What do I like?

Posted by Sarah on Oct 19, 2011 in Fatshion | 6 comments

I was out the other day with a friend wandering around stores, TJ Maxx and Target mostly. ANd I was pumped to look at some clothing. Until I actually tried to find something I liked. And I looked at my friend, exclaiming,

I DON’T KNOW WHAT I LIKE!

It’s been so long since I’ve had any sort of shopping experience (read: binge) that I was looking at things I felt I *should* like. Things that were stereotypically-Sarah. Black dresses, floral dresses, skirts…but none of it really clicked with me. My fashion identity has been a bit lost.

These are the things I gravitate toward:

• Fitted tee-shirts
• Skinny jeans
• Various styles of boots whether high or low
• Scarves
• Funky glasses
• Vintage-y sweatshirts without hoods

After just making that collage, I really want that entire outfit. RIGHT NOW. I guess I’m leaving my girly phase and moving into…this.

What is this style? Thoughts? Opinions? Concerns?

Fashion Bloggers: TAKE ME BACK!

Posted by Sarah on Oct 8, 2011 in Fatshion, Life | 26 comments

I can be a blogger! I HAVE A DRESSING ROOM!

I miss being a fashion blogger. I miss taking pictures. And online shopping. And tweeting. Especially living alone, tweeting is a nice communication device when you feel like you’ve been talking to the dogs too much. I knew that I needed to sit down and write a post when I was walking down my hallway that I just got a new carpet runner for (courtesy of carpet scraps from work!)  and turned to say to the dogs, “Isn’t this runner nice?” And they were just stretching and yawning, because this girl just rolled out of bed, because I am working second shift tonight. But I’ve had a few dilemmas trying to jump back into fashion blogging, so hey, let’s do this is true Sarah-style and make a list:

Little known fact to the blogging community: I’ve lost 40 pounds since last year.

So, that’s my confession. Did I diet? No. Did I start making “healthier choices?” No. Did I <insert another of the million other euphemisms for diet here> ? No. People keep asking what I did or what I’m doing, and really, I don’t know. I’m less stressed by life. I walk EVERYWHERE. Until recently I lived up a vertical hill that I had to climb everyday after work. And I don’t make much money, so I don’t go out to eat or order in very much. (Though Dominos and I still try to meet up a couple times a month.) Why is this a blogging problem? Um…none of my clothes fit. Even the smallest pair of jeans I managed to dig out of the depths of my closet are loose after a few hours. Currently I live in either my work uniform, which is black pants and a button down shirt, or tee-shirts and jeans. Thank goodness I am obsessed with big belts because I have been able to belt some of my dresses for my sales days at work. But otherwise, I feel ridiculously unfashionable. And it sucks, because I have some REALLY AWESOME CLOTHES that I REALLY MISS WEARING. Which brings me to my next point…

(A blog-break to point out that I was just chastising Hami for ripping a hole in my afghan, and yelling, “NO! I LOVE THIS AFGHAN!” Do you see why I need my blogging buddies?)

I’m on an incredibly restrictive budget.

I went from a two-person household where we both had decent income, to a single person household and a huge cut in pay. I went from a girl that was used to dropping $100 here and there for clothes, getting new Coach bags for most holidays, and never really having to worry about having some cash, to being able to count my clothing purchases in the past 8 months on one hand and selling every Coach bag I owned. I’m not saying, “Oh poooooor Sarah, she can’t shop!” at all. I absolutely ADORE my life. I have a two bedroom apartment ALL TO MYSELF. I have a group of friends like I’ve never had in my life! But the reality is, I choose to spend my little bit of extra cash on other things. Like birthday presents for the dogs. And outlet converters. And bottles of white wine. And whenever I try to online shop, I just feel overwhelmingly guilty. I’m pretty much only comfortable spending around $20. CAN I EVEN BUY SOMETHING FOR THAT?!

I am so out of the loop.

Really, I am. I get on twitter, and I have no idea what’s going on. I used to be a Twitter junkie. And all caught up on blogs, lives, shopping. Now, I’m mostly clueless and not sure how to jump in (or if I should!) It feels like I used to sit at the cool kids table in the cafeteria, and then I got mono or something, and when I came back, I no longer had a seat. (Points for metaphor, self.) And in true Sarah-fashion, I feel like awkward/paranoid/wicked out of place. So, that’s a big obstacle.

So, what I want to do is relearn fashion blogging. New me, new life. And I’d like some help. Some help dealing with clothes that are too big (however, keep in mind I can’t sew, so other useful suggestions), how to shop on $20, and most importantly, some help rejoining all of you. So, if, um, there is anyone out there, help. And now I have to go take a shower, because my 2pm second-shift alarm is going off on my iPhone.

It’s okay to take a time-out.

Posted by Sarah on Aug 23, 2011 in Fatshion | 2 comments

It’s 11 pm on a Tuesday. I worked 10-6 today, which typically is my favorite shift, especially Tuesdays and Thursdays, because those are my sales days which I spend organizing, creating, and learning. However, my body is currently fighting off some sort of end-of-summer plague, and I am incredibly warm right now and I am not sure if it is because a) I am in my tiny bedroom that does not get good air circulation or b) my fever.

In an effort to fight off said plague I’ve had two Emergen-C’s, alternated dosing ibuprofen and tylenol, drank ridiculously hot honey lemonade (with local honey), and have been lazing in my bed since the moment I arrived home. Luckily my wife has returned from her adventures in the midwest and provided me with lemons, cherries, ice pops, a ritter sport bar, the latest issue of Vanity Fair, and a bag of tylenol with instructions on it, including:

GET BETTER!

I am trying. I do have to work tomorrow, but not until 3. My mother gave me instructions of how often and when to alternate my dosing of ibuprofen/tylenol and I don’t really remember what she said because I was concentrating too hard on standing. And the reason I am writing about all of this, is that this is my first time being sick this year. My constant imbibing of orange juice during the winter kept any illness possible at bay. And I was very proud of this fact. And now, because I am myself, I am a big baby that wants to curl up and cry because I have a fever and my head feels wonky, and it’s really hot (but will probably be cold shortly) and I should just be asleep.

But this has also reminded me that I need to take it easy sometimes. Since I started working I’ve abused the hell out of my body. Walking to and from work, working 7 days consecutively last week, filling my days off with activities, having an irregular sleep schedule, rarely remembering to eat more than a single meal a day, I never stop, I never slow down. It’s as if I think if I slow down for a moment I’ll miss something. And now, I pay. I just need to rest.

So, tonight I will lie here and watching Freaks and Geeks until I fall asleep and tomorrow before work I will do the same. And on my day off Friday, I will leisurely pack up my apartment. Possibly take a nap. And I’ll eat real food – including fruits and vegetables.

And most importantly, I’ll just take some long, deep breaths and smile.

Relax.

Hello, summer, my love.

Posted by Sarah on Jul 25, 2011 in Fatshion, Life | 4 comments

Jess & I waiting for fried food from the dairy bar

The recent heatwave reminded me that it is indeed summer and I am still alive. Which is very shocking to me. Even more shocking, is the degree of happiness I experience regularly, which I didn’t think I would ever find in my lifetime.

I can only laugh at some of the changes I have gone through recently. For example, I am currently wearing the ugliest black sneakers I have ever seen, because they are Earth shoes and feel fabulous on my feet when I am working the front desk 8hours a day 5 days a week. They are also only the third fashion purchase I have made since February, the other two being a skirt and the infamous brown sweatshirt jumpsuit. My hair is so long that it touches the middle of my back and I have to put it up for work, otherwise it conceals my magnetic gold name tag that is on my lovely green button down shirt. And despite all of the things I have just mentioned, as I write this I have a ridiculous smile on my face, because I enjoy every single minute. I even enjoyed my walk to work in the pouring ran sans poncho because when I put the poncho on, I was too large for it and it ripped apart. I scowled the entire walk to work, listening to Animal Collective on my iPhone that was in a plastic bag to save it from the rain…but was still perky when I walked into the lobby.

I enjoy my job. And my the aforementioned green shirt I wear with my ugly pencil skirt that I got at the GAP ages ago. I enjoy wearing a messy side bun and interesting earrings. (Today’s are lions!) I like walking to and from work. I love that my “fashion” has become fuchsia birkenstocks, high-waisted shorts, and either a crop top or a ribbed tanktop OR a short dress that I used to be afraid to ever wear in the summer. I love my days off, which I cram with so many activities and people so I never feel like I am missing a moment in this life.

Yesterday was one of the days that reminded me of what I love about where I am. I spent the entire day just taking in my town with my bestie. We went to my favorite used furniture store, we had Sushi, we saw Captain America, we went to the lake, we went to the dairy bar, and then we rounded it out with the hot tub. Though I spent more money than I anticipated and I have a colony of mosquito bites on my ankle, I came home tired, happy, and the proud owner of a vintage owl clock and two vintage owl wall hangings. I spend my free time doing things like this…and also drinking far too much white wine, smoking too many Camel blues, and laughing too much. And when I’m feeling like a recluse (read: grandma) I curl up on the chaise with the pups all piled in my lap for some Netflix. I’m happy.

And this is what happiness looks like.

OOTD: Black & Gold

Posted by Sarah on May 10, 2011 in Fatshion | 3 comments

Two days in a row? Damn. I’ve had my late evening time to myself lately, and I actually have my tripod out and setup and my camera charged – so I was a bit ambitious. Despite the fact that my contacts are super dry and my eyes are all BLERGH about it. Today is the first day I wore a dress without leggings. Yes, it was actually that warm. I also wore this dress to go to the driving range. No, I am not that girl that refuses to dress appropriately – I was at the grocery store with one of my friends and we ran out of time before we were supposed to meet up with everyone at the driving range/batting cages, so I went in my dress. The driving range has never seen such fashion.

So, we’ve seen this dress, circa last spring. And I didn’t style it differently – just accessorized a bit. But I felt really good in my skin today and therefore wanted to document it. eShakti sent me this dress to review last Spring and I’ve pretty much been in love with it ever since. I love the length, the tulle, the shoulder embellishments, the fit…it’s the perfect black dress that I can just throw on and feel fabulous in. A rarity.I also love combining black and gold, so this dress makes me particularly happy. I probably would have rocked my typical black and gold boots, but I was wandering around town today and threw on my birkenstocks. Frankly, I love these shoes. They are pink. They are super comfortable. They have great arch support. I really can’t complain. (I know you are all judging.)

OOTD: Black & Gold

Dress: Courtesy of eShakti
Belt: NY & Co
Necklace: Target
Bracelet: Random shop in Venice, Italy
Shoes: Birkenstocks (AND I LOVE THEM)

OOTD: Your average hipster

Posted by Sarah on May 9, 2011 in Fatshion | 1 comment

Whoa, been a while since an OOTD of the post. I really, REALLY suck at taking pictures of myself. It takes ages because I have to reset my camera’s timer each time, and my apartment is small so I don’t have a lot of places to pose. In other words, I’m ridiculously lazy and I don’t have any patience. But today, I did it. This outfit reflects my fashion lately…lots of jeans, leggings, skinny jeans and various jackets. It’s my general hipster look. I’ve been more into my hair and make-up lately. You can see my various daily hipster looks on my tumblr…I tend to take a ton of photos in the mirror on my iPhone (I know, what am I doing? Taking MySpace pics? I don’t even have a MySpace).

OOTD: Average Hipster

Jacket: Old Navy
Shirt: Pure Energy
Belt: Taken from a Lane Bryant dress
Shorts: Courtesy of City Chic
Leggings: Target
Boots: Dolce Vita for Target (I live in these things.)