The Chronicles of Lady K: January 2011

Friday, January 28, 2011

Chuckies!

"Don't get the kind that slip and slide!
Get the kind with the STAR on the side!"

Okay. These pictures are silly -- my photographer (aka my co-worker) said that if I was going to wear athletic shoes, I had to have an athletic pose, so I ran with that sentiment*, and had some fun with the pictures.

*I can't believe that I can still throw my leg up that high!

shirt -- Old Market Road

pants -- London Jean (Victoria's Secret)

shoes -- Converse All Star

For my birthday this year, I treated myself to a pair of black high-top Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers. I had been wanting a pair for awhile, and I finally splurged on them. I couldn't believe that I actually wanted a pair -- when I was in high school, I had a pair of mustard yellow low knock offs. And boy did I ever hate them! They were so incredibly ugly, especially that white rubber part on the toe of the shoe. Adding insult to injury -- they never ever seemed to wear out.

Why on Earth did I want a pair so badly now that I'm a big girl, if I hated them so much when I was a kid? I do know that I have a lot of fun when I wear them. And, the guys at work get a big kick out of them when I wear them. In fact, one guy actually comes around just about every day to check out my footwear and gives me a thumbs up or a thumbs down. My Chuckies are a definite thumbs up!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Purple Plaid

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

sweater -- Jeanne Pierre (no clue where it came from)

pants -- no boundaries (again, no clue)

shoes -- Dansko

A year ago, if somebody had told me that I would be wearing purple plaid pants to work, I would have said, "No way -- you're crazy." Well, I did, and they're not -- crazy, that is. I may be, but that's a story for another day! I wore purple plaid pants to work today, and I am glad that I did, and I was very comfortable.*

One of the reasons for me doing this blog was so that I could weed through my wardrobe and figure out what to keep and what to get rid of, and to try out different ways of wearing my clothes. I was in such a rut -- always wearing the exact same thing, the exact same way. Well, with my purple plaid pants, I think I am definitely breaking out of that rut.

I must have tried on half a dozen different tops before I settled on this one -- I kept looking for something in red, but that just wasn't working. I tried gray -- but my gray tops were more like sweatshirts, and didn't go at all. Then I tried a black sweater and let it hang loose -- nope, that didn't work either. I finally just tucked the sweater in, and that I was ok with.

I think I'll keep the pants, but I'm going to be on the lookout for a different top for them ... a thrifting here I come.

*I had lost a ring that I wore on my thumb at work the day before. Somebody found it, and gave it to our receptionist. The receptionist was asking all the women, trying to find out whose ring it was -- and one of my co-workers said that it was probably mine. She told me that when she saw it was a thumb ring, she knew it had to be mine because I was about the only woman in the office who would wear one. I took that as a compliment.

And now here's a close-up of my sparkly shoes ... How cool are they? I love, love, love them!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Outside My Comfort Zone

Monday, January 24, 2011

dress -- Old Navy / tank -- Old Navy

scarf -- JCPenney

tights -- Target / boots -- Diba (thrifted)

earrings -- Silverworks / gift

bracelet -- Fair Trade

rings -- family / DIY gift / mood ring (Washington DC)

Wow ... Today, I was wearing clothes outside my comfort zone. Purple tights and a scarf! Yikes. I kind of felt like I belonged in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory* with the purple tights. Anyway,
I really like the way colored tights look with a skirt or a dress, and so I've been wanting to try to find a way to wear them. I got the tights at Target -- they have a great selection of colors at a fairly decent price -- and the color was a perfect match to a tank that I already had.

I added the scarf at the last minute. I like the "idea" of scarves -- they look dressy and elegant, but on everybody else. So, to be honest, I took the scarf off when I got to work, and then put it back on for the picture! I'm just not comfortable wearing a scarf inside, and I find them to be kind of annoying. To me, a scarf is something that belongs around your neck when you're outside, and it's cold.

I'm not sure if this outfit was a hit or a miss, and I can't put my finger on what's making me hesitate. I liked all the pieces individually, but did the sum of the pieces add up to less? I guess I'm wondering if I went a little bit overboard with both the scarf and the tights. Maybe the color of the tights was just a bit too bright for me? I wonder if I would have liked it more if the color was a bit more muted.

*In Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Violet Beauregarde was one of the five children who found a golden ticket to the Chocolate Factory. She ignores Willy's rules during the tour, and grabs a piece of chewing gum in the Inventing Room. When she chews the gum, she turns blue and inflates like a giant blueberry. The Oompa Loompas have to roll her to the Juicing Room to squeeze the juice out of her. At the end of the movie, when Charlie is leaving the chocolate factory, he sees Violet and she's all blue. Funny that I didn't think of Avatar, when I thought about being blue.

Here's a few other ways that I've worn this scarf.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Nefertiti

Thursday, January 20, 2011

shirt -- Nefertiti Collection (old, I think I got it at Marshalls)

skirt -- Eddie Bauer (old)

tights --L'eggs
boots - Nomad (thrifted)
earrings -- Silverworks

necklace -- can't remember (children's?)

bracelet -- thrifted
rings -- pearl ring (family) / mood ring (Washington DC) / black and silver ring (JCPenney)

I wasn't feeling too inspired about getting ready for work today. I opened my closet, and started going through my clothes -- one by one, hoping something would jump out at me. For some reason, this top popped out. I bought it many years ago, when I was just newly divorced. I don't remember now why I bought it -- it wasn't something that I would typically wear, and it was somewhat out of my comfort zone. But I really liked it when I tried it on, and it gave me a good feeling -- I felt good about me. And that feeling was reinforced when I wore it to work, because my co-worker (who I never really got along with) told me that he saw me as being confident. Wow! That was a huge shock to hear. And now whenever I see this shirt, that's what I think of. Did I need that shot of confidence today?

Nefertiti was the Queen of Egypt, and has been called the most beautiful woman in the world. Very apropos label for this top, if I say so myself!