Dress Like A Wasp's Nest

I feel like a cocoon today.  Or a wasp's nest, what with all my gray, lumpy layers:

Which isn't to say I don't like this outfit.  I actually really do.  It's cozy as hell and it's as comfortable as pajamas. And it's successful deployment of a maxi dress in cooler weather, which is something I've struggled with in the past.

What it's not, is figure-flattering.  I know as a blogger I'm supposed to be demonstrating how to dress in the most flattering way (Right?  Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing here?), but I just can't do it.  You want to wear something that swallows your shape?  Go for it.  Dress like a wasp's nest, if you want.  I totally support that.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

SIA: The Woman And Her Chair

This is the painting Salazar, of 14 Shades of Grey, chose for today's SIA Challenge:

Cecelia Beaux "After the Meeting"

And this is what I wore:

Yes, that's right, I am dressed as both the woman and her chair.

When I first saw this painting on 14 Shades of Grey, I was immediately drawn to the mix of the floral on the chair and the stripes on the woman.  I also love the the rich warm tones of the painting and wanted to incorporate all of those things into my outfit.

The result is a mix of stripes (Target shirt, Vince Camuto skirt), floral (handmade vintage coat-dress-thingy) and leopard (Nine West):

Yes, I know there is no leopard in the painting, but I'm pretty sure that woman sitting on that chair would have some leopard in her life.  She's seems like a bit of a bad-ass like that.

For more inspired looks, pop by Salazar's and take a gander!

And have a Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Oooh, I almost forgot.  I'm linking up to Visible Monday over at Not Dead Yet Style because I felt highly visible in this mix of prints and awesomeness.

Stripes, Tights & Blazers

This is a summer dress.  It's not terribly thick, it is sleeveless with a racer back and it is so short it's practically un escandalo:

However, I attempted to make it fall appropriate by layering the dress (LOFT, similar) over tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) with boots (Born "Mabel") and a blazer (J. Crew, swapped, similar).  I also added studded bracelets (Nordstrom, exact) and a neon necklace.

I'm trying to get better about transitioning summer clothes to fall and winter with layers.  I layer a lot but I tend to pack up items I consider "summery" once fall comes and I don't see them again until the following spring.  On one hand, it's kind of nice because I'm always surprised at what I have stored in the garage.  On the other hand, I think my two-seasons-and-two-seasons-only approach to my clothes has resulted in my over-purchasing.  And that's the outcome I'm trying to fight with better cross-seasonal layering.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Do you switch your clothes out for the season or do you have items that work across the seasons?

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Stripes and Spots

The other day I wandered into Target for laundry detergent, as one does.  And I walked out with a new skirt, as one does.  But, really, how could I resist this piece?

I love leopard and I love mustard and my joy in having them combined in one piece cannot be overstated, so there was absolutely no way I was going to pass this skirt up.

It is perfection:

I mean, it's short perfection but with some tights, I'm pretty sure I didn't flash anyone.  Probably.

In addition to the spotted skirt (Phillip Lim 3.1 for Target) and the tights (Target), I also wore a striped shirt (vintage, thrifted), black booties (Born Crown) and a vintage bracelet (Red Fox Vintage).

Happy Monday, Everyone!

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 8: Stripes and Floral

I think it�s safe to say that my striped Vince Camuto skirt is the MVP of this challenge as I wore it yet again for Day 8:

Well, co-MVP.  I�ve actually worn my Rieker shoes the absolute most during the Perfect 10 Remix Challenge and am wearing them again today:

I can�t help it.  The skirt and the shoes are the some of the most comfortable pieces of clothing in my entire wardrobe much less in this little mini-wardrobe.

In addition to my much-loved skirt (Nordstrom, plus available here) and apparently-favorite shoes (thrifted, exact), I also wore (finally!) my cropped floral jacket (vintage, thrifted).  It�s still too warm to really layer, so I just buttoned the jacket and wore it as a blouse.  I also added a belt (thrifted, similar), for a peplum effect, a chunky gold bracelet and red drop earrings (similar here).

My sister and Ferge didn�t like this outfit at all, stating that it was too much, but I, predictably, loved the combination of the busy floral and the bold stripes.  

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Day 5 & 6: Stripes on the Bottom, Stripes on the Top

For Day 5 of the Perfect 10 Challenge, I wore stripes on the bottom, pairing my Day 1 skirt with my Day 2 shirt:

In addition to the striped skirt (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom) and the navy tee (Gap, similar), I also wore my Rieker shoes (thrifted, exact), my braided belt (thrifted, similar) and studded cuffs (Nordstrom).  And I added a large scarf (LOFT, similar) for a little extra warmth on the morning bike ride.

 

And for Day 6, I wore stripes on the top, wearing my Day 1 tee for my jeans' first outing:

I know, I know, this is nothing groundbreaking, but it was just a weekend outfit for running errands and going to the movies.  In addition to the tee (Old Navy, similar) and jeans (Old Navy Mid-Rise Rock Star Skinnies), I added my Rieker shoes (thrifted, exact) and studded cuffs (Nordstrom).

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

 

Day 1: Sexy Beetlejuice

So, yesterday was the first day of the Perfect 10 Remix Challenge and this is what I wore:

I liked it, actually a lot, but it did feel a little "sexy Beetlejuice" to me.  I hesitate to call myself sexy, but this was definitely a lot more va-va-voom-y than I usually go.

Happily, the striped skirt is one of the most comfortable pieces of clothing I've ever worn.  It felt like I was wearing lounge wear all day and it was great for bike riding.  I think if I weren't so physically comfortable in this, being dressed like sexy Beetlejuice might have been mentally uncomfortable for me.  But, as it was, I kind of loved this:

In addition to my awesome striped skirt (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom, exact) I also wore my striped tee (Old Navy, similar), my latest thrifted espadrilles (Rieker, exact) and a braided belt (thrifted, similar).  By the way, these shoes are awesome.  I have never heard of this brand before I thrifted them, but they're crazy comfortable too, just like the skirt.

Oh my Gawd, y'all; I've figured out the key to comfort! Dress like sexy Beetlejuice!

Trust me, it totally works.


Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Citron and Gray

Citron and gray is one of those color combinations I really love:

And of course, citron and gray with turquoise is even better:

Blouse: Old Navy (similar, plus available)  Skirt: Gap  Sandals: Ella Moss (similar)  Belt: Old Navy (similar)

In other news, I continue to be thrilled by the presence of pockets in my clothes:

Thrilled, y'all.

Happy Wednesday, Reader Friends!

Gracey

Pink Stripes, Floral Pin

I wear my pink striped dress a lot during the summers.  And I usually pair it with equally summery shoes and accessories.  Today, however, I went a slightly darker route:

Dress: thrifted vintage  Belt: Gap  Sandals: thrifted

All so I could wear my black, lacquered floral pin:

Vintage, handpainted black lacquer brooch

Because, sometimes, all a girl wants is to wear pink stripes and a floral pin.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Cobalt Midi

I know for some, the inclination in summer is to wear as little clothing as possible.  And, as the temperatures climb into the 90s here in Oregon, I definitely understand.  And others swear that maxis are good, especially for air conditioning and I understand that too.

But, personally, I�ve found myself drawn to full, swooshy midi-skirts, like this cobalt one:

 

Skirt: Thrifted vintage   Tee: Gap   Sandals: White Mountain via Macys

 

I think it�s the swooshy-ness (shut up, Microsoft, it is too a word) of the skirt that makes it so lovely for summer:

 

Or, it could be the pockets:

 

Because pockets are a gosh darned delight all year long. 

Whether it�s the swooshy-ness or the pockets or something else, I don�t know.  What I do know is that I love a good midi-skirt for the summer months.

What about you, Reader Friends?  What length are your summer hemlines?

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Summer Maxi

People swear that maxi skirts and dresses still keep you cool in hot weather.  I was skeptical (so much fabric!) but, I thought I'd give it a try today:

I paired my black maxi (Target (similar, tall available)) with a black and white striped tee (Old Navy (similar)) and brightly colored sandals (Ella Moss via Piperlime (similar color)).

I also added a braided belt (thrifted) and a vintage squash blossom necklace:

Via Lil' Gypsy Vintage (similar here)

And, I have to admit, wearing a maxi was pretty okay for most of the day.  Right up until I got on my bike to ride home.  Riding a bike in a maxi skirt is never great.  Riding a bike in a maxi skirt in 90+ weather is even less great. But, I will say that the maxi was a great choice for the air conditioned office; my legs often get chilled and they didn't at all today.

So, the final verdict?  Maxi's are pretty great for summer, as long as you're not trying to ride a bike in them:

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Bright and Stripe-y

My shoes are bright and my dress is stripe-y:

Old Navy dress (no longer available) (similar) and Tommy Hilfiger sandals via Piperlime (exact)

I think my dress is perfectly stripe-y and my shoes are perfectly bright, but Ferge thinks my shoes are too bright:

Image via Piperlime

Nonsense.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey