The Replacement Shoes

This was not a good summer for my shoes.  My blue suede platforms broke, my leopard peep toes are years old and starting to fray, I ruined the soles on my ankle boots falling down some concrete stairs and the linen straps on my espadrilles gave up the ghost:

The thing is; I�m hard on my shoes.  I use my heels to put my kickstand up, I ride my bike in the rain so my shoes can get pretty wet, and, let�s be honest, I�m not the most delicate flower in the blogosphere, so my shoes have to contend with a not small amount of weight.  I do what I can to protect my shoes against wear and tear, but they do eventually wear out.  Which means Mama needs a new pair of shoes.  Or four.

Luckily for me, I�ve added all of these to my shopping list.  Because, after my admittedly brief, but still grueling, shopping ban and closet purge this summer, I am actually doing better about sticking to my list.  And, because I am getting rid of the shoes I�ve replaced, I�m also following the (admittedly half-assed) one-in-one-out policy I�ve implemented.  Yay, me!  

Even more luckily for me, Nordstrom Rack had a clearance sale over Labor Day weekend and I was able to score two pairs of replacement shoes for under $50.00.  I bought the yellow pair I�ve been wearing the past couple days to replace my blue pair, and I bought this pair to replace my espadrilles:

I paired my new sandals (BP. Shoes) with a new-to-me thrifted dress and added a thin belt (Steve Madden via Ross) and a vintage bangle.  I know these shoes don�t resemble the pair they replaced that much, but they had everything I was looking for: they�re two-tone (black and natural), they�re strappy (T instead of ankle) and they�re comfortable.

Enough about the shoes though, let�s talk about the dress for a bit.  I love this thing:

Not the print so much � I have no idea what it is.  But, I love the cut and the fit.  And what I really love are the possibilities of this dress.  Because it buttons from hem to neck, I think it will be extremely versatile.  I can�t wait to layer it over, under and next to things all year round.

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a great weekend!

Gracey

I Rock a Lot of Florals

Like Jess from New Girl, I really do rock a lot of polka dots.  But, I realized today, as I wore my newest floral vintage dress, that I also rock a lot of florals:

This dress is one of the first items I Pinned once I figured out what the heck Pinning was.  It�s from the House of Heirlooms Etsy shop and I knew it would someday be mine.  For the inaugural wearing, I cinched the dress (vintage Donna Toran) with a black leather belt (thrifted) and added my ankle-tie espadrilles (Nordstrom).   And I loved it.  I love that it�s bright, shiny and colorful.  Oh, and floral.  Because, in case you hadn�t noticed, I rock a lot of florals.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Saving the Best for Last

I�m not sure this is absolutely the best vintage dress I have in my closet, but it�s definitely top three:

Unlike Tuesday�s dress that I tried to love, but just couldn�t, I have no problems loving this dress.  In fact, I think it may be pert near perfect.  I love the strange little print (no idea what it is), the colors, the jaunty little lady tie and the length.  Most of all though, I love the fit.  I don�t think this dress could be any more flattering even if it whispered �hey baby, lookin� good� every three steps.

Seriously, it�s even good from the side:

I paired the dress (vintage Anthony Richards, thrifted) with a braided, cognac belt (thrifted) and cognac espadrille wedges (Corso Como via Piperlime).  I had originally thought to pair this dress with red accessories but then I ousted my red wedges and got a little stumped.  But, I think like it just as well, if not better, with the cognac accessories; the red might have been a little too matchy-matchy.

Whether or not this is the best vintage dress in my closet may be up for debate, but it is definitely the last that I needed to wear before Maurice and I would be allowed to board the ship home from Nosh Opping.  This weekend, I�ll post a wrap up of what got ousted during the expedition; I actually got rid of a surprising amount of clothes.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

The Silk Obsession

Over the past year or so, I�ve become obsessed with silk.  It started with a couple of silk blouses from Banana Republic and has resulted in my thrifting four silk tees, two tanks, a halter, four more blouses and a dress.  This is one of the silk tees:

This one makes me happy because it�s so very 80s and we all know I have an irrational fondness for the 80s.  But, c�mon, how can this print in these colors not make you happy?

I paired today�s happy silk tee (thrifted) with black cropped pants (Banana Republic), ankle-wrap wedges (Very Volatile via Nordstrom) and a turquoise-colored bead necklace (rummaged).  The tee really does make me happy and these pants are definitely a keeper.  I want to keep the shoes, but they are several seasons old now and the linen straps are beginning to fray.  I�ll try to repair them, but if not, they�ll be added to the list of items I need to replace.  (Because no shoe wardrobe is complete without ankle-wrap wedges). 

I will try to get through the rest of my seasonally-appropriate thrifted silk items within the next couple weeks, which should put me on track for finishing this expedition by August 1.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey