A Different Kind of Pinspiration

This outfit was inspired not by Pinterest, but by the pins on this outfit of the, well, fabulous, April, over at Knocked Up Fabulous:

Instead of a bright blue skirt (I think I packed mine for winter) I paired my cream sweater (thrifted, Goodwill) with my mocha-colored skirt (thrifted, Goodwill).  I also added black tights (Spanx via Nordstrom), belt (thrifted, Goodwill) and boots (thrifted, Goodwill) and an infinity scarf (Steve Madden via Macys).

And, of course, I added a vintage brooch cluster (all via Lil' Gypsy Vintage):

I like how the scarf ties in the black boots and tights and love the little pop of red from the floral brooch.  This is definitely something I'd wear again; perhaps next time with my blue skirt if I can remember where I put it.

Happy Wednesday, All!  And Happy New Year!

Gracey

This Outfit is Weird

It is.  I think it�s conceptually sound, but the execution was shaky:

 (** Similar boots, sheer floral vintage dress, similar belt)

Allow me to explain.  It was finally boot weather here in Oregon, so of course I had to wear boots.  And I love wearing boots with dresses, so I had to wear a dress.  And the dress I chose is sheer so I had to wear a slip.  And I�ve always wanted to try a dress with an exposed slip, so I selected a slip that�s just a bit longer than the dress.  All that makes sense, right?

Well, here�s where it fell apart.  I paired cognac boots (Steven Madden) and a belt (thrifted) with this dress (vintage Blair, thrifted) because I swear to goodness there is some cognac in the print:

But, not enough to notice from far away, making the look a little iffy.  Adding to the iffy-ness is the fact that I refused to iron the slip.  Because to me that�s like ironing sheets.  Or jeans.  Ridiculousness.  (Unless, of course, you iron your sheets and jeans and then I totally respect your commitment to a wrinkle-free life).  So, yeah, not quite what I wanted.

That�s okay though, I gave it a shot and I�m not mad that I did.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

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

Jumping the Gun

It was less than 80 degrees here in Oregon today, so I wore boots and a scarf:

Yes, I�m jumping the gun a bit for fall, but, unlike the Olympics, I think bloggers get two false starts, so I won�t be disqualified when fall actually arrives.  Besides, it�s still kind of summery because my dress (vintage, thrifted) is sleeveless, the infinity scarf (Plato�s Closet) is lightweight, and the boots (Steve Madden) are lighter colored.

Make no mistake though, I am ready for fall.  I�ve been Pinning fall outfits like crazy on my Fall Ready Already board, I�ve been longingly petting my riding boots and I�ve already started planning fall outfits.  All of this in spite of the fact that summer came late to Oregon; but, apparently two weeks of 90+ degree weather is all I need to be over summer.

How about you, Reader Friends?  Are you ready for fall?

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

I Just Can�t Like It

I want to like this dress:

I really do.  But, I just can�t.  It�s just not right for me and it makes me pose like an idiot.  I�m perfectly capable of idiotic posing on my own; I don�t need the help.

This dress just seemed like such a good idea when I thrifted it months ago.  I mean, it�s red; I love red.  And it has stripes; I love stripes.  And it�s vintage; I love vintage.  And yet, I don�t like this dress.  I even took the time to hem it above the knee, thinking that might help.  It didn�t.  

At first I didn�t wear it because I wasn�t sure how to style it.  But, I like the styling today.  I think the ankle strap flats (Hive and Honey via Piperlime) and the thin belt (Steven Madden) are good choices.  Just with a different dress.  Luckily, my friend Alex has agreed to take this dress off my hands, which leaves me with just one more never worn dress in my closet.  After I wear that, I�m shutting my Nosh Opping Expedition down.

I�ll finish it up this weekend with look at my expedition log and a retrospective of everything that didn�t make the cut.  And then Maurice and I are flying home (he�s going to live in the backyard).

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Five, Not Seven

So, it turns out that I actually own five white skirts, not the seven I�d originally thought.  Two of the skirts I�d counted as white are actually cream (totally different).  And I found a third a third cream skirt running around The Valley of the Duplicates as well.  But, I�ll talk about those later; today is about one of the white skirts. 

Specifically, this white skirt:

This is my casual white skirt.  I also have a pleated white skirt (okay, two, but I�m getting rid of one) and two white linen skirts (one of which will also have to go).  Because I�m not great at mixing dressier pieces with more casual pieces, having skirts that can be dressed down is pretty important to me.  For example, I�m sure some bloggers could do it, but I can�t imagine wearing my pleated white skirt with this look.  I think this skirt works with the slouchy sweater (JC Penney) because both pieces are casual.  Ditto for the boots (thrifted) and the infinity scarf (Steven Madden via Macys).

Maybe when I grow up I�ll do a better job of mixing dressy and casual, but until then, I�m afraid I�ll need to maintain my larger, less versatile wardrobe.  So, the casual white skirt stays.  And so does the sweater; I know it�s not the most flattering shape, but darned if it isn�t comfortable.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Sir Hems-a-Lot

Yes, there are pictures, but first we�re going to explore the etiology of today�s title.  Won�t that be fun?  (BTW: the answer we're looking for is yes, folks).

Sir: I don�t think I look particularly mannish in this outfit, but somebody called me �Sir� today.  Maybe it�s because I didn�t wear earrings?  Let that be a lesson to you, Gentle Readers, accessorize or suffer the consequences.

Hems-a-Lot: I went on a hemming rampage a few weeks ago, taking quite a few of my midi-length dresses to above the knee.  Which isn�t to say I�ve given up midis; I just wanted a little variety.  This dress was one of the victims of that rampage:

Today:

Before:

Unlike previous outfits with this dress, I�m sans tights and I paired it with lighter, more spring-like accessories.  Instead of my dark brown boots, I opted for camel-colored ones (Steve Madden).  And in addition to the boots, I added a coral belt (Steve Madden via Ross), a couple of vintage bracelets (thrifted & gifted) and a watch.

Because faking Spring is almost as good as really having Spring arrive.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey