Saturday, February 22, 2014

Date Night

I'm a mom. I'm totally a smokin' hot mom, but I've gone through nine months of growing another person, then through childbirth and recovery so I have all the sags and stretch marks and a belly pooch and cellulite like every other female human who has pushed her body to it's most miraculous limits.

Enter this awesome dress. Every perfect imperfection round the middle is hidden with just a hint of sexy ass and a great rack making mysterious shadows. That beautiful ever-slender lady shoulder comes out the top, and rock-hard calves from toting said baby up three flights of stairs every day is all the skin I need to share for date night this weekend!!!

So how about this black/white trend going on? The fashion world likes to pretend old ideas are new, but I'm grateful for the kick ass shoes we're going to get out of it. Would you wear this dress? Anyone know what kind of martini that is?


Date Night

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Plaid pants

Ah, printed pants. The desire and downfall of wide hips and generous thighs worldwide. Many years ago, I was more courageous with printed pants (including a horribly unflattering pair of snakeskin jeans), but now I generally steer clear. But that's just silly. If they fit properly, and are a good cut, they'll work just fine. The flat front and straight leg below with that sweet little peplum top and waist-slimming blazer are completely doable for those of us with generous curves. I think the dark color helps, too.

How brave are you on the bottom half? Is the tan bag with the tan jacket just too much together? Please note that I did not resist the temptation to include an anchor (and ships wheel) today like I did yesterday. But it's cute, right?




Plaid pants


Monday, February 17, 2014

White blazer

Precedence tells us that spring will come again. Keep the faith!

Green and navy together are refreshing, and is tough to screw up. I started with the navy blue pants based on what's in my closet, and struggle until I found this green shirt. Then it took about 30 seconds to put the rest together. I'm really into the white blazer since it's a wee bit easier to keep clean than white pants or shoes, but still brings that beautiful crispness to an early spring outfit. This look is so very me, and I can't wait to try it out!



White blazer

So what do you think about impractical fashion like white? And what about open-toe shoes and sleeveless shirts at work?

Please note that I resisted giving this imaginary girl anchor earrings. 'Cause I thought about it...



Friday, February 14, 2014

Casual Friday: Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! To anyone who loves someone or who is loved by someone, this day is for you.

In an effort to show the love, but skip the pink/red/lace/roses thing, I went with cool and casual. Gentle accessories, gentle colors, comfortable shapes. A tiny little heart ring, a single heart to warm your coffee. And tell me the color and shape of this chambray shirt isn't perfect. See how the tuck pleating makes the fabric go from straight to on the bias toward the bottom? Lovely. I originally started with some brighter colored accessories, but I decided I didn't want anything to overshadow that shirt.


Casual Friday: Valentine's Day


Do you think it's sacrilege to skip the V-day colors? What have you done with your Chambray? Is it at all feasible to change one's nail color on a daily basis?



Thursday, February 13, 2014

Pink Dress

My inspiration came from an unlikely source today: a refinished bureau I saw at Better After. Lindsay at Better After loves before and after shots of refinished furniture, and I love her blog, she's hilarious! A dark, elaborate looking chest of drawers was painted in a sweet blush color (much like the dress below), with gold accents including heart-shaped knobs. The refinish-ista was Jessica at Dear Emeline. Very Valentine indeed.



Pink Dress

I couldn't resist that hardcore jacket with all the sugar sweetness in the rest of the outfit. Did you notice the adorable necklace with the heart and arrow? Want! Do you think those earrings are enough for this outfit, or a little too dainty? Is your waist even close to as teeny as that dress?



Sunday, February 9, 2014

White Cashmere Dress

I really like white clothing, especially in winter. It isn't always the most flattering or practical, but I often gravitate toward white items on the rack. This luxurious cashmere dress looks warm, sexy, and like something no one else would be wearing at cocktail hour. I went a bit more intentionally luxe with some of the accessories than usual (Givenchy shoes, Cartier necklace, Tiffany earrings, Chanel bag, Hermes scarf, a crazy-expensive-designer-I've-never-heard-of jacket) because the dress just felt so rich, like it deserved some true luxury. Of course, you could definitely pull off a similar look with some earrings from Claire's and a scarf from Target, but when you're just shopping, the real thing can feel so nice.

White Cashmere Dress

How do you feel about white in winter, or ever for that matter? What about the luxury designers and brands? I dream of wearing the same lovely Hermes scarf and carrying a classic Chanel bag every day when I'm an elegant old lady.


Saturday, February 8, 2014

Blue skirt

I don't always have great success wearing flowy A-lines like this one (dubbed "Skater" style in current fashion lingo) because they can kind of be seriously hip enhancing. But it doesn't mean I can't look at it and think about how cute it would be if I had smaller hips, and a backside that wouldn't make the back of the skirt go up three inches. Amiright? A cozy white sweater and boots bring this little skirt into cool-weather territory. Tights and a wool coat could take it to cold weather attire, and a fur cap with four additional pairs of socks and ski mittens would make it wearable this winter.


Blue skirt

So are you wearing these super-cool skater skirts? How do you feel about the so-last-year fringed bags? What about the fancy-schmancy white headphones?



Friday, February 7, 2014

Casual Friday: Green with Jeans

My mother used to wear a gold digital stretch-band watch just like this one when I was a kid. I didn't realize quite how rad it was until today when it dawned on me that no one who isn't jogging wears a digital watch anymore. Not that I think it's the most beautiful, but it's special and unusual and my mama wore one so I dig it.

The goal with Casual Friday posts is to put something that feels comfortable and casual, but still nice enough to be presentable in front of professional colleagues. Here's where I'm not quite certain about the cowboy-style boots. They're beautiful, don't get me wrong, but are they too casual? Meh. I saw my boss wear legit Justins with a suit once, so I think that's a green light. Oh, and the "Boss" earrings? Yeah, we all need to feel in charge once in a while.


Casual Friday


How are you feeling about bootleg jeans in this somewhat tiresome era of skinny and boyfriend cuts? Would you wear this totally eighties watch? And what's in your office mug on Fridays? I had hot chocolate with marshmallows in mine last Friday. True story.


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Sequins and Denim

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Today, I absolutely fell in love with Jessica Abbott's Sequin Maxi Skirt outfit at The Sewing Rabbit. Mixing glam and casual makes sense to me, because it brings some hollywood-esque sparkle to daily life. Jessica's inspiration was a tutorial on making and styling a sequins maxi over at Mimi G Style (does that girl dress spicy hot, or what?). So here is my take on mixing casual weekend gear with some serious sparkle. I chose sandals because when I wear a maxi I feel like I should be barefoot. Maxis are so comfy regardless of how fancy the fabric is. And we all know how our hips do that swing-over-to-one-side thing in a maxi (both of these hot ladies do it in their photos), which is arguably safer in flats.


Casual Sequins


So what do you think, would you wear a combo like this? What do you think of statement bracelets on both arms? Something about this outfit makes me wish I could shave my head for just one day, because no sort of ponytail is going to do it quite right...am I the only one who feels that way?

p.s. The links to individual pieces below come directly from Polyvore when I import the images, so blame them for any odd text.

p.p.s. Again like I mentioned in my first post, I don't discriminate by price or brand (usually), so embrace the vision rather than the practicality of actually purchasing exact pieces. I fully appreciate that the jacket is more than $600 which is lunacy, but it looks cool, so there you go.


Monday, February 3, 2014

(Another) Floral Dress

Like this past Saturday, this outfit has a nineties feel to it. I love the sweetness of that dress contrasted with the bad ass denim jacket.


Floral dress

Do you own oxfords like these? I've tried them on a few times at the store thinking they're beautiful, but never quite sure if I've got the clothes to go. 


Floral dress by janetnewhall

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Riding


For the Year of the Horse contest on Polyvore, I put this set together. I was inspired by a day of horseback riding on the English countryside. Now, I've never been to the English countryside, and I've only ridden a horse twice, but this is what I imagine a fashionable lady wearing in the afternoon after a day of riding. You know while she's drinking tea on the veranda.


Riding

Something about this blend of a delicate and feminine dress with the strict tailoring of the jacket and a pair of hardy boots brings me back to the 90s. Do you remember the vintage-style button front peasant dresses with construction boots? But this look with more modern pieces is much prettier and more cohesive, I think.

What do you think about hard boots with soft dresses?