Adrien: It's Fine, I Guess.

I suspect I've used that title before. Probably more than once. Today the high is going to be 97° and since wearing a bikini to work is frowned upon I needed to wear something that didn't involve...much. This Old Navy dress that I bought last year(?) is pretty much okay for that:

It's fine, I guess. I love an inexpensive striped dress or two or three or four but this one is not my super favorite for some reason. This one at Old Navy is probably the closest to mine in fit and it's limited sizing but this blue stripe sheath is so cute! What I do like about my dress is that it works with almost any color. I thought my new Uniqlo cardigan would brighten it up: 

I mean, it's a cotton cardigan, but I love the unusual teal color and it's slouchy without being overwhelming. I tried on the Uniqlo sheer cardigan in black and didn't buy it and now I kind of wish I'd gotten it in white or grey. So good for summer. I was pretty overwhelmed, though! It's a big store. PS. If you're looking for a lightweight Spanx alternative get this. So good. 

Details! I'm wearing my encrusted Giles and Brother skinny Cortina cuff and a beaded necklace from BR that's long gone. This Minkoff necklace has a similar feel and if you want a pointy bit around your neck, I'd get this Rachel Zoe or, oooh, this Giles and Brother spike pendant is marked down to $30! Dammit. 

Ye olde MBMJ Mag Bag. There's a cute cranberry version on eBay right now but the price seems a bit high. And ooh, a gold Hillier Hobo! I don't know that I've ever seen that one before. For non-eBay bags this Liz Claiborne pewter hobo is such a good deal. 

 And, my sandals. I've had this pair for six years and they're a little dated but I love the pale gold color and they're comfortable. That said, this Michael Kors wedge would be a nice update and if money were no object? This Stuart Weitzman pair would be mine already. Yep.

Review: Benefit Cosmetics ka-BROW!

*** New stuff in the blog shop! Cambridge Satchel Co! YHF sunglasses!***

You know my kryptonite, right? It's new Benefit cosmetics products. Something about the fun packaging and the promise of golden youth face miracles just sucks me right in. So, while visiting Marianne, we took a trip to Ulta together to check out the new Benefit brow line. We got our brows done by the very enthusiastic Ulta employees and by done I mean our brows were DONE-DONE. Those kids were not messing around. I liked quite a few of the new Benefit brow products (some of which are kind of odd. I mean, brow highlights? Okay.) and we both ended up buying ka-BROW!

ka-BROW! is a cream-gel color in a fancy-ass little pot that comes with a pointy lid that turns into a brush. It takes a bit of practice (and a little goes a long way) but I'm pretty happy with it. Here's a visual:

Fancy brush is fancy.

Before any brow product. 

Sadness on the left, ka-Brow on the right.

Fully ka-Brow'ed.

Not bad, right? I suspect I will eventually break or lose the brush/lid but by then I'll have moved onto some other brow product. I'm fickle that way. I was really tempted to buy the High Brow pencil because it looked so nice paired with my Ulta done-done brows but then I remembered that I own Watt's Up which is basically the exact same thing in different packaging. Also, I am still pretty fond of my NYX Wonder pencil for under-brown action and it's under $5. I mean, really. Get one already.

Adrien: This Crazy Old Thing?

It's no secret I like a crazy print, so when I was shopping last week with Marianne we both gravitated towards this dress. Marianne was worried it would induce a seizure but I decided I was willing to risk it (and it didn't hurt that it was under $20):

 That's what I'm talking about! Crazy bright ikat print with tiny tassels? SOLD. The brand is Beachlunchlounge and, while I couldn't find my specific print, the dress does come in a more subtle ikat colorway as well as a few other pretty prints and this chambray version. And this one with sleeves! Also, I would be a bad blogger if I didn't mention that they make a super cute blouse in the crazy ikat print. I kind of want it.

TJ Maxx is the best. They don't have my dress on the website that I can find, but there is a cute ikat print dress by The Odells that I think is worth a look. And this Lucky Brand dress! I stop now. 

A note about my Beachlunchlounge dress: It's good stuff. Just want you want in a shift dress - loose and non-clingy without being shapeless with a shoulder wide enough to fully cover your bra. I'm wearing a size small and it's a good fit all around. Now, details:

I kept my jewelry pretty basic with a House of Harlow mini sunburst necklace and a Fisticuffs leather cuff. I'm not sure if they're still in business but there are tons of cool handmade leather cuffs on Etsy. This one looks a lot like mine. 

Ah, my giant white-painted MBMJ Faridah hobo. While I don't recommend buying a white one on eBay (this midnight blue looks great, though) I do think this is a great style if you want a large slouchy bag that isn't super heavy. That said, this beautiful white MBMJ bucket bag would probably look more modern (and it's marked down to $139!!) I mean, damn. Barney's Warehouse is giving an extra 50% off on marked down bags and it's hurting my feelings. 

My shoes are Lotta From Stockholm peep toe clogs which I'm still wearing all the time. They're a great lower-price alternative to the (seriously identical) Swedish Hasbeens peep toes.  Please also note: the slight drop hem on the dress. Another detail I like! It's a good dress. 

What I Wore on Vacation.

I'm back! I had every intention of posting an outfit this morning but a flight delay got me home late last night and I somehow managed to turn off my alarm in my sleep. SO. As you can imagine, I feel really great today. So awake.

Instead of an outfit, I'm going to tell you a fascinating tale about what I wore on my vacation. I should start by saying that I suuuuuuck at packing. I rarely travel so I don't have a lot of practice and I always end up bringing a ton of stuff I don't wear.

For the Knoxville leg of my vacation it didn't matter much because I drive there, so I can basically bring everything I own and have lots of options to ignore. For the Chicago leg I carried one medium sized duffle bag so I packed really light...and still managed to bring stuff I didn't wear. It's a gift.

Here's what I wore the most (which is also true in life):

First, my very casual space dye dress (mine is a random TJ Maxx brand that you can see here.) It's a total summer workhorse. It worked well as a sundress, a swimsuit coverup, and was also super comfortable on the plane ride to Chicago. Mostly I wore cut-offs and t-shirts. I mean, it's summer in TN.

I also wore my new Boden bikini (On sale right now! I have the halter top and tie-side bottom it in navy.) which ended up being a good quality but inexpensive option for me. While in Knoxville we spent an amazing day on a pontoon boat so I wore my Altheta Kata swim shorts with the Boden bikini top and was comfortable all day:

(By the way, I'm wearing Oakley aviators and Marianne is wearing Ray-Ban Erikas which earned her a "Hey, cooool 'Bans" comment from the cute teenage boy working at the marina.)

My Daydreamer brand Bowie tee was a TJ Maxx find by Marianne and it's my holy grail Bowie shirt! The one pictured is the same brand but mine looks like this:

It's the perfect worn-in drapey tee that I'd been searching for but couldn't find online and I can't stop wearing it. My Chicago wardrobe was pretty much the same but I switched out shorts for Banana Republic distressed skinny jeans because the weather was so glorious:

I'm wearing them with my split-back Old Navy Tank and my Birkenstock Gizeh sandals which got a LOT of mileage this past week. They're awesome. While I was in Chicago, my friend Ashley took me to Uniqlo where we tried on prrrrrretty much everything:

Then I made her take selfies with me because that's how I do.

Things I packed but did not wear in Knoxville: Half of what I brought. Things I packed but did not wear in Chicago: shorts, long sleeved peasant top. Thing I wore in both places that I should probably burn: my drapey black cardigan that is now traumatized from being balled up in my purse, shoved in my carry-on bag and other similar abuses. It's having a day of rest at home and I'm wearing my new teal Uniqlo cardigan instead.

That's my vacation wrap-up! I will be back with an outfit tomorrow unless I oversleep again. It's a very real possibility.

Adrien: Closet Curse.

Do you ever have a piece of clothing that you neglect because you associate it with a traumatic event? Like, I once bought a dress from Banana that had interesting pleating on the front and the very first time I wore it a complete stranger said, "Oh, you're having a baby?" Thanks lady. I never wore it again and eventually consigned it. This dress nearly had a similar fate:

It's cute, right? I bought it at TJ Maxx - a simple black jersey with a crossover neckline and ruching at the waist. This LRL dress is nearly identical and this Andrew Marc dress is the same shape. I also think this dress at Boden would be a great day-to-night easy black dress. 

The first time I wore it was on a date. A super, super terrible date. I didn't wear it again at all last summer because it felt cursed. Ridiculous, right? It's not the fault of the dress, that dude just sucked. For my work outfit I paired it with my Sam Edelman Trina sandals (on sale in white or python!) and favorite House of Harlow mini sunburst necklace: 

I love House of Harlow jewelry! There's a bunch of it marked down on 6pm right now, just FYI. I especially love this necklace. I'm also wearing my old La Mer wrap watch which is a very old favorite of mine. I'd love another one in white or maybe one of the charm bracelet versions! 

I like carrying this bag, can you tell? It prevents my black dress from looking too somber. Mine is a vintage LV Epi Speedy but I think this structured red satchel would be a great classic choice though this Rebecca Minkoff is just all kinds of sleek. For my bargain pick, I think this red Studio Pollini satchel is a freaking steal. Someone get that! 

That's all for now but I do ask that you tell me about your cursed clothes. Please? So I don't feel so crazy?

Weekend Window Shopping: Vacation!

I'm off for a week of vacation time so I probably won't be posting much. In the meantime, here is my super literal vacation-themed window shopping list:

Cute Boy Friday: Power Bromance.

This picture, you guys:

It was making the rounds on Facebook yesterday as part of this super-hilarious post. "Tom Ford presents The Avengers." Ahh! But yeah, my favorite bromance of all time:

 Happy Canada Day, Canadian friends! Have a great Independence Day weekend, U.S. friends! (And have a great regular weekend, everyone else!)