Lately my Twitter feed has been full to the brim with bloggers tweeting about everything related to back-to-school. Growing up on Long Island, school didn't start until after Labor Day, so in my mind back-to-school shopping is synonymous with Labor Day weekend sales. My clothes continue to mostly fit from year to year (I think that my last growth spurt was close to 15 years ago) and I don't need the perfect outfit for first-day-of-school pics or yearbook portraits. As a result, I can't get excited about the back-to-school shopping season anymore. However, I can get excited for great deals and I have a couple of those to share with you all.

The back-to-school shopping craze is focused pretty heavily on fall fashion, but there's still about 6 weeks left of warm weather to dress for. Plus, August is the month that I most find myself spending time at the beach. Luckily for me, swim wear is marked down to a fraction of the cost that it premiered at (back when it was still below freezing in Chicago and I had no plans whatsoever of going swimming). Thanks to the additional discount on Lands' End clearance items last week, I picked up a pair of swimsuit bottoms for $18.39 (although there were also options for under $10) and a lovely, nautical-inspired cover-up for $19.99. (Click on any of the images in this post to reach the product information for the item.)

In case cheap swimwear was not enough to put me in a good mood, I stumbled across some other great items while trying to meet the minimum for free shipping. The first item I found was a pair of athletic shorts. I had never tried Lands' Ends activewear, but they arrived yesterday and are a great fit! Plus they have an interior drawstring, which I like in my running shorts. My second find seems absolutely ridiculous considering that I am currently sitting in air conditioning. However, I was only a couple dollars away from free shipping and a pair of fleece gloves for $3.19 (after the additional discount) was hard to pass up. At least now I know I am set for the cool weather, whenever it decides to arrive!

Have you found any great sales on summer (or winter) pieces? Let me know in the comments!

This weekend has brought warm temps to Chicago and I had to put fans in my windows this afternoon just to stay cool! Since the last thing you want to do when you are sweltering is put on a blazer, a scarf, or even a heavy statement necklace, it is even more important to add some color and pattern to your outfit. An easy and fun way is with a printed short! Here are some of my favorite options:

I hope you were inspired by yesterday's post to try mixing stripes and florals together this week. If you took a look in your closet and saw that you didn't have any pieces to recreate the look, I have you covered. Here are two fun combinations of stripes and floral so that you can pattern mix all season long!

Over the weekend I went shopping with my mom and had a ton of fun trying on pieces at Banana Republic and making her try on dresses at LOFT. (Although I didn't take a photo, this maxi dress is incredibly flattering and made my skeptical mother admit that a maxi dress could look fab on her. I highly recommend trying it on. She not only bought it, but inspired another woman in the dressing room to try it on as well.) Here are the two tops that made the cut and are now hanging in my closet:

I can't find either of these tops on the website, but they do seem to come in other colors which are available online. The dot shirt is $69.50 and is available in white and the cross-back shirt is $39.50 and available in solid red. However, if you go into the stores you can probably find these colors. One of the sales associates told me that the cross-back shirt is brand new so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

What new spring pieces have you fallen in love with? Share your fashion finds in the comments!

It is getting close to Easter and is finally getting warm outside, so yesterday seemed like the perfect day to buy a new dress. LOFT started a 40% off everything sale yesterday as well and since there is a LOFT just a couple blocks from my apartment, it seemed like a great place to start. (I also tried on a ton of pieces that weren't dresses and I highly recommend checking out the sale section. Mine had a nice assortment of side-zip moto-style jackets in stripes and tweeds. I loved this one so much that I couldn't resist bringing it home to my closet!)

And now, onto the dresses:

1. Eyelet Sundress in Cloudy Blue $98
I saw this dress on a mannequin when I first walked into the store and wanted to try it on before they sold out. Overall I liked the style, which is very similar the dress in the third photo, but couldn't imagine myself actually wearing it. I think that if it had been in a darker, brighter color I would have been much more excited about it, but the soft whitish-blue made me think that it would be perfect for a bride-to-be to wear at her bridal shower. 

2. Drop Print Elastic Waist Dress in Deep Salmon $69.50
This is the dress that I went with! I didn't even notice it when I was scouting out the dress options online, but the bright color caught my eye in store. Before I had even gotten back to the dressing room, I had already pinpointed several occasions that I thought this dress would be great for. Plus, this dress won't have to go into storage at the end of the summer- I am looking forward to styling this with black tights, a black blazer, and riding boots for fall!

3. Eyelet Bodice Skirt Dress in Blue Flag $98
I saw this dress online which prompted the initial outing. I was drawn to it, even though rationally I knew it wasn't terribly practical for me. It is hard to see in my photo, but the skirt portion of the dress is a lovely blue and white stripe on a light fabric and the seamed bodice is black with a black eyelet lace overlay. The juxtaposition between light and dark as well as structured and flowing makes it eyecatching, but also not as versatile because it's caught between a casual sundress and a Little Black Dress. I felt that this dress required a very specific dress code/event. I was looking for a dress that would work for Easter and for a bridal shower and couldn't really picture myself wearing this to either. 

4. Poplin Full Skirt in Bright Spirit Mauve $49.50 & Mini Heart Print Tank in Black $54.50
I realize that this is not a dress, but I liked the color of the skirt and the pointelle stitching detail near the hem. The wide waistband also helps to reign in an overly flow-y top (as in the case of this printed tank). When I was trying it on, I couldn't shake an overwhelming urge to find a skinny belt to add an accent to the waistband. However, this is a great casual skirt for summer that has the potential to be dressed up with the right shoes and accessories (and it also comes in black for those not in love with the mauve).

I feel like I need to note that I tried on many more dresses than are pictured here. It can be so easy to get discouraged when trying on clothes, so don't expect the first or even the fourth thing you try to be the piece you love enough to take home!