Brought to You by iPhone

That's right -- this blog post is new. I finally entered the world of smart phones yesterday, and with that came a working camera. I've missed you, blog -- and you, blog readers.

Today was the last real day of the semester for me -- I handed in my final paper after some painful hours of switching my MLA citations over to Chicago, so I wanted to look pulled together (it makes you cite sources better, I swear), but also comfortable. I don't usually suggest pieces to have in your wardrobe, but seriously, get a cotton skirt. It may not be the most flattering, but it is such a great option when you'd rather be in bed watching Love Actually.

Since I moved to Boston, I've noticed that I'm really digging the red and blue color combinations, maybe it's all of the Red Sox and Patriots memorabilia hanging around. I wore this outfit without the tights and the blazer earlier in the fall, when the weather was lovelier, but I like the addition of the blazer. Another piece that's both comfortable and professional.
Blazer: American Eagle

Shirt: Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Superstore

Skirt: Thrifted, St. Vincent de Paul, Latrobe

Tights: Kohl's

Boots: Chinese Laundry, Zappo's, Gifted

Necklace: Tiffany's, Gifted
It's good to be back. I hope you missed me as much as I missed you. xoxo Anna Rae

Bon Voyage

Tomorrow, I'm moving to Boston. In order to celebrate this exciting new adventure, I threw a going away party this weekend with a nautical theme.
Although I have much more over-the-top nautical outfits, once my aunt bought me this dress at Anthropologie as an early birthday present, I knew it would be perfect. With the right accessories, it would be the perfect combination of the of nautical and 1960s Cape Cod.
The hair, sunglasses, and shoes were directly influenced by the Cape Cod feel of the dress and the pieces of jewelry were full of whimsy and novelty, just like every theme party needs.
I haven't worn two different earrings in my ears since grade school, but I've always loved the complementary look. Both the anchor and boat were such novelty pieces anyway, I thought it'd be perfect to combine them.
Dress: Anthropologie

Sunglasses: Top Shop

Necklace: Tiffany's and Front and Co.

Shoes: Thrifted, Alabaster's Attic Church Thrift Store, Greensburg
Thanks to Libby for helping me run errands and to everyone who came out to the party. I had the best time! xoxo Anna Rae

Getting my Land Legs

Although I'll admit that I often overdress most days, usually people assume I'm more dressed up than I think I am because they equate dresses with dressy. This dress is a great example of how wearing a a dress does not mean dressing up. In fact, my cousin Elana calls this my Little Mermaid dress because it reminds her of the canvas that Ariel wraps herself in when she finally gets legs (a refresher at the end of the video). It's both incredibly comfortable, but also stylish and casual.
I paired the dress with slightly nautical accessories, perhaps inspired by the Under the Sea references. I love the way the classic blue and white stripe on the belt works with the blue and white design on the beads. My brown slip-ons, a summer favorite, felt just as effortless (even though it's never without effort) and casual as the rest of the outfit.
Dress: Boutique in Notting Hill, London

Necklace: Market in Thailand

Belt: Vintage, on dress from Eons, Pittsburgh

Shoes: Thrifted, Alabaster's Attic Church Thrift Store, Greensburg
My necklace is from Thailand and my dress is from a small store in Notting Hill, London. I love wearing pieces that I bought when traveling because each time I wear them, they remind me of my great trips and memories. xoxo Anna Rae

Anchors Away

I am really in love with today's outfit. As soon as I purchased this shirt, I knew that I wanted to wear it with my anchor skirt for an amazing novelty print-on-novelty print look. Who could pass up the opportunity to match their anchors with even more anchors? I wish I had more options for making outfits like this one.
I felt a tad like I was attending a British prep school in the outfit, so I thought I'd just run with the feeling and wear my oxfords with crew cut socks. An outfit perfect for its occasion -- finally seeing the last of the Harry Potter movies!
The chain that came with my pen whistles broke, but instead of just letting them sit tragically unused until I find a great replacement, I added them to my Tiffany's key necklace. While I wouldn't want this look all the time -- the key is a great piece on its own -- I really like what it added to the outfit.
Skirt: Gifted, Erin, H&M Paris

Shirt: Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Super Store, Prince George

Shoes: Gifted, Mom and Dad, Zappo's, Bass

Necklace: Gifted, Mom and Dad, Tiffany's/Front and Company, Main Street, Vancouver
In case you are also dragging your feet on getting to the theater (I just didn't want it to end!), I'll warn you now -- bring tissues. I'm lucky I saw the movie alone because no one can make me cry like Harry Potter was making me cry today. xoxo Anna Rae

Yacht Club Application

In this very nautical outfit, don't you just want to immediately admit me into your yacht club? Please focus on the anchor-printed tee, the bright boat shoes, the blue and white striped belt, and the whistle necklace if you aren't immediately convinced.

My mom hemmed these shorts for me from my high-waisted pants that, while a remarkable thrift store find, hit my ankles at a weird length and were maybe a bit too high-waisted for dress pants. As shorts that slightly resemble bloomers and certainly remind me of the 1940s, I think they're near perfect.

I thought this outfit was the perfect way to introduce my new boat shoes. I've been wanting a pair for a while now, drooling over Sperry's online for quite some time, and when I found this shockingly bright pink pair on sale at Payless, I took it as fate. Boat shoes, to me, are a great summer alternative to sneakers. They look great with shorts, casual skirts, and cuffed jeans, and they are comfortable, durable, and so nautical.
Shirt: Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Superstore, Prince George

Shorts: Thrifted and hemmed from pants, Alabaster Attic thrift store, Greensburg

Shoes: Payless

Belt: Vintage, on dress, Eons, Pittsburgh

Necklace: Front and Company, Main Street, Vancouver

Sunglasses: The Hills, Kerrisdale, Vancouver

If I seem a little exhausted in these pictures, it's because I was! My cousin took them after six hours of setting up and attending a high school graduation party. Phew. The summer life of leisure can be exhausting. xoxo Anna Rae

Von Trapp Accessories

Although I've really only paired my red pants with bold colors, I wanted to try pairing them with paler pastels. I like the idea of balancing out the bright red with a pastel color, and I knew this adorable top was a great first try for the color pairing.
The sweet colors and adorable ruffles are so twee that the red pants work as a nice balance. With a relatively simple outfit, I felt like it was appropriate to pile on some accessories. These glasses reminded me of Edith Head, which meant that I immediately needed to buy them, but the real star is my whistle necklace. Not only is it amazingly nautical, but it actual works. Every time I wear it I feel like I'm in the middle of Sound of Music.
Shirt: Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Superstore, Prince George

Pants: the Limited

Sunglasses: Hills, Kerrisdale, Vancouver

Necklace: Front and Company, Main Street, Vancouver

Sandals: Gap
Thanks Mono for being such an artistic blog photographer. I'm sad to report that these are the last of my Vancouver pictures. xoxo Anna Rae

Tailor Made

I picked up this dress from the tailor's, and couldn't wait to pair it with my yellow cardigan and belt. The combination of yellow and navy along with the seersucker fabric makes this outfit so nautical and fun.
Last summer, when I first bought this dress, I wasn't sure if I liked it at its original length, or if it needed some tailoring. Both Libby and Erin suggested that it did, and after seeing the dress minus a few inches on the bottoms and few centimeters off of the sleeves (as an American that lived in Canada, I can pretty much switch between metric and standard measurements flawlessly), I totally agree. Now that it's at its new length, I'm even more in love with it.
Because I was so excited to wear this dress again, I kept the details of the outfit pretty simple. I just bought these (very high!) nude wedges at Old Navy, and I think that they're going to be perfect for so many of my outfits this summer. My roommate Camilla's mom bought me this necklace when I graduated college, and it's one of my favorites. It's simple enough to go with any outfit, but lovely enough to make an impact on that outfit.
Dress: Vintage, Eons, Pittsburgh, Hemmed

Neckalce: Gifted

Cardigan: Old Navy

Wedges: Old Navy

Belt: on dress from Ross Dress for Less
Have you altered any pieces for a fresh spring look? xoxo Anna Rae

HMS Pinafore

This outfit paired a silk peplum blouse with sailor pants for (what I hope was) a glam nautical feel. I love the tiger lily print on this blouse, as well as the portrait collar and black/pastel yellow combination.

I was really excited to see the return of wide-leg pants on the spring runways as I am a big fan of their marriage of comfort and chic. I can't wait to pick up a new pair of really wide-leg jeans.

Wide pants look best with a pointed toe, so I am sad to report that the black flats pictured are on their last legs (feet?) and I am on the hunt for their replacement So if you have a lead on black pointy-toe flats with cutouts, let me know!

Shoes: Sam Edelman, Winners

Pants: Ross Dress for Less

Blouse: Milly, Ebay

Pearls: Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Superstore

White Winter Hymnal

Sometimes, you just really want to wear white and cream in winter. And when you feel like that, I say go for it. Yesterday's outfit was all about whimsy and an unseasonable color palate. This anchor skirt is really one of the best novelty prints around. I love how fun it is! The shirt, though, is the outfit's real star, which is why I paired it with my yellow tights -- accentuating just how important it was.
Look at how adorable its tie is! Look at how well it works with the small beading details on the cardigan. I felt like a chic 1970s reporter in this top -- I love it!

Blouse: Ross Dress for Less (only $4!)

Cardigan: Thifted, Value Village, Vancouver, Tommy Hilfiger

Skirt: Gifted, Erin, H&M, Paris

Tights: We Love Colors

Shoes: Gifted, Mom and Dad, Zappo's, Bass

Santa Hat, Apartment, and Photography skillz: Susan

It's almost Christmas! My family actually exchanged our gifts tonight (we're so, so impatient), and my amazing parents bought me a full-size tripod! Even better blog photographs, here we come!

Do you have your Christmas outfits picked out? I always buy one new dress for Christmas that I style for both Midnight Mass and then Christmas Day at Grammy's. I also always try to look festive and pulled together for Christmas Eve at Grandpap's, which means three Christmas outfits to blog about. Until then, I hope your blog rolls are merry and bright. xoxo Anna Rae.

Stripes Ahoy!

Why do I look so happy? It's not raining and I'm wearing black and white and a blouse with a peplum!.

Because of the blouse's nautical 1940s styling, I wore it with wide leg sailor pants that my Mom scored for me at the Scottsdale Arizona Ross (for $2.99!) after listening to me whine about my search for long enough sailor pants for many years. Of all the decades I take style cues from, the 1940s suits me best because although I am curvy, I am also tall and broad shouldered. Plus I love platform and wedge shoes! This recent article about picking a fashion decade based on body type is great.

I was pretty pleased with layering of the detail of the buttons on the pants and the pleated peplum and hook-and-eye closure of the blouse, which add interest to a pretty much monochromatic look.

Also sporting a textured monochromatic look is my lovely photographer Jenna. She wears skirts with lovely details beautifully and always looks polished and simply chic!

Top: Nanette Lepore, Ebay

Pants: Ross Dress for Less

Cardigan: Banana Republic

Flats: Sam Edelman, Winners

Necklace: Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Superstore

It's not Friday, but let us Flashback anyways....

How cute am I? Srsly, I'm freaking adorable. And stylish. And cocking my head like a dog that just doesn't quite understand. "Here Libby. Libby! Look here. Okay, now sit. Siiiit. Libby! Sit. Okay, now smile. Yes. Good girl." Yup, just like a dog. But really, nautical is so in right now and I'm so glad my style transcends the ages.

So this is my kindergarten school picture - I was 5. My bob is, well, bowl-cut-like, right? I mean, I know I went to Studio 30 and got this cut intentionally. I mean, my hair was LONG and I remember going to my hairdresser, (shoot, what was her name? I loved her. Mom, a little help here, please) and asking for this cut. My "bangs" are just so short.

Also, I remember this outfit and loving it. It was a one piece dress - so comfortable. And apparently I was a little brat and insisted that I would not wear pants - only dresses. My mom does a classic impression of when we would go shopping and I would be all hand on hip, "Mummy, I will not wear pants, only dresses!" Ugh, I would've left me in the store. Or been all "Libby, stay. Staaaaaay. Okay, heel. Now try on these pants. Libby! Put on these pants. Now. [Cue head cock]. Gooood girl."

Funny story. When I was younger, my hair was pretty blonde. While sitting in church my mom asked (rhetorically, I suppose, but I answered anyways because at the age of around 5, who even understands the meaning of rhetorically?) where my blonde hair came from? Well my dad's mom, Granny, had blonde hair, so I said "Granny." Apparently that was the funniest thing ever because my Granny did not come by her blonde hair naturally. How scandalous! (If my mom wanted a good answer, maybe she shouldn't have asked a 5 year old, all the while distracting precious little me during church of all places.) Tsk tsk, mother. :)

One last thing - let us notice how my lips have not grown since that age of 5 - try putting chapstick on when even blistex is too wide. Or try losing sight of your top lip when you smile or close your mouth. Actually, now that I look at it, I think my lips may have shrunk. Awesome. Maybe you would notice, too, if I ever dared to show my face on this site....don't hold your breath, readers. It's not happening anytime soon.

Until tomorrow. Libby

Dress: Somewhere cute, obviously.