Dress Me Up Dollie

Daily Outfit: 2/23/10

dressmeupdollie — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0800

Plaid shirt, Gap; t-shirt, Forever 21; skirt, Torrid; tights, GNW; shoes, Alfani

This pairing is much better than the way I tried to style this skirt last time. I'm very happy with it. I think before I was trying to mature a very juvenile skirt, this time I'm rolling with the ruffles and not trying to "prove" that I'm not a little kid. A part of me is a little kid!

My hair, on the other hand, is way too tall. I backcombed too much and ended up with this, which got me a few funny looks. Oh well, I suppose, live and learn. I need to refine my hairstyling skills.

Daily Outfit: 2/8/10

dressmeupdollie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0800

Shirt, Gap; jeans, Dickie's; shoes, Report; head band, Torrid; sunglasses, Torrid; necklace, Forever 21; watch, Relic; fbig ring, Guess; small ring, taken from a Forever 21 necklace

I've been really into red lips recently. From there, the eyeliner and big hair were a natural progression to this sort of retro look. I'm a big fan of it, to be honest, but whenever I start going down this road, I reach a point when all the hair and makeup and clothes feel like a costume. At that point, I quit and tend to go to a reall natural look with nude lips and distinctly not retro-looking clothes. But I'm not there yet, so I'm just going to enjoy this!

Wearing this to school tonight, I really detest community college. I was complaining to my mom about this and she made a really good point that it's not the teacher's fault that they have to teach at a speed the majority of the class will be comfortable with (dreadfully slow) and it's not the other students' fault that they don't learn as quickly as I do. I spent four years at a good college in a very rigorous program. This is not that and I need to stop comparing the two experiences. But damn if this isn't impossible for me. I wish I could do the class in independent study!

Daily Outfit: Late January

dressmeupdollie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0800

Cardigan, Victoria's Secret; dress, Faith 21; leggings, Old Navy; socks, Target; boots, Wanted; hat, Rue 21; scarf, Forever 21; necklace, Forever 21; ring, Guess

My apologies for not having a better image of that ring. It's a really fabulous circular boquet of metal flowers. My aunt gave it to me as a gift. Guess is kind of a funny brand to me--I vaguely remeber it's fall from grace when I was a kid in the 90s (my aunt was into the big names in American sportswear of the time--Guess, B.U.M., Tommy Hillfiger, etc) and never really being a fan when I became brand cogniscent in high school. Turns out they had a sweatshop scandal in the mid-00s, including negative ads about them featuring Rage Against the Machine. I loved Rage Against the Machine. But I didn't know about that until tonight. I recently visited a Guess outlet and admittedly, I didn't like much of what they had. But this ring is really very fabulous.

The rest of the outfit is good enough, I suppose. I styled the outfit around a lime green hat--I didn't want to wear anything that would compete with it and make me look like a nutter. So neutrals it was with accessories full of personality. If I had to pretend I had an actual style, I'd say it was that.

Daily Outfit: 2/23/10

dressmeupdollie — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0800

Plaid shirt, Gap; t-shirt, Forever 21; skirt, Torrid; tights, GNW; shoes, Alfani

My hair was a little much today and I don't think it was just me being overly critical of myself. It was quite tall, this photo really doesn't do the pouf justice.

I think these tops are much closer to the "right" thing to wear with this skirt than the last thing I tried to pair with it. They're younger feeling and brighter and looser than the other t-shirt and jacket. I was trying to mature a clearly juvenile skirt and this time it just didn't work.

I need an alternative to the cardigan, by the way. In this outfit, I'm wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt, but it's just a little too thin. Given that I'm going to be recieving a paycheck sometime within the next 2 months, I think I'd like to buy some sort of top-layer that's easy like a cardigan but won't age my outfits so much. Do you have suggestions?

Daily Outfit: 12/21/09

dressmeupdollie — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Cardigan, Old Navy; t-shirt, Old Navy; skirt, Torrid; tights, GNW; shoes, Forever 21; belt, Old Navy; necklace, Forever 21

My photographer really needs to step up her game. Also, I spent at least 6 hours working on a half page invitation to a fundraiser today. It was brutal.

Daily Outfit: 12/13/09

dressmeupdollie — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Jacket, Forever 21; dress, Faith 21; tights, GNW; necklace, Forever 21

I bet you've often wondered how I dress when I'm going to a party. Sitting at home, wishing you had something to do, you think to yourself "What would Mini wear to a party?" This is pretty well it. A black dress, something nice to cover my shoulders, bright lips. Unfortunately, I was running late, so I couldn't do my hair up Mad-Men style like I'd wanted to. But I felt pretty damn attractive. I went to The Bus Project and The Portland Mercury's holiday party, Santa Gate. Lots of great connections, good drinks and a dreidle throwdown made this party lots of fun. I only had 2 drinks and still managed to wake up with a hangover.

Daily Outfit: 12/9/09

dressmeupdollie — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Cardigan, Gap; t-shirt, Gap; jeans, Tripp; necklace, Forever 21; boots, Wanted; nail polish; Wet N' Wild in Heavy Metal

At work today, I decided to look into fashion design programs. Turns out there's only one in Portland, at the Art Institute of Portland. I called them and ended up going down to the school and applying. It really seems like the kind of place where I could flourish. Unfortunately, my parents are very, very opposed to the idea of me going to a chain school (which is completely understandable) and of taking on another $25,000 in debt. That doubles the amount of debt I have from school. Which even makes me nervous. And I can't finance it all myself, so I'd need a cosigner on my loans, which can't be my parents anyway...it's all a lot to think about. But it felt like the right place for me to be.

Daily Outfit: 12/8/09

dressmeupdollie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Dress, Gap; t-shirt, Forever 21; tights, GNW; shoes, Torrid

I should really be a model. I chose this shot because it was the best of many, many frames. I got frustrated and gave up.

Today at work, someone told me that there used to be an indoor swimming pool in the Jantzen building in town. The Jantzen building, of course, being the former headquarters of Jantzen Swimwear in Portland. This same person also told me that Marilyn Monroe did a shoot for Jantzen in that pool. I don't know if that's 100% factual, but I looked it up and it seems Norma Jean did model for Jantzen. She modeled the "Double Dare," a two-piece suit with cutouts on the hips. Very racy, Miss Norma Jean.

I bought these shoes as a reward to myself for finishing my shoe challenge. So since I'm wearing them, that means the challenge is over! That's right, I wore all the shoes in my collection! Now I can stop wearing peep toes in the dead of winter and not feel bad for only taking one pair of shoes with me on weekend trips! I also have become much more adept at walking in heels. They will probably continue to be incorporated into my wardrobe on a regular basis. I'm very proud of myself.

Daily Outfit 12/3/09

dressmeupdollie — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:09:06 -0800

Clothes, Torrid; tights, GNW; shoes, Forever 21

Today was the Civil War game--college football. University of Oregon (my alma mater) versus Oregon State University. It was a close game, but the Ducks came out on top! This sends us to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1995. I've been pretty impressed with Chip Kelly, who took over head coaching from Mike Bellotti this season. Traditionally, the Ducks lose one game and fall to pieces for the rest of the season. This season, there have been 2 losses (to Boise State and Stanford), but the team turned it around and became PAC-10 champions. Good job, sir. Good job.

This outfit doesn't have any green or yellow in it, but the grey of these tights is perfect. I love them so much. These shoes, not so much. They're gnarly uncomfortable. I think I'm going to get rid of them, unfortunately. This may be particularly upsetting to one of my readers, given that she thinks I have a fetish for zippered shoes. But this is the way things go. Some shoes are just wretched.

Daily Outfit: 11/27/09

dressmeupdollie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Jacket, Gap; cardigan, Old Navy; cami, Torrid; skirt, Torrid; tights, GNW; shoes, Mossimo; scarf, Torrid; necklace, Forever 21

Yes, this picture is NOT in a corner in my room! Thrilling, no? I was out at the annual tree lighting in Portland. 75 feet of tree, 2 miles of lights, 1 godawful jazz/reggae band doing Christmas carol covers. But I had a good time nonetheless. After that, my friends and I went to a bar to watch the Blazer game (which was a horrible loss to Memphis) and have dinner.

Today was black friday, but I didn't go shopping. I never do. Not as a statement, but just because I never have money for it. And/or there's too much potential for me to overspend. My mom, on the other hand, did go shopping and bought me tights! I'm very, very excited! New tights are always delightful.

Now, I think it's time for 30 Rock and bed.