American girl

We did not have big plans for the 4th of July this year; hence, I did not plan my outfit until the day of. Fortunately, over the past year, I'd acquired a number of new clothes and accessories that perfectly formed a cohesive collection.

• Late summer, 2016: I found these blue denim shorts with a white star print at Rugged Wearhouse. I wore them a couple times already (I think?), but since I can't actually remember when that might have been, they still felt fun and new when I finally donned them for the occasion they seemed just made for!
• Early fall, 2016: I don't often shop at Marshall's, but I think I was there looking for some kind of housewares for my Airbnb. Of course I can never shop for necessities without also shopping for accessories, and I found a pair of magnificent cat-eye sunglasses with an American flag motif. I snatched them up and waited almost a whole year to wear them for the 4th of July!
• December, 2016: While my boyfriend was desperately seeking warm-weather clothes for a surprise hot spell when we visited my brother in Texas, I found a white sleeveless blouse with a lace mesh top for 5 dollars in a thrift store. This is my first time wearing it. Over the past 2 years, I've tried this style a number of times (I wore a similar blouse for Independence Day last year but hated the fit. I got an off-white one this year too, but I only got to wear it once before the lace overlay snagged in a million places and became hopelessly deformed), but this top is my favorite of the bunch! I won't hate this one, ever! I know it!
• May, 2017: I'm not much of a sneakers girl, but my boyfriend (who, being obsessed with working out, is naturally a sneakers guy) persuaded me to get some American flag sneakers when we were at the Reebok outlet in Orlando. They didn't have the style in his size, so I guess he wanted to live vicariously through me. Though I'm still not a sneakers girl, I guess if you have to wear sneakers, at least they can be ridiculously patriotic!
• July, 2017: The day before the 4th of July (that was the 3rd of July, if my math is correct) my clothes-donating friends visited my house with a couple bags of goodies for me. I was absolutely delighted when I found an oversized red handbag in the collection! What a perfect addition to an Independence Day outfit! I jazzed it up with a blue ribbon around the strap, and used it to carry my picnic to the fireworks display.

I would probably wear any of these items by themselves any day (except maybe the sunglasses—those seem like they're made to be saved for a special occasion), and most of them are new and trendy. So wearing this outfit, I felt like a more patriotic version of my best self. Patriotic, but not over the top. Not that there's anything wrong with being over the top—it is frequently my look of choice!—but for a low-key last-minute celebration, I felt like looking classy was the best choice.

In the interest of looking classy—and since I had some extra time to get ready, I curled my hair (but it was apparently not enough time for the curls to fully dry, so they didn't stick around long!), put on my second-reddest lipstick, and my bluest eyeliner. At the last minute, I added glitter to the eyeliner, because what's the fourth of July without a little sparkle? Of course, that effort was completely wasted, because I spent the entirety of the sunlit hours hiding my eyes behind my snazzy reflective sunglasses.