Mal of America

1: J.Crew Factory top, J.Crew Minnie pants, Crown Vintage loafers 2: J.Crew Factory top, Forever 21 jeans, Gap polka dotted flats (similar)
Look 1: worn to my new internship orientation; the bright red adds some much-needed interest.

Look 2: quickly changed pants and shoes afterwards and went out with a friend. I ended up cuffing the jeans as well, but that didn't make it into the pictures.

Essentially the same, but with some crucial differences.

polka dotted dress: J.Crew scattered dot (similar here or here), belt: vintage, wedges: J.Crew polka dotted iPhone case: Kate Spade

Finally, the end of the semester is here! Between that and the nice weather that's finally shown up, I'm in a fantastic mood.

Here's a cheery outfit that I wore on my last day interning last week. I couldn't resist this dress at J.Crew - I'm powerless against polka dots! To add a little bit of shape, I threw on my favorite pink belt, stolen from my mother's old collection. Coincidentally my iPhone matched perfectly - polka dots with a pink edge. Maybe I should start coordinating my phone with all of my outfits?

shirt: thrifted boy's button down, jeans: Forever 21, loafers: stolen from mom

Don't be fooled - I'm only pretending to jump for joy. In reality, I'm so stressed I can hardly function. It's the last full week of the semester, so I've got projects and tests galore! I'm still waiting to hear back from interviews that will determine my summer plans, too. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about everything, but I've been feeling generally crappy for the past week or so.

That's why I've decided to do a cleanse - only fruits, vegetables, nuts and lots of water for three days. I haven't done a cleanse since sophomore year of high school, and it's not really my thing, but I just want to force myself to eat more fruits and veggies for a bit just to reset. I've been eating a lot of junk lately and not so many fruits and veggies, so I'm hoping that this will help me get back into my old healthy eating habits. In high school I was super healthy, but since I've been stuck eating caf food for two years, I haven't been getting good nutrition at all. Bleck. I feel especially terrible about it since I consider myself a health/nutrition junkie! So cleanse it is.

Today was easy - smoothie, almonds, salad (olive oil dressing), peanut butter. I didn't feel hungry or tired at all, compared to my recent state of always feeling hungry. I'll let you know how the rest of the cleanse goes.

dress: Forever 21, tank top: Gap, belt: Forever 21, loafers: Crown Vintage, necklace: inherited

I was a little nervous about wearing this dress to my internship because it is super sheer. But I wore a black tank top underneath and the bottom half has a slip already, so that really cut down on the sheer factor. My boss complimented me on it, so she must have thought it was okay!

The easiest way to make a basic outfit look polished is with the little details. This dress has gold buttons down the front, so I went for a belt with gold on the sides and my favorite gold heart necklace. Very small additions that make a huge difference to the overall effect of the look. I wish I'd had the time to put on a bit of lipstick, too.

top: Target, skirt: vintage via Local Honey, loafers: Crown Vintage, cardigan: Gap

A simple black and white look for a very full day of classes and a few hours studying at the coffeeshop. April is absolutely the busiest month in the semester. There's projects and tests in every class, plus applications for programs, jobs and internships. An outfit that's cute but easy to throw together is one of my remedies for stress. Whatever outfit screams "you" - that's what you should wear on a stressful day. For me, it's often a monochromatic look since that's what I'm used to and there's no need to worry about clashing colors. And of course, even if you're so busy you don't have time for makeup, just wearing that underwear you really like is bound to make your day more bearable.