A Return to Tights

Daily Outfit for Friday, April 29, 2011

So, apparently Mother Nature is mad at me for daring to go bare-legged on Wednesday and for hollering about how I refused to wear tights any more.  Because today?  Today I had to wear tights:

It was freezing this morning, you guys.  For the first time in awhile I could see my breath and had to wear my gloves on my ride in.  Needless to say, I am NOT very happy about it, but I hate being cold, so tights it was.  I wore my grey tights (Nordstrom) under my fuchsia skirt (Target) which I paired with my navy and white striped tee (Target) and grey cardigan (GAP).  I also wore a pair of thick, OTK socks (Nordstrom) and my riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom), because, yes, it was that cold.

I wanted to put away some of my winter clothes this weekend, but to be honest, I’m a bit afraid to do so.  I’m convinced that as soon as I do, it’ll snow.  I guess I just need to quit complaining about the weather, and maybe it’ll finally get nice. 

Does anyone have any big plans for the weekend?  I’m going on a couple dates tomorrow (yes, plural) as a result of my online dating.  I’ll let you all know how they go.  I also want to visit the Saturday market and I think Sunday I might be going to a movie and/or shopping with a friend.  It should be a fun, if maybe cold, weekend.

I also want to say again how much I appreciate you all taking the time to read and comment on my blog.  And welcome to any new readers – I do hope you’ll stick around for a bit.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

Prim, Proper and Pleated

Daily Outfit for Monday, April 18, 2011

I feel very prim and proper in this outfit…

…which is sort of funny because prim and proper isn’t usually a look I cultivate.  But, that’s exactly what this is.  From the prissy little bow on the blouse (Banana Republic) which you can't see well, to the pleats and the polka dots on the skirt (vintage – thrifted), to the sensible shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction – thrifted).  Even the tights (Nordstrom) and the cardigan (Gap) feel prim and proper to me.

I don’t know that this is a look I’ll repeat often – I sort of feel like an imposter in that I imagine myself as more of a Billy Bad-Bottom than this look implies.  Of course, there is the fact that I’m actually not much of a Billy Bad-Bottom at all, but I don’t know that I’m this prim and proper either.

What about you, Friend Reader – does what you wear always speak definitively to who you are?

Happy Monday, All!

Bonus Footage: Gracey Goes on a Date

I actually went on 14 dates last night.  Jenny and I tried speed dating, and this is what I wore:

This dress photographed red, but it's actually a bright fuschia with red and black swirls - I wish it had photographed better because I really like it.  The dress is DKNYC, the blazer is Gap, the tights are Spanx Tight End tights (Nordstrom), the belt is from Mabel and Zora and the shoes are Steve Madden (Piperlime).  The jewelry is: Macys, thrifted, Macys, Banana Republic and fish earrings from Modcloth.

Speed dating was weird, but interesting.  I don't regret doing it, and I would probably do it again, but it was exhausting.  I feel sorry for the last guy I met - I said "like" between every word and basically babbled like an idiot.  I tried to convince him that I had a better vocabulary than I was currently exhibiting, but I don't think I was very successful.  Oh, well, at least I could take solace in my outfit.

Have any of you ever been speed dating?  If so, what did you think of it?

Gracey

Take that, Miss Hannigan!

A Daily Outfit Post

Apparently I own not one, but two, purple pencil skirts, both of which are closet orphans.  I decided to let the second one out to play today:

Goodbye Work!

Hello Weekend!

I have had this purple pencil skirt for probably two years now, and have never worn it, for the same reasons I never wore the other one.  It’s impossible to ride my bike in this and purple is just not a color I wear very often.  I also find pencil skirts to be a little bit formal, which I am decidedly not, and that also makes them hard for me to wear. Right now some of you are probably wondering why I have two purple pencils skirts when I don’t wear purple or pencils skirts.  Maybe I was trying to branch out?  I don’t know.  Don’t judge me.

So, today’s challenge was to wear this short, purple pencil skirt (I drove today), pair it with something that wasn’t black, and integrate it into a more casual outfit.  To that end, I paired the skirt (Ann Taylor Outlet), with a grey tee (Target), marigold cardigan (Tulle), yellow and plum Swiss dotted grey tights (Hue via Macys), cream and striped scarf (???) and riding boots (Born Crown via Nordstrom).  And I liked it.  Another orphan saved from the clutches of Miss Hannigan.

In other news, it was very sunny here today, but it was also only 32 degrees when I left the house this morning.  So, nice try, Mother Nature, but I am not bamboozled by your sunshine.  I’m still in tights and boots.  Speaking of which, these tights make my legs feel gross to the touch.  They feel like they’re covered in Black Swan-level goose bumps because the dots are woven in, not printed on top.  Sexy, no?

Creepy goose legs

Does anyone have any exciting plans for this weekend?  I’ve got a birthday party for a nephew, will be hanging out with my much-loved friend, B., going to a jewelry party at Lori’s and staying over with Jenny.  Busy, busy, busy.

Have a lovely weekend, Everyone!

Gracey

The Earrings Say It All

Daily Outfit

I was having a bit of a ditsy morning this morning and thought these earrings were appropriate:

I think they are dunce earrings, but I guess they could be Pinocchio which means I’m either making the statement that I’m having an air-headed day or I’m on my way to being a real boy.  Let’s all agree they’re dunce earrings, m’kay?

I did wear some clothes with these earrings:

I know, I know, not as exciting as the dunce earrings, but at least I spiced things up with some Avatar-blue tights.  Which, I’ll have you know, I had before the movie ever came out, thank you very much.  In addition to the tights (DKNY via Nordstrom), I wore “snakeskin” print dress (Walmart), black cardigan (Gap) and my seemingly ever-present black booties (BC Shoes via Piperlime).

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

More Stripes, More Brights and More Tights

Daily Outfit

I loved today’s outfit, but it also made me sad:

I love it because it has stripes (!) and an awesomely bright (!) skirt but this continuous wearing of tights is wearing on me (heh, see what I did there).  Seriously though, I am sooooo tired of wearing tights and boots.  I mixed it up a little today and wore tights and sandals, but that just made my toes cold.  I need the weather to warm up so that I can wear my skirts and tops as they were intended – with cute sandals and no tights.

I really do love this outfit though.  This top amuses me with its stripes and more stripes and dolman sleeves (via Ross), and the vintage skirt is the perfect skirt for me with its fabulous poppy color, its longer length and its pleats (thrifted via Santa Fe Goodwill).  I paired them with some black Spanx tights (Nordstrom) out of necessity and wedge sandals (Kensie via Macys) because I want to wear sandals, darn it.  And I added the black belt (Fossil via Macys) to tie in the dreaded tights.

In addition to being tired of the cold, I am also tired of the rain.  I know that rain is what keeps Oregon green, but I’m tired of it.  It didn’t rain on my way in this morning (thank goodness), but it had rained previously and I had to contend with the resultant puddles.  I did pretty well with them until right before I got to work when I hit a small, but apparently deep, puddle that somehow managed to shoot water right up my skirt.  It didn’t hit my skirt at all, but my inside thigh got drenched from high thigh to knee.  Imagine a munchkin with a water pistol aiming up your skirt – that’s what it felt like.

So, to recap, I love the outfit, I am so over tights and cold and rain, and the puddles in Oregon have amazing aim.

Happy Wednesday, and thank you all for your kind words and input on yesterday’s post.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you reading and commenting on my blog – it means a 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

Stylish Bright Stripes and Black Tights

Daily Outfit 3/31/11

Full disclosure: I love this dress.  I plan on wearing it all summer, so I hope no one gets tired of it.  I really did intend to wait for summer to debut it, but who knows when summer will get to Oregon, so I decided to wear it today.

Fabulous, right?  I couldn’t believe my luck when I found this dress at my local Goodwill for only $3.50!  The dress is vintage, the belt is croc-embossed (Macys), the tights are Spanx Tight End Tights (Nordstrom), the cardigan is Gap, the earrings are of disremembered provenance and the booties are BC Shoes (via Piperlime).

Even though this dress screams summer to me, I really like it with the black accents.  I tried it first this morning with a bright cardigan and tights and cognac belt and shoes, but it felt like a little much to me.  You all know I love me some brights, I just think I might prefer them grounded with a neutral.  And black and brights are a match made in heaven for me.

Now, for those of you looking at this outfit and thinking “My goodness that’s one stylish giant,” you are not alone.  And I’ve got the badge to prove it:

The absolutely fabulous Claire of Spinning Threads has awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award on Tuesday.  The rules for receiving this award are that I have to share 8 things about myself and award it to 8 other stylish bloggers.

I had actually received this award from Sara Star rather early on, so you can read eight things about me here (which will give you a full 22 facts about me!).  I do, however, want to present some of my new-found favorite and stylish blogs with this award. 

In no particular order, these are some of the blogs I am especially loving as of late:

• Surely Sonsy
• Well Curated
• Angy's Tea Room
• Bellishment
• Me Myself and My Closet
• Tart Lemon Drop
• Northeast Chic
• Basic Cravings

Again, if you don't already read these blogs, stop by.  They're definitely worth it.

 

In other news, I am glad to be back in my lovely, green Oregon.  It was pouring when I got home Tuesday night, but this morning’s ride was glorious.  Absolutely perfect – balmy temperatures, no rain, no wind and the trees are beginning to bloom.  Did I mention that it was perfect?

I hope everyone’s day was as wonderful as my bike ride was,

Gracey