Friday: I love mustard, and a Hot Shopping Tip

Amusingly, this outfit started out life as this one, but the sweater wasn't fitting right and everything sat on me wrong. Plus we had an unexpected blast of heat, and a short-sleeved sweater seemed like a good idea. But I wanted to keep the mustard color idea of the original outfit, so I dug out a Target tank top that I thought I would wear all the time for layering and yet I never do. Maybe I will more often after this! Add in my pretty cabbage-rose silk J Crew Outlet scarf (SYC Challenge item, hasn't been worn in almost a year!), patent peeptoe heels (thank goodness I hadn't put them away yet), and I was good to go!





For completion's sake, the pants are the Gap tall modern bootcuts in grey, and the sweater is black from Ann Taylor Factory.

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Hot shopping tip for my readers: if you are on the lookout for a cute funky top for under cardigans and jackets for the fall, please go check out this Lauren Conrad top at Kohls. I got it in the ivory, but only because I had no idea it came in this wonderful teal too! I convinced one of my co-workers to get it, and she looks great. I am trying to cut down on buying multiples of the same thing in different colors, so you can all quench my obsession and buy it for yourselves!

*cough* I may be considering this one for myself as a tunic top. I have to try it on and see how good/bad those pockets are on my hips. It looked super-cute at the store though!

(The Chanel-esque jacket from Kohls is getting returned. I've tried it with several tops and it always looks too boxy. Same with the light-grey ON sweater.)

Wednesday: So bada**

Bad.



Ass.

Seriously. Badass.



That was how this outfit made me feel: totally badass and ready to take on all comers. Which was a good thing, because it was a rough day at work and I needed some badass juju to ward off any trouble. And it worked!

I felt like I was channeling Erin at Work With What You've Got: the skinny black pants, the long Target top (I think she has this exact one), the fitted black jacket. My Franco Sarto Deer oxford heels were a bit more delicate than hers tend to be, but it was my outfit not hers, after all. I go nowhere without my Francos! :)

The pants are the Gap Really Skinnies (pants, not jeans), and I am absolutely in love with them! The fabric is very stretchy, like the BR Martin Fits, and they are just ridiculously comfortable. I like the tunic look but since I only wear jeans on the weekends, I can wear the look to work instead with these pants. Plan on seeing them a lot.

The jacket is a thrifted Talbots that I got in CT with my sister last year. It is also my SYC Challenge item; I don't think I've worn it more than once since I brought it home. Which is a shame, because it has great detail and a nice fit at the waist. I will try to incorporate it more this year.

But look who wanted to say hi! He's missed you guys.



Then he laid back on his window perch and watched me pose for the camera. Tough life he leads, don't you think?



Pretty soon the leaves will be green behind him. They are starting to turn in other parts of town.



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Thank you for the really kind words after yesterday's post. It's pretty embarrassing to put myself out there like that, but I have a pretty awesome group of readers and I appreciate every one of you! You guys are way too kind.

Monday: Super Casual Business Casual

Decided to try Angie's "messy scarf" look, and as she noted, let the scarf do the talking of the outfit. I think this turned out better in real life than the photo; I look a lot squatter here than I do normally. I think I have to remember to stand straight and not bend my knee in photos when I am wearing shorter pants and flats. Duly noted!



Ah, yes, that's better. And Emily gets ever closer to her internet debut! She and George are just hilarious these days; she's no longer terrified of him and hiding under the bed, but they aren't quite buddies either. As I type this, they are sitting about two feet apart, sniffing and gauging each other, and Emily is trying to figure out a way she can get past George to go up the stairs without actually going near him. I love my silly gatos.

Anyway, back to the outfit. The pants are new from Ann Taylor Factory Outlet, a nice black-and-grey microcheck pattern. The shoes are my metallic AK Anne Klein loafers. The top is a grey floral Lauren Conrad tee from Kohls, and the cardigan is from Gap in "vineyard". The scarf is the Target purchase from a couple weeks ago that I have been dying to wear. The cardigan is the SYC challenge piece; I bought it in the spring but never took the tags off. I wanted to return it but it was past the date when I tried, so I decided to keep it and find ways to work it in this fall. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just kind of bland. I will try to spice it up better next time.

A simple neutral outfit. I wasn't keen on the grey tee -- it felt too casual then and now in hindsight -- but the other plausible options were still drying after laundry day. But it worked well enough!

Work and life is pretty insane this week, but I will stay on top of posting as best I can. Thanks for your patience, all!

Weekend wear

Oh boy, I have been having fun with all my new fall wear! Shopping Friend prompted me tonight to post some of them.

This was Saturday, out shopping at the outlet mall.



(I was restrained, only picked up some pants and a new black dress. You will soon see why I liked it!)

Miss Emily wasn't quite ready to make her internet debut, but she was considering it!







New army green open cardigan from Gap, peach flower graphic tee from Target, coral cotton scarf from Kohls (SYC item, rarely worn), Kut from the Kloth skinny jeans from Nordstrom, brown suede clogs from DSW.

Later than night we went out with Shopping Friend and her new beau for dinner.



Same jeans and clogs, brown twist-neck tee from Loft, gold J Crew Outlet necklace, cranberry Acxess cardigan from Kohls, my beloved brown patent Coach bag.

I love how rich the brown and cranberry are against each other.

October Fashion Goals

I was haphazard about taking photos this week, but this was Tuesday:



This is the new Kohls cranberry sweater, which I LOVE a million times over. So comfy and warm, but the waist tucks in just enough to give it some shape and swing. Cindy asked what brand it is; it is Axcess and it comes in this yummy mallard too.

I paired it with my tie-dyed LOFT tee, new black Gap modern bootcuts, and two SYC Challenge items: a triple-strand of grey pearls on knotted brown leather (local jeweler), and my Circa by Joan & David black pointed-toe kitten-heel pumps. Otherwise known as the pumps that started my shoe obsession. Shopping Friend convinced me to try them way back when, and even that inch-high heel was more than I had ever worn before. I got used to the height and look pretty quickly, and started trying more of them. Three years later I am unfazed by a 3-inch heel, and in fact consider that my ideal shoe height. And it all started with these shoes! They're a little dated now -- especially the pointed-toe -- but they fit great and they look good with bootcuts. So I resurrected them.



You can also see the darker tones in my hair in these shots; I love the way it looks, but I almost wish she had gone even darker. I might go for it next time.

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Over at YLF, my buddy Bella posed an interesting question: what are your fashion goals for October? I don't set goals by the month but I thought I would give it a whirl to keep things interesting.

I said:
-I am going to continue the SYC-dressing challenge, where I highlight at least one older piece from my closet and try to rotate as much as possible. I've just done a bunch of fall/winter shopping so the impulse is to wear all new stuff -- but I kept the old stuff for a reason and I want to remember that.

-To try more silhouettes. I am giving the big blouse look a try; I picked up this Calvin Klein blouse in white (the green is on its way from another store) last night and I will give the true voluminous look a whirl. I am also really enjoying the bootcut look again.

-To mix up my shoes more. September was a lot of flats, which I have been loving, but it's time to rotate in my heeled oxford shooties, more of my boots, and my clogs and loafers, etc.

-Stay on top of my laundry more. With a smaller wardrobe and most of my clothes being fine in the delicate cycle, when I let the laundry go for two weeks I completely forget about perfect pieces for outfits because they are buried at the bottom of the pile!

Do you have any fashion goals for October? Let's hear 'em!

Friday: Changes a-coming

Somedays I just feel like wearing black. I don't do it often, but when I do I like to go all out. I had on colored tops underneath the dress at first, but I was craving the starkness of black and white. The grey continued the neutral starkness, added just enough gradiation and texture in the heavy pewter necklace and sweater coat to keep it from disappearing in a photo.

The SYC Challenge item is the sweater coat. Got it last winter from H&M, and I wore it to death. Funny, I always thought of it as a great layering piece for when it was really cold, but it worked great as a short-sleeved overpiece on Friday. I almost wore boots with the outfit but it was too hot. Heh, too hot for boots, cool enough for a long chunky short-sleeved knit. Crazy early fall weather!



Shirt: white ruched neck, LOFT
Dress: black Apt. 8 sundress, Kohls
Leggings: black long cotton leggings, Vera Wang at Kohls
Shoes: Sam Edelman cheetah embellished flats, Nordstroms
Necklace: pewter lariat, Banana Republic
Sweater: grey chunky knit, H&M

Here are some other ways I have worn the sweater:


Hunh, I was wearing it from February to June. Didn't realize how deep into summer we got before I put it away!

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This weekend is a weekend of big changes. Went to get my hair colored last night, and impulsively said to the girl I wanted to go darker. I got my wish! It is much, much darker than it was. I...I think I like it. We shall see once I get a few outfit photos taken; it's easier for me to really *see* myself in outfit photos than it is in the mirror.

The second big change is that we are acquiring a new second cat. A friend of a friend has to give up one of his 3 pets, and so Emily is looking for a new home. I'm told she is very sweet and cuddly, with super-soft fur like George's. Introducing the two of them and seeing how they get along will be the bulk of my weekend. I am hoping for a positive outcome; George deserves a companion who wants him around and who likes him. Sophie held her ground and never warmed to him, even after seven years together. He's due some fellow-kitty kindness.

But boy, I still miss Sophie. Not quite sure I am ready for a new cat, but the timing is too good to pass up and if Emily is as sweet as advertised I would hate to miss out. So we shall see! I deserve some kitty kindness too.

Wednesday, Thursday: SYC Challenge

Busy, busy week. Lousy, lousy photos. But!
1. A much-needed hair color appointment is scheduled for Friday night. This should remedy some of the photo issues.
2. I am really enjoying the SYC Challenge and plan on extending it for another week or longer. Turns out I have a lot of items that have been stuffed in the back of my closet waiting for their turn, and it's invigorating to find new ways to wear them.

Wednesday:


At first glance it doesn't look like anything unworn recently, but there are in fact two items. First the familiar ones: the top is a recent purchase from Kohls, only worn once this summer, the pants are my long grey Gap modern bootcuts, and the necklace is my gold mesh from BR. SYC Item #1 is this never-before-worn Caslon camisole; I have a bad habit of stocking up on many different color camis, but then I stick to a small group of them to wear. During my closet re-organization, I thinned out the herd to ones that truly fit and that I had a fighting chance of wearing. That brought this forest green one closer to the top of pile, and I liked it with the purple.



Item #2 is peeking out in the first photo: my multi-colored Nicole Blessed shoes from last winter. OMG!!



These shoes are ridiculously, ridiculously cute. Check out when I wore them here and here. It was too hot right now to wear trouser socks with them, but they look just as cute under pants as they used to. So glad I rotated my shoe collection to the fall set and got these back into play!

Thursday:


This sweater wasn't my first choice for my SYC Challenge item, but it was 85 degrees and anything longer than a cap sleeve was not going to be happening. I bought this no-name sweater on impulse at Marshalls in the spring, and I have yet to figure out how to wear it in a way I like. It's kind of a strange weight, a little heavy and it tends to drag down at my waist. Buttoning it has never worked but I went open-style this time.

Thursday I wanted to try it with all-neutrals, but I am not sure it worked. It might have to do with my hair currently mimicking the colors of my top, with my dark roots in the middle surrounded by a washed-out lighter tone. I will try it again in a week or so with refreshed hair color.

I did like the neutral of the rest of the outfit: the black is a ruffled-front knit from Ann Taylor Outlet, the skirt is a brown-olive from, oh yeah, Ann Taylor Outlet, the necklace was from Julia's blog ShopExileStyle, and the shoes are my Sam Edelman cheetah-embellished flats. Those have turned out to be my #1 best purchase from NAS; I don't know I wore before I had these!

And now I am late for work. Toodles!

Tuesday: SYC Challenge

Boo! I had a great outfit all day, but the pictures were completely out of focus and dark. Only two could be salvaged, so here you go. Oh well!



I had a different outfit planned in my head, but we had a sudden blast of high temps yesterday, so I actually pulled back out my Clarks Laguna Reef sandals for one last wearing, and paired with the Daisy Fuentes purple dress from Kohls, the purple bf cardigan from LOFT (that was part of the "twinset" last week), and finished it off with my SYC challenge item, my graduated pearls from high school.



Oh, the stories those pearls could tell! They've been worn everywhere over the years, from rowing on the Charles River in Boston as part of my prep school crew team, to my wedding day, to just a plain old workday like yesterday. I tend to pass them by in favor of a longer necklace look, but when I remember them and add them in, they always add an instant touch of grace to every outfit. Plus, they sit at the perfect spot at my neck.

They're probably not even real, but they've been worn so many times and for so long, it doesn't even matter. They are still one of my most precious and sentimental possessions.

Monday: SYC Challenge, and new Loafers

The Shop Your Closet challenge item is the turquoise blazer from Talbots. I bought it earlier this summer to wear to a series of executive-level meetings I was attending, and it promptly went to the back of my closet until more are scheduled. It occurred to me yesterday that maybe I should let my blazers get more use, instead of keeping them for formal work occasions. So out it came!

I like the structure of it against the frilliness of the tiered blouse; someone here or over on YLF suggested pairing it like this, and they were right!



The rest of the outfit is new, but very fun. That's the polka-dot blouse from LOFT, navy modern bootcut pants from Gap, a cream camisole from Kohls, and a beloved silver necklace from a local jeweler.

OH! And here's a tip and a product plug all in one; notice how my camisole is sitting in the perfect spot in the scoop of my top? That's not by accident. I have the worst time with camisoles; they droop down as the day progresses and often end up highlighting the cleavage I am trying to hide. For this outfit, it occurred to me to finally do something about it. I bought some double-side clear fabric tape at Target: the Hollywood Intuition line over in Accessories. Stuck a little piece between the straps and the top on each side, and voila! Stayed in place perfectly all day. (It's sold out at Target now, but you can get similar stuff at a lot of stores. It comes in a matchbook looking container, and lasts forever.)

But there's also a new piece in here, and I have to talk about it. As I mentioned last week, while I was at DSW, a completely unexpected pair of shoes caught my eye: loafers. I KNOW!! I was very much on the fence about them; they are, after all, loafers and I wanted to get a pair of flat oxfords. But the fabric and color of them were so different than any other loafers I've seen, and the fit and comfort were the same as a great pair of Me Too ballet flats. They're AK Anne Klein iFlex from DSW; I've seen lots of that style online, but none with this color. Not even on the DSW website.

Look at how cute they are!





I bought them, and I wore them around the house for bit. Hubby had the same reaction as me: initial dismissal, then growing fondess, then wondering if I could make them fit with my outfits. I knew the navy pants would be the make-or-break outfit; if they didn't work with those, they wouldn't work with anything.





I think they worked. What about you?



(P.S. I am still going to look for flat oxfords. C'mon, this is me talking!)