Borrowing a Page

Friday, February 25, 2011

I've been working a lot this past week -- overtime at my 9 to 5 job* as well as some freelance jobs. And then instead of going to sleep when I got home from work, I've been surfing the Internet. By Friday morning, I was exhausted.

I crawled into bed at 5 am, after setting the alarm for a scant 4 hours later. Needless to say, when that alarm went off at 9 am, I was not very anxious to get out of bed -- to get moving, let alone figure out what to wear to work or get dressed. The one saving grace, however, was that it was Friday, casual Friday, which meant I could wear jeans! I never have a problem figuring out what to wear with jeans! It's easy, and I can wear almost anything with jeans.

I was kind of feeling down in the dumps -- probably a combination of being very tired and looking out the window and seeing the weather. It was gray out -- rainy and overcast. And then I had a flash of inspiration! 

I decided to take a page from Jentine's style book. Jentine is this amazing wonder thrifter, with an awesome sense of personal style. You can catch her finds over at My Edit. This past week, she suggested pairing fancy sequin tops with a pair of jeans in her Thrift Thursday post. What a great idea!

Jentine from My Edit

Isn't this great? I don't have the fancy sequin tops that she has, but I did have a beaded camisole that I bought maybe 10 years ago and never wore -- I don't know what occasion I have been saving it for. So I figured why not wear it, under a blazer, with my jeans?! The minute I thought of that, my mood lifted! It just seemed like kind of a fun thing to do. 

* My job doesn't have your typical "9-to-5" hours -- I typically work the 2 pm to 10:30 pm shift, with a 30-minute break for dinner. However, even those hours aren't cut in stone, and they can be switched on almost a daily basis. This week, it has been noon to 10 pm. The shifting shift hours makes it pretty rough on the body. And with the overtime and extra work, it just seems like all I was doing was sleeping (barely), eating, and working. 

It didn't end up looking the way it did in my head -- I didn't realize that the blazer was so big on me, but it was still a lot of fun to wear, and I felt comfortable wearing it. And now I have a better idea of how to wear it the next time. The bar has been set.

The funny thing was that I thought the guys at my office (I work with almost all guys) were going to give me a lot of grief about my top, but they didn't pay it any mind. It was my shoes that caught their attention! They loved my Chuck Taylors! They saw them, and immediately started reminiscing about their youth.They were actually disappointed that I wore a pair of black socks and not a pair of white sweat socks.

I had to post this picture of my cleavage. The last time I had cleavage like this, I was nursing my kids. I can't believe that menopause affected this part of my body!

 camisole -- P phosphorus (Marshalls)

blazer -- Miley Cyrus & Maz Azria (thrifted)

belt -- Aeropostale (thrifted?)

pants -- The Limited

sneakers -- Chuck Taylor Converse All Star (Zappos)

Paid Off.

Thursday, February 23, 2011

Why did it take me so long to realize that I could wear a summer dress in the dead of winter, simply by throwing a shirt over it? I think that reading style and fashion blogs is starting to pay off. 
At least in terms of styling my clothes in ways that they really weren't meant to be worn. Today's outfit was a case in point. 

I've had this dress in my closet for a long time, but I've never worn it -- I actually don't even know where or how I got it. It's a summer dress and strapless, and I never knew how to wear it. I take that back -- I knew *how* to wear it, but I didn't know where to wear it. And even if I did know how to wear it,  I have never felt all that comfortable in a strapless dress -- always worried about it falling down.* 

Any time that I went through my closet in an effort to pare down my clothes, I would pull this out as something that I should get rid of. But at the end of the day, I would always put it back. I liked the print, and after all, it did fit me.

Once I realized that I could pair this dress with a sweater or top, it got pulled out of the closet and actually worn and not just tried on. Now my question is, "Why did it take me so long to realize that?!"

*It still fell down, but at least I had something covering me when it did. I spent most of the day hoisting it up again.

shirt -- no tag (thrifted)

dress -- Funky People
tights -- xhilaration (Target)

boots -- Classique (thrifted)

Knee-Highs!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Knee-high boots have been all the rage this year, and after drooling every time I saw somebody wearing them, I ended up buying, not one, but two pairs. I first got an expensive pair at DSW and a pretty cheap pair at Payless. I ended up returning the ones at DSW -- I was worried that it would be yet another thing that would sit in my closet because I didn't have the courage to wear them. I definitely could not justify keeping both pairs, when I wasn't even sure if I would wear one pair!

Even though the Payless pair weren't exactly what I wanted, style wise, I hung onto them thinking that if I didn't end up wearing them, then it would not be as big a waste of money. On the flip side, if I did end up wear them, then I could kind of play around with how to wear them.

And lo and behold -- I wore them!
 

shirt -- Native Basic (Marshalls)

dress -- Gap

leggings -- Gap

boots -- Dexter (Payless)

necklace -- thrifted

These pictures just confirm that I want another pair with some kick-ass heels on them! 

So Done

Monday, February 22, 2011

It's the end of February, and I know that it's still technically winter. But the last thing I wanted to see this morning when I woke up and looked out the window was snow. GRRR. I am done with winter -- done with the freezing cold, done with shoveling snow, done with even seeing snow. I'm ready for spring already -- so ready. 

And so in the spirit of today's snowy weather, I offer you a selection of footwear choices. First up are my beautiful rain boots that I got on my last trip to Norway. You might not think that these are all that beautiful, and that they were a really strange thing to bring back from Europe, but I love, love, love these boots. 

My dad had a pair just like them when I was growing up, which is why I made my cousin drag me to every store in Norway until we found a pair for me. I still remember my dad wearing his boots to shovel snow in Lake Hopatcong. When my parents moved to Florida, he figured he wouldn't need them anymore, and so they became mine. I still have them, even though they are probably four sizes too big and have a big gash in them, so they are no longer waterproof. I can't bear to part with them though. 

Next up, are my dress shoes or clogs. I went through a clog-wearing phase, when probably almost every pair of shoes that I would wear were a pair of clogs. In some respects, I'm still in that phase, and I probably always will be. I still own and wear a lot of clogs.

Last, but certainly not least, are my Crocs -- my pseudo clogs and almost rain boots. I read somewhere on a post that the best way to look frumpy was by wearing Crocs. Well, I beg to differ with that person. In fact, I think my Crocs, in the neon green, are kind of cute, and they certainly are attention getting, and in a good way. I like my Crocs, and I don't think that anybody is going to tell me that I look frumpy. I even have two pairs -- an all-purpose pair in black, and these pair. They are really comfortable, and you can't beat these for running outside in the rain or through wet grass, or after the grass has been cut.

pants -- London Jean (Victoria's Secret)

sweater -- Talbot's (thrifted)

belt -- Fossil (thrifted)

Feeling Pretty, So Pretty

Thursday, February 16, 2011

dress -- um & Company

sweater -- Express Design Studio

tights -- xhilaration (Target)

shoes -- Blowfish (DSW)

purse -- Bandolino (thrifted)

Can you tell that I really liked my outfit today? I mean, I really, really liked it :-). For whatever reason, everything just worked really well together, and it was so easy -- everything I picked up just seemed to match on the first try. That never happens with me.  It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing.

It's been really warm in my office lately -- so warm that no matter what I wear, I sit there and sweat, even with a fan on. I find myself taking my shoes off, taking my sweater off, rolling my sleeves up to try and cool down. When I realized how nice it was outside, I was afraid it was going to be extra warm in the office and that I would need to dress appropriately for the office weather.
 
I also wanted something a bit cheery, since it was such a pretty day, and I started looking through my closet with that in mind. This dress caught my eye right off the bat. It's sleeveless, so I usually wear in the summer, but the print wasn't that summery. Besides, I could wear a sweater over it, and nobody would even know that it was sleeveless. I bought the sweater a few years ago, and I've never worn it -- it still had the tags on it! How bad is that? The color was a perfect match to the dress too.

The tights -- wow, they were a perfect match too. I had just bought them yesterday. They were on sale, and I thought that I would probably be able to wear them with something. I haven't been successful in wearing the colorful tights look, and I thought that dark-colored tights would be more my speed. I think I was right, because I liked the way they looked with this dress. And I got my necklace and my purse when I was out thrifting just the other day!

I felt so pretty -- like I looked so put together. And it felt good on me, and it still felt like me. It was one of those days when every picture came out great, and I ended up posting them all because I couldn't decide which one I liked best. I don't think that I could have taken a bad picture -- I had that pretty feeling from the inside out. 

Try, Try Again

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

 

sweater -- Tally-Ho (thrifted)

tank -- BVD 

skirt -- Eddie Bauer

tights -- Target

boots -- Dansko (outlet) 

purse -- dunno (thrifted)

I tried, and tried again with the colorful tights, but I still don't feel like I succeeded. I am just not liking this look on me. I don't really know what it is that I don't like about it, which is probably why I can't seem to fix it. Is my skirt too short? Are my knees too fat? Is the outfit just too young for me? I don't know. I keep trying to pull off the colorful tights, because I think it's really cute but it still doesn't seem to be working for me. 

It didn't help that this was just an extremely long night for me. I had forgotten to bring my glasses with me to work today, or at least I thought I did. As it turned out, I had them all along. I can't read anymore without wearing my glasses -- my eyes just get too tired, and by the end of the night, if I try to focus on anything (like smiling at a camera), I end up going cross-eyed. 

On a positive note, this is another of the purses that I got in my purse haul yesterday -- in a really pretty shade of red.

Some Like It Hot

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

s

sweater -- Amita (Freecycle freebie)

pants --London Jean (Victoria's Secret)

scarf -- thrifted

clogs -- Dansko (outlet)

purse -- Payless (thrifted)

umbrella -- haha

It was a beautiful day today -- the kind of day that gives you spring fever. I didn't realize how nice it was, until I was dressed and walking out of the house. So then, when I walked into work with this outfit on (my sweater, in particular), I got the comment, "You're going to be hot in that!" And that's the truth -- I was. But I think it was worth it. I was really comfortable, and I was really happy with the way I looked.

I think that with this outfit, I finally found a "scarf look" on me that I like. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I only put the scarf on for the picture. I still can't get used to wearing a scarf around my neck -- to have the scarf adorn my neck like a necklace instead of to keep my neck warm. I do like that the scarf was kind of an animal print -- I almost feel like I am in style (well, maybe a step behind).

My purse was another departure for me. An orange purse, instead of a black or brown one. I stopped by the thrift store on my way in to work, and I swear I hit the purse gold mine. Wow! Did I score!. Each one I saw was better than the last one. I got two orange ones, a black leather one, a brown leather one made in Australia (really, really cool -- it's more like a case), a purple one, and a red one. They were all so cheap that I ended up getting them all. My daughter was so jealous when she saw my loot this morning. I liked the orange one so much, that I switched purses in the car in the parking lot.

Except for my pants, my entire outfit was put together out of thrifted items. The sweater, the scarf, and my purse. You can't see my belt, but that was thrifted as well. Not bad, huh?

And about the umbrella -- I know I look silly, but honestly -- I am kind of a silly person. It's fun to be silly, and it's a heck of a lot easier to have my picture taken when I'm being silly and goofy than when I am just standing there trying to smile. 

Football Fun

Monday, February 14, 2011

shirt -- Gap

pants -- London Jean (Victoria's Secret)

scarf --

clogs -- Dansko (outlet)

I didn't want to be all decked out in hearts or in red, but I still wanted to wear something that would show it was Valentine's Day. I think I did okay with this outfit. I'm realizing more and more that it's still kind of nice to get dressed up even if you don't have a significant other to share the day with, to dress up for, or even to try and impress. I don't know why I have been having to remind myself of that -- one of the first things I taught my girls was that they should always buy themselves pretty underwear because they deserved to feel pretty for themselves. 

Even though I was technically wearing my scarf as a belt, I'm really like how it looked in this outfit. I could have worn a regular leather belt, which is what I usually (always) wear, but because it was Valentine's Day and because I was wearing a white top, I decided to go with a multicolored scarf, and I think I succeeded in giving my outfit a bit more of a color pop! I think next time, I need to add some more color to my neckline.

As for the poses with the football -- we were goofing around at the end of the night. It was a lot of fun. Do you recognize the Heisman pose? 

 

Okay, so I think I'm going to have to work on that Heisman pose a bit.

The Heisman Trophy is the oldest award given to a collegiate football play. It was created in 1935 by the Downtown Athletic Club in NYC, and renamed in 1936 following the death of John Heisman, the athletic director of the Downtown Athletic Club.

Seeing Red

Friday, February 11, 2011

tank -- french dressing (CostCo)

sweater -- Gap

skirt -- Tommy Hilfiger Jeans (Marshalls)

tights -- xHilaration (Target)

boots -- Nomad (thrifted)
belt -- Fossil (thrifted)

Hairy Eyeballs

Thursday, February 10, 2011

 

dress -- Old Navy

sweater tights -- Chinese Laundry (Marshalls)

silk scarf (thrifted)

boots -- Dansko (outlet)

A Monochromatic Day

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

 

shirt -- Izod

sweater -- Eddie Bauer

pants -- London Jean

clogs -- Dansko

Dislike!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

 

sweater -- Erika & Co. (thrifted)

tank -- Flying Colors (Kmart)

pants -- Fashion Bug Stretch 

clogs -- Dansko

I had been looking forward to wearing this sweater jacket since I got it. I was originally going to wear it with a skirt, and I was going to pair it with a red tank and red stockings, but then I had to run a bunch of errands before work, and honestly, I just didn't feel like wearing tights or stockings again today. I still wanted to wear it though -- so I thought it would look fine with a pair of brown pants.

Unfortunately, it didn't. The outfit was a big fail. The sweater jacket was big and baggy -- no shape whatsoever. It was probably at least a size too big for me, if not two sizes too big. My pants were baggy around my hips -- not that I wanted to have my pants be skin tight, but coupled with this jacket -- together, well they just did nothing for me.

And then my hair. What on earth happened to my hair (you can see what I'm talking about in the picture below -- that horn that I have on the side of my head)? This was just a bad, bad day for me. Very disappointing, but then that is one of the reasons why I am trying to take my picture every day. I am trying hard to assess my appearance -- be objective about it -- figure out what looks good on me and what kind of an impression I'm making on the people around me.

Here is another picture of me wearing the same pants a few months ago.

One up note -- I did like my necklace. The necklace is a piece of fused glass that my mom had made several years ago. I thought it really picked up the orange in my tank really nice.

Indecision

Monday, February 7, 2011

 shirt --Pointelle (thrifted)

skirt -- AK Anne Klein

boots --

Today was one of those days where I couldn't make a decision on what to wear. I knew that I wanted to wear this top to work today, but that was about the only thing that I did know. I didn't know if I wanted to wear a skirt or pants -- I finally decided on a skirt. But that it was which black skirt did I want to wear with it? Then it was, did I want to wear boots or shoes or ankle boots?* And then I had to decide on what jewelry I was going to wear.

I wanted to wear the shirt because I have been wanting to wear clothes that are a bit more colorful. In the end, I should have just scrapped the top and worn something else entirely, because I ended up being uncomfortable the entire day. I'm not sure how I feel about the top -- I really liked it when I got it, but I can't help thinking that it's what I would call an "old lady" shirt -- something that my grandma would have worn. But hey, I'm getting to be the age of my grandma, so maybe that shouldn't be so surprising that I gravitated toward the top in the store. You know what they say, "If the shoe fits, wear it." In my case though, it's if the shirt fits, and is colorful, wear it.

The top was viscose -- I never even heard of that type of material before. Answers.com describes viscose as a type of rayon, which is similar to cotton and silk. It's a man-made fiber made from purified cellulose, somewhere in between a natural fibers, like cotton, wool and silk, and artificial ones that are synthesised out of petrochemicals like nylon and polyester. Hmm. That's kind of interesting.The fabric did have a different feel to it.

Anyway, I did get several compliments on how I looked today -- I think everybody is tired of the cold and gray, overcast days and were happy to see somebody wearing something with a little color in it. 

*I actually brought an extra skirt and an extra pair of shoes to work today. What did I think I was going to do? Change clothes once I got to work?

Frankenstein

Friday, February 4, 2011

shirt -- White Stag

pants -- The Limited (thrifted)

shoes -- Dansko (left behind)

I call the shoes that I'm wearing in this picture my Frankenstein shoes, because they're so big and clunky. I feel like I go clomp, clomp, clomp and that I tower over everybody* when I walk around in them -- sort of how I envision Frankenstein. But the similarity ends there, because they are super comfortable shoes. They are also very warm shoes -- they are a bit too big for me, so I can wear heavy socks with them. When I was packing for Europe last winter, these shoes made the cut, and I wore them almost every day, traipsing around Brussels.

They are Danskos, and I'm not sure where I got them from. I didn't buy them, even though the Dansko outlet is a few miles from my house and even though I'm a huge Dansko fan. I'm pretty sure that one of the students who rented a room in my house left them behind when she moved out, and like the scavenger that I am, I kept them. I'm glad that she left them. I wear them a lot, with jeans and mostly in the winter, when big clunky shoes don't look so silly.  

I am a huge scavenger -- between trying to save money and trying to save the Earth, I try to reuse and repurpose as many things as I can. I'm always looking for new ideas on how to reuse things. I love to shop at garage sales, yard sales, thrift stores, secondhand stores, flea markets, and so on. I use Freecycle, and I've even been known to pick up things that were sitting out on the curb. 

I used to be somewhat embarrassed by that -- but lately it seems that my habits or tendencies are being embraced by more and more people. I've even come across new words being coined -- trashion (a fancy way of saying fashionable trash) and upcycled (a fancy way of saying recycling your trash into something that can be used again). I don't know if this is because of the economy, because more people are becoming more environmentally conscious, or because the Internet has given us a way to become more socially acceptable -- you know, there's more power in numbers. For whatever reason, it's pretty cool.

*I'm only 5'4", so even with my Frankenstein shoes on, I still don't tower over anybody!

Unforgiving

Thursday, February 2, 2010

shirt -- Delia's

camisole -- Route 66 (Kmart)

pants -- Josephine Chaus

belt -- Levi's (thrifted)

shoes -- Thom McKan (Kmart)

My pictures are being taken at the end of a long day at work (10:30 pm) by my wonderful friend and coworker. And after having stared at paper copy and computer screens for 8 hours, I'm tired, and he's tired. And because a camera is unforgiving -- it captures my tired eyes, my worn-out looks, and clothes that are too tight -- it can be really hard to get a picture that I like, especially at the end of the night. 

And yet, my friend never seems to mind when I say, "Ewww ... that picture is horrible! Can you take another one?" And he will keep taking pictures until I'm happy. 

Tonight was a case in point.* Here is just part of what he has to put up with ... 

"Ok. How should I stand?"

"How about if you look off to the side? Put your foot a little bit behind you."

"I look fat."

"No you don't."

"Can you take another?"

"Stand up straight now."

"I closed my eyes."

"Stand up straight."

"I look tired."

"No you don't."

"Wait, I'm not ready."

He never seems to get mad or frustrated with me, no matter how much I whine or complain. And believe me, I do whine and complain, and then I whine and complain some more.

And yet, even at the end of a long night, when we are both exhausted, he has taken some of the best pictures of me that I have ever seen. I think a big part of it is because he doesn't get mad, and I'm able to relax. He also doesn't make me feel silly or stupid -- no judgment. And that makes a world of difference when I'm having my picture taken, a time when I feel so incredibly vulnerable. 

I am incredibly lucky to have found such a good friend. Take care of your friends -- they are hard to find.  

*I was exhausted tonight -- every time, I tried to look at the camera, my eyes started to cross. If my eyes weren't crossing, then they were closed. If my eyes looked ok, then I wasn't standing up straight enough, and my stomach rolls were showing. 

Chuck's Chicks AKA Charlie's Angels

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I love my shoes!

sweater -- Jaclyn Smith Studio (Kmart)

skirt -- Moda Intl (Victoria's Secrets)

boots -- White Mountain (thrifted)
bracelet / necklace -- thrifted

Once again, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired when it came to deciding what to wear to work today. I ended up going with this knit cardigan/tank* (it's actually one piece) and pairing it with a black knit skirt. The blacks didn't match exactly, but I was pretty sure that nobody was going to call the color police on me. It's been very dark and dreary out lately, and I think my wardrobe choices are reflecting that a bit. Regardless, I was actually quite pleased with how the pictures turned out.

I ended up liking my whole look, and even though both pieces (the cardigan and the skirt) have been in my closet for ages, I did wear it a bit differently. The shoes -- I think they're called ankle boots, in particular, were quite a departure for me. I really like the way they look. In the past, I would have worn either a pair of black clogs or a different pair of black clogs. Clogs are super, super comfortable, and I still wear them a lot, especially if I'm going to be on my feet for awhile, but now I've started to go a little shoe crazy. I've bought boots, and peep toes, and more boots, and heels, and ...

The other change was jazzing it up with some jewelery. With the black neckline, you'd think it would have been easy to pick out a necklace to wear, but I ended up trying on a few before deciding on two different black hematite necklaces and a multistrand silver serpentine. I should have just worn the hematite, because the other just ended up tucked inside my shirt the whole day.

I love the look and feel of black hematite -- it's cold and shiny and smooth. It also appeals to me because -- wonder of wonders, it's a mineral! Just what an ex-geophysicist like me would like. 

*I got the cardigan years ago at Kmart. It was part of the Jaclyn Smith clothing line -- hence, the Chuck's Chick title for this post. I've been pleasantly surprised at how well it has held up over the years (and I do mean years). It still looks relatively new, with no pilling of the knit, and it's very comfortable.

Paper Bag

Monday, January 31, 2011

shirt -- Rayna Morgan

jumper -- R & K Originals

tights -- L'eggs

clogs -- Sanita

This outfit is a pretty typical one for me, or I should say it "was" pretty typical for me. It had all the elements of the type of clothes that I gravitated toward -- no color and no shape. 

I pulled it out of my closet today because I needed to get out of the house in a hurry (I had a ton of errands to run before work*), and I didn't have time to agonize over what I was going to wear. So I ended up wearing something that was familiar to me. It was easy. It was comfortable. And I knew that it looked good on me. 

Or did it? 

I see the picture now, and I think that I look drab -- I look like I'm wearing a paper bag. And I actually dressed it up today, compared to how I would have worn it in the past, by adding a bunch of jewelry. And boy, am I glad that I did. I'm not sure what else I could have done to jazz this up a bit.

Hmmm ... this picture really makes me think. 

*One of today's errands was to pick up a bag of neckties that somebody was giving away on Freecycle. I was so excited when the person told me that I could have them. The person warned me that some of these ties were downright ugly. No matter -- the uglier the better for what I wanted them for. And boy did I luck out! I got a bag full of the greatest multi-colored ties (there were even two Jerry Garcia ties in the bag) -- just perfect for making a vest like Iman's I can't wait to see if I can make something that looks half as good as hers! 

How cool are they?! You can see more of Iman's tie vests on her blog at Mishaps and Miracles.