Fully On Board

I love pleats and I love peach and coral together so obviously I'm fully on board with this look:

I also love pairing my lace necklace with more lace.  So, once again, 100% on board:

And finally, I love remembering to link to up Visible Monday's over at Not Dead Yet Style.  Done and done.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Whither the Kitsch?

The other day Sally wore an outfit where she said she was dressed for "almost herself."  I know exactly what she means.  This outfit is almost me, but not quite:

Target tunic-dress & leggings, Nordstrom cardigan, Macy's belt & thrifted boots.

It's me in that it involves bright colors, worn together.  And leggings; I love leggings darn it.  And boots.  I'm all about the boots.  But, it's still not quite me.

I think it's because there is nothing fun or particularly interesting about this outfit.  (That's right; I think I'm more interesting than this.  I said it).  It's also really drape-y.  I think I'm more comfortable in slightly more structured items with some fun to them.  I was physically comfortable in this, but it doesn't speak to my fun-loving, kitschy soul.  Whither the kitsch, Gracey, whither the kitsch?

Don't worry.  I'll probably get it together by next week.  Probably.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

SIA: Coral and Cobalt

I have been on a roll this month.  I participated for the first time in Two Birds� Inspiration Monday earlier this month.  And now I�m participating in Style Imitating Art.  I�m rather proud of myself.  But, enough about me.  Let's talk about art and style.

Here is the art:

Image from David Weisner's "Flotsam"

And here is my style:

I love the combination of coral (salmon? carp?) with the bright blue so I paired my coral polka dot blouse (handmade vintage) with my cobalt midi skirt (vintage via Goodwill).  I also added some pops of black (I heard it's the latest trend) with my belt (via Goodwill), necklace (Old Navy) & ankle strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime).  

Yep, you guessed it: POCKETS!!!!

I�d like to thank Jess of Animated Cardigan for hosting; you can see the other participants on her site. 

And I�d like to give a shout out to my boobs for distorting some of the dots into goldfish-like shapes; I appreciate your help with this challenge, Ladies.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

P.S. This is an illustration from the book, Flotsam, by David Wiesner.  His books are amazing and if you haven�t read them, I strongly suggest you do, even if you think you might be too old for picture books.

Short and Fruity

It's true.  This dress is short.  And fruity.  But, I love it so:

I got the dress from the Albany Antique Mall (they have a pretty great vintage clothing section) the weekend before last and immediately fell in love with the print.  Yes, it is shorter than I would usually wear without some volume to offset the shortness, but it is a great print and the high neck is fun.  Oh, and it looks fabulous with my Lynne Pin:

And I think it will also look fabulous with tights and a turtleneck in the winter; that way I won't have to worry so much about the length.  Or lack there of.  As it was, I drove in to work today to insure I didn't flash any of the middle school students I ride past every morning. 

In addition to the pin (gifted from Lynne because she is the best ever), I also added a thin belt (Macy's) and pointed toe boots (Luxury Rebel via Piperlime) to the look:

I think the boots somehow served to both modernize the look and recall the dress' sixties origins at the same time.  Which was totally my intention, as far as you know.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Coral, Coral, Coral

I really love myself some coral.  Obviously:

Coral yesterday, coral today.  Coral, coral, coral.

I also, apparently, really love the combination of those pants with those shoes.  Heh.  Well, what can I say, I can�t be creative all the time.  Or, even most of the time, if I�m honest.

But, I digress.  I was talking about my apparent obsession with coral.  In spite of what it looks like, I'm not actually obsessed with coral.  But it is one of my favorite colors and I do wear it quite a bit.  I especially like this particular coral (blouse via Old Navy) and peach (vintage blazer via Goodwill) color combination.  Worn today with dark skinny jeans (Banana Republic), a barely seen leopard belt (v. old) and cap toe wedges (bandolino via DSW).  Oh, and a long necklace (thrifted via Goodwill).

And, because at least two items in this look are thrifted, I�m linking up to Thrifter Thursday over at Coffee and Cardigans.  I�m pretty proud of myself for remembering to do this as I�ve forgotten for weeks.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:
Similar single-pocket blouse
Similar peach blazer (up to size 16)
Exact Banana Republic skinnies (tall up to size 16)
Similar long necklace
Similar leopard belt

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.
 

Sea Foam, Not Mint

Last year I railed against gross, institutional mint green as a trending color.  This year I still just can't with mint green.  But, I can with sea foam.  And I did, with this necklace (Onyx Phoenix necklace, via BaubleBar):

Yes, that's sea foam, not mint.  How can I tell?  Because mint is gross and this isn't.  Really though, sea foam has more blue to it than mint; it's like a greenish aqua.  Although, maybe this is just aqua...

Oh, well, whether sea foam or aqua, I wore it today:

And I wore it with coral ankle-zip skinnies (Gap), a gray sweater (Nordstrom) and silver and gray flats (Target, v. old).

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:
Exact BaubleBar* necklace (waitlisted)
Similar coral skinnies
Similar gray sweater
Similar two-tone flats

*If you're not already a BaubleBar member, you can use this invite link here.

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Proper Deployment

Sometimes I covet things not because they are solidly in my style wheelhouse, but rather because I wish they were in my style wheelhouse because they look so cool and chic on everyone else and I'd like to grow up to be cool and chic someday too.  Things like anoraks. 

I love how they look on other women, adding just the right bit of casual chic to an outfit. But, the thing is, they don't work like that on me. I seem to have some sort of anti-cool anorak-disorder (AC/AD, not to be confused with AC/DC, whom I adore) that keeps me from being able to wear them properly. 

But, today, I think perhaps I've finally mastered proper deployment of the anorak:

I mean, it looks kind of cool and almost chic paired with my black and gray stripes (Target) and colorful skirt (Plato's Closet), right?  And it does work with the boots (thrifted via Goodwill) and bright scarf (gifted by the very chic and cool, Ana), doesn't it? 

Honestly, I think this is as close to proper anorak deployment as I'm ever going to get, so I'm going to go ahead and check it off.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Spring Colors and Bare Toes

It was 65 degrees today.  In Oregon.  In March.  I know, I was shocked as well.  But, not so shocked I couldn�t take advantage of the warmer weather with spring colors and bare toes:

The spring colors are courtesy of a pair of coral, ankle-zip skinnies (Gap), a peach sweater (thrifted via Goodwill) and a turquoise and coral polka dotted scarf (a gift from the amazing and awesome Ana).  And the bare toes are courtesy of my new peep-toe clogs (Cole Haan via TJ Maxx).

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Similar Gap skinnies

Similar peach sweater

Polka dot scarf options (here, here, here)

Similar peep-toe clogs

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Deepest, Darkest Jungle

I love the black background on this tropical print jacket.  It reminds me of the deepest, darkest jungle:

And it�s more �appropriate� for winter than a brighter tropical print might be. 

I also love the Karina dress (Marisa, c/o Karina Dresses) that I paired it with.  This dress has been a closet workhorse since I received it a couple of years ago.  It�s held its shape beautifully and is so easy to layer so it can be worn year round.  In addition to the jacket (vintage, gifted) and the dress, I also wore tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) and boots (Gap).  I also added coral statement necklace (via Piperlime) to complement the colors on the jacket. 

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Similar jacket (And by similar I mean, vintage tropical print with a black background)

Similar Karina dress (It doesn�t look like the Marisa is currently available, but I strongly recommend the Audrey for its similar cut).

Similar boots

Similar necklace

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Layers and Lace

In spite of my protestations against the whole crop top trend, there are just some crop tops I can�t resist.  Like this coral piece:

I mean, it�s coral (!) and lace (!); how could I resist?  Especially when it was less than $6.00 at Nordstrom Rack.   AndI�m fresh off two months of no shopping?  Honestly, I�m not Wonder Woman, people.  Although I did do my best Wonder Woman pose today:

So, yeah, there was no way I was passing up this shirt.  Of course, it�s basically see-through because it�s lace, and that caused some consternation early on this morning.  At least until I had the idea to layer the cropped top over a similarly-hued bow blouse that I bought this weekend (Old Navy, thrifted).  I added black cropped pants (Banana Republic) and my black ankle-strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime).  And then I completely forgot jewelry.  As I do.

I did remember a close up of the combination of the lace and bow though:

So, points for that then, maybe?  Yes?  Fabulous.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

FBFF for May 25th

Today's FBFF Questions are all about summer trends.  Katy Rose of Modly Chic has asked us what we are loving for the upcoming season.

I�m actually loving pretty much the same trends for summer as I was for spring.  Weather-wise there isn�t a huge difference between spring and summer weather in my part of Oregon so my summer wardrobe is essentially my spring wardrobe but with more sandals.

Here are some things I can�t wait to wear this summer with sandals.

Tropical Prints

I�m amused as all heck that tropical prints are back.  I like them because they�re kitschy and I love the kitsch, but I also like them because they�re so easy to thrift.  In fact, I�ve already worn a thrifted, tropical print piece this year:

Printed Pants

I�m sort of obsessed with this trend.  As I mentioned before, I know I probably shouldn�t wear printed pants given the size and militancy of my thighs, but darned if I don�t love them.  I�ve thrifted a couple of pairs, including these that I�ve already worn this spring:

Oh, look, more tropical print.  Well, I warned you...

Tangerine

It�s the Pantone Color of the Year and, in my opinion, for good reason.  It�s just so frickin� vibrant.  See?:

Coral Belts

Okay, this isn�t a trend, except in my wardrobe, but I love my skinny coral belt.  I�ve worn it multiple times and will definitely be wearing it all summer long:

Neon

It took me a little while to get on board with neon last year, but I�m glad it stuck around for another year.  I have a few pieces in my closet, mostly neon pink, mostly thrifted, and I can�t wait to wear them.  I�d also love a pair of neon shoes, like one of the pairs below.

Heart and Soul �Pasquale�:

Image via Piperlime

Or even a pair with just a little bit of neon, like these:

Lucky Ballerina Flat at Alloy (image via Alloy)

How about you, Reader Friends?  What are you looking forward to wearing this summer?  Maybe something from eShakti?  If so, don't forget to enter my giveaway.  And, Schoolmarm Style is hosting an eShakti giveaway, too, so visit Kathryn for even more chances to win!

Happy Friday, All!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

Gracey

Coral and Stripes

I love pairing brights with stripes.  For me it�s a win-win as it combines two of my favorite things.   And today�s bright/stripe outfit is no exception:

Image via Piperlime

I paired the coral skirt (Banana Republic) with a navy and white striped dolman-sleeve tee (Target) which I layered over a white tank because it�s crazy sheer.  I added gray suede boots (Circa by Joan and David "Ralco" via Piperlime), my silver fringe necklace (Jessica Simpson Collection via Macys) and a few bracelets (self-made, local artisan, Macys).  And, of course, I love it.  The pieces are a little less structured than I usually like for my body, but I can�t deny it�s comfortable.  And bright.  And stripe-y.  So, yeah.  Love.

Do you know what else I love?  This new lip gloss/stain.  I�ve wanted to try a brighter lip for awhile now but was a bit nervous about it.  Until I found this YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in Rouge Gouache:

Image via Nordstrom

Seriously, I love this stuff.  And I�m not just saying that because YSL is sponsoring me.  Because they aren�t.  Though I�d totally be open to that.  Hedi, call me.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Kitschy Print #17

This dress is just further evidence that I love myself a kitschy print:

I feel justified with this one because I swear more than one fashion magazine said tropical prints were in.  So, I�m totally fashion-forward with this.  Not buying it?  Fine, I just like kitschy prints.  Today�s was thrifted and hemmed by yours truly.  Before I hemmed it, the dress was that awkward length between a midi and a maxi and it was a lot of kitsch, even for me.  Now, it�s just the perfect amount.

I paired the dress with a coral belt (Steven Madden via Ross) because I�ve decided to wear this belt with everything this summer.  And I added pewter sandals (Lovely People via Ideeli) instead of heels to keep the beach-y feel of the dress and because my tootsies still hurt from my night of wild 80s dancing on Friday.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and a happy Monday!

Gracey

The Unruly Undergarments

I think this blouse is so pretty, but I don�t love how it seems to be cut in a manner determined to show my bra strap:

Maybe my bra strap doesn�t want to be seen, Blouse.  Did you ever think of that? 

But wait� maybe it�s my bra strap�s fault.  Maybe my bra is the leader of an underground lingerie gang called The Unruly Undergarments whose motto is �Power to the Panties� and who worship 90s Madonna (obviously).  Maybe The Unruly Undergarments are tired of being behind the scenes and they used my poor blouse to further their agenda. 

Yeah.  I�d say that sounds about right.

Over the patsy of a blouse (Nordstrom) and the rebellious bra, I wore an embellished cardigan (Target).  I also wore cropped pants (Banana Republic) and added teal peep-toe flats (Target), a vintage turquoise bracelet (Ray�s Ragtime) and vintage lion earrings:

Happy Thursday, Everyone!  Power to the Panties!

Gracey