Mediterranean Dressing

         If you know me you'll know that I'm dress obsessed, and since I moved to Israel, I've actually ended up wearing less  dresses than I used to.... Israel is an extreamely casual country, I mean I'm sitting here (right now) in a professional, respectable workplace, and there are women walking around in tube tops, beach covers, haviannas, jeans, hot shorts and mini skirts. I know this attire would never fly in any workplace in Canada except maybe inside a strip club. But I mean there are some justifications, it is a hundred million degrees outside, and wearing anything but flip flops right now is close to insane but there is just a level of professionalism that you grow to expect from a bussiness place. Sooooo needless to say that people here regularly dress like they are at the beach weather they are or not.   

   Dressess are usually reserved for the religious, unless they are  extremely revealing and I actually dispise wearing revealing dresses. I have however finally decided that I no longer care about the religious stigma that comes with wearing a dress, in this country.  I will wear them and love them and look fashionable not religious while doing so. Soooo since I've decided to wear my old dresses in a new way, I had to find some fun fresh new ways to wear them!!

    This white linen dress is sooo comfortable, it's light weight, white and breathable, aka. perfect for the sub-tropic sunshine. You would think that the beautiful people of the Mediterranean would want to dress like they lived on the Mediterranean Right?? 

     What do you think of when you hear Mediterranean Style? I think of sunshine, the French riviera, Casablanca, Greek Islands, Blue and White, delicious coffee, amazing perfumes, museums, historic art, statues,  Italy, turquoise waters, terra cotta tiled roofs, sunsets, and sailboats, Ancient Ruins, and Roman Aquaducts. So I imagine Mediterranean Fashion to be just as grand as all the antiquities, to me this spells high fashion, living and loving!

    I have tried to capture the essence of the Mediterranean in the outfits I have created with my dresses.  Which to me is a romantic, rich look that spells out class and individuality. 

     The look below is a fashion fusion combining the cowgirl boots with    an ultra feminine outfit creates attitude and individuality in this look that might have been to blah with out some sweet kicks! 

- Until next time, stay cool, stay comfortable, stay YOU! 

Look Hot Stay Cool

   

      

    So the summer is nearing it's end, but it's still scorching here with temperatures hitting 40 Celsius daily it's hard to stay cool.  If you ask me it's actually much too hot for clothing, but as much as I would love getting away with wearing my bikini all day everyday it's just not an option. That is why today I will begin a three part series named Look Hot Stay Cool,  where I will find hidden ways to stay comfortable  and still look fashionable! 

      So in my quest to Look Hot an Stay Cool, I found this lovely little tank top on sale for half price. I picked it up off the rack and my husband shared with my how cute he thought it was, a buying sign, so quickly tried it on and then I was sold.  It is by S.wear, a brand made by Hanes clothing, it's basically the most comfortable clothing on the face of the earth, and it's not all pajamas, although most of it I would classify only acceptable to wear while exercising, sleeping, beaching, or cleaning. Which is obviously a huge hit here, because Israel is probably one of the most casually dressed populations I have ever encountered.  The weather here during the summer is not bearable for most, just wearing a necklace can make me feel sweaty and uncomfortable and if my shoes are too warm, I'm gonna cook... and  forget wearing my hair down, I might as well be wearing a fur coat... so it's hot here... I like it.. actually I love it... there is nothing like blistering heat, I'm usually cold so I like when it's HOT. But to Look Hot and Stay Cool is a brand new Lesson for me. I used to think Fashion & Beauty was suffering, no pain no gain. Well friends I am here to tell you that it's not all true..

           When the temperature soars it can be a challenge to look fashionable and put together. So I have taken it upon myself to create some scorching hot looks, that will manage to keep me feeling cool, when the thermometer is about to burst! To get a feel for the versatility of my new shirt I've used it in all the Look Hot Stay Cool looks. 


   

      In order too Look Hot and Stay Cool, I chose light weight items, skirts, and sandals, and I kept the accessories subtle and to a minimum. When the temperature is rising, less (everything) is so much more!  

    Stay tuned for more Look Hot Stay Cool Looks coming soon in part two! 

More Mintspiration

single necklace

layered necklaces

<- this way

  .....or.....

this way ->

??????

Can you believe that when I was buying this dress I was actually worried that I wouldn't have anything that would match with it!?! Bringing it home right away and matching it with the items I already own, made me feel confident that my latest purchase was a great one! A summery trend right now is to layer many many necklaces that are similar but different. I tried this look out a couple time with this dress. The single necklace outfit is more streamlined and simpler and a little fancier than the layered look. Layering the necklaces gave the dress a more casual, earthy bohemian feel. Which look do you like better?

This dress has the  incredible ability to appear very fancy or just semi- casual, which means I will be more likely to wear it. How fancy I look will only depend on the accessories that I pair with the dress. This is why I really played around with my accessories to find new ways to wear them. I particularly love this look just below, I layered pretty much all of my gold chains that I own and paired it with a less expensive brass pendant wing necklace, and the look is boho-fabulous with a little shine. A great daytime/ lunch time outfit! 

This dress does wonders for my ridiculously square shoulders. The dress's asymmetrical design cuts diagonally across the widest part of my shoulders, which makes them look more petite. (a super great thing when you feel blockish and square like me )

 So I know my blog is usually about finding new outfits from old things, and trying to be thrifty with your money. But a beautiful dress, at a sale price, with a friend that was chanting adoring & encouraging words I was practically set up.   So glad I did, you have to treat yourself once in awhile, how else are you supposed to stay straight? 

If the Jacket Fits then Wear it!

My white linen suit jacket is the perfect summer item, linen is a natural fiber and lets your skin breathe, aka allows sweat to escape, keeping you dry on those sticky days. Although it's much to hot to wear a jacket while the sun is shining here I think my white jacket will be perfect for the breezy evenings by the sea.

 

I really think the jacket is something special but I've hardly worn it in the four plus years I've owned it!!! Money just sitting there wasting away!  I pulled it from my closet, and it still fit, so I began matching away. I tried to find blouses with a pattern that had white in them, in order to compliment and blend the jacket into the look.

 

In this outfit there are a lot of different elements working to keep the look cohesive. The scarf and necklace are what makes everything work together. The aqua scarf has pops of yellow, which compliments the yellow camisole and the necklace has dark wood, aqua and light creamy yellow beads, which accents all the pieces in the wardrobe. This is what we call Fashion Feng Shui. The over all look is natural and earthy. This outfit would have to be my favorite look incorporating the white linen jacket, I would wear this any day of the week! 

This patterned shirt, I love but have only worn it once since I bought it six months ago. Something about it, I just couldn't match it with anything until it met my white linen jacket! That's why " Like a good party, your clothing should mingle" 

   

Until next time!

Stay Comfortable, Stay Cool, Stay YOU! 

xoxoxoxoxoxo