Sweater Weather

After a few weeks of unseasonably warm weather, sweater weather has finally arrived in Oregon.  So, I dressed accordingly:

Actually, I overdressed, as I do.  This sweater (thrifted) is alpaca and it's ridiculously warm.  Almost too warm actually.  But, I've been waiting for months to wear it and the weather finally dropped below sixty so I decided now was the time.

Also, it's the perfect excuse to wear orange and burgundy together:

Cashmere scarf: Nordstrom, similar  Skirt: thrifted, similar  Tights: Target  Boots: Born "Mabel"

Not that I need an excuse.  But, I do think it makes my friends and family feel better when I can point out that there is both orange and burgundy in the sweater so therefore the scarf and the tights totally make sense. Sometimes people need things to make sense.

Personally, I just like to wear orange.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Mad for Plaid

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that I've been pinning the heck out of plaid looks for this fall.  I have, so far, resisted the urge to run out and buy/thrift a bunch of plaid but I'm no longer able resist wearing the plaid items I already own.  Like this plaid skirt:

I thrifted this skirt a couple of years ago but, apparently I wasn't that in to plaid a couple of years ago because I rarely wore it.  I'm planning on making amends for that this fall because I am currently absolutely mad for plaid.

Today I wore the skirt (similar) with a chambray shirt (Caslon, similar), my much-loved Born Crown riding boots (similar) and a vintage ram belt.

I finished the look off with a ball-tasseled (basseled?) scarf (LOFT, similar):

What about you, Reader Friends?  Are you mad for plaid?

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Perfect 10 Remix Recap

From the 9th to the 19th of September, I participated in Coffee and Cardigans, Perfect 10 Remix Challenge and it actually went pretty well.  I was concerned because I don't do well with these sorts of challenges; I'm usually pretty fickle about what I wear.  But this time I was able to select and actually stick with ten items of clothes for ten days.

What I didn't do very well was wear all of the items equally.  For example, I wore one pair of shoes, my Rieker huaraches, nine out of ten days, essentially ignoring my yellow platform sandals.  I also wore my striped Vince Camuto quite a bit and probably could have actually worn it more.

Here are my favorite outfits from the challenge:

As you can see, they all include my Rieker shoes and three out of the four include my striped skirt.  What can I say, I like to be comfortable, which both of those pieces are.

In truth though, I'd say I liked every outfit I wore during the challenge.  I was worried that my choices were kind of boring, but they really worked for me and I don't think I would have changed any of them.

Again, thank you all for reading along.  And a big thanks to Callie for hosting this challenge; it was nice to do one that was manageable and didn't make me cry for the rest of my wardrobe.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Days 9 and 10: Black Pleats

I finished my Perfect 10 Remix Challenge with two outfits featuring my black pleated skirt.

Day 9:

For Day 9, I paired my pleated skirt (thrifted, similar) with my striped tee (Old Navy).  It was a bit cool on the ride in so I also added my floral jacket (thrifted).  The shoes are, of course, my Rieker huaraches (thrifted, exact) and I added my red apple pendant (c/o The Monet Chronicles, similar) so I�d still have some interest once the jacket came off.

Day 10:

For my final outfit, I wore a simple combination of the skirt and a sleeveless chambray shirt (Caslon via Nordstrom), again with the Rieker shoes.

But, I also added my lovely bird huddle scarf because I'm from Oregon and I will be putting a bird on it, thank-you-very-much.

And, with that, I am done with the Perfect 10 Remix.  Thank you to Callie for creating this challenge and to all of you for reading along and pretending you�re not tired of huaraches and stripes.   Heh, Huaraches and Stripes sounds like a terrible buddy comedy with a hard-bitten detective, Huaraches, who semi-retired to Thailand and his Bengal tiger partner, Stripes.  Or, it�s my next band name.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Day 7: Alien Fox & Miss Sassypants

So, I think this is actually Day 8�s outfit, but I didn�t wear anything other than work-around-home clothes on Day 7 so we�re calling this Day 7:

Jeans: Old Navy   Top: Caslon via Nordstrom  Shoes: Rieker

It is also the outfit I wore to see my blogger friend Rinda, of Miss Sassypants:

She was in town for work but we got to spend a few hours eating and shopping and talking and laughing.  And you guys?  She is amazing.  She is gorgeous, funny, willing to do the running man in public, super talented and believes there is no merit to high-waist short-shorts.  So, she's, you know, basically a genius.

I had a ton of fun shopping with Rinda, and one of the stores we stopped in was a packed-to-the-brim vintage shop that had a lot of crazy amazing stuff.  I especially liked a lot of their brooches but I was completely enamored with this one:

I call it my alien fox brooch but I guess it could just be a "stylized fox" brooch.  Nah, that's boring.  It's an alien fox brooch commissioned by an alien visitor to our planet to commemorate their favorite pet (alien) fox.  Yes, I have decided.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Day 4: Yesterday�s Dress

For Day 4 of the Perfect 10 Remix Challenge, I�m re-wearing yesterday�s dress.  As a skirt:

I layered the dress (Bar III via Macys) under a sleeveless chambray shirt (Caslon via Nordstrom).  I added my Rieker shoes (thrifted, exact), some studded cuffs (Nordstrom) and finished the look with some delightfully shiny earrings (Robert Rose via Nordstrom).

Robert Rose "Fan-Glam" Earrings

I feel like the chambray shirt, the shoes and the cuffs have a dressed down, sort of tough vibe and that the rhinestone earrings are a fun juxtaposition. 

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

Thighs? What Thighs?

My thighs don't share my love for printed pants.  They like to plan their rebellion quietly, hidden behind quiet skirts and dark jeans.  They do not want anyone to pay any undue attention to them and question what, exactly, they plan to do with all that dynamite.

So, these jeans? 

With their white background and wild and crazy print?  No, my thighs are not a fan.  But, then I came up with the idea to pair the jeans with my neon shoes:

Bisou Bisou skinnies via JCP, Old Navy chambray tunic & Coconuts "Casey" flats via Piperlime

And, wouldn't you know it, no one even noticed my thighs at all.  I received several comments about the shoes, but not a single person asked why my thighs were stockpiling blasting caps.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Spring Suede

For the past year or so, fashion magazines have been trying to convince me that summer leather is not only a thing, but that it�s a good thing.  And perhaps, for others, it is.  But, not for me.  I am a heavy glistener, by which I mean I sweat a lot.  Add to that the fact that I sweat even more because I ride my bike to work and I can imagine only a few things more uncomfortable than wearing leather in the summer.  But, even though I unequivocally refuse to attempt summer leather, I�m willing to compromise with spring suede:

Because I�m all about compromise.  Okay, not really.  But, I like to try everything once.  And, I�m glad I did; because I think it worked in my favor here:

The suede skirt (Valerie Stevens via Goodwill) paired with the denim top (Caslon via Nordstrom) were perfect for today�s in-between weather. I also added a bib necklace (Nordstrom), my vintage ram-buckle belt and my new spring boots (Corso Como �Seminole� via Piperlime).

Image via Piperlime

 

So, yes, spring suede I�ll do, but summer leather is still a �no� for me.  What about you, Reader Friends?  Are you summer leather wearers?

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Similar suede skirt (eBay has lots of options)

Similar chambray shirt (tall available)

Corso Como �Seminole� boots

Vintage ram belt buckle

Similar bib necklace

 

It Got Cold, I Overreacted

Apparently the Oregon Weather Gods got tired of fellow Oregon blogger, Stacey, and I writing about our recent great weather, because it got cold last night.  And, as I always do when it first gets cold, I overreacted:

Did I really need both the sweater coat and a flannel scarf layered over the chambray tunic and jeggings?  Maybe not.  But, as I said, when the weather drops about 20 degrees in three days, I have a tendency to overreact. 

Also, this is the same DIY scarf I wore on Monday, and in Monday�s comments, the Menopausal Super Model asked how I made it.  The answer?  Crookedly.  Actually, that�s not entirely true.  In spite of the fact that I can�t draw, cut or sew a straight line (I have SLD, or Straight Line Disorder (it�s totally a real thing)) I still managed to do okay with this scarf by following the lines of the plaid for cutting.  It is sewn a little bit crooked though because my left arm is still weak and I can�t guide fabric in a straight line even when I don�t have the excuse of a broken elbow.

The good news is that it�s an infinity scarf and wrapped around my neck you can�t tell it�s crooked, which is why I knew this was the project for me.  I got the idea from the lovely Franziska at Franishh, who used this tutorial.  I used the same tutorial and it was really easy, especially if you don�t worry about your lines being straight.

Yep, looks straight(ish) to me!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Shop The Look

Similar sweater coat

CJ by Cookie Johnson python print leggings

MIA �Roam� boots (on sale now at Piperlime)

Similar chambray tunic

Similar flannel scarf

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Ambitious

I think today�s outfit was a little ambitious:

It hurts to smile...

...but I fought through the pain to provide you all with this goofy look.

I don�t mean sartorially ambitious (obviously), I mean it�s too ambitious for my current physical capabilities.

It took me at least 10 minutes to struggle into these tights (DKNY via Nordstrom) today.  And my sister not only had to hook my bra for me, she had to tuck my shirt (Halogen via Nordstrom) into my houndstooth pencil skirt (thrifted) for me.  I was able to put on my sweater vest (vintage, thrifted) and studded belt (Michael Michael Kors via Nordstrom) all by myself but needed her help to pad the bruise on my ankle before I could put on my boots (Born Crown �Sosie� via Nordstrom).

I think I�m going to have to go a bit simpler for the rest of the week, if only for my sister�s sake.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Blue Collar

I wanted to title this post �Working Girl� and then I remembered that, in the American lexicon at least, working girl means something completely different.  And, like V.D., it has a rather unsavory meaning.  Why does �working man� mean a blue-collar physical laborer and �working girl� mean a hooker?  Like that�s the only work a girl, or a woman, is good for?  Seriously, that�s some BS right there.

But, let me climb down from my soap box and we�ll talk about my outfit.  This outfit:

It got very cold (though thankfully clear) here in Oregon last night and today, so layers were in order.  I layered my chambray tunic (Old Navy) over a long-sleeve tee (Old Navy) and layered a pleated, plaid skirt (vintage, thrifted) over blue tights (DKNY).  I added wool socks and my trusty riding boots (Born �Sosie� via Nordstrom).  I was actually still cold but there is really no way of getting around that when you ride your bike in the middle of winter.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

I Made This Sweater

�into a cardigan.  Of course I didn�t make the sweater, that's pure lunacy.  Jones New York made the sweater.  But, I did make it into a cardigan:

I thrifted the sweater because of its vaguely Southwestern motif which is on trend for fall (�Southwestern� I mean, not �Vaguely Southwestern� although if the trend were �Vaguely Southwestern� it would be sort of awesome, right?) and because I thought I could make it work.  I couldn�t.  Between the cut (boxy) and the fringe (fringe-y) it wasn�t working for me.  So I decided to try to refashion it into a cardigan.  And it was really easy.  I just cut the sweater down the front, folded the raw edges under and zigzag stitched each side.  

And, frankly, I think it�s an improvement.  I feel like I�ve taken the sweater from being boxy and dated to being kitschy and amusing.  And if you follow my blog, you know I love the kitsch and I love to laugh.  In keeping with the vaguely Southwestern theme (and the kitsch), I paired the �cardigan� (Jones New York Sport, thrifted) with a chambray tunic (Old Navy), riding leggings (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom), riding boots (Born Crown �Sosie� via Nordstrom), a turquoise beaded necklace (rummaged) and silver and turquoise earrings (Mom-ed).

The earrings:

In closing, I'd like to say the following: one, please forgive the wrinkles.  It was just that type of day.  Two, making a cardigan out of a sweater is super easy; you should try it.  Three, Happy Friday, Everyone.  And four, of course, is..

Have a marvelous weekend, folks!

Gracey