Daily Wear: Summer into Fall

Like everyone else I suppose, I'm trying to transition my summer clothes into fall. Historically the fall season has been my favorite for fashion but this year I just can't seem to get into anything I'm seeing in stores. I'm sick to death of purple. Corduroy is so unflattering. And leopard print can suck it.

Whoa. Sorry. I let a little bitterness seep out there didn't I?

I'm really wimpy about cold weather. Really. I think even 50' is horrendous and where I live it gets much colder than that. And I suspect that my winter melancholy has arrived much sooner than usual.

I've really enjoyed wearing dresses this summer. I'm usually so shy about drawing attention to myself or showing any skin but this year I really let myself be free. I don't want to go back into drab layers and brown everything.

So I'm holding on to my summer wardrobe for as long as possible, maybe forever!

Here I'm seen rolling my eyes upward as I try to autumnize my floral sleeveless top. I decided that although it's actually a very summer top, it'll would pass because it's such a dark floral. They main colors are black and burgundy which I'm seeing everywhere for fall with a little bit of green, grey, and mustard. It's also a pop art style of floral, they don't look realistic which lends a tougher, colder weather feel.

I paired the top with grey slacks (get used to them, they are the only pants that fit), my cropped denim jacket, and some ankle boots with a side detail that looks like buttons. They aren't quite grey, nor quite brown. Very strange. As they match nothing, they can be worn with everything!

I'd call this a successful transition. I'm hoping to replicate this success with more of my summer tops. As soon as I get them out of the wash...

Daily Wear: Going to the Zoo

But I didn't even take any pictures at the zoo. I know,lame. I just get really nervous about having my picture taken in general and I didn't want to cause strangers to stop and stare. So I just took a couple of pictures at home by myself in my living room. I really like seeing other blogger's outfit posts so I hope maybe I can inspire someone else in a small way with my lil ragtag closet.


I love this cut of dress. It ties at the waist so I can accentuate my best feature and then sort of skim rights over my hips and thighs so they are less apparent. I also think big button all the way down is darling. Plus I love dresses with pockets!

Plaid is a huge trend right now and honestly I'm sick of it. I feel like it's been everywhere for seasons already. But I couldn't pass this up. I guess because it was an 'open' plaid with few colors. You can almost make out the waffle texture of the fabric in this closeup.


I paired it, naturally, with navy tights and red flats. Do you care about brands? The dress is H&M. But I stopped by the vintage shop I work at and people thought it was vintage and kept touching me. I felt famous. It a creepy way. See? That's why I don't want to take pictures in public so you are stuck with my plain white mantel again.

How I styled it: Sporty Prepster

Ten million eons ago I posted a style inspiration on vintage sporty/preppy looks because of a dress I bought ten million eons before that. Even for a procrastinator like me it's ridiculous how much this topic got lost in the fold. I'm finally going to post some pics. I apologize. It's a very summer look and here we are at the end September. Maybe I can salvage it for a Halloween costume?




This is my vintage tennis dress that I mentioned before. I love it so much. It's the perfect A-line cut for my body and I love the fresh preppy combo of white and kelly green. It's very short however, but I do have on a pair of white shorts, so no use trying to get a glimpse of panties.



I meant to get a pair of white plimsolls but never managed to do it. even when they were on sale. even when I had gone to the store specifically for them, holding them in my hand. somehow I didn't do it. So instead please accept these white socks with green stripes as a substitute.


I put my hair back in a perky ponytail. This is the kind of look that goes well with a suntan but I don't (and won't!) tan so I tried to come up with a natural (ish!) girl next door/healthy look.

I felt like fresh skin was most important so I used a bit of concealer where I usually do not. Copper on the eyes, bright pink on the cheeks, pinker than natural but still neutral-ish lips.

Makeup details:

eyes...Lancome Color Du Jour eyeshadow on the browbone(it's a bit of a plum but sweeps gently on leaving a copper/bronze shimmer) and Revlon cream shadow in Precious Metals on the lid (it's a four pack, I used the copper one).

cheeks and lips...Mark Good Glowing blush in Ripe Glo and Avon Ultra Luxury lip liner in Baby Pink with Lancome Juicy Tube in Frozen Punch.

It was definitely important to fill in my brows for this look.

Ah, so there. Finally got it out of the way. I'll have my Paris pictures up soon. Until then Au Revoir!

Daily Wear: Amsterdam!

So I've finally looked over my pictures from Amsterdam and selected a few, though nothing came out really well. Lots of Myspace style self portraits.....well it's funny at least. We were in Amsterdam for four days and were surprised at how walkable it was. I think we managed to see all the neighborhoods but maybe one. and here is what I wore...



Lots 'o stripes. this is me in the hotel hallway, very red eyed...from the flash! Charcoal grey pinstripe pants, black trench coat, dove grey stripe bag, pink stripe scarf, silver flats....




And here is the pink floral blouse I wore with it, never got a full outfit pic so use your imagination. I really like mixing prints, especially florals and stripes. Pink ribbon in hair. Dazed expression. Poor shy husband making another unglamorous appearance.



On day two we rented bikes and explored the streets and didn't die or kill anyone. Black trenchcoat (it rained the whole time), cream tights, black maryjanes with ivory piping, grey stripe bag...

And a shot from the front reveals pink dress (from my faerie post) with green cardigan (which has a pink floral patch or something, I forget) I did have on shorts under my dress though so no use looking for my panties.

Day three in the Vondelpark. dove grey pants, black wrap cardigan, grey/ivory blouse with black bows across the breast. the return of the thin giant headband; black/white stripe slipons, pink purse.

And my adorable yet geeky husband in a flattering picture because he has suffered so much indignity due to my misguided vanity.

I justreally like this picture, from our last night at a Jenever tasting. We had a good time and it was a good memory to end our Amsterdam experience with. But if you're curious about what's under that trench, I leave you with this disturbing image...


details:green/pink floral button up, fake denim jumper dress, hot pink tights, silver flats. Thank goodness those people behind me were facing the other way and missed my goofball preening.

I have pictures form Paris coming soon. I was there a week though so it's a lot to go through so expect some filler for a few days, or perhaps even nothing at all.

Thanks for stopping by!

Daily Wear: Afterbirthday Party

Just a quick little posty. I'm still going through my pictures from Amsterdam so a few of those will be up soon.

My friend just had a baby (while I was in Paris, no less) and I got to see her just after I got back to celebrate her being able to drink again (yay!) and smoke too (boo!). And it was her birthday too! With all the chaos over travel and babies we almost forgot about that one.




I bought this star sundress sometime over the summer, never posted about it or wore it and looky now summer is over. So anyway, I paired in with hot pink tights and a little denim jacket.



In this picture you can almost see my shoes-black pointy maryjanes with kitten heels. You can also see our shameful under couch mess. Wire hangers???



And a weird bright flash/dark room look at my makeup. Hot pink eyeshadow made me think I should beige out my lips and be kinda plain everywhere else. I might have had a bit of blush though. I can't remember.... Oh yeah, my necklace in the first picture is a pocketwatch I bought in Paris. I'll have to get a close up soon.

Stay tuned.....!!!!

Daily Wear: London!

I'm finally getting around to posting about my vacation, me, the one with a mind like a sieve. So I'm slow on memories right now but perhaps seeing the pics will help me along. i apologize if I've forgotten names and places and dates.




This is me doing a bathroom shot abroad! First night in London, face courtesy of my being drunk already at this point. We had to take a dozen pics to get this outfit and for that reason never attempted to get outfit pics for the rest of the two weeks. I was on vacation from everything, including blogging. And my outfits weren't too cute anyway as I realized once I got a gander at European girls. My European readers might debate this, but they're thinking of girls from new York and L.A. not Pittsburgh.

If you care...details: grey/white engineer stripe dress, grey tights, mint green bow tie held by bobby pins, silver flats. Next picture also features my pink/cream stripe scarf, ubiquitous on this trip.



This is a picture with my adorable nerd husband, who was mistaken for British in every town we went to. I hope he doesn't overly mind that I've exposed him on this blog. I know he snoops around here about once a month. If I post a whole bunch this will be on the next page and he hasn't the attention span to go back that far!



On day two we took a metro or bus (mind like a sieve) to Piccadilly circus and walked a circuitous route through Leicester square, covent garden, soho back to where we were staying in Bloomsbury. So we are somewhere in that area in this picture. You tell me. Poor husband is gonna be in every shot for the next three posts, i think. He almost always wears his glasses because his contacts bother him but I like being able to see his face and green eyes.



Sort of an outfit pic. I wanted a picture of myself in a phone booth but I wouldn't get in because it wreaked of urine and was full of dirty pictures. I'm not drunk but look like it anyway. Black and white striped shirt, wide leg bluejeans, black/white stripe flats. black/white stripe headband bow. I....like black and white stripes? Black trench coat also ubiquitous.



Third and final day in London. We visited the Tate Modern. A rare eyeglass free day for poor hubby. Bur he wore the hat, ubiquitous for him.




This is probably the last time you'll get to see my outfit. Amsterdam and Paris made me lazy. This is along the Thames. we like bridge/water shots. Off-white tunic tucked into high waisted grey pinstripe skirt. Black shoes and stockings. Large yet thin cream bow headband. huge grey striped purse. Face courtesy of being windblown.

So that was my trip in a nutshell. Windy. Short. I was sad to leave, anxious to return, but still excited to go to Amsterdam. Stay tuned for pictures from that leg of the trip...more blurry, unattractive headshots of me and hubby. See you soon!

I'm back?

I'm back from my vacation, bodily anyway. I arrived home saturday evening but I still haven't adjusted to this time zone. Which means trying to live a normal life, go to work, etc while also going to sleep at 8 p.m. and waking at 3 a.m. because I'm still 5 or 6 hours beyond. As a life long sufferer of insomnia, I'm really hoping to snap out of it soon. I'll have stories and pictures of my trip as soon as I find the little cord that connects my camera to my computer. I'm really hoping it's in my husband's messenger bag because I've looked in all our other luggage (all unpacked to various degrees).

What I do have though to tide my lovelies over is the rest of the pictures I took at the vintage shop where I work. The first edition focused on furniture and decor. And now for the clothing and accessories!



This is a little corner that I used to ignore but is now really my favorite part. It has lovely old nighties and robes and two piece pajama sets. My mom bought me a pair of baby blue vintage pajamas and now I'm hooked. I always thought they were so grandma-ish but they are actually cute and comfy and sometimes even glamorous.



I've found many many dresses on this rack. I buy most of my vintage here, most things never even see this far into the store. They're mine as soon as they come through the door.



This is the glamest checkout counter ever. It's mostly cameos and rhinestones and a few other valuable gems. You can even see my let's Go Western Europe travel guide in this shot!



This is more jewelry of the costume variety. Lots of beads and brooches! Lovely scarves to accessorize with.


A very small selection of the vintage shoes. I keep falling in love with shoes that will never fit. My feet are wide and the ladies of yesteryear had such narrow little footsies.



Another little sample of the massive amount of shoes i can never have. Or at least never wear.



There is nothing more perfect than a wool (or even cashmere!) cardigan. This section has expanded since I took this shot in summer.


And some of the hats. We got in those feather/veil headpieces so popular now but ours are original! I curse my oddly shaped head/face.


So please be patient (if you actually care to see my vacation pics) and thanks for stopping by.