Circus Dress or Circus Blouse?

I've never actually been to the circus, but I imagine it might be a little bit like this dress: loud, crowded, and dangerous.  How can a dress be dangerous, you ask?  Well enlarge one of the photos and you will find that this dress is held together entirely by buttons.  7 buttons, to be exact. When you wear a dress that only has 7 buttons holding it together- you have a 1 in 7 chance of being very embarrassed.  Especially when your body is stuffed into it and you're feeling a bit crowded.

For this very reason, I avoid this dress in my closet.  I mean, if I wore it to church I'd be worried every time I stood up, crossed my legs, or walked too briskly that 1 of my 7 buttons would call it quits. Or all 7 of them, for that matter.

 Dress: Downeast Shoes: Target

I have been debating (for 3.5 years) whether or not I should cut this dress in half and just wear it as a blouse.

 Dress: Downeast Skirt: Target Shoes: Target

So, what do you say? Should I take my scissors to the Circus Dress?

White Female Looking For Gray Dress

When I got engaged I was living in the wilderness, my mom was in Southern California or Utah and Bret was in San Francisco and planning a wedding in that mess, is well, a mess. Luckily Monica picked a great bridesmaids dress, bought 3 of them and sent them to my sister and sister-in-law. 

I think that is the best system ever, find a dress you like in the right color and then no one has to spend a lot of money on a silky pastel dress they'll never wear again (nothing against pastels, I love them). Luckily, the two weddings I have been a bridesmaid in, did just that. Way to guys. 

Monica's wedding, talk about a great day. Bridesmaids Dresses: Target! Belt: home made Shoes: Piperlime (picture from Sheena Jibson Photography)

Jen's Wedding, talk about another great day. My Dress: TJ Maxx, boo ya. (pic from Ken Kienow Photography)

So here's the question, I get to be a bridesmaid again, and I am very excited about this. I need to find a gray dress, but I'm having a hard time. Do you have any good ideas of where to look?

READER SUBMISSION

Laura is our second reader submission and a former roommate. If ever you want to live with the funnest person around, call Laura. She is up for fun any day of the week. She also has impeccable style, I remember meeting her in the dorms and everyday she'd pull out some new great outfit. I look forward to going to Utah every summer and sitting by the pool drinking sodies with Laura.

 Laura:
I'm a working professional that likes to push the limits on the business casual dress code.  I'm constantly wearing jeans, loud patterns and open toe shoes.  But yesterday I think I may have pushed the limits too far. 

Are casual sequins too much for business casual?  I've been a fan of casual sequins for some time now and finally decided to sport a sequin sweater to the office.  Hopefully I won't be reported to HR but I had a smile on my face all day.

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny  Sweater: JCrew  Shoes: JCrew

So what's your opinion, sequins in the office a do or don't?

The Dino- In, Out, or Who Cares?

If you're thinking about getting a PhD (or going to any type of schooling)- let me warn you of something.

 Being in school = no money.  No money= home colored and cut hair.  

So, if you're wondering why my hair has about two inches of dirty stray-cat-colored blonde at the roots, it is because this homemade salon has been out of business.  I promise to stick some bleach on that stray-cat-ness very soon.  Probably after finals.  

If you're wondering if my cardigan is a crop top- it's not.  I just loved the print so much I decided to be okay with the fact that it only comes to my belly button.  

If you're wondering what that little bubble is at the forefront of my hair style, it is a Dino.  This little pull-bangs-back-tease-and-spray-and-bobby-pin look has been in my repertoire for many years.
This 'do' got dubbed as "The Dino" by college roommates and has stuck throughout the years. 

Since I very rarely wash my hair, (who has time for that, anyway?) The Dino becomes a weekly 'do'.  It doesn't matter how dirty it is.  You put some baby powder in it, lots of hair spray, and two bobby pins and you're ready to go.  

Cardigan: Target Gray Shirt: TJ Maxx Belt: Thrift Store Pants: TJ Maxx Shoes: Target

I have become so comfortable with this 'do' that I rarely think about if it is even appropriate anymore.  

So, what do you say? The Dino- In or Out? Or neither?

Please note that if you say it is out and I should never wear my hair like that again...I will still have to resort to this hair-do occasionally due to my inability to shower regularly.  But at least I will know.    

Mr. T

Monica's post below got me thinking about adding a necklace to this outfit. All of the necklaces are pretty conservative, but being that I wear this outfit on a bi-weekly basis, I'd like to know which necklace works best?

I got this skirt in Thailand about 5 years ago and have probably worn it 100 times. Whenever I bought clothing over there, the shop/cart owner would say, "You are sooo big, we don't have anything in your size", I never thought 5'7'' was SOO big, but compared to the 5 foot nothing girls walking around, I guess I did look like a giant.

Option 1: Red Necklace

Option 2: Black Necklaces

Option 3: No necklace, and apparently no arms or chest either

shirt: H&M skirt: Thailand belt: I've had since 9th grade shoes: TJ MAXX

Fried Food and Frizzy Hair

Before August, if I heard someone say Tennessee, I automatically thought of four things: fried food, overalls, southern accents, and Steel Magnolias- even though that movie wasn't even filmed in Tennessee.  

Since moving to Knoxville, I realized that the south is more than just fried food.  One thing that gives our little town some character is the Sunsphere and it's golden window panes.  I drive by it everyday and it just makes me smile.  

Sarah  invited bloggers to take a photograph of something that inspires you and create an outfit based on the inspiration.  My photo is of the little city I have grown to love.  

And here is the outfit I came up with:

Another thing that comes with living in Knoxville, besides fried food, is extremely frizzy hair.  Even if your hair used to be stick straight.  Try not to take too close of a look at that frizz.

But my question today is not about my frizzed out hair.  We'll save that topic for another day.  

What I am wondering about is the necklace.  I never know if necklaces look good when you have a plunging V-neck on.

Necklace: garage sale Shirt: Ross Dress for Less Skirt: Ross Dress for Less Shoes: TJ Maxx

So, what do you think? Can you wear bulky necklaces with a deep V?

What's His is Mine

I think we could all agree that one of the worst parts of not having roommates is not having closets to share, am I right? Growing up I had 3 sisters so there were plenty of  hand-me-downs that came my way. Then in college I had stylish roommates (i.e. monica) with clothes to share. Now I have Bret. He's great and all and almost my same size, but I can't wear about 90% of his clothes. However, every once in awhile when a shirt is a little snug on him, I realize, 'that's probably about my size' and when he leaves for work I try it on. 

So on a scale of 1-10, 1 being, "That is a man's shirt don't ever wear it" and 10 being- "It looks totally like you bought it for yourself", where does this shirt fall?

shirt: Urban Outfitters pants: TJ MAXX shoes: gift

READER SUBMISSION

We were lucky enough to meet some insanely talented girls while we were in college. Jana is a perfect example. Not only is she stylish but she has a whole closet full of secret talents, I mean she speaks Arabic, is a word traveler, can make anyone feel welcome, and is probably the funniest person in the room, whatever room she's in. Jana also happens to be roomate-less and has a style question for the duplex.

Husband Jeans

So these boyfriend jeans have been around for a few seasons now and predictably they seem to be pretty popular. (I mean they're like loose fitting denim sweats. Comfortable). I have not jumped on this trend for a few reasons: 1. Boyfriend jeans look best in a lighter wash in my opinion, and you won't catch me in anything "light washed" on the lower-half of my body, and 2. I always thought boyfriend jeans looked great on a 5'10" model without a butt, but on me? not gutsy enough to try. As is typical in our household, the Beast (that's my husband) is always trying to push me in the fashion department and he was trying to convince me for months that I should do the boyfriend jean trend for real and borrow a pair of his pants. So one day I tried it. And then I did it another day too. I skipped the boyfriend jean and went right to the husband jean. But here's where you come in. When I try a totally radically new look, usually someone has a comment, especially if they like it. But no one commented either time. Oh no! I thought. They look that bad. 

Pros of wearing them? Well they are incredibly comfortable. They are also bizarrely nostalgic. The Beast bought these when we were dating and wore them straight for two years without washing them (you know that, raw denim trend) so they are perfectly warn with his wallet mark, whiskers and fades from him sitting, and they have been patched and repaired a dozen times. They are the perfectly worn color now too. Is nostalgia a reason to wear them? Probably not, but it's nice to think about.

shirt: American Apparel jeans: A.P.C Raw Denim (husbands) belt: thrift store shoes: Shoe Carnival bracelets: Eygpt and Lebanon Rings: Peru and thrifted in Chicago Necklace: Handmade in Salt Lake City

So give it to me straight: Husband Jeans, a thumbs up or down?

Need to ask the duplex a style question? 
Submit your question to asktheduplex@gmail.com with some photos.

Is red lipstick an accessory?

I guess I am in to repurposing dresses as skirts these days.  When I say repurposing, I don't mean there is any sewing involved- I'm not that talented- I mean, I stuffed the top part of the dress down and zipped it up and put a shirt on.  That is the only repurposing I know how to do.  This dress is actually my bridesmaid dress from Whitney's wedding.

 Don't they say you can always shorten bridesmaid dresses and make them cocktail dresses?  How about lengthening them and making them skirts?

Shirt, Dress, Shoes: TJ Maxx

After repurposing this dress into a skirt, I had a heck of a time accessorizing. I didn't know what would be too much- considering I had some bright red lips, a poofy skirt, poofy hair, and a large flower on my hip.

What accessories would you put with this look? Or would you put any?

Winchester Mystery Belt

Have any of you ever been to the Winchester Mystery House? It is a tourist trap here in Northern California and it is known as "The World's Strangest Home" because there are staircases leading to nowhere and a bunch of other odd architecture decisions. Well, I kind of feel like this mini belt style is like a stairway that leads to nowhere, what's the point? I mean I've bought into it, I'm sporting one below, but I just can't help to think it's kind of silly every time I do it. What are your feelings on the mini belt? Should I just wear the shirt/sweater combo without it?

These pictures were taken off the side of the road in Monterey. Since we were on the side of a highway I felt even more awkward than I normally do. Sorry for the uncomfortable faces, I'll try and be more pleasant next time.

Shirt: TJ MAXX Sweater: Old Navy Jeans: Forever 21 shoes: TJ Maxx belt: Thrift Store

Lessons From Kevin McCallister

For those of you who don't have Home Alone (I and II) quotes memorized as I do, let me refresh your memory of some wise words.

In a conversation with the Bird Lady, Kevin stated the following: "I understand. I had a nice pair of Rollerblades. I was afraid to wreck them, so I kept them in a box. Do you know what happened? I outgrew them. I never wore them outside. Only in my room a few times."

This piece of advice perfectly pertains to this yellow blazer pictured below.  

I know, I know.  It's not the most amazing thing you've ever seen, but for some reason, I LOVE it.  It's actually one of the few items I have purchased at a real department store that wasn't going out of business.

But, like Kevin's skates, this yellow blazer has been under a plastic Dillards garment bag sitting at the back of my closet.

Blazer: Dillards Ruffe top: TJ Maxx Jeans: TJ Maxx Shoes: JcPenney

Other than the fact that I don't want to ruin such a beautiful garment, I think part of the reason it sits at the back of my closet is because I don't know what to wear it with.  

Of course, I always go with my usual.  A ruffle top of some sort, high heels, and a pair of very dark jeans (those are jeans..even if they do look black stretch pants). 

What would you wear this yellow blazer with? 

Please help, I can't make the same mistakes as Kevin did.  

I'd Rather Be Picnic-ing

Is this type of print called gingham checked? When I think of gingham checked I think of an early 90's kitchen with geese and sunflowers stenciled on the walls, but I love a large gingham check or whatever it is. I feel like it looks like a picnic blanket, and who doesn't love a picnic?

So I know this is a fashion blog, but it's also a roommate-y blog, right? Well, this isn't the most flattering picture of me, but you might want to notice my fist. It doesn't look that clenched, but it was! I had a really, really terrible experience that involved an awful human being, a lot of dishonesty, a car, and a possible loss of hundreds of dollars. It all came crashing down a few days ago and I was in ENRAGED, so mad I was sleeping with clenched fists. I was ready for a fist fight. Anyway, getting to the point, I have never been so upset in my entire life and I didn't know how to handle the rage.

Has anything like this happened to any of you, have you ever been so angry you thought you might have an early on-set heart attack? I really think I hit the pinacle of anger, and my normal go-to's like crying or running were not enough. What do you do when you're that mad? I feel like if this ever happens to me again, I need some sort of coping devices.

Maybe next time I'll go on a picnic with a gingham checked shirt, skirt, and picnic blanket. Oh and picnic shirt outfit post coming as soon as I unclench my fist.

Witch wear?

There was a time in my life when I wore all black, from head to toe, every single day.  I am pretty sure this time period lasted approximately 19 months.  Although this was several years ago, it would be safe to say that 72% of my wardrobe is still black.

I almost never get rid of any clothing.  I still own the black pants that I sat on a fruit roll up in freshman year of high school- and I still own the black shoes that got nick-named "Crisco Shoes" for wearing them down so much that I slipped everywhere I went.

The following black skirt is actually a tube- top dress that I have had since my days of, I-Only-Wear-Black.

Shirt: Ross Belt: TJ Maxx Dress/Skirt: TJ Maxx Earrings: Stolen from my mother

But, when I look at it, I can't tell if it is too witch-like.  Can maxi skirts be black?

Christmas in April?

I was recently told that the fabric of my shirt below is called Tartan. I've always called it Christmas plaid.  The picture below is our Christmas card from this year, and I think the shirt looks  festive. I know that you're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day (does anyone follow that?), but can you wear Tartan in April?

I'm looking over Bret's shoulder in this picture because there was  a man walking a cat standing behind him. A cat! For some reason it seems more acceptable to have a child on a leash than it does a cat,  I mean they walk so slow. 

 

I think I decided that the sweater looks better not buttoned. 

shirt: thrift store pants: banana republic sweater: old navy shoes: TJ Maxx

Can I still be wearing this shirt in April? What about mid-summer?

does flowy= pregnant

I am a lot of things.  But, one thing I am definitely NOT- is pregnant.  Every time I put on a flowy top of some sort, I am afraid someone might mistake my attempts at trying to cover up 4 pieces of Papa Murphy's Chicken Bacon Artichoke pizza and three squares of these brownies as attempting to cover up a baby.

So, if you do want to wear a flowy top and you are definitely not pregnant, does a belt make it look less baby bump-ish? Or more baby bump-ish?

Shirt, Belt, Pants, Shoes: TJ Maxx  Rubber band around my wrist: Wal Mart

Too Loud?

I am headed on a little holiday (don't I sound exotic when I say it like that?). When I travel I like to choose one outfit and wear it for 90% of the trip. For example, I backpacked around Asia for a month and wore a tie-dye mumu for 3 straight weeks. Maybe not my best fashion moment, but man I was comfortable. 

So here is where I a roomate would really come in handy, if you were going to Europe for 3 weeks, do you feel like this print might be a little too loud to wear for two of the weeks? Will I look back on the pictures and think, did I go on the trip in the 80's? I really am going to wear it for 18 of the 21 days I am there. Maybe I should bust the mumu out again for this trip.

 

I feel really awkward taking full body shots, it is so much easier to stand in front of a room of girls and ask your fashion questions than it is to stand on the sidewalk and try and look like your husband isn't taking pictures of only you.  

Dress: Thrift Store, originally H&M Shoes: Toms

Spring, literally.

As you may already know, I used to teach elementary school.  I was surrounded by middle-aged women who dressed according to holidays and seasons.  There must be an unwritten teacher rule somewhere that states the following:

In December, you are to wear oversized vests with stockings embroidered and a jingle bell pin.  

In October, you best find something orange and black striped.  

And in April, whip out your best pastel button ups.  

Although I don't have any pastel button ups, I do have floral prints.  

Can I take spring literally and wear a floral print? Or do I look like I am following a teacher unwritten rule?

jacket: target ruffle shirt: TJ Maxx gray shirt: TJ Maxx jeans: Costco