20 red white and blue outfits for the summer holidays

4th of July, Memorial Day, and Labor Day have all turned into some fashionable holidays since people are all about their 'Merican pride! So... to help you out this week, I found some of my favorite outfit inspirations for every occasion!

This is one of those outfits that could be worn anywhere. You have the blazer to impress people, and everything else is fun for when the drinks are kicking in.

Sequins or not, a white dress with a cardigan for when it's cooler at night and of course the red belt, shoes, and other accessories: Win.

How comfy is this for a BBQ?! It probably feels like pajamas, and everything is simple, but it totally works. I'm lovin' the simple hair with it too.

Chambray shirts could be your best friend for these holidays. Wear em with or over anything for that blue touch.

Flowy white skirts: Perfect for poolside, grill-side, beach-side, whatever-side hangouts!

Remember this from What Ya Wearin' Wednesday? Whether you have blue polka-dotted pants, shorts, skirt, dress, whatever... pairing them with a red blazer is a fantastic idea.

Also seen on WYWW: How can you go wrong with red pants and a starry shirt?!

This is so comfy, but totally classy! Everything flowy, and the red belt is peeking through for some fun.

Also an idea for a chambray shirt that may be one of my favorites: Pairing it with a red or white bodycon dress!

Easy, simple, great: Red shorts/pants and a blue striped shirt.

How cute is this?! They're all rather unique pieces, but if you can find em, you gotta wear em!

Another easy solution to coming up with some blue in your outfit: A jean jacket or vest!

This is perfect for a day out on the town, party hopping, whatever! White pants or shorts with a blue top and fedora... then add some hints of red with accessories!

You can find 'Merican bandanas anywhere right now, and they're so fun to wear in your hair! 

Also: 'Merica scarves! Wear it normal, around your head, or my personal favorite idea: As a bandeau top! [You can get the one I have for $15 shipped right now.. bargain!]

You could also be inspired by any of the red, white and blue outfits I've worn recently: 

-white dress/scarf

-DIY no-sew pocket embellishment

-DIY USA cutoff shorts

-blue dress and accessories

I was also thinking the combination of polka dot jeans and a red striped shirt would be really cute and easy.

Hopefully this will help! So many options, you're bound to be able to create one of them with what you already have in your closet!

Also, I wanna do an extra post for #WhatYaWearin4th on Thursday.. so if you get a chance, take a picture and send it to me by Friday afternoon! I love holiday themed WYWW!

love,

elizabethany

PS: All pictures posted with links from Pinterest. If I used your picture with the wrong attribution, please let me know so I can fix it.

PPS: If you wanna post them all on Pinterest in one image, here ya go!

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how to: diy polka dot jeans [without paint!]

So I've been crushing on these polka dot, star stamped, etc jeans, but they're all either too expensive, or don't fit me right.

Solution: Make my own!

I looked up some techniques and they all involved paint. Um... No thanks. I'd rather my pants not feel any different just because they have some design on them.

My magic wand: Clorox Bleach pen! Cost: $3. Here's how to make your own, customized jeans!

You can use old jeans or go get new ones. I went with the $10 jeans at Forever21 because they're cheap if I mess up, I know they fit, and they're hella comfortable.

Decide how you want your dots to look. Practice designs on paper. I wanted smaller dots, and I spaced them 3" apart horizontally and 2" vertically. I really only measured like every other row, so they're not perfect.

If you have some contact paper, you could use hole punches or scissors and make a stencil of sorts to stick on the jeans. You know I'm way too ADD and way more into getting something done quickly to do all that.

You could also copy some polka dots you like on Google or something after printing it out.

TO PREPARE: Put wax paper or plastic on the inside of the pants so the bleach doesn't get through.

The next thing a smart person would do is draw the design on the jeans with pen or marker or something... I just went straight to the bleach.

Measure up, and use it to make all your dots the same size. [Mine are about a half-inch in diameter, which are bigger than I'd like.]

Then measure across, and I just put the other rows in the middle of the "squares."

After all your bleach dots are on, let it dry for an hour or so. I made my polka dots pretty white, so I waited until the bleach dots had dried and started to crack. You can kinda see it in this picture:

If you want them lighter, wait 20-30 minutes at least, then wipe off a dot and see how light it has gotten.

After they're lightened up, carefully rinse the bleach off in your washer. I didn't put it in a cycle, just ran it under the water, then hung them to dry. Once they're dry, flip em over and prepare to do the other side.

When I did the back, I actually did my first line of dots directly along the inseam, and then made my pattern from there.

And I made the pockets their own pattern, but I'm not sure if I like that or not.

SOME THINGS TO KNOW: 

- Bubbles in the bleach are bad. It'll make dots within dots. Try to poke them until they pop.

-It took me a little over one bleach pen. 

-I tried to use an old one I had, but apparently they lose their bleach-ability. It was obvious when it dried cuz it looked extra dry and flat: 

See the faded dots? That's from the older pen. 

After the other side is done, rinse in the washer like before, but then put it through the short cycle with a little detergent, and dry however you please. BAM! You're done!

 Technically this process should take about... 4-5 hours total, depending on how you work though.

Here's the finished result:

To be completely honest, I might start getting bleach crazy and doing all sorts of designs on pockets and shirts and stuff. This could be bad. 

Now I'm going to go put a tan on my body because that whiteness is just ridiculous. 

love,

elizabethany

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