My boyfriend came to visit this past weekend, and I was shocked to find out that he was not only really into the idea of this blog, but that he wanted to contribute to a guest post! We cooked up this idea: I'd try on three different outfits for one occasion, and the two of us would rate them, saying which was our favorite, middle, and least favorite, and why. He was also going to rate them on a variety of factors determined by him.
I quickly realized that his true motivation may have been the ability to critique my outfits,
carte blanche, with no girlfriendly repercussions. How many boyfriends--usually relegated to "honey, you look wonderful!"--wouldn't jump at that opportunity? I can't blame the guy, really. And hey, I was genuinely interested in what he thought when all the social conventions of always complimenting your significant other were set aside.
So, here are three outfits that I would wear to a summertime movie-date, ranging from casual to more dressy. Unfortunately, I think I kind of failed the assignment from the get-go, as I actually like each of these outfits. :-/ But, I shall rank them nonetheless! Onward! But first, a note from The Boyfriend:
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Hello, my name on the internets is R, and I am Lauren's boyfriend. I have been given a rare and possibly juicy opportunity - the chance to "critique" her style... or at least three potential outfits. Apparently, I will have free reign here without any negative repercussions. I'm thrilled. No, really!
I am from a small town on the coast of California. This has influenced a great deal of my social persona - from politics to style to recreation. The best way to sum this up before boring you, is that I am a big fan of "simple", "easy", "down to earth" and "not trying too hard." To put this in relevant terms, I generally
suspicious of makeup, heels during the day, and any type of overly fanciful "fashionista-ing. I am attracted to women
that are about comfort and freedom and less concerned about conventions. Personally, I wear t-shirts and jeans and sweaters with wonderfully long sleeves. However, my likes and dislikes aside, I will be grading Lauren on her own terms and so I have diversified my grading criteria. Each outfit will get three marks: a score for variety (in accordance with her stated goal of expanding her typical choices), a score for sexiness (hey, it is a date theme, after all), and a score for fashion (not like I know anything about style, but I might as well try).
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Outfit #1:
Top: Target smocked tank top sz xs (old) / Jacket: Zara brown faux leather motorcycle jacket sz s / Shorts: Urban Outfitters jean shorts sz 00 (old) / Shoes: Gap brown t-strap sandals (old, similar here) / Necklace: Various charms put together.
This is definitely the most casual of these three outfits, but to me it is just extremely comfortable, summer-y, and easy to wear. The top is airy and keeps me cool when its hot outside, and the sandals and shorts are staples for me over the summer. Whenever I go to the movies, I have to bring a jacket because I get freezing inside. The brown faux leather jacket was a bit of a splurge, but I'd been looking for one forever and was so happy to have found it. This is one of my favorite necklaces; its the perfect length, it dresses up basic t-shirts just a little bit, and it cost next to nothing! I've had the heart on the chain since I was about 8...it came with an American Girl doll outfit I bought! The eye is a gift from a friend who traveled to Greece, and I got the green and gold pendant in Chinatown for about $1.
Rank: 3rd out of 3. Maybe it's a bit too casual?
The Boyfriend:
Variety: Casual-smasual. You get good marks here for adding a little color to the presentation with the purple flower-pattered shirt. HOWEVER, if this is the most colorful you can get in the summer, I'm afraid I have to downgrade the score somewhat drastically to make a point. Dark-ish tank top with blue-jean colored bottom? You get a 5, but it was almost a 4+.
Sexiness: Lauren is worried about the "creepy factor" of this category, so I will be restrained. On the other hand, there are some fairly obvious truths that are far more truth-y than creep-y, and one of those is that a pair of legs is always appreciated. Tank top and jacket are very cute. Solid 7.
Fashion: The sandals help take the outfit from casual top and shorts to something a bit more stylish. I like the necklaces as well. Overall, does give off a strong summer vibe, which is what you were going for. 7.
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Dress: Modcloth empire-waist sailor dress (with pockets!) sz s / Cardigan: Forever 21 heather grey sweater sz m (old, similar here for $11.50) / Shoes: Gap brown t-strap sandals (old, similar here) / Earrings: Turquoise-colored plastic, about $3.00
The Blogger:I absolutely love this dress in the summer. It has stripes (the pattern I feel the most comfortable with), its blue and white (two of my go-to colors) and, most importantly, it has pockets! The grey slouchy sweater it also a staple in my wardrobe. I like that I can ball it up and stuff it in a purse to pull out in a chilly movie theater, and it hardly wrinkles at all. To add a teeny bit of color to this outfit, I chose a pair of turquoise earrings that I got at a boutique for around $3.00.
Rank: 1st out of 3. My favorite of the bunch. The perfect mix of summer, cuteness, and comfort.
The Boyfriend:Variety: Well, its not a tank top and it doesn't include blue-ish jeans of any sort, so you can start with a 6. Plus points for the blue, but minus points for it being a darkish gray blue, so overall that is a wash. I don't see you in dresses often, so an extra 1 point for encouragement. You get a 7.
Sexiness: Pretty obviously a cute outfit. The cut works well with your figure (another truth-y statement). The neck is conservative and rather plain, but I am a big fan of cute over trying-too-hard-with-plunging/extravagant neckline. 8.
Fashion: This is well beyond my ability to grade fashion wise. I will stick with the "sexy" score because sometimes fashion is less important as a concept than the overall effect of the presentation. Generally I am not a fan of the whole "high-waistband" style, but it works well on this dress. Oh, and I love sweaters. Even though it is gray. Speaking of which, I'm taking back a point I gave you in the variety category and downgrading you to a 6. For fashion, you get an 8.
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Outfit #3:
Top: Forever 21 cream lace cut-out shirt sz s.p (old) / Jacket: Urban Outfitters motorcycle jacket (old) / Skirt: Urban Outfitters grey tube mini sz s (old, similar though more expensive here)/ Shoes: Target Pearce pumps $29.99 / Earrings: Found! Free stuff is the best.
The Blogger:This is definitely the fanciest of these three outfits, with my new favorite Target
Pearce pumps to glam the whole thing up. I don't often wear heels when I'm not going to work, but I like the idea of wearing them to a movie, because you don't have to be on your feet the whole time! The grey skirt and cream shirt combo was inspired by
this look on Wendy of
Wendy's Lookbook, and though her shoes are
way more awesome than mine, I think I imitated it pretty well, and on a budget, to boot!
2 out of 3. I really like this outfit, but it might be a bit too fancy for a summer afternoon date. I'd definitely wear it on summer nights, though.
The Boyfriend:Variety: Tisk, tisk, TISK. Not that I am complaining, mind you, but this does happen to be a white and... surprise... gray based outfit. On the bright side, you are helping me re-learn how to spell gray, which I keep wanting to spell "grey" for some reason.
So I guess thanks for that.
[Both spellings are correct! Fun fact.] Bonus points for the interesting top. And an extra bonus point for my spelling lesson. 4.
Sexiness: You may be losing points of variety, but you are coming up with some very nice outfits. Everything works well here, from the pattern on the top to the fitted gray skirt to the heels. The colors work great with your complexion and I enjoy the earrings. I was going to give you a 9, but I noticed your pug in the picture and the comparison between smooshed pug-face and lovely Lauren outfit persuaded me to bump it up to a 10. Awesome job.
Fashion: From my limited understanding of style and all that, this seems to be quite the definition of fashionable. Very put together look and very classy. I often snort my nose at the tucked-in shirt look for women (nice way of saying I really don't like it), which generally looks silly to my eyes, but this doesn't detract from the overall presentation. The jacket is a good touch and matches the heels. Wait... the jacket is black you say? I'm taking away your spelling lesson bonus points in the variety category and moving you to a 3.
The outfit as a whole gets an 8.5. I was convinced by the cool shirt.
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So there you have it! A Blogger and her Boyfriend critiqued date outfits, learned some hard truths about her preference for certain repeated colors and his unhappiness regarding tucked-in shirts, and their relationship survived!
I actually had so much fun with this post, I really want to do it again. Maybe the "Blogger and her Boyfriend" series will have to be an ongoing theme....what say you, Boyfriend?
