Viva Los Orphans

I’m still in a “Holy crackers, it’s too hot and I can’t find anything to wear” sort of mood, in spite of the fact that we had a lovely thunderstorm last night which relieved at least a little of the heat.  When I’m in this mood, I’m completely dissatisfied with most of the clothes I usually love (except for these shoes, apparently) and find myself looking more towards my closet’s orphans.  Yesterday I wore an orphaned yellow skirt.  And today I’m wearing orphaned grey pants:

Yesterday’s orphan acquitted itself rather well, and I think today’s orphan is too.  These pants are years old and, like yesterday’s skirt, I think I’ve only worn them once.  Today though, I decided to pair the pants (Gap) with what appears to be my favorite white tank (Design History via Ross) and my increasingly ubiquitous blue platforms (MRKT via DSW).  I finished the look with some blue and white jewelry, including these earrings:

I didn't notice the rust before I posted this, but, I still like them.

I have no idea why I never wear these pants.  I even have a khaki version that I never wear either.  I think that they maybe used to be a little big for me?  Or I thought they did funny things to my thighs?  I don’t know.  They seem to be okay today though, so maybe I’ll give this pair another shot and maybe even try the khakis (maybe; they are khaki, after all).

I’ll end with my usual Friday advice: have a good weekend!  And also, try to stay cool and if you’re on the East Coast, stay safe!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Black and Brights

It was sort of chilly this morning – it was only 62 when I left for work – so I decided to wear a warmer, knit dress instead of a woven one:

This dress is another one from Walmart that I’ve gotten a ton of use out of.  Today I paired it with bright accessories in the form of an embroidered belt (Target), teal flats (Target), a red necklace-as-bracelet (thrifted) and my vintage crystal and brass necklace (Special).  That’s one good thing about black; it offers such a great backdrop for accessories.

It has been a very long week for me, y’all.  I’m very, very happy that the weekend is here, even though I have a fairly busy weekend.  Tonight I have a date (!), nothing planned yet for Saturday although I think I might go to a couple thrift stores, and then on Sunday, my friend Alex and I are going shopping.  I think it’s going to be a wonderful weekend.

Today’s Takeaway?  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend as well!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

A Day of Don’ts

A Day of Don’ts

If you read anything fashion-related (magazines, blogs, etc) they are often full of advice on what not to wear and what not to do.  In short, they are full of don’ts.  Today I had a day full of don’ts, but in a good way:

For example, they say “don’t wear racer-backs if you’re broad-shouldered; it will make you look broader.”  I have the broadest of shoulders and today wore this abstract animal print racer-back tank (Target).  They also say “don’t wear cropped pants; it will shorten your legs.”  And they say “don’t wear slim cut pants if you have big legs.”  My big, long legs laughed at that challenge and today I paired my tank with my slim, cropped black pants (Banana Republic).  They say, “if you insist on wearing cropped pants, don’t wear flats; you’ll look stumpy.”  Me?  Stumpy? I don’t think so.  So, today I paired my cropped pants with silver and black flats (Target).

Is it possible I would have looked taller and slimmer if I hadn’t worn flats?  Sure; life is full of possibilities and I’m willing to concede that as one.  But, it’s also a possibility that this outfit looks just fine on my broad-shoulder, big-legged, flat-wearing self and that’s the possibility I explored today.

Today’s Takeaway?  Try a don’t every once in awhile just to make sure it’s actually a don’t for you.  Or, for added fun, try a bunch of don’ts in single day while also trying to make messy hair happen – it’s fab.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Just Enough

I’ve worn this necklace three times this week which some people may believe is too much, but I insist is just enough: 





It’s not the necklace’s fault that turquoise, like orange, goes with everything.  Yesterday I wore it with other brights; today I’m wearing it as the only bit of color in an otherwise neutral outfit.  And I think it works equally well both ways.  Today I paired the necklace (rummaged) with a grey and white striped maxi (Gap), pewter sandals (Lovely People via Ideeli), a white belt (thrifted) and large silver hoops (Nordstrom).

Does anyone have any big plans for this weekend?  Tonight I’m going to a local winery (we have quite a few here in the Willamette Valley) to listen to music.  And Saturday and Sunday is the Oregon Brew Fest in Portland.  In addition to a lot of wineries, Oregon also has A LOT of microbreweries, so the Brew Fest is always a fun weekend.  I’m not sure that I’ll be going this year, but it’s definitely an option.

Today’s Takeaway?  Oregonians believe strongly in fermentation as a scientific process.

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Gracey

Saturation Point

I love saturated colors (which may be pointing out the obvious, but it’s better to be obvious than oblivious):

I especially like to wear them during the summer.  They just feel like summer to me and have a tendency to look better than pastels against my summer-skin.  I often pair my saturated pieces with more neutral pieces, but today I decided to go all out.  In part because I was inspired by Ana at Better in Sepia’s look here, and in part by the fact that I just found this tank top in my dresser (what?  It’s a big dresser).

I wore a coral (which photographed as neon salmon) skirt (Banana Republic) with a violet tank (Old Navy) and turquoise-beaded necklace (rummaged).  All three of these pieces are pretty highly saturated so I wore my neutral platform sandals (Target) to give the eyes a rest.  And I added a belt (thrifted) to help wrangle some of the drape of the pieces.

Today’s Takeaway?  If you usually pair saturated items with neutrals, try them with other saturated colors; it can be a fun change.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Put A Tassel On It

Turns out that I am a sucker for anything with a tassel on it.  Like this bracelet:

I got this bracelet and some tasseled carnelian earrings the last time I was at our local vintage store, Lil’ Gypsy.  And I’m kicking myself for passing up a tasseled lavaliere, but I think I’ll go back and see if it’s still there.  I’m telling you, folks, put a tassel on it and I’ll probably buy it.

Oh, I also wore clothes today:

Not nearly as exciting as the tasseled bracelet, to be sure, but probably more work appropriate than just the tasseled bracelet.  In addition to the bracelet I wore my black-and-gray twofer dress (Target) belted with a multi-colored cotton sash (thrifted), my purple-blue platform sandals (MRKT via DSW), turquoise bead necklace (rummaged) and vintage cameo bracelet.

I know my accessories look like a hodgepodge of colors, but although you can’t see it very well, the sash combines the black and gray of the dress with the purple of the shoes, the turquoise of the tasseled bracelet and necklace and the rose and cream of the cameo bracelet.  And in addition to be tied together with the belt, all of the accessories are similar in hue (or is it tone?) which helps unify the look without being matchy-matchy.

Today’s Takeaway?  Tassels rock.  That is all.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Long Weekend, Lazy Monday

It really was less of a long weekend and more of a looooooooong Saturday.  My friend Alex and I headed up to Portland early on Saturday morning, had breakfast at Gravy, visited the Mississippi Flea Market and then hit every vintage store we could find.  On Mississippi, we went to Flutter and Animal Tracks.  On Alberta we had lunch at Petite Provence and went to Billy Goat Vintage and The Factory.  And downtown, on 10^th, I think, we went to Fat Fancy and Ray’s Ragtime.

Sadly, neither of us were very successful in finding anything; although I did purchase an amazing clutch from the Mississippi Flea Market (I love clutches, I have a couple dozen of them) and Alex found a gorgeous dress at Flutter.  Luckily, our trip to Portland was two-fold; we were also going to an 80s concert in nearby Canby that night.

The concert was absolutely fabulous.  It was outdoors at a bar called The Wild Hare Saloon and it was great.  It was $12 for three bands all of whom played 80s music.  The first group was Radical Revolution; they play 80s pop and are the same band that played at our 80s prom.

The second group was Stone in Love, a Journey tribute band:

This is the poster from the concert.

And the night closed with Hair Assault, a hair/metal group:

This is their promotional photo and yes, they really dress like this!

We had the best time, but didn’t get home until nearly 1 am.  Therefore I spent most of Sunday lazing about the house and re-watching Casino Royale (it’s one of my favorite movies and I adore Daniel Craig).  I think I was still tired, or maybe just uninspired today, because I couldn’t come up with anything to wear besides this:

Oh, no, it’s not bad, I know that.  It’s just so neutral.  And I am not a neutral kind of gal.  But, I liked this outfit in spite of its snooze-fest of a color palette.  The black jeggings (Gap Outlet) are super comfortable, as is the embellished tank (Design History via Ross) and the wedges (Bamboo via TJ Maxx).  I added simple gold hoops and a vintage cameo bracelet and pedaled my tired little heinie to work.

Today’s Takeaway?  For all you color-lovers out there; neutral isn’t bad, it’s just neutral (and that's okay).

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

Blue Friday

I love this color of blue and just realized that I wear it a lot, as is evidenced by today’s outfit...

... and by the fact that I wore a skirt in the same shade yesterday and have a similarly shaded scarf that I wear quite a bit (seen here).  I don’t know why I wear so much blue – it’s not like it matches my eyes or anything – but I do love it.  Especially this particular blue.

Today I wore the blue in dress form (Walmart) to which I added a rope-and-leather belt (thrifted), cognac sandals (Jeffrey Campbell via Nordstrom) and brass angel wing earrings (Alberta street vendor).  Because the color is so strong I decided to go with neutral accessories today, even though I like this blue equally well with brights and other saturated hues.

Today’s Takeaway?  It’s okay to wear a single color frequently, even daily.  It’s likely that no one will notice unless you tell them and if they do notice you can just say it’s your signature color.  It worked in Steel Magnolias, it will work for you. 

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

Petite Pleats

You may have already noticed, but I am not petite.  My skirt is though:

And, now that I think of it, so is my tunic.  I like to thrift petite midi-skirts because they’re right about knee-length for my giant self.  And my “tunic” is actually a petite dress.

I paired the pleated skirt (thrifted) with the polka dot tunic/dress (thrifted), a black studded belt (JC Penny) and neutral platform sandals (Target).  I used the belt to rein in some of the volume of the tunic/dress but also to put my waist where I wanted it.  Without the belt, my torso would have seemed disproportionately long.  With the belt, I look leggier and less torso-y (it’s a word).  The neutral shoes with this serve the same purpose, elongating my legs with what can be a tricky skirt length.

The takeaway for today?  That giants can wear petites and if you want to look like a giant, move your belt up. 

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Seen It All Before

Well, not all of it, but I did wear two pieces of this outfit last week:

I wore both the dress and the belt last week, and in the same outfit last week.  How’s that for lack of imagination?  Pretty good, no?  I did mix it up a little bit though.  Last week I wore the black dress layered under another dress.  Today I repurposed the black dress (thrifted) to act as a skirt under a sheer, silk, dolman-sleeve blouse (thrifted).  The owl belt (Ross) is still being worn as an owl belt, for obvious reasons.  And I added my new-to-me black platform sandals (rummaged) and also-new-to-me vintage carnelian earrings (via Lil’ Gypsy).

I really liked this outfit, but I’m not sure the photographs do it justice.  The sleeves, for example are huge (talk about drama, right, Erin?) but you can’t really see that in the photographs.  You’ll all just have to imagine that I look more svelte and less poofy in person.  (Actually, I'd like you to imagine that with all the outfits I post, not just this one).

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Mine didn’t go exactly as planned (no drag queens but we added street corner serenades), but you know what they say about the best laid plans of giants and friends.  I'll post full details on my WeeCap a bit later.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

Leopard Dress, Owl Belt

The bad news is that my dress is too small:

The good news is that I layered the too small dress over one that fits me so as not to look like a leopard-spotted-sausage (because no one wants to see that).  I love this leopard dress – it’s vintage, it’s silk and it has pockets (pockets!), but it doesn’t fit.  Specifically, my thighs fight it like it’s an invading army and my chest appears to be determined to say a very personal ‘hello’ to anyone and everyone.  I was going to get rid of the dress but then I had the idea to try it layered over another dress; and I think it worked.

The bottom layer is a simple black tank dress (thrifted) and the top layer is the silk leopard dress (thrifted) which I buttoned at the waist (the one place it fits) and belted with my owl belt (Ross).  I added some wedges (G by Guess via Piperlime) and a bangle and called it a day.

Would you all like another piece of possibly dubious advice?  Of course you would.  Before getting rid of something, try repurposing it first.  While it’s doubtful that I’ll ever fit into the leopard dress on its own again, by layering it over other pieces, I can continue to get some use out of it.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Fire Starter

These shorts are not corduroy…

But I can’t seem to convince my thighs of this fact.  The fact that the fabric is ever so slightly ribbed was enough for my thighs to attempt to start fires in them all day today.  This in spite of the fact that I had a talk with my thighs when I put this together this morning, assuring them that these shorts are NOT corduroy.  However, as soon as I put the shorts on, my right thigh yelled “Burn, baby, burn” and the left countered with “Cry ‘Havoc’ and let slip the dogs of war.” (The left has traditionally been more militant than the right).

I even tried to convince my thighs to put down the matches by telling them how flattering these shorts were to them, but I still heard mutters of “conflagration” and “where’s the flint?” all day long.  In spite of the muttering from my thighs, I do like these shorts; they're a good length and a good fit.  And although fussy thighs keep me from wearing them often, I was determined today and paired the shorts (New York & Co via Ross) with my neon camp shirt (thrifted) layered over a white tank (Old Navy) and neutral platform sandals (Target).

Heh, I just realized that I paired neon with a neutral – I don’t think this pairing was on my fashion bucket list, but let’s say it was, I’ll check it off and we’ll all pretend I know what I’m doing.  Agreed?  Fabulous.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Shades of Grey

Today’s outfit is pretty much the antithesis of yesterday’s outfit:

It’s formfitting where yesterday’s outfit was loose and monochromatic where yesterday’s was full of color.  Interestingly enough, I really like this one as well.  Once again, I’ve gone outside my comfort zone with the more body-conscious clothes and with the lack of color; but it still somehow appeals to me.  Which is making me start to suspect that I have no personal aesthetic and that I’ll just wear whatever.  It’s probably not the best thing for a personal style blogger to not have a grasp on their personal style, but hey, what are you gonna do?

And really, it’s not like this outfit is a complete departure, any more than yesterday’s was.  Yesterday was unexpected pattern mixing, but I’ve always enjoyed pattern mixing, just more safely.  And with this, sure it’s a lot of grey with the grey tee (Old Navy), the grey skirt (Gap) and the pewter sandals (Lovely People via Ideeli).  But I’m still me so I added some color with the turquoise beaded necklace (rummaged) and my orange earrings.  And yes, it’s sort of body-con, but it’s still an A-line skirt which is my go-to silhouette.  So, you see, it might not seem my style initially, but this outfit is totally me.

Bye, All!  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

P.S. For everyone who wondered how I tied my blouse yesterday:

1. I gathered the blouse in front and then tied it in a knot, making sure it was pulled pretty snug on my body.
2. Then I just tucked the knot back up into the shirt which worked because the shirt was so snug at my waist.

Turquoise and Lime

The scarf is the entire point of this outfit:

I love it.  I think it flatters my skin tone like nobody’s business and what’s better than turquoise and lime?  Besides, of course, turquoise and lime with a pop of orange.  And will you look at that, I’ve given you a pop of orange.  Just don’t say I never do anything for you.

In order to let my ridiculously fabulous scarf (Echo “Ornate” via Nordstrom) be the focus, I paired it with black cropped pants (Banana Republic) and a white tee (Target).  I added cognac accents with the shoes (BC Footwear) and the braided belt (thrifted).  And, of course, the coup de grace, a pop of orange in the form of drop earrings (Alberta street vendor).  As an added bonus, I think the orange earrings tie in quite nicely with the cognac accents, proving once again that orange goes with everything.

And because we’re all big on full disclosure and transparency (no puppet regimes here, Katie) I have to admit that Rebekah (of The Mixed Up Files…) wore a pair of black trousers, a white tee and a bright scarf the other day and I loved it so much I basically copied her.  Because sometimes that’s just how we roll here at Fashion for Giants.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Practicing Impracticality

Daily Outfit for Wednesday, June 1, 2011

In spite of the fact that I bike to work in platform heels, wedges and other ill-advised footwear, I like to think I maintain a pretty practical wardrobe.  Which I think is one of the reasons that, before this year, I’ve never been a fan of sweaters with short sleeves.  They seem a bit pointless, really.  I mean, if it’s cold enough for a sweater, you’d think it’d be cold enough for sleeves, right?  And yet, they’re something I find myself specifically looking for when I go thrifting as of late. 

Even though I have a strange desire to thrift short-sleeve sweaters, I’m still unsure on when they’re practical to wear.  In the past I’ve layered them over long-sleeve tees in the winter (yes, I know, if I am going through all that trouble I could just buy a long-sleeve sweater) but it’s (finally) no longer winter so that trick is out.  But, today.  Today we had thunderstorms so it was raining off and on but it was also crazy muggy.  Turns out that particular mix is the perfect weather for a short-sleeved sweater. 

I went with this one:

This sweater is thrifted and I wore it over a tiered chiffon blouse (Madison Lilly via Nordstrom) with some pin-tucked wide-legged jeans (Gap), Jeffrey Campbell sandals (Nordstrom) and cuff bracelet (thrifted).  It’s less color than I generally like to wear but I was hoping the different textures of the blouse and sweater along with the cuff added enough interest not to bore me to death and it worked well enough for me.

The message here?  If you try hard enough you can justify any addition to your wardrobe, no matter how impractical.  Trust me, I have a blog.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

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

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

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