Goldilocks and the Closet

This weekend I tried on almost all the pants and skirts and suits in my closet and found that 35% of them are still too small; 55% are a little loose or just ill fitting; and 10% are just right. This suit is from the just right pile.

Suit: United Colors of Benetton via Goodwill
T-shirt: Gap
Shoes: Nine West
Watch: Swatch
Bag: Hayden Harnett "Sonia"

TGIF and why this skirt was $4

I got this skirt a few months ago at Goodwill. I had high hopes for it being my go to summer skirt when I couldn't be bothered to shave my legs. However, now that I see what it does to my hips, I am rethinking its value to my closet. Maybe it will look better when I lose some more weight or if I tailor the waistline. Or maybe there is a reason why someone gave this away.

Happy Friday everyone - have a fabulous (and hopefully long) weekend.

Shirt and shoes: Target
Skirt: Laundry by Shelli Segal via Goodwill
Belt: Probably Old Navy or Gap

I never could get the hang of Thursdays

A belated happy towel day to everyone. Also a belated thanks to everyone who commented yesterday - I should threaten to cut up designer dresses more often :) Seriously I do appreciate the input and comments.

This morning was one of those mornings where I just did not know what to wear. Nothing felt right so I went with the classic blouse and pencil skirt combo. Work appropriate and comfortable although a tad boring.

Shirt: akiko (via TJ Maxx)
Skirt: Jil Sander (via Goodwill)
Shoes: Camper
Bag: Alexander McQueen

Vintage Quandry

I found this dress at my local Goodwill a few months ago for $11. I initially purchased it for the fabric (gorgeous silk, not necessarily evident in this photo), thinking I would be able to rework the dress somehow. When I got it home I saw that the dress was from Balenciaga! Made in France and everything.



Which brings me to my quandary. Do I attempt to rework the dress into something more modern or do I not mess with it and embrace the vintagey style? What would you do?

Dress: Balenciaga via Goodwill
Belt: ? via eBay
Shoes: Camper



Wanna see more vintage finds, check out Spunky Chateau's Thursday's are for Thrifters.

Bellbottom Blues and Diff'rent Strokes

I found these jeans in my closet yesterday. I have no memory of purchasing them but the Old Navy $7 clearance price tag on them was an indicator that it was me who put them there and not some jean* fairy who places very snug jeans in people's closets. This shirt was a Goodwill score from a few weeks ago. A silk shirt for $4? Yes please.

Jeans and sweater: Old Navy
Shirt: Jones NY via Goodwill
Belt: Nine West
Shoes: Bass




Necklaces: ? via eBay

* I once had an hour+ long conversation with my BFF, A, regarding whether in the Theme Song to Diff'rent Strokes the "jeans" in the lyric referred to Jeans or Genes. A was of the opinion it was Genes and I maintain it was Jeans. The debate got rather heated (there may have been wine involved) with A threatening to write Alan Thicke (who co-wrote the song) to ask what he intended. After our respective husbands joined the debate (my husband sided with A and A's husband sided with me) - we reached an impasse.

What do you think? Please comment (and please don't say you were born after Diff'rent Strokes came out (even if it is true) because I will feel old and cry).

What Not To Wear - Monday 5.23.2011

Although I made a valiant attempt on Saturday to actually plan some outfits for the week, I failed to take any of them into consideration this morning. Instead I just threw on the first things that I found that sort of matched and would not get me arrested for indecent exposure.

Shirt: H&M (old)
Skirt: Anthropologie (old)
Sweater: Old Navy
Shoes: Me too
Belt: Old Navy

Bonus outfit

Casual night out ....


Jeans: Calvin Klein
tank and sweater: Old Navy
shoes: Bass

Saturday Experiment

Trying to come up with some outfits for this week. I love this dress but I think it is just a wee bit too short for work, so it may get relegated to weekends.

Dress: Target
Necklace: Banana Republic
Jacket: Banana Republic (thrifted)
Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Propoportion

As you could probably tell by this week's outfits, my preferred outfit proportion is to wear something fitted on top and loose on bottom. With this in mind, I am not sure what possessed me to buy this top, besides, of course, the gorgeous colors. So here I am in something very fitted on bottom (perhaps too fitted) and this lovely top. Not entirely sure it works but I think it is headed in the proper direction????

Top: F21
Tank: Gap
Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Calvin Klein

And now for something completely different

After a few days of quasi-professional looks, I threw caution to the wind and went with something a little more free-spirited today. Yesterday I was in Burlington Coat Factory and saw two cute dresses - each $20. One was a sleeveless red sheath by Tahari (very grown up) and the other was this sundress. Given my age and profession, the Tahari was the far more practical choice. But the sundress spoke to me and reminded me of the patchouli scented summers of my youth and I ended up choosing it. Maybe not the smartest choice but I think I deserve a round of applause for only buying one dress.

In a nod to both the weather and my not-fit for public upper arms, I put on a sweater and tried to give myself a waist with a belt. I think I might end up altering the dress at some point, possibly making it a more practical skirt.

Dress (worn as skirt): ? via Burlington Coat Factory
Sweater: J. Crew
Sandals: Target
Belt: ? Ancient

Wear It 5/19/2011

Another cold rainy day and another outfit more suitable for fall than spring. I purchased this blazer (it is part of a suit) at Goodwill earlier this year. The pants are still snug but the blazer almost buttons which was good enough for me today. I have a deposition this afternoon but also have to show our Summer intern the ropes (which includes a trip to the dusty basement storage room) so I needed to look as professional as I could while still wearing machine washable pants.

Blazer: Ann Taylor via Goodwill
Shirt: Target
Necklace: Banana Republic
Belt: Betsy Johnson
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: F21

Foxy

I had two main objectives when choosing my outfit this morning. The first was to look quasi-professional. The second was to wear something warm because my office is freezing. I think this outfit mostly achieved those goals. The pants are a little thin and open toe shoes were probably not the smartest choice but all in all I'm happy with this combination.

Shirt: Francesca's
Sweater: J. Crew
Pants: Chadwicks
Shoes: Camper
Necklace: eBay
Belt: ? I've had it for approximately forever

Blue Monday

I was toying with some color blocking ideas this morning but the effect is not a dramatic as I hoped. Instead I fear it just looks messy. Oh well, for a Monday after a long weekend* I consider it a win that I have on pants and am at work before 9am.

* I took Friday off from work which was one of the best decisions I could have made. I opened my mail for the first time in months and found a settlement check for $400 as well as an Ebates rebate check for $100. I did some much overdue beauty maintenance and I found this purse in the back of my closet. This purse was my introduction to the designer Hayden Harnett, which in turn led me to the Purse Forum and the acquaintance of a lot of very cool women.

Shirt, Sweater, Shoes: Target
Pants: Old Navy
Purse: Hayden Harnett ("Tamasin")
Necklace: eBay

The more things change...

In the early 1980's my friend D convinced me to sign up for some seminar on fashion and make-up being sponsored by Lord and Taylor. At the end of the classes we put on a fashion show - we each selected a dress from the store and rocked the catwalk.

Unless I'm mistaken, the dress I wore was nearly identical to the one above (except probably 3 sizes smaller). However, this dress was purchased at Target for $6.94 cents, and I'm pretty sure my runway dress was a lot more than that.

So my tastes may not have changed in 30 years but bargain hunting skills have clearly improved.


Dress: Target
Shoes: Urban Outfitters
Bracelet: F21

Everybody Everywear - Floral Edition

I have been a fan of the Everybody Everywear site since it started, but I have never gotten around to submitting anything . . . until now! For May they are showcasing how various bloggers wear floral patters, which gave me a chance to dig out this dress that I found on clearance at Old Navy for $5. I decided to play up the 1960's housecoat feel of the dress by adding vintage white beads. Then to avoid being too Gladys Kravitz, I put on some heels and a modern watch.

Dress: Old Navy
Tights: Ellen Tracy via TJ Maxx
Shoes: F21
Necklace: eBay
Watch: Gift from the Easter Bunny

Copycat

I bought this dress after seeing the lovely Kendi wearing it a few weeks ago. I didn't realize she wore the same shoes until I made that link. Oh well stalking is the sincerest form of flattery. Right?

Dress and Shoes: Kendi
Necklace and Belt: Banana Republic
Cardigan: ? via Amazon

Hello 2005

I have horrible attention to detail and a very spotty memory. I do, however, remember wearing this blazer in 2005. I had just been elected as the Editor-In-Chief of my school's law review (I was just as surprised as you) and I had a meeting with the Dean of the Law School. I wore this blazer with a Ramones t-shirt underneath and khakis. Soon after I started gaining weight and the blazer was placed in "dead to me" storage. Now it is back and will probably be in frequent rotation this spring/summer.

Jacket: Gap
Tank, Jeans, and Scarf: Old Navy
Shoes: Bass

I like cats

Last night I met with a new client. She was quite grateful that we had a plan to help her with her problem. As she was leaving she gave me a hug and wished me a happy Mother's Day. She then looked at me and said, you ARE a mother aren't you? When I shook my head it was clear she felt badly so to break the awkward silence, I said loudly "but I have cats!".

The look of pity in her eyes was as bad as if I had said the second thing that popped into my head - "my mom is dead".

I sometimes wonder if I should have chosen a profession that does not involve so much human contact.

Orange you glad it's Friday?

A million years ago when I fancied myself a Dead Head and spent way too much time listening to Terrapin Station, I would have scoffed at anyone who wore a commercially made tie-dye t-shirt (especially one without Dancing Bears or a Steal Your Face).

Flash forward to this week when I saw this shirt at Target and decided it was just what I needed to wear with these pants. Although it was a very expensive t-shirt ($19.99) I justified the purchase with the knowledge that these pants were only .97 cents!!!! (see tag).

In other news I poked myself in the eye today and it still hurts. What's the remedy for this type of injury? A Hello-Kitty Band-Aid doesn't work.

T-shirt: Target
Cardigan: ? via Amazon
Jacket: Gap
Pants: Old Navy
Shoes: Calvin Klein
Necklace: eBay

A deal I could not pass up!

Leaning Tower of Me

I was in a hurry this morning so I snapped one shot which, because I used my car as a tripod, has everything at an odd angle. While I'm sure you all don't expect much from my photos I thought I should explain that the building behind me is not about to fall over. As far as I know.

More leopard today. I got this sweater at Goodwill a few weeks ago and I LOVE it. I expect you will see it a lot this fall (and this spring if it continues to be absurdly cold).

Sweater: Thrifted
Skirt: United Colors of Bennetton via eBay
Stockings: Target
Shoes: Doc. Martens
Jacket: ? via Burlington Coat Factory
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Zip MAB

Keep Feeling Fascination

I have wanted a gauzy white dress to wear with tights for a long time. I found this dress on sale at my local Old Navy a few months ago but they didn't have my size. After going to three stores in three cities- I finally found it and purchased it for $10.49. After going through all that effort it is a little embarrassing to admit that I'm not sure the dress actually looks that good on me. But clearly I am not one to let a small thing like that stop me!

Dress and Belt: Old Navy
Tights: Hue
Shoes: F21
Jacket: ? via Amazon

Wear It 5/3/2011

Although the weather channel claims it will be 70 degrees today, it has lost all credibility with me after yesterday when they claimed it would be 68 degrees and I nearly got frostbite in my office. Ergo, today I am wearing pants and long sleeves. Specifically these cheap polyester pants that I got for $10 on super sale months ago and that finally fit. I've paired them with this brand new shirt from the F21 clearance aisle. As a general rule I do not do pink and black or roses but something about this shirt reminds me of "something" and I felt compelled to buy it. I suspect it is HS related. I am hoping anyone who knew me back then will figure it out.

Pants: Chadwicks
Shirt: F21
Shoes: RJ Girl

Wear It 5/2/2011

This is another outfit that looked a lot better in my head than on my body. However, it is typical of the more colorful style I want to have so I'm giving it a shot to see if it grows on me.

Shirt: Old Navy Maternity (I have never been pregnant but I fell in love with this shirt 6+ years ago and am very happy I kept it).
Tank: Gap
Skirt: Thrifted
Shoes: Doc. Martens
Necklace: Vintage via eBay