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

Bonus Footage: Gracey Does Stuff

Plucky Maidens Junk Fest

On Thursday, I went with my trusty partner in crime, Alex, and her daughter, Sophie, to the Plucky Maidens Junk Fest at McMenamin’s Edgefield in Troutdale and I wore this:

It's (hopefully obviously) not what I work to work.  I changed out of Thursday's too-big pencil skirt into olive green shorts (Old Navy), a floral tank (Old Navy) and flat sandals (Target).  I brought along my trusty vintage patchwork bag (gifted from my mom - thanks, Mom!) and a couple shopping bags for anticipated treasures.

Alex and I got off of work early, picked Sophie up and headed up to the Portland area for a smorgasbord of vintage wares on the grounds of McMenamin’s Edgefield which is an absolutely beautiful, untraditional resort east of Portland.  Edgefield was built in 1911 as the county poor farm so the grounds are huge (70+ acres, I think).   It was renovated for use as a resort by McMenamin’s and has several restaurants and pubs, a huge lawn for concerts, gorgeous gardens and vineyards and even an onsite glass-blower and potter.  Edgefield is easily my favorite McMenamin’s facility (they have several) so I was very excited to go.

I am a fool for a veranda and Edgefield has several.

One of the vineyards - I think there may be more than one of these as well.

And it did not disappoint.  There were around 50 vendors of vintage goods of all sorts, arrayed under the trees by the main building.  There was food, music and large quantities of McMenamins wines and ales and the crowds weren't too big.  We had an absolutely lovely time.  I didn’t buy much, but it was a fabulous way to spend a summer afternoon.

Vendors beneath the trees



Girl with raccoon tail - I think this is a thing now?



Beach Wedding

On Saturday afternoon, my gorgeous friend, Jodee, and I drove up to Cathlamet, Washington, along the Columbia River to attend a wedding of some friends of Jodee's.  And I wore this:

I had never heard of Cathlamet, but it was absolutely gorgeous:

And hot.  The wedding was right on the beach, in the middle of the afternoon and I'm pretty sure it got up into the mid-90s.  It was a lovely wedding though, just simple and pretty:

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful weekend as well!

Gracey

Terra Cotta and Turquoise

I think I “borrowed” this color combination from either Ana at Better in Sepia or Dotty from Dash Dot Dotty.  Or it’s evidence of the collective conscience of personal style bloggers.  I saw we go with the latter because sometimes I like to keep up at least a pretense of originality.  In which case, I came up with this all on my own today:

Genius, no?  Well, perhaps not genius, but I think it’s a rather lovely color combination, however the idea came to me.  For this possibly-genius look, I paired my terra cotta jersey dress (Target) with a thin turquoise belt (Target), turquoise beaded necklace (rummaged), flat sandals (Target), Timex watch, a charm bracelet (Banana Republic) and a beaded bracelet (made by Mom).

Today’s Takeaway?  If you can’t remember where you got an idea, just cite the collective conscience of personal style bloggers.  It's (possibly) a real thing.

Have a lovely weekend, Everyone!

Gracey

Neon and Turquoise

Here’s the deal.  It’s Friday, it’s summertime and I’m only working half a day today.  So, yep, Captain Casual strikes again:

But, how awesome is this necklace with this neon top? 

For today's possibly-overly-casual look, I paired my beloved beaded necklace (rummaged) with a neon tank (J. Crew – thrifted) layered over a white tank (Target), with clam diggers (made by me from Gap Long and Lean jeans) and the same metallic cuff (thrifted) and sandals (Lovely People via Ideeli) I wore yesterday.

I’ve said before that this necklace goes with everything and I think today’s pairing settles it.  I love this necklace anyway, but am just thrilled with how it looks with neon and white.  I’m also pretty happy with my self-cut clam diggers.  I love cut-offs for the summer, but I can’t say that I love them on me.  But, when I saw Angie of You Look Fab’s clam diggers, I thought that might be something that would work for me.  And I think they do work – I wore these all last weekend and will probably wear them much of this weekend as well.

Because?  This weekend?  This is the weekend that I’m finally, finally getting over to the coast.  Somehow it turns out that I haven’t been there all summer.  But, we’re going over tomorrow and I’m super excited and I’ll take lots of pictures (probably in these same pants).

Today’s Takeaway?  Turquoise, like orange, really does go with everything.

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

More Lazy Dressing

I slept horribly last night and as a result I seriously struggled with what to wear today.  Because I didn’t have the mental acuity to come up with anything creative I went the lazy route once again:

While yesterday I couldn't be bothered with more than a dress, today I wore two whole pieces (your're welcome).  I layered an embellished tank (Design History via Ross) over a maxi dress (thrifted), added metallic sandals (Lovely People via Ideeli) and a metallic cuff (thrifted) and called it a day.  Is it lazy?  You bet your sweet bippy it is.  But, it’s also comfortable and sometimes a girl just can’t manage anything more than some lazy comfort.

Today’s Takeaway?  Shiny accessories totally make lazy outfits work-appropriate (Within reason, folks.  Lawyers probably won't be distracted by shiny stuff).

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Bright Stripes and Cognac

I was running late this morning so I threw on the easiest thing I could find:

For the summer, there is nothing I like better than a bright, summery dress.  They’re easy and they don’t take a lot of styling to look good.  Today I paired my striped vintage dress (thrifted) with a braided cognac belt (thrifted), cognac sandals (Jeffrey Campbell via Nordstrom) and gold bangles (Nordstrom).  I wore it last time with a bright fuchsia belt and nude platforms, but I think I might like it even better with the cognac accessories.

Oddly enough, I used to not like dresses because I thought they were boring.  I preferred skirts because they felt more versatile to me.  I think that skirts are probably more versatile – they can look completely different paired with different tops – but I think I might prefer dresses for how easy they are.  While it’s nice to have the option to change the look of your skirt with different tops, sometimes it’s just nicer not to have to think too hard about getting dressed.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Do you prefer dresses or skirts?

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Blue and Birds

Today I’m wearing blue and birds, but not bluebirds, which are traditionally a harbinger of happiness.  I’m still pretty happy though as this skirt is my favorite shade of blue:

I paired the skirt (J. Crew) with a bird-print tee (Ross), black belt (Nine West via Macy’s), black sandals (White Mountain via Macy’s) and a couple of bracelets (because that’s what I do).  The skirt is too big so the belt is more a necessity than anything, but unfortunately there are no belt loops so it slides around like mad.  It started the day in the correct place, but by the time I’d pedaled to work, the buckle was on my left hip.  Needless to say, I’m a big fan of belt loops.  I considered sewing the pockets shut and using the fabric there to make belt loops but a) that would involve me sewing and b) I like pockets and belt loops.  Ah, dilemma.  But, at least it’s a pretty color!

Today’s Takeaway?  If you can’t wear bluebirds, wear blue and birds – it can still make you happy.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Too Much Togetherness

During the summer my thighs suffer from too much togetherness.  They get all hot and sweaty and angry and begin a series of minor border skirmishes against each other.  Sweaty, bickering thighs are no kind of fun, so sometimes I like to separate them to get them to behave.  The warmer weather has caused an increase in hostilities lately so today I’ve slapped my thighs into some shorts (a sort of penalty box for them, if you will):

And, as much as my thighs hate these shorts (and hate them they do), they admit that in this heat the penalty box is better than being in close quarters with each other.  Today, I paired the shorts (New York & Co via Ross) with a sheer blouse (Olivia Moon via Nordstrom) layered over a white tank (Old Navy).  I also added cognac sandals (Jeffery Campbell via Nordstrom), a couple of bracelets and large silver hoops (Nordstrom).  It’s simple, cool and helps limit thigh-fighting.

Today’s Takeaway?  Angry thighs are like children; sometimes you have to separate them so they stop fighting.  

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Summer Whites

It finally (finally!) got warm here in Oregon last week, getting up to the low 90s this past weekend.  I know that’s not nearly as hot as most of the rest of the country, but it’s warm enough to make me resort to linen and semi-sheer clothes:

I don’t usually wear a lot of white – it’s often too see-through for my tastes, and I’m mad clumsy so I usually ruin it.  But, I just can’t see myself pedaling home this afternoon in the heat in anything darker or heavier, so white it is.  I paired a white linen blend skirt (Ann Taylor) with a white and fuchsia printed blouse (Old Navy - also seen here), nude platform sandals (Target) and this vintage turquoise beaded bracelet (Ray’s Ragtime):

Even though I’m forced to wear easily-stained whites, I’m definitely not complaining about the heat.  I love the sun and relaxed outdoors much of the weekend.  Including my trip Friday night to a local winery (Kathken Vineyards) to listen to music.  It was a great night; the wine was delicious (we had the Syrah), the company was fabulous and the music was just delightful.  And the view?  Can’t be beat:

I hope you all had a lovely weekend as well.  And happy Monday!

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

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

EBEW: Gettin’ Thrifty With It

Yeah, that’s right, my title is a bad pun that references an even worse song.  Because that’s how I roll.  Also how I roll?  In thrifted clothes:

In fact, everything in this outfit is thrifted with the exception of the bangles (Nordstrom) and the necklace (vintage brooch-on-a-chain via Lil’ Gypsy).  And with the exclusion of those items, this outfit cost me a whopping $9.97.  The marigold blouse (never worn Liz Claiborne), which is silk and is the best color ever, was $1.98, the blue pleated skirt (vintage) was $3.00, the shoes (Franco Sarto) were $1.00 and the belt  (Mossimo/Target) was $3.99.

For those of you who bet yourself that I’d wear a pleated skirt for the EBEW Thrift Challenge, give yourself a cookie from me.  While my fabulous bloggy friend Katie loves to thrift silk scarves, I love to thrift pleated skirts.  And I was especially excited about this blue one. I’d been admiring the pleated blue Zara skirt that so many bloggers (like the lovely Katherine) rocked this summer, but we don’t have a Zara here in Oregon (hell, we just got H&M last fall).  So, of course I tried to thrift one.  And for months, I had no luck.  But, I kept my eyes open and finally found one, prompting a little happy dance in the aisle.

See? So happy!

If you’d like to see more of my thrifted pleated skirt collection, you can see this post, this one, or this guest post for gorgeous Fabienne of The House in the Clouds.  And if you’d like to see more thrifty posts (you know you want to), pop on over to Everybody, Everywear and feast your eyes.

Today’s Takeaway?  Whatever you’re looking to thrift (presumably pleated skirts because they’re awesome), be patient; it’ll pay off in the long run.

Happy Thursday, All!

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

Three Years Late

So, do you guys remember two or three years ago when “double denim” was all the rage and all the cool kids were wearing it?  Well, I just finally got around to wearing double denim:

Does this mean I’m finally cool?  Yes.  Well, probably.  For my first foray into double denim, I paired dark denim walking shorts (Macy’s) with a chambray tunic (Old Navy) and pewter sandals (Lovely People “Gilda” via Ideeli).  Although this outfit is a bit USPS, it was very comfortable and I quite liked it.  And now I can cross double denim off of my imaginary fashion bucket list, which is good news.

Also good news?  It’s Friday!  I’m super excited for this weekend because I have plans filled with art fairs, blues music, dinner with friends and drag queens.  It should be fabulous; and yes, I’ll try to remember to get pictures of the fabulousness.

What about you all?  Anyone have any big plans for the weekend?  I hope you all have a great one, whatever your plans!

Gracey

EBEW: Hello, Yellow!

First things first, I wanted to thank everyone for your lovely comments regarding the loss of our beloved pet.  All of your comments mean a great deal to me, so thank you all very much.

Now, for the post; it turns out that today is Everybody, Everywear’s Yellow Challenge.  And I figured that this challenge was as good a time as any to return to blogging.  It’s not exactly triumphant (we only got five photos before I started crying), but it’ll do:

This is not the outfit I intended to wear today; I had planned on wearing a black skirt but today is a little rainy and a lot of overcast so I substituted in my black pants (who are thrilled to be coming off the bench, btw).  I paired the pants (Banana Republic) with my yellow dolman-sleeved blouse (Target) which I layered over a black camisole for consistent opacity and belted it with a braided, cognac belt (thrifted).  I added cognac wedges (Kenzie via Macy’s), a watch (yes, I do own one) and a charm bracelet (Banana Republic).

I’m always cautious about wearing black and yellow due to the whole Bumblebee Effect, which, granted, doesn’t have the worldwide-tsunami impact of the Butterfly Effect, but, still, who wants to look like a bumblebee, right?  Right.  So, I added the cognac accessories to lessen the severity of the contrast between the black and yellow and I think it worked.

Thank you all again for your comments and I hope everyone has a lovely Tuesday,

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