How to Travel Light and Get Many Different Outfit Looks

Double duty (or even triple duty) items are the key to packing light when traveling.  You don't have the luxury of bringing your entire closet on the trip with you, so you should plan you're looks so that you can get the most variety of use out of each piece you bring.  Stick to a complimentary color palette.  I'm not saying to simply go neutral because that's just boring, but make sure all of the pieces are in the same color palette so that when mixed and worn together they won't clash.  Mixing and matching different pieces is the key to packing less but looking unique everyday of your trip (even if it's a long trip).

Leggings:

• wear under shorts, skirts, or a dress
• wear as bottoms
• wear as work out gear
• wear as pjs or on lazy days

Pics from Pretty Vintage, Posh 24, and Chictopia.

Dress:

• an easy 1 piece outfit
• wear a top over it and the bottom can show as a skirt
• tuck it into a bottom and it can show as a top
• wear a top or leggings under it for a different look

Pics from Sydne Style, and Hello Hue blogs.

 

Tank/Tees:

• wear as a top
• as a layer of an outfit (under or over another piece)
• wear as workout gear
• wear as pjs

Pics from blogs Pride and Pearls, Rachel the Hat, and Daily Sugar.

Sarong (large sheer wrap):

• wear over swim suit
• wear as a skirt
• wear as a top
• wear as a vest
• wear as a dress
• also can be a scarf, to liven up a plain top

Picture from Your Next Scarf blog. Google for more ways to wear a sarong, there are tons!

Honorable mentions: 

• Skirts can be worn at least 2  ways; as a skirt, or as a top.  If the skirt is mid length it will be a cute tunic to wear with leggings.  If the skirt is a maxi it can turn into a dress which will give you some of the additional dress options above.  Don't be afraid to belt the waist if you need to add shape to a skirt that you're wearing as a top.  Great example is in the picture below from the Tanvii blog.

 

• Oversized Tees can be made into a variety of looks for a top.  Wear it long and untucked as a tunic, or tucked into bottoms.  Tie a knot in the front, back, or side to change the look and make the oversized tee more fitted.  Roll up the sleeves for a muscle tank type of look.  Maybe near the end of the trip you may want to change the tee completely and take scissors to it.  Do a quick (and permanent) restyle using one of the tutorials found all over the internet and youtube.  My suggestion (because it's the easiest) is to simply change the neckline.  Check out the pics below from Violet Street blog and Teen to 30 Stuck in Between, as well as their links for even more ways to style an oversized tee.

   

*Accessories are your friend. They're small additions to luggage but make big impacts on outfits!

As for shoes, I'd stick to one of each type (flat, sandal, flipflop, dress, gym).  If you want to bring more than one, the best space saver is a flat (open or closed toe) since they are...flat, thus take up less space.  Also, master the art of packing around shoes.  Stuff things inside the shoe as well as around heels.  Theres a helpful post about picking necessary shoes on Suitcase Secrets where I found this nice pic.

 

Any ideas I didn't cover?  Happy travels!

Men's Cardigan and Leopard Sneaker Wedge from Forever 21, and Ailee #ootd #sotd

For this outfit of the day the main pieces are from forever 21 winter clearance (oh yes, end of season clearances)!  The burgundy fair isle cardigan sweater is from the men's section.  They actually had a lot of cute, thick, cardigans for me to choose from.  I love them because they are warm and cozy.  And girls can wear it just as good as a guy *snaps* if not better.  I was lucky that forever 21 still had these cute unique sneaker wedges in my size.  Underneath the cardi I'm wearing an old summer sleeveless collared shirt, and twill leggings which thanks to these photos I can see aren't very legging like at all.  The leggings will have to be retired and used for parts since they are clearly baggy on me.  But besides that, I think this outfit was cute, and very snuggly.

My hair was pulled back by a leopard scarf that I bought super cheap off eBay.

Now for an up close at the shoes.  These sneaker wedges are the coolest find ever!  Burgundy leopard (or cheetah) print realness!

What do you think?  Anyone else love men's cardigans as much as I do?

This outfit is making me crave some Ailee (I'm actually listening to her now).  She is a Korean American kpop singer who some call the Korean Beyonce, I personally think she's more like the Korean Christina Aguilara though.  Her song U & I is fun and sassy and goes well with this outfit, and I just noticed that her hair even matches it (it's burgundy).  Give it a listen.    

Any Ailee lovers?

10 Cute Everyday Earring Picks Under $20

So, I'm often rushing to get ready in the mornings and don't always have time to think much about accessorizing.  Particularly when it comes to earrings, because I have 6 holes per ear.  Finding 2 matching earrings is hard enough, but try coordinating 12 earrings!  So, usually if I'm in a rush, 10 piercings get neglected and I just look for 1 pair to wear.

Me being a lover of all things different, I have tons of earrings, but most of them are so unique that they don't match everything.  Therefore they require planning, and so are NOT quick "go to" earrings.  So I wanted to find some cute unique types of earrings that can be "go to" earrings.  Something other than your simple diamond stud, gold ball, or basic hoop earring.  For days when you want to accessorize, but don't have time to think about if  they match your outfit or the other earrings in your ear.  

Cute floral type hoops, La Preciosa Stainless Steel, from Overstock, $11.89.

Blue swirl glass drop earring from Kohls, $8.  This color should go with everything because it's a neutral kind of tone, like blue jeans.

Or wear all of the colors together like with this glass cluster drop earring, $10 from Kohls.  One of the colors is bound to match whatever you are wearing that day.

Polka Dot Gold and Black button Half A Nice Day earrings from ModCloth, $12.99

Disney Princess sterling silver studs, $18 from Walmart.

Super cute Rose gold over stainless steel bow post earrings from Overstock, $16.99.



Awesome front and back pave crystal ball earrings, $7.50 from Claires.

18k gold plated pink heart earrings, $19.99 from The Sterling Star.

Cool Locket and Key Stud Earrings from Modcloth, $9.99.

Is this bouquet not just the cutest?  I might have to buy these myself.  They are brass earrings from the seller Just Earrings on Etsy, and are $14 with free shipping!  The good thing about buying from DIYers is that you can often email them and have them make you an item in a specific color or style of your choice (hurray for non mass production).

I think that all of these earrings will look good no matter if you are dressing up or down, wearing bright colors or neutrals.  They are all cuter than your basic earring, yet aren't "loud" or huge to the point that they'd look out of place if you were just wearing jeans and a Tee.

What earrings do you think are uniquely cute and can be worn with any outfit?  If you already have some tweet me a picture 

@doriscclay

Spring 2014 Fashion Trends under $30

Spring is here and as usual, there are some new trends for this 2014 season.  I have a few favorite trends that I am excited to see more of this spring, but I'm on a budget.  So I thought I'd share some of my favorite on trend pieces that I've found for under $30.

Tea Length and Midi Skirts

 

Black Faux Leather Pleated Midi Skirt $29.90 from Windsor

 

Back Bow Pencil Skirt $24.90 from Windsor 

Shift Tops

Paloma Boxy Top in Checked Dogtooth at Missguided Us for $26.98

Blouson, $20 at Mango

 

Ruffle Blouse $29.95 from H&M 

Wide Leg and Palazzo Pants

 

 Life in Progress Wide Leg Jeans from Forever 21, $24.80

 

Aztec Girl Palazzo Pants from Go Jane, $27

Metallics

 

SO Perforated Metallic Ballet Flats, currently on sale for $17.99 at Kohls. 

The 90s

My golden childhood years' fashion is back in trend...

Cooperative Heeled Jelly Sandal for $20 at Urban Outfitters 

I totally remember wearing jellys in the '90s.

Mudd Studded High Waist Denim Shortie Shorts from Kohls, on sale for $19.99

Or as we used to call them, daisy dukes.  "Come on baby, get those daisys!  Look at those girls with the daisy dukes on, I want ya too..."

Who remembers this song?  What an amazing hot mess!

Spotted; Cute St. Patrick's Day Outfits, #ootd from Twitter Fashionistas

Happy Leprechaun day!  I've always loved St. Patrick's Day since I was a kid because of the obvious reason, Leprechaun movie marathons on TV!  Who's with me?  No one?  Is it just my family who were the weird horror fanatics who got joy out of every occasion that meant an increase in scary movie showings (Halloween, scary movies all month! Friday the 13th, lucky movie night!). 

Anywho, St. Patty's Day is also a day for people to bust out their best green outfits to become the most fashionable leprechaun possible.  I'm pretty sure that is what's written in the history books.  So, I thought I'd highlight some of the cutest #ootd (outfits of the days) that I found on twitter.

@SondraMartina

@TheRebeccaCoco

@WebGirlKathleen

 

@She_saidHe_said

 

@deekottawa

@dreamboatlucy

 

@labelsforlunch

@BellaJoviality

 

@deepsouthpout

 

Have a fashionable St. Patrick's Day!