Red All Over

What's black and white and red all over?

Hold up your hand if you think the answer is a newspaper.

 

Of course, you knew that if you held up your hand, you'd be wrong. That would have been entirely too easy. Besides, I said "red" and not "read" ... har har har ... Are you laughing yet?

Anyway, today it's me that is black and white and red all over — I'm wearing a black shirt and white pants, and that riddle was so hokey that I'm blushing a bright red.

shirt — Rafaella (thrifted)

corduroy pants — London Jean (Victoria's Secrets)

belt — Aéropostale (thrifted)

boots — Trumpet by Wanted (DSW)

I know that that's one of the oldest riddles in the book (it dates back to at least the year 1917), but it still makes me laugh a little bit. And that's a good thing — laughter is good for the soul. There was a time, not that long ago, when I didn't laugh a whole lot. And I tell you, I was not a whole lot of fun to be around. I was just kind of existing ... putting one foot in front of the other. I would go to work, then come home and work some more, or then crawl into bed so I could get up the next day and do the same thing all over again.

And that's no way to live — a life devoid of laughter is a pretty empty life. These days, I still work really hard and put in long hours, but I try to find the humor in things. I still don't laugh as much as I probably should, but I'm a whole lot better than I used to be.

"With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die." 

~Abraham Lincoln

Linking up to the Every Body Every Wear black-and-white challenge.

Forgive me for the less than adequate pictures ... My point and shoot is a great little camera for outside, but I can't figure out how to take decent pictures with it when I'm stuck inside. I would have waited till the weekend to take them, but then I would have missed the EBEW challenge, and with all the black that I own, I couldn't let this challenge pass me by.

True Confessions ...

True confession time — I didn't wear this to work. I wore it in my driveway to take pictures.

white sweater — Old Navy (Old Navy)

black sweater — (older than dirt)

skirt — Amanda Smith (thrifted)
tights — Target

booties — Blowfish (DSW)

But, truth be said, I'll probably wear it at some point. That is, once I decide on whether I like it with the white top or the black top better. I'm thinking the black. Which one do you prefer? 

Colored tights are something that I've tried to wear before, and it's usually hit or miss (here, here, and here). So when the ladies over at Every Body Every Wear chose colored tights as the theme of the month, I was up for the challenge. I took my inspiration for this outfit from Paula at Fashion Over Fifty. She did such a great job with her red tights, that I thought I would try to emulate her style. And I agree with her — red tights are empowering!

And empowering is what I need these days, with my three- to four-hour commute — ONE WAY! Yes, you read that right, and yes, I know that's insane. I had been commuting to a dream job in DC and then, in one fell swoop, my position was eliminated. My company didn't do what a lot of companies are doing these days (my former company, as a matter of fact), and just pull the rug out from me. No, they said that they could use me in another project at their headquarters in Herndon. Unfortunately, that would add another hour to my already long commute.

I toyed with the idea of not going to Herndon the next day but, in the end, I knew that if I went that I would at least get paid for the day, which would be better than a poke in the eye. Seriously, I didn't have anything to lose by going. (Yes, these are the kinds of things that I obsess over flit through my mind during a time like this.) On top of that, I was in a state of shock from having my position eliminated just a scant two weeks after I had started this "dream" job. I knew that if I just stayed home, I would have been asking myself the whole day, "What if?" (Believe you me, more than anything, I WANTED to stay home ... I can't even begin to describe all the emotions that I was feeling.)

My commute to Herndon the next morning started off the same — I left the house at 5:45 am, which was the same time that I had been leaving all along. I caught the 6:50 Amtrak, but instead of taking it straight through to DC, but I got off at New Carrollton, the station before DC. From New Carrollton, I could take the Orange Line straight through to West Falls Church — the stop for Herndon. I thought it would be better to go straight through instead of getting off at Union Station and getting on the Red Line, then getting off the Red Line at Metro Station, and getting on the Orange Line. That just seemed to be too overwhelming for me. Seriously, it sounds complicated just writing it, let alone doing it!

More tomorrow ...

But in the meantime, check out more Colored Tights at Every Body Every Wear.

Blurred Images

First things first. Today is EBEW (Every Body every wear) Colored Pants Day. So without further ado, here's my entry.

shirt — Old Navy (Old Navy)

pants — Fabulosity (JC Penney)

shoes — Clarks Artisan (hand-me-down)

necklace  bracelets — (thrifted)

I'm so frustrated with my camera right now. I keep thinking that I have it figured out, and then I look at my pictures, just to realize that they are all messed up again. I even tried taking them over again, but they still came out blurry. G-R-R-R-R..

I know these aren't technically pants, but they are colored so I thought they would count. (I was cutting the grass and running around, and it was just too hot in Delaware to wear pants, even for a picture.) They aren't nearly as awesome as the ones that Terri wore here — I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for a pair of Wet Seals — but I still thought this was a pretty good look for me (much, much better than when I wore them here). And it was comfortable!

I tend to wear shorter necklaces, but I liked how this longer one worked. I'm not sure why, but I actually think it's what made the outfit work so well. The bracelets were kind of eh ... I have a simple black bangle — I think I would have liked that better.

 Everybody's wearing colored pants today — go see for yourself.

I used all your suggestions and tried on a bunch more tops with my suit today. I'm going to spare you the pictures though. Basically, I'm just miserable in most of my tailored (a.k.a. professional) clothes because they're too tight, and there's nothing that I can do about it at this point. I'm so mad at myself for not doing something about it before now — I knew that I had been gaining weight, and I just ignored it. (I did sit-ups all day long today, but that's not going to help me for Thursday ....)

Polka Squares

Another day, another challenge, and I'm game. Can you guess by looking at me what the challenge was?

shirt -- Alfani (thrifted)

skirt -- axcess (thrifted)

belt -- (thrifted)

boots -- White Mt (thrifted)

I actually wore this outfit back in May -- May 2, to be exact (that was way back when the weather was a lot cooler, remember that?). I never got around to posting it, so I think it's still okay to use for this latest challenge hosted by the ladies over at Every Body Every Wear (EBEW). Need another hint of what the challenge was?

Michelle Obama could have posted this picture on the EBEW challenge wall with what she wore in this luncheon with Nancy Reagan, back in 2009.

Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

Give up? It was pattern mixing. Even though this trend has been around for a couple of years, it's hasn't been one that I've been entirely comfortable with. So instead of going for bold and bright or bright and daring in my choice of patterns, I went with a more conservative and safe mix -- the pattern in both my skirt and my shirt were both squares* and the shirt and the skirt were both neutral colors (black and white).

*polka squares, and not polka dots

I'm actually kind of disappointed that I didn't spend more time playing around in my closet and having more fun with the challenge. I remember that I was worried about what people would think if I wore what would look like a mismatched outfit to work -- they'd think that I got dressed in the dark or something. (Yeah, I worry too much sometimes about what people think.) So I chickened out and didn't stretch as much as I could have. But now, it just looks too conservative for me. In my defense, though, I wasn't really a fan of this trend until just recently.

Definitely a  should have, could have, would have  moment ...

I used to think the matchy matchy look was somewhat elegant and sophisticated. But now I look at the picture below, and I just say, "Wow! That's an awful lot of blue."

Tara Palmer Tomkinson Photo: REUTERS

Funny how your tastes change over the years, and even over a couple of months.

Conservative issues aside, I think that something else in my outfit was a little off. I'm not sure what it is though. I don't think the style of the skirt (is this a flare skirt?) is doing me any favors, and the boots were also definitely wrong for this look. How could I have jazzed this up a bit more?

Now check out all the other mixed print daredevils over at Every Body Every Wear.

100% Thrift

dress -- Maggy London (thrifted)

boots -- Laredo (thrifted)
bracelets -- (thrifted)

It's no secret that I wear a lot of thrifted clothes. I have been shopping in Goodwills (Goodies), Salvation Army's (Sals), flea markets, garage or yard sales (is it a garage sale or a yard sale?), and so on pretty much all my life. But probably what you don't know is that I didn't always like it. In fact, I really hated it when I was growing up. I was terrified that I was going to go to school one day, and somebody would say, "You're wearing my clothes."

My mom, who got lost driving anywhere outside a 25-mile radius around our house, would see a sign for a garage sale, and off she would go. Homing pigeons had nothing on her. It didn't matter what errand she had to run, it would wait until we followed those god-forsaken signs* -- to the end of the earth if that's where they took us. And of course, there was never any good stuff at those sales (at least not from what I could see)! Oh no! Never. But the worst was when there was a sale right around the corner from my house. Because then, horrors of all horrors -- somebody I knew might see me. I would slouch down in the car and make myself as invisible as possible. No way was I going to get out of the car.

*You know the signs I'm talking about -- the ones that are sideways on a telephone pole, the ones that you can't tell which direction the arrow is pointing, the ones that look like they have been up for months, the ones that you can't even read ...

Of course, now that I'm older and wiser I realize that it wasn't all junk. In fact, most of it was actually pretty good stuff. Unique. One of a kind. Interesting. But also weird. Or strange. Or something that would make you go, "MOM. Why? WTF?"

Okay, I didn't actually say WTF? but you know what I mean.

Although my outfit was 100% thrifted -- my bracelets, my dress, and my boots -- my boots were the real score. (They're not really my boots, they're my daughter's, but I was with her when she got them.) They were in like-new condition -- no scuffs or flaws, and they weren't stretched out -- for $12.50! Honestly, they didn't even look like they had ever been worn outside. I thought the dress was a real find as well (I think it was $7.97), except that it's dry clean only -- I love the beadwork on the yoke. (Pet peeve: Why is something that is 100% cotton dry clean only?) I put it in the washing machine, hand-wash cycle, and crossed my fingers. I wasn't all that enamored of the final look though. In fact, I was kind of disappointed. I thought this would be the perfect dress to wear with the boots, but I dunno -- something just seems to be off. Maybe the dress is too short? I seem to be able to wear other skirts that are that length though, so I'm not sure if that's the problem. Maybe with a pair of cropped leggings underneath it, and then a pair of flats? What do you think?

Today Every Body Every Wear is thrifting.
Take a look at some of the amazing outfits that have been put together from thrifted goodies.

I'm also linking up with Spunky Chateau's Thursdays Are for Thrifters

(a two-for-one day!)

Looks Like Spiders

dress -- Lilly Pulitzer Worth (thrifted)

shoes -- Madden girl (Marshalls)

belt -- thrifted 

earrings -- (borrowed) / bracelet (thrifted)

I groaned when I heard that yellow was this month's theme over at Everybody Everywear. That is the one color that I have always stayed away from, and I mean I avoided it like the plague! Even so, I put on my happy face and my thrifting shoes, and last weekend hit all the thrift stores in my tri-state area (okay, I only went to one, but still ... I was prepared to go to them all! I was on the hunt for something, anything, that had a touch of yellow in it that I could use for Yellow Day. 

And let me tell you, I scored. I hit it big. I found this 100% silk dress within minutes. Even more amazing, it was my size. I put it on, and it was a perfect fit, and even though it was nothing like what I would typically wear, I loved it! I pranced out of the dressing room to show my daughter, and she was like, "Eh. I guess ... " I swear her lip was curled under and to the side, which meant she really really didn't like it. At all. 

"I kind of like it," I said, smoothing the sides down, with a little smile. 

"Oh, that is the perfect summer dress," said a woman who was walking by. "If it was in my size, I would buy it in an instant. What size is it? I'm always looking for summer dresses that look like that." I thought she was going to run over and rip the dress off of me.

"I really like it too," said another woman. And with that comment, I was sold. I knew I had found my yellow outfit.

 

I could really see wearing this dress to a garden party (to reminisce with my old friends), with a floppy straw hat, and sipping piña coladas.

I wore these big yellow earrings (well, they're big for me -- I don't usually wear earrings that make it look like I am wearing earrings. I tend to wear small dainty posts or hoops ), a bracelet (I wish I had a better picture of my bracelet -- it's so sweet and old-fashioned looking.) 

a black belt, and black sandals.

I'm not so sure about the sandals with the dress. Or maybe it's just that my legs are so pale for such dark sandals. My footwear always stumps me. I also threw on a black cardigan, just to see how it would look.

Now I really need to find another job so that I can wear this beautiful dress out somewhere other than the hallway. Or maybe I can get casted on the Real Housewives of Newark, Delaware, and wear it to a garden party. Nah, I don't think so.

I know you're all wondering what's up with the spiders. When you first glance at the print, it looks like the legs of spiders! Really, it does. I'm not kidding.
 

 

Now scurry on over to Every Body every wear and see some new ways of wearing yellow.