Goldilocks

You guys, I am absolutely LOVING my wardrobe these days. I had no idea that getting rid of the clutter, allowing myself to routinely weed out items that aren't working, and cutting back on the shopping would be so darned freeing. Instead of constantly trying to outdo myself in terms of being fashion-foward, I am finding it is more satisfying to find ways to wear what I already have.

Of course, they don't all work -- at least not when I look at the photos sometimes -- but that too helps further hone my closet.



I liked the idea of this -- two versions of grey with a cobalt blue tee and a scarf for visual interest -- and for the most part it worked. But it's one that when I look at the photo, I realized it didn't. I think it's finally time to concede defeat on these dark grey Gap straight legs; there is just something about the fabric or the color that makes it look frumpy and dated, like they were black and now have faded to this grey. It drives me nuts!



This I liked a little better, even though it is just a whole lot of black. I have two of these "blogger" necklaces, but this cobalt blue one gets almost no wear. (Maybe I should have gotten it in red instead.) I don't have a lot of good contrasting colors for it, so it really only work against black or white. I thought it worked pretty well here, playing on that idea with a patterned B&W tank from Target, black cascading cardigan, and my trusty black Gap modern bootcuts.

This one, from yesterday, was Goldilocks approved, as it was just right.



Also lots of black but it doesn't feel that way. The purple skirt and knit jacket are two purchases from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale that I have been waiting to wear (patiently, for months!!) and it is finally cold enough to do so. See how the turquoise bloger necklace works just so much better than the cobalt one does? I think it might be just a more flattering color for me.

The top is from Gwynnie Bee, and it might just be the best one I have gotten from them yet. It's a simple INC black knit long sleeve top, but it fits and drapes PERFECTLY. It is the Holy Grail of black tops. I am taking it to Macys tomorrow to see if they still have any in stock; I need to own this to complete so many other looks. Assets tights and my Franco Sarto Deer shooties finish the look.



I had my doubts about that skirt, but now that it is cold enough to wear, I expect it is going to get lots of mileage. It's the first skirt or dress that I have had in a long while that looks good on my dupa.

Coincidentally, I got a couple of questions about that leather-trimmed tweed jacket from my last post; it was also from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (and is out of stock now, sorry). It in fact inspired the color combo of this outfit. I may try the skirt and necklace again with the jacket next time!

If you are interested in Gwynnie Bee, anytime during the month of November,  you can sign up for a free 30-day trial. Leave me your email (or email it to me) and I will send you an invite. I really cannot speak more highly of this service. It's rejuvenating my closet!

My Deep Thoughts on Boots

A lively discussion occurred over on the YouLookFab forums last week, about the uniformity right now of a certain look: skinny pants/jeans tucked into tall boots with a long tunic on top. I see that look at the mall and everywhere too -- although not at work, of course. There was a lot of back-and-forth about embracing the look, and how people make it individual for them, and some excellent points were made all around. In the end, the forum members took it on as a challenge, self-deprecatingly calling themselves "lemmings" and finding new ways to wear the look without looking like part of a herd.

I steered clear of it, for the simple reason that I really, really do not like that silhouette.

I've tried; it's been a staple for smart casual looks for a couple of years. But it never, ever looked right on me, and I just felt foolish in it. Plus, I can't wrap my brain around the concept of tall boots over jeans unless you are actually ON the polo team, or if you are Rachel Zoe swanning around stores in Beverly Hills. Since I am neither of those things, I felt like a fake every time I tried it in my mirror at home.

That said, I do have a lemming look of my own that I love in fall and winter: boots with dresses.



To me, this is the whole reason for owning tall boots. On a practical level, tall boots make wearing dresses in winter possible because your legs stay warm. On a stylish level, look at how good they look! ;-D

You will notice I am in colored tights, too. This can be a tricky style for women of a certain age like myself, but I think this particular outfit worked for three reasons:
1. The maroon color matches perfectly with the colors of the dress, so it helps the eye flow down gracefully
2. Most of the tight is covered up by the boot
3. It's a dark color, not a bright. I love bright, but as tights? That's for the more youthful crowd, alas!




To make this boots-and-dresses look to work in a professional setting, you need a fitted boot instead of the more fun and casual over-the-knee or scrunched boot. As my fellow wide-calf friends know, finding the right fitted boot is a nightmare. Especially since the 'lemming' uniform these days is the skinny jeans tucked into boots, most boots available in the stores are usually the same width all the way down so your pants fit it into them. Finding a boot that gets slim and fitted at the ankle is so tough. Last year, I didn't even bother buying new boots; I had two from the year before, including the Vince Camuto brogan/cowboy boots above, that I continued to wear. Because I have put on weight since I bought these, they are more fitted now than they were, so they can be pressed into service with dresses.

My boots from two (three?) years ago, however, were a couple of spectacular stretch-leather boots from Franco Sarto. They were perfection; the stretch meant they fit great all the time and were super easy to put on, and they were dressy-looking with two-inch thin heels so with dresses they were knockouts. Unfortunately, they had a distinctive squared-off pointy toe and look very dated now.

So imagine my elation when Angie posted about my buddy Laura's recommendation of the new Franco Sarto Yonkers stretch boot! It's funny, until I saw Angie's post, I wasn't able to put my finger on why the skinny pants-and-boots look doesn't work for me, and why I loved my older FS boots so much: it's the stretch. As as I've said before, my legs are my best asset, and whenever I cover them up either with a wide-leg pant or chunky boot, suddenly everything about me looks ten times bigger. Stretch boots add no girth to my legs, and in fact highlight them nicely.

They are on sale to $99 at Nordstrom. I ordered them in the mushroom; I should be able to wear that with the widest range of colors: colored outfits, blacks or browns, and probably some greys. Can't wait to try them on!

What style of boots is most flattering on you? Have you thought about why some work and some don't?

I leave you with a outtake. Action shot! Emily doesn't even care.

It's Deer Season!

Three days of rain, and the transition to fall is just about complete.




We've got a scarf artfully folded, my ruffled long cardigan from WHBM, a Target summer dress layered within an inch of its life, the first wearing of tights, and OMG the shoes. My beloved Franco Sarto Deer booties have come out to play.

You guys, it is Deer Season.

I know I have raved about these shoes in the past, but I didn't label it well so it's buried somewhere. Anyway, I have had these shoes for 3 years now, and they are my total workhorses all fall and winter long. They are perfection: patent oxford heeled booties with fake laces and brogue detailing. I love them so much, I own them in three colors.



They look even better in natural light.



The details on them are perfect, and the heel...I love that it's a pump heel instead of a chunkier one. There's something so sexy about the curve of it, especially contrasted with the more masculine look of the oxford.





The greys are absolutely my favorites, but the burghundys, oh how I love them too. The color is so rich.





The laces and the bow are fake, which means I never have to worry about them coming undone or getting crooked. The shoes are a stretch patent so they just slide right on.

I call the black ones "the spares". I bought them last year after spotting them at Famous Footwear on clearance; I didn't know there were any still around so I scooped them up. They don't get worn much, but just in case anything happens to the heirs, I've still got the spare as backup.





Did I mention yet how comfortable they are? The 3-inch heel is perfect, and the stretch patent means they stay put on my feet; I have run down halls in these with no problems at all. The only downside is that I wear them so often during the long winter I barely need any other shoes for the season. *gasp*

Man alive, I love Deer Season.




Daily Food Tracker: Wednesday
Breakfast: Einstein egg and bacon sandwich on thin bagel
Lunch: Panera Pick2: turkey artichoke panini, broccoli cheese soup
Snack: chocolate chip cookie, pretzel m&ms
Dinner: the last of the lazy lasagna filled in with a lot of squash, tomato sauce, and turkey meatballs
Snacks: WW ice cream bar, toast with Laughing Cow cheese

Boy, I sure did eat a lot of bread. Clearly my body wanted some carbs! I'll work on mixing in a little more fruit and veggies today.

Crush you with my brain

My sister said last night that she can tell when work is crazy for me: I don't post on the blog every day. I've missed 5 days. Yeah, work has been brutal. Life has been pretty intense this last week too, but I am still here and hanging in there!

Anyway, I had some meetings on Thursday where I needed to convince two different sets of users that my suggestion for the problem they were trying to solve was the best solution, and that they need to unclench and trust me to do my job. Clearly, this required a killer outfit. I had two options:



The base was my Ann Taylor Factory dress (with pockets), a double pair of black tights, my black patent Franco Sarto Deer heeled oxfords, and my Christmas pearls from Hubby in a long double-knot. The question was if I should go with:

-the Triva embellished tweed jacket for the super-dressy, professional look
-the LOFT purple boyfriend cardigan, for the still-dressy but less formal and intimidating look

What would you have done, dear readers?

I brought both into the office, but in the end I went with the purple sweater. The jacket felt a little like overkill; I knew my solutions were the best ones for my users, and by the end they would be eating a little crow. In situations like that, I find it's easier to come into the room and disarm them rather than put them on red alert, which gives me time to win them over with just talking. As I said to my co-worker, I would rather crush you with my brain than my strict adherence to the dress code.



I won the discussion, by the way. Both times.

Thursday: I AM BACK!!!

On the first day post-challenge, I stayed home sick in my pj's.
On the second day post-challenge, I went digging through my closet to find a long-lost friend.



YES. I AM BACK IN ONE OF MY DRESSES.

One of my most favorite dresses: a Max Studio empire waist with a olive, black and cream pattern. I went with all olives and greens for its first wearing of the winter season: olive Old Navy rolled-edge sweater, cream LOFT layering top, green tights over black (boy, I need to buy some new tights ASAP), and my beloved black Vince Camuto wingtip flat boots from last year. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!



I mean, I have really been enjoying wearing pants for the last couple of seasons, but dresses...dresses just feel like ME. This dress in particular; for any of my new readers, this might explain a lot about why I love it so much.



I've got a long way to go, but I am on my way. Dresses, I am coming back to you!! Wait for me, girls!

Friday: Monochrome, LFD-style

When I was ordering this cardigan and top from the LOFT site, I was having trouble choosing the colors I wanted. I preferred the top in thie wild berry shade more than the other options, but none of the sweater colors I was looking at were going to go with it. Then it struck me: why not buy both in the same color, and wear it as a monochrome set?

Seriously, that had never occurred to me before! I always try to buy tops that will "go with" my cardigans, but I've never bought one that actually matched. Turns out, I really love the look! The floaty tie-top part was so cute I decided to forego a necklace so it didn't detract.



(Wish I had looked in the mirror before taking these; the top looked way cuter, more French-schoolgirl, tugged down so it lay flat all the way down. Oh well, next time!)

Say a fond farewell to this Merona Fit skirt. I've worn it literally to pieces this summer; the fabric is pilling terribly, and I ripped up the liner Spanx too much. But it served me well, and I wish Target was still making them so I could buy another one. A new black skirt hunt begins!

The shoes are a great black patent Anne Klein peeptoes that I got at DSW this summer. I got a reader email asking if yesterday's outfit contained hose, and the answer is yes -- as does today's outfit. I picked up several pairs of Oroblu nude fishnet stockings at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale this summer, and it's finally time to break them out. Angie at YLF sings the high praises of these stockings, and I totally understand why; you're wearing stocking without them feeling like sausage casings, and they are so comfortable on days when it goes from cool to hot very quickly.



I thought the turquoise glasses were a nice unexpected touch.

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This weekend's project is already underway; I am sorting out all my clothes into the various sizes, putting things into storage in an organized fashion, and being honest about what fits and what needs to be put away for awhile. Expect a photo essay possibly on Sunday about it!

Monday: Grumpy, the least-fun Dwarf

Hello internet! I was away all weekend, and spontaneously took the time off from posing for outfit photos too. And I managed to not get one from Thursday's regular outfit as well. Sorry!

But I forced myself back into the swing of it on Monday, or I was worried it would be weeks before I did. I don't know what the matter is with me, but I am in a horrible mood and not liking anything I own, and especially how it fits. (Hmm, well that part is easy to deduce why. Time to get serious again!)



Anyway, it was freezing and threatening rain on Monday, so I bundled up. Long-sleeved Alfani patterned dress, brown swirly-patterned tights, brown Franco Sarto riding boots, Old Navy denim jacket, and two necklaces, pearls and a gold-and-yellow-stone one from J Crew Outlet. I have to tell you that as much as I like this dress, it is really depressing that it is still cold enough to wear in mid-May. I want to wear cute light spring stuff!

Ugh. Like I said, I am GRUMPY. Too much time away; getting back to real life is such a hard adjustment sometimes. I will be better tomorrow, promise!

Tuesday, Wednesday: Cold-weather remixes

Okay. WOW. I am completely flabbergasted by the responses to the Nude Sandal DEATHMATCH. Luckily voting has tightened up now, but I thought for sure the Atlases were going to blow the Tazers away. My jaw is to the floor! I cannot believe I had nearly the opposite reaction of everyone here and at YLF; I almost returned the Tazers without even mentioning it on the blog. I adore the Atlases beyond belief, and I honestly felt kind of frumpy in the Tazers.

I guess I will try them both on with more outfits before I decide for sure. I do have a couple of other sandals that I am feeling iffy on, and maybe one of those will go back instead...the response to keep the Tazers was so overwhelming I am wondering if I am missing something in their allure!

BUT. I won't be able to decide on that for a few days... it needs to get warm again first! Grrr, the temps dropped like a stone the last few days, and today it is threatening to snow. SNOW. That is just so wrong.

My outfits layered up accordingly.

Tuesday:



Been a long while since I wore this combo, maybe back in the fall? We had huge rain all day, and I was out traveling for meetings, so the oufit started with the need to wear my plum patent La Canadienne rainboots. (I have said this a million times, but these are ideal for bad-weather days when I still need to be dressy and can't change my shoes when I get to my destination. They may be my smartest shoe purchase ever.)

From there, I added my patterned Michael Kors jersey dress, brown swirl-pattern tights (it was cold!), white Gap ruffled tank, mustard Halogen sweater, and gold locket necklace from J Crew Outlet. Sorry, shopping stalkers, these are all items from last year! :)

Because it was raining like crazy, I added my new white Martin + Osa trench. This one is becoming a fast favorite!




Wednesday:



Another remix of a familar outfit. This is the first time I didn't belt this sweater, instead purposely going for the super-voluminous look. I spent a cold, rainy 9-hour day at my desk, and being wrapped in a virtual Slanket held a lot of appeal.



The teal sweater-top is from Loft this winter, the grey chunky sweater is from H&M, the black pants are part of my Semantiks suit from Nordstrom, and the shoes are my grey patent oxford heels from Franco Sarto. Because it was so bulky and drab, I added a couple of pieces of jewelry to add some interest: my pewter mesh magnetic bracelet from BR, and a fun ombre blue beaded necklace from Old Navy.



Got my highlights fixed last night, so this is the last of my roots you will see for a while! :)

Now I must go figure out what to wear when it SNOWS. Ugh.

Thursday: Please stay, spring. Please!

I am thinking of renaming this blog "Parade of the Kickass Kohls Dresses". Seriously, I hit the motherlode there on Tuesday. I am still reeling from the sweetness of my St. Paddy Day's dress, and then this one is just plain cool. Love the colors (greys and pinks and purples), the geometric pattern, and then the fun fuschia border at the hem and waist. SO FUN.



The shape of these are perfect for *my* shape; my narrowest part is high, just under my ribcage where the waist detail is, and then the knit fabric flows out nicely covering up any errant lumps. I feel like I should feel guilty for buying so many similar dresses, but...you know, when you find a pair of pants that flatter your dupa, don't you try to buy others just like them? Maybe it's the same thing with dresses; they don't all have to be different styles.

Anyway! I wore a grey layering tee under it because we haven't leapt into short-sleeve weather overnight, and added black tights and grey patent booties. Aaaaand then my awesome Target moto jacket.



I was in a training class all day with a random group of employees, and there was a younger good-looking guy there (ha, younger, probably in his 30s) who, I'm just gonna say it, could not stop staring at me. Every time he thought he could get away with it, he did -- and I busted him every time. Yeah, dude, check ME out. HEE!

These Kohls dresses are magical. Magical!

Monday, Tuesday: Camera woes

I lost my camera battery, WOE. I suspect George; it was recharging in its holster in the bedroom, and now it's gone. I need to search under the bed and on the closet floor with a flashlight; he is a sneaky little cat. So the last two days had bad photos taken in the mirror, sorry. Today's were so horrible I am not even going to post them. The dress combo wasn't that great anyway.

Monday, I went with a spring version of my purple-and-brown Connexions dress, adding a cream BR cardigan and purple ragged-edge Loft tee underneath.



Since it was still a bit cold, I was able to wear my purple cabled tight one more time before they shredded, and my burgundy Franco Sarto patent booties.



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Today I wore my grey jersey princess dress with a slate-blue cascading cardigan. By midday it was just...hot out. Like, real spring! And I was sick of all the dark neutrals in my closet, so I stopped at Target and Kohls during my lunch hour and went a little bit insane. I now own six pretty print knit dresses in all different colors, although mostly in the same shape. It's so funny, Daddy Likey and Sal and Erin all talked about stock-piling multiples today, and there I was buying up a bunch of that very thing. But does it count as a multiple if they're all different dresses? It feels like it does...

Not that it matters in the end: they all got the thumbs-up from Hubby, none of them were more than $30, and they're all adorable and perfect for the next couple of seasons. I'm keeping 'em!

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The best news of the day is that I found my backup camera battery. So it's back to real pictures again tomorrow, and just in time!

Friday: Mutton leg

So this is my version of casual Friday, heehee.

Okay, we did have a meeting in the morning so I couldn't do more casual, but many of the directors in my office were pretty schlumpy. I know now where the bar is set when it's a day when I can truly go for business casual -- and I may have several days next week when I can experiment with that.

Back to this outfit! This ones was fun; the Loft lantern-sleeved LBD that I just remixed last week, paired with a brown Lands End turtleneck, a great chunky mixed-stone statement necklace from a local jeweler, red plaid tights and my Nicole Bleesed multi-color shoes. It was perfect for the office and then dinner with Hubby and Shopping Friend.

Closeup of the necklace and the brown and black together:


Of course, the shoes and tights were the focus of the outfit, and I got tons of compliments on my "pink" legs. I thought the tights were red; they weren't the same red as the shoes, but I didn't think they were so far off they clashed. And I certainly wouldn't have called them pink.

What's your verdict on the color?



I know colored tights are not very appropriate for women my age, but I looooooved them with the red shoes. I wore them to dress down the outfit, to add some fun and a casual flair to a LBD. I didn't think I was wearing them in a mutton-as-lamb way. What do you guys think?



(Mutton-as-lamb = adult women trying to look like a teenager.)