Outfit of the Day - Winterizing

Talbots Petites jacket, Gap tank and belt, Old Navy skirt and tights, Sofft booties.  The skirt is cotton from this summer.

I think many attempts at winterizing summer items with black tights and shoes just look stupid.  It's saying, "look at me, I'm edgy and fashiony."  When really the person is probably just cold.

I think summer pieces can be winterized if they are darker colors and have some weight to them.  I won't wear this skirt in January, though!  Common sense figures in here somewhere.

Thanks for looking!

Outfit of the Day - Black to Black

I rarely wear all black, but I was feeling under the weather today.  Wearing black makes me think of the Smith's line, "I wear black on the outside 'cause black is how I feel on the inside." Yeah, Morrissey.

So here is the outfit featuring the black lace Casual Corner blouse:

 It was hard to photograph in a bathroom mirror, but this is the black lace blouse under a black denim military jacket from Old Navy.  Gunmetal Coach outlet bag.  Ann Taylor Loft Julie pants and Nine West wedge boots (not pictured).  You can also see my DIY charm necklace.

Do you do all black sometimes?  Have a great day!

Blast From The Past - Shopping In My Closet

Remember Casual Corner?  During my early working years, it was my go-to place for well priced business wear.  The quality varied, but I had some really nice pieces that lasted for years.  I mourned when it went out of business.

The past few years I have been ruthless about purging my closet.  Yet one item, brand new with tags from Casual Corner was never voted off the island.  This is it:

You can't tell from the first picture, but the subject of this post is a black lace "shell" with a black lining. Do you remember wearing tops like this under your suits?  Pretty basic right?

So what made me keep this top?  I credit it to my goth streak.  That's right, goth.  As in the dark music of the 80s, to which I still listen.  Black. Studded things. Lots of eye makeup. Vertical hair.  The epitome of which is are these style icons:

That's Siouxsie Sue of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Robert Smith of the Cure.  More on how they inspire me in a future post. But I draw the line at skulls, with all due respect to Mr. McQueen. I think they are morbid and I especially hate them on little boys.  But I digress.

Black lace fits right in with the love of Goth music.

So yes, the woman you saw wearing the preppy yacht skirt and polo shirt in a previous post also loves all things gothy.  It's the Gemini in me, I guess.

And it causes me to keep a black lace top until it comes back into style.  Stay tuned for an outfit post with said blouse.

Do you have clothes you keep for some odd reason?

Back After a Busy Break With an Outfit Backlog

Hi everyone! I know it's been awhile.  I have had some personal and family stuff going on this last month...a big birthday for my son,  holidays, an ill parent, a new niece -- it's been crazy. But I'm still here and I still have a lot to say.

Believe it or not, it's still not fall here in Missouri.  It was close to 80 degrees today.  Growing up, I do remember occasionally wearing shorts on Halloween.  And also winter coats.  Crazy midwestern weather is always a challenge for dressing.

I'll share with you some last outfits of summer.

The point of this outfit is that real people have to repeat their clothes.  I don't always have something new to wear.  I've worn this black and white sleeveless Merona dress for you before.  I have a Tahari flowy cardigan over it. However, what made this outfit were some snappy red accessories.

Red lips. A great accessory.  This is Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Raspberry.

Red crystal bracelet. It's brighter in real life.

Not red, but Nine West gladiator sandals.

Red beaded statement necklace, from JC Penney.  It's a brighter red in real life.

Piece de resistance: Hayden Harnett Lorca in Ruby. Bought during one of their super duper sales.

Next:

I love purple, especially against neutrals.  NY and Co. tank and cargo pants.  Gap cardi. Payless wedges.  Rebecca Minkoff Mantinee satchel (purchased from someone on a blog).  Do you wear rolled cargos? I never thought I would and now they are one of my most favorite trends.

Next:

Random work outfit. Loft cardi, pants and scarf with the RM bag.  My preciousssss.  In winter I tend to wear black pants to work several times a week. I'm trying to break out of that this year.

I wore this outfit to one of my sister's baby showers.  The aforementioned NY and Co. gray cargo pants, a Talbots Jacket, J Crew silk cami and Coach outlet bag.  I have on a chain necklace from Forever 21. I think I wore the purple peep toes with it.  The shower was at a chic dessert restaurant in St. Louis and so much fun.

Another nod to my preppy heritage.  Talbots yacht skirt and kelly green flats, Lauren polo shirt, J Crew Tartine sweater and vintage Gucci courtesy of my mom.

Tucker for Target blouse, black linen pencil skirt, Old Navy belt (it had a bow on it that I cut off) and Coach outlet bag.

Well, I guess we're all caught up! Thanks for stopping by.  How are you transitioning to fall?

Outfit of the Day - Diamond in the Rough

Do you have a store you check out every time you're in the area, but where you rarely find anything?  I do.  It's H & M.  There is one in the mall by mom's house in the city.  I don't buy much (with the European sizing not much fits me), but what I do buy there, I love.

Case in point, today's cream linen motorcycle jacket.  After my white watch from Target, it is my favorite purchase of the summer.  I haven't worn it that much because it is cream and most of my summer wardrobe is "white white."  I'm working on wearing it more often because I feel so cool when I have it on.

Linen motorcycle jacket, H & M.  Dress, NY and Co.  Bag, J Crew. Sandals, Clarks.

I do love me some leopard with red.  I'm glad leopard is on trend for this fall.  I have loved it for awhile and already have bag, belt and flats ready to go. (Of course not all together).  Can't wait to wear leopard with other jewel tones.

Do you shop at H & M, or do you have other stores where you occasionally find a diamond?

Do you do leopard?

Thanks for stopping by.

OOTD Prepster

Preppy with a twist. One of my favs.  And argyle is my absolute favorite pattern.  I worry lately that it trends a bit young, but I love it so much.  Should one who owned The Preppy Handbook in the very early 80s still be wearing argyle?

I like the idea of putting the military looking stuff with a totally different style like preppy, boho, feminine, etc.

Here I have an Ann Taylor Loft jacket, Merona sweater from several years ago, Eddie Bauer khakis in the Blakely (curvy) fit, white Merona watch and Clarks sandals.

I have several very preppy shoes I was dying to wear with this outfit - Blucher moccasins or tassel loafers.  However, this picture demonstrates one of the pitfalls of my life - PANT LENTGH!

Petite pants are just too short. Often the petite rise is also too short on my high waist. Regular inseams (32") are too long for flats.  I take a 30" inseam for flats.  So either I have them shortened or wear a heel.  I do have many pants shortened.

But these pants have that exposed hem which makes them impossible to shorten.  I love the fit otherwise on my hourglass self. They're a bit snug now but they weren't when I bought them.

I only do about a two inch heel when I do heels, which isn't often. I do wedges much more often.  Been there, done that with the heels, back in the day when one had to dress up for work.

Do you think certain patterns seem young? What do you do about pant lengths?

J Crew fitting Room Pictures

J Crew. Many people are obsessed with it.  I have worn Crew since the lat 1980s.  In those days it was rugby shirts and roll neck sweaters.  Colors like "port" and "bottle."  Uber prep.  Since those days I have had Crew items in my wardrobe continuously.  I'm not one of those people who dressed head to toe in Crew because it was always a tad too expensive and only a few items fit (mainly cardis).  However, I can see the attraction of the "old" (ie. pre 2008-09) Crew.  It was one stop shopping for a lot of women. She could buy her work clothes, casual clothes, bathing suits and special occasion dress in one place.
People have written a lot about the change in Crew, the more fashiony styles, the decreasing quality, the inconsistency in sizes, the higher prices, the final sales.  I don't much care for any of that, but I don't spend enough money with them for them to care.  As long as their stock is going up, they will continue in their current direction.

I don't get to a J Crew store very often.  The nearest stores are two hours away, either east or west.  I have a "Crewlet" (J Crew Outlet) about an hour and a half away.  When I have the opportunity I try on as many things as possible.   This comes in handy later for buying things on final sale or on ebay (which is in essence the same thing only usually cheaper). I very rarely buy anything full price at J Crew.  I don't mind the outlet versions of regular Crew items; I have found them to be decently made.  The majority of my J Crew pieces are via ebay or the swap on the J Crew Aficionada blog.  That blog will tell you about all things J Crew and it's amazing.

Really none of the items here look that great in the photos.  There were a few items I really liked and that I will plan to stalk.  Overall though, everything seemed to be a repeat of the past two seasons

Rimini cardigan - size M.  I loved this sweater.  It looked much more flattering in real life and I recommend it for an hourglass figure.  It's merino.  The sleeves narrow at the cuffs. I love the biker type zipper.  Colors in store are black, nutmeg and cobblestone.  There are additional colors online.

Donegal Tweed Schoolboy Blazer in aluminum.  This is a gray tweed.  Online there is moss, a green tweed. I loved it. The back has the vent stitched down, which is why it doesn't lay right.  This is an 8.  Usually I'm a 10 in jackets, but I find I have to size down in crew jackets.  Also I usually take a petite in jackets because I'm short waisted, but this one fit in the shoulders and hit at the right place in the waist. It's snug over the chest, but I never button jackets more than one button.  I love this jacket, and I need something gray to fill a hole in my wardrobe, but alas I will have to wait.

Calista Cami, size 10 in dark rosewood.  There were several other colors in store and more online. Meh. I have a Frances top (it's from the outlet) that I like.  I like that you can flip the collar down on the Frances. On this one you can't. I'd be very uncomfortable will all of that silk around my neck, not to mention it's just not flattering.  It's too expensive to just be a layering piece, and I'm trying not to buy any more ruffles.

I didn't see this one online. It is merino and had no buttons; there are two small pockets in front.  The color is a dusty lavender.  I have enough cardis; this is nothing special.

I hope these photos were helpful!  Have you tried on anything at the Crew lately?