Tunic and Skinnies

While I wouldn’t say that I have a uniform, per se, a tunic and skinnies is probably as close as I get:

It’s just a really easy look for me on days when I need easy, but don’t necessarily feel like wearing a dress.  Today was one of those days, so I paired a dolman-sleeve tunic (Angie via Ross), layered over a lace-trim cami (Old Navy), with “regular” length Flirt skinnies (Old Navy) and a pair of wedges (Bamboo via TJ Maxx).  I added a watch and a bracelet and I was done.  Not the most inspired look, perhaps, but I think the tunic adds enough interest so that it’s not the most boring look either.

Now, I’d like to say a word about dolman sleeves.  I love them.  I have several pieces with dolman sleeves (my dress from this weekend, for example) and they’re just great.  Especially for someone with my broad shoulders – a dolman sleeve gives my shoulders a bit more room to move around, which I love.  I hate feel constricted in my clothes so these really work well for me.  Also, as my bloggy friend Erin has pointed out, they have a fabulous sense of drama.  And what girl doesn’t love drama, right?  Right.

Today’s Takeaway?  If you don’t already love dolman sleeves, crawl out from under that sartorial rock and give them a shot.  They’re comfy and dramatic.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

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

My Kingdom for Some Belt Loops

Daily Outfit for Thursday, August 18th

Okay, so I don’t have a kingdom*, but, if I did, I’d probably give at least some of it up for a skirt with belt loops.  Because, once again I was sorely feeling the lack of belt loops:

I paired my belt loop-less skirt (vintage, thrifted) with a silk blouse (Nordstrom, also seen here), cognac belt (Old Navy) and leopard wedges (Tahari via DSW).  Once again I wore this blouse backwards because it has what has to be the lowest cut keyhole neckline ever.  Seriously, this blouse doesn't even try to be work appropriate; but, the colors are so pretty I don't want to get rid of it.  I actually loved  all of the colors in this outfit but it wasn’t very comfortable because my belt kept sliding everywhere. 

It’s sort of my fault (only sort of, though) because this skirt is a size too big.  But, it’s such a pretty color and it’s vintage Neiman Marcus and did I mention how much I love the color?  And, as demonstrated with the blouse, I will keep something just for the color.  Unfortunately, the skirt is too big so not belting it is not an option, but when I do belt it it’s a hot damn mess.  Really, the practical thing would be to just get rid of the skirt, but practicality is not my strong suit, so that probably won’t happen.

Also, you may have noticed (and if you didn’t, that’s okay too), but I am a day off on my posts.  I didn’t have time yesterday to post this because I was in a meeting all morning and at a smorgasbord of vintage wares all afternoon and evening.  So, I’ll post today’s outfit sometime tonight or early tomorrow, and post pictures from yesterday afternoon and tomorrow’s wedding maybe Sunday?  Or something like that.  Don’t worry, we’ll get it all sorted.

You may have also noticed that today is Friday (I’d be a little concerned if you missed this one), so I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

*Outside my head, at least.  In my head, it’s the Balkan kingdom of Gigantistan.

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

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

More Coral, With a Side of Teal

I am having a rough day today.  I couldn’t even muster up a smile for some of my photos:



Boo on today.  For reals.



I have no idea why I’m wearing so much coral/orange this week.  I mean I did tell you all that I loved it (numerous times, I think), but this week I apparently really love it:

A semi-smile.  It's all I've got.


Today it’s a coral cardigan with white beading (Target) paired with a tiered blouse (Nordstrom), dark Real Straight Jeans (Gap) and my still-squeaky teal flats (Target).  I chose these flats to wear with this sweater because they’re of similar saturated hues.  Yesterday with my turquoise and lime scarf I wore earrings in a less intense shade orange.  Today the intensity of the coral of the cardigan invites a more intense shade of turquoise in the shoe, so these teal ones are a good fit.

Otherwise I’m basically recycling the color scheme from yesterday sans the lime with addition of white ruffles.  The ruffles are to distract those readers who are beginning to feel cheated by the lack of creativity going on over here.  If it helps any, I’m being punished by the squeakiness of these shoes and general dissatisfaction with work.  It’s just so busy.  Busy and squeaky; that’s my Thursday.

However, I hope your Thursday was awesome and less squeaky (unless that’s your thing).

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

Do These Shoes Make Me Look Skinny?

Daily Outfit, 4/4/11

Spring still hasn’t quite sprung in Oregon, so I’m still combining my brights with black.  Today it was citron and teal with black:

And it was a combination I actually rather liked.  I wore my black-skirted Mossimo “2-fer” dress (Target) under a citron and white abstract-patterned cardigan (Target) with a multi-colored scarf (Ann Taylor Outlet), black shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction – thrifted), and a black bracelet (Macys).  I'm also wearing my Kenneth Cole trench (via Ideeli).  The tights were a last minute addition, but think they were a good choice in that they are some of my favorites and they pick the teal in the scarf up quite nicely.

But, the question of the day is not whether or not these tights were a good choice (I believe they were).  No, the question of the day is: Do these shoes make me look skinny?

These shoes are chunkier than I usually wear and took a little getting used to.  I thought I would try them though because I think they work with this outfit, but also I read somewhere (The Sartorialist, I think) that it is a good idea for larger women to wear a heavier shoe to help balance their heavier bodies.  And that a delicate shoe on a larger woman just makes her look larger. 

I have to be honest; this is not something I had ever consciously considered before.  But, I do think maybe I am subconsciously aware of what my shoes do to and for my body.  For example, I do prefer my skinny jeans with boots because in that instance I do think they help to balance my thighs, but I wore skinnies and flats on Saturday and really liked that look.  Was that a no-no?  Were Saturday’s shoes a miss?

What do you all think?  Do you select your shoes based on your body type?  Do you think a delicate shoe makes a woman look bigger?  Does a heavier shoe help balance a heavier torso and/or thigh?  Is this something I should be putting more thought into?  I’m very interested to hear what you all think about this.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Obi Belt

Daily Outfit 3/14/11

This outfit was inspired in part by Ana’s navy, rust and turquoise outfit I featured on Better in Sepia for Giants earlier today:

I got this dress sometime this past fall at a vintage store in Portland.  The tag said it is from the 40s, and it was only $5.00 because the entire left seam and a few others were torn out.  I’m not great at sewing, especially not at sewing in a straight line, but I figured I could sew a seam.  And as soon as I did, I realized that the seam wasn’t torn out, the zipper was torn out.  While a semi-crooked seam is within my skill-set, a zipper absolutely is not, but luckily I’m able to get the dress on without one.  Also, I think this dress used to be green, but has faded (?) to a copper/rust color.  If you look at the bodice you can still see some of the green which I think is pretty cool.

I paired the dress with my turquoise tights (Hue via Macy’s), navy cardigan (Gap), double-strap mini-wedges (BC Shoes via Endless) and my brand-new, home-made obi belt!  I got the idea from Fabienne’s blog, The House in the Clouds, who in turn got the idea from Angie of Fashion Me Blog.   You can see the tutorial on Fashion Me Blog here.  I got the ties from the thrift store at $1.49 each, so the whole project cost less than $3.00. 

So, what do you guys think about the navy, rust and turquoise color-scheme?  Is it something you already wear?  If not, would you you give a shot?

Gracey

The Purple Pencil

Daily Outfit, 3/9/11

The first order of the business today is to wish my awesome, handsome, smart nephew, Dominic, a happy birthday; he turns 7 today.  Happy Birthday, Nonnie!

The second order of business is to apologize for the wrinkles.  I had to be to work early today for a training so the pictures were taken after I'd been sitting at my desk for 8 hours.  Not pretty, I know.

Now to the clothes:

 

Today I paired my purple pencil skirt (thrifted), with a silk blouse (hinge via Nordstrom), teal tights (Hue via Macys), what appears to be my favorite peacock cardigan (a.n.a via JC Penney), what are truly my favorite boots (Born Crown via Nordstrom) and some handmade earrings (Mom).

This outfit contains a couple of closet orphans.  I don’t wear a lot of pencil skirts because they are pretty impractical for bike riding (I got a ride today).  And I don’t wear a lot of purple because I never know what to pair it with, outside of black, which seems boring.  As a result, I thrifted this skirt months ago and have never worn it.  The blouse is another orphan, but for different reasons – it was an impulse buy.  I saw silk (!), color (!), print (!) and sale price (!) and I bought it.  Sadly I ignored the fact that the cut is weird.  It has a peplum which I almost never like and always never know what to do with.  It also has a very deep keyhole neckline (seriously deep, like inappropriately so) that is just not working for me.  I bought this blouse almost a year ago now, and I’ve only worn it once.

I am trying, however, to be better about using or losing the orphans in my closet.  I had the idea to pair the purple skirt with the peacock cardigan first and thought this blouse might tie the two together.  The cut of the blouse still concerned me, but I tucked in the peplum and turned the blouse backwards to mitigate the slightly scandalous neckline.  This is my first time reversing a garment, but I think it worked.

Altogether, I like this outfit.  I like the colors together and it’s very comfortable.  But, what do you think, readers?  Ignoring those atrocious wrinkles, do you think this worked?  Is this not quite right?  Should I try one more remix?   Or should I just oust one or both of the pieces from my closet?  I know, so many questions, but I appreciate the input!

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you had a fabulous Wednesday,

Gracey