à la Mode St.

Posts tagged ‘ootd’

The Lines Are Rebelling

June 13th, 2013

eshaktiracheldahl2

eshaktiracheldahl3

Dress: eShakti (direct link here)
Belt: Hermes & Express (layered)
Necklace: Vintage
Loafers: Debenhams

It’s hurricane season right now, and here I am posting some overly due photos from bright and sunny yesterdays! I got this 40s style dress with a “princess cut” from eShakti whom I discovered had a personalized tailoring service. Not only can you provide your measurements, but you can also customize the length of the dress, the sleeves, the pockets, and the neckline for a lot of their dresses. Nifty. It’s a bit pricey, but it looks to be fairly priced considering the personalization. This is a fantastic resource for retro-loving wedding planners seeking to get customized bridesmaid dresses.

Oh yes, it’s hurricane AND wedding season this time of year too! The news has been a downer about inclement weather calamities lately, but then again, when has it not been? I pray for everyone’s safety.

What I like most about this dress is the stripes on the top part that subtly go in different directions. I just got another blouse that did the same thing. It’s like the lines are rebelling against the usual order of things.

I wore this dress out on a regular Sunday morning with a casual pair of wedge loafers, which you can get for a really good deal (or other things) with some debenhams offer codes online. I force myself to look up coupon codes literally every time I shop online. I don’t cut out physical coupons, because I think that’s a waste of time. However, I totally have no excuse to not do a quick search on coupons for websites where I shop. It’s a money-saving compulsion. It only becomes a problem if I waste more than a couple of minutes for coupon codes! Coupons shouldn’t be a vice.

I’d Be in Dreams Too

May 10th, 2013

a la mode st a la modes t

Shirt- Liz Claiborne

Skirt- Vintage

———–

If I was born to look like Winnie Cooper,

I wouldn’t have to put on makeup either.

I wouldn’t have to know so much about music, people, and pop culture.

I’d just have to be pretty

and let the world look at me.

Then I’d be in dreams too.

———–

How’s About A Hay Ride Saturday Night?

April 25th, 2013

T-Shirt: Love Life Swagger

Bag: Vintage (ebay)

Just let me roam around laughing at Big City Blues,

With An Old Straw Hat

a suit of overalls and a worn out pair of shoes.

- Shirley Temple

Came a-Cross Stripes

April 16th, 2013

rachel dahl

Top: Swanque

Collar: DIY

Maxi dress: Swanque

Shoulder bag: Liz Claiborne (mine on eBay)

Shoes: Sam Edelman

I like bold and obscure patterns, and I haven’t been able to really enjoy trendy common prints like damask, polka dots, paisley, and houndstooth. Stripes for some reason have been in the safe zone. However, I have found myself collecting only black and white when the stripes are large and blue and red when the stripes are small. Odd. I think it’s because I like it when they look nautical or vintage.

Today’s outfit however had two pieces I wouldn’t have ever thought to put together, because it goes against my own stripe habit.

I like how this outfit, without much thought, ended up with the colors “RGB.” It also didn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would. I knew that I wanted to wear a cropped top over the maxi dress. The top is sheer, so it was perfect for the warm day. I don’t think I really own an actual crop top, so I knotted the shirt on the side to make it look cropped.

To bring in the structured look to a very casual outfit, I put on this false collar. I own three of these, and I’ve been wearing these almost every other day since I had them. From what I learned from my mom, false collars used to be worn a lot by men back in the day. The trend has since disappeared at least for men, but it’s very convenient to have these around now!

French Maid Slacker

April 4th, 2013

lauren gabrielson rachel dahl Dress: “Frenchie Dress” by Lauren Gabrielson

Bag: Vintage, “Miss America” by Smartaire

Shoes: Oasap

What it would’ve been. The top I am wearing is actually a dress made by Lauren Gabrielson, a couturier from New York. I decided that I was going to dress it down a little and wear it daringly casual. About a year ago, my then very feminine self would’ve probably paired this dress with some yellow tights, black oxfords, and a beret. As I was thinking about how to style it, I thought well that’s how everyone else would wear this dress. It would’ve been straightforward, expected, and proper.

What I did with it. Without going over the edge, I tucked in the front part of the dress to show off the buttons of my high-waist jeans, while covering the unflattering parts “mom jeans” tend to exaggerate (namely, hips and butt). I’ve seen a girl wear a big white tee this way, and it looked pretty cool. Wearing the dress this way also made me somewhat look like I had slender legs! To match the dainty “blouse,” I chose an equally feminine and truly vintage purse whose design looked like oxfords. So the irony of this outfit put together like this gave birth to the French maid slacker!

What you’re getting. Lauren Gabrielson not only sent me this gift but also chose to give away another Frenchie Dress in black and white to you all! Take a look at what it looks like as is in the photo below or on their website. Yes, another giveaway back to back, but hey it’s a lot of fun :)

The results of this giveaway are based on random drawing. Remember, the more entries you have, the more chances of winning. Good luck! Open to all (US and international) and will end on Sunday, April 21st at 12 am EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner is…. HEIDI ERICKSON!

Cirque du Clique

April 2nd, 2013

rachel dahl

Jacket: Vintage

Leotard shell: Ann Taylor

Dress: Ross?

Bag: Hermes

Boots: Capelta Couture

My hubby and I finally saw Cirque du Soleil (“Totem”) for the first time live in NYC where we had our fourth anniversary. See my Instagram photo with a purple-haired female Cirque performer here and Pippo Crotti’s comment. It was a lot of fun spending almost a week in the city but also a lot of spending money! Ouch. Everything we did was well worth it though. Rob and I had been eating mostly organic since he got sick, and thankfully the city had oodles of exquisite places to eat. Our favorite however was Siggy’s Good Food, and we stopped by almost everyday of the week during our stay. The owner Siggy and the employees were super nice, and I almost cried when I had the almond protein smoothie.

Besides touristy activities, we also made our rounds to different shops including thrift stores (of course), and I found this old and beat up Hermes bag just laying in a bin! It’s incredibly filthy and has what looks like bleach stains on it, but I had to pick it up just so that I could say I found a Hermes bag for the first time in my thrifting history!

I decided to write a bit about our New York trip that we took about a year ago, because this outfit kind of looks like a circus ensemble. It’s mainly because of the stripes and the bubble sleeves on my jacket just like Rainbow Brite’s. I think these Clique boots‘ chains that I got from Capelta Couture also add to it. These are the same exact boots worn by a girl from Jersey Shore (not a fan of that show, to be honest). The chains are actually detachable, so you can choose to wear them without the chains for a more neutral look. You can transfer the chains to some other pair of boots as well *wink*.

I know I’ve been hosting a lot of giveaways, and apparently that’s a big no-no according to IFB. Oh honestly, I despite selling out. However, when I get a chance to give something back to you guys, I take it whenever I can. I only really give away things I generally approve of. That makes everyone happy :) Expect more freebies!

With that said, Capelta Couture has donated a pair of Clique boots to the winner of this random drawing!

The results of this giveaway are based on random drawing. Remember, the more entries you have, the more chances of winning. Good luck! Open to all (US and international) and will end on Sunday, April 14th at 12 am EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monochrome Marant

March 1st, 2013

rachel dahl

Bag: Calvin Klein black & white logo tote bag (selling mine on eBay)

Shoes (similar): Isabel Marant Bekket sneakers

Bangle: vintage

I’ve been really into wearing monochrome and neutrals lately. Too many bright colors turn me off now, and that’s too bad because spring is just around the corner. I can’t hibernate in dark clothes for too long, but I know I can at least have the earth tones linger around those warm months. I’m pretty excited, because I want to dress like a hobo chic for a change :) I can’t wait to have my hair grow to my butt, flowery fungi growing in my hair, and not showering for days… wait, I already do that. Apparently it does wonders for your hair.

I’ve also been really obsessed with Isabel Marant’s sneakers. I know. They are super trendy, but WAY before Marant had these out, I had been begging for someone to make hidden low wedge sneakers for the longest time. I don’t really want to always have bulky looking shoes on, so Marant’s designs are a godsend to me.

The CK bag is great for going to the gym with, but these days, that doesn’t really happen much. I’m going to be selling this bag on eBay for super cheap shortly (link will be up on Sunday night). We’re moving out of our old moldy house and into a new condo, and I desperately need to get rid of a ton of stuff (stuff I’ve worn on the blog, for sure). There’s really no room to be too emotional about material things right now. I’ve donated a lot of our clothes, shoes, accessories, posters, books, records, CDs, tapes, etc even if they looked like new. It’s precisely this, looking like new and never been worn, that I need to get rid of my clothes. It’s clear to me the number of times I’ve actually made use of them. :-/ I’ve kept some to sell for really cheap though, in case some of you might want them. More on that later.

Oh, and have you ever donated things by mistake? I don’t think I recall, at least for now, that I have with anything too precious. My father-in-law though had his $400 chainsaw by accident in the pick up truck with our donation. We had to retrieve it at the end of the day only to find out that Goodwill ended up throwing it away, because they’re not allowed to sell gas-powered things. So, some very nice guys went dumpster diving for us to go find it, and they did. :) The manager said I was lucky, because when most people come back for their accidental donation, they’ve either been put out for sale already, bought, or thrown away and destroyed.