The Belted Pear for Modcloth's Travel Bug Series

Modcloth asked me to do a post for their Travel Bug series a few weeks ago and it's finally up! I'm so excited and loved how it turned out. Please go and check it out here! Let me know what you think! 

Also, stay tuned for more on The Belted Pear. I can't wait to put up the full-length posts on some of the new looks that were featured.  

A special thanks to my friends Lauren from Fried Green Kimchi and Dominika and my boyfriend, Stephen for taking all the photos of me! <3

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12 Different Ways to Wear a Crop Top

It's no secret that I'm obsessed with crop tops. And anyone can wear one! Before I show you my favorite crop top outfits, here are my two easy tips for showing some tummy skin.

First you've got to find your "sweet spot". I'm not gonna lie, I've got a little belly on me. But I hide it with high-waisted everything. My sweet spot is where my stomach is the smallest, right above my belly-button and love handles. For some, it might be a little higher or lower. Play around with lengths and find the area that you are comfortable showing off. 

Second you only need to show a little of your stomach to get the job done. I usually only bare about one or two inches. I'm not trying to go for Britney Spears circa 2000. I might wear a crop top that shows a little more skin that hits right under my bra line but I never go down past my belly button. 

Now that we've got that covered (pun intended!) let's move on to 12 of my favorite ways to style a crop top. There's only about a bizillion ways!

Baby, We're the New Romantics

1 If you're still a little shy about showing your belly, add another layer, like this crocheted vest. Also wearing a statement necklace will put more emphasize on your face than on your stomach. 

Mixing Prints

2 Add a slouchy cardigan. Play with prints. Find crop tops that have interesting details, like the pom-poms on the edge of this one. 

Belly Dancer

3 Keep it simple, casual and comfortable with an all black, boho vibe. Add interesting details like long earrings, embroidery on a skirt and a great rugged leather bag.

Red White and Tokyo

4 Go for a crop top in a graphic tee style. Pair it with some casual shorts. I love matching stripes with polka dots for a sweet look but you could also go for a sporty style with this tee. 

The Secret Garden

5 With all those adorable, high-waisted, full circle skirts, it only makes sense to take a crop top vintage! Extra bonus: add a petticoat underneath - it will make your midsection look even smaller. 

Le Freak C'est Chic

6 Take a graphic tee you already own and knot it! Instant crop top! Where you knot it is up to you (side, front or back). 

Rainbow Bus

7 You can also take a regular button-up and tie it. Only button down the shirt half-way and then tie the remaining fabric. Make sure and fluff out the tie for that finishing touch. 

Festival Ready

8 Again, this is just a regular tank top I knotted in the middle. Another thing to think about when wearing crop top is how your bottoms will fit. Make sure they aren't squeezing you too tight! This maxi has an amazing forgiving, wide elastic top.

On the Carousel

9 Try a looser-fitting crop top. So that my waist didn't get lost in the fullness of the shirt and the skirt, I added a brightly colored belt. 

Mixing Prints and Getting Ready in 10 Minutes

10 Find an actual button-down style crop top. It will give you less fabric to deal with the sides and back but still give you a polished, lady-like look.

Eating Praying and Loving in Ubud Part 2

11 Breath new life into old, slumpy t-shirts. This one was just a little bit too short and too wide until I knotted and cropped it! 

Coming Up Rosy

12 To me, nothing is better than a crop top (with no bra!) and a flowy maxi for a easy, breezy day at the beach. 

*Whew!* So which look was your favorite? 

And please tell me, how do you wear and style a crop top? I'm dying to know! :) 

Thanks for stopping by! 

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How to Wear Style in a Super Casual Office

An old high school friend, Valerie, wrote to me a while ago:
"My job is uber casual like you can wear pj's and no one would look twice. I feel like I'm starting to lose some style and I'm tired of jeans everyday. What are your favorite casual yet pulled together looks? What key pieces should I look for this spring? Also, it's reallllllly cold in the office so layers are good for me since I'm already cold natured."

Valeria, I can totally understand your dilemma! You don't want to loose your style, but you also don't want to walk into work feeling like you're wearing a ball gown. To keeping things casual yet stylish, think of it the up-down factor.

If you're going to wear a dress or skirt (something that's usually more dressy) you would want to style it DOWN - small, simple accessories, flats or boots, denim or leather  jacket or a boyfriend sweater always makes things more casual.

If you are going to wear jeans and t-shirt (something already very casual), you want to style it UP. Add a pair of high heeled boots or wedge sandals. More large statement pieces of jewelry and bold lipstick. Add a blazer or trade the t-shirt for a button-up. 

Source: 1 | 2 | 3

Change out those jeans for a skirt. Pair with flats or sandals. 

Source: 1 | 2 | 3

One of this Spring's trends is minimalism. Keeping things clean and simple will make you look fresh and fashion forward. 

 Source: 1 | 2 | 3

Throwing on an effortless sundress is one of the easiest ways to get ready. Throw a cardigan over it to make it appropriate for the office and wear only a few key accessories. 

 Source: 1 | 2 | 3

Maxis aren't just for the beach. Add a blazer and you have instant professionalism. A crisp oxford button-up & wide belt is the perfect mix of a little funky and a lot classic. The most casual (and most comfortable of all!) is a maxi dress with an oversized throw-over. 

  Source: 1 | 2 | 3

If you feel something is too dressy, add denim. A denim jean jacket or chambray shirt immediately tones down a look. 

 Source: 1 | 2 | 3

Stripes make anything look classic and pulled together but not stuffy. Pair it with a blazer and then choose between either a statement necklace or colored jeans. 

Source: 1 | 2 | 3

Playing with patterns and bold colors adds a big but easy punch to the humdrum of a boring wardrobe.

You can also take a look at a past Belted Pear post where I talk about how to look pulled together most of the time.

Besides clicking on the links for these photos, a few other resources to peruse might be these ladies' blogs. 

Running Late

J's Everyday Fashion

A Clothes Call

And when in doubt, just ask yourself... WWJAD? 

She epitomizes the perfect blend of being pulled together and chic with simple and effortless casualness. 

Source

Hope this helps, Valerie! Thanks for asking.
If anyone else has some perplexing fashion situation, feel free to email me at lindseydish@ymail.com and I'll see if I can help ya out! :) 

Ask The Belted Pear: What Do I Add to My Wardrobe to Make It More Vintage-Inspired and Adult?

"Hey Lindsey! I love your fashion blog and I have a big favor to ask of you. I am looking to start building a new wardrobe from the very beginning. I am looking to build a wardrobe that is more adult than my usual jeans and T-shirts and has a 50s and 60s flair while maintaining a classic and timeless look. Does this exist? What pieces should I start buying? I appreciate any help you can give! Thanks!"

My answer for practically any question is: research (I guess it's been ingrained in this English major's mind). Here are some of my favorite fashion blogs that are heavily vintage-inspired. My favorite thing about all these ladies is that even though they truly love vintage clothing, nothing in their wardrobe is entirely true vintage. For one's entire wardrobe to be all vintage, it takes a lot of time, money, and effort that I think most people don't have. These ladies easily incorporate vintage styles, accessories and silhouettes into their wardrobe while still playing with that modern and classic line. Also, take a look at actual photos from the time period. What is it about the 50's and 60's that draws you in? 

Butterfly Loves Snapdragons

VintageSphere

June Bugs and Georgia Peaches

The Soubrette Brunette

Vixen-Vintage

Into the Woods

Someone Like You

Scathingly Brilliant

6 Tips to Get You Started on a Vintage-Inspired Wardrobe: 

Sometimes starting a new wardrobe can be overwhelming, even with lots of inspiration floating around on the web. I think to really create feminine 50's looks and groovy 60's ones, it's all about the dresses, skirts, and small details. 

1. Fit-and-flair dresses - You're in luck! They are EVERYWHERE. They flatter anyone's shape and they're easy to throw on and yet add that instant pulled together look. 

2. Full and A-line skirts - For a vintage look, remember everything goes at your waist. Swim suit bottoms, shorts, pants, and especially skirts. Even skirts that are not particularly full. I can find tons of skirts like this at Goodwill. 

3. Blouses - Adding ladylike blouses to your wardrobe instantly add a more adult, feminine look - exactly what you want for a vintage-inspired closet! A simple button-up is great; make sure you button it up all the way. Puffy sleeves, lace detailing, bows, and collars are other little things that make your outfit go the extra mile. 

4.  Wiggle dresses - These were worn in the 50's and 60's. Think Marilyn Monroe is a slinky, sexy number. Wiggle dresses are a nice change of pace from the full skirt silhouette. And again, this is something tons of clothing companies still create. 

5. Mod shift dresses - These are dresses that just hang straight down via Twiggy. Almost like a carefully-crafted box. While the focal point in the fit-and-flair and wiggle dresses is the waist, with shift dresses it's all about the legs! To jump right into rad retro 60's styles, get a shift dress with a peter pan collar, with a bold geometric print, or daisy or plaid print. Again, you are in luck! The 90's are back in full swing and guess what? A lot of 90's fashion was inspired by mod 60's. It's all full circle in fashion, isn't it. 

6. Details, details, details - Now that you've got the silhouette's down pat, you might want to add extra details to pump up the vintage volume. For the 50's, think pearls, scarves around your neck or your hair, hats, hats, and more hats, cat eye glasses, gloves, structured bags, and curls (so many great vintage hair tutorials on youtube!) For the 60's, add knee-highs, mary janes, beehives and wide headbands. 

I hope this helped, Lauren! Thanks for asking The Belted Pear and happy hunting! 

         

3 Last Minute Fool-Proof Valentine's Gifts for Her

Valentine's day might be over-commericalized and very unimportant in the grand scene of things. But I can't help but think that's it's nice to have a day where you stop running the rat race and try and make your partner's day a little bit brighter. Sure, you shouldn't just do it on a holiday but it doing so on Valentine's day won't take away any brownie points either! 

1. Jewelry: Don't panic, folks. I'm not saying get her the million dollar diamond studs. Also, shopping for jewelry for someone else can be a bit intimidating for anyone. My suggestion: go simple and small. I'd confidently say that 98% of girls that wears ANY kind of jewelry - regardless of her taste - would wear a necklace. And the best way to win her heart? Choose something personalized. With this awesome thing called the internet, you can find any kind of charm on a necklace. Does she like origami, French history, Harry Potter, Cinderella, her home state, or Daryl from The Walking Dead? 

Well, then I got ya covered! My suggestion is google this formula: what she likes + necklace + etsy. Etsy.com is a great website of handmade, quirky, and personalized products. 

 Georgia / Origami / Cinderella  

Marie Antoinette / Hedwig / Mrs. Daryl Dixon

2. Perfume: Again, perfume tends to be a personal thing that can be difficult to pick out for someone. However, I believe that most women that wear any kind of body spray, perfume, scented lotions or specialized soaps would enjoy this kind of gift. Just peek into her bathroom - does she have any of this stuff and does she USE it? I do caution you though, this can be a popular gift so if she has more than 6 bottles of perfume, I would say don't bother getting her a new one. For me, perfume isn't something that I would personally buy for myself but I love getting it as a gift and I like changing scents to fit my mood. 

Again, this is a great time to personalize. But you get to personalize it to YOUR preference! Test out a bunch of perfumes and narrow down to 2-3 scents that YOU enjoy and think would be nice on your girlfriend. Then find a lady. A sales clerk, a friendly female shopper. Ask them which scent do they like more. If you wanna go crazy, ask a couple people and take a tally. This part can tend to be a little tricky because everyone's nose is different so take it with a grain of salt. But, this will allow you to get a female's/other perspective, just in case. An added suggestion would be when you write in the card, tell her why you choose that perfume. It smells like sunflowers, which you know is her favorite flower. Or it smells a little spicy, just like her personality. Yes, it's cheesy. But if you can't be cheesy and lovey-dovey on Valentine's day, when can you? 

Also, perfume doesn't have to break the bank. Bath and Body Works, Victoria's Secret, The Body Shop, Kohl's, Marshall's, Skin Food, and countless others all have scents under $30. 

3. A Personalized Date - Some people aren't gift-givers (or gift-takers) and I think that's okay! Don't feel pressured to buy her gift because everyone else is and marketers are pushing Valentine's on you. Maybe the bank won't cover it this month or maybe she's a minimalist or concerned about her ecological footprint (wish I was better at both!) While you shouldn't have to buy her gift, I think it is nice to do something for her. And one of the best gifts is your time. Has she been dying to see the new art exhibit in town? What's her favorite park? Has she been talking about exploring a new part of the city? And I'm not talking your regular Chilli's dinner and a movie date (not that I don't like those!) But I'm saying - think outside the box a little. Also, listen to her. If you do, she'll probably give you an idea and she didn't even realize she was! 

I personally think a picnic (outside or inside!) is a very cute and easy way create a date just for her. The planning and effort you take into preparing for the food and extra accessories before hand will really impress her. I found a great list over at Premeditated Leftovers on how to host the perfect (cheap!) picnic. 

One more thing! This may sound silly but I believe presentation of the gift is almost as important. But it's really, really easy. Many places like Victoria's Secret and Etsy stores will wrap your purchase beautifully so no worries. But if you're going to Kohl's or Marshall's, they will not. Just pop into your dollar store, Wal-mart, Hallmark or the equivalent of. Buy a gift bag and tissue paper that matches the bag. Yes, BUY THE TISSUE PAPER. Wrap the gift in the paper and put it at the bottom of the bag. Then on top of the tissue-wrapped present, put in 2-3 more pieces of tissue and fluff it. Make sure it is sticking out a little bit out of the bag. Like so: 

If you wanna go crazy, stick a bow on the side of the bag or tie ribbon on the handles. Then buy or make her a card. Add a personalized message about how much you love and appreciate her. Maybe a favorite memory of the two of you. Write the date on the top (she might want to keep it and remember your first Valentine's together). Put that card in an envelope and write her name on the outside. Stick the card into the side of the bag and make sure it's peeking out. Voila! You're done! So easy, right?  

At the end of the day, it's not important how much money you spent on her. What she really will be impressed with is how much time, effort and thought you put into selecting something just for her. Any guy can run into the store at midnight and grab a box of chocolate. But she'll smile when you tell her your epic story about how you chose your gift because it reminded you of HER. 

Rocking and Rolling Retro Denim-on-Denim

This outfit was too much fun to wear. And it all came together seamlessly. I wasn't trying to do a retro outfit today. I just knew I wanted to wear my jeans because it's cold! And my chambray shirt because apparently it's shaping up to be my errand shirt. I also wanted to wear my saddle shoes because I was feeling lazy - I just wanted cute, warm footwear. I put it all on and thought... 

Love when that happens! It's also convenient because the denim-on-denim look is totally rocking and rolling this fall. The trick is to do different colors and materials. The chambray top is lighter in color and material than the blue jeans, so it's A-okay. 

My hair was being stupid today so I decided to stop fighting with it and do the good ol' bun and then put on the vintage-inspired headband. I was originally going to just wear the chambray shirt loose but to go with the retro theme, I tied it at the waist and rolled up the jeans at the bottom. To finish the look I put on my new heart earrings and red lipstick. I went with my "no make-up" make-up look because I was too lazy to do the extra eyeliner and such. And then I ran out the door to grocery shopping and other grown-up-ish errands. Now, where's the sock hop?! 

How would you style your denim-on-denim look?

Psssssh, can you see my socks? I actually have socks that not only match each other - they match the outfit for once!

Jeans: Cello | Shirt: Target | Shoes: Korean Thrift Store | Earrings & Headband: Naughty Cat 

Ask The Belted Pear: What Shoes to Wear with Winter Shorts

Ask The Belted Pear

This feature wasn't something I had planned on doing but sometimes the best things just fall into your lap. I've recently had friends email me questions about their fashion problems. I'm no expert by any means and I'm always learning new things, but I'll definitely try and help! So here is my new feature "Ask The Belted Pear". If you have a question that is about fashion, style, or being lazy, I'll be happy to  try and answer your question! You can send me an email at lindseydish@ymail.com or a message on my NEW! Facebook page (and don't forget to "like" it!)  

This feature has been really fun for me to do. I love playing with polyvore. It's like playing with paper dolls - I guess that's why it's a popular site. I think it's also great because it takes the person out of the fashion equation so you can easily imagine yourself in those clothes. 

I'm very flattered and a little terrified to answer these ladies questions. Especially because I consider them to already be very fashionable and know their shizz (no joke). Stay tuned for 2 more segments of this feature!  

What Shoes to Wear With Winter Shorts:

From my friend, Ingrid:

Dear Belted Pear - Help!

I've got a slew of tweed winter shorts... that I love but have no idea what kind of shoes or boots to wear with them. The key word in that last sentence is "winter" so regular high heels won't do. I need stylish, comfortable, and relatively warm footwear. What would you do?

Sincerely, 
Shoeless in Siberanada

Dear Shoeless in Siberanada,

You're in luck! One of this year's biggest shoe trends is booties! And I love booties: you can go low heel, low ankle (shoe 1 - and with the metallic toes, omg!). Or higher heel, higher ankle (shoes 2 & 3). While these do have heels on them, they're low enough and chunky enough that you really won't notice the difference. If anything, it just gives you that little boost to make your legs look longer in those little shorts! A particular bootie I'm currently obsessed with is the cowboy bootie (shoe 5) - a more modern version of the cowboy boot for the urban cowgirl. 

Another trend I'm digging on is winter wedges. They say if you love something you should set it free. If you find wedges you love, NEVER EVER set them free. Hang on to them for dear life and hold them together with super-glue if you have to (mine keep falling apart but I'm currently in denial). Again, these shoes vary in heel height (shoe 4 & 6) but they are much easier to stomp around in Siberanada than heels - and so much more comfortable! An extra bonus is if you get some fleece-lined ones, like in shoe 4.

And last but not least, is the classic riding boot. I bought some for this winter and now I'm mad at everyone around me who let me live without these. They make you feel and look instantly glamourous (I love how good leather will do that to a girl) and yet these things are so comfortable you could take on Genghis Khan's army. No heels at all necessary to look chic.

The great thing about all of these shoes is that they are classy and dressy enough to wear with tweed shorts. These are shoes that can easily be dressed up or dressed down. And they also make your legs look long and sleek - just what you want when you're wearing winter shorts!  

A tip when shopping for any of these shoes is wearing the correct socks. When I bought my riding boots, I was just using the thin nylon sockies they give you at the store and now when I try to squeeze my cozy, warm, fluffy-fleecey socked feet into my boots, my feet aren't happy. If you plan on wearing any of these shoes predominantly for winter, I would give yourself just a little wiggle room. 

And one more tip - tights! Layer up on tights. In the winter, I will wear ugly old, pilling tights (you know how they get bumpy when they get old) and then over them, my nicer tights or even tights that's fleece-lined! Another cool idea is to wear colored tights underneath and a funky patterned nylons over - it will still give you a tiny extra layer but will also look unique with the layering! Then to finish off the look, wear socks over all those tights and slip into your fabulous winter shoes!

Good luck with the cold in that far off winter wonderland, Ingrid!

Terrab | The Baby Shopaholic | The Backseat Stylers | Chic Street Style | Style Notes By Belen

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