Friday -- Ally

Happy Friday, y'all!! Just like last week, this short week seemed to go on forever. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend (no Ike winds!!) and we're going to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY on Saturday.

Today I tried something new - I mixed two patterns that don't "go" together. I think it was subtle enough to not bug me and I even got a compliment on the look.

Dress: JCP

Pink silk dress (visible at bottom): Old Navy (link is the same dress, but a different pattern)

Belt: NY&Co

Flats: Sam Edelman (via Zappos outlet)








This dress buttons all the way down and really needs something under it to keep from being too "open" at the bottom. I had picked up this shirt dress from JCP several months ago for $12 and the pink/white dress came from Old Navy (during the Ike storm!) for $10. The pink dress is clearly a summer dress and WAY more revealing (and frankly unflattering) than what I'm comfortable wearing.

Kinda cute, huh? I unbuttoned the bottom button of the dress so you could see the pink dress a little more.









Notice anything different about this post? Maybe the picture quality is better? Maybe you're right! As I mentioned some time ago, my camera (my really really nice camera) was stolen and I've made do with my cell phone since. However, seeing as how I'm a spoiled brat, Mama and Daddy surprised me with a new one earlier this week!

Not only did they replace my old one, but it's the "upgraded" model too - swanky!! I'll be the first to admit I'm spoiled rotten. I got a lot of crap for being an only child when I was younger, but the serious spoiling didn't begin until I was too old to ruin. :) You know, like now. Thanks for the new camera and I promise not to ask for money, get knocked up, or develop a drug addiction. :)

Tuesday- Leslie

Bird Cardigan: CAbi

Dot Print Skirt: The Limited

Red Cami: NY & Company

Red Heels: Diba (Meijer)

Mixing patterns has always been a bit scary for me. For two years I thought I had to wear this skirt with only solid color tops since it had the small dot print in it.

I then saw someone wearing a printed cardigan with a lightly pinstriped pant once and realized I loved the look--the print on the bottom was small so it didn't conflict with the top. When I bought this cardigan, I realized it would be a perfect chance to practice mixing prints by matching it with this skirt.

Mixing prints is hit or miss--sometimes you hit it out of the ballpark and sometimes you strike out badly. A couple summers ago, I decided to try the whole idea of mixing stripes that I had seen in so many magazines so I wore black pants with a bold white pinstripe, and a black and white wide horizontal stripe cashmere tee. It wasn't good. My honest co-workers told me it wasn't. But that was ok--I didn't have any meetings that day so only the people in my office and the ones that I passed coming in from the parking garage saw my faux pas. But you know what? It was worth a try. It was outside the box. And it helped me figure out that the look could have worked--if the pinstripe had not been so bold. So I learned something.

That's what fashion is all about. And that's your challenge--hit a home run this week--but don't be so afraid of striking out.