Greige

Daily Outfit 3/15/11

I would like to say this outfit was more flattering in person than it is in the photos, but I’m not sure that’s true:

What I do know is that it was extremely comfortable and because I’m having one of those days, that’s pretty much all I cared about. 

The skirt is not actually a skirt, it’s a dress.  It’s one of those “twofer” dresses with a bodice in a different color and fabric than the skirt.   It’s also not the color it appears to be in either of these photos.  It’s actually a combination of the two - a strange grey-beige, or greige, if you will.  And it’s another closet orphan.  I’ve had it for over a year and I don’t know that I’ve ever worn it.  I bought it because I have another twofer dress (grey top/black skirt) that I love because it works so well as a skirt.  But, this greige color throws me a bit.  I have no idea what goes with greige.  I know it’s a neutral, but it’s a strange neutral.

Today, I fully intended to pair it with a burgundy sweater, but the proportion was all wonky.  So, instead, I layered the dress (Mossimo/Target) under a black turtleneck (Old Navy) and a dolman sweater (a.n.a/JC Penney).  I accessorized with black cable-knit patterned tights (Assets via Target), faux-lace-up boots (Kenneth Cole Reaction via Piperlime) and my plaid infinity scarf (Steve Madden via Macy’s).

I think I actually liked this outfit.  It’s very comfortable, and not too overwrought.  I think this is another orphan that may get to stay – I already have a couple more ideas on what to pair it with.  What about you all?  Any ideas on what to pair with greige?

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

Better in Sepia for Giants

This is not me:

This is the lovely Ana from Better in Sepia.  I just recently began reading her blog but quickly became a fan of her simple-but-elegant style.  If you don’t already read Ana’s blog, I encourage you to stop by.

While I have liked pretty much everything Ana has posted, I especially liked her navy, rust and turquoise outfit from last week.  I have considered rust and turquoise before, but never with navy and I think it’s fabulous.  So, of course, I wanted to try to recreate it for giants.

The Dress – Pintuck Dress in Navy - up to size 3x - Talbots:

I went with a navy dress instead of a rust skirt - I know a lot of women aren't comfortable having the lighter, brighter color on their hips.  I thought a dress was a nice alternative and although this dress isn't available in “tall” I think the length is long enough for all but the tallest of ladies to pull off.

The Shoe – Seychelles “Kiss at Midnight” Mary Jane Pump – up to size 11 – Endless:

I think this is an absolutely gorgeous shoe, and it also comes in a rust color if turquoise shoes are not your thing.  But, I'm not going to lie, I'd be disappointed to find out that turquoise shoes aren't everybody's thing.

The Scarf: Tarnish "Peacock" Wool Scarf in Spice - Nordstrom:

As many of you know, I have a predilection for long, rectangular scarves instead of square ones, so I chose this fun, peacock printed scarf. 

The Belt – W-Twist Belt - Steve Madden:

 

Instead of a double belt, I went with this Steve Madden twisted belt in cognac which I think will look fabulous with the navy dress.

I know not everyone loves orange (for whatever reason), so I tried to keep the rust element to a minimum with just the scarf, but I think a rust cardigan or rust tights would look fantastic with this as well.   I think it would also look good with black, turquoise or navy tights.

This outfit is something I would definitely wear (especially those gorgeous shoes).  And I actually did wear a rust, navy and turquoise outfit myself today that I'll post later in my Daily Outfit post.  But what about you guys?  Is this outfit something you would wear?

Happy Monday!

Gracey

Weecap: March 12th and 13th

A rainy, stormy weekend in which Gracey watches movies (Being Julia), does a little thrifting and gets crafty (successfully!) but not as crafty as she would like.

Lucky Magazine had a feature in their February (I think) issue about dying clothes.  And I know Jessica from What I Wore has done a couple posts on dying clothes, including this one on how to overdye.  I have a couple of pieces in my closet that I like, but I don't love, mostly because of the color.  So, I thought this weekend, I'd try dying those items and see just how inhibiting my lack of craftiness was.

Saturday, 3/12/11

But, first I needed to buy a big pot to do my dying in.  Being the frugal gal I am, I wanted to get the pot from a thrift store, so Saturday I did some minor thrifting (just two stores) in this:

 

I wore grey leggings (Target), plaid skirt (Target), white tee (Target), blue cardigan (Beth Bowley via Nordstrom Rack), cashmere scarf (Nordstrom) and riding boots (Born Crown via Nordstrom).  Sadly, I did not find the large pot I was looking for - I want at least a 10 qt pot, but preferably a 12 qt one so I didn't get to dye anything.  However, I did find some other items, including two ties, which brings us to Sunday.


Sunday, 3/13/11

On Sunday I meant to go back out and resume my search for a dye pot, and I wore this:

 

 

 

I wore black leggings (Target), a black skirt (Target), cream and tan tunic (Old Navy), black cardigan (Old Navy), OTK socks (Nordstrom), checked scarf (Steve Madden via Macys), turquoise earrings (gifted (Thanks, Rosey!) and red rubber boots (via Ross).

Well, this is what I wore with the exception of the red boots.  I put them on fully intending to brave the weather, but it had turned nastier out than I had thought.  The wind was so bad, it actually blew our barbecue over, and we have one of those large barbecues. Instead, I stayed in and made an obi belt!  I will wear it tomorrow and link to the tutorial.

Also, have you all seen that movie "Being Julia" with Annette Benning?  It's a few years old (2004 maybe?) and I think she was nominated for an Academy Award for it.  I thought it was an absolutely lovely film, but I was amazed at how much Annette Benning then looked like Nicole Kidman looks now.  If you've seen it, am I imagining things?

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Gracey

New Grey Skinnies

Daily Outfit, 3/11/11

I have wanted some grey skinny jeans forever.  I have been stalking these ones on Banana Republic for a couple of months now, but they’re sort of expensive and I haven’t had good luck with BR skinnies.  The last pair didn’t have any stretch at all in them – my thighs said they felt claustrophobic.  I wasn’t going to pay a lot of money to have that experience again.

Enter that Savior of the Wallet, that Friend to Bargain Hunters Everywhere, that Mecca of Savings… Target!

 

I mentioned this in my last Weecap, but I got these grey skinnies at Target last weekend for $6.24!  And they’re long length!  And they really are long enough – they go right down to the top of my foot.  Needless to say, I was ecstatic at this find.  Today I paired them with a long-sleeve tee (Gap), dolman sweater (BCBG), cashmere scarf (Nordstrom) and my low boots (Target), but I think they’ll go with nearly everything.

Now for the skinny (heh, see what I did there?); I would say these run true to size.  I’m wearing a size 14 and they’re a little big in the waist, but most every pant is for me.  I will say, however, that these run tight in the calf.  If you have bigger calves, I’m not sure how these would work.  They’re way tighter than my Flirt skinnies, for example, in the calf area.

I haven’t tried any of Target’s other jeans in the long lengths, but if I do, I’ll be sure to let you all know how they fit.  Have any of you tried Target’s long denim?  If so, how did they work for you?

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  Do any of you have any big plans?  I’m going to attempt to get crafty, but as I’m not a crafty gal, I’m not sure how that’ll work.  I’ll let you know though!

Gracey

FBFF for March 11: Finding the Balance

For today’s FBFF post, Katy has asked us to think about how we balance blogging with the rest of our lives.

1.      When it comes to prioritizing your life, in what place does blogging fall?

It’s important to me that I keep up with my blogging, but it’s definitely not the most important thing.  When I began blogging, I set out to blog my daily outfits, and I try to stick with that.  I try to post my outfits right after work, or right after Jazzercise if I work out that day, but that doesn’t always happen.  I do worry when I don’t get a post put up at all, but am okay with getting a post put up late.

And my daily outfits are the only thing I post with any regularity.  My Blogs for Giants series or Friday Fashion Focus are more catch-as-catch-can.  The former, especially, takes a lot of research so I just do the best I can on those and hope my readers understand.

2.      We all wish we had more free time to dedicate to blogging and all it entails. What are your tricks for taking advantage of the time you do have to be as productive as possible?

I’ve found that having a set process/schedule for photographing/blogging my daily outfits has definitely been helpful.  I take my pictures in the morning before I head to work, write and post a draft of my text at lunch time and then edit and post my pictures after work.  This helps me from feeling rushed both in the morning and in the evening.

The other posts, I may start and work on over a period of time, or just do the research over a period of time and post when I’m ready.

3.      Have you discovered any short-cuts that makes blogging easier or more time efficient?

No, but I’m not sure that I need them.  My blog is such small potatoes I don’t really need to worry about time management as much.

4.      Do you have an editorial calendar or something similar that helps you plan ahead?

Ooh, an editorial calendar.  Fancy.  Too fancy for me; the most I do is keep notes in a notebook on what I need or want to do for my blog.  I keep notes on possible Blogs for Giants, post ideas and blogs I may want to take a look at.  I also keep a journal where I write down possible outfit ideas.

5.      If time wasn’t an issue what you would be doing on your blog/for your blog that you aren’t doing now?

I would make it pretty – I know I need to do something with the header, but I’m not very savvy at that sort of thing so I’m afraid it would take me longer than I want to spend on it.

I would also post things like the Blogs for Giants and Friday Fashion Focus posts more frequently.  Right now they’re not on a regular schedule, but I recognize that they probably should be.

I would also spend more time and effort on my photo shoots.  Probably.  I’m a little torn on this.  I mean, my blog is a daily outfit blog so I try to take my photos in a manner that clearly shows what I’m wearing on any given day and I don’t worry about the background.  However, I have heard it said that readers get bored if bloggers don’t mix it up.  I hope I’m not boring my readers, but I’m not a photographer, so I’m hoping just getting clear shots is enough.

Happy Friday, everyone!  I’ll post my daily outfit post this evening.

Gracey

Sartorial Spiral

Daily Outfit, 3/10/11

Since I’ve started blogging I’ve realized there is a definite downward spiral in terms of the professionalism of my outfits throughout the week.  I (usually) start out strong and pretty professional on Mondays, Tuesdays are okay, Wednesdays I try to maintain but know I get a little squirrel-y, Thursdays I start to slip and Fridays I complete my tumble off of the professional wagon.

Today is Thursday:

And I’m wearing an outfit with an eye towards nothing more than comfort.  For me, dresses and cardigans are the ultimate comfortable outfit.  And easy; it’s important that I not have to think too hard about getting dressed towards the end of the week.  In this case, the dress is H&M and the cardigan is Old Navy.  The outfit also includes a cami (Old Navy) and tights (DKNY via Nordstrom) under the dress and Born Crown boots (via Nordstrom).

I guess I’m pretty lucky that my job is one that allows this sort of sartorial spiral.  We’re not customer facing, so we can pretty much wear whatever we want.  Except short shorts – those are frowned upon for some reason.  How about you guys?  Are you limited in what you can wear to work?  Or do you regularly bust out the short shorts?

Happy Thursday!

Gracey