In a "Private School" Bind

So fall has officially begun and I'm in a pickle. I've always been to private school and so we had uniforms. I haven't had to have a real, functionally fall wardrobe for my entire life. I'm extremely unsure about what to buy for fall. There are a few things that I'd like to buy:

1. Shirt dress (my #1):

Vineyard Vines:

or Lilly:

2. I know I'm going to need khakis. I have them from American Eagle that I wore to school last year but I desperately need to let the hem down. That won't fly in college.

3. Corduroy skirts. I have a pink vineyard vines one, but I'd like one in khaki and navy blue (or maybe black?). Polo + Cable Knit + tights = fall outfit. I'd love to wear that!

3. Sweaters. I have several cable knits and Lillys but I always feel like I could use more. I need a black cable knit and I've seen 2 from forever21 with adorable bows that I covet. One's like camel colored, LOVE IT!

4. Trench coat. There's a traditional one from Old Navy that I LOVE. I have a grey wool pea coat, a bright pink car coat, and a cream Lilly quilted jacket so I have those bases covered. For the really cold days, I have a black North Face fleece (like the rest of the world's population of college students) and a pink parka that I can zip it into.

6. Jeans. I don't need more jeans. I have 3 pairs alone here with me. I may throw in my 4th pair that are super worn out (from wear, not by design) as junky ones.

7. Comfortable flats. I have a few pairs of flats that I love but Nordstroms has 3 pairs that I really want, but obviously won't actually buy all of them (if any, because then again I am a cheap college student):

These are my favorite of the 3. Pearls on flats? It can't get much better!

I've wanted Tory Burch Revas for awhile, but at their price tag, I may have to wait until Christmas or when I start working again over break.

Adorable, fabulous with jeans! Love the patent leather!

8. Boots. I've narrowed it down to 2 pairs from piperlime. These are one of the only purchases I know I'm going to buy. I think its necessary to have a pair of boots to go under jeans, or with jeans tucked in that AREN'T Uggs:

These are the front runners. I love them!

These are my other choice. They're darker brown, but I love the croc at the top!

I need fall shopping help desperately. If there is something that I didn't list please let me know! In SC, it gets just about as cold as it does in MD/PA it just takes longer to get that cold. I really appreciate any input!!

xxKatie

PS. THIS IS POST #100! Who knew a school assignment would go this far!

Summer Lilly!

Today with the last of my "spending" graduation money (that I am now not allowed to touch!) I treated myself to 2 Lilly Summer dresses that I can take to sunny South Carolina. One is the patchy Jubilee dress with the cool back, and I'm totally excited! I can't wait to wear this one out and about!

The other dress I got was the throwback-ish shift in a totally Lilly pink and green print that I love. It is more casual than the Jubilee dress, and there are even white bows along the front!
It it super cute and long enough for my tallness too! I am so excited about both of these purchases and I'm sure it helped for business for the Store on a rainy, gloomy day! And to make the purchase even sweeter, I had a $10 store credit!!! I am so pumped and I can't wait to rock these at work and around!

Happy Summer Lilly Shopping!

xxKatie

Summer 2009: What I Want

So I worked both days this weekend unloading about 7 boxes of summer shipments. The stuff is WONDERFUL! As Summer LP goes, you will NOT be disappointed. I tried a few things on and this dress is definitely my favorite: It is the Monterey Shift Classic White Buenavista. If you can't see, there are 2 thick lines of lace/rick-rack/piping running down the sides. Plus there are pockets (albeit shallow) but who doesn't love a dress with pockets. I have a feeling that post prom/graduation/etc. this will be my first major summer purchase. It runs about $258. Part of LP Summer '09 is that they tried to lower the prices. I think some of the fiasco Jubilee dresses were WAY too much, and LP corporate learned a little lesson. Some stuff is still pricey though.

This is another dress that I came upon in online shopping. Now I haven't seen it in person, but I adore it online. It has a great patchwork print that I am SO happy Lilly is bringing back. It has a line of the lace/rick-rack down the front, just like a dress from late summer/fall 2008 of last year!This is the Charity Shift Patch in Multi Hollywood Squares Patch. This print combines all/some of the celebrity designs, which is too fun! I just love the brightness that this dress has, I can't wait to see it in person! This runs at $328 (yikes!) probably since its the more "famous" of the designs.

One of the items that I unpacked a bunch of were some great printed halters. They are going to be fabu for summer and the really hot days while still looking super cute. They come in the Mommy-and-Me set as well. I unpacked the Minnies stuff also, and LP brought back the size 14. Some of you very small women are going to be so unbelievably lucky! With a great pair of white pants or white skirt, you're set! They have an adjustable neck and the prints really make the white pop. I have a feeling they're going to be very flattering on most people and really look good for a lot of scenarios! This halter is the Hillview Halter Lace in Daiquiri Pink Beverly Hills Bubbly (what a name that is...)!!

The last thing that I think I want to get, at least before I go to school, is a really nice pair of Lilly aviators. I've tried on a few pairs in the store (or every pair of sunglasses in the store) and I really like the fit, and where they sit on my face. I've also been trying to track down the Kate Spade pair that Reese Witherspoon was photographed wearing but I never seemed to find them. They had a pink bar across the top, where the sunglass frames like connect, but not like the bar over the bridge of the nose. There is a very cute pair from Lilly that's kinda like the KS ones, but have a very cute side part where they go over your ear: I am totally obsessed! I think they would be generally functional with most of the clothing in my wardrobe considering the pink matches everything I own. These are the Paley Sunglasses in Tortoise/Gold. I love them!

Happy Summer Browsing! I told you Summer 2009 was great!!

xxKatie

A Taste of Pink!

If pink had a flavor it would taste just like Cotton Candy Jelly Belly jelly beans. This flavor is the epitome of pink for me! They are sold in bulk at some specialty stores and gourmet stores. There's an old general store that sells them close to me as well as a Fresh Market that just opened up (I'll have to make another post about that because it is a FAB grocery store...note to self.)

In real life, the color is a bit more refreshing looking and has a cuter shade of pink. For all you cotton candy skeptics out there, my mom and the ladies that I work with have all had this flavor and they love it! It doesn't taste like cotton candy really and it just tastes truly like PINK! It has such a bright and cheerful flavor you can't help but grab a handful and snack away. Are there any snacks for you that are very pink (or any other fabulous color for that matter)??

Now that I'm writing about these JB's, I think I'll have to go get myself some for Easter and to take back to school with me! I'm at home and I am so so so excited to sleep in my own Queen bed. Right before I came home I almost didn't because I have so much work but then a few of my tests got postponed or moved, so I could come home! I am very happy I decided to so I can see my best friend Emily and I haven't seen her since Christmas break! Not to mention I love relaxing with my family and just being in my house. I have my Easter dress all picked out for Sunday and it is a very bright pink shift with little pea-sized kelly green polka dots. I got it from Hecht's (do they even exist???) like a million years ago and I love it. I have some great green jewelry that matches perfectly and it will all be very cute on Sunday.

I hope everyone has wonderful weekends and now go get some deeeeeeee-lish Cotton Candy Jelly Belly jelly beans, trust me, you WILL want more!!

xxKatie

Lilly and Lemonade Party!

I told you guys awhile back that I was a Collegiate Representative for Lifeguard Press, which is the line of stationary that does all the designing for Lilly Pulitzer stationary. Yesterday, I hosted my very first Lilly and Lemonade Party for the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega, who were so nice to host me! One of their sisters, Leigh, was just diagnosed with cancer, so this was part of their major fundraiser/philanthropy for this year all in honor of her!! We had so many orders come in, so check out what the spread looked like:

These were some of the fabulous items that Lifeguard Press  makes for Lilly! Check out all of the great spring prints!!

Here is the spread of snacks that we had for all of the girls to eat while they browsed samples and looked at the catalogs!

There were tons of sisters who came to see what I had and to help out a fellow sister! They were so friendly and hospitable and I would love to work with them again in a heartbeat!

I wore the Worth Shift and white Jack Rogers to the Lilly and Lemonade party to match the front cover of the catalogs!! It was such a great dress and I absolutely ADORE the print! Here's my polyvore outfit set:

                
March 26 by letsbepreppy featuring Jack Rogers sandals

All in all it was a great day and I had so much fun working with all the Alpha Chi's! They were so nice to me, as well as having a beautiful house! I also saw some Delta Zeta's, Gamma Phi's, KD's, and even more! It was a really fun day in the Greek Village and I can't wait to schedule some more events with other sororities!! 

xxKatie

Shall We Go Dancing?

So prom 2008 is rounding the corner, and only a select few are currently feeling that crunch: PROM COMMITTEE (so thank them at your school, they're putting a lot of work into it...sometimes). I personally, am on my school's PC to plan, organize, conceptualize, and throw Prom 2008. We've decided on a theme, a date, and a location (2 of which are secret but people probably know...) and all we need are gifts, decorations, food, money, tickets, aka EVERYTHING else. But what's a preppy girl to do in this season of shoes and hairdo's and dresses and tresses?! Well, my solution happens to lie in the preppy queen herself, Lilly Pulitzer (as usual!) and I am most excited!

My dress is actually part of the Resort 2007 line, but I've been looking at the dress (of my dreams) (secretly) since about August. Its pink and green and the title of the print is something about being Loopy. I love love love it! It supposed to be floor length, but because of my excessive height and needing a smaller size, it actually isn't. It has a babydoll neck with a gold ring with pink and green rhinestones inlaid in it! It is called the "Jillie Dress" and it is going to be perfect for me and my prom. Here it is:

I am planning on wearing flat sandals that happen to be the same color as the ring on the dress(Platinum Jacks) so that I don't tower over everyone else (and I already own them, which means I can focus those dollars on another area of my prom budget). I can't wait to wear this dress and hopefully no one else is wearing it either (actually, to prevent this, I started a school dress registry, copying some other area schools after seeing how popular and how well it was working, online!)

"But are there any other options??" you ask. Well, of course. There are multi-millions of options out there. Some may not be as preppy, but if you rock the same pink and green color scheme, you will most definitely get the point across. The "Chellis Chiffon Dress" by Lilly is a floor length dress (that my boss wanted me to get) that can most definitely be dressed up or rocked the way it is. It comes in Fishalicious (in Chiffon) or Ok Coral (in Cotton Lurex). It is very cute, but has a very deep V-neck which made me feel a little uncomfortable. (Additionally, I would advise all girls not to go strapless. I heard a horror story from the girl who sits next to me in my math class that last year, she stepped on the front of her dress, tugging it a little, and ended up FLASHING our principal. OUCH! Don't let that wardrobe malfunction happen to you, don't go strapless!) Anywho, there are other (non strapless) Lilly options that shouldn't be too difficult to locate.

**Here's a tip: to check if an item is still on the market/available/in your size, always check inthepinkonline.com they have a huge selection of Lilly clothing and are a signature store which means upwards of 80% of their stuff is solely Lilly.

Continuing, options for those who want to stay in the Lilly genre include the Amber Dress (Chiffon), the Angelette Dress (Cotton Lurex, Chiffon) and the Jackie Dress (Silk Oxford). Their respective lengths are long, short, long, and the come in great colors (really you have your pinks, greens, blues, and yellows covered in these babies!).

But what if I want to be preppy, but not Lilly, per se? Well, there are still options. A big trend in this year's prom is "Ombre". Ombre is a type of coloring where a solid color flows into another color. At Bloomingdale's there is a specific dress that I am thinking of: it has the Ombre style and fades from green to pink, it is pretty extreme, but if you like it, I'd say totally go for it! Its a cool, different dress that many people won't have the guts to wear. http://www1.bloomingdales.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=107632&CategoryID=8493&PageID=8490*1*24*-1*-1*Y*38 it does have a pricey tag, but it is prom! (And I know, for any moms out there it is so not worth is and "we always buld it up to be so great and then it stinks"). That's a cool option, either way. Another emerging trend for '08 is short dresses. They are really making it to the forefront advertising comfort, ease of movement, and a canvas to accessorize! Now, with a less-traditional short dress, you can go in a gazillion directions! The dresses range from plain green, to wow-za! zebra, and you can take your dress in a multitude of directions, which is cool for you really creative types (I've always been totally jealous!)

Prom should be a fun experience, but the dress shouldn't mean everything. Ok, so you may not find that perfect dress, so go in a cotton dress that you like, and hey, you're the most comfortable girl there, not to mention, you're breating easily, and your SWEETSWEET hairstyle is now the focus of your night! After prom find some fun, comfy (+preppy) clothes to crash in at your school's after prom party. I can't wait for all of this to really start coming together, stay in tune!

xxKatie