Romantical

The theme for today is Romance.  I think a dress with ruffles and pink polka dots is appropriate.  I got this dress a few years ago at (you guessed it) the Gap.  It was on sale, and I was convinced before I even tried it on.  I then found out that my sister thought it was one of the ugliest dresses ever.  Of course, I ignored her opinion and bought the dress.

About a year ago, my dress was on an episode of Law and Order.  You know how there's usually a random person who finds the body at the beginning?  Well, there was a couple on a date, and the woman was wearing this dress.  I immediately emailed my sister to tell her. 

I've generally worn it with neutrals, like gray or brown, but recently I've tried bright cardigans with it.  I think it's okay, but the turquoise and light pink reminds me a little too much of early 90s interior decoration.    

Dress and Cardi:  Gap
Belt:  American Apparel
Boots:  Wanted via Piperlime
Necklace:  gift (from China)

Keep it Simple

Today's ABC challenge topic is "Q for Quick and Simple."  This is the outfit I threw together last week when I overslept and had about 10 minutes to get ready for work.  When I'm in a hurry and need to look put-together, I usually grab a dress.  It's a whole outfit already!  Then I add a cardigan, maybe a belt and I'm good to go.

Go check out the other looks here.

Dress:  Target
Belt:  Francescas
Cardigan: Gap
Tights:  Target
Shoes:  BCBGeneration

Pleat Repeat

Didn't I wear this skirt last Monday?  Yes, I did.  But, the ABC theme for today was Pleats, and this is one of my few pleated items.  Last week, I kept it simple and classy with all black, so today I had a little more fun.  Inspired by Kendi, I put my striped sweater and purple-y tights with my purple skirt. The cold and snow means I will be wearing boots most of this week.

I'll be honest, I really loved this outfit.  I kind of felt like a teenage rock star.  Maybe that's not a good thing, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I was looking at my list of labels, and I realized I haven't worn pants on the blog yet.  And then I realized I almost never wear pants.  I mean, I wear jeans, skirts, and dresses.  I have pants, I just apparently haven't worn them at all in the last few months.  Maybe I should try that sometime...
Go check out the other pleated bloggers here. 

Sweater:  Old Navy
T-shirt:  PacSun
Skirt:  Gap
Tights: Steve Madden via DSW
Boots:   BareTraps via DSW

Make things Interesting

It snowed Friday night and most of Saturday.  We went out to dinner in the evening, and my #1 priority was being cozy. Here's what I wore:

Most days, I use my camera timer to take pictures, but if John is around, I make him play photographer.  To make the pictures more interesting, he gives me instructions, like kicking or something.  I look really cool when I do these things: 

Wouldn't it be cool to have a picture where I am mid-air?  Yeah, my athletic skills are not quite up to par.  I also make really strange faces.  I would lose at America's Next Top Model faster than you can say "Smize."

Hoodie:  Target
T-shirt:  Loft
Tank Top:  Gap
Jeans:  Old Navy
Boots:  Wanted via Piperlime

Spooky Scary

It's the last day of the Winter Challenge!  Good thing the ABCs of style are still going, so I won't have to make my own clothing decisions for a couple more weeks. 

Today's prompt was to wear something that scares you.  This was the most difficult day to figure out for me.  Here are 3 of the ideas I had:

1. Buy some spider jewelry.  Get it, because I'm scared of spiders.
2. Dress up like a zombie.  See reasoning of #1.
3. I was complaining to John about how I didn't know what I was scared of wearing, and he suggested that I let him pick out my outfit.  Yep, that's pretty scary.  I can think of 2 times where he had significant input into what I was wearing.  Both times, it was so ridiculous that I had to pose for pictures holding a shotgun.  I told him as long as his suggestion was work appropriate and did not require firearms as accessories, I would go along with it.  He forgot, so I was left to my own devices. 

So, this morning, I had about 20 minutes to get ready for work and I had zero ideas of what I was scared of wearing.   Here's what I came up with:

This purple velvet blazer has been in my closet for probably 7 years, and I have never worn it. This is also my Closet Orphan, for the ABC challenge.  I got it for about $5 when Macy's bought out the Lazarus department store and everything was like 90% off.  I don't know if I am scared of wearing it, as much as I just didn't know what to wear with it.

The plaid top is pretty new.  I found it over Christmas break when I was shopping with my sister.  I really like it, but it reminds me too much of my high school uniform.  I need to get over my fear of plaid, pleats, and polo shirts one of these days.

And finally, my "real" fear:  skinny jeans with flats.  I generally reserve skinny jeans for wearing with boots.  I think 2 or 3 times, I have worn non-boots, but always with a 3in or higher heel.  I see other people wearing flats with skinny jeans, and I think it is cute, but I just am not sure I can pull it off.

I've also had "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" stuck in my head all day.  Cracks me up!

Go check out what other bloggers are scared of wearing here.  
And go check out other closet Orphans here.

Blazer:Jones New York
Top:  Talbots via Marshall's
Jeans:  Old Navy
Shoes:  Gap

My Interpretation

The challenge today is to interpret this outfit.  Super cute, right?  I resisted the urge to go out and buy a green pencil skirt.  I just added the green-ish/teal pop of color with my tights and necklace.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

 I just wish my button down shirt wasn't quite so long.  It got so wrinkly from sitting at my desk all day.   

I made this necklace a few weeks ago, and I really love it.  I should have taken a close-up shot of it.  It is just 6 strands of beads, and then I braided them together. 

Go check out the other interpretations here!

Sweater, skirt and belt:  Old Navy
Button-down:  Gap
Shoes:   Seychelles via DSW
Necklace:  made by me

Fallin'

No, it isn't fall.  I'm not listening to the Alicia Keys song.  I actually just fell down this morning.  I was about 8 feet away from my office door, carrying 4 bags (purse, laptop, lunch, workout clothes) when my shoe revolted against me and I completely crashed to the floor.  I hit a cubicle wall pretty hard before I landed, but I am happy to say it did not fall over.  That would have been embarrassing!  Not that falling wasn't embarrassing enough, but I was able to pretty quickly assure my boss and co-workers I was fine and head to my office in shame.

I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen to me more often.  Contrary to popular opinion, I am not actually very graceful.  My husband threatens to get me a Humpty Hat every winter.  According to the website, you should wear it when you are doing winter sports.  I think I should just wear it year round for walking places.

Anyway, I was trying to do the "Dress Up a Coat" challenge a day early, but when I saw Kayla's inspiration post, she really meant that you should add something to your coat to make it dressy.  I thought she just meant to dress up and include a coat.  I'm going to just go with it and pretend I followed the rules.  I'm sure no one will care!

In conclusion, perhaps I should never wear these shoes again.  I thought they would be good, because the platform would be more comfortable than a regular heel, but if they are going to throw me to the ground, I might just have to pass.  They aren't really cute enough for me to put up with those kind of shenanigans. 


Go check out people who actually followed the instructions to dress up a coat HERE. 
I'm also linking up to the ABCs of style with my (P)leather jacket and suede shoes - L is for Leather

Sweater, Skirt, Shoes:  Gap
Jacket:  Relativity
Tights:  Target