My first resolution

I have never made a New Year's resolution before. I am always afraid that I will fail and then end up disappointed. What a great way to look at it!

But this year ... well this year is different.

I made a New Year's resolution.

And that resolution is to make more stuff. And then sell it!


May I direct your attention to the right of your screen for a bit. See that? it's my Etsy store, ShadesOfErin. That is where the goods will be, all for your consumption and enjoyment.


Keep checking back in the coming weeks, as I plan to add a lot of stuff: t-shirts, vintage clothes, scarves and prints.

Tell a friend!

A pretty steamy weekend

Seriously, this weekend was steamy. Not like a dime-store romance. Like for real, like your shower. Like a steam room. Like something you may use to cook broccoli. Steam.

It takes some carefully thought out plans to remain stylin' when the mercury is a risin' and the baromettric pressure is ... pressurizing.

First, always choose a natural fiber. Sure, that vintage polyester printed sun dress may be the cutest in town, but you yourself won't feel so cute once your armpits are highlighted in a musky sweat halo.

Cotton. Cotton is the way to go.

Chose to leave the lycra-spandex body binding undergarments at home during the most sweltering of seasons. Sure you may have an extra pudge, but that's easy enough to disguise under a nice flowing babydoll dress, right?

I'm not quite sure where I was going with this. Really, I just needed an appropriate intro for some summertime stylish Arkie ladies.

I was lucky enough to hang with these dress-wearing hotties on Friday. At least two of the above dresses were purchased a deep-discount strip mall type place. Can you guess which two?

This is my friend Shannon. He has some wicked hot style.

T-shirt: ShadesOfErin at Etsy

Speaking of dress-wearing hotties ... ok no. Here I am in my reclaimed estate sale grandma skirt. You can't really tell but I added a black tube-ish band at the top to make it a dress. I think the vest completes the ensemble nicely. And then that yellow necklace I found at a junk shop in Hammond, Indiana throws everyone for a loop.

Not too sure about this pose. I look like I'm about to start Riverdancing.

I was diggin' the ensembles on these two ladies. I don't actually know them, so that's why I cropped off their heads. Being unsure of etiquette regarding posting stranger's photos to the internet, I decided just to play it safe.

Anyways, their dresses are flowy and flattering and all kinds of yes! And they are cotton. The fabric of your life.

Well I have worked up quite a sweat with this here post, all this typing and all. So now I shall take my third shower of the day.

Happy summer to all my steamy Arkies! (and everyone else, steamy or not!)

P.S. I have no idea why this text turned blue. It just happened.

Eco chic and the DIY skirt

Eco chic is extremely over-used these days. The term, not the actual style. Nonetheless, I used it. So there.

I bought this purse at Box Turtle this weekend. It's made from old tires. I figure there is no better purse to take to the bar. I can just hose the vomit off this beauty and away I go. Bad thing is it still smells like a tire.

Skirt:me!

Blouse: Target/Merona

Vest: JC Penny/I heart Ronson

Here is a terrible shot of me in the mirror at work. But I wanted to show off my skirt. I found the fabric at Savers a while back and made this skirt. Still love it, but, as you can see, it's really wrinkled by the end of the day.

And a closeup:

Come back tomorrow for my raving about Melissa shoes, my absolute fave in the eco chic genre!