On Safari

Daily Outfit for Tuesday, May 31, 2011

I feel like this is what I would wear if I were going on safari.  I know khaki pants would be more practical; if for no other reason than they'd keep tsetse flies from biting my nethers.  However, I promise you all that I do NOT look good in khaki pants.  So, a khaki skirt it is:

I paired the linen skirt (Jones New York via Macy’s) with a leopard cardigan (Ann Taylor), my Born Crown riding boots (via Nordstrom), studded belt (Michael Michael Kors via Nordstrom) and blue scarf (H&M).  I’m not sure how well the blue scarf fits in with the safari theme, but I really like this blue with brown and think it’s sort of fun with the animal print.

Even though this skirt is sort of an awkward length – I think it could stand to be a little shorter or a little longer – it is super for riding a bike in.  Enough length and volume so that it doesn’t fly up and frighten schoolchildren.  And it has pockets.  I’m a bit of a sucker for pockets, I think.  I find myself wanting pockets on everything.  But only if there are two pockets; I don’t understand the point of single pockets.  I’m not talking kangaroo pockets, I’m talking just one pocket on the left or right side.  I mean, really?  Does only one hand get cold?  Am I only going to want to fill one pocket with pretty pebbles and Masai trinkets?  (Just so we’re clear, the answer to both of those questions is no).

I guess I should have called this post "On Safari With Two Pockets: Just The Way I Like It: The Fashion for Giants Story."  I smell a Lifetime movie, folks.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Weddings and Friends

Wearing Gianluca Capannolo dress, Palizzi necklace, Dries Van Noten shoes, Louis Vuitton purse

A few weekends ago, Mass and I headed back to his hometown for 36 hours to attend a friend's wedding. Out of the entire small town wedding I think he and I were one of the few couples, if not the only, who made the effort from out of town. Albeit it gave us a chance to see his family and enjoy mother's day with his mom but our primary reason was for the wedding.

I moved to London four years ago. I was lucky enough to find my favourite person here and have subsequently decided to stay. My decision to stay was based almost entirely on him and my career. What it did not concern was the other relationships I built here. Now, I realise that may sound harsh but it's true. When living in a revolving door city like London, invaluable friends are very difficult to find. I have been to countless leaving drinks, had good friends come in and out of the city (sometimes twice!), and had the 'get to know you conversation' about a thousand times. I can count on one finger a friend who has been here throughout my entire journey that still lives in London.

As a friend, I make a very conscious effort to stay in touch. I will never shy away from getting in contact on a regular basis. When I go home, where most of my good friends live, I love getting everyone together. Every time it seems like we never missed a beat. And I will always make the trip for their wedding.

The point I'm trying to make here is that good friends are difficult to find so when you do come across one, don't let them forget how much they mean to you. Even if that means flying over just to be there for them.

Thriday

I had a fabulous day yesterday.  So fabulous, in fact, that I didn’t have time to write my post yesterday evening, so I’ve combined Thursday’s and Friday’s posts.  We’re calling it Thriday here at Fashion for Giants.

Yesterday really was fabulous.  My blog was mentioned on HuffPost Style, I got off work early to go to Last Thursday in Portland, I got to spend hours there with my much-loved and gorgeous friend Jodee and I even saw the man I like for a little while.  Oh, and my new shoes were cute (I’m just sayin’).  All in all, it was a good day, for which I wore the following:

I paired my Flirt Skinny Jeans (Old Navy) with a black ¾-sleeve tunic (Old Navy) layered under a tan batwing tunic (via Ross) and my cute new gladiator wedges (Bamboo via TJ Maxx).  I also wore my vintage squash blossom necklace (via Lil’ Gypsy Vintage) during the day.

For the afternoon and evening in Portland at Last Thursday with Jodee, I traded the squash blossom necklace out for a colorful scarf (???), coral and Peruvian opal earrings (via Crafty Wonderland) and a cuff (thrifted):

I figured I might need the scarf more than I needed the necklace for walking up and down Alberta Street in the rain while at Last Thursday.  I know most of you aren't from Oregon, so, briefly, Last Thursday is a sort of street festival that takes place on the last Thursday of every month during the summer, on Alberta Street in Northeast Portland.  It's amazingly fun with music and street vendors and food and jugglers and fire eaters and belly dancing troupes.  The galleries and shops stay open late on Last Thursday, giving it a sort of First Thursday feel, but with more dreadlocks.

Here are some photos from yesterday – the crowds were a lot smaller than usual because of the rain, but J and I still had a great time:

Fellow Last Thursday attendees

This was a wonderful ragtime band.  Wonderful.

I think this one is self-explanatory.

Rose City Vaudeville's mustachioed double-decker bus

If yesterday was fabulous, today was the antithesis of fabulous.  It was anti-fabulous.  Work continues to be crazy and today I had a three hour conference call.  THREE HOURS, Y’ALL.  That just isn’t right, especially considering that it was only scheduled for an hour.  And it rained on me on my way to work.  I have to tell you that I’m over being rained on, darnit.

At least I was dressed comfortably:

Today I paired some Real Straight Jeans (GAP) with a white tee (Target), beige cardigan (Santa Fe thrifted), gold flats (Kenneth Cole Reaction), a gold belt (???) and my new orange drop earrings purchased yesterday from an Alberta Street vendor.  I realized yesterday that for all my love of orange, I didn’t have any orange earrings, so I was very happy to find these.

As bad as today was (and it really was bad), it is Friday (hooray) and I do have a three-day weekend this weekend (double hooray), so I really can’t complain.

I hope everyone has a lovely, hopefully-three-day weekend and I will talk to you all later!

Gracey

La Scala

While in Milan Mass surprised me with tickets to La Scala to watch a short modernised opera, Quartett. I can't say it was a favourite of mine but the opportunity to see the theatre and hear the acoustics was astounding.


Inside La Scala. Beautiful isn't it?

I love how everyone still dresses up to go to the opera. I chose something pretty flexible since we had casual dinner plans with friends afterwards. I was wearing Baron Y skirt, Maurie and Eve sequin top, Queens Wardrobe leather jacket, Prada bag and CL shoes.

Guess Who's on HuffPost Style?

Well, quite a few bloggers, actually, but one of those bloggers is yours truly!  I'm super excited to be part of a post the fabulous Wendy Brandes did about maxi skirts.  You can read the full article here.



Inadvertent Matching

Daily Outfit for Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I didn’t mean to match my umbrella today so I think we all just got lucky with this one:

See?  Don’t you feel lucky?  Me too.

For this unintentional-umbrella-matching outfit, I paired my black cropped pants (Banana Republic) with a cream tunic (Nordstrom), black peep toe pumps (Aerosoles), a gold charm bracelet (Banana Republic) and a gold belt worn as a necklace (via Mabel & Zora).  I don’t usually wear such bright yellow gold, preferring muted, more brass-like tones, but I thought the bright gold would pop nicely against this otherwise plain outfit.

I was actually surprised at my decision to wear my belt as a necklace.  I know that seems ridiculous because it was my decision, but I was running late and didn’t have time to think it though.  I remember seeing other bloggers wear belts as necklaces and possibly vice versa and I remember thinking “Whose waist is small enough that their belt could double as a necklace?  Mine certainly isn’t.”  Well, my waist hasn’t gotten any smaller, and I don’t think my neck has gotten any bigger, but I think this works for me.  So, in case you were wondering, yes, giants can wear their belts as necklaces. 

How about you all?  Do you ever surprise yourself (pleasantly or otherwise) in your decision to wear something?

Gracey

Birthday Owl

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSEY!!!!

This is my older sister Rosey:

Today is her birthday and she is, hands-down the best big sister ever.  And yes, I will fight anyone who says differently.   She is only a year and a half older than me and we are as close in spirit as we are in age.  Not only did she teach me how to eat watermelon (off the floor, no less), she taught me how to properly rock an Afro:

I think those are candy cigarettes in my hand.  Probably.

I'm still working on the Afro and I usually don't eat while sitting on the floor, but I still value those lessons and everything else my sister has taught me in our more than 30 years together.

Happy Birthday, Rosey!!!  I love you!!!!

In other news, I'm dressed like an owl today:

 

I mentioned yesterday that I have a maybe slight, maybe more-than-slight, obsession with day dresses and this dress is one of the reasons why.  I absolutely adore the feather print and like to think the shape is pretty flattering on me.  Like many of my favorite day dresses, this one is vintage which I think makes it all the better.  And, I thrifted it for about $7.00, so really there is no downside.  I paired it with my owl belt (via Ross) and a similarly-toned metal cuff (thrifted).  I chose these shoes (Nine West via Nordstrom) because they are fairly modern which I hope kept this look from being too costume-y (owl belt aside).

Once again, it's my sister's birthday (hooray!!!) and I'm dressed like an owl.  That is all.

Gracey

Sunburn, Rain, Rain, Rain

Sorry I didn’t get around to posting a WeeCap this weekend, but I’ve included it all here in a super-sized post.

I had Friday off and it was gorgeous.  I think it got up to the mid-70s which we haven’t seen yet this year.  I love the sun and had nothing else to do so I spent the entire day (seriously, like six hours) sitting in the sun and reading The Help.  I know the book came out two years ago, but I just read Water for Elephants recently too.  I don’t worry too much about reading something as soon as it’s published – I’m pretty confident I’ll get around to it eventually.  The Help was a lovely book though and I absolutely suggest it to anyone else who hasn’t read it yet.

On Saturday, I realized I was a bit sunburned but the weather was back to being sort of rainy and not very warm so I couldn’t do any more damage.  I decided to do some damage to my checking account instead and went thrifting most of the day.  I actually didn’t spend that much, but realized that I may have a slight obsession with gold clutches and day dresses.

For Saturday’s thrifting, I wore my olive skinny jeans (GAP), pink ditsy floral tank (Frenchi via Nordstrom), oatmeal cardigan (Eddie Bauer, thrifted) and my pale gold flats (Kenneth Cole Reacation):

On Sunday I did some more thrifting, realized my obsession with day dresses may be more than “slight” and did a little laundry.

For Sunday’s thrifting, I wore lightweight wide-legged pants (GAP), an orange, striped tee (Old Navy), bronze sandals (Target) and pink drop earrings (Alberta street vendor):

My sister took my pictures on Sunday and insisted that we try to perfect our jumping shots.  Perfect they are not, but you can't say we didn't try our best:

Today it was supposed to get all the way up into the high 50s (exciting, no?) and rain much of the day, so I just gave in and resurrected the riding boots (Born Crown via Nordstrom):

I wore them with a red jersey dress (Banana Republic) layered under a navy cardigan (Urban Outfitters) and a studded belted (Michael Michael Kors via Nordstrom).  Basically, I now realize that I’m probably going to need these boots to get me through the summer – it’s a good thing I like them. 

Also?  Bloomers:

I love bloomers.

I hope everyone had a lovely Monday and didn’t have to ride their bikes home in the rain (luckily I missed the promised storm, although it is raining pretty hard now).

Gracey

Top of the Duomo

Photos from the top of the Duomo.

FBFF for May 20th: Haters Gonna Hate

According to Katy of Modly Chic, this week’s FBFF topic “was inspired by a post by Beautifully Invisible from a couple weeks ago entitled ‘The 10 things that drive me crazy about your blog.’”  To that end, we were challenged with listing five things that drive us crazy about the blogs we visit.

I have to tell you, Dearest Readers, that I struggled with this subject.  A lot.  I even considered not doing an FBFF post at all this week because I actually find this topic to be vaguely offensive; albeit in a way I’m not sure I can articulate.  However, I’ll give it my best shot.

I find writing about how someone’s blog irritates you to be akin to commenting that you don’t like someone’s style or blog or face.  It’s rude.  If you don’t like it, you don’t have to visit and it’s as simple as that.  Saying you won’t visit/follow someone’s blog because they don’t have a Twitter account seems ridiculous to me.  I do understand some of the pet peeves – music playing automatically, for example, can be disruptive.  But other issues people have with someone else’s blog seem to be so very subjective.  Just because you offer 17 different ways to share a post doesn’t mean you can reasonably expect that of another blogger.

If it's your goal to make it easy to share a post, that's wonderful.  But you can't expect that to be a goal of every blogger.  We all blog for different reasons.  Not everyone who blogs is looking to be a BLOGGER.  Some of us just want to be bloggers, meandering along in our own small corner of the blogosphere, not worrying about becoming Modcloth’s Blogger of the Moment.  We don’t all set out to rule the Web and our goals for our blogs may not include thousands of followers or our every post being Tweeted and re-Tweeted across the globe.

My blog is personal.  I started my blog for myself and not for anybody else.  I love my readers and think you all make blogging that much better, but if my sister was my only follower (I think her following is mandatory), I'd still blog.  Therefore, I created my blog in a way that I'm comfortable with and that reflects my personality.  In truth, I’m not especially technologically savvy, I'm a terrible photographer (as you may have noticed)  and I'm not a fan of social media.   I’m comfortable with those truths and I’m comfortable with my blog reflecting those truths. 

I would like people to enjoy visiting my blog not because I make it easy to Tweet about a post, but because what I write or wear is interesting to them.  Or because they like my smile.  Or my sense of humor.  And if it’s not interesting, or funny, or you find my lack of a Twitter name (handle?) irritating, I’m okay if you don’t read it.

I know it seems counterintuitive to say that blogs are personal when everyone and their mom can read them, but I view my blog as something personal that is produced for public consumption.  And even though the public is the consumer I’m not convinced that means the public should have a say.  Like art, you can hate it and you can even say that you hate it but you shouldn't expect that the artist will stop creating or begin creating in a way that is more pleasing to you and your particular sensibilities.  So, why waste your breath hating?

If you, or your mom, would like to read some less rant-y, probably better-written posts about this week's topic, please do stop by Modly Chic for a list of participants.

Gracey

Casual Thursday

Daily Outfit for Thursday, May 19, 2011

Today is my Friday and it’s sunny out and work is driving me batty so I dressed casually today.  Possibly too casually, but I just can’t care:

For Casual Thursday (it’s a real thing), I paired my green pants (NY & Co via Ross) with a  possibly too-large yellow-striped tee (Old Navy), bronze sandals (Target) and turquoise earrings (gifted).  I love green and yellow together but I really do think this tee is a bit too large.  I seem to remember trying on a smaller size though and it being too body-con for my tastes.  I probably should just not have purchased the tee if my choices were either too big or too small, but it’s yellow (!) and striped (!).  It’s hard for me to say no to that combination.

Our offices are closed tomorrow so I will not have a daily outfit post, but will try to include Friday in my WeeCap for this weekend.  Hopefully we’ll have good weather for our three-day weekend, but I don’t know.  Although the weather is absolutely glorious today, I’ve heard both that it will and that it won’t last through the weekend, so we’ll see.  Fingers-crossed!

Happy Casual Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Basic Posh Ross

Daily Outfit for Wednesday, May 18, 2011

This is probably the least original post I have ever done.  I really can’t take credit for anything in it.  I feel like the outfit is a Basic Cravings knock-off (she’s fabulous at pairing brights), I blatantly stole the first pose from Posh Spice (or, if you insist, Victoria Beckham) and I feel like the hair is edging out towards 1970s Diana Ross territory.  I have no excuses; all I can do is thank those lovely ladies for the inspiration.

In truth, I have wanted to try color blocking brights for awhile now, but the weather wouldn’t cooperate and I really wasn’t sure it was something I could pull off.  I also wasn’t sure I had the right pieces in my closet; but, then, a couple of weeks ago, I thrifted this blueish-purple (blurple?) Nieman Marcus skirt.  I decided to pair it with my bright pink silk blouse (Banana Republic) and my Mary Jane wedges (Corso Como).  I added a thin studded belt (Old Navy), a charm bracelet (Banana Republic), failed to brush my hair and there you have it; Basic Posh Ross.

Also, thank you all for supporting my face – I think Sue hit the nail on the head when she said I’m just looking at it too much and it’s lost all meaning, like when you write a word too often.  That’s right, MY FACE HAS NO MEANING.  In less shout-y news, I was totally right about pencil skirts and bike riding – it’s a terrible idea.   I have to say, though, that the trouble was less with the actual riding and more with getting on the bike.  I swear my dog was laughing at me from the yard as I struggled to get on.  I’m just glad he has a good sense of humor.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Squeaky Shoes

Daily Outfit for Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I love the color of these shoes, but they’re squeaky.  I hate squeaky shoes – I like to be all stealth and sneak up on folks.  These darn shoes didn’t allow me to sneak up on anyone today, in spite of my best efforts.  Boo on you, Squeaky Shoes!

In addition to my squeaky teal flats (Target), I wore cropped navy pants (Banana Republic), a silver-greige tunic (Target) and a yellow bracelet (Mississippi Street vendor).  I think that I’m not wild about the color of the tunic; well, I am, but I’m not.  I think it’s a lovely color, for a neutral.  I’m just not sure it’s a lovely color on me.  My skin generally gets along better with brighter colors; however, I think the shoes and the bracelet give me a little of the color I crave so I was good with this outfit.

Also, and this is going to sound weird, but my face has been driving me crazy in photographs lately.  I don't know what it is, but, just like the color of this shirt, I haven't been wild about my face lately.  That's a sort of weird thing to say, I know, but if anyone else has been thinking my face has been looking crazy as of late, I wanted you to know that you're not alone.  I'm here for you.  If you weren't thinking that, please don't feel obligated to think it now. 

And, finally, I wanted to apologize for all the short posts lately – my brain is on overload as of late and I feel lucky that I’m even posting at all.  And that the pictures are right-side up. (Not good, mind you, just not upside down).  So, thank you all for your patience and your continued reading.  It means an awful lot to me.

Gracey

Milano pt 1

It was my first time in Milan a couple weekends ago! I was very excited to go given all the great things I constantly hear about it. It definitely did not let me down. I don't think it's my favourite Italian city/village but I do think it has a lot to offer. We spent our first evening eating at Cracco. It was a traditional Michelin star meal - very creative and many many courses.

And if you know Mass, you know he loves perusing the wine lists. You can imagine how long this one took:

WOWZA.


I guess we eventually chose one.



10 hours later...


We left....to have another drink. :)

Have a pleasant Tuesday evening!