Raffia Refuge

A bare midriff? Clearly I was feeling daring. It took me ages to become comfortable in my body as an adult, but I still don't often go as far as actually showing it! Everyone has insecurities of course, and for me (like many I know) it's usually my upper arms. You don't see me in strappy dresses or sleeveless tops often that's for sure. Yet, here I am with my blouse tied casually as if unconcerned. You won't be seeing me in a bikini any time soon though I promise! Well, baby steps on confident days I suppose.

Mostly I just wanted to wear my new shoes, and can you blame me? Look at the rainbow raffia goodness. They are from Betsey Johnson and I picked them up from DSW online recently. I fell for this similar pair from J.Crew which were a bit above my price range, so when I saw these I snapped for them! I just thought the rainbow party decoration like "bow" was so perfectly summery, and since I didn't have a pair of wedges or espadrilles in my closet, these filled the need for a comfortable but still fun pair of heels for this season. I finally picked up one of these fun raffia embellished straw clutch handbags too. I could never decide what color or style of embellishment to go for, but I finally chose aqua and green to pair with these shoes. These clutches can be found very inexpensively on Etsy, and though most are from the later half of the 20th century, I have 1940's catalogs with the same style for sale!

The rest of the outfit is super simple in all black of course. The silk blouse is from Banana Republic, the black circle skirt is made from Joanns cotton sateen (and could use an iron), and the black petticoat is from Malco Modes of course! A rainbow layered petticoat would be even better though, anyone know of where I can get one?

And speaking of rainbows, thank you all so much for the wonderful response on my last video! It just means the world to me that the response has been so positive and the comments so encouraging and kind. I've got a busy week ahead, but for now I'm off to work on editing the manuscript again for a few hours, and there is nothing better really ;) I love editing almost as I much writing it all in the first place!

Skirt: Made by me
Blouse: Banana Republic
Shoes: Betsey Johnson (DSW)
Clutch & Bracelet: Vintage
Earrings: Luxulite
Petticoat: Malco Modes