Lace on a Rainy Day

Today's forecast was basically "rain all day, and a bit colder out," so I started out this outfit knowing I wanted to wear tights of some kind (easier with my rainboots than socks...) I finally worked up the courage to try out this pair of lace tights that I'd gotten a couple of months ago from Express (big sale + gift certificate = comfortable getting a couple of boundary-pushing things). I kept the rest of my outfit pretty low-key and dressy to make the tights the one edgy bit, and I think I like the result!





Also, does anyone else wear rain boots to work on stormy days but then pack another pair of shoes to wear for the rest of the day? That's what I tend to do, since I don't like wearing my heavy clunky boots all day, but have very few pairs of shoes that keep my feet dry when walking through puddles.





White shirt: thrifted. Camisole and tights: Express. Shoes: Skirt: J. Jill (purchased forever ago...this used to be one of my favorite skirts, until it got too small. I gave it to my mom for a while, but snagged it back during her last closet cleaning. Turns out, now that I wear skirts at my waist rather than right above my hips, this fits again!)



My clothing for the last few days has started to edge toward fall. It's still been fairly warm in Boston, but there's just a bit of a nip in the air, a hint that the heat we had in July is not infinite; that someday (soonish!) fall will be coming. I'm not sure I'm ready for fall. There hasn't been much going on this summer at the lab...mostly I've been reading a lot of research papers and starting to prepare for my general exams. So the fact that the summer is nearly over, that classes start up again in only three weeks, comes as a bit of a surprise. Mind you, it's still mostly been over 80 degrees here...there's just the first signs that someday it will be cold again. Is it still summer where you are?

FBFF: Spring Trends

This week's Fashion Beauty Friend Friday post is all about my favorite season to dress for -- spring! I am so, so glad that spring is finally getting closer. (Perhaps it's even here? Trees are starting to bud, the first flowers are starting to bloom...and I'm in Chicago right now with the opera, which is even colder than Boston.)

(Also, I just started playing around with Polyvore to make some inspiration boards for this post...very useful!)

What are the top 5 spring trends that you are looking forward to seeing/sporting this season?

1) Floral prints. Because really, what better way to say "It's spring!" then to wear your own flower garden around? Spring's really the only time of year when half of my patterned skirts are appropriate.

Spring Florals by elnajay

2) Wedge sandals. I'm very glad these are still in style this year...much easier for me to wear around all day than heels.

Wedge Sandals by elnajay featuring leather wedge sandals

3) Layered neutrals. I've never owned a lot of neutral-colored pieces (besides gray and black with the occasional white skirt), but would like to try this look out. I keep seeing it being done quite well. It's sometimes difficult for me to find neutrals that work well with my skin tone (can't figure out if I need pink undertones in the neutrals or yellow undertones), but I'd love to work out how to do that. Perhaps this should be the focus of my next dollar-a-pound thrifting trip!

Neutrals by elnajay featuring a one shoulder ruffle dress

4) Polka dots. Perpetually in style, I think. And I'm getting more and more attached to the look, which I'd found too bold for me a couple of years ago.

Polka Dots by elnajay featuring high heel shoes

5) Lace. I perpetually love lace details and delicate looks, though sometimes find lace tricky for me to wear without it coming off as too sensual.

Lace by elnajay featuring lace earrings

For other people's spring trend favorites, check out the list on Modly Chic!

On a somewhat-unrelated note, posting has been quite infrequent due to traveling with the opera to Chicago! We've had two performances so far...another one tonight, and then the last on Sunday. Things have been going relatively smoothly, which is good, and it seems to be well-received, here. I'd never spent much time in the city (realistically, most of my prior experience with Chicago involved sprinting from one side of O'Hare International Airport to another), so I've been enjoying finding my way around the city, getting to know what's here. The architecture is terrific, and I keep being amazed at the scale of everything here. I'm from Denver originally, so I should be used to big Midwestern/Western cities, but Chicago keeps surprising me with just how large everything is. I've been walking all over the place, which did result in a sore foot and my being limited to tennis shoes most of the trip. Here are a couple of pictures from my trip so far...




And on another unrelated note...this is my 100th post on Adventures in Refashioning! Pretty exciting for me...hadn't necessarily expected where I'd go with this little blog. I've been doing some thinking in the last couple of weeks about how I want to develop and continue in a variety of directions, which I think may end up with a regular posting schedule...particular topics on particular days, for example. There are so many kinds of things I want to fit in here that I could use some more structure!

Hope everyone is having a terrific Friday!

Another pillowcase refashion

Me-Made May Lite, Day 18 (we're already more than halfway through the month? Crazy!)


Yesterday, I decided to do the ridiculously easy pillowcase-to-top refashion that I'd been thinking about on Monday, before I detoured into skirt-making territory. I can't remember where I just read about this refashion (it's basically the same concept here, though I didn't do any of the clever measuring steps). You take your pillowcase, cut a hole in the top for your neck, cut holes in the sides for your arms, and you have a shirt/dress. Shirt, in my case, as this barely came over my thighs (and required the addition of a couple of slits up the sides in order to do so). I think this looks a little cuter in real life than in the picture...I don't think it reads quite so baggy around the waist. Maybe next time I'll put in a couple of darts, too. I also should probably finish off the neck and arms with bias tape or something.


Top: refashioned from garage-sale pillowcase.
Skirt: INC, thrifted.
Sandals: Target (I think), a million years ago.
Necklace and earrings: Ebay jewelry lots.

And...more playing catchup! Day 11:

I finally wore this skirt covered in layers of lace that I'd made last year and not quite dared to wear out of the house. I had seen some images of dresses constructed in a similar manner, with lace scraps over vintage slips, and was really inspired (in fact, I have a drawer full of pieces of lacy things for making others like this). The base to this skirt is a thrifted satin pillowcase, as I hadn't yet started to track down slips at the dollar-a-pound. But then I was a bit uncomfortable with the whiteness and lacy-ness of it (not helped by the fact that it fit like a pillowcase) and never wore it. Sad! I consider this out a Me-Made-May success in getting me to actually wear the things I make...

Here's a closeup of the skirt detail:


Skirt: me-made from upcycled components.
Top: thrifted.
Sandals: Naturalizers, thrifted.
Earrings: me-made.

Day 12 seems to have vanished into the undocumented aether, thanks to a final project due that day that required staying up till 2 replacing transistors the night before. Word to the wise: test your circuits early and often! Especially if they're being incorporated into clothing...it may be crafting, but it's still a circuit. And lack of a resistive load on the control pin of your transistors will cause them to short-circuit, overheat, burn you when you touch them, and stop working completely. I'll stop my circuitry ramblings, now...

Boots into booties

So I've been looking at the thrift stores for some cute black booties with fairly little luck. (I want a pair, but it's too trendy of an item for me to be willing to buy them new.) Then I saw this tutorial on Emme's blog about how to take tall black boots and turn them into small booties. With that, I started looking for boots I could refashion as well.


These boots fit the bill! They were at the dollar-a-pound, so they probably only cost me about $2-3. However, they were pretty ragged, so I didn't feel bad about cutting off the leg.


See that cheap boot falling apart and getting torn up? Time to make that part go away!


Like Emme's instructions, I cut off the tall top (fairly easy as the cheap plastic was falling apart anyway). I hot-glued white ribbon around the now-bare edge, then dressed it up with a layer of lace. But the lace alone looked a bit...girl with a glue gun, rather than "I did this on purpose!" So I tried adding on rosettes made from lace and part of vintage earrings.


And the new booties!


Held together entirely by hot glue...the hot glue gun I got on sale earlier this year seems to have been a good idea. So. I have yet to take these booties for a proper outing...and I'm still in the market for a pair of simple booties, I think, as these turned out rather frilly. (or perhaps "Gothic Lolita," as my brother's girlfriend said when she saw them yesterday).