work wear non-appropriate

BALMAIN blazer (likely to be a knockoff)
MAURIE and EVE gold top
DANIER leather trousers
ROBERTA FREYMANN bib necklace
ELIZABETH and JAMES shoes
KENNETH JAY LANE snake ring

I have a new found appreciation for all black (or similar). I think I may just continue wearing versions of it straight through summer (or our maximum of 20 degrees summer).

Next week I start a new position (until September) which means I will continue to be on the hunt for corporate wear. Thank you to the girls at FF for the beautiful earrings! (which you will all see here shortly ;)) I am a firm believer of tasteful corporate wear. And though it is not strictly office appropriate (especially in the firms I work at), I LOVE a good tweed (think Coco) skirt suit. Aside from Chanel, does anyone know where would be a good place to hunt?

Long weekend starts tomorrow!

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

Polka Dots and Apricots

Daily Outfit, 3/8/11

Okay, so my sweater is the only apricot, but I am wearing double polka dots today for the Everybody, Everywear Polka Dot Challenge. 

 

 

Puffy sleeve close-up

Polk dot tights close-up

In addition to my sheer polka dot blouse (thrifted), I’m also wearing polka dot tights (Hue via Macys).  Over the blouse and tights I’m wearing a puff-sleeved sweater (thrifted), A-line skirt (Banana Republic) and my black booties (BS Shoes “Swear” via Piperlime). 

I really liked today’s outfit.  I think the apricot sweater adds just enough color, and you can’t go wrong with polka dots.  I actually thrifted the blouse and the sweater together, and as soon as I got them, I knew I wanted to wear them together.  I was worried that the polka dot tights might be overkill, and I know, that as a giant I shouldn't wear puffy-sleeves, but I love them so.  They make me happy so I'm going to continue to wear them even if they make me look like a twee linebacker.

If you want to see more polka dots in action, head over to Everybody Everywear and take a peek.  Everyone did a wonderful job once again.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Welcome Back, Color

Daily Outfit, 3/7/11

Even though my week of neutrals was strangely successful, I was missing color so I decided to add some back to my life.  I have actually had this outfit in my head for a couple weeks now, but needed the weather to cooperate.  And it finally did.  It’s sunny today and not terribly cold.

So, I wore this:

 

 

The skirt was thrifted and is handmade from a houndstooth-printed fabric, with a high-waist, wide waistband and full lining; basically, it’s perfect for me.  I paired it with my violet tights, a violet turtleneck (Old Navy) layered under a notch-collar cardigan (Jones New York via Ross) and accessorized with a croc embossed faux-patent belt (Macy's) and my black booties (BC Shoes “Swear” via Piperlime).

I have to say, that this Monday was much, much better than last Monday.  The ride in was wonderful; it was sunny, there was no wind, the lining on my skirt didn’t tear and no raccoon eyes.  It was definitely a much better Monday, all around. 

How about you all?  How was your Monday?

Gracey

WeeCap: March 5th and 6th

Weekend Recap in which Gracey does her first tutorial video, buys a new scarf (yes, another one), goes dancing and then spends a day doing most of nothing.

Saturday, March 5th

On Saturday I did my scarf-tying tutorial, which I'm afraid was more amusing than helpful, in part because I uploaded the video incorrectly.  Twice.  But, if you were looking for it, it is out there now.  For the tutorial and errands, I wore a chambray shirtdress (Old Navy), topped with a cardigan (??? via Ross), and black leggings (Target), my Born Crown riding boots (via Nordstrom), woven disk earrings (gifted) and cashmere scarf (Nordstrom).

Hey, did you guys know that Target carries their Mossimo jeans in long lengths?  I had no idea prior to this weekend.  But, when I was wandering through Target on Saturday, I found some grey skinny jeans on sale for $6.24, which is great, but even better?  They're a long.  I'll try to wear them sometime this week so you guys can see them.
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Saturday Night

Photo by my little sister, Ola.



Me and Ola - photo by her boyfriend, Izzy.



 

Saturday night I went dancing with my gorgeous little sister, Ola, and her boyfriend.  I have to tell you, Salem is not an easy city to go out in.  It doesn't exactly close down at ten o'clock, but it feels like it does.  After an initial misstep, we were able to find a club with a dance floor and a decent DJ, so we had a good time.

I wore my Flirt skinny jeans (Old Navy), a dolman-sleeve sweater (a.n.a - JC Penney), suede slouch boots (Naughty Monkey via Nordstrom) and my vintage mohair jacket (gifted from Mom).  I accessorized with a black studded clutch (Target), vintage cameo bracelet (a Nashville antique store), dangle hoops (Lil' Gypsy) and a filigree heart necklace (Modcloth).

Sunday, March 6th

I really didn't do anything all Sunday.  What did I wear to do nothing?  Well, I wore my black Hue leggings (via Nordstrom), a black tunic (Old Navy), waterfall cardigan (Calvin Klein via Ideeli), black slouch boots (Chinese Laundry via Piperlime) and my new black and white scarf (Steve Madden via Macy's).

I have been wanting a graphic black and white scarf for some time, but hadn't ever found one that I liked.  At least not until I saw this one on steep sale at Macy's.  It's an infinityy scarf, which I don't usually like (seriously, in my vast collection, I have only one other infinity scarf), but this one worked for me.  I think the black and white will be super-versatile, and it's a more lightweight scarf than my cashmere scarf, so it'll be good for spring.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Again, sorry about the missteps with the tutorial video.  I think I've figured it out now though, so if ever I do another it should go more smoothly.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

favorite things

Wearing your bf's hat and documenting it

Watching your home team (Raptors) play the first NBA game in Europe during season and it ending with triple OT

Friend's babies...(and being able to give them back ;))

New purchases: LV Epi Saint Cloud (no longer in production but a fantastic substitute to the Celine box bag) and Prada wallet (just compact enough to even fit into your small evening purses)

Shameless self promotion.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Scarf Tying Tutorial

Happy Saturday, All!

Sometime back I had said I would do a tutorial on the way I tie my scarf.  What you'll see below is the fourth take.  It's really not better than the other three, I just recorded the first sideways, forgot to  record the second at all, and the third was too dark, so this is it.  It's not great, but I think we can all agree you don't need to see the top of my head for this.

Please to enjoy!

Hilarious, right?  But, I hope, also somewhat helpful?  Let me know if you still have questions!

Gracey