Petite Fashion Challenge #18: Date Night

This month's challenge is hosted by Amber at Easy Petite Looks. She challenged us to put together an outfit for a date night or a girls' night out.

Allow me to apologize for the horrible indoor photos! I left this challenge to the last minute and it was raining by the time I got around to taking the pictures.

Here is my date night outfit. It's been so horribly hot in Boston I couldn't wrap my head around anything more than a sheer, flowy mini dress and some comfy wedges. Anything more, and I was probably going to melt. Also, this whole outfit cost me somewhere under $60! (I can't remember how much the purse was...I know it was cheap...but the dress was $12 and the shoes were $24.99.)

Dress: Ross ($12.00) / Shoes: Target ($24.99) / Necklace: gift / Bag: honestly no idea.... :)

Please go on and check out the other entries (with undoubtedly better pictures!) over at Easy Petite Looks.

Announced: Petite Fashion Challenge # 17

Ok, first things first, I'm in Boston!

I've been here for just over a week, and have slowly been settling in. I'm staying in a sublet for the summer in a pretty cool part of town, and attending one super-intensive summer language class. So far, so good, except my head is actually exploding with verb conjugations and the 400 new vocabulary words I've memorized in the past 6 days. Oy.

Now that I'm a bit more settled, I'll be back to regular posting asap! I'm kind of living out of my suitcase, as I have 0 hangers to my name at this point (ah, cross-country moving...), so some of my outfits might be a little strange. Also: East Coast summer. A few days ago it was in the high 50's and in a few days it'll be in the high 90's. And there will be thunderstorms. I don't understand...

* * * * * * * *

On another note, Petite Fashion Challenge #17 has been announced!

This month's challenge comes from Sew Petite Gal:

The Challenge: Candy Colorized

Take a bowl full of colorful candies (M&Ms, Jolly Ranchers, jelly beans, etc.), close your eyes, and draw 2-3 pieces.  Now use those colors (+ a neutral of your choosing) to form the basis for your ensemble.

**Extra brownie points if you post more than 1 colorful ensemble or if you add a DIY element (because I love DIYs so much!) :D**

 

Head over to her blog to sign up!

* * * * * * * *

Hope you're all having a great 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!

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!

Petite Fashion Challenge #15: Chic Pin-spiration

This month's Petite Fashion Challenge is hosted by Long Live Classy:

 Find a pic of an outfit you love on Pinterest, and re-create it the best way possible!

 * * * * * * *

I had a few inspiration photos to choose from, but in the end I chose this one because a) it's a bit of a departure from what I usually wear, and b) I want to figure out what to wear with this awesome orange H&M skirt I got last fall.

Inspiration photo:

My interpretation:

Top: Gap / Skirt: H&M / Shoes: Target / Necklace and Ring: Amrita Singh / Bangles: bought in England

 

I was immediately drawn to recreating this outfit because of my very similar orange skirt. However, the amount of jewelry the girl in the inspiration photo is wearing is awesome for her, but a bit daunting for me. So, I tried my best by putting on my showy Amrita Singh turquoise necklace to echo the turquoise in the photo, along with an Amrita Singh green and gold ring, and some gold bangles bought in England (which is about 2 more pieces of jewelry than I would usually wear!).

I don't have a gold belt, or blue shoes (which I really want, now...) but I still think the outfit works, albeit in a bit simpler version.

Until last year I had zero orange clothes in my closet, but now this is, strangely enough, my second orange skirt. I paired the other one with this Amrita Singh necklace too; I really love the combination of orange and turquoise.

Check out all of the other participants (after 8pm Eastern time) over at Long Live Classy!

Coming Up: PFC #15

Petite Fashion Challenge #15 is this Tuesday, April 24th.

This month's challenge is hosted by Long Live Classy. The challenge is:

  

Find a pic of an outfit you love on Pinterest, and re-create it the best way possible!
Be sure to post the pic of your outfit inspiration in your post as well!

Here are the outfits I'm choosing between:

 kryzu

Emerson Fry

Any thoughts on which I should try?

I'm looking forward to seeing all of the participants!

Petite Fashion Challenge # 13

Annnnd, thanks to a beyond-crazy work schedule, I completely forgot to put something together for Petite Fashion Challenge # 13 (arguably the most me-appropriate PFC of them all, too!). Boo.

But please do check out all the other lovely ladies' looks over at Really Petite. I am quite impressed with both the thriftiness and the stylishness on display!

Petite Fashion Challenge #13

Petite Fashion Challenge #13 has been announced, and let me say, it is right up my alley!

 

This month's challenge is:

Stylish for under $100: Put together a professional outfit (excluding shoes and accessories) for under $100.

Done and done! Now the question is, how low can I go? :)

The only hitch is that I was hoping to do some discount-themed challenge for the upcoming PFC I'll be hosting. Hrm...might have to go back to the drawing board now.

If you're interested in participating in the Petite Fashion Challenge, just head over to Really Petite and check it out. The deadline for this challenge is Tuesday, February 28th.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Petite Fashion Challenge #11: Vacation Vogue

This month's Petite Fashion Challenge is hosted by Ski Petite. She challenged us to work within the limitations of a vacation wardrobe and "put together an outfit made for sightseeing. It should be one that will be comfortable for walking around in and can last you from the early morning until dinner and drinks in the evening."

Compared to previous Petite Fashion Challenges, for which I've racked my brain for days and barely come up with something in time, this one was a cinch! Two summers ago I took a 3+ week-long backpacking trip around Europe after my semester abroad in England. I traveled with a small bag and two guys who could care less what I wore on a daily basis. My day-to-day staples were a simple dress (that could roll up in my suitcase and come out without wrinkles!) comfy flats (we walked SO much), sunglasses, and a bag large enough to carry a sweater, camera, notebook, water bottle, phone, and wallet.

For this challenge, I essentially recreated my summer look with a fall twist: a knit dress, comfy flats, and big bag for the day....

Dress: from a local boutique / Flats: Macy's / Messenger Bag: Fossil / Sunglasses: Target / Necklace: bought in Italy

 And then I switched in tights, suede booties (comfy enough for a few hours of walking, but not too much more!), and a cropped blazer for night:

 Cropped Blazer: H&M ($34.99) / Tights: Target / Booties: H&M

 Thanks for reading, and check out the other Petite Fashion Challenge entries (to be posted tonight) here!

(Belated) Petite Fashion Challenge #10: Summer to Fall

I am more than a bit late on the 10th Petite Fashion Challenge, but, better late than never!

This challenge was brought to us by Fashion For Teens, who challenged us to "put together a look appropriate for fall using summer pieces like dresses, skirts, shorts, tank tops etc."

This challenge got me sooooo excited for fall, my favorite season! Just putting on the one extra layer that changed my outfit from summer to fall made me feel so much more composed. I honestly can't wait until its time to wear boots and tights and sweaters and all those lovely fall pieces.

Summer Look:

Tee: Forever 21 sz s / Skirt: Bought in England / Sandals: Gift, from Thailand / Necklace: From a local boutique

 Summer looks are so flat so much of the time! Layering really makes the outfit, but when its 98 degrees like it was today, I cannot be bothered to wear more than this. Cotton T, cotton mini (with pockets! And polkadots!), pretty sandals (which you can't really see...).

Fall Look:

Sweater: Gap sz xs / Skirt: Bought in England / Belt: Came with a dress, bought in England / Boots: Urban Outfitters Necklace: From a local boutique
  

 

I like this fall look so much more! Comfy sweater, wide belt, soft flat boots, mmmm. This basically feels like a hug. I honestly cannot wait for cooler weather so I can bust out all my lovely fall pieces.

Petite Fashion Challenge #9-"Heat Wave Appropriate"

I am very happy to be participating in my first Petite Fashion Challenge! This month's challenge is being hosted by by Elle of Fast Food & Fast Fashion. She challenged everyone to put together a look that is "heat wave appropriate," something I myself have been dealing with in the past few days here in LA (though it's not as bad here as it is on the East Coast right now, that's for sure).

So the challenge was thus: "...I challenge you all to create an outfit that accounts for the various environmental factors that plague us in the summer. I want to know how you dress when it's 90 degrees outside and 65 degrees inside."

* * * * * * * * * *

I couldn't decide if I wanted to do a work look or a casual look, so in the end I went for both.
First, the work look:

Dress: Urban Outfitters sz xp/tp (old, and on sale for $10!) / Sweater: H&M sz xs (old) / Shoes: DSW sz 7.5 (old similar here) / Necklace: bought in Italy / Bracelet: made by The Boyfriend!


Bracelet: made by the Boyfriend! This is basically all of the colors I wear, all of the time.

I wore this to my office yesterday, for a bit of a casual Friday look, but I was, unfortunately, still freezing. It was like the arctic tundra in there today. So, what I wish I wore was this:

Blazer: Banana Republic Sleek Suit Jacket sz 0 ($158, online here for $124, but I got it in-store for an amazing
$41, including tax! That story to come soon.)

This jacket is fully lined and oh-so-comfortable. And, importantly, warm! It's also my first-ever blazer, an item that has been on my to-buy list for years, and I'm so happy it finally made it into my closet (at an awesome price)!

* * * * * * * * * *

And the casual look:

Top: from a nearby boutique sz md ($4.00, similar here for $5.50) / Shorts: Gap sz 0 (old, similar here with 00p still available!) / Scarf: Target (old) / Purse: Coach vintage (from eBay) / Shoes: Target Elliana Wedge Sandals sz 7.5 (buy here for $24.99) / Bracelets: bought in England for about $2.

And, for when it's cold inside:

Cardigan: Forever 21 sz m

This cardigan actually rolls up and fits inside this purse perfectly, still leaving room for keys, wallet, and cell phone.

A light cotton scarf like this is my favorite accessory in the summer. It adds color to a simple outfit, keeps my neck out of the sun when I'm outside, and can keep me warm when I'm in an air-conditioned room that insists on mimicking northern Siberia.

Ummm...what?

Sunglasses: Target / Bracelets: bought in England for about $2.

The cat has the right idea. I'm off to go enjoy the sun!