Strong Female

The sunny weekend was calling for a trip, a stroll in town, and a visit to a newly rebuilt library.

In the many years of my living in America, I so got used to wearing pants (mostly jeans in the last 5 or 6 years) that I almost forgot how it feels to wear a dress or a skirt. And I used to love wearing them back in Russia. Of course, I had a few pairs of pants and jeans in Russia too. But they never were a staple of my wardrobe. Here in America we are always on the go, at least if you live in a small town or suburb (not city) and have to drive your family and yourself a few times every day. I am sure Americans know what I am talking about. :) 

The other reason why I stopped or almost stopped wearing dresses was my gaining weight. I became size 16-18 while I came here wearing size 6-8 almost 12 years ago. The dramatic change in my body, I felt, was dictating the change in my wardrobe. 

But my outlook on it started changing last summer. I studied a few personal style blogs. My most favorite of them are:

http://www.leblogdebigbeauty.com (discovered by me last Spring/Summer)

http://girlwithcurves.com (discovered by me last Spring/Summer)

http://atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com (my long time favorite)

There are a few other great blogs which I enjoy reading too, but these three are my personal favorites in the past few months. It is thanks to Stephanie and Tanesha, women of curvy body shape and plus size (by the way, one of them became a mother about a year ago, and the other is pregnant now :), so sweet), I realized that I am still in love with dresses, and our bodies look best in what we love -- we bring the positive energy and confidence into whatever we really care about! Now skirts and dresses are on my mind -- I just can't have enough of them! I can't wait to show all of them in my blog. :)

For my visit to library and stroll in town, I picked the animal print faux leather pencil skirt and combined it with a simple basic black top and a feminine military jacket with a punch of bright green color, brass buttons and sparkles on upper pockets.

I promised you to talk more about this pair of shoes I found at Nordstrom Rack... I have to say it's a bit challenging to wear them for me personally -- I have wide feet, and these come in only medium width, unfortunately. Still, I love them, and they are getting more comfortable. Sofft really gets a comfortable sole, and I love them for that. I wish they offer all of their shoes in "wide" though. :) I adore the style -- look at the rich leather, all the details with belts and everything! And I love the metal strip on the bottom. They feel adventurous yet feminine. A strong female. Yes, that fits me pretty well. :)

I didn't think that I needed a lot of accessories for this outfit. I love my new Mudslide nail polish by Sally Hansen, my long and well textured two-toned earrings, and a simple yet elegant silver ring with genuine malachite.  

As a bonus, a photo of my getting ready (Justin being an artistic photographer and working with models for years, likes to take "getting ready" shots just for fun :).

And sure enough, you are waiting to see my most favorite in the whole world photographer. Here he is :)

And what about yourself? Do you love dresses and skirts? Which personal style bloggers are your inspiration lately?

Animal print skirt by Chico's (Traveller's collection). Basic top by Christopher and Banks (great quality and color selection, in stores two for $24 only!). Military Glam jacket by Ashley Stewart. Shoes by Sofft (still on sale here). Purse B Makowsky

Location: Federal Way library

Linked with 52 Pick-Me-Up roundup for Trends (Military & Leopard)