Counting Down

Top: Gap / Cardigan: from a local boutique / Jeans: Gap 1969 Always Skinny sz 00 / Shoes: Target / Bag: Vintage Coach, via eBay / Sunglasses: Target / Belt: Target / Bracelets: DIY (how to, here!)

 

So the good news is I "inherited" this belt from my mom. Hooray for free stuff! The bad news is is broke all of two hours after taking this picture. :-/ It was a cheap-y belt from Target, so I suppose the fact that it lived for a few years is quite good.

I'm trying to be mindful of what I buy on the (super) cheap and what I spend my money on. Colorful skinny belts that will last a few years? $20, max. But, classic bags or workhorse shoes that will last forever? I'm trying to work up the courage to spend more on those sorts of things. Thus, my decision to buy that beautiful Cambridge Satchel as soon as I move to, fittingly, Cambridge, MA.

Speaking of which, I have only 3 days left working in the elementary school I've been in for the past year, 5 days left at this job, 10 days until I move, 11 until I start school, and 12 until my birthday! Whoah, there. I'm a serious combination of excited and nervous for what the next few weeks has in store. Wish me luck!

Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Petite Fashion Challenge #16: Summer Wedding

 

This month's challenge was Summer Wedding: Create an outfit for a summer wedding (the dress code is up to you). For bonus points try to make your whole outfit, head to toe, come in under $100! (Or, exclude shoes and accessories to meet the $100 mark.)

Here is my entry:

Dress: Anthropologie (very old, but I remember it being on super-sale for around $60) / Shoes: Target ($24.99) / Clutch: inherited from my Nana / Necklace and Earrings: gifts

My outfit came in for a (estimated, due to the age of the dress) total of $85.00. Hooray for gifted bags and jewelry!

* * * * * *

Here is the list of participants this month (in the order in which they signed up):

Glamorous Petite

Tiny Bits of Nonsense

Contrary Kiwi

Hello, Framboise

Dieting Fashions

Couture Coco

Little Flowers

The Little Dust Princess

Keeyatch

Easy Petite Looks

Katattack2000

The Fashion Firecracker

yoo hoo, anhie boo!

After all, the best things come in small packages...

Jane Squared

Chibi Chic

That's a Pretty Hat

The Petite Fitting Room

Petite Fashions Over 40

Musings of a Cardigan Fiend

Food/Fashion Lovers Anonymous Nationwide
Mix and Match Fashion Style

Phiphi's Blog

Petite Lifestyle

The Small of It

To Brighten My Day

Sew Petite Gal

Just Tututiny

Petite Adventures

Really Renata

LaBelleMel

Snapshots of my Closet

Shorty Stories 

Petite in the City 

The Other Pocket

Diary by Kimberly

A Petite Treat

A Perponderence of Fashion
Really Petite
Petite and Hungry
Extra Petite
KTR Style

 I hope you all enjoyed this challenge; I'm glad I got to think about my wedding look in advance, and can't wait to see what everyone else came up with!

Brights & Blues

 Top: Old Navy Tie Hem Blouse sz s ($10.99, available in charcoal for $8.99 online!) / Jeans: Gap 1969 Always Skinny sz 00 (same) / Bag: Fossil men's messenger (similar) / Bracelets: "inherited" from my roommate / Necklace: bought in Italy / Glasses: Coach

 

I hope everyone had a relaxing and meaningful Memorial Day weekend.

Thank you to anyone who commented on my Academic/Professional post recently; I really appreciate knowing there are others out there who think about similar questions regarding blogging and the professional world!

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This weekend, after going to my cousin's bridal shower in Santa Barbara (which was compltely lovely, by the way! So good to spend time with family), my mom and I stopped by the Camarillo outlet mall on the way back. We power-shopped our way through and came home with some pretty good deals! A backback for me for school (yes, apparently I am starting middle school, not grad school!), a heavy winter coat, and a Le Creuset tea kettle in an adorable bright blue, all deeply discounted.

 Did anyone else take advantage of weekend sales?

Nana & Grandma

 Dress: Modcloth student senator dress / Belt: from a dress bought in England / Clutch: vintage, inherited from my grandmother / Necklace: from a local boutique / Sandals: Gap / Sunglasses: Target

  

Three thoughts on the outfit today:

Firstly, these colors went together way better in real life! The dress is slightly more green than it comes off in these pictures; here, I think, it clashes a bit with the clutch. C'est la vie.

Secondly, though I really like the style and color of this dress, the cut is a bit strange. It fits snugly on the bottom half, in a true pencil skirt fashion, but (as you can see) the top half is cut quite loose. I'll be taking it to my tailor, along with another skirt I've been meaning to get fixed, soon. And I don't mind the wrinkles because I'll mostly wear it casually and hey, clothes are meant to be lived in!

Thirdly, and most importanly: I truly cherish the things I have inherited from my grandmothers, such as this clutch. I would cite them both as major influences in my life and in my style. My Nana was full of understated elegance and absolute grace; she dressed in a completely classic fashion that, to me, was never out of style. My Grandma was a fashion model for much of her life (including a stint as a bikini-clad pinup girl during WWII!); she never shied away from trends and simply made clothes look good. From them, I have inherited (among a few other things), this clutch, some gorgeous costume jewelry, a silver bracelet, a strand of opera-length pearls, a stunning diamond ring I am far too young to wear with confidence, and even a couple of outfits from their heydays. I am eternally grateful to both of them for so much inspiration in my life.

Soon, I'll be posting a few pictures of both of them, chronicling some of their fashions throughout their lives, and hopefully drawing even more inspiration from them going forward.

Hope you are all having a lovely week! 

Simple Stripes & Gold Collar Necklace

 Top: Anthropologie / Jeans: Gap 1969 Always Skinny / Wedges: Target (similar) / Necklace: Asos ($20.87, buy here) / Glasses: Coach

 

One of my goals for beginning this blog was to get out of my jeans and a solid-colored t-shirt rut. I'm trying to wear more skirts, dresses, and patterns, and (hopefully) succeeding. This outfit, I think, is a pretty good example of how jeans and a t-shirt can still be a successful (and not always boring!) look. Note to self: wedges, an interesting piece of jewelry, and a patterned top can go a long way to elevating my wardrobe staples.

The main credit has to go to my favorite statement necklace, this gold collar from Asos. I love how it mimics the lines of a dress shirt's collar, and dresses us an otherwise simple look.

Going on a field trip with the class today, to the California Science Center. 80+ 5th graders and six chaperones...wish us luck!

Academic/Professional

Sweater: H&M / Dress, worn as a skirt: Target / Scarf: Forever21 / Booties: H&M / Bag: Olivia + Joy / Glasses: Coach

   

 On the verge of beginning graduate school (ohmygoodness, I leave in less than a month), I've been thinking a bit about what maintaining this blog as a graduate student might look like. I'm still pretty embarrassed about the blog around anyone I know not-through-the-internet, mostly because fashion and style are, often, considered frivolous and vain--two things I hope not to be. As the fantastic-and-sadly-discontinued blog academichic put it: "[Academics] are suppose to be concerned with much more important things and I guess I assume professors and even colleagues would consider this a silly waste of time."

I know that many (if not most) fellow style bloggers out there are professional ladies, and my guess is a few of them/you deal with this issue as well.

So my questions are, do you talk about your blog in your personal life?

How do you think it fits in with your role as a professional woman?

Peach and Navy

 Top: Urban Outfitters / Shorts: Gap / Sandals: Gap / Bag: Vintage Coach via eBay / Necklace: Asos ($20.87, buy here) / Sunglasses: Target / Rings: gifts, from local boutiques

  

I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day and a relaxing weekend!

Mine was chock-full, with a trip to Unique LA, hanging out with my family, going to a birthday party for a friend I've known for two decades (!), gardening (more weeding, really), having Mother's Day breakfast, and seeing the Avengers (awesome movie). Now, it's back to work, and helping my students stay sane through the second week of the California State Test.

Hope you're all having a good start to the week!

Blogging on a Budget: April

I realized we're well into May and I never put up my spending totals from April!

Well, better late than never....

In the month of April, I spent:

 $76.17 on clothes (one cardigan [pricey but sorely needed to replace

 an older one full of holes] and two blouses)

$0 of makeup

$0 of hair

$0 on jewelry

Hope you're having a great weekend, and happy Mother's Day!

Considering: Cambridge Satchel

I am seriously considering buying a Cambridge Satchel. This Cambridge Satchel, to be exact:

Classic Cambridge Satchel in red

I love its classic messenger bag style, the bright cherry red color (which would surely go with most of my often-neutral-toned outfits), and the fact that it is made from high quality leather and would (hopefully) last quite a long time.

Here's the thing: it's $119. I know that for many people out there, spending a hundred (or even a thousand) dollars on a bag is not that out of the ordinary. I, however, am notoriously stingy, for lack of a better word. I don't think any bag of mine cost more than $40, barring the one nice brown leather messenger bag I got as a gift for my 21st birthday.

But, I think I might do it this time around, for two very simple reasons: utility and timelessness. This bag is incredibly useful and would get near-daily wear. The style is timeless enough that I won't want to toss it in a year; instead, I think I'd keep it around for a very, very long time. Similarly, the quality of it is such that it'll hold up for years, making the cost-per-day ratio make a lot more sense. Every once in a while, spending more than I'm used to on a classic item that will fit perfectly into my wardrobe can make sense. At least, I hope it can. :)

Announcing Petite Fashion Challenge #16: Summer Wedding

 I am quite excited to be hosting this month's Petite Fashion Callenge!

I'm really looking forward to my cousin's wedding, which is just around the corner. So, for this month's challenge...

Summer Wedding--Create an outfit for a summer wedding (the dress code is up to you). For bonus points (and this is what I'll be doing!) try to make your whole outfit, head to toe, come in under $100! (Or, exclude shoes and accessories to meet the $100 mark.)

To participate, please leave a comment with your blog URL. If you are a non-blogger and would like to participate, you can email me your entry at petiteonapennyATgmailDOTcom. Please link your posts back to Petite on a Penny to see the full list of entries on the day of the challenge.

Please schedule your posts for Wednesday, May 30th at 6pm Pacific time.

Happy blogging!

Review: Old Navy Tie-Hem Draped Shirt

Top: Old Navy Women's Tie-Hem Draped Shirt (size S, buy here, grey and blue for 10.99, down from $29.94) / Jeans: PacSun / Shoes: Macy's / Scarf: local boutique / Bag: Olivia + Joy / Bracelets: bought in England

I've been on an ongoing quest for shirts that are not short sleeved, solid-colored, cotton v-necks (my go-to for many, many years), so I was super happy to run across this shirt at Old Navy. At $10.99, down from $29.94, the price was right for me to buy it in both this grey and a gorgeous, deep royal blue.

I seriously love this shirt. The material is soft and the drape is nice and weighty, making it look far more expensive than it is. I could see pairing the shirt with casual skirts, over dresses, and of course with skinny jeans. I love versatile items that can compliment numerous outfits, so this definitely fits the bill. I bought both shirts in a size S for a slightly slouchy, relaxed fit, but I might return one for an XS, to have a bit of variety.

* * * * * * * *

In other news, I'm so glad I sucked up the courage to photograph at this location. These stairs are only two blocks from my house, and I've been meaning to photograph here forever, but...they are super-public, and I'm terrified of people seeing me taking photos of myself, because I'm pretty sure it looks as weird as it sounds.

Since I'm moving in a month, I figured it was now or never and I finally did it. Granted, halfway through a man stopped about 30 yards in front of me and vogued in my general direction, making muscle-man poses and laughing (I wish I was making that up.) Nonetheless, I persisted, if only slightly red in the cheeks, and I'm quite happy with the outcome!

Hope you are all having a great day so far!

Stay tuned for an announcement of the next Petite Fashion Challenge, which I am so happy to be hosting!

Going Green

 

Dress: Urban Outfitters ($10!) / Sweater: H&M / Sandals: Gap / Bag: vintage Coach, via eBay / Necklace: bought in Italy / Blue ring: gift from the boyfriend / Green ring: Amrita Singh, via Hautelook ($12)

 

 
Things I'm really going to miss about LA:

-tacos, and great Mexican food in general

-amazing fresh and local produce, all year 'round

-being 15 minutes away from my family

-the pacific ocean and the LA skyline

-my dogs and cat

Things I will not miss about LA:

-traffic

-smog

-(more) traffic

-having to drive everywhere

-the amazing weather that lets me wear something like this for 85% of the year.

* * * * * * *

I swear this is my last short-blue-dress-and-green-sweater combination. It's out of my system (for now...). And, more importantly, I've finally ran out of short blue dresses.

Do you ever get set on a style and stick with it many days in a row? Sometimes, when it works, it works!