A Dress on the Wild Side

    Moderation in all things.  I must have said or thought it a million times.  If I have a mantra, that's probably it, because it works in so many areas of life from the major issues to the minuscule.  Looking at the big picture a little chaos keeps life interesting and a little crazy keeps a wardrobe interesting too.  Too much chaos in life or the closet is just well chaos.  Start dressing crazy and people will think you are crazy.  So, when you find a really off the wall piece, don't disregard it right, find a way to bring some balance to it.  Just turn the crazy dial down a little.  On a recent browse through ThredUp, my favorite online thrift store, I saw this really wild dress, but for some reason I kept coming back to look at it.  (If you're new to ThredUp use this link to save $20 off your first purchase  http://www.thredup.com/r/WKVOY5 )   

    Was it totally nuts or was it totally unique? Or was I totally nuts for liking it? There's a fine line and I felt like this print was walking it, but I decided to take a chance on it.  When it arrived, I immediately thought I'd made a mistake.  Maybe it was just too out there.  Still there was something pleasant about its odd color palette and bold strokes print.  "Well, you're my crazy now, so let's see what I can do with you," I thought, and put it on the rack of "ideas in progress."   
    

That deep orange is hard to resist in autumn, but since I didn't have anything in that shade to use as an accessory and had zero interest in buying something new to go with a dress I hadn't yet come to love, I decided to dig through my mountainous stack of cardigans and tights to see what I had.  Since I love mustard yellow and this dress has plenty of it, I made it the focus color and then went with neutrals for the rest.  This outfit is still pretty bold but it makes sense now--quirky or whimsical instead of crazy.

I have to give props to my "fashion team" here.  This cute little camera purse was spotted by my first born at our favorite local thrift store.  She knew I'd love it and so she grabbed it and proudly marched it right over to me.  She knows me so well and I am one proud mama.  For about $3 (originally $26, so she's got an eye for a bargain too) this cute case is now used to hold all my camera accessories when we travel and fits perfectly in my camera bag.    

The gorgeous vintage suitcase was found by my dear mum.  I sent her on a mission for cool vintage luggage and she delivered.  For about 10 years I've been wearing the same style of sunnies, so on a recent trip to Harajuku I finally found an update to those old boxy lenses with my mum and the girls giving them the thumbs up when I tried them on.

Shop the Look:

Dress by BB Jack Dakota from ThredUp.com

Camera Purse from thrift store

Ring & necklace hand made by me

Charter School Cardi in Honey from ModCloth

Qupid Heels from ModCloth.com