Spring Opener

Well here we are at the end of March and I'm still without a properly functioning camera. It's time for me to get low-fi and creative around here.

I've never had a more appropriate spring day at work. Signs of the season were everywhere, brightening an otherwise humdrum day at the office.

baseball season, blooming into view

weather clear and beautiful enough for a silk, floral frock...
(Anthropologie "Tuileries Dress")

...and bright pink heels

(Seychelles "Woodpecker")

the cashier ringing up my lunch stopping to tell me, "your bangs are perfect."

(Urban Outfitters metal hairband)

a coworker (and friend) bringing me a beautiful, seasonal treat
(桜抹茶 cherry blossom green tea)

Thank you to all my followers for sticking with me through the silence. I hope you're out enjoying spring!

Laced with floral grace

Laced with floral grace;
Hat: Accessorize (UK) crocheted beret
Necklace: Topshop (UK) love birds necklace
Dress: Anthropologie Laced with Grace dress
Bag: Pink lace bag from Etsy
Tights: H&M dusty pink floral pattern tights
Boots: Seychelles Four Leaf Clover boots in dark brown

I actually have a substantial little collection of hats. I need to make better use of them because they are awesome. There is one pink cloche in particular from Anthro that I haven't worn nearly as much I should given its high levels of beauty.


I also have a slightly insane collection of patterned and colourful tights that I have been neglecting. Being an Anthro addict, I find that my current wardrobe is now almost too adorned with embroidery, print, and bright colours, so I have a hard time mixing in loud tights.  I 'm trying to invest in a few more subdued dresses and skirts now that I've weeded out a lot of old items from my closet. It has been a struggle! I have a difficult time parting with a lot of cash for something seemingly "plain" as a solid coloured item.  I think this dress and the Waffle Weave in my previous OOTD post are a good start at bringing some solids into my dress collection.

Rainy Day Weather & てるてる坊主

First off, I want to thank Anna who works at my local Anthro store. I was out shopping today with Boyfriend, and she recognised me from the blog and said she was a reader! You don't know how much that made my day, Anna!

Rainy Day Weather;
Umbrella: Lulu Guinness birdcage bubble umbrella
Top: Anthropologie Raining, Pouring blouse (and F21 layering tank)
Cardigan: H&M slouchy lavender cardigan
Necklace: Urban Outfitters Cancer Zodiac charms
Jeans: Urban Outfitters BDG skinny jeans
Shoes: Seychelles Four Leaf Clover boots
Bag: ALDO Gairo fuchsia, bow adorned bag


I actually love the rain, but today it ruined my plans which mainly involved frolicking in a pumpkin patch. I decided to embrace the weather with one of my recent sale scores and pull out my favourite umbrella. I really owe my friend Gail for being willing to ship me this beautiful Lulu Guinness umbrella from London last year. I spend almost every rainy day with it on my arm.

I wasn't sure how to feel about this blouse at first. As a curvy girl, billowy tops do basically nothing for me. I love the idea of them, but I'm never sure if I'm really pulling off the look. My skinny jeans and tall boots I think help keep the bottom of my outfit sleek enough to balance the blouse. I'll take it anyway! The beautiful fall colours and quirky print of this top are making me blind to its faults.

As I mentioned the rain did spoil our original weekend plans, so Boyfriend and I made some teruterubouzu (てるてる坊主). For those unfamiliar, these little guys are sun buddies that are meant to send good weather when you hang them from your window. In high school I went on a few trips to Japan. During my longest stint, I spent a summer with a family that had five daughters. It was a rainy summer, so my youngest sisters and I would make teruterubouzu dolls in the mornings. Hopefully they'll work in my favour so I can grab a few pumpkins before Hallowe'en!

Lady Chatterley's Lover

My relationship with jeans and trousers is a hot and cold one. I can never decide if I love or hate them and the way I dress tends to reflect these bipolar moods. When I was younger, I lived in jeans. I was self-conscious of wearing the skirts and dresses I truly wanted so I kept my outfits simple and based on jeans. In recent years, I tossed them aside for the thrill of skirts and dresses I coveted and haven't looked back. Now when faced with coordinating daily outfits for the office, I've been turning to jeans again.
My casual office gives me a lot of freedom but sometimes I feel I fit in best with just a blouse, jeans, and some sensible heels. I still feel mixed wearing them though. It's easy, and looks nice, but I'd rather be in my dresses and skirts. Does anyone else have this kind of silly relationship with their clothing?

Lady Chatterley's Lover;
Hair: My favourite $2 hairband
Necklace: Anthropologie Meadowlark cameo
Top: Anthropologie Secret Garden blouse
Cardigan: H&M mustard yellow cardigan
Bottoms: Urban Outfitters BDG overdye cigarette jeans
Shoes: Seychelles Kiss at Midnight / Anthropologie Hidden Sun mary-janes
Bag: SXSW Film tote (freebie!)

I'm so excited the fall appropriate mustard yellow is all over Anthropologie's fall offerings. I love this colour! I'm also dying to incorporate more orange into my wardrobe. The orange red of this top and my current book selection have really put the fire in me. Orange, in any shade, is a bit under appreciated in the fashion world but not during fall so I must take full advantage of this!

Golden State

Golden State;
Dress: Anthropologie In A Twinkling dress
Blouse: Forever21 lace top with ruched, puff sleeves
Shoes: Seychelles Bette flats or Anthropologie's Wedding March flats
Hair: Drugstore hairband
Belt: Anthropologie High Prairie belt
Bag: Coach Madison / Sabrina in pink
Necklace: Urban Outfitters California charm necklace

After yesterday, this dress seems too good to be true. I tried it on back in May or June and loved how it flattering it was and of course the colour combination was ultra luxe. However I knew that itchy fabric forbade me from paying full price and even made sale consideration a bit dubious. When it finally sold out in my size two weeks ago, I regretted not having it and knew waiting for the second cut price wasn't an option. Once it got here, I found the zipper of less than desired quality but thought it was so pretty, I'd still make it work. Luckily for me, I read some amazing Anthro blogs! Kim's Anthroholic community told me it had a second cut yesterday, just in time for me to get a price adjustment. Hardly believing it, I hoped to get further confirmation from Roxy's Effortless Anthropologie crowd and encouragement from Anjali of Goldemeans. Once in my local Anthro, I jumped up with a "YES!" when my funny SA told me how much I was getting back. She told me "Now go shopping!" and I did just that.

Here's my loot from Anthropologie's Labor Day Sale;
Secret Garden blouse
Mirror, Mirror tank in black
Chopsticks Cardigan (made possible by the 2nd cut on it and my dress!)

This whole outfit is full of bargains. I bought nothing here at full price except my bag and the F21 top (the belt was purchased with my birthday discount order). The F21 top was <$20 though so it still counts. I have worn this thing so much. The subtle puff sleeves are adorable and it goes with everything. I wouldn't have worn a shirt with this dress if I wasn't going to work, because boy was it ever hot yesterday. Considering how unusually cool this summer has been for the Bay Area though, I welcomed a chance to ditch my tights and cardigans, especially up in The City.

Bonus dog photo!

Love, love, love

Love is all you need;
Skirt: Modcloth This Skirt is All You Need
Top: Anthropologie Rare Bloom tee in pink
Legwear: Hue opaque black tights
Shoes: Seychelles Kiss At Midnight mary-janes in black
Bag: Coach Madison / Sabrina in pink
Eyewear: Betsey Johnson floral sunglasses
Necklace: Silver birdcage (gift from a friend)

I never spend too much on sunglasses since I will break or lose them. Most of the time it is not through my own carelessness, just simple bad luck. I found this Betsey pair on Ruelala for a bargain so I decided to keep up the cheap eyewear tradition, but with a slight upgrade in quality. The detailing on them is adorable!

This skirt is one of my favourite purchases from ModCloth. I can't resist birds! Beatles inspired name aside though this skirt is actually a lot of trouble for me to style. I tried my best with this outfit, but I wasn't sure if I truly liked the silhouette with the shape of the Rare Bloom tee. I was more in love with the sweetness of the colour and flower than the shape. I need to keep trying to get something worthy of the LOVE embroidery. I really wanted to temper the sweetness with the black tights and shoes, but I'd really like to get some gray shoes to go with it instead!

Marine Mural

I suppose a quick introduction is in order given that this is my first post. My name is Alissa. I'm a San Francisco Bay Area native and am quite twee. I love all things pink, frilly, covered in lace, adorned with birds, that sort of thing. In the last few years, developing my personal style has become my obsession. I landed my first grown-up job and have been indulging myself ever since with every beautiful Anthropologie offering that has caught my eye. I've been hoping for a while I could keep a blog for an archive of my styling and outfit choices so I am very excited to begin that process.

On to my first "Outfit of the Day!"

To start off with a bang, this outfit is a two-in-one situation. I am taking my first vacation from work in 13 months, and in that time, I decided to fill it with small trips to my favourite parts of Northern California. One of the trips was to Monterey Bay to get a glimpse of the huge population of Blue and Humpback Whales currently migrating through the area. Since we had to go on a boat at 9 am going 10 miles off-shore, I decided to add some layers that I could peel off later for a nice meal back on land.

Boating look (above)
Hairband: Drugstore hairband ($2 but the best finishing piece!)
Dress: Anthropologie Marine Mural Dress
Coat: Anthropologie First Frost Coat
Top: JCrew turtleneck tee
Necklace: Handmade from a boutique in Cannes
Legwear: Target leggings
Shoes: Seychelles Four Leaf Clover boots

Swapped for land (right)
Cardigan: Pink ruffled cardigan from Marshall's
Bag: Pink lace bag from Etsy (a recent birthday gift!)
Legwear: Ruffian for Anthropologie Luxe Dotted Tights in wine
Shoes: Seychelles Kiss At Midnight or Anthropologie Hidden Sun mary-janes in sand

I don't normally keep my hair in braids (it makes me look like such a milk-maid) but I knew the windy weather would whip it in my face and drive me nuts. Even though Nathalie Lete's beautifully painted marine mural is the focal point of my outfit, my favourite part is the necklace. My mum gave this necklace to me for my 21st birthday after she'd returned from the Cannes Film Festival. She bought it from a woman who handmade each piece she sold. Mum selected this piece for the colour, and because the charms like the seashells, the bird, the heart and the Buddha all reminding her of me.


I have to end this post with a thank you to the lovely Anjali of goldenmeans. She made a post in July alerting me to an endless.com and Bing cash-back deal which is how I ended up with the Seychelles Kiss At Midnight pumps in my second outfit.