July 29 2009

I am wearing: a polka dot sheath dress from Express, a floral skirt from Express, a shrug from BCBGeneration and the ugliest work shoes (which is why they do not appear in the photo!).

I wanted to try something new today. Also, I haven’t worn this dress in forever (well, since graduation)! I like the idea of layering a dress over a puffy skirt, and this is the only dress I could think of, that was short enough to have the skirt show at least a little. I like the vintage look of a skirt with a frilly colored bottom ruffle, which is what the layering makes it look like. This layering business is hot, which is emphasized by the already hot weather, so it is a little uncomfortable. And I wouldn’t have thrown on a shrug but for dress code purposes: the dress top is the color and ruffles, there are no sleeves.

I went very light on the accessories (meaning only a hairpin flower) because of how condensed the outfit already seems. I would love to find a T-shirt type dress, very slouchy to do this type of layering with.

July 28 2009

I am wearing: a grey pinstriped NY&Company pencil skirt, a silky Anna Sui top from Anthropologie and my new favorite shoes.

This shirt was the bargain I got at Anthropologie last week. I love it because it is soft and silky, is a beautiful purple with a lovely floral pattern, which does not make it grannyish. Plus, it has great detailing on the back: buttons from the bottom to the top of the banded bottom – if that description made any sense. I would have worn it with a plain black skirt but I wanted to wear the shoes and felt that they went better with this grey skirt. The shoes in question:

 

 They are beautiful. Enough said.

I just cannot wait to find more occasions to wear these. I love that the heel matches the plaid and is comfortable to stand in all day.

Love THEM!

July 27 2009

I am wearing: my “clown tuxedo shirt” from H&M, a full floral skirt from Express and black wedges from Dillard’s.

I cannot tell if I have some strange brain fever or if this outfit is cute. I love this shirt. It is perfectly clownish and funky. I wanted to wear it to work, but thought black and white was too drab for an already dreary day. Thus, I jazzed it up with this floral skirt. I think a better way to achieve this look would be a shorter skirt; still high waisted and floral and full, just perhaps a mini.

Another way I really want to wear this shirt is with strappy platforms, some kind of tweed knicker/shorts and untucked. Maybe a fedora too. Or perhaps with black shorts, suspenders, over-the-knee socks, brogues and the fedora still. Yeah. The only thing holding me back is the disreputability of suspenders. And my not-so-long-and-lean legs. Other than that, in a heartbeat!

I liked clashing the funky shirt with something colorful and not matching, because it allows my outfit to not be too dull. I do think I need some kind of brogue to complete the outfit though. Something equally strange to go with the off-beat shirt.

Does it look insane?

July 23, 2009

Today I wore: a VERRRRY old black cardigan from who knows where, a grey tank, and a black/white patterned dress (which doubles as a long skirt), and black pumps.

I had forgotten about this dress until last night, when I was putting away some of my clothes.  I very much like the idea of clothing that doubles as another thing.  In my perusal of fashion websites, the long skirt made into dress thing seems to be very popular lately.  As long as you have something to cinch it in at the waist, the skirt-dress is a great item to have in your closet.  It will be interesting to see how this item will be used in cooler weather.  Boots, tights, and a turtleneck with belt, maybe?

July 23 2009

I am wearing: a black sleeveless top from H&M, a bright pink pencil skirt from H&M, a pink flower pin from Maurice’s, red and pink Betseyville wedges and a purse from my mother.

I love this pink on pink: as I have mentioned in just about every entry when I am wearing pink, I love pairing pink and red together. In this case, it’s mostly red shoes with a pink skirt. But it’s also the pink flower pin on the waistband with the different colored pink skirt. It works as a flirty way to point out the thin waist without having to cinch it with a belt. This is another outfit I think would be fun for a date night: it’s flirty, it’s cute, and it’s not over-the-top.

I really like pairing a fairly plain colored shirt with a bright skirt these days; it really makes every outfit look polished. As a matter of fact, I think that’s true especially when the shirt is white or black. The best part about this outfit is how little you really need to accessorize: the pin is really all I have going on. You don’t need a necklace, the neckline of the shirt kind of prohibits it (unless you wear a layered long necklace); earrings should be small so as not to detract from the up-do; and you want your arms to look very clean and free, so as not to look desperate.

Date night entry it is!

July 21 2009

Now it has developed into a full-on cold/flu business. Just so you know I wasn’t faking it.

Despite my illness, I am wearing: a Calvin Klein black and white A-line skirt, a black sleeveless shirt from JCPenney, a flower pin from Kohl’s, a headband/fascinator from Anthropologie, and silver mary jane pumps from Kensie.

This is an outfit I had not planned until I started rummaging through my closet. I wanted to wear this shirt tucked into a pencil skirt, and was going to pair it with a bright pink one, but I wanted to be comfortable at work (my mother has forbidden me from calling in sick) since I am not 100% better. I decided then to stick to an A-line skirt, and thinking in black and white, grabbed the CK one. I like adding the flower pin to this shirt because it is brightly colored and helps delineate where the asymetry ends on the shirt; there is a draping that begins in the middle back of the neckline and wraps around most of the front. I added mary-jane pumps because I have not worn them in forever, and my only colored pumps are red, and that would give this ensemble a Christmas-y feel, with the green flower. They also are fairly comfortable and look very retro. When I had picked those things out, I decided to go the whole nine yards with the retro thing and put on bright red lipstick, my fascinator/headband and some bangles my grandmother gave me. I feel like this outfit looks very date-night-y and cute, without being restrictingly tight.

July 21, 2009

Today I wore: a purple v-neck sweater from Gap, a floral blouse and khaki pencil skirt (both from H&M), my Florentine necklace, and those brown Sam Edelman shoes.

(I promise I wore something yesterday, but it wasn’t too exciting.  I also forgot to take a snapshot of it before heading to the gym.)

I wore this to work, as you can see from the obvious wrinkles.  When I was perusing my closet last night, hoping to come up with something different, I decided to pair this blouse and sweater.  I am not really sure why I never thought to put these things together before, but it was fun to do so today.  I’ve been getting more and more adventurous with my wardrobe, especially in terms of taking what I already own and mixing it up in ways I wouldn’t normally.  For me, this website is a nice catalog of outfits I’ve put together without purchasing anything new.  As always, it is inspiring to see the styles that Pauline posts.  (and where has Ashley gone?)  I’m glad we’re doing this.

July 20 2009

Forgive the frizz, it’s been raining on my way to and from work.

I am wearing: black slacks from NY&Company, w plain white tee from H&M, a cardigan from Express and… my slippers. Sorry. My shoes were wet.

This is a completely boring outfit. Entirely unexciting. But that is okay. I am still feeling blah, and it turns out black and white are the most chic of colors, especially when those are the only two worn. I tried to spruce it up with a cool new necklace, but I did not take a picture for you all to see it up close. Sorry. It is a double strand, one of which has an antique look bow and the other has a few pearls. I matched it with a wristful of bracelets with faux pearls to match as well as an antique look flower on one of them. Suffice to say tomorrow shall be as dull as today if I am lucky.

I think I am trying to work up the courage to think of an outfit that I might submit to weardrobe for their contest. But even that is making me nervous. And more ill. Bleh.

July 18, 2009

What I wore: a navy cardigan from Zara, a teal blue tank and grey/brown shorts (both from Target), and a locket necklace from H&M.

Yesterday, N and I went into DC to visit the Corcoran Museum of Art, which has free admission on Saturdays.  It was nice to get out of Annapolis for an afternoon to stroll around a gallery and down some urban sidewalks.  After our time in the museum, we found this little grassy park overlooking the Washington Monument and decided to sit down and revel in the soft, green grass.  It was a lovely, unseasonably cool day, which is why I threw on the cardigan at the last minute before heading out the door.

I don’t normally wear shorts.  In fact, I only have two pairs of shorts that aren’t of the athletic variety.  The reason behind this is that I’ve always felt like my legs were a bit too pale and awkward to be pranced around without something at least down to the knee.  I am, however, comfortable in shorts of this particular length.  Mid-thigh shorts tend to look best on me, I’ve discovered.  Luckily, more and more apparel stores are beginning to stock shorts of this length.  Now all I need is some fake tanner…

July 18 2009

I am wearing: black slacks from NY&Company (which I just got tailored), a former dress/tunic from JCPenney, a black patent belt from Anne Taylor Loft and the ugliest work shoes on earth.

I wore this to work today because I felt so lazy I might explode. So I just threw on these pants and this shirt. They both were just tailored and they felt like new clothes that needed wearing. The shirt was once a dress/tunic. It has this half-foot ruched banner on the bottom which made it leggings-ready, for the trendster with bad taste. I decided the bow on the back made it wonderfully cool.  So I chopped off the bottom half and hemmed it at a normal length. (By “I”, I mean my tailor, who is the church lady – they are always the best to go to because of their low-low non-competitive prices and talent) It also has discreet black horizontal stripes. It’s not fattenign because the stripes are as thin as pinstripes, and blend so well with the blue, and that leads it to be not enlarging. I don’t know why I belted it. I just felt accessory insane because I was wearing a plain outfit.

Tonight, I then went out to dinner at my grandmother’s house. Thus, for the oldsters, I dressed awesomely:

I am wearing: a royal blue strapless dress from Express, a thick black leather belt from Bebe and peeptoe sandals from Bandalino.

I should stress the fact that there is nothing more essential than a thick black belt in one’s closet. It can look anywhere from s/m, to biker tough, to just plain cool. And, it’s slimming. It always feels really neat with the strappy hardware wedge sandals. And what I feel is a retro-looking high hairdo makes this just a funky thing to wear. Which worked out perfectly for celebrating someone’s 70th birthday. Thus, I decided to wear something cool, because I knew they’d be too drunk to say anything negative.

This necklace is new; I got it at JCPenney. I really like it because I think it’s part of the new “mature person” look that I’m working on. It’s shiny, but not ostentatious; it’s black, but not childish. I think it will work with other outfits too.