Work Those Pastels

It won't be summer for long, people. Soon we will all be in navy and camel and burgundy and longing for light colors and fabrics. At least I will.

The cardigan is new from Ann Taylor. It will look smashing with the AT coral pink skirt I bought last month. The yellow is somewhere between lemon yellow and lime green, in the citrus family, at least. I'm wearing my Miz Mooz sandals, though you can't see them very well. 

It's time to replace some of my go-to tees like this one, so I went to the Talbot's "we're giving it away" sale and bought short-sleeved tees in yellow, red, pale pink and white. That will last me another year, and the current rotation can be washed and given to goodwill.  I always feel that I waited just a wearing or two too long before replacing them.  I give them a dubious sniff and roll my eyes. This time, I will be proactive and toss four of them at a time.

More pale yellow below, worn with my beloved polka-dot top which I am definitely trying to make last forever. I also have fantastic hair as I have just come from the salon. How luxurious it would be to have a shampoo and blowout every week like rich ladies.
 

I have orange finger tips:

This particular polish (the same brand as my blue nails last month) is cheap as chips and utterly fantastic. The brand is Walgreen's specific (Sinful Colors, in-store only) and about $3.00 a bottle. It wears like IRON - this nail job is a week old. I can only have long nails if I polish them; they're very soft, and split and flake like croissants otherwise. I like having polished nails, but I also get a little obsessed with them when I do, and that feels fussy to me, so after a week or two I cut them short and breathe a little sigh of relief.  

You Look Just Fine

Words to live by. Yesterday I got several compliments; I preened my feathers and said thank you. Then I went home, snapped a couple of photos and was, um, less than thrilled with the results.

Hasn't looked at the picture yet.

I bought this cute tank from Garnet Hill in a lovely dove grey, but it was a little roomy in the armholes. I didn't have a clean white tank, so I stuck a little white tee under it and liked it in the mirror. I added leopard flats and a leopard scarf and liked it even more. La la la la.

I liked it all day and then I saw the picture, and whoa. Not happy. But - I had just read a blog post about the potential bullshit nightmare that is "figure flattering fashion" and I admit I am a slave to this myself. I'm always trying to look taller and thinner and smaller-chested and for all I know completely unlike myself. 

Now I don't know what to think. I really liked how the outfit felt, others liked it too - but the camera didn't. I am electing to forget about it, because it isn't a real problem, just a thought puzzle, but I am always curious to hear what YOU think (not about my outfit, about the thought puzzle). Do you ever say F*ck Flattering?

I opted for less thought-provoking today:

My $15 Land's End dress, Fidji pumps and a skinny yellow belt that might be Talbot's. The yellow in the dress is more mustardy than it looks in the lens. Not only was the dress only $15, it has a separate purple full slip that is perfect under my purple ponte dress. I dig my Fidji shoes and would like to own more of them.

Groovy, no?

 

 

Pink, White and Yellow

Huh. I never posted this, so here it is, two weeks late. 

Fall is hurtling toward us, and so we are compelled to wear the summery items while we can. Jo pointed out her embroidered linen top and blue sandals to me today - and her fantastic plastic earrings that she says she bought in the Nixon administration.

I am a little tired of my summer wardrobe's riot of color, as much as I like all the linen and cotton and voile. By the time winter is waning I feel permanently wool-itchy. But as September arrives, I like the thought of neutrals and subdued colors: deep red, forest green, burnt orange.

In any case, I wanted to enjoy the lightweight fabrics in a less high contrast way, and this is what I came up with.

The rose crystal pleat top that I just love (but which I am not sure loves me equally), white jeans and my cheerful yellow Kenneth Cole sandals. A blurry closeup of my Kenneth Cole earrings:

These can't be worn with any kind of collar, or they work their way out of my ears - but they're very good with a boat neckline.

My red purse was terribly clashy, so I dug out my yellow The Sak, which I actually bought NEW at Lord and Taylor, albeit on clearance, with an additional discount, and a gift card. The stitching is actually hot pink, though it looks red.

Bracelet from Kohl's

My fun weekend plans include dinner with library pals tonight, a movie with My Friend Deborah, and a chance to finally try on the red jeans I bought over a week ago. I have high hopes.

NEW Challenge - Pink and Pleated

Sometimes I buy things solely because they feel so good. Tiny pleats are one of those features; so swishy and body-skimming. Fancy without being formal. I tried this silky top on at the Talbot's store and nearly paid full price for it, it felt so good. But I held firm, and now it is 50% off online (in pink, black and white), and was part of the box o' pink that recently arrived at my door. I also bought a pair of ankle zip pants at Talbot's this weekend in a similar shade.

Clearly, a good "feel" doesn't always translate into a good picture. This was the best of five! It has a pretty split neckline that you can't really see in this overlit picture.

Cool enough to wear pants!

But I got lots of compliments at work, so that's all right.

NEW Challenge - Blue Summer Sweater

This Jones New York purchase dates back to last fall, a really good sale price and a 15% off coupon at Lord and Taylor. A white tank and white jeans and white Riekers complete the stylin' nurse look. It was over 100 degrees the day I wore this, and I'm glad I only had to go outside for a few minutes. Even our hefty building AC couldn't compensate for the heat, humidity and the dozens of extra people seeking relief in the library.

Hanging in my closet for nine months without a wearing; that is the price of shopping on sale. The sweater is basically see-through, and looks very odd over a print, which limits its wearability, but it looked so good with white that I didn't mind it being a specialist. It would fly with ivory, and possibly black, too.

Jacket and a Skirt, Rinse and Repeat

Bored now.

Monday:

Brown linen Talbot's jacket, chiffon Loft sleeveless top, ivory linen Talbot's skirt, red born flats. I do love that skirt. I bought it at the tail end of October last year, and this is the first time I've worn it. It has horizontal raw edge tucks, which are interesting in their own right, and also conceal the inevitable wrinkles. (Ben took this picture, which is why both my head AND my feet are visible. The limits of where you can put a tripod in my kitchen are apparent.)

Tuesday: the exciting PANTS variation!

Yellow Talbot's cardigan, white L & T tee, white RL jeans, cognac Chiang sandals, Alexander McQueen knockoff scarf. I adore the scarf; not just leopard spots but little skulls!

$29 via Shopstyleinch on eBay!

Wednesday: I didn't even bother photographing that ensemble. Brown denim jacket, green and brown floral skirt, green drape-neck tank, brown sandals. Perfectly presentable, just not very interesting.

Thursday: 

Black linen Talbot's jacket, polka dot RL top, orange silk Talbot's skirt, black suede kitten heels.  This outfit is a spin on this orange and navy combo, which in turn is an interpretation/happy coincidence of this magazine cover:

Relatively few of my choices are influenced by library literature. Nonetheless, someday I will achieve this look, circa 1972:

 








 

 

Not at All Like a Wimbledon Judge

A trip to Shop & Save was in the cards today, so I chose walking shoes and worked from the ground up. These are Rieker's, mostly white with pale blue suede trim. I call them my croquet shoes because I bought them for a croquet tournament that I organized for the library six years ago.

Happy feet.

Rieker's are comfortable, but you have to embrace their weird, wacky style. I went round and round about buying these. "Do I look nursey?", I asked a friend. "Yes, a private nurse to a very wealthy invalid, but definitely a nurse."  I bought them anyway.

I added white RL jeans and a J. Jill floral top. 

The final touch was a pale blue Talbot's jacket. And here, I thought, it gets dicey. There's been some talk in the 'verse about MMFO - Makes Me Feel Old. That item in your closet that, because of its cut or color or style, makes you feel like you are celebrating your own Jubilee. With no royal barge or extra days off.

In my mind, I was adding and subtracting points. Add 10 points for white jeans, minus 10 points for white shoes, plus ten for cool earrings, plus ten because the jacket fits perfectly, minus ten points for being so matchy. The jacket has been on the fence for a while, because this is what I see in my head when I wear it:

Pretty Wimbledon Judge

But when I got to work I was complimented twice on the outfit. I also have an idea to liven this jacket up with a leopard scarf I just acquired. Yay! I get to keep it! I didn't really want to retire it.

And by the way - I ordered the Born boots in black.