Boyscout

These were taken in the heat of summer, when my face is perpetually flushed, my hair is eternally too long, and I can't quite wear hems short enough. I titled this post "Boyscout" because of my little yellow scarf, but "cub scout" would be more accurate. I was drawn to its graphic elements - the strong yellow versus the dark blue - and decided I didn't care that it was a cub scout bandana, even if my mom made fun of me for wearing something so campy. As for my hemlines, I veer between as short as I am comfortable wearing, or something decidedly matronly. I'm not sure why I can't find a style balance, perhaps I'm just a drama queen.

Boy scout turned out to be a great theme for me, as when I was taking these photos, a boy drove up (note: I'm all alone, purposefully far away from all the other cars) to ask me for directions, and then proceeded to do his best to hit on me. Poor child. He picked the wrong girl to test his smooth talk on. Aside from just generally being annoyed by the unwarranted attention, I can't help but laugh. I can be out in the middle of nowhere, and still, guys somehow find me. It's my latent power. :/

The sweet little dress I'm wearing is one of my long-time favs. I found it at Target ages ago and have worn it ever since. It's a tiiinnyyy bit on the short side, especially if I raise my arms, but it's perfect for the that eternal hot spell called summer, and super cute besides. I wore it with my shiny gold sandals and pretended I was 'effortless' and 'cool'.

Dress - Target

Scarf, bag - thrifted

Sandals - DSW

Earrings - self-made

<3 The Magpie

Sunday Teal

Work, school, work, school, school, work - that's all my life has consisted of lately. But a great thing has happened! I got a new computer!! It's been a few too many years overdue, but now I can finally start on working on my photographs and art - once all my photo editing systems download. I'm so excited. I can start to really work and develop my art, instead of waiting to use the nice computers at school. Hopefully that will also result in frequenter blog posts and better photograph quality. A new camera is next on my list, so cheers till then. 

I went thrifting with two girls from a class, and I found this skirt and scarf that day. It literally felt like they were meant to be worn together. I mean, just look at them! They couldn't bear to be worn apart! I loved the soft blue hues mixed with a few strong stripes of purple, and tried to accentuate that overall color scheme. These boots are newer acquisitions, and I love them dearly. They have a bit of a heel - which is a look I like - but are also very comfortable, which is much more important to the comfort-hungry soul that I am. I hope to wear this skirt more often, but there is only a small window of cold weather where I live, and I've been working too much to wear any of my fun outfits. Hopefully, the pace of my work will slow down, and the cooler air will linger, because I definitely want to wear my funny woolen skirts much longer.

Shirt - Target

Skirt, scarf - thrifted

Boots - Modcloth

Earrings - World Market

<3 The Magpie

$th of July

I decided that putting up pictures from the 4th of July is better late than never. This was the day I got to see my best friend Bekah right after she just come home from a trip to India! So as you can see, she had the Indian style dress, and her henna game was strong. I hung out with her and her family that day, and then we all went to a field behind my church to watch the fireworks. We also played around with lightpainting techniques which you'll see later in the post!

This red dress is one of my favorites - a light cotton frock in the brightest of shades. I found it at a thriftstore for only $8, and it turned out to be from Calvin Klein, so double the score. I wear it with a red camisole in a matching shade of red since I cut out the insert in the front. It had a weird sag and was always too low, so snipsnip. I love pairing this dress with with my red rose jewelry and red red lipstick - might as well go all out for the 4th! Speaking of which, I drew little stars near my eyes that spilled down to my cheeks with a gold eyeliner pen. Sometimes you just need to draw galaxies on your face, you know?

I am looking forward to wearing the dress more in the summer, as I feel it is best served on a sunny day with no heavy layers in sight. I'm still enjoying the cooler weather though, so hopefully not TOO soon. Have a great day all!

Dress - thrifstore

Earrings, necklace - boutique/street stall

Shoes - DSW

<3 The Magpie

Macaw

 

Somebody wise and renowned once said "Never wear yellow eyeshadow with blue eyeliner and bright red lipstick", but apparently I never got the memo. I personally thought it turned out great! I don't know any real makeup routines, and I got into it later in life than most girls, but I kinda just move colors and stuff around on my face until I get something I like. I've gotten a little better at it than when I first started, figuring out what works for oily skin and what colors go well with a generally olive complexion (most!). Maybe one day I'll look up makeup tutorials on Youtube channels and get really good at it, but videos bore me in general, and I'm kinda addicted to cheap drugstore makeup. So pretty much, I'm lazy as crap and not willing to spend the extra time and $$.

This dress was a thriftstore find (surprise, surprise) and I wear it to work all the time in the summer. It's a tiiiinnnyyyy bit little-kiddy, and not high fashion by any means, but it's cute and I get compliments on it all the day long, so I'm not complaining. I just wear it over a coordinating camisole and matching jewelry, slip on some sandals, and I'm out the door. My makeup probably took way longer than it took to create and wear the outfit.

The overall effect of the bright colors together reminded me of the tropical parrot, the macaw, hence the title name. I'm definitely not one to shy away from colors, there just has to be something holding them all together, an underlying backbone so to speak. I keep all the colors to a specific spectrum, and they all have to coordinate; it's not just a slapdash thing. It's difficult to describe, but it's like a mental closing the circle thing. Similar to when the conclusion of a story ends in a way that throwbacks to its beginning. A full circle. Everything has to mesh. I could just be crazy, who knows? I just know what feels right and my personal style is a way to indulge in that artistic compulsion.

Dress, necklace - thriftstore

Earrings - boutique store

Sandals - DSW

<3 The Magpie

Mustard Field

Two new years ago I went on an online sale binge, and this rose-covered skirt was one of the pieces I bought. I really like the sheer over-piece dotted with red and pink roses, and the black layer underneath gives it a bit of an edge. I think it would also be pretty in white or pink, but this was the only option. At first, I didn't wear the skirt a lot, even though I really liked it. I'm not sure why. I will either wear something to death when I first buy it, or it hangs in my closet for months, and then I will proceed to wear it to death. Notice how both options include death.. Anyways, it's one of my few skirts that isn't a thriftstore find, but it still feels really special and unique. I paired the skirt with a pink shirt, a long red coat, and a beautiful rose pin with matching earrings that I DID find at a thrift. Can't cheat on my thriftstores for long, iloveyou. It's funny, for not really liking pink, I've been incorporating it more into my wardrobe. Pink paired with that deep rich red just seemed to mesh, so I rolled with it. 

When I saw this fantastic field of mustard blooms, I freaked and went S T O P. Frolicking in flower fields is always a must. I try to always keep an eye out for little hidden fields or small niches that make for great photo backgrounds. I have a list of local places in my head, but I'm always on the lookout for more. Of course, now that this field is plowed over, it looks drab and brown, so timing is also important. 

Although this outfit may seem more girly than my usual garb, it still has that whimsical flair that makes it my own, and I couldn't pass up the chance to ground it with a brown leather belt and boots to match. (Probably faux leather, but still.) I always need my waist belts!

I'm definitely starting to experiment with clothes more, but having something this classic and pretty is always nice to have on hand. I know that in the event of a last minute party or gathering, I have something I can throw on and go. 

 

  

 

Coat, shirt, earrings, pin - thrifted

Belt - Ross

Skirt - Ruche

Shoes - Modcloth

SNEEZE!

<3 The Magpie