Cheryl Shops

When I'm in the city, which is most of the time, I stick to blazers, tees, jeans...most of what you see here on my outfit posts. It's a uniform of sorts, and it works. When I'm on vacation, however, I go full-on boho: embroidery, tassels, fringe...the whole nine yards. I have a bunch of hippie tops and dresses, and they linger in my closet for most of the year, except when I'm vacation, when I break them out like European trust-fund brat on a yacht in Ibiza. I love my vacation alter ego (she also lets her hair go au naturel, i.e. curly) because it's fun to play around with a totally different style of dressing than what I'm used to.





This dress was a Forever 21 score (yes, I am completely serious), and even though it was $58, which is rather pricey for F21, it's incredibly well made, and it's cotton, which is totally a rarity for the store. It also has the look of much more expensive brands like Figue, March 11, and the like, whose dresses are often in the four-figure range (i.e. in the European trust-fund brat price range). It's by RD & Koko, which appears to be a third-party brand that I've never heard of, but if F21 keeps carrying treasures like this one, consider this 40-year-old...forever 21!





There's a lot going on here, but it all works, thanks to the narrowed color scheme, which reminds me of the Greek islands. The loose fit is also convenient in case you hit the margaritas and quesadillas a bit too hard, like I did. A disclaimer: this dress was in stock before my trip but F21 just had some big blowout sale and now they're sold out. I'm terribly sorry but linked a few similar dresses below.





Statement earrings are another thing I rarely wear in real life—I have freakishly small earlobes, and they often are too heavy for me. Not to mention, I'm more of a bracelets girl. These are actually pretty lightweight, and the blues coordinated perfectly with my dress. They also kind of light up your entire face, which is great for the beach, when you don't want to wear a lot of makeup. Because the earrings are so prominent, I kept the rest of my jewelry minimal—just the necklace I never take off and a dainty little ring.







I've worn this bag in this post and this post with its shoulder strap, but conveniently, you can detach it and convert it into a clutch. I love traveling with bags like this—they're great for going hands-free in the airport, but they double as a nighttime bag too when you remove the strap. This one fits nicely in the crook of your arm too.



These shoes are totally my vacation shoes (I wore them in Hawaii and in wine country) for many reasons—they have ridiculous bows, they kind of feel like slippers, they're flats, which I rarely wear...just looking at them makes me feel relaxed and carefree.


Fun story about this location: we wanted to shoot in the atrium of this hotel where my boyfriend had stayed before, but we weren't even there 15 seconds before we got interrogated by the security guards...and promptly escorted off the premises. It was a bit embarrassing, but their beach was nearly deserted, so we ended up getting some great shots there. Take that, snooty all-inclusive resort!



OUTFIT DETAILS Forever 21 dress (similar here or here) || Gigi New York clutch || YHF Los Angeles Sunglasses || Stella & Dot earrings, necklace, ring || Sam Edelman slides