Color Coordination

The skirt I dyed a few weeks ago is such a good match for my green shoes. Today feels like Spring and I am taking advantage of it. Short sleeved shirts, kicky skirts, cute flats. I hope the nice weather sticks around.

How is the weather in your neck of the woods? Are you ready to bust out your warm weather clothing?

Peldyn

Friday Finds April 24th

Yesterday I spent a lovely evening trying on clothes at Anthropologie. Poor Tom was so patient! Of course the stuff I totally loved was not on sale and was way too dear to even think of purchasing. Here is one of my favourite outfits

Poppy Fields by Peldyn featuring Anthropologie

Items in this set:
Blouses - Clothes - Anthropologie.com, $150
Sweaters - Clothes - Anthropologie.com, $88
Woodblock Print Skirt - Anthropologie.com, $78
Coated Rouge Heels - Anthropologie.com, $200
Woven Buds Belt, $28

The blouse is absolutely adorable on and I want it so much! I hope that it will go on sale and that they have my size left *crosses fingers*

I did get a couple tops that were on sale.



This is the Emmer Corset Top $39.95 and I nearly didn't try it on, but they had my size and I just threw it in with the other stuff I had to try on. I am glad I did. Totally cute and will go with lots of things I have in my closet! I will take pics of the other things I got as I wear them, and weather permitting. The pictures of my new modcloth dress did not turn out so I can't post them :( I will try to retake tomorrow.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I plan on going out to the line as usual and doing more protesting. What a little agitator I have become!

Pel

Friday Finds April 9th

I am back for a classic Friday Finds article! First is my new sweater. I just couldn't pass it up.

• Sweater- Anthropologie only $9.98
• Blouse- Goodwill, Hesperia remix
• Dress- Anthopologie via ebay, remix
• Belt- vintage, remix
• Lace tights- Aldo, remix
• Peep toe Shoes- Target, remix

This sweater was originally $128.00 and I got it for $9.98 plus $5.00 shipping. Yes there was much rejoicing that day! I may not have much money, but I can certainly budget for a $15.00 sweater *does happy dance*

• Skirt- Goodwill, Lancaster $5.99
• Petticoat-ebay, remix
  
• Scarf and Necklace- Costplus WorldMarket clearance $9.99
  
• Cami- F21 $2.50 remix
  
• Dress- Target clearance $11.00 I think
  
• Socks- REI $7.99
  
• Shoes- Payless ShoeSource©, remix
  

This skirt still had the tags on it! I just couldn't resist. Sigh, I am such an impulse buyer. Thank goodness I didn't have much money or I would have bought more! I bought the scarf and necklace while on my little trip to San Diego. I love buying little things while on vacation. It brings back lovely memories of my trips when I wear them :) You have to get a better look at these socks! I got them at REI in the children's section. yes, you must always check out that section for bargains. Smartwool socks for adults run $15.00 to 25.00. These were only $7.99 AND Tom used his dividend check to pay for them so in essence they were free! Now who doesn't love stripey goodness paired with fabulous T-straps? These ones from Payless are my favourites. I hope they get more like it in!

• Liberty of London for Target® Jumper Print Tankini Swim Top - Purple/Red/Blue XL
• Liberty of London for Target® Jumper Print Boy Short Swim Bottom - Purple/Red/Blue L

Lastly is my new swimsuit! I haven't bought one in years so all my old ones were about 6 sizes too big. I was seduced by the Liberty of London print and the fact that it hid all the jiggly bits! So flattering! Also since it was two piece you can get two sizes if you are different on top than you are on bottom, I know I am!

I am also thinking about this suit as a future purchase. What do you think?

Pel

Friday Finds March 19th

It is no surprise that I am really into the 1930's style right now. Anthropologie has some beautiful clothes that I constantly drool over. While they are very pricey I have a technique that I use to get good deals. I add to my wishlist the items I like. Then I check it frequently to see if they have gone on sale. If they have and if they have my size then they were meant to be mine! So here is a lovely bit of Anthro fun that I currently love.

1930's Style by Peldyn featuring Anthropologie

Items in this set:
Roaming Frills Cardigan - Anthropologie.com, $88
Wonder Flower Tank, $78
Pleated Pencil Skirt, $88
Carraroe Heels, $80
Twined Ribbon Cloche, $58.00

So I am going to haunt this list and hope to get a few tidbits when they go on sale. The hat, at least the hat would be so awesome, sigh.

Pel

Wearing of the Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you all have a good one. I will be eating Irish Soda Bread and other Celtic goodies, but no green beer for me, yuck!

• Top- Liberty of London for Target
• Skirt- Mervyn's, remix
• Shoes-Miss Me from urbanog.com, remix
• Celtic Cross Belt- Walmart, remix
  

I wore my new Liberty of London tank top. With its smattering of green it was the prefect compliment to my green shoes. Oh how I love these green shoes. Sigh. What better shoes for a day that you have to wear green?

Pel

Out on a Romp-er

This Spring the trend is for rompers. Rompers? I haven't worn a romper since 1987. I really am not sure if this is the style for me. So I have been scouting out the online stores for what there is and here is what I have found.

Out for a Romp-er by Peldyn featuring Forever21

Items in this set:
Rose Print Romper, $26
Forever21.com - Bottoms - 2072996208, $23
Forever21.com - Bottoms - Shorts - 2072885913, $23
Shop romper - Anthropologie.com, $120
Shop romper - Anthropologie.com, $58

Some of these are seriously cute, but I am not sure if I would look like mutton dressed as lamb in them. What do you think. Are rompers just for the kids, or do you think us older ladies could pull them off?

Pel

Bursting Bubbles

• Dress-Forever 21, altered by me
• Sweater-Goodwill Victorville
• Shoes- Diesel Neveau Shoes from Amazon.com
• Tights- Aldo

I had this bubble dress I bought a while back that I had only worn a couple times. Now that I am sick of bubble dresses I decided to turn it into a regular dress. It was not hard. I just cut it at the point where the dress's skirt and lining were sewn together. I then took all the gathering stitches out of the hem of the dress and pressed it flat. I serged it for a neat finish and turned it under once to hem. Now it is a regular dress! I wore it today with the sweater I got at Goodwill for a cute retro look.
Pel

Layer It On

Now some of you may be chomping at the bit to wear your new Spring styles, but the weather in your area is just not cooperating with you. We are not all blessed to be living in Sunny California or the tropical South. If this is your dilemma then you will have to resort to the trick of layering. Not only will this allow you to break out your Spring wardrobe, but it will also allow you to look trendy as well! You can layer not only your short sleeved tops and camis, but your dresses and skirts as well. Just think proportion and use many thin layers where appropriate instead of one heavy layer. This will keep you comfortable and will look more flattering as well as fashionable. Also, varying the length of the sleeves of your layers adds interest and depth to your ensemble and keeps it from being frumpy. Here I show two simple ways to layer to start you off.
First is a short sleeve knit top, originally from Target I dug out from Spring storage. I layered it over a three quarter length sweater from Wet Seal paired with a pair of jeans from American Eagle Outfitters. For colder weather a thin turtleneck can be worn as an other layer under it all. Another option would be a fitted jacket over all.
This same concept would work with a cami in place of the knit top and/or a long sleeve tee in place of the sweater. The options are endless!
Next is a dress option, but don't limit yourself to dresses. Spring skirts and yes, even dressier dresses can be layered and worn this way!


I loved this dress from Target and hated it when I had to pack it away for the Winter. Well, no more is it in a bin! Here I have it layered with a long sleeved tee from Newport News, a short sleeved cardigan from Target, a belt from Charlotte Russe and stockings from Sock Dreams. With the multiple layers I was warm and toasty even with the chill breeze. Now I am certain you have many perfect layering pieces already in your wardrobe to help you bring those Spring pieces into bloom. If not they can be had for a song on clearance racks and online as stores clear out their Winter merchandise and stock it with those Spring temptations we all want. Check out the in-line links as well. For I have searched for items that you can layer with and some of them lead to the actual garment featured in this article! Now go out and face the weather in warmth and style.

Check It Out

Another trend for Spring that was seen on the runways was checks. Now I am a big fan of checks of all sorts. I really love ginghams, but the way the designers styled them gave me pause. Junya Wantanabe has given us this look that would almost work if it wasn't so over the top.

The floral top is best left to a pair of jeans and the skirt to a little cami. Of course this is Style On A Shoestring so we are going to do this on a budget. Now Anthropologie shows us this trend a bit more affordable and wearable:

They pair this with a cute pair of brown crop pants, neutral sandals and a skinny belt. Now we can still do better with this blouse from Wet Seal:
A total bargain at only $19.50 and it has a self belt.

Now for a look at shoes. I mentioned neutral toned sandals. These Steve Maddens fit the bill and at $49.99 are not too bad for designer shoes:
You can get them at Cutesy Girl
Also available are these cuties:

Now THESE totally up the sex appeal of any outfit and are $24.99!

On to pants. Yeah, yeah. I have heard that crops are passe and a certain style guru hates them. Well, they were all over the runway and I bet you have a closet full of them. I also saw quite a few pants that were rolled up and it looked very cute as long as the pants were straight leg pants. Once they started rolling pegged or tapered pants all bets were off on whether it was going to be flattering on most figures. So to pair with your checked blouses I suggest cropped denim, twill, khaki or brown pants. They will go with many other things in your closet and you will get years of wear out of them. These from Delia's
may be just what the fashionista ordered!


The navy are only $9.99 and the putty are $19.99. Buy any 2 and save 25% each. What a deal! So now you have an entire new outfit for under a hundred smackeroos (with money to spare!) Looks like you can now splurge on a nice restaurant for lunch with the girls after all your shopping.

Prints, Patterns and Color, Oh My!

Spring really is just around the corner! I have the proof. I found this beauty blooming in my garden yesterday.
So looking at the new Spring styles I was struck by the beautiful prints and colors. It was very overwhelming at first. How am I going to incorporate them into my current wardrobe? What do I need to do make my old stuff look new? How can I do this on a budget? First off was to see what silhouettes are "in" and see what I currently have that will replicate those looks. Usually I can make new pairings of what I have already to match what is in style. Then maybe I will pick up a patterned floral blouse and a few chunky beaded bracelets such as these:

Blouse from Charlotte Russe


Bracelet from Tilly's If you are crafty you can make this bracelet yourself with beads and ribbon.


These can add a springtime look to pants, capris, shorts and skirts without breaking the bank and make me feel like I have a totally new wardrobe if switched around properly. Many of the new items I am seeing right now have either a painterly feel or boho feel to them. Not a lot different from last year, though I am seeing them in more softer colors. This will make it easy for those of you who bought those styles last year. You can easily restyle them for this year with new accessories. Maybe add a new belt or a new pair of shoes. Think a little more cleaner lines not so messy as before. Forgo some of the the new runway pants styles however. I feel they are not flattering for the average woman, so unless you are a size 0 I would stick with a straight leg jean and/or trouser style jeans instead of the strangely shaped pants that make you look like you are carrying a load.

Christopher Bailey (of Burberry Prorsum) what are you thinking!? Do you hate us?
When looking for shoes, the wedge heel is still in and neutral toned high heel sandals abound. This lovely pair from Nordstrom on clearance adds a welcome pop of color

Nordstrom

I hope these items have inspired you. I know they have me. Like that lonely little flower in my garden, I have turned my face to the sun and am ready for warmer days!