Wear It 2/28/2011

This dress was one of my best purchases of 2010. It is starting to get a little loose but until it falls off I will probably keep wearing it because it is so easy. I am starting to make a list of the "basics" that I will want to have when I get down to a healthy weight/size. Simple black dress has just made the list.

Although many might not consider it a basic, this olive green cashmere cardigan also makes the list. Olive green is one of my favorite colors because it goes with everything.

I am also pleased to be getting a lot of use out of these boots. They sat in my closet for years - and now they are my go to black boots. They are a little loose but nothing that can't be fixed by a pair of thick socks.

Dress: Calvin Klein (Nordstrom Rack)
Tights: Old Navy
Sweater: J. Crew
Boots: Palladium

Obsessions

One of my "issues" (see volume 34 chapter 6) is that I when I get obsessed with an item, I am never satisfied with just one. A perfect example is my Breton stripes obsession. It started innocently enough with a cute t-shirt from H&M and has snowballed into at least 3 sweaters and 6 t-shirts. This sweater is the latest. Although it was on the clearance rack at TJ Maxx (have I mentioned my new found love of TJ Maxx, if not I will, soon), I didn't "need" it. But I bought it anyway. Oh well, addicts don't recover in one day - right?

Sweater: ? via TJ Maxx
Jeans and t-shirt: Old Navy
Shoes: ? via Urban Outfitters

Amish Lawyer*

I hate it when I can't dress to match my mood. I should be wearing jeans and a cozy sweater. Instead I am wearing this dowdy suit. I look like I am about to litigate a barn raising. I think the problem with this suit is the skirt. The jacket is sort of cute. This suit was originally $600 (I got it for less than $80) and is well made. I might see if a seamstress can do something with it. Or next time I am in Lancaster County I might just donate it. The shoes are also a problem. They are awesome shoes but not with this skirt. But I wanted to walk to court today so I chose comfort over style.

In other news, my office is getting out of hand. Believe it or not, this shelf is the neatest thing in my office right now. Anyone want to come over and get me organized? I will buy you some ice cream for your troubles.

Suit: DKNY
Shirt: Old Navy
Tights: ? probably Old Navy
Necklace: Vintage via eBay


Shoes: Kelsi Dagger


* This post contains many Amish jokes. I apologize in advance to my Amish readers.

Wear It 2/23/2011

I was so excited about this outfit until I tried to photograph it. It looks a lot better in my head than on "film."

Here's a fun fact about this outfit. Every item except the necklace and stockings cost about $15. I am especially pleased with this shirt. On Saturday mr. deathstar and I went to Target to spend a gift card he had received for Christmas. When we walked into the store I pointed to a shirt similar to this and announced "I want that shirt but without the details on the pocket." I proceeded to find the perfect one but only in plus sizes. I found another one that was okay but the fabric was very thin and not on sale (I don't know about you but I have a hard time spending $22 on a shirt at Target). Dejected I scoured the clearance racks debating if I could shrink the plus sized shirt or wait for a sale on the imperfect shirt when lo and behold I found this shirt waiting for me. On sale! In my size. And because he is a wonderful man, mr. deathstar even purchased it for me. He also got me some brightly colored Flair pens. My man is a catch I tell you.

Skirt: H&M (second hand)
Shirt: Target
Tights: Spanx
Shoes: Bass
Belt: Betsy Johnson

Necklace: ??? gift from mr. deathstar

Best Laid Plans....

I spent a portion of the weekend weeding out my closet and found a lot of things I had forgotten I purchased. The good news is I have lots of new things to wear! The bad news is that since I still have 25lbs to lose, I will not get as much wear as out of everything as I planned. In an effort to make the most of my abundance I actually started writing down possible outfits. Although I planned some really cute outfits, I ended up going off book this morning and went with a version of my default (boring) uniform.

I am very excited about this blazer. I have had it forever but never wore it because 1. it didn't fit and 2. it had weird gold buttons. Having addressed the first problem, I took it upon myself to solve the second. I found an old blazer and stole its buttons and put them on this blazer. I should have done a before and after but you will have to take my word for it - this is a massive improvement.

Jacket, jeans and t-shirt - Old Navy



Necklace - Banana Republic

Shoes - Eddie Bauer



I am working on finding a more suitable background for photos. The white wall/ugly door combo is not attractive, but since Cupid didn't get me a tripod (but did give me roses), my options are limited. My office is a slight improvement although I'm not sure I want to show off what a slob I am. Stay tuned....

Navy quandary

After years of eschewing navy in favor of black, I have realized that navy might actually look better on me than black (not that I will ever stop wearing black). However when it comes to navy shirts I have no idea what to wear with them. Are jeans okay? They seem too monotone?

What would you wear with this shirt?

Wear It 2/18/2011

Yesterday was a brutal day at work and, copious amounts of Valium and Ambien did not make much of a dent in my hamster wheel freak out last night. So today's outfit is the best I could so under the circumstances. Frankly, I'm just happy I remembered to put on pants.

I should probably ask Old Navy to sponsor this blog since 85% of my wardrobe* seems to come from them.

Top/Cardigan/Jeans - Old Navy
Boots - Naughty Monkey (old)



* Just in case you thought I was exaggerating about my brain mush - it took me four tries to spell this correctly.

Wear It 2/17/2011

I'm really happy that I kept these shoes. While they are not terribly fashion forward, they are comfortable and give me some height on days when I am feeling small and chubby.

I'm not loving the rest of the outfit. I bought this suit ages ago and this is the first time I've worn both pieces. I have to be in court this morning for a super stressful end to a super stressful case and this was not a good choice. The pants look tight and make my thighs itch. The jacket is too short. The blouse seems wrong. Maybe I'll just keep my coat on all day.

Suit: J.C. Penny's
Blouse: Michael by Michael Kors (old)
Shoes: Bass
Watch: Swatch

Wear It 2/16/2011

It was an exciting morning at the deathstar household, I pulled these jeans out of the PiW (pants in waiting) pile and they fit. This means I can avoid doing laundry for a few more days.

Since I know your hearts can't take more excitement than that, I kept the rest of the outfit pretty dull. All for you gentle reader. It has nothing to do with the fact that I spent the morning watching NCIS Los Angeles and was running late.

Jeans and shirt: Old Navy
Sweater: GAP
Boots: Ugg
Belt: Betsy Johnson

Wear It 2/15/2011

I bought this skirt a few months ago (to be precise it was 10/10/2010 at the $10 sale at 6pm.com). I bought a large thinking I'd be able to wear it come December. Flash forward to today where I finally managed to get it on. I realized that the problem with the skirt (and perhaps why it was 90% off) is that the lining of the skirt is 2 sizes smaller than the skirt itself. So while the skirt feels super tight, I don't think it looks that way. Too tight lining aside, this skirt is awesome because it has pockets. Pockets are always awesome.

Moving on I got this awesome t-shirt for $1 on Ebay. I have wanted a black and white long sleeved t-shirt forever. The seller claimed the stripes were navy and I decided to settle - only to find the stripes are black. Yay!

Last but not least let's talk about these boots. Remember how I told you I have a stuff problem. And how I tend to buy the same things over and over? These boots are an example. I had two pairs nearly identical pairs of these boots (technically different brands but you would never have known). One pair is now at the Salvation Army and the other pair is on my feet.

Frankly I don't really like them all that much which makes me wonder why I bought them twice. Anyone out there interpret shoe addiction? What do black slouchy boots mean?

Note the conspicuous absence of a cardigan. I wanted to wear one but could not find one that worked. So I am going bareback - all the better to see my bad posture and fat rolls!

I did add an orange scarf before I left the house. If you are very good I'll take a photo later. For now use your imagination.

Surprising Fact

These shoes are not nearly as uncomfortable as I thought they'd be. I still can't walk in them but I think that is due to my atrophied muscles, constant dizziness, and lack of coordination. Go shoe.

Wear It 2/14/2011 and THE FIND

You know how certain girls always seem to find the cutest vintage dresses in their grandmother's closet or at their local thrift store? I hate them too. My grandmother only wore saris (pretty but have you ever tried to wear one?) and my local thrift stores never seems to have anything cute certainly never at a price I can afford.

But a few weeks ago I made THE FIND. I was browsing through Etsy and saw this dress for $8. It was being sold for resale so there was no size or any info besides "good vintage condition." Since I am in the lucky (???) position of being overweight and changing sizes - I took a chance and ordered it.

Guess what gentle reader - it fits. Now. Instant gratification. I do think the dress will look better when I am not so chubby but making things smaller is far easier than making them bigger.

So with that very long boring prelude - please welcome the dress to my wardrobe. I would not ordinarily wear something so blingy during the day but it is Valentine' Day and I wanted to be cute just in case mr. deathstar takes me out tonight.

What do you think? I am convinced that this dress would look 100X more perfect if I had burgundy tights, but I don't (and I have looked high and low).

Also, check out the SHOES. These shoes have been in my closet for years and have never seen the light of day. I bought them because they were $10 and I loved the color. Although they are (IMO) sexy as hell, I have never been able to walk in them. However, since walking in heels is my only exercise routine I decided to throw caution to the wind and wear them. For those of you who remember the great ankle break of 2009, don't fear I have flats to change into in case I need to walk for more than a few minutes.

Dress: vintage via Etsy
Tights: Old Navy
Shoes: Nine West circa 2004?
Cardigan: Target clearance
Necklace: gift from bff

Wear it 2/11/2011

I have always shied away from colored tights as being something you can only wear if you are under the age of 25 and have supermodel legs. Nonetheless, when I saw these tights at Old Navy for $2 I decided to give the trend a try. What do you think? Do I look ridiculous?

Skirt - Gap
Blouse - H&M (very old)
Tights - Old Navy
Shoes - Fly of London

Wear it 2/10/2011

Today's outfit was devised solely around my desire to wear flat heeled shoes so I could walk to the mall later. Since the office dress code requires I wear more than just shoes, I tossed on jeans, a blouse, and a cardigan. Although I have worn it a bunch of times, I am still undecided about this blouse. As a general rule I don't care for lavender and don't think it looks good on me. But for some inexplicable reason I find this shirt sort of charming. What say you? Also - check out my new necklace purchased at the local consignment store for $6.

Wear it 2/8/2011

A fairly dull outfit today but also pretty typical of my preferred winter uniform. You may be asking yourself - why did she paint on a pair of jeans this morning. The answer is that I have been wearing the same pair of jeans for over a month and decided I had break into my stash of "pants in waiting" - i.e. jeans the next size smaller. Clearly these are still too snug but they didn't split when I sat down and since I sit behind a desk all day, I decided to risk it. Besides who doesn't love a muffin top*?!?

*What? That doesn't mean delicious pastry? Never mind.

Also featured today is a J. Crew (clearance) sweater and a Hayden Harnett scarf that is making its first outing today. Welcome her aboard and if you have suggestions on how to wear her so I don't look like a gay may from 1978 - I'd appreciate them.


Scarf:

Wear it 2/4/2011

Today's outfit is brought to you by the letters BRIGHT. As a service to your retinas I took a muted photo but I can assure you that in real life you need sunglasses to look at me.

I am so happy I bought this Tucker for Target blouse last year and had the foresight to buy a smaller size so I can wear it now.

The fast had a small setback yesterday when I took a detour to the mall on the way back from court. I did score some awesome bargains including a gorgeous dress from Ann Taylor loft for all of $5.98. I need to lose some more weight before I can wear any of my purchases but I am all about delayed gratification (not).

Wear it 2/1/2011

Forgot my camera this morning so no full length photos today. Trust me when I tell you - you are not missing anything. I did take a quick snap with my camera phone of my gorgeous necklace which an invisible internet friend made me. Every time I wear it I am reminded of how lucky I am to live in a world where I can meet cool people and reap the benefits of their random acts of kindness.

I am also sad to report that this will probably be the last day I will wear this sweater. I love the color and it is warm and soft (cashmere) but it is too big and no longer flattering. Into the consignment pile it will go. Join me in wishing her a fond farewell.