Product review: eShakti dress

Outfit: Dress: c/o eShakti/ Belt: Target/ Shoes: Target/ Necklace: Jess LC/ Bracelet: Self-made/

The first time I wore this dress I got a compliment saying that it looked like it was made for me, and the truth is- it kinda was.  I was contacted by eShakti to do a product review of one of their items and gleefully chose this dress that I had been eyeing.  To be honest, I haven't bought anything from their website before, but I had definitely window-shopped there, and I was intrigued by their policy of customization (both in size and style for $7.50 extra).  I was a bit hesitant to take on a product review, since I was wary of putting myself in a position where I might compromise my opinions, so I'm going to be up front with you here- this dress was provided for the purpose of a doing a product review, and all opinions here are my own.

Now to the details- Since the dress was being purchased online, I wanted to choose something in a fabric that I knew I would like (100% cotton, and no complaints here) and went with a color and style that I knew would be used in my everyday closet.  Since I've worn this dress about once a week, which is pretty much the highest endorsement I can give a clothing item, I feel pretty confident saying that this is something I quite like and has pretty much the best strap staying power of any of the dresses I own (and even went through the was well).  I often use stretchy fabrics and elastic waistbands to my advantage when choosing clothing, since I find it provides a better look than too loose/tight clothing (and I'm not yet skilled enough with a sewing machine to tailor all my clothes), so it was definitely a change to wear something that A) has a zipper and B) was made to spec based off of my measurements.  I'm really pleased with the workmanship (invisible zipper! totally lined! interesting pleat detailing on the top!) and felt like it translated really well from the website (exact dress can be found here and what I think is the same dress in other colors here).  The only difference I think my dress has is that the waist hits a little higher than I would have expected considering my height and measurements were provided.  While I'm currently trying to minimize my spending on clothing (since my budget has shifted dramatically over the past few months to compensate for dance classes), once I'm able to set aside enough for it I will probably buy something else from their site (aaand it might be this dress).

Disclosure: Dress was provided by eShakti in exchange for honest product review

Lately: life flailing edition

 Outfit:  Shirt, belt: Anthropologie/ Skirt, shoes: Target/ Necklace: Gift/ Earrings: Self-made/

I know, I know- I didn't write, I didn't call.  My dad even commented that it had been a long time since I've updated here.  The truth is that while I'm still interested in this little piece of the internet, but I've struggled with making time for it, and also with what I wanted to do with it.  In a lot of ways this outfit shows how I've been feeling lately- a little disheveled, a little blown around and pulled in different directions, and surrounded by things that I really love.  In the time since my last post I've:

-turned another year older
-had to buy a new bike
-gave a big talk about my research to people outside of my lab and thesis committee
-posted my first jewelry listing on Etsy (and completely failed at following through with it)
-sang a solo as part of my a cappella group's performance at the med school talent show
-sewed an awesome costume for a friend that looked a lot like the flight attendant outfit (we sang a Britney medley): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOZuxwVk7TU

I've also been doing a lot of science (and thinking more seriously about what will go into my first first author paper) and dancing my heart out with the occasional side of watching a zombie tv show with the bf.

I have managed to get dressed on most days, and I'd like to get back to taking pictures of what I wear sometimes cuz getting dressed is fun, but it's not something that I'm prepared to do at the expense of these other things.  So, consider this more of a hello again than a goodbye, but for now I'm considering it a pretty cautious hello.

A place in the sun

Outfit: Shirt: Anthropologie
Skirt: Self-made
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via Gilt
Belt: Anthropologie
Bag: Jess LC
Bracelet: Hawaii Airport

It'd be nice every so often to show up to pictures with my hair did, but after two go-rounds with the helmet (and ya know, the actually biking part) and work, it sometimes seems like taking pictures before work would be a better option-- but oh, the light that I'm sometimes lucky enough to get after work?  Trade-off totally worth it.  It doesn't hurt that bike commuting in the Houston summer is a pretty good excuse for not doing your hair :)

Can't hold me back

Details: Dress: Target reconstructed by me
Shirt: Bitten
Shoes: Chelsea Crew via Urban Outfitters
Bracelet: Self-made

If there's anything that's going to get me off my seat and out on the roof for pictures, it's an Everybody, Everywear day.  Especially one that involves patterns (although the striped shirt is a little on the subtle side).  Even though I'm now realizing that the last time I posted was for EBEW, aaand it may have included this dress.  But the truth is that this reflects what I've been wearing for the past week pretty accurately- it's been a lot of lightweight pretty dresses, often with sandals and something thrown on top once I get inside my lab- and plenty of times it has been this dress.  As in, I now realize that this dress is the one that I never knew I always wanted (even the bf has noticed and commented on my frequent wearing of it), and I'm probably not going to be able to stop myself from wearing it multiple times a week for a couple weeks.  Good thing I'm in love with remixing!

For more examples of pattern mixing, check out the latest EBEW:

Hearts all a-flutter

Outfit: Dress from Asos/ Shoes from Lulu's/ Necklace from Ruche/  1st picture taken by good friend/co-worker

It was with great glee that I met up with some of my friend/labmates for drinks at the bar in a nearby university (I'm kinda jealous, and wish my school had a bar/ fun gathering place).  In addition to cheap drinks and good company, I also got to see one of my labmate's baby (and consequently practice my picture-taking skills on a subject that can't complain).  In exchange (and because she had just bought the same camera I have), she snapped some pictures of what I was wearing.  Naturally, my favorite one is the one where I'm cracking up.  I feel like it's characteristic of me- cheerfully awkward.  Also awkward?  Yeah...in the place where I stopped off to get some of the details of the dress (because it looked like no one else was over there), I wound up sort of in the way of someone's bridal portraits.

Party time

Outfit: Tiered Fronds dress from Anthropologie, Shoes and Cardigan from Target, Necklace from Modcloth

I know I wear a lot of dresses that I'd be fine wearing to a party, but man does this feel like a party dress to me.  Unfortunately, it wasn't really a party day, unless you count presenting at lab meeting and running around the lab all afternoon as a party (woooo! pipetting!).  But sometimes you need a pretty dress to make the day feel a little less long (until your shoes start hurting your feet, which to be fair were totally awesome up until the last hour of the day and I'd totally rec them, my feet just slide around a bit since they're a little too big aaand it's hard to find 9 1/2s).  In addition to the awesome-ness of wearing a dress that already mixes brown with black (although you can't see it as well in these pictures as I'd like, wearing this also made me feel like I was celebrating my general shape.  Just because Dress your best week(s) are over, I haven't stopped thinking about which parts of my body I'd like to celebrate, and I've gotta say that once I started thinking of body parts I take pride and pleasure in, it was easy to come up with more than 5.  I know that so often when I start itemizing my body,* it's easy to do so in a negative way- who know that the opposite could be true?  While there are things that I'd be okay changing about my body (teeth with no cavities, a body that's still physically capable of going up on pointe), there are so many things that I genuinely feel positive about, even though I have often (and I'm sure will often in the future) get frustrated about (hair, skin).  To see how other people felt about this subject, check out this wrap-up post on the Academichics.  One of my favorite posts from this challenge can be found here from Kate of the Interrobangs Anonymous (people, it involves a lab coat, which is awesome).


*The idea of itemizing my body reminds me of some poem we read in school in addition to that one scene in Twelfth Night- does this ring a bell with anyone else or am I just making this up?

Love letter

 

Outfit: Sugar work skirt from Anthropologie/ Shirt, sunnies, and shoes from Urban Outfitters/ Necklace and bracelet from Modcloth/ Scarf from packaging from Clyde's Rebirth/

I threatened my friend earlier with the possibility of me being able to devote a love letter of a blog to her, and that's pretty doable- I feel like I could easily start up a whole new blog of love letters to the people in my life that I love, the people who inspire me on the interent (like the woman who's blog I'm dependent on for making interesting food and stylish ladies like Kendi and Monkeyface and a ridiculous amounts of other people), and the things in my life that I appreciate.  Right now though, a lot of my love might be taken up by this outfit (the cats woke me up in the middle of the night, so they're out).  After I threw it on, I thought I'd go up and take pictures, but was 90% sure that I'd end up changing out my skirt and shoes (because if we're being honest, the skirt is a little tight on me since I was so blinded by yellow skirt lust that I kept it even though it's a smaller size than what I need).  But after flouncing around in it, it won my heart, and I found I couldn't take it off.  Plus the shoes helped me to nominally tie in the scarf, which I've been sitting on since it came wrapped around my Clyde's Rebirth jewelry (which is a totally genius idea for packaging).  Again, I was totally charmed since normally I find it next to impossible to get things to stay put on my head when they go all the way around it (also it was the perfect answer to the question of whether I really needed to wash my hair this morning- it's cool, I washed it tonight after dance class).  Also one of the guys in my lab complimented me on my hair thing today, which means that it totally worked as a distraction from the actual hair (win!).

Bits of yellow

Outfit: On the breeze chemise and Daisy fay headband from Anthropologie/ Yellows and leggings from Target

I was positively giddy when I saw that this month's EBEW theme was yellow, since I'm a little infatuated with the color (I blame my college roomie and long distance bestie for this as well as my for my everlasting love for David Bowie).  I swung open the closet door with glee to figure out what to pick now that I've gotten over my "oh I can't wear that color phase." A couple years ago, my only yellow item was these shoes, since I couldn't resist the color and figured that this was the safest way to incorporate it.  Since then I've bought an embarrassing number of yellow skirts and wore a yellow bridesmaid dress (and no longer really feel like there are colors I shouldn't be wearing), but here I've used neutrals to set the backdrop for first and latest (and new favorite) yellow purchases.  Do you have colors you thought you'd never wear that you now love?  Tragically, my camera battery died, so I got to choose from about 5 pictures (and couldn't find any that showed off ma shoes without having and awkwardly angry face) (and forgot to change the light settings).  How did you celebrate yellow day?

These yellows previously:

Heatherina

 Outfit: Shirt: Modcloth, Skirt: Anthropologie, Necklace: Gift, Cardigan: Target, Flats: Gap

These aren't quite the photos that I had hoped to match up with this body part- the sun here burns quite brightly, even around 8 (which, embarassingly enough, is early for me to be ready to get out the door, and I anticipate being in lab for another hour or so, which is long enough for the sun to be gone by the time I leave).  Also, most of my action shots involve some pretty awesomely silly arm positioning or terrible facial expressions, which sort of ruins the image I had in my head while I was attempting said action shots.  In my head today's Dress your best was going to look a little something like this:

Image from: ballerina project tumblr

But it's been awhile since I've spotted my pointe shoes, and my body has changed quite a lot since I danced seriously.  What hasn't changed much are my feet- they can still point with the best of them, and they identify me in ballet class as someone with serious classical training.  I remember someone telling me my feet were pretty after a class (I was young), and I looked them over and said, no they're not in an offended manner (I was also embarrassingly bad at accepting compliments).  They're very picky about the shoes they wear, have a tendency to get cut into easily, and are now a terribly awkward size to find in stores (why don't more people sell 9 1/2s?), but I think I appreciate them more now- when I was younger I took them and all they did for me for granted.  These feet?  They can dance.  The rest of me is still catching up, but they haven't let me down.

I'd also like to give an honorable mention to my hair for looking awesome in a low three bun cluster today- I can easily see this becoming a regular summer hairstyle, since I have a little patience for doing something with my hair only to have it ruined by putting a bike helmet onto it.

Such great heights

Outfit: Skirt: Self-made, Shirt: Delias, Cardigan, belt: Target, Shoes: Modcloth, Necklace: Jess LC

Second on my list of things to celebrate about my body is on the opposite side of the scale from my first- rather than a small detail it's more of a whole body approach, and instead of being something I've always loved, it's something that I needed time to embrace.  I haven't always felt comfortable being among the tallest of my peers (kinda hated it growing up, especially being around all the little bits in dance and ice skating), but I've gradually learned to love my height.  Without you I wouldn't be able to reach those tall shelves, get places with my long stride, be able to see/ breathe in concerts, or have been the tallest person in my lab for a couple years (although I no longer hold this honor).  So let's celebrate with our tallest heels and a skirt that I know for sure isn't too short (because making things yourself means you get control over the length).  Those hearts? They're for you height- you're pretty awesome and we are totally besties.  Full disclosure- I did not wear these heels to school- my limit is around 3 1/2 inch heels for a school day.

Lately I've...

... been kind of lazy in the kitchen since getting back from Cancun last week- BUT I found myself seriously longing for some oatmeal cookies on Sunday (and went to my old standby of Smitten Kitchen, recipe here), and I found myself missing the crepe station that was part of breakfast at the resort (and found this crepe recipe after seeing it on Food Coma).  Other ways that we've brought our favorite parts of the trip back with us include: the fancy bottle of tequila the boy bought at the airport in celebration of us finally getting on a plane back to the states 24 hours later than we were supposed to be, mimosas on Saturday (and Sunday...had to finish up the bottle), and a hammock chair from a flea market (as soon we figure out how to hang it up).  How have you brought back the good of vacation with you?

And here's a few pictures from our weekend awayt- it was nice to spend lots of time poolside and down on the beach (even though I don't look terribly tan and got that question a lot at work).   In place of a rehearsal dinner, we went on a sunset catamaran cruise (which was awesome).

My brother and his new wife!  So cute!
Since this post is picture heavy, I've included more pictures after the jump