One Shoulder Cotton Dress: Nordstrom B.P. (sadly sold out! Similar one here for under $50) |Sandals: J.Crew
Navy and white pin striped ruffle one shoulder top: Nordstrom | Jeans: Madewell | Heels: Manolo Blahnik
Off the shoulder tops and dresses have been going strong for a few seasons now, so it’s only fitting that now one shoulder pieces are hitting the streets…after all, how many iterations of a shirt are there really!? Anyway, I’m digging these asymmetrical pieces; they offer a fun way to show some skin in a fresh way. The first look is based around an easy-peasy cotton dress in a dusty rose, worn to lunch and shopping with my sis and Nolan…dresses like these take me right through summer and can we worn to a variety of events.
I wore the second look for my birthday dinner (34!), out to dinner with Tim. I like how the masculinity of the navy and white pinstripes play down the girliness of the ruffle…and even though the top is navy, I paired it with black ripped skinnies to give the look a little more edge (since I was wearing it with “grown up” heels– have to give the sneaks and loafers a break every now and then!).
Just a few thoughts on birthdays– growing up, my family never really made a big deal out of them; I can remember only having maybe 2 or 3 actual birthday parties as a kid…my mom worked full time while raising us, and really didn’t believe in “going overboard” (lol) for celebrating things that one didn’t really “earn” …which I (kind of) get. Now that I have Nolan, I also try not to “spoil” him– we did throw him a first birthday party (which was def more for us, celebrating the fact that we survived the first year of parenthood…also we just wanted to have friends over and bbq, if we’re truth-telling here)…I’ve been to some lavish kids parties where you kind of can’t help but roll your eyes…the problem is, if you’re having “my super-sweet-16-mtv-style” parties as a toddler, the bar for expectations gets raised every year…so I’m thinking let’s try and find some middle ground in terms of birthday parties for Nolan.
As an adult, I think birthdays are still worth celebrating. Once you’re an official grown up, the redundant and arduous tasks of maintaining every day life can result in a serious case of the blahs– so ya know what? I think its kind of cool and maybe even necessary to do something a little extra special for your birthday– if you don’t take the time out to purposely have fun on your “special day”, then when will you, right? When you’re a kid, you’re surrounded by “fun”, with toys and games and treats almost on a daily basis, — so as adults, maybe birthdays should be about the same!
<3,
Christine
thelittlegoldmix 