Cruise Style: What to Wear on a Cruise

I know, I know… yet ANOTHER cruise post?!

I was actually going back and forth on whether to write this one, but a few of you asked me for details on my snazzy swimsuits, so I figured I’d throw a little something together.

To be honest, I didn’t really take any outfit pictures while I was on vacation. I was thinking about recreating each outfit at home, but then I realized that would require a shower and makeup… so that didn’t actually happen.

Instead, I hunted down pictures from previous times I wore each outfit and threw them together for you.

First off, let’s talk swimsuits!

Swimsuits

As you saw in last week’s post I wore two different swimsuits on our trip. And in each picture I have strategically positioned my kid in front of me for the most flattering look. Just kidding. Every other picture of me in a swimsuit either is of my butt (thanks Travis) or looks like this:

blurry swimsuit pic

Believe me when I say I’m not really a ‘post pictures of myself in a swimsuit on the internet’ kind of girl, but these vintage-styled swimsuits are pretty magical. They somehow suck in the belly, push out the boobies and keep everything PG for chasing around your kid. This is actually my second time buying the red polka dotted version (my previous one lasted four years of heavy wear) and my first try at the black cherries version.

If you want to try it for yourself, I highly recommend going up one size above your normal swimsuit size to get a perfect fit. I usually wear a 12 and I’m wearing a size 14 in both suits. Nobody knows your size. I mean, unless you tell the internet… oops.

For men’s swimsuits, we are big fans of Target’s board shorts. I just checked out their current selection and really like the Seascape Stretch Board Shorts in Burnside and the Multi Stripe in Acid Green.

I pretty much dress Jack exclusively in Gap and Old Navy, so I love this orange striped version and this more reasonably priced fish print pair. They are always having sales, so if you see stuff you like just wait a few days and it will probably be cheaper!

I’m going to skip right over our daytime looks, because we kept it comfy in t-shirts and jeans (or shorts). I bought all four t-shirts from my last Trunk Club post, so I wore all of them along with some of my previous favorites.

Let’s talk evening clothes!

On a 7 night cruise, there are two elegant nights and the rest are considered “cruise casual” nights. However, they have photographers set up all over the boat each evening and I was hoping for a good family picture, so we dressed nice for five evenings.

Here are the dresses I wore on the cruise:

Cruise dresses

As I mentioned, sorry for not taking new pictures… these are from my Instagram account over the past few months. The floral dress is a Maggy London dress that I got in my September Stitch Fix. The maxi dress was from Anthropologie last summer. The black top and floral skirt were both from Trunk Club. The pink dress (I didn’t wear tights, booties or a sweater) was from TJ Maxx last year. And the blue eyelet dress was a Marshall’s find.

We did end up getting a nice family photo taken, so I consider that a win!

04142016092442

For Travis, most evenings he wore a dark pair of Banana Republic jeans and either a polo or a button up shirt. He just got this pair called the Vintage Straight Cut Resin jeans and likes them a lot. I bought him a similar Camden-fit windowpane shirt for Christmas, knowing he’d need it for our trip. Did I mention my husband very rarely dresses up? It’s so bad that I realized the day before we left that he didn’t have any nice jeans (HOW do you lose two pairs of jeans?!) so we had to go to the mall that evening for an emergency shopping trip.

prince jack

Jack actually LOVES to dress up and each night he either wore jeans and a polo or a cute button up shirt/tie combo. I bought him a few shirt/tie sets at Nordstrom Rack in the fall and it looks like they have his exact checkered shirt still for sale.

As promised in my second cruise post, I have a little story to share:

This cruise was really the first time I’d had my arm tattoo out in the world on display. So, I was pretty surprised at the demographic of people who were totally into it. About half a dozen times, I had a much older man or woman come up to me to compliment me on my sleeve. Usually they would start the conversation with, “I’m not really a tattoo person, but I just have to tell you that I think your arm tattoo is really beautiful.” It was really flattering and usually turned into a discussion of how long it took and why I chose each flower. One night, while standing in line to go into the dining room for dinner, an older lady in her 70’s complimented me on my tattoo, started stroking my arm to feel it… and then tried to smell me.

Do you like to dress up on vacation, or do you use it as an opportunity to be lazy and comfortable? Have you ever had a tattoo fondled by a stranger?

 

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In Between Weather & Spring Cleaning

{Pssst, I’m back from my cruise, but I wrote this post before I left to give me some breathing room before I need to write up a post about our vacation!}

I love it when the weather warms up, but this in-between kind of weather is kind of confusing. My calendar says SPRING, but my cold legs say PUT YOUR DAMN FLEECE-LINED TIGHTS BACK ON!

I usually do a full closet switch-over once the weather fully warms up, but for now I just do a mini-switch to let my closet breathe a little.

Organized-closet

Want to join me? It’s easy…

Step 1: Get rid of the wool and corduroy
Everyone has that pile of clothing that they only wear during the coldest of the cold months… the SUPER heavy wool sweaters, the corduroy pants, the long sleeved dresses that make you sweat 11 out of the 12 months of the year. Grab them out of your closet and throw them on your bed.

Now, take that pile o’ clothes and decide what to do with them:

Choice 1: If it has been worn to death, get rid of it and add the item to a list to keep an eye out for a replacement before next year.

Choice 2: If it needs to be fixed or altered, do it NOW so that it’s ready for when you need it again. This is also a great time to get that sweater shaver out and do a little touch up. (If you’ve never used a sweater shaver before, read this post and get ready for your world to change!)

Choice 3: If you never wore it, think about whether it’s time to let it go to a better home – a consignment shop, Facebook sale site, or thrift store. (Want some tips on how to sell your clothes on Facebook, check out this post!)

Choice 4: If you wore it and still love it, launder it (if needed) and pack it away.

I actually have an empty decorative trunk at the end of my bed that works great for storing all those in-between clothes until I pull out the big storage boxes with my summer stuff.

Step 2: Switch out the shoes
Big, heavy boots just feel like too much when it’s April, so get them out of your closet. You will open up some space so you can see other shoes that you’ve been neglecting.

For me, it’s bootie season. I can’t wear them in the dead of winter and I’m not going for them when it’s hot in the summer… so the time is now for booties, booties, booties rocking everywhere!

Step 3: Stand back and admire your pretty closet
Boom, you’re done! It took me about 15 minutes total and everything currently in my closet is seasonally appropriate so I can just grab and go in the morning. Even better, if you know what is in your closet you are more likely to actually WEAR those in-between weather pieces before it gets too hot for them. So yeah, it’s a win-win for you AND your closet.

Do you do an in-between weather closet clean out?

My Style: March Favorite Outfits & My Boho Bag

You know that saying ‘in like a lion, out like a lamb’? Well, this March definitely lived up to the saying. Here in Maryland we had days with snow, ice, rain and then some random 70 degree days mixed in there.

I’ve pulled together a few of my favorite outfits from the month to share with you. If you see something you like, I’ve made it easy for you to steal my style with links for each item, as well as some similar styles at different price points. If you want to check out previous My Style posts, you can find them here.

Just for fun, here are ALL the outfits with some booty-shaking music thrown in :

Look #1: Belted Dress & Booties

My Style March - look 1

The Dress
I love changing the look of a dress by belting a sweater over top of it. I’ve worn this dress plenty of times, but it looks totally different when I style it this way. I’m wearing one of my favorite polka dotted dresses from Anthropologie from last year, but you can really replicate this look with any fit-and-flare dress. Here are a couple I love: here’s a pretty polka dot version from TJMaxx for just $40, I love this Eliza J floral fit-and-flare dress, and  this $40 striped version is totally fantastic!

The Sweater
If I’m actually going to button a cardigan, I like to go a size up so that I don’t have any pulling at the buttons. This one is from Loft, and they have them in a ton of different colors every year. You can find my exact sweater here, currently on sale for 40% off!

The Booties
I scored these booties a couple months ago (and they’ve been featured on a My Style post before) and I’m still loving them as a great in-between weather shoe. You know, when it’s too warm for knee-boots, but not warm enough for bare legs and sandals! Now is the bootie time, so if you have a pair get some wear out of them before it gets hot. Here is my exact pair, in brown with a limited number of sizes available at Nordstrom Rack here. The Tom’s desert wedges are quite similar.

Look #2: Comfy, Casual & Cool

My Style March - look 2

The Tee
I am so picky about my graphic tees and this is one of my favorites. It’s so super incredibly soft, is really simple in design, and has a nice flowy shape that works well with a front tuck. My exact tee is from True&Co and you can find it here. (If you want to buy anything at True&Co, feel free to use this link to get $15 off your order)

The Boyfriend Jeans
These are the Kut from the Kloth Kate Distressed Boyfriend Jean that I received in my August Stitch Fix (you can see the full review here) They fit just baggy enough that they are really comfortable without looking sloppy. I also like that you can show a little ankle by rolling them up a little.  They look very similar to the “Cleaned up Katy Boyfriend Jeans” at Nordstrom Rack for just $29.97. If you like more of a rugged look, I also like this distressed gray pair.

The Shoes
It took me a few years to get on board with the whole Toms look, but now I’m a believer. I have a bunch of pairs – some bought directly from Toms, some from Nordstrom Rack and this pair from ThredUp – and they all get worn. I just received their new catalog and I’ve been eying a few pairs to add to my collection: this navy vintage tile pattern, this classic chambray pair and this zigzag design.

Look #3: St Paddy’s Fun

My Style March - look 3

The Dress
This was actually my most “liked” look of the month over on Instagram, so that’s pretty cool! I found it for just $29 at Marshalls a couple weeks ago and love the pretty eyelet detail and knee-length skirt. Since it was a Marshall’s score, it’s difficult to track down the exact same dress online. However, I found a few that are quite similar: a pretty blue wave dress, an almost identical plus sized version from London Times and this aqua lace version.

The Sweater
You’ve seen it before and you’ll see it again and again and again. What can I say, the J.Crew Factory Clare cardigan is a favorite. If you click over today, it’s on super sale for only $27!

The Booties
I looked everywhere for the ‘perfect’ pair of taupe colored booties and almost ended up buying the ones I received in my first Trunk Club box (you can see the review here). While they were pretty amazing, they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. I ended up ordering a pair from Sole Society to compare to the first pair and loved them. You can find the original pair that I tried here, the Dolce Vita ‘Kara’ Perforated Bootie from Nordstrom. And here is the pair that I ended up buying from Sole Society. They are currently very low on sizes for the ‘fennel’ color I bought, but have some availability in the other colors.

Bonus Love: My Boho Bag

Boho bag

You may recognize this bag from one of my recent Instagram posts, but you will be seeing a lot of it soon! I have been on the hunt for the perfect cross-body bag for a while and I finally found one to swoon over. It is the Small & Square Turquoise Boho Bag from Boho Bags and it is so beautifully made with the hand-tied beads and swingy fringe. I chose the turquoise version (there are also really pretty black, brown and red options) because I thought it would be perfect for Spring and Summer. I can’t wait to take it with my on my upcoming cruise! If you’d like to check out the entire collection, be sure to visit the Boho Bags website at http://bohobags.com/ and drool all over everything they have to offer. A great big THANK YOU to my friends at Boho Bag for sending this one my way

Which look is your favorite?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission. Thank you to anyone who chooses to click through and support my blogging addiction. Boho Bags provided me with a bag for review purposes. Pocketful of Joules is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.