keep it interesting, I added my trusty red belt.  Well, if I'm going to wear the red belt, might as well add the red slingbacks too, right?  I stopped there with the red; didn't want to go overboard. 
   I've noticed that my style has subtly changed.  For instance, this week I wore a skirt or dress 3 of 4 days I went to work.  I have also been wearing skirts and dresses to school and wearing jeans less often.  I really do think that part of it, if not the entirety, is due to blogging.  Like Tania of What Would a Nerd Wear mentioned here, I too have gotten more adventurous with my outfits since starting blogging.  Then again, since I started wearing mostly jeans and sweaters to class and trousers and sweaters to work, the bar was set pretty low.  Nonetheless, I've gotten a lot of inspiration and encouragement from other bloggers and its driven by style quotient way up.  So thank you all for inspiring and encouraging me to try new things! *hugs*

The Details:
Dress: BR
Button down: BR
Belt: Target
Brown tights: Target
Heels: Nine West 

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day 5

    Day 5 for me was Monday of this week.  I spent all of last Friday studying for my MPRE (legal ethics exam) that I took on Saturday, so I extended the challenge through to this week. For my final challenge outfit I went back to my black dress, scarf and cardigan, but this time, rather than wearing it as a blouse + skirt, I wore it as a dress + belt.  
    Even though its not in the pics, I'm really glad I took my cardigan to work with me.  Even though the weather is MUCH nicer now, it still gets rather cold in the office.  So the cardigan was perfect. 
    I think my favorite part of this outfit is the scarf.  I was able to bring some spring into my outfit AND accentuate my waist.  Also, the addition of the belt over the scarf kept the scarf in place and added some color and texture to the outfit.
    Another part that I love is the pleating details on the neckline of the dress.  Its subtle, but its there and makes an otherwise plain shift dress into something special.  


The Details:
Dress: Target
Scarf: Mom
Belt: Target
Tights: Target
Gray heels: Bandolino (Steinmart)
Not Shown:
Black Cardigan: August Silk (Ross)

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day 4

    Day four of the Capsule Wardrobe Challenge was interesting.  For whatever reason, I wanted to try new and different things last week with a limited wardrobe. One such thing was wearing a blouse as a vest.  I wasn't 100% sure with it at first, so I added the belt to keep it from getting tent-y (a theme, yes?).  Still wasn't sold on it until a friend of mine's first words to me that day were "Another great outfit, A-C!" (Like seriously, she calls me A-C.)  I like this outfit much more in picture format than in the mirror.  Weird, huh? 
    Anyway, another new and different thing I tried was actually tucking my jeans into these boots.  As mentioned before, I have big calves.  I had honestly given up on ever being able to tuck jeans into knee high boots.  I figured it just wasn't meant to be.  AND THEN! I tried, just to see if *maybe* these would work, and lo and behold, they did!  Moral of the story, try things, they just might work. :) 
The Details:
White Blouse: BR
Polka dot blouse: NY & Co.
Jeans: ON
Belt: Target
Boots: Target
Necklace: Consignment

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day 3

    This is actually my favorite Capsule Challenge outfit.  I've had this skirt for years, and when originally bought, it sat on my hips.  I have gotten bigger whilst the skirt has stayed the same size.  As a result, the skirt is now a high waisted A-line skirt.  To tell you the truth, I love it this way.  The length works really well and the thick waist band sits nicely at my waist.  I'm definitely a fan.

    Without planning on it, my pashmina ended up working perfectly with this outfit.  I used it as the winter scarf to add to my Capsule Wardrobe and it came in handy.  Wednesday afternoon I was freezing in a classroom while taking a Professional Responsibility midterm and the pashmina came to the rescue to keep me warm.  (I got an 86 on the midterm by the way).  

The Details:

Skirt: American Eagle

Blouse: BR

Tights: Merona

Heels: Nine West

Necklace: Consignment 

Pashmina: BCN

Belt: Target

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day 2

    So its been a while since I wore this outfit and even longer since I came up with it.  But that's the nature of the game.  I've had this button down for several years and I almost never wear it.  The reason is that like most button downs that fit my boobs, the rest of the shirt tents out.  It makes me look enormous.  So, to fix this, I belted the shirt.  I'm glad I did too.  I really like the shirt, its a blue, white and black stripes, but like I said, the fit is terrible.  Even with the belt, its still felt a bit tent-y.  Hoping to cancel out the tent-i-ness I wore fitted jeans.  Looking back at the pictures, I probably should have gone with wider jeans to balance out my larger top half.  Guess I know that for next time.  
    As you can see from the pics, it snowed last week.  Tuesday I took advantage of the allowed Capsule Wardrobe Challenge winter jacket to keep me warm.  Without it I would have been very cold.  (Contrary to what you may think, it generally does not snow a lot here.  This year its snowed about 8 times.  In all the previous 7 years I've lived here, its snowed at most 3 times in any one winter. So the winter jacket was much appreciated.) 

The Details:
Button Down: ON
Belt: Target
Jeans: ON
Gray heels: Bandolino (via Steinmart)
Red Coat: ON
Necklace: Consignment

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

    I am back in the land of the blogging.  And it feels very very nice.  Essentially my computer crashed, we had to wipe it, install vista then install windows 7.  Oh and I didn't have anything backed up.  But not to worry, the magical tech guy at school had a solution!  So I and all my files are now safely (or on their way) in Windows 7.  Normal posting will resume later today.  Until then, I recommend you head on over to Already Pretty to check out what Sally has to say about Wearing What Suits You. 

fyi

Just fyi, my computer is currently not working so I won't be posting for a bit.  (Hopefully) see you soon!

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day 1

    To kick off the Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge, I got creative.   Like really creative, and boy did it feel good.  See that pretty silk floral blouse there?  It's not a blouse, its a scarf!  I've had this scarf for several months.  It's my mom's, but she never wears it.  So last time I visited, I brought it home with me.  I've been at a loss as to how to style it until E. of Academichic mentioned the ability to style a scarf as a blouse.  So I ran with it.  In fact, this was the first outfit I put together for the Capsule Wardrobe Challenge AND I will be using most of the same items later in the week to put together a different outfit.  
    AND on top of feeling super creative, I got several compliments on my pretty silk blouse.  I told a few of my friends that it was actually a scarf and they were amazed.  I made sure to take a picture to show you all how I tied the scarf.  Had I not been wearing the dress underneath, I probably could have just tied the scarf together at my waist like I did at my neck, but because of the dress and in order to stay comfortable, I used a piece of ribbon to connect the two ends of the scarf at my waist.  I used the belt to keep the "blouse" from getting too poofy and to cinch me in at my waist.  The cardigan was both for warmth and authority.  Monday afternoon I have a class on mediation and it was my turn to be the mediator.  I wanted to wear something that was welcoming and somewhat authoritative without making myself look like a lawyer or judge.  (Not many others dress for their parts in the class, but I felt it would help me stay in the right mindset if I did).  I think I struck the right chord.  I got to practice my mediation skills and even brought the two sides to agree to a solution!  

Do you ever wear items in ways they're not "meant" to be worn?  How else do you get to be creative in putting together outfits?  

The Details:

Black sheath dress: Target

Tights: Hue (Steinmart)

Boots: Target

Belt: Target

Cardigan: August Silk (Ross)

Scarf: gift from mom

Eureka!

    So, even though I'm not shopping at the moment, or anytime in the near future, I got really excited when I stumbled upon MyShape.  MyShape is a website where you enter your measurements and they tell you what body shape you are.  But that's not all dear readers!  In addition to telling you what shape you are, the site will also shop for you.  It uses the measurements you put in to find clothes that will *ACTUALLY* fit your body.  
    I don't know about you, but this is a godsend.  You see, even though I like clothes and style and stuff, I HATE going shopping.  My ginormous boobs, among other things, make things very difficult.  So Sunday I measured myself in a bra and undies.  I inserted 21 of the 29 measurements they ask for.  (If I had had a willing measuring buddy, I would have done all 29 measurements.  Alas, none of the furbabies have thumbs and The Fiance wasn't exactly willing to help.)  Luckily, you don't need all 29 measurements in order for them to give you a body shape.  In fact, I'm pretty sure you only need a few measurements of the essential 15 located on the left side.    Anyway, so I measured and got the body shape of M.  (That's what I guessed I would be beforehand).   Then I did a little survey where I chose the types of clothes I like and the fits I prefer.   
    Then the fun begins.  Once you have gone through all of the measuring and surveying, you get to see what clothes matches your style AND they've done the hard work for you by figuring out what size to get in the chosen garments in the Apparel section.  In addition, there's a section called Browse Outfits where they've taken pieces from the aforementioned Apparel section and put them together in outfits for you.  You want to know what made me REALLY happy?  It was that I found that several things that are already in my closet were similar to what was on their shopping list for me.  Turns out I'm not *that* far off.  :)
    So for all you lovely ladies struggling with how to classify your body shape and then figuring out what would look best on your body shape and size, this site is definitely for you.  And for you lovely ladies who know what you've got and rock it already, I still recommend it as it might open your eyes to new outfit possibilities.  And really, who doesn't want a personal shopper? 

***This is NOT a paid review.***     

UPDATE: 

Get $25 off $100 & free shipping at MyShape! Shop styles that fit & flatter.

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge info

    Today is the first day of the Capsule Wardrobe Challenge.  Rather than posting pics the day of, I'm going to post pictures the day after.  Also, because of a scheduling conflict, my Friday outfit won't be worn until Monday.  You see, I will be taking my MPRE on Saturday.  The MPRE is the ethics exam I need to pass in order to be a lawyer (lawyer jokes welcome).  So instead of going to work on Friday, I'll be staying home studying for the exam.  So my last Capsule Wardrobe Challenge outfit will be worn on Monday and my roundup post should be done Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. 

Out of Bounds

    I bought this dress in January right before the semester and my shopping ban started.  Its a HUGE detour from what I normally buy.  Its a very dark shiny pink number with petals on the neckline.  I'm more a fan of simple plain things.  But since the dress was on sale at Ann Taylor LOFT, I figured I could buy it, take it home and see if I could make outfits with things already in my closet.  So I did and decided to keep the dress.  But as you can see by looking though the blog, I haven't worn it yet.  Until a couple of Fridays ago. . . 
    I'm not sure why, but the dress spoke to me that day.  And of course I listened.  Being a sleeveless dress, I knew I had to wear a cardigan or blazer to make it winter office appropriate.  My trusty blue cardigan was perfect.  And since I already had some blue in the outfit, I layered a blue tank under the dress to avoid exposing too much cleavage.  In hindsight, I probably should have added some form of necklace.  But that morning I was hurried and couldn't think of anything to go with it.  Also, would a necklace take away from the petals?  So I chose to add earrings instead.  

    Unfortunately, this was the last wearing of my favorite gray tights.  I snagged them on the desk at work that day and they ran.  Like a huge run up and down my left leg.  It was very sad to throw them away, but I hope to replace them sometime soon.  Do you feel sad too when you have to say goodbye to beloved pieces of your wardrobe?


The Details:
Dress: LOFT
tank: ON
cardigan: Target
Tights: L'eggs
gray heels: Bandolino
earrings: gift