Tuesday: Peace out!

So I finally did it; I wore a maxi-dress. To work.



It's probably not the most flattering look for me, and it's not nearly as cool and breezy as I had hoped it would be (could have been the cheapo non-100% cotton material), but I've been curious about the look since last year so I went for it.

Hilariously, my boss said I looked like a hippie, but then I noticed she was wearing a maxi-dress of her own so we both bust out laughing.

Details:
Dress: red-pink-brown multi, Target 2010
Camisole: coral, Caslon Nordstrom 2009
Sweater: brown short-sleeve, LOFT 2009
Sandals: Clarks Laguna Reefs 2010
Necklace: gold-and-yellow stone, J Crew Outlet 2009

To be honest, I don't know that I will wear this again. It's a freaking lot of fabric, and it feels very un-me. But I did it at least once!



+++++

You guys were asking about the need for leggings yesterday: I wanted to include them just to finish off the outfit a bit. I know it was fine as it was, but without that little bit of extra modesty (as it were) it leaned a little too far into the casual look. That dress is tough to style because it's jersey and very flowy. Without a cardigan on top or leggings underneath, it just feels unfinished to me for the office.

But that's just my personal instinct; business casual is so tricky to get right, and I just try to rely on my gut feelings about whether it's appropriate or not for my particular situation on a particular day. I suspect I may be starting to lean too far over into the too-casual side of the spectrum lately, and I may need to do some correcting.

Probably why the maxi-dress won't be worn again, now that I think about it...

+++++++

No bento again today; Coworker and I went to Panera. I was so good, getting the black bean soup and the tomato-basil-mozz salad -- and I resisted the blondie, woohoo. Then I went back to my desk and ate a giant trough of watermelon and blackberries. Considering I WANTED to eat a bag of pretzel M&M's, that's a pretty good victory for me. Slowly but surely I am getting the hang of eating better again.

Now I have to kickstart Project Dupa a little more, and I will be in business!

Monday: Walking Garden

Hmm. The dress isn't technically a floral pattern, but the green sweater and the brown leggings combined with it definitely invoke a garden aura to me! Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, it just seems a little...unsubtle.

But oh my, was this a comfortable outfit, and definitely summery. I am finding myself wearing my flat sandals constantly this summer, and all my peeptoe heels are cooling *their* heels on the rack. Not sure why this is, but it hasn't been a conscious choice. Looking back (and oh boy, it's really killing me to look back and see how much smaller I was last summer)***, I can definitely seeing the difference between the types of "business casual" I wore then compared to now. I can get away with outfits from the more casual end of the spectrum than I could at my job last year, and sandals vs. heels are a big part of that.



Details:
Dress: Daisy Fuentes cotton jersey, Kohls 2010
Sweater: green pointelle, Old Navy 2009
T-shirt: white scoopneck, BR 2010
Leggings: brown cropped, Ver Wang Kohls 2009
Sandals: bronze BOCs, Famous Footwear 2009


++++++

***So I am continuing to work on it. Maybe looking back at the pictures will keep me on the path; my new lunch box is definitely helping with that too!



Seemed like it was finally time to go all Molly Ringwald from The Breakfast Club and put some sushi in my bento. ;-D Plus some light soy sauce, tasty watermelon, almonds, key lime fatfree yogurt, and a Babybel cheese wheel, and I was set.

Thursday: Under the Influence

Yay, so glad people liked the new Max & Cleo dress! I couldn't decide if it was too curve-inducing but I am glad I went for it.

ANYWAY, then there was Thursday.



I have a couple more of these fabulous Target Merona Fit skirts on backorder; now that I remember to pull them down in the bathroom (*waves to Shelley*), I am crazy about it. :) The lines are so straight, and take on just about any kind of top very well. This one is a Loft number from 2009, in that mesh-knit fabric like Sweet Pea tops. I don't wear it nearly enough, but it is perfect for summer. There enough going on with draping around the chest and the cute sleeves it that I can keep the rest of the outfit simple. Just my new-favorite Clark Laguna Reef sandals (BEST SANDALS OF THE YEAR), and some jewelry, and I was good to go.



I remarked on the YLF forum yesterday that my outfit was heavily influenced by the members there. I don't wear a lot of lace-edged camisoles (even though I own a stack of them from ON) because even though I have non-lingerie colors -- navy, forest green, orange, purple, etc -- it feels a little too racy for work. But Angie did a post on the topic last week, and it inspired me to try the navy one with the Loft top. I really liked it! Then I recalled Michelle from Eyeronic inquiring about delicate jewelry's appropriateness, and that influenced me to wear an old silver-and-pearl-like stone necklace. Once I had that on, the final accessory just *had* to be the sweet delicate flower bracelets from Laura!

In the end, I think the whole thing emanated a "pretty" vibe, don't you? I'm not really one to go for the romantic, sweet look, but this is as close as I can get to it comfortably.



+++++++

Oh, so I must be committed to this Dupa Project because:

1. I actually went walking for a half-hour before meeting up with Shopping Friend for dinner
2. I am already starting to look ahead to increasing my types of exercise and even considering some food modifications
3. I am willing to post this horrible photo for all of the internet to see.



I just bought those shorts yesterday from Lands End; they're sweatpants material so I thought they would be good for lounging at home in the summer. NOT for wearing outside, but maybe for exercise. Man, I wish I had seen this photo before I met Shopping Friend for dinner -- because I would have realized I should have stuck with my plan to not wear these outdoors. OY.

I am sticking with my fitted cropped and long running pants in the future, that's for sure! (Not to worry, Rose; I only wear the long pants when it's cool out. Which is still is here in crazy Chicago-land in June!)

Oh, the things I do for my dupa!

Wednesday: New Dress

My day started like this:



Champion running shorts from Target, 3/4-sleeve magenta tee and sleeveless hoodie from Old Navy. (See a pattern? I always think I am buying Old Navy clothes to wear on the weekend, but the truth is they are just too junky for anything but exercise.)

Then I got home and got ready for work:



This is a new Max&Cleo dress I picked up at Nordstrom Rack in the clearance section. Love the bold pattern and colors; this is probably the only way I can wear that lime-citron yellow-green shade! :) It is very va-va-vavoom, perhaps a little too much; as the Dupa Project progresses, the curves should likely go down a bit. Right now the backside is, well...let's just say J. Lo has nothing on me!

I paired it with brights and neutrals: a magenta camisole to fill in the cleavage, and my turquoise glasses to bring some of that color up to my face. But I went with neutral shoes -- Franco Sarto's from Nordstroms, with a very high heel and a cute back zipper -- to keep the whole thing balanced and not let the colors get too far over the top. I think a black shoe here would have made the whole thing look too old-lady-ish.

Not a great angle of me here, but Lord, I love the patterns of this!



Dresses like this are the inspiration to keep going on the Dupa Project. This is going to look even better in a few weeks!

Monday: Dressing Marathons

It seems impossible, but I just didn't have the right shoes to go with today's outfit! I ended up with my new Seychelles silver-gold sandals, which were okay, but I think a heel would have worked better. My husband would probably disagree, since a huge pile of heels were stacked up in the middle of the bedroom, rejected during the daily Dressing Extravaganza. Clearly it wasn't for lack of trying that none of my heels worked!

How long does it take you to get dressed, on average? I can be anywhere from 10-40 minutes, usually clocking in a good 25 minutes. I know it's excessive, but I've built in the time to my schedule to do so. To me, it's often my one chance at creativity for the day; I get to play with colors and textures, ensuring everything from the accessories to the shoes creates a cohesive ensemble. It's fun, and I try to make the most of it.



Today's outfit started out as a totally different dress, but the fit was not right (I'm super-bloated this week) and it was driving me nuts. Then it became a goal of hiding my pooch without bundling up too much; it's a meat locker at work but it IS mid-June. I can only concede so much to the cold before I rebel. I ended up with my Target cascading cardigan tied with a plain black cotton tie from some other outfit. I liked how the pointelle stitching let the bright colors of the Jones New York dress peek through, and the sandals kept it summery enough.

+++++

Well, the majority ruled! 66% of the voters asked for daily workout outfits. As Sheila pointed out, public accountability is probably good for me again, and I will admit it is much more fun to do it this way than listing out my dieting goals and how I failed at them every week.



I went walking after work yesterday, a first for me. It used to be if I couldn't get in my exercise in the early morning I skipped it for the day. But I've got the time in the evenings since it doesn't get dark for a long time, and there's nothing interesting on TV right now. I've never been much of a walker, so this is a new experience for me; every day I am exploring a new path in my area. Very fun!

Old Navy provided the tops again: a striped tank from last summer, and a hot pink hoodie I bought on super-clearance over the winter. I think I need to pick up some longer tanks for The Dupa Project; I love the colors of this, but it keeps riding up as I am walking and exposing my belly to the world. Trust me when I tell you no one needs to see that! :)

My bathing suits come from Lands End soon; I cannot wait to hit the pool again! Laps are the best summer exercise of all. :)

Sunday: Workout, Hangout and Voter's Choice!

Today's workout was an hourlong walk along the North Shore bike path. For our monthly department meeting, we are meeting on the path to walk as a group; I am hosting the meeting with a co-worker so I wanted to do this path beforehand so I could gauge how far we could get in our alloted time. I went a bit farther than that mark -- it was such a pretty walk! Lots of lush green woods. I should try to take photos next time.



At first I did not want to post these photos because I look so lumpy in them, but you know what? I AM lumpy. I need to acknowledge that in order for The Dupa Project to be successful. Besides, if I didn't post it, then everyone would miss out on my ridiculous cat waving to his loyal internet followers!



Of course, as soon as I let him in, he's no longer interested in posing for you guys. Nice manners, George!

Details:
yellow cotton hoodie, Old Navy
yellow-orange multi tank, Old Navy
black Under Armour running pants, Dick's Sporting Goods
New Balance sneakers

Then it was time for a busy, busy day of nothing! Eventually I went out to the Rack to pick up a new bra and a dress, and I got caught in a downpour so I did some more shopping at the Trader Joe's next door, but really, it's been a lazy day of Farmville and emailing with friends. (By the way, thanks for the Rack suggestion, Rose! I didn't see any tops I liked this time, but I will try again soon. I wasn't in the mood to hunt for too long.)



I am literally yawning in this photo. That's how lazy I was today. AWESOME.



Details:
brown sleeveless sweater, BR 2009
white camisole, Target
skinny jeans, Martin + Osa 2010
bronze BOC sandals, Famous Footwear 2009

++++

So now it's time for a poll! I am not particularly interested in doing detailed posts about The Dupa Project; I know many of you are here for the fashion and not the dieting part of my life, and I'm still not ready to go through all of it again so publicly as I have in the past. However, do you guys want to continue seeing my workout outfits? Because I am seriously fashion-crazy enough to post those along with my regular clothes, if you are interested!

Saturday: Introducing the Dupa Project

As promised, here was my weekend wear. I am splitting it into 2 posts because I wore so much!

Saturday -- first there was a workout.



I've finally decided that my dupa has hit its limit. I haven't run since my birthday 5K in March, and while my job change has been great, it trashed my diet and exercise goals. Or, rather, *I* trashed them. Anyway, I can't take the size of my dupa anymore, and I'm ready to do something about it. I started walking with a girlfriend a few weeks ago, but we were only doing it once a week and I obviously need more than that. So I've been walking every morning now, just a half-hour to an hour a day, and getting myself back into a rhythm of regular exercise.

I'm calling it The Dupa Project. Sure, I would like to lose weight, be a different size, be a different number on the scale. But most of all, I want my ass not to horrify me when I glimpse it in the mirror. This is the motivational conversation I plan on having with myself when I reach the day when I don't feel like working on the project:

Me: I don't feel like exercising today.
Other Me: Do you like your dupa yet?
Me: No.
Other Me: Then get off it.



George is on board with The Dupa Project!

Details:
turquoise Champion top, Target
cropped Champion running pants, Target
New Balance sneakers

Then I hosted a "baby shower BBQ" for a girlfriend. Since this was her 3rd or 4th shower, we went casual.



I've never actually worn a neutral top with a neutral-ish pants like this before. Usually on weekends I go black or white on one part and a bright on the other. I liked pairing the dark umber shorts with the mushroom tiered top. But I couldn't go all neutral, so the bright coral sweater added just the punch I was looking for.



Details:
coral pointelle sweater, Old Navy 2009
mushroom chiffon-tiered tee, Ann Taylor 2010
dark umber cargo shorts, DKNY Nordstroms 2010
bronze BOC sandals, Famous Footwear 2009

The party was a huge hit! I was so relieved.