Pieces of Flare

As I'm sure you've heard, '70s fashion is back in for Spring 2011. And I'm not-so-secretly thrilled. Because while I have a harsh aversion to pants - namely jeans - I've never been able to part with my bell bottoms and flare jeans. Ever since I was 15 years old, this silhouette was my immediate go to. I felt the flared bottom balanced out my wide hips and thighs, plus hid the fact I never wore really cute shoes. I've never even purchased boot-cut jeans, because they never felt wide enough!

Gap Vintage Flare Jeans - here

I'll probably need to transform body types and grow 6 inches for this look to flatter me, but I love the styling of the flares in this outfit:

                                                                                  Source: google.com via Patti on Pinterest

Also like how Mandy Moore wears flares here. Then again I love anything MM wears. (more on that later)

FabSugar

Oh, and I can't forget the inspiration for this post -- Melissa Molinaro (who you may remember from Making the Band) from the latest Old Navy Super C-U-T-E commercial. 

Will you be rockin' the hippie flares this spring? Or have you never stopped like me? 

Baby Houseman Style

I can't believe it took me until today to figure out why I really connected to much of 2010's summer trends. But when you think about it and play a mental slideshow of Baby Houseman's outfits in your head ... yeah, you see it, right? Granted, the movie was the 1980s doing the 1960s and fashion always comes back around in cycles, but it worked then and it works now.

Take for example the dress Baby wears while carrying a watermelon. A cute little pastel-striped sleeveless dress, with a boatneck cut and a-line skirt paired with a skinny belt.

Today's version? Maybe something like this:

Dressed-down Baby:

Today's version: Red striped tee and jorts

Bohemian Baby:

Today's version? Maybe this floral skirt and white peasant top

And don't forget that at Kellerman's you can pair all of these outfits with classic white Keds. :) 

Floral Fever

Can I just tell you how ridiculously excited I am to see so many romantic and girly styles showing up in stores for the spring? Lingerie-inspired, nudes, pale pinks, ruffles, lace, and the one that inspired this blog - floral print. 

Floral print is tricky -- one false move and you look like Grandma's wallpaper. But here a few floral print dresses I'm currently adoring. 

GoJane

GoJane

Lauren Conrad for Kohls (not in store yet)

American Rag for Macy's

Charlotte Russe

American Eagle

_____

Coincidentally, in the middle of collecting these finds I took a break to catch up on some of the fashion/shopping blogs I follow. One of them featured a Look 4 Less of Taylor Swift's outfit. I'm loving everything about this look -- romantic floral dress, thin headband, and brown leather bag. 

Today's blog has inspired my winter-ized and not so charming OOTD:

Boyfriend Cardi: Old Navy

Dress: Xhiliration - Target (from late summer '09)

Leggings: Xhiliration - Target

Boots: Tall Knit Bearpaws

OOTD: Urban Cowgirl

There are three trends that I love this season: plaid, leggings, and riding boots. So when I spotted this outfit on blogger academic chic, I knew I would re-create this look. I nabbed the Converse All-Star plaid shirtdress on the clearance rack this weekend, added my trusty leggings and my cognac boots, and viola.

And just like academicchic, I added big black hoop earrings to complete the urban cowgirl transformation.

Shirtdress: Target Converse All-Star

Leggings: Fashion Bug

Boots: Target Mossimo Kady in Cognac

Earrings: Gift (Fashion Bug I think)

Mad for Plaid

Much to my dismay, I am obsessed with the plaid trend this fall. Lump this in with my newfound acceptance (and daresay LIKE) of leggings, skinny jeans, and flat boots. Note my blog of two weeks ago where I debuted the a.n.a. Denim Legging to see my first plaid purchase (pintuck tunic from JC Penney). Second plaid purchase: Blue/black tunic courtesy of Wal-Mart for $12. I paired it with leggings and my poor man's Tory Burch knockoffs from Payless.

And here is my Halloween costume for 2009. I was thrilled that I had a perfect excuse to wear plaid again! This whole costume only cost $9 (shirt from Wal-Mart again) since I already owned the denim mini (last summer Target) and the boots (Mossimo Kady in Cognac - Target). Hat on loan from a friend.

Fashion Find: Skinny Jeans

Actually, they're not technically skinny jeans. But that's kind of the allure of the denim legging. Yes, it sounds atrocious in theory. When I first heard the term "denim legging" I imagined something of the acid-washed Jordache variety from the 80s. But other than the fact these babies have no zipper and no functioning front pockets, no one would ever guess they're leggings.

My dear friend Kristen alerted me to these fabulous find last week, and after seeing them on her, I knew I had to have them, plus the stretchiness factor was a big plus. The a.n.a. Denim Legging is available at JC Penney. I got mine on sale for a mere $20.

Because skinny jeans are a pretty terrifying thought for a girl who does NOT have the hips of a pre-teen, I will always wear mine with boots to balance out the "junk in the trunk." And a tunic always helps too. The tunic I'm wearing today is also from JC Penney, and you'll notice the boots from yesterday's blog!

These boots were made for....

I'm not sure what they were made for to be honest, but I LOVE them! This is my first foray into non-Ugg boots (for many reasons, one of which is my wide calves), and I got them for a steal at $30 at Target. While not genuine leather, they are a decent replica. Plus the shaft comes up to the knees and there's decent room for wide calves and skinnies.

Let me introduce you to the Mossimo Kady boot in Cognac. Click here to buy.

And here they are on me paired with a Target Converse All-Star dress in smoke blue color. I couldn't find it on the website, but they should be in the store in about three other colors including gray and black.