Mixing prints- plaid and floral

I've been playing around again mixing prints, this time with a plaid and a floral. The funny thing is that I used to really fear mixing prints and I really hated florals but now I've learned to love florals and I especially love mixing them with other prints. In a previous post I mixed a floral skirt with a blouse with tiny polka dots.



I think this blouse works with my cropped plaid trousers for a few reasons. The first is that I played itsafe again sticking to a color palette. This time pink, white, and grey. The second is that from even across the room, my pants appear to be a solid grey. The third reason is the portion of the prints vary. The plaid is small and tight while the flowers are large and loose, like paint strokes.

I paired the outfit with my palest grey tights and my black heeled mary janes with the ivory piping.

Here's a close up of the way the prints play together.

Outift details: grey modesty tank-express; sheer floral blouse-Kensie; plaid cropped pants-hand me down; grey tights-Hue; maryjanes- payless, of course.

How do you mix prints? Have you ever tried mixing different plaids together?

DailyWear: Wear it again, Sam

I've been wearing a lot of the same pieces over and over again like my tan wool cardigan, my denim skirt, and the piece I'm wearing here again, my primary colored pop floral blouse. I shop a lot. A lot. But I do buy very cheaply (though it does add up I suppose) but time and time I go through phases where no matter what new lovelies I have all wrapped up in bags with tags dangling, I just want to wear versions of the same outfit or two over and over again.




Does this happen with you? Do you get into ruts or phases where you want to wear things over and over? I feel like everyone must at some point. Perhaps you get something new and you wear it til you're board with it. Or maybe you have something classic you turn to it times of doubt and passing trends. Sometimes you have a piece that's special because of the memories attached and you wear it so you can be in that place again.





Since clothing is undoubtedly a form of self-expression, isn't it impossible at times to throw something away even if it's not you anymore simply because it is part of who you have been?



Outfit details: primary floral blouse( forever 21); black pocketed jumper dress (thrifted); teal tights (Hue); red buckle flats (payless, of course)

Presenting the most belated thanksgiving post of all time

My husband and I don't celebrate holidays. He doesn't because of the religion he was raised in, that he is no longer a part of, but he never celebrated so he just doesn't get it. He's an alien. I don't celebrate holidays because I associate them with some pretty heavy/negative childhood memories and they're all clumped together in winter, even my birthday, when I tend to feel SAD. And cold and blah.



I do however celebrate food and what with husband being a super cook and all, we had a little thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us. We did it last year too as i recall but perhaps never before then. When I tasted his homemade cranberry sauce last year, i knew this would be a holiday worth celebrating.

We had a wonderfully lazy day watching bad movies on tv (remember Little Monsters?) and just generally not moving very much. Followed by him doing much cooking/baking and me still not doing very much. Including putting on makeup or combing my hair.



But I knew I would want to take a photo of the little feast he made so I figured I might as well take a picture of my sloppy casual outfit and make a post of it.


He made tyrkey breast (no sense in a whole bird for just two people), candied yams, cranberry sauce (from real live cranberries!), mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie (which I normally hate but this I devoured).


Outfit details: Khaki pants w/ black pinstripe; Blue checked boy shirt (thrifted); tan cardigan (thrifted). I feel like I have been wearing the same few things over and over again but i wouldn't exactly call it remixing. It's more just laziness and wearing whatever just came out of the wash or off the floor.

Daily Wear: From the Floor Up

How do you get dressed in the mornings? Do you pick your clothes out the night before, and lay them out, accessories and everything? Are you the super organized type that can prepare a week's worth in advance? do you just grab whatever's nearest and hope it all works out? Or do you have a strategy, say, picking out your top first and then working from there?

I tend to be that type. I'll pick out a shirt (if I'm not wearing a dress) and see what works with it. But the other day, while looking for a toaster in Wal-mart (didn't have any, can you believe it?), I found a pair of cheap knock-off Dr. Martens and just had to have them.

And so I decided to build an outfit around them, starting from the bottom up. Of course, you can see already I went for gray tights. Then I decided to put on my denim skirt that's been getting a lot of use recently. And then I chose a shirt, a light blue one with a navy pattern.


This is me in the little vintage store where I work. I liked this outfit even though it reminded me of being in high school.

It inspired this art photo, where I took a picture through a 1940s vanity mirror. The print on the shirt is weird. I wish I would have taken a close up of it. and then later that night I went to see a friend of a friend's band play and decided to throw on a wool cardigan (my husband's idea actually)

and this poor blurry pic was taken in my messy bedroom. And yes, I cropped some of the mess out of the picture. And no, I don't know what's playing on the tv.

Outfit details: denim skirt (Calvin Klein); grey tights (k-mart); Boots (wal-mart); print shirt(H&M); and tan wool cardigan (thrifted).

Daily Wear: Dress Blues

What is your favorite color? How do you know? Is it because it's the color you reach for time and time again? The color you wear on your body, the color you paint and decorate your home, the color that makes you smile to see it?



If you asked me what my favorite color is, I'd probably say yellow. I find it cheerful and sunny and happy. It does make me smile. As a redhead, i think it's flattering to me. I have yellow painted trim in my bedroom, yellow stripes on my living room walls to match my yellow chairs.



But blue is like a dark horse closing in. I hardly seem to notice it's even there until I'm surrounded. without even realizing it, most of my wardrobe is blue. I painted my kitchen an aqua blue. I interpret the teal of the dining room as a shade of blue, not a shade of green. As I generate plans for the rest of the house, shades of blue keep coming to mind.



Even the favorite color I really tend to profess, grey, to me, is a shade of palest ashy blue.

Outfit details: blue/white checkered little boys shirt (thrifted); fake denim jumper dress (Macys); blue tights (DKNY); brown heeled maryjanes (???)

Wherein I try to make sense of the stuff I buy

My main problem with clothing is nothing I own matches anything else I own. I'm drawn to bright colors and prints which are wonderful in dresses but a nightmare in separates. Which is why I did that whole post on wanting to stock up on winter basics, classics that will never go out of style, blah ,blah, blah. It hasn't happened yet. But I have picked up a few things. So now I'm forcing myself to make sense of the pieces and figure out how to wear them. Which of course just necessitates further purchases.


What it is: bright blue leopard print cardigan.

What I'll wear it with: I always associate leopard print with retro style despite this one's neon hue. I'd down play the rock and roll-ness of the color by pairing it with retro inspired black fitted capri pants. And then add a waist cinching belt (probably grey to pick out those tones in the sweater). Part pink lady from Grease, part Peg Bundy. well, at least it's an outfit.

Where I'd wear it: Rockabilly bowling, duh.

What it is: short sleeved ruffled white cardigan

What I'd wear it with: Speaking of leopard print, I'd sex up the sweetness of this top with a black/grey/white tone leopard print pencil skirt and patent leather high heeled mary janes.

Where I'd wear it: To the coffee shop where I intend to "bump into" a crush. (yeah, I know I'm married. This is fantasy).


What it is: vintage silver mink clip on collar

What i'd wear it with: right now I have a cream colored coat I wear it with. When it gets colder, I have a heavier black coat to wear with it. If I ever do get my hands on a long camel cashmere coat, the collar will have a permanent home there.

Where I would wear it: Attached to coats, all through mid fall to early spring, everyday, everywhere. Practical!


What it is: vintage brown tweed blazer with bright piping and buttons

What I'd wear it with: This menswear inspired jacket would look quite handsome with a fall floral dress, like brown and navy liberty print and brown lace up suede pumps.

Where I'd wear it: To shop the flea markets of London. What, a girl can dream!


What it is: sheer white diaphanous blouse with abstract pink/grey floral print

What I'd wear it with: low rise wide leg trousers to compliment the blousy fabric and a structured tuxedo jacket to temper it--both black.

Where I'd wear it: Opening night of Rent in cold (non dress) weather.


This was so much fun. If only i had the clothes to go a long with the pieces i bought. If only I had all those exciting events planned!

Daily wear: Neon 80s

One surefire way to cure the winter doldrums is by wearing bright colors. It also helped that I spent a lot of time in a bright room this weekend. My husband and I worked in this room and it's almost finished. Eh, I know. It will never be finished. I'll just keep thinking up new ideas and changing my mind and buying things before i even know if I have a place to put them. But at least we got up the curtain box and curtains. Now if only i could get up the energy to get prints of our vacation to put in my picture frames. Nothing worse than picture-less frames, except hanging ones. I've moved with that frame and it's always been empty. UNmotivated.

of course I didn't do my chores dressed like this but I decided we should reward ourselves for anything we do manage to complete and off we went to Embury again, that speak-easy style bar I mentioned before. LOVE that place. Gorgeous. And the cocktails are pure artistry.

I brightened up the increasing dark day by wearing my neon 80s inspired kensie outfit. The dress is plain black on top but has a beautiful flared out skirt with geometric patterns in grey and brights. Paired with a matching cropped cardigan. It looks very yellow here but it's more of an acid green, like Chartreuse. I cinched it in with a black belt with a heart shaped buckle, and accessorized with orange tights and black maryjane heels. I think there's just enough black to temper all the neon.

And then my makeup! I used an acid green eyeshadow on my lids to just over the crease and in the inner corners. Then I used a bright teal shadow as a liner on top and bottom lashes. Bright coral cheeks and nearly orange lips. But I swear, it wasn't that bad!


Again, the green looks yellow here but really it's more of a green-gold. The teal didn't show up well either, I'm afraid. But see what I mean, the lips and cheeks aren't scary at all.

Eyeshadows: Strike a Pose, and R rated, both by MAC
Cheeks: Benefit Coralista
Lips: Luscious Spark lip gloss over Outrageous Orange (eyeliner used as lip liner), both by MAC

Mini-review:

Coralista powder by Benefit

This is the newest powder/blush in Benefit's line up. It looks very intimidating in the box because it's so bright orange-pink. But it really does look pretty on. It's a bit more user friendly than typical corals in that it looks good on a larger variety of people (not just silly little redheads like me--though it does look kinda ashy on darker skin). The trick is to go light handed with it. The brush that comes with it is too dense and you'll end up with a neon streak. Use a larger rounder fluff brush and start small, adding more if you feel you need it. Don't be afraid of bright colors!

Daily Wear: I match the living room(!)

I've been so caught up in my love/hate relationship with Lush products that I've been even worse than usual about posting outfit pics anyway. I took these last Sunday and didn't do anything special as I recall. Just things like going to the grocery store and cleaning the house. But my husband really liked this outfit so it was almost like going someplace special, the way he kept tucking me into his arm.



I always think it's strange learning what (straight) men think of girls clothing and what they find sexy and what they don't. Will doesn't like sexy, things like cleavage and too short skirts. He likes cute, adorable even, things like fuzzy sweaters and sundresses. Flat shoes and bows in my hair.

He rarely ever comments about my makeup but on the few occasions I can recall,my eyes were surrounded by deep purple or fuchsia which I think is strange and a bit incongruous with what he likes in fashion. And I've know other guys thatwere transfixed by heavy, dark, or Gothic eye makeup.



When I was single, eons ago, in my early 20s I liked to go dancing a lot. My favorite place played 80s music on Thursday nights, all my favorite songs by The Smiths, New Order, The Cure, etc etc etc So of course I went every week. And boys would buy me drinks and i would talk with them while i drank it and met some interesting people and some boring people. even a few mean people. (I eventually met my best friend, when I was single again but in my late 20s and boys didn't offer drinks as much anymore).

But here's what i figured out in between all those free drinks and all those sweaty ecstatic plays of Dancing with Myself. I got way more attention from the opposite sex when I wore jeans and boots then when I wore a mini skirt and heels! I'm serious. I'd dress trashy when I wanted to be LEFT ALONE. hahahaha



And why? Because I wasn't intimidating in jeans and boots. i didn't look like a gold digger. i was the girl next door. i was laid back, easy going, the kinda girl you could match wits with as easily as you could deconstruct The Simpsons or pour your heart out to. Or so I would appear. But then again I was getting free drinks.

I think more importance should be attributed to the clothing we wear and the messages it sends about who we are. because people do judge a book by it's cover.

So what am I saying with this outfit? Well, "hug me" of course! and it worked.

What are your thoughts on how clothing defines us for others? Whathave the men in your life been attracted to?

Outfit details: blue v neck sweater-thrifted; white shirt with hook and eye closure--given to me by a near stranger in a night class in grad school for no apparent reason; Orange wool slash pocket skirt--The Gap (thrifted); grey tights--k-mart;silver flats--payless. I'm all about the savings.

Daily Wear:Pop Floral

I know I've mentioned this on here before, but I'll say it again. i really love musical theater. I'm a total dork. what's worse is my husband enjoys it too so we try to go whenever we can. I think when we first started dating we went to huge shows all the time. In the last year I'd say we haven't been to many shows at all. I suspect all the work we've done on the house is to blame. Its sapped our time and money it seems.



And even though we've gone to big shows, you know, the kind that tour for years all over and visit your humble town for awhile, sometimes with C list actors in the roles, on giant stages in huge theaters and it costs a lot and you have to dress up? well, our favorite shows have actually taken place at the local college for performing arts. Those kids have so much talent and passion. and I think more work goes into sets and costuming on these shows because they aren't paid(being students) and don't have huge touring costs. And tickets are only twenty bucks.

So my husband and I (and dear old Mom, mine) went to see a college production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. And after all that build up all I really have to say, not being a critic, that it was fun. I like fun. I want to go to a play again, after all the holidays blow over but before winter's through. It's good to have something to look forward to.


I wore a floral blouse (forever 21) that has bright primary colored flowers--reminds me of Andy Warhol. I especially like blue flowers. It's kinda shear so I wore a yellow t shirt(thrifted) underneath. Paired with a black cordouroy skirt(thrifted), teal blue tights(Hue), and my favorite shoes of all time--black heeled maryjanes with ivory piping and cute button (payless).


And I'm really frustrated with my Mac pigment sets. No, they really are great but I've been experimenting with the warm shades, all coppers, and bronzes and gold flecked olives. They're rich and shimmery and beautiful. but on camera, at least my camera, they all look kinda the same--metallic and shiny. so I've given up on doing a post on them, for now. I think they really need to be incorporated with other colors and formulas for best use. So I'll get to showing them off that way.

But here are my thoughts so far on the warm shades:

Best Highlighter: Jardin Aries (tan with gold pearl)--As the palest shade it works best on the browbone are as a highlighter. It's also a good starting point to build from.

Best used on the Lid: Copperized (olive green with gold pearl) Its the only shade thats a "color" and not a true mettallic so it works best as the base color.

Most Versatile: Rush Metal (rich copper sparkle)--I used this everywhere and for everything--as a liner for an evening look, just in the crease to ass richness, and even as the center dot for dimension.

Best Liner: Bronze Museum (rich taupe with gold pearl)--it's the darkest color and not overly shimmery

Best Accent: Reflects Gold(very fine particle white glitter that flashes gold). I used this is small doses nearly everywhere--inner corners, outer brow bone, and dotted on the center of the lid for a flash of gold.

Fuzzy sweaters, ramblings, and a wicked cool facewash

My new hobby is lazing about on my new sofa. Pointless, sure. A complete waste of valuable time. But fun! I'm still a little girl at heart and I like to play dress up and I LOVE to play house. Even doing household chores can become a game if you look at it the right way. So yeah, I have vintage aprons that i don and I like to put a fun record on (usually Blondie, not exactly ancient but it gets me moving) and suddenly I'm not an under appreciated housewife silently doing my marital duty (the OTHER marital duty haha). I'm Sharon Tate cleaning up before party guests arrive. Ok, maybe a bad example. But you get my meaning. Housework is just more fun when you're dusting off princess telephones and sudsing up Fire King dishware.



And as per usual I'm not sure where I'm going with all this. i should plan my posts out in my head at least if not in concrete handwritten drafts. I think I was trying to justify laying on a sofa as a hobby by suggesting that I'm not merely resting but actively engaging in the sofa's symbolic and cultural meanings. Are you buying this?

Well, skip it then. here's what I'm wearing: One of my new blue sweaters; the looser fuzzy one with my denim skirt and brown boots. very casual. Oh wait! I just remembered i did have a post planned talking about everything i did this day and it was actually interesting and thoughtful but also last Sunday so I forget everything anyhow. I'm a loser.

Sweater-thrifted, denim skirt-Calvin Klein, brown boots-Franco Sarto, wool thigh highs that at first look grey until you see all the tan marbling-Forever 21.

Mini product review:

Lush's Coalface cleanser




This is a black bar of facial soap with little bits of scrubby inside. It's meant for oily skin which I do not have but it is still my favorite Lush cleanser. and I've tried all but like one so I feel I can safely say that this one is the best for me. I like it because it does lather a bit but isn't harsh. i rub it between my palms and then wash my face with my hands. i feel like you would benefit from the scrubby bits better if you rubbed the bar directly on your face. After washing with this, my face is clean with no residue and it removes all but the heaviest of eye makeup. a 3.5 oz bar costs $10.95 and lasts a million years. i don't even keep mine safe in one of those tins and it lasts forever. I've been using a tiny sample sliver everyday since mid September and I'm only half way through it.

What do you wash your face with?

Mixing prints-dots and florals

I tend to get stressed out very easily (veeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy easily, as in jumping out of bed panicking because my husband cleaned off his desk and now I'm not sure where my camera disk is). I also spend all week at a job I don't enjoy for all sorts of reasons (not the vintage shop I love that!) and so I tend to be crabby all week.

So I'm trying to really enjoy my weekends (when I don't have to work at the vintage shop--which I do love) because I don't get to see my husband very much during the week. he works 10-12 hour days, sometimes six days a week. and no he's not a doctor or a grad student, he's a cook in one of those fancy pants restaurants for rich people. Well, upwardly mobile upper middle class people. Not us.



So anyway....

We decided to go out Saturday night for a date. We don't go out much in a nightlife sorta way because we're old and tired and nobody likes us and we don't like anybody ;) But when we do it's usually to one of the local bars in our area. But i suggested we go to a new place I had remembered him telling me about called Embury. A fancy place.

I had heard it had a speak easy vibe but this place was gorgeous and amazing. It was small, probably no more than 20 capacity so it felt exclusive. It was all soft chandelier lighting and wood paneling. There were book shelves! And one of those shelves pulled out to reveal a bathroom. it kinda reminded me of the Anne Frank house, but, uh, not depressing.



the bartenders wore rolled up shirt sleeves, vests, and little caps. so cute.

We got there at nine and there were only a few people. In Pittsburgh people don't go for cocktails until at least eleven. I like it that the andy warhol vampires take so long to flat iron their hair. I like getting a chair to sit in and the bartender's attention.

So they have a list of cocktails on a giant gilt framed chalkboard. The drinks don't list what spirit is in them, just the flavor and style. such as the drinks I had "light and floral" and "crisp and spicy" --that one was made with muddled jalapeno! A girl ordered absinthe and I got to watch the long ritualistic process of the drink. very cool. I love this place!!!
I took these pictures in my living room before we left. I like mixing prints and this is one of my favorite outfits. I don't know how it hadn't made the blog yet. I think this experiment works because i stayed to two colors, brown and aqua. i also varied the scale of the prints, tiny dots and large flowers. then my tights and boots were just plain brown so as not to compete. people go nuts when I wear this; I should make it my uniform but the blouse buttons always pop open!

details: blouse-thrifted, skirt-thrifted, tights--Jessica Simpson, boots --Franco Sarto

Tangerine and Cobalt

For some reason these two colors, particularly together, have really been appealing to me lately. I think it's because I'm attracted to bright colors and these are the delightfully bright versions of navy and orange that autumn brings about. In general, I've been experimenting with making my summer dresses and other warm weather clothes more appropriate for the descending chill in the air.


This is a very thin vintage dress, definitely made for summer but the color is just so amazing and perfect for right now. A better picture of the dress is here. I've been wearing this boots almost constantly lately. I keep meaning to buy some new ones because these are very old but I can never remember and honestly, I haven't see much that appeals to me this year.




here's a picture where I added my brown corduroy jacket but I think it ended up being too many layers. I like the vest though. It has orange and yellow flowers on it which helps to tame the brightness of the dress, really making it look like Fall. here's a closeup of the pattern....



The background is grey and the trim is brown. I accidentally bought it too big and had to pin it in the back.

I took these pictures at work, so that clutter you see is wonderful vintage clutter and not my dim dark clutter house.

What are your favorite colors to pair together?

Daily Wear: Deconstructed tuxedo

I use to be more daring when it came to skirt lengths. I always wore those school girl style skirts, usually plaid, in high school and beyond and it took me a long time to out grown that look. I have a hard time with skirts in general, having a larger than average (judging by clothing dimensions) measurement difference between my waist and my hips/thighs. Classic pearshape drama. If a skirt fits in the waist, it is way too tight to move the rest of the way down, assuming I can actually pull it up over my thighs. I often have to put on skirts over my head and try to shimmy them down over my chest. But if I get a skirt to fit me in the thighs/hips, I have a huge gap around my waist. so these little a-line skirts were the best solution. They seemed to be the best style to ear for my body and I got getaway with wearing them low on my hips.

But not only is that completely boring, having basically the same skirt for years and years but then a funny thing happened. i got older. and I know, I know. Age is just a number. But tell me you've never seen a woman look inappropriate dressed as a teenager well beyond her teenage years.



So My skirts have to get longer. and they have been. They graze my knee now, sometimes a bit above, sometimes a bit below. Assuming I can find a skirt that even half way fits.

But, I digress. This tunic is way too short to wear out in public as a dress. But I've done that before. And I've done it without tights. I really had no idea the fine line between a bold 60s length hem and tacky white trash.

So now I know. But I couldn't help but love this look anyway. Hence the sunglasses to protect my identity.


Basically the same pose twice I know, but the other ones I took were all wrong.

Outfit details: Ivory tunic (I wear this endlessly), black tuxedo jacket, black tights, black/white spectator peeptoes) Do you care about brands? Should I list that info?

Fall can be wonderful, you know

The temperatures are definitely dropping here in Pittsburgh. I'm really wimpy about cold weather, even though I grew up here. Every year I'm shocked and pained by how cold it gets. and when I here the weather man reporting that our temps are lower than average, i start to panic. I always feel like I can't stand it if it gets any colder and I fear this will be a particularly rough winter.






My little cream colored peacoat is cute but not very warm. My navy tights are also not as warm as i would want. It's ok for now but I fear that very soon I'll have to invest in one of those snuggies they advertise on tv.

So I'm trying to get excited and enjoy cooler weather activities. if I can trick myself into embracing a colder than average fall, maybe winter won't be so bad. I feel like people who celebrate holidays are lucky because it provides a distraction and the celebrations are to some extent weather related.


So i donned my thrifted sweater dress, which was warm as far as dresses go.....and pretty much stayed inside. I left to run some errands but mostly I spent the weekend working on my house and getting into Fall.

I'm not much of an activity person, so my fall fun (aside from going to a haunted house a couple of weeks ago) has been through food. My husband is a wonderful cook. He has been making amazing breakfasts. One day it was scrambled eggs and polenta with a side of those little multi colored tomatoes (I'm no gourmand. what are they called?) and the strangest yummiest weird consistency cheese stuff. I guess that doesn't sound too good. But trust me in was delicious. and then another day it was pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon apples on top and sprinkles of pomegranate seeds. This wonderful man HEATS my syrup for me.

We had a long talk about seasonal foods and vegetables and I look forward to eating upcoming meals. He can do almost anything with a butternut squash (last year it was cheesecake--hard to top!)


Oh, and here's a closeup of my collar. It sorta got lost under my hair in other pictures. I really like the colors of this dress. The fit could be better but that's what you get with thrifted clothes.

What do you love most about fall? For me it used to be the clothes but now it's definitely the food. What's the weather like where you live?

Mixing black and brown

Mixing black and brown is not something I feel comfortable with despite having seen many many examples of this done well. I cannot do this well. In general I like to wear dresses because I don't have to worry about proportion or matching like I do with separates. But i live in a cold climate, rely on public transportation, etc and must wear pant in winter.

But when I shop, I have a search and destroy mentality. I grab anything that attracts my eye, size doesn't matter, and take it all to the dressing room. Inside, i try everything on, sometimes twice and slowly whittle down my selections to what I'm going to buy.

For some reason I'm unable to think it terms of what my wardrobe lacks, outfits I could make, etc and so I always end up buying weird random things. And since I grab whatever attracts my eye, i have a closet full of bright colors and patterns, not always very conducive to making outfits.

So behold....




This is my attempt to mix black and brown which I have done so very unsuccessfully. I've also managed to mix many textures and possibly patterns if you consider lace more of a pattern than a texture. Ugh.

As this unfortunate close up reveals, I am wearing black and tan check plaid pants (H&M how dare you!) , a cream lace blouse with black attached ribbon, and my brown corduroy vaguely military-esque jacket.



The worstthing is, I'msick of taking pictures in front of the white mantle in my living room but the teal walls of the dining room and the plum walls of the bedroom are murder on my poor pictures. they always turn out terrible and I don't think there is anything my poor digital crap camera can do about it. Suggestions?

sorry my bedroom is such a mess, another reason I prefer the white mantle.

Daily Wear: Dressed for Fall

I'm still hanging onto to being able to wear dresses for as long as the weather holds. It seems to be getting colder and colder so expect to soon see months and months of me in the One Pair of Pants That Fit!

But until then I brought out a dress i usually wear in summer because it's so short and made it cooler weather appropriate. It's in fall colors and had kind of a 60s vibe so I paired it with mustard tights and tall brown boots.

I haven't worn this dress in over a year. I kept having to pull it down to preserve modesty. I guess I got, erm.....taller...since last year. This may have just graduated to shirt status.



A brown cord military jacket provided a little warmth and coverage. I wore this to a super creepy haunted house with my husband, best friend, and her husband. Everyone said a ghoul would put their hand up my dress but none did. I guess I'm getting old.

Daily Wear: It suits me

I have to dress kinda corporate for work, so I rarely take outfit pics during the week. Not that those kinds of outfits can't be creative and cool. It's just that my work look is pretty repetitive. A lot of black suits and skirts. I just don't want to clog up my blog with a lot of dreary sameness. Especially since I like wearing so many bright colors and patterns. Definite work no-nos.

But I made an exception in an effort to present myself as I am. Which is why I've been posting more casual outfits lately too. It's important to me that I don't gloss the truth on this blog. I don't use photoshop. I don't exclusively wear vintage dresses. Sometimes I don't even wear makeup.

This is me in a work outfit.


Black pinstripe suit, which in itself is pretty edgy for the dress code. Outfit made further rebellious by wearing a black tunic t shirt underneath.


A close up of my necklace. This is a way that I can show my real personality and style. It's a faux pearl flower necklace. Not vintage but old and romantic in feel. On of my favorites though I rarely wear jewelry. i want that to change.

What do you have to wearfor work? Can you be as creative as you'd like?