Previously Uninspired

I put up a post this morning, but felt ridiculous about it and took it down about a half hour later.  Something was off, and it was mostly in my head.
An excedrin and a nap later, I'm a little better, but still a bit funky.  So I don't have a lot of words today, just this outfit for Friday's Fancies and hopefully a less out-of-it day tomorrow.  This outfit is based on pieces I own (pants, top, shoes) and trying to accessorize them in a way that looks cute, not messy.  This is something I'm working on but haven't mastered yet.

going back... by katiebees

I think I'm going to start posting in the evenings on a regular basis.  I'm more with it then, more inspired, more awake.

Other than that, you know how it goes.  More fashion-oriented posts can be found at Long Distance Loving and the sources for all the items above can be found by clicking the image.  Have a great weekend!

Friday's Fancies and a Quick Trip

On Sunday morning, my family, husband, and I are taking off for a quick trip to Wheaton, Illinois for a wedding.  Although I plan to wear a dress that won't get too wrinkled in transit (thank goodness for knits!), I loved this dress, spotted on this week's living in post on design*sponge.  I love that it captures the lightness of summer, and the pink and ivory is perfectly feminine and even a bit bridal in connotation.  The delicate bracelet and feather hairpiece contrast nicely with the bold sequined bag, while the shoes are structured enough to not be overwhelmed by the dress.  I'd wrap the scarf around my shoulders when the sun goes down or the air conditioning is a little much--I'm one of those people that shivers indoors in the summer, even when it's over a hundred degrees outside. 

{see the sources here}

I think I was feeling quite girly when I made this board.  It's often easy to tell my mood from what I'm wearing or thinking of wearing.

I'll be offline on Monday, but back on Tuesday. Have a lovely weekend!  If you read the title of today's post, you know it's a Friday's Fancies day here, so go take a look at all the end-of-summer prettiness and, if you'd like, like my post. 

Dressing Up

I used to treat dresses as the top tier of dressing up, but I eventually discovered how perfect they are for looking cute while remaining comfortable and easy.  We've had a few really hot days lately, so I've been pulling out my comfy knit dresses to wear and building a slight obsession with pretty dresses.  After all, what other wardrobe piece possesses such great ability to make you feel pretty?  Put them in sunny yellow, and you've got an instant dose of cheerfulness waiting in your wardrobe.

dresses: sunny & bright by katie-bee featuring a yellow print dress

Print dress, $138
Madewell short sleeve dress, $188
Yellow print dress, $48
Shabby Apple - Happy Talk

You've probably guessed that this is a Friday's Fancies post.  Isn't it always?  Happy Friday, and have a lovely weekend!

Janeites

Every year, for my aunt's birthday, the women of my family indulge in our irrepressible fascination with Jane Austen and the Regency Era.  If you're thinking we just watch the movies and drink tea, you would be mistaken.  We actually go to our local JASNA chapter's yearly festival.

{at JASNA, 2009}

I have a little bit of a guilt complex going on when it comes to my love for Jane Austen--after all, when you're a student of the written word, it feels a little silly to so thoroughly enjoy novels that enjoy more than a bit of a fan-girl following.  But the thing about Austen is that her stories (if not the novels themselves) appeal to all different types of people, and you can enjoy the romance alone or you can delve into their literary merit based on your own personal preference.

So that is how I would explain my love for Austen novels to any critic.  There is something literary about it, but I would love her works even if I was not an English student.

{found here}

Now that I've defended my love for all things Austen, I've got the fun part of this post.  The festival is this weekend and I have got to come up with something suitable to wear.  If I had the materials, I would be sewing a Regency reproduction right now, but I'm turning to my closet instead.  Still, a girl can dream a little, can't she?  I loved the styling of the 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice and always thought I could put together a look with modern pieces that would be similar to the one Keira Knightley is wearing in the above image.  The best part of making an outfit out of modern pieces is that I could get everyday use out of everything.

   

regency inspired by katie-bee featuring a slim leather jacket

Hoss Intropia silk gown, $535
Embroidered blouse, $40
All Saints slim leather jacket, $450
Madewell flat shoes, $142
Jane Norman bohemian handbag, £14
Monsoon wedding hair accessory

Have a great weekend and don't forget to check out the other Friday's Fancies posts over at Long Distance Loving!  

I Can't Resist...

I'm sorry, everyone.  I can't help it.  I've been a Star Wars fan since age nine.

May the fourth be with you!

I hope you have a fun and safe holiday weekend!  Cory's first exam is tomorrow afternoon (ahh!), so I think he'll be enjoying the day more than anyone around--it'll be his first real weekend off in a long time.

fun for the fourth by katie-bee featuring cropped denim jeans

Bench crop tee, £15
H m cardigan, £9.99
All Saints cropped denim jeans, $135
Forever21 platform shoes, $17
Marni square sunglasses, £67
Hair bow accessory, $7.99

Our only plans right now are to watch the Lexington fireworks from his grandparents' house and relax, so this week's Friday's Fancies is all about keeping it simple and not overdosing on red, white, and blue.  I still think I'd like to make this amazing cake that's been making the rounds on pinterest.  Do I have the patience not to eat it before I get it looking pretty?  I'm not sure.

Source: glorioustreats.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Want to play Friday's Fancies or just get some fashion inspiration?  Click the button below to head over to Long Distance Loving for the link party and get ideas!  I wouldn't mind if you like my post, either.  That would be cool.  

Friday's Fancies: a Summer Sunday Wedding

My friend is getting married on Sunday and I'm pretty crazy excited for her and only a little less excited about wearing a great dress.  I already have an outfit figured out (mostly), but that doesn't mean I can't imagine what I'd wear if I could go on a little spree and pick anything.

I always feel good when I wear blue and should wear it more often, so this chambray dress is perfect, especially because it's casual enough for the afternoon and a little bit dressy when paired with metallic accessories.  I possess an amazing ability to get cold even in supposedly warm places, so a shrug is a must. This one's pretty and won't hide my dress and I really wish I could afford it.  I'll probably put my hair up, so I think I'm going to try to recreate this braided chiffon headband today, since my last project went so well.

summer sunday wedding by katie-bee featuring strappy sandals

Tibi ruched dress, £255
Alice Olivia sequin shrug, £380
Forever21 strappy sandals, $18
White House Black Market clutch handbag, $25
Navaglazer chain necklace, $119
Mimco crystal earrings, £28
Jane Norman headbands hair accessory, £10

Want to play Friday's Fancies, too?  Visit AV at Long Distance Loving and join in!


Megan, if you read this, congratulations!

Friday's Fancies: summer sweetness

summer sweetness by katie-bee featuring vintage leather handbags

Emily and Fin olive dress, $89
Miss Sixty closed toe heels, $119
Dazed Dorothy vintage leather handbag, £120
Forever21 chain jewelry, $4.80
Earrings
Necklace, $8


I don't actually have anything particularly useful to do this weekend, except review a little bit of French and practice some conversation with my grandmother so that I'm ready for the oral interview on Wednesday.  So I'm not just imagining that I can go out and buy myself a whole new outfit, but I'm also imagining I'd have some place to wear it (though it would be perfect for a friend's wedding next weekend...).  I just finished A Vintage Affair, a fun and purely indulgent quick read, and it's left me wanting a pretty vintage dress rather badly.  If I could get this pretty blue one (that has already sold, alas), it'd be quite perfect for anything during the summer and cute with leggings or tights and my brown boots in the winter.  


Have a lovely weekend, everyone, and don't forget to give your dad a great big hug (real or imagined) on Sunday!  


You can see other bloggers' outfits or link your own for AV's Friday's Fancies series here.  My set this week turned out surprisingly affordable, except for that handbag and those shoes...and the dress is a little out of reach, too.  Okay, so the jewelry for my set turned out pretty affordable.  That's better.

not so nerve-racking

I have probably written this before, but I have this silly habit of thinking about what I will wear and carry to something when I'm nervous about going there.  This includes school.
In the middle of thinking about how I'll present myself in classes, I realized that I've been carrying the same gray and pink backpack since early in high school.  It's a good bag, a ten dollar purchase at target six or so years ago that accompanied me on trips across the country and across the atlantic on multiple occasions, and has gone with me to three different colleges in four years (plus that extra class I took at the school I used to work for).  But I feel like I need something new and maybe a little more grown-up (just maybe on the grown-up part).  So I went hunting on Etsy and other sites.

This is dangerous, friends.

I made a board of ideas and I'm just barely resisting the impulse to purchase that sunny yellow bag...



Thankfully for my wallet, I have nearly everything I need to make my own bag back at home--a yard of dark brown wool, vintage cotton feed bags, and a bit of determination.  I've made a good (small) backpack before as a gift and think I can do it again.  I just need to remember where that dark brown wool ended up being packed...

If you click on the picture, you can find out where each bag is from.

how I wear my stripes

In addition to an apparent love for gray and yellow (which I again almost wore today.  But then I realized that my shirt would need ironing, which I hate, so I wore blue instead), I have a thing for stripes.  I blame Design*Sponge, even if the stripes featured there are generally for interiors and not wearing.  I went a long time (years) without wearing stripes because I felt like they hit my hips rather oddly, but I don't think anyone can hang out in the blogosphere for long without feeling the need to don some stripes.  Since joining in the trend, I've found stripes to be more flattering than I expected and an easy way to feel cute.  There's something terrifically chic and hopefully not too preppy about them, wouldn't you say?

{by Clare Owen Illustration, via her Flickr}

When I cleaned out my closet last week, I found a few striped tops I really like, and so I just had to join in the Stripe Mania hosted by Holly Becker of Decor8.

{me, pre-haircut on a windy day}

I've been wearing this tee a lot lately (probably three times in the last two weeks)--it's easy to match, with the subtle gray and white stripe.  I have it in black and gray as well.  When I find something I know I can wear easily, I tend to buy two of it in different colors.  It helps me with that whole matching thing.  Does anyone else do that?

Click on the words "Stripe Mania" above the picture to find out how to join in the fun.  Tomorrow is the last day!

a day at the races

It's derby weekend back home and I know the whole city is crazy and decked out.  I know it's sort of the cool thing among my college/grad-school aged crowd to be all "meh" about derby, and I'll admit that I'm kind of with them.  But at the same time, I can't quite get over my girlhood fascination with horses--I guess living in the dairy state for awhile made me prefer the equine to the bovine in farm animals--and riders.  I remember, at age ten, two years after moving to Kentucky, I wanted to be a jockey.  Between my above-average height and my soon-realized allergies to just about everything in a barn, my dream was quickly dashed.  And of course, I now know all about the unpleasant goings-on of the racing industry (who in this state doesn't?) and I have a firm opinion on gambling (I've heard of and even seen a few too many disasters), and so a little of the dramatic magic is lost.  

Yet still, each year, for two minutes, watching beautiful, strong, athletic creatures test the limits endurance, hurtling forward amongst the roar of a crowd and announcers speaking a thousand words a second, and wondering who will be a surprise or no surprise at all in the winner's circle under the garland of roses, it's hard not to enjoy at least a little bit of festivity.

Naturally, if I were going to the race (rather than packing to move back to the city it's in), I would have to be decked out fabulously, so take a look above or visit me on polyvore (for item info) here.  Do you want to play Friday's Fancies, too?  Visit long distance loving and join in!