Yellow & Black for Grown-Ups

For me, personal style is a form of memory making, of partially defining an event or day by the clothes on my back. I suppose that makes this blog a kind of scrapbook. Even when I'm feeling a little discontent or unproductive, putting together a thoughtful outfit makes me feel more in control and reminds me of one thing I have managed: to piece together a decent wardrobe over the years. Since I rarely wear the same exact thing twice, each outfit becomes a big part of the memories made in a day. Not everyone can lead an exciting, action-packed life, but having an action-packed closet (and blog!) full of memories is much more my speed.

For example, I remember the events of the day when I bought this sweater. My best friend and boyfriend and I were walking downtown after enjoying lunch, and I spotted the neon number on the sale rack. I loved the electric color and the giant ampersand symbol appealed to my giant inner nerd. Plus, it was actually made of wool and angora, which is a nice find for thirteen bucks at Forever 21! The afternoon was a pleasant treat, and so was the soft sweater. I styled it for a lunch date the following day because I couldn't wait to wear it.  

Springtime in Santa Cruz makes for interesting moments in front of the closet, what with the warm sun, cold shade, damp fog, and high winds that all like to hang out in the same area. I knew I wanted to wear black, even though black and yellow color schemes usually remind me of bee girl in that Blind Melon video. I kept the bottom half solid black, avoided stripes and made the graphic sweater the point of interest. I think this waves away any hints of buzzing cartoon bees. I wore classic round-toe heels and cat-eye sunglasses to dress up the outfit. The heels were mainly a cheat since I spent most of the time sitting down, enjoying Thai iced tea and catching up with my mom. Another lovely memory made.

forever 21 sweater, in-store sale / cheap monday tuxedo stripe jeans, handed down & cropped / payless pumps (old, similar)

marc by marc jacobs clearly crossbody purse / flea market sunglasses (old, similar)