What I Wore to Church - Antique Print Dress

Dress: Effie's Heart Elysses Dress in Antiquing (Similar to this MC dress on sale in 3X and 4X)

Tights: ModCloth Layer It On Tights in Light Grey

Shoes: ShoeDazzle Vannah (similar)

I have a confession to make. I have a bit of an obsession with novelty prints. I am a 30 year old woman who would wear them everyday if she could. I almost cried this week when I got a dinosaur dress in from ModCloth and it was too big. I've acquired quite of bit of them recently through swapping and through sales using the money I've gotten from my PoshMark sales. Today was only my second week in my new congregation at church and while I had the urge to wear something novelty, I didn't want to automatically be labeled as the weird lady wearing the Tigers Wearing Sunglasses print dress (the dress exists and it WILL be worn eventually). 

This antique print dress was my concession. Still a novelty print, yet subtle enough that I'm not Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. I got this adorable Effie's Heart dress on sale for $25 a couple weeks ago. It's a super comfy stretchy material (as most of their dresses are) and the cut is really flattering. It hugs in the right places and flares in the places I'd rather it not hug. Plus the bow at the neckline made it surprisingly nursing-friendly. 

I went easy on the accessories because I wanted the dress to speak for itself. With the bow neckline, a necklace was even too much. The simple belt and tights added some interest and definition without overpowering the outfit. 

Over the past year or two, my style has transitioned a bit away from the higher platform pumps to lower retro-ish heels. I bought these oxford heels on super sale from ShoeDazzle right in the middle of that transition. At the time, they felt a little too vintagey for me, but now that I've come further in the transition, they were just perfect. When I unpacked them yesterday, I remembered how much I loved them and I was glad I took the leap to buy them. Honestly, I'm not fully sold on how they look with this outfit (they would look better with burgundy or green tights, but the grey was all I had), but I just love them so much that I have no regrets. 

That's quite the long explanation of how this outfit came together but occasionally I think it's good to talk about my style and how it came to be instead of just telling you where I bought all my clothes. Hopefully you get something out of reading it! Either way, I'll continue writing it. 

Happy Shopping!

Everyday Style - Military Styling

Top: Old Navy Women's Perfect Crew Neck Tee

Vest: Old Navy Canvas Utility Vest (no longer available, similar, similar)

Pants: H&M Slim Fit Pants

Shoes: ShoeDazzle (no longer available, similar, similar)

You can take the girl out of the military but you can't take the military out of the girl. Military styling is huge this fall which pleases me greatly. I'm absolutely obsessed with the color olive right now. I've already collected this vest from Old Navy (thanks to my sister for the birthday present!), a cargo jacket, a cardigan, and I'm on the hunt for some pants and a scarf. 

I bought the shoes last year on super clearance at ShoeDazzle. I really debated buying them because at the time I thought, "I wear camo 5 days a week. Why wear it on my off days?" But I'm SO glad I did. Not only are they some of the most comfortable flats I own, but camo is big this fall, and I find myself missing the camo now that I don't wear it daily. It's a win/win. 

One tip for styling the typically bulkier jackets and vests that are big right now: The rest of your outfit should be form fitting to counter balance and maintain that femininity. It may be common knowledge to most, but some of us are slow learners. 

Hopefully you can find some good military pieces for this fall if you don't already have them in your closet. 

Happy Shopping! 

What I Wore To Church - My Fashion Truth

 

Top: Pink Rose Stripe Roll Sleeve Henley
Skirt: ModCloth Breathtaking Tiger Lilies Skirt in Orange
Scarf: H&M Tube Scarf in Woven Fabric
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Omaira (no longer available)

ModCloth has a campaign going on that I absolutely love. It's called #FashionTruth. They say to "be what you want to see in fashion", and to show off your fashion truth. So I'd like to share mine.

I'd always loved shopping and clothes, but fashion and blogging has been so much more to me than I expected. I was going through a really rough time about a year and a half ago. I lost a baby at 23 weeks, and I was just devastated. It was a very traumatic experience for me, and I spent a month and a half doing nothing but grieving. I rarely left the house, and I was lucky if I got into more than yoga pants every day. I was looking for something to get me out of that slump, and my sister encouraged me to get into blogging. I chose fashion blogging because I got to showcase my styling abilities (that have come a long way since then), but I didn't have to get personal. It was a great distraction and a creative outlet.

Pretty quickly I figured out I absolutely LOVED it. It gave me reason to get out of my yoga pants and start to feel beautiful again. I gained back my confidence, and I started taking better care of myself. I don't blog a ton, but I've been realistic about how much I'm capable of doing so I didn't let myself down. I've blogged at least once a week, almost every week since then. I still look forward to putting my outfits together each week, and even though my blog doesn't get a ton of hits, it's important to me.

So my #FashionTruth is that fashion and blogging pulled me out of a rut and helped me get back to me. I'm not always on the forefront of fashion, and my outfits aren't always edgy or hip, but I love doing it. Fashion blogging helps me feel confident and beautiful.

What I Wore To Church - Once Upon a Maritime Skirt 2 Ways

Outfit 1 (Top)                                                                

Skirt: ModCloth Once Upon a Maritime Skirt
Cardigan: ModCloth Charter School Cardigan in Navy
Shirt: Zulily
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Marva

Outfit 2 (Bottom)

Skirt: ModCloth Once Upon a Maritime Skirt
Cardigan: ModCloth Charter School Cardigan in Navy
Shirt: LOFT Linen Shirred Tee in Coral
Shoes: Zulily

I'm going to give you a small peek at the process of me picking out my outfits. The only thing I knew for sure when I woke up this morning was that I wanted to wear this skirt. I got it from ModCloth's last sale for an absolute steal, but hadn't had the chance to wear it yet, despite the fact that it was adorable. If you're not aware of it by now, I have a slight obsession with the nautical trend.

The first idea that I had was that I was going to play with mixing prints. I tried it with the striped shirt which wasn't bad, but I thought it was a bit overly busy. So I threw on the cardigan to tone it down. It looked ok, but I thought the outfit needed some color. I added the necklace and shoes and felt content with it. I went downstairs and took a few pictures. After looking at the pictures, I decided the red accents had become the stars of the outfit and that's not what I was going for. Also, I was having trouble getting the stripes to stay straight, so I went back for round 2.

I decided to ditch the idea of mixing patterns and use the shirt as the color pop for the outfit. Then I adjusted the accessories accordingly. I thought that in this outfit the skirt was featured better, and it was definitely more "safe". This is the outfit I ended up wearing to church, because it was safe, and because I didn't have enough time to change again.

So you tell me. Which one do you prefer? Should I have gone with the more fun, mixed print outfit, or the safe, more traditional styling?



P.S. Yay for new short hair! I cut off 12in and plan to donate it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program.

What I Wore To Church - Roses Are Radiant Skirt

Skirt: ModCloth Roses are Radiant Skirt
Top: LOFT Shirred Linen Tee in Perfect Navy
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Sailor (from a few years ago)

Wow. Just wow. That's the best way I can describe this skirt. It is seriously gorgeous and super photogenic. I only took a few pictures today because it was raining, but my eyes were just drawn to the skirt in all of the pictures. I didn't even notice that I forgot to put on makeup. The pictures still turned out great! Wouldn't you know I got it on sale? It was only $27! There's still some available in a 4X if you're that size, but it does run a tad small. The only thing that would make it better is pockets. I kept trying to put things in them all day and was disappointed every time when I realized they didn't exist.

You may notice I'm not wearing one of my signature cardigans. With the wow factor of the skirt, I wanted to keep the rest of the styling as simple as possible. I paired it with a simple linen tee from LOFT in a dark color to keep the print from becoming overwhelming, and simple flats in coordinating colors.  It's one of the easiest outfits I've put together, but already one of my favorites.

I'm trying to squeeze in as many florals as possible while it's still summer. I'll be sad to see them go (or at least have to tone them down) but I'm super excited for fall colors! Fall colors are a redhead's best friend, and I know I'll be wearing a ton of them soon. I need to start stocking up!

Happy Shopping!

What I Wore to Church - An Unusually Fall Outfit

Cardigan: ModCloth Charter School Cardigan in Camel
Skirt: ModCloth Breathtaking Tiger Lilies Skirt in Stem Green
Scarf: Zulily
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Omaira (from a couple years ago)

I'll be honest. I did not plan my outfit to look this "fall" and now that I see the pictures, I'm kinda kicking myself for not trying to work with different colors.  I was inspired by my sister's outfit last week. She looked so good in her scarf, and it made me want to plan an outfit with a scarf. I've had this cute summer scarf that I bought on Zulily for awhile now but I hadn't found anything to wear it with. It's so airy and light and I love the floral pattern. Also, I love infinity scarves because I'm too lazy to figure out how to wear the non-infinity ones.

Long story short, I tried on about 3 different combinations of skirts and cardigans and this is the one I liked the best. Now that I see the pictures, it definitely looks like a fall outfit. Oh well. I still thought it was cute. Just wrong season. Sigh. Well I guess I can't get it right every time.

Despite the season mismatch, I love this skirt. The last time I wore it I was pretty pregnant, but that just tells you how comfortable this skirt is. It's got an elastic back and pockets! I desperately want it in the mustard color, but it's been sold out of my size forever.

Should I talk again about the cardigan? I'll spare you. Hopefully by now you're well aware of my love for the Charter School cardigans and this is no exception.

Moral of the story, sometimes it's good to just dress in what feels good and ignore the rules.  In my world, fashion is about having fun and feeling confident. My world may not be the real world of fashion, but I'm ok being delusional.

What I Wore To Church - Happy Independence Day!

My Outfit

Tank Top: H&M Lace Trim Tank Top
Cardigan: ModCloth Charter School Cardigan in Navy
Skirt: eShakti Gold Buttoned High Waist Skirt
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Marva

Crystal's Outfit

Tank Top: Gap Essential Rib Tank
Cardigan: Tilly's Essential Elbow Sleeve Cardigan
Skirt: Navy Exchange
Shoes: JustFab Lainey
Scarf: Jersey Loop Scarf

Happy 4th of July! In honor of our nation's birthday, I decided to attempt a pin-up look by featuring yet another eShakti skirt that I got in their overstock section. I loved the high waist and the gold buttons, and of course I appreciated the fact that it had pockets. While dealing with an infant at church, I've realized that pockets are practically essential. Where else am I going to put her pacifier when she decides she doesn't want it? If I put it in my bag, it'll get lost in the bottom buried, under burp cloths and diapers. Clearly that's an item that you need within arms reach, but I digress.

You know none of my outfits are complete without the perfect cardigan to pull it together, and I'm so happy I snagged the navy Charter School Cardigan in their last sale. My other one (not ModCloth) developed a hole, and I was devastated. Everyone needs a navy cardigan, and this one is perfect. These cardigans are so soft and super good quality.

I'm not sure if I totally pulled off the pin-up look but it was fun to try. I may need some work on my pin-up posing. Does anyone have an airplane or a classic jeep that I can borrow to practice?

It was super exciting to have my sister in town this weekend, and our outfits complemented each other perfectly. PS. That was totally a coincidence. We share a brain.

I hope you and your families had a fantastic Independence Day and that you found a good sale or two to take advantage of.

Happy Shopping!

What I Wore To Church - Chambray Skirt with Mint-ish

Shirt: LOFT (last season)
Skirt: eShakti Pintuck PleatChambray Skirt
Cardigan: ModCloth Charter School Cardigan in Jade
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Byrdie

Happy Summertime! Is that a thing people say? I'm saying it anyway. In honor of summertime, I decided to get a little matchy matchy and wear this awesome shade of minty green. It's not quite mint, but it's not a typical green. I'm sure someone will correct me on the actual shade according to the Pantone color wheel.

I don't normally wear the same color all over for 2 reasons. First, I have a hard time matching shades, and it's easier to wear complimentary colors rather than trying to match colors. Second, I think the styling of it is almost too easy (if you can get the colors right), and I usually like to get a little more creative. Obviously today I broke that rule.

I finally pulled out my non-maternity clothes in the closet and found this awesome linen shirt that I got last year from LOFT. I completely forgot I had it and immediately fell in love with it all over again. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to style my outfit around it.

The skirt was one I bought in the overstock section at eShakti last year with intentions to wear it as a maternity skirt (it has elastic smocking in the back), but by the time I decided to wear it, I was a bit too round to pull it off. But yay for it fitting now (and the elastic is still awesome). Also, POCKETS! I used to LOVE wearing denim skirts as a teenager because of the comfort factor, but they have since fallen out of style. The chambray trend has brought them back in a fun, new way. It's a lot lighter than denim so it flows better but it has the same neutral styling potential and is still really comfy!

I recently took advantage of a 30% off sale at ModCloth and picked up my favorite cardigan in a few more colors. When I bought this one, I was hoping it was going to be a good replacement for my Tilly's mint cardigan that has a hole in it, but unfortunately it's a bit darker. Still a great color though, and I was super pleased when I noticed how well it matched my stripes.

The shoes are another buy from a couple months ago that I could never find anything I was happy matching with them, but again I was thrilled with how well they worked.

Seriously, this outfit was the perfect storm of things I could never find the right styling for, but they fit together so perfectly. I have a feeling I'm going to be pleased with all of the possibilities that will emerge as I'm reorganizing my closet. I will have to get creative with a lot of it to style it on my new shape, but I bet I can come up with some fun stuff in the upcoming months. Stay tuned!

Happy Shopping!

Date Night - The White Trend

Top: LOFT Pleated Lace Front Cotton Tee
Jeans: H&M MAMA Skinny Jeans
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Marva
Bag: c/o JustFab Fairmont
Jewelry: Monica's Fantabulous Fashions

Kyle and I are still going to try to do date night every Friday with the baby, and even though we were just going to Mellow Mushroom, I used it as an excuse to dress up a bit a feel a more human.

White accessories are huge right now, so I was super exited to receive this bag from JustFab as my birthday present, one of the perks for being a Brand Ambassador for them. I love the cut out detailing on the side as well as the option of straps. It's a classy, on-trend bag and was the perfect size for all my stuff, as well as the baby essentials.

I bought the shirt at LOFT on sale last week, but unfortunately it sold out between then and now. I picked it specifically because it had detailing down the front. It worked pretty well to disguise the tummy.

You may have noticed, I'm still wearing maternity pants. My weight still hasn't stabilized so I haven't bought any pants yet, but there's no shame in enjoying the comfort of a stretchy waistband a little while longer.

I was going to wear some flat sandals but opted for these adorable wedges instead to dress up the outfit. They give the fancy factor of heels while still having the comfort of sandals (plus the bows are SUPAH CAYOOT).

I've discovered it can be pretty intimidating to show you my post-baby looks. It's not as easy to dress myself these days as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong. I knew that my body would be completely different, but just finding things that fit, and that I feel comfortable in has been difficult.  The biggest thing I've had to learn is not to worry about what size things are. Focus on how clothes fit, not the size listed on the tag. I recently had to buy something at Target in a size 2 sizes bigger than I've ever worn, but it fit, and it looked pretty good. It's not an easy transition to make, but feeling comfortable in what you're wearing, makes you more confident regardless of size.





If you're interested in signing up for JustFab, use this referral link.
If you're interested in signing up for ShoeDazzle, use this referral link.
I'll give you my usual warning that both of these are shoe clubs, so be sure to read the terms and conditions prior to signing up.

What I Wore To Church - Chambray Dress Remixed

Dress: eShakti Sash Waist Chambray Dress
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Shaira (no longer available)
Jewelry: Monica's Fantabulous Fashions

Why yes, I am still pregnant. Thanks for noticing. While my due date isn't for another 9 days, I'm definitely in the impatient part of my pregnancy. It doesn't help that at my OB appointment Thursday before last, my doctor told me I was already dilating. I know that doesn't mean much, but it certainly got my hopes up. I feel like my life has become a seemingly never ending waiting game. I almost didn't go to church today, but somehow I managed to drag myself out of bed.

I was debating what to wear today, and actually had worked my outfit around a pair of shoes I received this week. I guess I should've actually tried the shoes on before I worked an outfit around it because my feet were too swollen for them. So just imagine this outfit with a cute pair of red wedges instead of the black ones I ended up wearing.

And yes, you may recognize this dress from a couple of weeks ago. I talked about how I loved the versatility of chambray, and this is just another way to style it. I went simpler this time, letting the accessories do the talking. It's definitely a good staple piece in my wardrobe. The styling possibilities are endless. It helps that I customized it to add a bit of room in the waist so it fits quite comfortably as a maternity dress.

I'm hoping that there won't be an outfit post up next week because I've had a baby, but we'll see. You may get one or two more weeks out of me before I go on maternity leave from the blog. I've got other posts lined up, and my sister is going to be helping out during the hiatus so Shop With Beth will continue to run. There may even be some big changes coming to the blog in the near future. We'll have to see. In the mean time, thanks for reading!

Happy Shopping!

What I Wore to Church - Having Fun With the Nautical Trend

Skirt: eShakti Colorblock Stripe Poplin Skirt
Shirt: Old Navy Maternity Rib Knit Tank
Cardigan: Target (old)
Shoes: ShoeDazzle Sailor (old)
Jewelry: Monica's Fantabulous Fashions

I am a huge fan of the nautical trend and wanted to have some fun with it this week. Who doesn't want to feel like a sailor from time to time? Yes, I'm aware sailors don't actually dress like this, but I love it all the same.

The skirt is from...I'll give you one guess. Yes, it's definitely from eShakti. I love the stripe detailing at the bottom and the pleating. It's quite the full skirt which makes it fun for twirling, as well as giving lots of room for the belly. There's smocking on the back (oh, how I love smocking these days) so there's plenty of breathing room, and it was easy to zip. Definitely loving that I can wear it now, and should be able to continue wearing it post baby, but maybe on my natural waist instead of high-waisted.

I had to incorporate polka dots some how. Partly because they fit in with the nautical theme, but also because I love them. This tank top was a great find from the maternity section at old navy.

The red accessories were a must to tie the trend together. As I've mentioned before skinny belts are a pregnant woman's friend. They help better distinguish between the end of the belly and the bust-line. The jewelry was another great find from my friend Mon's online boutique. I told her I was looking for red statement jewelry. She gave me quite a few options, and this was the set I decided on. She's like having your own affordable personal accessories stylist. I love her to death. You can find my previous post about her business here.

Hope nobody passed out at the sight of me in flats. It's a rare occasion, but in this case, they just matched my outfit better than anything I had in heels. They were from ShoeDazzle a couple years ago, but I think a pair of red flats is a must for most people, and lucky for you, they are fairly easy to find, like these ones from Target.

I really had a lot of fun putting this outfit together. Once I get an idea in my head for a direction I want to go, I will not stop until I put the perfect outfit together. I couldn't wait to try this one out, and I think it turned out successful. I'm not a fan of the "standard" maternity fashions, but it's kind of been fun to come up with my own.

eShakti is doing another Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale, but if you only want one item, it rings up at 25% off. Definitely worth a look see.

If you're interested in checking out ShoeDazzle, use my referral link. They are a shoe club similar to JustFab so make sure to read the terms and conditions.

Happy Shopping!