Flowers and pollinators

In one of my recent hauls from Swap.com (you know the drill, click my affiliate link!), I picked up this ostentatious vintage button-front dress. While it could never pass for contemporary, I believed that the insanely cheery colors would help it earn forgiveness for its slightly dated design.

For its first wear, since I was already feeling over-the-top, I figured I might as well go for broke and don my bee-jeweled fuschia slide sandals. Why not? Bees and flowers go together like no other combination!

Tie Dye Trial

 

Since I'm pretty much obsessed with bright colors and hippie fashions, it's kind of a surprise that I'm actually not a fan of tie dye...but I'm not! So how did I come to be wearing a tie-dyed top for my OOTD? Well, that's why I have a blog and not an Instagram: a long story!

Let's start this one somewhere from six to nine months ago, when I was first informed that tie-dye was a trend to watch out for. As with all purported "trends," I don't recall exactly when it started, because initially I felt (being rather unattracted to tie dye, after all) that I'd probably just pass it by. But also as with many trends, after some time, the frequent reporting on it by fashion publications got me to thinking: could I maybe, just maybe, find some room in my life for some tie-dye-dabbling?

The question was answered when I came across this tie-dye T-shirt at the thrift shop a couple weeks ago. At $1.99, it would have been a steal any day, but at 25% off, it was an even better bargain! If I were ever to take the plunge with a trend I wasn't certain of, I couldn't do better than at a price of only $1.50. And as far as tie dye goes, this particular shirt wasn't half bad.

I can't say I'd ever wondered at the reason I'm not into tie-dye, but if I were to do so, I would probably conclude that I don't appreciate the haphazardness inherent to the technique—the blotchy shapes, the murky, bleeding colors, the sometimes-overwhelming garishness of it all. This shirt, however, belied my preconceived notions. Its two analogous colors, purple and blue, were subdued and pale, and interspersed with almost more white space than actual color. If ever there was a tasteful tie dye, this was it!

I bought the shirt.

When I wore it, we had just experienced a heat spell that had put to the test even my capacious tolerance for high temperatures. After a week and a half of highs in the upper 80's to 90's, the heat finally broke with a series of thunderstorms that brought the thermometer down into the lower 70's.

This first cold day coincided with the first day of the annual Drupal GovCon conference, which worked in my favor, since I usually struggle to find outfits that accommodate both the excessively warm outdoor temperatures of summer in DC, and the (usually) excessively cold temperatures of a conference center. With it being chilly outside as well as in, it was much easier for me to pick an outfit!

I went with darker purple pants to reflect the purple in the top, and some similarly hued ballet flats (which turned out much redder in the picture!). Simple!  So simple it almost makes me wonder why I was so afraid of tie dye to begin with! Do I see another fashion obsession coming my way?

Nah, I think one trial run was enough for me.

A Third-of-July Tradition

Let us not go into how I became the proud owner of a brand-new-with-tags pair of men's medium gym shorts, but let us instead discuss why the heck I'm wearing them!

I could have just sold them, but I tried them on on a whim, and they ended up bearing a more-than-passing resemblance to a skirt (this is, incidentally, pretty much the exact length and cut I originally associated with the word "culottes"). So I decided to keep them and see what kind of subversively feminine uses I could put these men's shorts to.

For example, maybe I'd take another stab at wearing shorts at the office! The first and last time I approached this final frontier of workplace fashion was a few years ago when I was stuck at the office on the day before Independence Day, so I felt it was appropriate to save my second attempt for the same date.

As before, my July third ensemble is nothing to write home about—just grey shorts, a black sleeveless top, and some black sandals—but that's kind of the point. When taking a fashion risk (shorts at work—so bold!), you might not want to call too much attention to it. At least I wore red earrings for a tiny touch of patriotism.