Summer to me means light and simplistic dressing. Throw on a dress and some sandals, hair in a bun and I'm out the door! But sometimes I want to add a bit to my outfit. Enter fun pieces like these earrings inspired by Marilyn Monroe. They feel weightless but add a little extra pizazz to the look! Aurate carries a wide variety of delicate threader earrings & drop earrings so there's bound to be something that fits your style. The Marilyn collection is particularly fun because it includes pearls, rubies, and white sapphires.
Fun fact about me - I love watching old movies, usually on TCM. If you've been here a long time you've likely come across my "Movies seen" page. We're over 4500 movies at this point. I have seen 22 of Marilyn's 29 films. Technically 30, but the last was unfinished. And a few of those are un-credited. Letterboxd also has a lot more listed because they include documentaries as well. I wish I could eliminate documentary films from the statistics to really see the percentage of movies I've seen for certain actors.
But back to the outfit! This is one of my favorite dresses (even though it's pink!) but unfortunately the brand, Edun, is now defunct. I bought the dress for $25 in 2019, funnily enough I posted it on the blog in 2012 saying I wanted it! I love when patience pays off. Bono and his wife founded the company in 2005 but it went out of business in 2018, which is such a shame because it was a sustainable brand and promoted artists in Africa via a fair trade relationship. I'm still hunting resale websites like The RealReal, eBay, Poshmark and others just in case more of their fun printed pieces pop up for a steal.
I couldn't find the exact dress, but I did see a couple using similar prints - one is an exact print from my dress. I linked both in the carousel below. Someone better buy the purple before I do, ha ha! It has the same feeling as my dress, just in purple, my favorite color! I linked some dresses from other brands as well. This dress also has a similar vibe.
Finishing touches include the fun little Italian leather bag I bought in Venice and Everlane block heel sandals. Side note: who else is so sad that they allowed themselves to be bought by SheIn. No more Everlane for me, unless it's an older collection piece/used on eBay.
Dress: Edun (eBay)
Shoes: Everlane Double-Strap Block Heel Sandal in Strawberry
Bag: bought in Venice
Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators (bought in Rome)
Jewelry c/o Aurate
Last September after I went to the zoo with my best friend and her daughter I upgraded my ticket to an annual pass for Christian and I! We've always talked about getting a pass for this zoo because it's close to home and the perfect place for a morning walk on the weekends. We went the weekend after New Years to get some steps and fresh air.
I put some comfortable arch support inserts from PowerStep in my favorite Winter boots. I have walked miles and miles in these boots and the inserts really help make it painless. They fit in so man of my shoes so it's nice to be able to move them to whatever pair I'm waring for the day. To make them even cozier (and warmer) I added some fur FlatSocks!
We spent a couple hours walking around the Beardsley Zoo and saw some of our favorite animals! The American Red and Mexican wolves were enjoying a snack so they were super active and we spent a lot of time with the adorable Red Pandas! I also finally got a good view of the Brazilian Ocelot, it's always been napping out of view when I'm there. It may have been cold but the zoo does have a few indoor areas so we could warm back up while still enjoying the animals.
Sweater: MÄ«ere the Label women's cotton knit sweater in terracotta
Jeans: J Brand 811 Mid Rise Skinny Leg Jean in Moral (Gilt Groupe)
Boots: Vintage Snowland Moccasin Ankle Boots (from Grandma - their first appearance)
Bag: Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red classic calfskin
Purple Coat: Greylin Longline Shirt Jacket in purple (Anthropologie)
Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop
Scarf: Madewell Houndstooth Patchwork Scarf
Ombre Hat: Disney World
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Here's a peek at my shoe insole stack!
For our second Thanksgiving I was able to dress up a little bit more since we'd be at my Aunt's house with no dogs to jump on me, ha ha. I had wanted to wear this outfit back in October for my birthday trip to Woodstock but figured it would be impractical for walking around and saved it for Thanksgiving!
For holidays - or any day really - I always love to break out my Aurate jewelry! They've got everything from beautiful gold rings and gemstone jewelry to diamonds! For this look I stacked a couple of my station necklaces and wore my pearl studs. If you're still on the hunt for the perfect gift for a loved one I highly suggest checking on their offerings! There's something for every budget and I am always complimented on my pieces. I grabbed my sister a cute pair of pearl drop earrings!
This is my first time wearing these booties since I got them fixed at the cobbler! When I bought them over 10 years ago they had some wrinkles in the insole so I got them "cheap" and thought I could get past the annoyance. But I found the more I wore them the wrinkles were too big to ignore. So they sat mostly unworn until I finally brought them to the cobbler this year! They aren't perfectly smooth now, but much better than before! Excited to wear them more often again!
Also broke out my vintage leather skirt. I found a very similar skirt that you can buy, it might actually be exact. When I bought this skirt in 2013 (for $10 at Coco's on the Green!) it was actually midi length but I had my Mom shorten it because it overwhelmed me. The skirt I found looks much l like my original and could be shortened to get the same effect!
I expected it to be a little chilly on our drive home so I grabbed my Burberry coat too! This and my Prada bag are two of Christian's favorite pieces I own. He likes to say he talked me into buying them, ha ha. I almost didn't buy the coat because I didn't need one, but I did really want it. So the fact that he really liked it pushed me to splurge. So he did make me feel less bad about my decisions ;)
Sweater: Marc by Marc Jacobs cropped sweater (The RealReal)
Leather Skirt: Sienna Studio (Coco's on the Green)
Lace-Up Suede Booties: Gianvito Rossi 'Finlay' lace-up boot (Marshalls)
Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)
Coat: Burberry Brit Wool Minstead Duffle Coat In Military Red via Marijane Boutique
Earrings c/o Aurate Pearl Studs (rose gold)
Necklaces c/o Aurate Organic Pearl Station Necklace & Endless Gemstone Station Necklace in Rose Quartz
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I have a lot of posts planned to recap our two-week trip to Japan, but let’s start with an easy one—what I wore to stay warm and comfortable in the cold weather! After calculating our mileage when we got home, I realized we walked a total of 96 miles over the two weeks. By the end, our feet were definitely feeling it, but thanks to my comfortable supination insoles from PowerStep, I avoided serious pain. I've had these insoles in my boots for over a year now, and while the boots have always been comfortable, the insoles took them to the next level. To stay extra cozy, I also used a pair of Flat Socks fuzzy liner socks on top!
I tried to pack as light as possible since I knew we’d be bringing home a lot of souvenirs. The plan was for me to use my Day Owl backpack and a small carry-on, while Christian carried his brand-new Tortuga backpack (which he got specifically for this trip). We entered Japan with just these bags, determined to see how far we could get before needing extra luggage. We made it all the way back to our last night in Tokyo before buying a medium-sized suitcase from Don Quijote to check on the flight home. Before that, we had been using a giant Disney shopping bag for our purchases, which obviously wasn’t going to work for air travel. It was great for train travel because we didn't need to buy "oversized baggage" train tickets that are required if your bags do not fit in the overhead bins or by your feet.
Packing light meant re-wearing a lot of the same clothes, but honestly, it didn’t matter since I had my coat on almost the entire time. No one would have noticed if I repeated outfits every day (not that anyone would care!)
For clothing, I brought two pairs of jeans, comfortable pants that don't look like sweatpants I bought 2 days before we left (mainly for the flights, since hotels in Japan provide pajamas), and a handful of sweaters and layering shirts. For extra warmth I had a Disney hat, big Madewell scarf and gloves. I only packed one pair of boots, knowing they’d work in rain, snow, and cold. Looking back, I probably could have packed even less, but hey—a girl likes to have options! I also brought a simple sling bag that would fit my essentials on sightseeing days.
Here’s what you can look forward to in my upcoming Japan posts—assuming I can get myself in gear and actually tackle them! 😉
- Our Full Trip Itinerary
- A Deep Dive into Our Tokyo Disney Experience
- A Tokyo Disney Planning & Information Guide
- Our Stay in Shibu Onsen & Visiting the Snow Monkeys
Is there anything specific you’d like to hear more about? Let me know! In the meantime, you can check out my daily Instagram recap carousels for a peek at what we did.
Warmth is very important in the Winter and we're in the thick of it now. I've been wanting to get additional padding for my favorite winter boots for a few years now and kept putting it off. I finally found my solution in these fuzzy liner socks from Flat Socks! They are like insoles for your shoes but in sock material and they're
washer/dryer safe, even these fur ones. This keeps the inside of your shoes clean. To learn more about how to use these liner socks check out my post on them from last year! Can you tell I'm wearing socks in this Instagram post? Well, I am!
While these are meant to replace socks I've been using them more as extra warmth for this particular pair of boots and I still wear socks with them. The extra padding makes my feet super cozy and I love how soft they are. I even have a pair of arch support insoles under the liner socks to make them even more comfortable for long Winter walks or while shoveling snow.
Sweater: Everlane "The Wool-Cashmere Square Crew" in Crimson
Jeans: Current/Elliott (The Outnet)
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Perfect Purse ostrich-effect PVC' (Net-a-Porter sale)
Hat: Disney World
Sunglasses: Chanel
Necklace: Indulgems (Gilt)
Boots: Vintage Snowland Moccasin Ankle Boots (from Grandma - another pair)
Chestnut Faux Fur FLAT SOCKS c/o
*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.*
