Quite honestly I think that: maxi dresses, giant floppy hats and beach vacations go hand in hand. Thus when I was on my vacation I knew that I had to wear this outfit at least once!
I got this beautiful navy maxi dress from Zara when they were having their summer sale and I was instantly drawn to the intricate bead detailing on the front. I love the colours used, white and turquoise being some of my fav's. This outfit was so breezy and perfect for a dinner by the beach after a day spent in the sun (please note my heinous and blotchy sun burn... pale people problems?!?! LOL). The long train blowing in the wind and walking barefoot in the sand was probably one of my favourite things!
I let the beauty of the dress speak for itself and toned it down on the jewelry, keeping it to just a few rings and a hat.
So all of the summer sales are happening right now so of course I had a browse around the shops and of course I made a sneaky little online purchase. Zara is having their "everything is $39.99" sale and some things I'd been lusting after went on super sale so I had to snatch them up before they were gone forever. I finally got my hands on this amazing floral velvet fringe kimono. This thing totally screams summer of love and I feel like I'm letting my inner Janis out or like I should be a fortune teller, enclosed in a booth at one of those traveling fairs. All I need is a crystal ball so I can gaze into the future or a tarot deck to read your cards. I love the way the fringe sways in the wind as I walk and when I raise my hands to the heavens it feels like a total sleeve party.
To let the kimono do the talking I decided to keep the rest of the outfit pretty simple, a black slouchy tee messy tucked into some high-waisted denim cut offs. Some rings piled high, oversized sunnies and my signature black ankle boots and I'm good to go. Also, this necklace, making its appearance on the blog yet again... I'm sure it's total overkill at this point and everyone (in real life) is probably sick of me wearing it but I love it! I find it's the piece I always gravitate toward when I have to make an outfit sing and give it its own little musical soundtrack accompaniment, it's totally perfect! I can't promise you won't ever see it again, only that you'll probably see it more.
Now let's throw it back to 2009 when I was first discovering music of the "indie" variety. I stumbled across this little band called Neon Indian. Not going to lie, what struck me at first was the name of the band, (super cool right?) and it instantly painted this image in my head, one filled with bright colours and that was all cool. Then I found the album Psychic Chasms. It's filled with electronic beats and vivid abstract colours, as the album artwork would suggest, making this album feel like a total trip (and not to make mention to songs entitled, "Should Have Taken Acid With You" and "Laughing Gas" haha). I recently started listening to it again and I fell re-in-love with it. Apparently they're set to release a new album this year with the dropping of their single, "Annie" so I'm excited to hear what that album has in store. But if I had to say, I feel as if this is Neon Indian at its finest, in all its messy experimental psychedelic glory.
The weather's been making a turn for the best over the last week! The snow's starting to melt and I'm beginning to see little patches of grass peeking through. All signs lead to... SPRING. I decided to welcome spring with one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe, this long and flowy crochet kimono. It reminds me heavily of festival season, which is right around the corner. This kimono just makes me want to dance to records all day or dance at a festival with the band performing.
For some added spring vibes I paired it with this floral top from Zara. The overall pattern and colours peeking through the crochet make it look so pretty. And I brought out the coloured denim. Royal blue to tie it all together.
A leather jacket adds instant edge to any outfit. When I walk down the street wearing one the opening riff from the Arctic Monkey's song Do I Wanna Know? plays on repeat. Instant badass. I paired it with this shirt, that because of my short stature has now been worn as a dress from Urban Outfitters.
This dress has the prettiest embellishments along the collar and the ends of the sleeves and is what drew me to it in the first place. It's so ornate and beautiful, making it eye-catching and not to mention weighing a ton. As if the embellishments weren't enough I went ahead and paired it with two necklaces from Brandy Melville, both in gold to accent the collar. I went for my trusty Rimmel 107 Lipstick from the Kate Moss collection. It's definitely a statement lip, like my usual red, but this shade just adds a little something more to the outfit.
This outfit gives me definite Arctic Monkey's circa AM vibes (Hence, Do I Wanna Know?). Brought back memories of the summer when I saw them twice. Once at a festival and then another when they came to Toronto. Each time they did not disappoint. They're one of those bands whose on-stage presence makes you yearn for more. I can't wait to see them again and again (and not to mention, Alex Turner's iconic leather jacket).
