Apparently a plaid skirt from my mother-in-law is sexy

Ahh, don't I look picturesque sittin' on some logs.

Watch me walk away...

This was the picture my mom looked at and thought it was "alluring" or "sexy" or something like that. I laugh. I'm in a tree! Is that sexy? The boots are though, they are always sexy.

First, let me pay my respects to my dear, dear sister who took these lovely photographs (along with the ones from the last two posts, sorry I didn't acknowledge you sooner, dearie). 

Tank: stolen from my other sister

Sweater: Forever 21

Skirt: vintage, circa 1969

Socks: Hue

Boots: Born

Vintage seems like a foreign word in the U.P. and if I am mistaken, please, someone let me know. Shopping at a Salvation Army seemed abhorrent when growing up. Wearing something old, or hand-me-down just wasn't cool. What was cool was American Eagle, Abercrombie, anything one could get at a mall.

Then I lived downstate and that view changed at bit. A lot. Completely a 180 really. I have always liked old stuff though, so maybe it was a 90 degree turn, I even once considered briefly to major in history. Gasp, what would I have done if I had chosen that road? Probably the same thing I am doing now...not much.

Older clothing does often look dated, but they can easily be updated just by pairing it with more modern stuff, like jewelry or something with a more modern cut, my favorite being a boyfriend blazer. Clothing can also be altered. I am considering removing that front panel on the skirt so it doesn't look so Scottish-like. It would be something easy to remove, for my grandma, but I could try and she could fix the damage. 

Take some 80's dress where you like the skirt on it but not the top. Cut the bottom off and make it a true skirt. See the things you can do with clothing!

One other point that I want to make before I end it, why do I always seem to ramble? Anyway, I wore this skirt again later, and I wish now that I had taken a picture of it, but alas...I did not. I wore this skirt with an olive green tank and it was way cuter than the plain red tank. Play with your clothes to see what looks good together. I always find surprising combinations that look amazing together by, literally, playing with my clothes. It's like dress up all over again, only I'm trying on my own clothes instead of my aunt's old prom dresses.

What to do with a pink satin slip and a jean shirt...

Wear it together, of course.


I saw this pink satin slip at the Salvation Army and I immediately loved it. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, at the worst I could just use it for the original intention, you know, as a slip.


I was at the Salvation Army because I was looking for a jean shirt. I keep seeing them everywhere in the magazines. And normally, I only wear jeans on my ass, no where else. I thought I would try it out first via a thrifted version because I wasn't sure I would wear it. Whelp, that's my story. I ended up with a jean shirt and a pink slip and tada! I put them together to kind of tone down the pink satin-ness of the slip. Not only did I wear them together, but I wore the slip as a dress, yeah, it was that long. And that awesome.

Is that me working on a truck? Maybe... And barefoot. Weird. I need to start wearing shoes so you all don't think I am a savage. Or am I?

I couldn't tell you why I have that look on my face.

That's the real me!

Shirt: thrifted

Slip: thrifted

Belt: Forever 21

P.S. Sorry I don't have a full on picture. I don't know why I didn't get a picture from the front because then you can see more of the slip. Sorry, I fail.

See how I wore the slip as a dress! I think it's really cool when I see people wear something that it's usually not intended for. It's just so creative. Plus it can give you more versatility with your wardrobe, especially if you are dressing on a budget or happen to be two-three hours from a good mall like all of us Yooper girls. In the near future I will probably post another picture of a similar outfit with the slip dressed up a bit more and I think it's even cuter than above photographs.

As a brief side note, I can work on cars, I am not just posing. I can change oil and do all the basic stuff. And yeah, sometimes I do it in a skirt. I love the look on guy's faces when they see me do that. It's hilarious.

Before I end my rambling, there is one more thing to mention. I hear this question asked often: when (or where) would I be able to wear this? I recall a time not that long ago a friend posing the question to me about a pretty chiffon skirt. Unless it's something prom worthy, it can be worn any time. The U.P. is a very jeans and shirt kind of place. But it's okay to wear a skirt everyday if you want. Something that seems very dressy can be dressed down, like the slip. It is bright and shiny, but something comfy and a staple in many people's wardrobe's, like the jean shirt, takes it down to the level of wear everyday ability.

Whoop-whoop! Switch up your clothing, wear it differently, I encourage you to test the boundaries of the Yoop. People need to be shocked, even a little. Tell me how you've done that today...or yesterday...or tomorrow...

Mustard! Or is it Marigold?

Shorts: American Eagle

Blouse: thrifted

Watch: American Eagle

Bracelets: Forever21

Sunglasses: Target

I have never been one to wear blouses. I always thought there were for old people. But the color and the loose sleeves attracted me immediately. And tucked in? I love this relaxed look for the summer. 

Like the truck behind me? It's a partially finished race truck and a sport in these here parts.  There are actually tracks all over the country dedicated to off road racing. It's fun to watch, way more fun than nascar. There's mud, and crashes, and jumps. My dad and my grandpa used to rule this track in their days. If you are ever in the area...like next weekend, when the racing action will take place, you should check it out. I will be there and I will be taking pictures and I will share them with you! I'm so excited!

The Day I Wore a Dress Backwards

The other day I mentioned that my mom picked me up some random stuff from Goodwill or someplace like it. Well, I finally got it and there were certainly some interesting things in that little plastic bag.  There was this dress with, what I thought, was stripes down the front, but no...it was the back and there was this lame looking sun embroidered on the front. Here is the dress in its original form:

Okay looking, right? The stripes intrigued me too much to just give up on the dress so I proceeded to change it a bit. Well, I'm not one for fringe so I cut that off and using a seam ripper I cut off the sun as well. Umm...be careful doing this as a seam ripper can just as easily rip through the fabric you want to keep intact.

Once that was done...

Tada! Not bad, eh? I put the dress on backwards which was easy enough to wear as the dress is more like a column. Something more fitted probably wouldn't have worked as well. Belted makes it just about perfect! Like the bare feet? That's how we do in the Yoop. At least I do...

It's funny because last month, or was it two months ago, I came across a brief article in one of the magazines I read (sorry, I don't remember which one, it could be Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, marie claire, Glamour, Instyle...) about wearing clothing backwards and I didn't think I would ever do that. Yep. Look at me now, breakin' all the rules...

Lets Marry the Romantic look with the Military and see what happens

This collection of Alexander McQueen's brightened my day. Sarah Burton, you rocked this collection (the Resort 2012 collection). It is so beautiful and I would like to share some of my favorite photos, but they are all beautful and you can check the full collection out on style.com:

This is just gorgeous and I don't have much to say beyond that.

I love this military jacket look. The lines of it are tough, yet girly at the same time with the belt and the subtle flare of the skirt. And look at those shoes. The ankle strap...another desire.

The jacket is sweet. Enough said. Well, one more comment. I like the use of the longer lengths in the skirts. Which gives the looks a more feminine, dare I say delicate(?) look.

Talk about a little black dress. This is my dream one. Sigh, alas I will never be able to attain...

This look makes me think of the Spanish matadors. No? Maybe so? Either way, the detailing is gorgeous.

(all photos courtesy of style.com. thank you style.com for being so awesome!)

She really married the romantic with the military and it works. Everything is so structured and detailed and yet so...glamourous , striking, sensual, rich looking. Those last two evening dresses are gorgeous and I wish I could wear them, even just for a minute...


Well, now I must finish my trip down day dream lane and actually go do something.  Enjoy looking at the beautiful, my lovely U.P.er's.