Plaid, Check, Polka Dot, Stripe

Which is the pattern that you like?  This is a ditty played between cartoons on Disney mornings which my kids love, and my daughter utililzes whenever she helps me decide what to wear.  She helped with both of these outfits.  While polka dots usually win out with Stinkerbell, these two days, she picked plaid and stripes.  I had to agree with her :-)



Tunic - BDGB (thrifted);                Dress - Old Navy (thrifted);
Bangles (thrifted)                                  Cardi - Target;
Boots - Charlotte Russe - (thrifted)          Shoes - Madden (thrifted);
Necklace, Earrings and Ring - Steinmart    Necklaces - Express and Premiere
Belt - NY & Co                                                        



It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Cardi - NY & Co (thrifted), Belt  - Thrifted; Shoes - Mossimo (Thrifted); Capris - Gap (maternity);  Shirt - NY  & Co; Earrings and Bracelet - Steinmart

This outfit was part of my attempt to find yet another non-christmassy red/green combo.  This shirt is a pale bluish green, so I guess it could technically be classified at teal, but I thought I'd give it a shot in my ever present quest for things not black or blue that go with red.  Sadly, my beautiful tomato NY&Co cropped cardi got caught on something (not really sure what) this day and got a ginormous hole in the back. It has since been retired (to the garbage) as it was a hole that I could not repair.  I searched for months for the perfect red cardi.  Now I am again on the quest. :-(

The shoes support my theory that every good shoe eventually ends up at Platos.  I saw these shoes on Target.com for around $25 dollars.  Although adorable, and I still on my mind weeks later, the words 'I'll wait until they show up at Plato's' actrually came out of my mouth in my externalized internal monologue.  And lo and behold, around 3 months later, they showed up at Plato's in my size.  Our union was meant to be.  And they are surprisingly comfortable.  A match made in heaven.

Inspiration

 Earrings and Necklace - Steinmart; Shirt - Ann Taylor (thrifted); Skirt - Old Navy (thrifted); Shoes - Madden (thrifted); Belt - NY & Co (thrifted); Bandles - Macy's; Necklace and Earrings - Steinmart

This is probably one of my favorite outfits in quite a long time.  I love these colors together.  And, oddly enough, I got my inspiration from these earrings. 

I've had these earrings for year but never really thought about them much or looked at them too closeley.  They are hematite chandelier with jewel tone accents (sorry, hard to see in the picture), and as I was putting away another pair of earrings the night before this picture was taken, I noticed that I really liked how the mauve and teal looked together.  Voila, outfit inspiration.

Boring Business

 Skirt - JC Penny; Shirt - Gift; Shoes - Clarks; Jewelry - Premiere

Shirt - Steinmart; Skirt - Anne Klein (thifted); Shoes - Stuart Weitzman (thifted); Bracelet - Premiere; Necklace and Earrings - Me

We had some major league big wigs coming into the office this week for a client interview to win a HUGE project.  When I have meetings with clients, I tend to dress up a little more, usually breaking out a dress or donning a pencil skirt.  I do not, however tone down my color or pattern choices for clients.  Its a bit different when corporate big wigs are in town.  I always get a little nervous that they may see my color choices as frivolous and make a snap judgement about my work performance.  I may be worrying for nothing, but in this economy, with the threat of layoffs always looming, I don't want to do anything to jeopardize even the perceptions made about me. 

So, that being said, this is my twist on boring business. Yes, I'm all in gray, but I mixed plaid and polka dots.  And Stuart was able to give me a pop of color while still being muted and understated.  One of the female higher ups even complimented my shoes :-)

Floral Affair

Dress - Dress Barn; Cardi - Old Navy; Necklace - Premiere; Shoes - Payless

Purple and green are two of my favorite colors....so whenever I find things that pair them together, I get really excited. I LOVE this little number from Dress Barn, and also love my cardi, but after seeing these pictures, the un-cinched cardi over the dress with same-material belt don't do my silhouette justice. This outfit may be making a repeat performance soon with a better execution.

Shirt and Shoes - thrifted; Skirt - Old Navy - Thrifted; Earrings and Necklace - Dress Barn; Bracelets - Macys and thrifted

It never occurred to me that olive and teal would look so good together until this shirt. And I LOVE IT!! Then, of cours a few days after wearing this outfit, Kasmira did a post on 'Tealive' posting her 5 outfits of recent history wearing the same combo. So maybe I didn't stumble across it, and was really subconciously inspired by Kasmira (as I cyber stalk her on her blog daily). Either way, it's great and I love it and I'm sure I will be pairing these together a bunch, especially in the fall. (Thanks Kasmira!)

Feedback Wanted!

Dress - TJ Maxx; Shoes - Payless; Bracelet - Premiere; Necklace and Earrings - Me

This dress is one of those items I just can't quite decide on. I remember it fondly, having worn it on my first anniversary, but at the same time, I was also asked if I was prego in it... The pattern is cool, but also kinda dirty looking (covered in vagaygays??)....And in order to wear it where it belongs, with the crossed lines under my post-babies larger boobies, my bra shows. I fought with this dress all day to keep it up...I think I'm talking myself out of it more and more as this post continues. Will it survive?? What do you think??

My Blue Heaven

Skirt, Shirt and Boots - Thrifted; Cardi and Earrings - Steinmart; Belt and Ring - NY & Co; Necklace - PremiereI've been in love with cobalt blue lately. Any way I can incorporate it into my outfit, I do. This outfit was my Blue Heaven.

Shirt and Belt - NY & Co; Pants - Thrifted; Shoes - Stuart Weitzman (thrifted); Ring - Macy's

Farewell Old Friends

Shirt - Gap; Skirt - Old Navy; Shoes - Payless; Belt and Ring - Steinmart; Necklace - Premiere; Earrings - Macy's
Shirt - Gap; Cardi - Kohls; Skirt - JC Penny; Belt - NY & Co; Shoes - Thrifted; Necklace - Me

I couldn't decide in or out today. While my silhouette looked better head on with the skirt inside the high waisted skirt, the pleats on the skirt cause it to pooch out a bit in the area where I actually do have a pooch. So, my profile looked better when the shirt was untucked. I never did manage to decide, switching between the two looks every time I went to the bathroom. Ah, indecision.

Skirt - NY & Co; Shirt - Gap (thrifted); Jacket - Steinmart; Shoes - Payless; Belt - Thrifted

I retired two of the shoes pictured in this post after this week. The snakeskin sandals, while super hot, were a bit too big and the constant rubbing and shifting of my feet inside them was so very painful. The teal lovelies, I actually shed a bit of a tear for. I have loved these shoes for so long and have put up with the excruciating pain that I felt at the base of my big toes because the peep toe scraped the nail beds at just the perfectly horrible spot. I had to finally give up the ghost. I promised Hubs no shoes that couldn't make it through a day at the office, so bye-bye small instruments of podiatral torture. You will be missed. By me, not my feet.

Tealy, Tealy Good

Skirt - thrifted; Shirt - INC (Macy's FREE); Shoes - Stuart Weitzman (thrifted); Ring - Steinmart; Bracelet - Premiere; Necklace - Me

I felt much better of about the brightness of this outfit, probably because I was toning the skirt down with a solid navy shirt, but mostly because I was able to wear my $4 Stuart Weitzman Goodwill shoes (which are incidentally incredibly comfy). I love them and any day that I can wear them is a happy day for me. I actually altered the outfit a bit right before I ran out the door. It was cold so I added a navy cardi, which gave the outfit a bit of 50's flair. I decided to go with it and tucked the shirt into the high waisted skirt and belted it with a navy wide belt. Even happier with it that way.

Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Holy Brightness, Batman!

Cardi - Old Navy; Tank - Steinmart; Pants - Style & Co (Macy's - FREE); Shoes - Vera Wang (Kohls); Belt - Thrifted; Necklace - Steinmart

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When I had to retire my emerald green cardigan because of wear and fading, I searched high and low for a replacement. This old navy cardi was the closest that I could come up with, but when I got it home and started pairing it with things, it's really more limey than emerald. With the weather just starting to warm up, but our city ensconced in rain, I tried to bring some sunshine into my life with this lime/teal combo. My coworkers had to wear sunglasses to be around me.

These Vera Wang pumps are part of a new trend in my life. They are an item that I had in a bag to give to Goodwill cause I hadn't worn them in years. I pulled them out of that Goodwill bag so many times to wear them, that I've decided to keep them. A similar thing happened to the yellow floral cardigan that I wore yesterday for Easter at the In-laws. I packed it in the Goodwill bag because I had only worn it once and just couldn't figure out how to style it. But thanks to my favorite bloggers and their color inspirations, when I was going through the bag to itemize them for the tax man, I rescued it with a 'What was I thinking?'. I guess one woman's garbage can be her own treasure after all :-)

Rating - Two Thumbs Up (if you aren't blinded)

All that Glitters is not Gold

Sweater - NY & Co; Shirt - Steinmart (FREE); Belt - Trhifted;

Skirt - NY & Co; Tights - Motherhood Maternity; Shoes -Payless

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My little sister turned 25 and developed the family figure. No, she didn't get prego. It's just that our mother is an apple, and all 4 of us girls started out skinny minnie's, but when we reached maturity (and developed thyroid disease), our bodies evolved into the apple shape. Lil' Sis was lucky enough to have it happen to her before she had children, and was able to adopt an aggressive workhout schedule in a bootcamp and get back nearly to her fighting weight. I'm so proud of her, but jealous at the same time because I do not have the hours to devote to working out that she does. My journey is much longer than hers. The good thing for me, though, is that she gave me all of her fat clothes. You'll see quite a few items indicated as FREE from Steinmart in the next couple of months that came from her.

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This particular day I was returning to work after a week off with a stomach bug and bronchitis, so I wanted to look sparkly, even if I didn't quite feel it. I never thought to put these colors together in this way before, but I'm glad I did. Compliments abounded this day and I ended up feeling almost back to normal by the end of the day. I think the skirt definitely helped.

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My hair was also kind of feathered when I woke up, so I went with it and did my impression of Kardashian hair. I'll be leaving this hairstyle to the professionals from now on.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Crazy Spoutings of a Shoe Addict

Cardi - Macy's (FREE); Skirt and Belt - JC Penny; Shirt - NY & Co (thrifted);

Tights - We Love Colors; Shoes - FREE (from my boss)

Close up of the cutie-pa-tootie shoes. My boss decided after getting pregnant with her third child that heels were no longer in the cards for her. Lucky for me, she has big honkin' feet like I do. She gives me first dibs before sending them to Goodwill. Even more lucky for me, cause I'd probably end up paying for them at Goodwill cause she had good shoe taste. However, when it comes to shoes I have a weird kind of mantra. While on one hand I feel that you can never have too many shoes, on the other hand, I feel that shoes have souls (haha I'm so clever) and must fulfill their shoe destiny. Therefore, I won't adopt or purchase a pair of shoes that are too similar to shoes that I have in my closet, so that all get worn. When I took these, I had no brown pumps. These shoes have been worn plenty and have smiling, happy, bright orange auras to match their cute little bows. It's all about Karma. Happy shoes won't break a heel or allow you to twist your ankle or give you blisters.

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Don't get me wrong. I couldn't have 50+ pairs of shoes and bee too narrow in my shoe sorting. Example: I have pewter flats and pumps;Red flats, pumps and Mary Janes; and black pointed toe mid heel, rounded toe low heel, rounded toe T-straps with ruffles and a high heel, flat boots with scrunchy calves, etc, etc....etc. Do you have good shoe Karma?? Am I just a Crazy shoe lady??

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And here is the Fugly sweater's second wearing. I'm not nearly as happy with this look as I was the last, but I've got at least 6 shirts of varying colors or styles to pair with this cardi before I make a definitive decision. C'mon people....free makes it even better!!

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Green Giant

Sweater and Pants - Steinmart; Shirt - thrifted; Shoes - Payless; Jewlery - Premiere

This sweater is a OHW. It's a bit awkward in its shape. I feel really top heavy and shouldery in it. I thought that putting it over a button down with pants would tame it a little. Intead I just look like a linebacker.

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Rating - One Thumb Down (don't remember how Husby felt about this one)

Recycled Ties

Shirt - Steinmart; Sweater - Jones New York (Macy's); Skirt - Kohls; Belt - ME (husby's old ties);

Tights - NY & Co, Shoes - Moda (thrifted); Bracelets - Macy's; Necklace - Premiere

I felt like just standing in the skirt didn't nearly do it justice, so I twirled. The skirt and sweater are both OHW's today. The sweater I bought years ago, before open-front asymetrical sweaters were as widely available or worn, and I've never quite felt that I was stylish enough to do it justice. After re-finding it deep in the bowels of my winter-wear, I am in love. The skirt, however is just awkward. The shape is okay, if it was shorter...the length is okay, if more form fitting. The material is very silky, so wearing it in the summer seems impractical (sweaty + silk = YUCK), but it's so lightweight that it's not really warm in the winter. Overall, awkward. I'll give it another try, maybe in the spring without tights and with some sandals.....

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The belt, I crafted myself, out of my husband's old ties. I saw something like this on an etsy site and thought it was a novel idea. I love obi-style belts because they are both flattering and add a bit of interest with their three dimensionality. I was having trouble finding one in my price range. So, I went through husby's old ties, and took the two ugliest and sewed them together to give it a try. I learned that navy and olive actually make a good looking belt, and that stiff polyester ties are much more useful in this capacity, since silk ties bend too easily. I spent most of the day smoothing the tie back to its original shape cause it was a mushy mess after sitting down. I went to my Mom to see if she had any of Dad's old ties laying around, and she'd already given them to GoodWill. I asked around work and got some of the same responses. So, if anyone has any old polyseter - or equally stiff material - men's neckties lying around that they'd be interesting in sending my way (the louder the print, the better) let me know. I'd love to try this again!

Rating - Two Thumbs Sideways

Too Short for Comfort

Sweater - Macy's (FREE); Shirt and Earrings - Steinmart; Skirt - Liz Claiborne (thrifted); Teal tights - Old Navy; Black Chevron Tights - Pea in the Pod (maternity); Belt - thrifted; Shoes - Vera Wang

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The OHW here is the sweater. I've had difficulty styling this sweater because of the waistline. It's one of those really blousy with elastic at the bottom type sweaters that I used to gravitate to because I thought they hid a lot, but they really just made me look like I had no shape. I LOVE this sweater's colors and neck and the gathers at the top of the shoulders. But that darn waist....I felt like I had luck with tucking it in, and I think it looks good in these pictures, but all the extra material kept clumping inside the skirt. It was really awkward. And it didn't help that the skirt was obscenely short. Not when standing, but whenever I sat you could see the line on my tights where the chevron's stopped and the control top began.

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Am I willing to give up on the sweater or the skirt?? Not yet. I think I'll be much more comfortable with the skirt if I can add a trim to it..I was thinking some fun Navy lace. And the sweater...well, I'll just have to try it with some other skirts and bottoms and find a way that it works. It's just too pretty to pass on just yet.

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And I just determined that the best tights ever are maternity tights. The legs are about the same as any other, and the material is the same, but the best part is that the waist line went all the way up to my boobs. No annoying tight roll working its way down my belly. I'm in love.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up (before I left the house... my thumb was halfmast by lunch)

Photo Inspiration

Cardi - Old Navy; Pants - Steinmart; Shirt - Kohls;

Necklaces, Earrings and Bracelets- Premiere; Shoes - Payless

This outfit was inspired by J Crew. I was surfing their site, checking out their new looks and there were peach gloves and a teal scarf together and I loved it. This was the closest I could come to the colors - different saturations, but the idea is the same. I felt simultaneously springy and weather appropriate. I wouldn't say that this is even in my top 10 outfits, but I was proud of myself for attempting this color combo after seeing it online.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Ugly Pretty

Cardi - Macy's; Pants - Target; Shirt, Tank and Loafers- Steinmart;

Necklace and Earrings - Premiere; Belt - NY & Co (thrifted)

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One of my favorite movies, Kissing Jessica Stein, has a scene where they discuss sexy ugly. You know, guys like Nicholas Cage and James Woods who are not empirically attractive, but something about them makes them sexy. This sweater is the apparel version of sexy ugly. The sweater is so ugly that it's actually really pretty. When I first saw it, I thought it looked like vomit. Teal, orange, purple, mustard, olive in a floral pattern....but I was so drawn to it. And I love how it pairs with this orange shirt. The teal belt was just icing on the cardi cake. So many options.....

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What I love most, though, is that I found a way to style pants that I thought was flattering on me. See, I'm a pencil skirt kinda gal. My body type and curves leave me feeling frumpy in most full-length slacks. Not today, my friends. YAY!!

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Another One Bites the Dust

Dress and Scarf- TJ Maxx; Tights and Bracelet- Old Navy;

Boots - Payless; Vest - Steinmart; Belt - Thrifted

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Two outfit failures in a row. While I was happy with this outfit when I left the house, despite Husby's discouragement, I became successively less happy throughout the day. Firstly, the dress was really thick and all the layers and scarf around my neck made me really hot. Yes, it's cold outside. No, I don't work outside. By the end of the day most of my layers were gone. Also, each time I walked past a window or went to the bathroom I checked out the reflection, hoping I'd like it as much as I did at home. Never happened. Don't know exaclty, but it just didn't work. Just goes to show that just because you like individual items, they don't always make a good (or flattering) outfit.

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Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Down

Ruffles have Ridges

Shirt - Steinmart; Skirt and Belt - JC Penny;

Shoes - Madden (thrifed); Pin - Amazon

Oh, how I love my ruffly sweaters. This is one of those items that I forgot I owned. It was like Christmas when I opened my winter storage tote and found this baby. The pin was an antique 20's style piece that I added to a christmas present for Husby to get the free super saver shipping at Amazon. For a dollar less, I got a pin and a movie than the cost of the movie and its shipping. I love these hidden deals!

Frumpy Skirt

Shirt - Macy's; Skirt - Steinmart; Shoes - Payless;

Necklace and Bracelet - Premiere

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This skirt hasn't been worn in 3 years because a) I couldn't zip it up and b) I thought it was too frumpy. While it's still not my favorite skirt, I found that if I added a funky hip top and fun shoes and accessorized it right, the frump could be minimized. It is a bit long, which I think makes me look a bit old, but overall a nice, clean, conservative with a bit of sass work outfit.

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And I did do my happy dance a bit when I zipped it up :-)

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Husby instituted a new rating system this morning. When I expressed my frustrations with statements like 'You look very Teal today' or 'You look like a teacher', we agreed that a better system would be a Thumb Rating. Thumbs up for good, down for bad, and sideways for indifference.

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Rating - One Thumb Sideways