Tank: Steven Alan; Pants: H&M (similar save); Shoes: Steve Madden; Bracelet: Stella and Dot
I spend a lot of my day looking at blogs (and the Instagram accounts that come along with those blogs). Looking at bloggers with Celine handbags and Valentino rockstud heels in not one, but two colors. Ladies that travel to every corner of the tropical earth and through all of Europe, sipping and smiling their way through Switzerland and Cabo and swinging their Prada purses through the South of France. It can be disheartening to read their posts while sitting at my desk at work, wearing two year old slacks, eating my packed lunch from home and thinking it's probably time for another coat of nail polish.
Elizabeth, at the lovely (and local) blog Delightfully-Tacky wrote this article on the idea of other bloggers' "perfect" lives. I won't re-write her post, nor will I summarize it, but it speaks to the very issues represented in the paragraph above and I'd definitely recommend giving it a read.
I felt a bit of reprieve from that envy today when I came home and received my package from Steven Alan. I snagged this pretty dip-dyed blouse on sample sale and cannot be more thrilled with the purchase. It's a bright, colorful item that's entirely out of my comfort zone and an absolutely perfect addition to my closet. I feel like I'm wearing a tulip in it and like I could join those stylish bloggers on the beaches of wherever they are, sipping a drink with an orchid in it, instagramming my shoes. I think it's important to recognize that though things can seem perfect on the other side of that quiet lens, we're all going through separate fears, struggles, and trials, and we each need to slip on a blouse (or skirt, or pair of shoes, or new shade of lipstick) that makes us feel ultimately fabulous, if only for a second.
(I'm sure you all know Google Reader is saying goodbye. If you'd like to stay in touch, follow me on Bloglovin here. Linking up with Summer Style, Friday's Five , Favorite Fashion Friday here.)