I recently picked up this adorable peplum blouse from Target and today I’m sharing it with you! I didn’t like the peplum style for a while because when I first started noticing it, all I saw were very fitted blouses and dress that suddenly tapered out at the hips. I’ve noticed the style changing to more loose fitting blouses with more of a ruffle look and I think it is super cute!
I think this blouse is a perfect transition piece for early spring and I can’t wait to wear it during spring break. My family is going to Portland and we’ll be driving down to the redwoods area of California. If you have any recommendations of places to explore and/or eat please leave them in the comments!
Blouse: Target, Skirt: made by me from a pair of shorts similar, shoes: from Famous Footwear a few years ago similar, bralette: Aerie, watch: REI
Have a great weekend!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
I picked up this adorable green swing dress and I just had to share with you how I styled it. I bought it on a recent trip to Francesca’s which is a store that I absolutely love. All of their products are curated and their store is arranged to give the feeling of a small boutique and their clothes are so CUTE! This dress is just a solid green sleeveless swing dress. I styled it with a black cardigan, grey boots, and some gold jewelry.
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
I meant to have this post up before Thanksgiving but unfortunately schedules didn’t work out. I put together an outfit that would be perfect for any casual occaision this holiday season. I wore it to my church’s harvest dinner and then to a Christmas decorating party at my work. You could wear it to a friendsgiving celebration or if you, like me, are celebrating thanksgiving late you could wear it for that as well.
I paired a simple sweater and some leggings with black boots and a buffalo check scarf.
Sweater: American Eagle (0ld) similarsimilar; Leggings: (old) similar; Boots: (handme downs but I think from Target) similarsimilarsimilar; Scarf: made by me from fabric from JoAnn (the fabric is a really good price right now go get yourself some!)
What are your plans for the holiday season?
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
Happy Friday! A few weeks ago I posted about this DIY plaid blanket scarf. Then I went to the fabric store again. A fabric store with a delightful selection of plaid flannel is a dangerous place for me. Pair that with a coupon and a sale, and it is a very good thing that the store is pretty far out of my way so I don’t go that often. This scarf is the most gorgeous muted army green with cream and navy blue, its beautiful and I think it will last into the holiday and winter season better than my other one.
I paired the scarf with a navy pullover sweater, some jeans, and brown riding boots. Y’all, the boots are from children’s place and they are still a tiny bit too big. That’s how small my feet are.
I’m more of a fan of skinny jeans and pants than bootcut so recently I decided alter a pair of my khaki uniform pants so that they would have more of a skinny fit. Today I’m sharing with you how to change the cut of a pair of your pants.
For this refashion you will need:
A pair of pants you want to alter (obviously)
A sewing machine
The right needle for your fabric (jeans will need a bigger needle, khakis or something thinner will need a smaller one.)
A seam ripper
Thread to match the thread on your pants (This is especially important if your pants have topstitching.)
Start by taking out the hem of your pants about an inch on either side of each seam and the topstitching up to just a little higher than wherever you want to start taking in your pants.
Turn your pants right side out and pin where you want to take in each of the legs of the pants. CAREFULLY take off the pants and measure how far each of the pins are from the seams. Once you have an idea of where you should put your stitches, turn the pants back inside out and repin them according to the measurements you took.
This shows one of my first trials using a pair of skinny jeans I already own…It didn’t work out and I ended up using the method I’m outlining here.
3. Sew, try the pants on, rip out stitches and resew as needed.
4.Once you’re satisfied with how your pants fit, it’s time to finish them. If you have a serger, serge off the excess seam allowance you now have. If you’re like me and you don’t have a serger, trim the seam allowance off with a pair of scissors and keep the edges from fraying with a zig zag stitch right at the edge of the fabric. Refold your hem and stitch it back down. I was too lazy to do this part but if your pants had topstitching, iron your new seams and then follow your old top stitching down through the new seam.
5. Rock your new skinny jeans/khakis/whatever!
I wore these pants in Friday’s blog post. Here are a few pics from that post
Refashioning is a great way to practice slow fashion. Instead of buying new, or even thrift try to find a way to make do with what you do have.
Have you been working on any DIY 0r refashioning projects lately? Tell me in the comments!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
I spied this adorable monogrammed blanket scarf on Etsy…but it was kind of expensive so I decided to wait a bit and decide how much I really wanted to buy it. Just a few days later I was at the fabric store and I saw some incredibly similar flannel for like $6/yd. So one yard, a few rows of zig zag stitches and some embroidery from the place I work at later, I have this adorable blanket scarf for a fraction of the price. Also if you live in the Colorado Springs area you must see The Button the Needle and the Wardrobe if you need clothing altered or want to get something embroidered, they are seriously awesome!
I paired the scarf with a navy and white long sleeve tee, some khakis, and a pair of blue sneakers. This is a really easy way to incorporate pattern mixing which is something I’ve seen a lot this season.
My last homecoming dance of highschool was on Saturday and it was a blast! I went with an awesome date and one of my best friends along with her date and her brother and his date.
We took pictures at a park near the restaurant. It had some gorgeous trees and great views of the mountains. Dinner was the most fun of the night. We had a great time talking and joking around. The dance was a lot of fun too. The music was way better this year than in the past and I got to see a bunch of people from school that I don’t run into very often.
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
As much as warm weather seems to want to stick around forever I know that cooler weather is right around the corner so here are a few things I’ve been eyeing for this fall and into the winter.
This pullover looks perfect for cold weather workouts and hikes.
I am definitely not obsessed with flannels. (And that was definitely a lie)
I’ve been on the lookout for a utility jacket this one from J. Crew. Yikes! It’s pricey but oh so cute, something to save up for.
What are you dreaming about for fall?
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
Homecoming season is upon us so today I’m sharing some tips and ideas for anyone who is looking for an ethical alternative to the standard glittery formal dress that you wear once and then throw/give away.
My first tip is to buy second hand or thrift. This is a great idea if you still want a fancier dress but at a lower price point or as an ethical alternative. You can visit your local thrift and consignment stores or shop at an online resale and second hand shop. I personall haven’t bought anything from ThredUp but I have visited their website and looked around a few times and they have some great options! Because their stock is always changing its best to plan ahead if you want to get your dress from a second hand store. My mom and I pop into a Goodwill that is on our normal route every couple of months just to see what they have with the next event/dance in mind. Once we found a beautiful new with tags David’s Bridal bridesmaid dress for $25. It fit me perfectly except that it needed to be hemmed. We didn’t end up getting it because the color wasn’t right for me but that is the kind of thing you can sometimes find at thrift stores if you keep hunting.
I went dress shopping at the same store recently and found this adorable green strapless dress.
And this cute purple one. This one was a little too big for me but the great thing about thrift stores is that all of the dresses I found that day were $7.99! At that price I could have bought the dress and paid to get it tailored for possibly less than what I would spend paying full price for a new dress somewhere else.
My second tip is to buy from an ethical brand. This can be pricier but it doesn’t have to be depending on the brand you buy from and how you time your purchase with sales. You probably won’t find many fancy dresses but you can find a lot of gorgeous simple ones that can be dressed up or down which I will go into in my next tip. I love this body con dress, and this convertible one from Synergy; Threads for Thought has this gorgeous white mini dress.
My last tip is to buy a dress that you can wear again. My sister and I found our dresses for homecoming this yeat at Francesca’s. My sister chose off the shoulder dress and I chose this green cutout dress with this grey bralette. Neither of these dresses are fair trade but they are both dresses that we would wear over and over and maybe borrow and lend between ourselves. This dress is another one that could be worn in a broad range of occasions. This is a sustainable and ethical option if you find a dress that you can see yourself wearing for years into the future. The #thirtywears movement which was started by Livia Firth encourages consumers to be mindful about the clothes that they buy and to ask themselves “will I wear this 30 times?” to determine if this is truly a worthwhile purchase. She talks about it in this interview with The True Cost Movie.
I hope these tips give you some ideas as you shop for your homecoming dress! I’d love to see your dress! Share it on Instagram with #amaizylife so I can see it!
~Maizy
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
Now that Labor Day has come and gone it is unofficially the fall time so I have been pulling out my flannels and dreaming about my ankle boots. For this outfit I paired a flannel tunic with some cuffed shorts because I might think its fall but the weather thinks otherwise. For shoes I wore my black converse.
My earrings are the August Fair Trade Friday earring of the month. I’m giving away a pair here!
Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.
