Helllllllllllooooooo! It’s been a busy couple of weeks here. I traveled to Boston for the PCA conference and did a presentation about the television series Huge. I got to meet a lot of fabulous people and learned so much from them. I even saw (and then subsequently stalked) Melinda who writes Amelia Pontes. She is one of the bloggers who inspired me to write, so I was a bit of a fan girl and then I became immediately embarrassed for being a fan girl. Let’s hope that when I meet some of you in NYC I’ll be much more cool, calm, and collected. I’ll have to devote an entire post to Boston once I get my life back from school.

During my hiatus, I also turned in my 57 page graduate project. It was a beast, and yet I know I could have written more. I just finished a marathon writing session, where I wrote a 15 page paper in less than 24 hours. Never again! I really think I’m testing my own sanity some days. But the end is finally in sight. I have two more presentations in this next week (one being my project defense), and if all goes well, I’ll be heading towards graduation.

During my absence, I also missed a Five Take challenge where the group took on three outfits in one post: Work, Rest, and Play. You can check out their posts here: Claire, Becky, and Gina. I might be able to come back and “make up” this post, but it seems so out of place now that I’ve chosen to move forward with this week’s theme which is the maxi dress!

If you’re new to Five Take, it’s a group of five bloggers who take on a theme each week and show their different styles. Becky already has her post up, and I have to agree with her. Maxi dress to me = summer & sunshine. I look outside today and it is gray and dreary. It rained this morning, so it’s definitely not maxi dress weather. That said, I thought I had plenty of maxi dresses, but upon looking in my closet I saw that I only have two. Two that I’ve worn to death around the house and look completely awful. Because of that I decided to just come up with an outfit I liked, even if I couldn’t wear it today because of the weather and even if it didn’t exactly match the theme.

I’ve had this Old Navy maxi skirt for a few months, but this is the first time I’ve made it into an actual outfit because the elastic band is all twisted up. I added a butterfly print dress by Old Navy underneath and pulled a little of it up so it cold overlap over the band and hid the skirt’s flaw. Both of these items are from the misses section, and I’m constantly aware and annoyed that the misses section’s clothing is so much better than the plus-size section’s. Old Navy, give us some good clothes, too!

I love that the print is so delicate and like water colors. I’m not usually a butterfly person, but this dress drew my attention right away. It’s airy and light.. perfect for when summer actually gets here!

Because the top had a print that deserved the focus, I went with two rings and a tan bucket bag. I don’t wear the blue stone ring often because it’s so big, but it was the perfect accent to this outfit.

Top: Old Navy, Skirt: Old Navy, Shoes: Old Navy, Rings: Boutiques, Purse: Nordstrom BP

Make sure to check out the other Five Takers’ looks:

Becky at The Ramblings of Mrs. BeBe

Claire at A Monkey Fatshionista

Gina at Fat, Fit, Fine

Nicole at A Well-Rounded Venture

What do you think of my take on the maxi trend? How do you wear maxis? How do you make them appropriate for not-summer weather?