One-Step Dressing

As my friend Karen said, it's hard to call a dress "an outfit." Generally, that is why I'm in a dress in the first place, because whatever outfit I had in mind didn't work out. Last Thursday morning I had a bed strewn with rejected items and an unworn dress in my closet. It was 8:56. Granted, it takes me five minutes to get to work, but still. This is a Dana Buchman dress from Kohl's, via eBay. 

The ID really makes this outfit, n'est-ce pas?

It was like wearing pajamas all day.

Ben update: he arrived in Boston Saturday night, his buddy picked him up and they went to a bar. :-)  I was despondent Friday and Saturday, but for some reason, his text from the bar cheered me right up. He is going to have a great time. I remember feeling exactly that way when I arrived in Chicago in 1984. And look how well that worked out for me!

 

Librarian Loses Her Head Over New Shoes

I love these shoes. I intend to wear them A LOT. It is possible, however, that they weren't the best choice for a fairly conservative outfit. I kept glancing at my reflection, thinking they looked a little clunky, and not in a cute, ironic way. [Heather, you are right as usual!] Since I couldn't manage to get a decent photo that included both my face and my feet, I settled for the picture showing the shoes.

There's that Wimbledon jacket again, with a silk Talbot's skirt, and my white tee with all the bugle beads.  That tee is getting a little pitted out well worn, but the beading really fancies up a plain white tee, and I wear it all the time. 

Here is a closeup of the Miz Mooz Celine shoes (from the Amazon listing). They're a little clumpy/noisy, but not nearly as bad as some slingbacks I own, and they're very supportive and comfortable despite the height.

Also available in brown, red and PINK!

Some Fun Facts

Did you know that Rhode Island has more doughnut shops per capita than any other state? And that the residents treasure something called "coffee milk" so much that they offer it to schoolchildren along with chocolate milk and strawberry milk?

I am struggling to get a handle on Ben moving to Rhode Island in less than a week. Not a visit, not a semester abroad, but, like, going to live there. I am also trying not to make too much of a fuss around him, while still being supportive and helpful. My idea of too much fuss may be different than his, but at least there has been no whimpering.

We didn't have to face this four years ago when Ben went to college, because although he lived on campus, he came home every few weeks, or we went to visit him. Even then, I got a bit antsy after three weeks or so.

Really, I'm lucky to have such a "problem". I just read a great blog post by a parent of two disabled daughters who is finding her oldest suddenly seeking an independence the mother never thought she would have.

At any rate, I find myself lying awake, trying to distract myself from the whirlpool that is my monkey mind, and I find it is often possible to do that with clothes. Ha.

Spot the cat tail.

Bring on the voile! I only wore this yellow skirt three weeks ago, but it occurred to me that summer is shorter than I think, so I might as well trot it out again. I paired it with a navy and white striped tank (J. Jill) and an aqua cardigan (Anne Klein), and silver jewelry and (unseen) silver shoes.
 

Some Clothes and a Big Adventure

Huh. Look at the time. My days have been a little more dense than usual, with new board members coming on board (see what I did there), and a July board meeting that followed the June meeting shockingly fast, and the commencement of the budget process.

The other, and more personally significant, news is that Ben has accepted a job offer in Rhode Island. I understand that Rhode Island is quite far away from here. I understand that, in theory, I may not see Ben for many days at a time. And I am very, very happy for him to have a job, to be looking for an apartment with a college friend who is from the Isle of Rodes, to be launching himself as young people should. I myself came to Chicago with two suitcases and my five favorite record albums. Made of vinyl.

All that optimism is going a long way to making me feel better about the fact that my favorite person in the world will be nearly a thousand miles away from me.

This is exactly the push I needed to plan a vacation back to Boston, as it is a mere hour away from lovely Providence. This way I can take Ben and his pals out for lobster rolls and see more of the beautiful coast.

So earlier in the week, while I was first thinking about all this, I wore some stuff, and didn't take pictures, and it was all super cute. Here's what I did manage to capture.

I attended a visitation for a friend's father on Thursday, so I chose closed toe shoes and something more somber than I would normally wear on a 90 degree day. This is my lovely, twirly ginger chiffon skirt and my stalwart RL polka-dot top. The proportions on this top are the Golden Mean of my closet; the sleeves, neckline and hem all hit at exactly the right spot.

Then came Friday, and something related to the Box O' Pink:

I look freakishly tall here, don't I?

I had ordered a pair of twill flares in this "pink salt" color from Talbot's, but the hip pockets just didn't sit right on me, as much as I loved the color and gorgeous soft fabric. When I returned them, I stumbled upon these twill ankle pants in the same color, the only pair in the store, (probably a return) and bought them in a heartbeat. They have brass zippers at the ankles. I'm wearing them with my cloverleaf cardigan (which Jo says is THE color for fall), and some heavy gold jewelry. I love my gold bubble ring. It was about eight bucks on eBay. The watch is a Skagen, also from eBay.

Worn on one hand for photographic convenience.

There is one item left in the Box O' Pink, and I will wear it when it is NOT 90 degrees outside. Have a lovely weekend!  



 

NEW Challenge - Navy Lace Skirt

This has got to be one of the prettiest skirts I've ever owned. A deep, deep navy (it often looks black in pictures), a non-shiny and non-itchy lace, and a really flattering cut. It makes me very happy indeed, particularly because it pairs SO WELL with my beloved Talbot's navy and white lady jacket. With the purchase of this skirt, I feel I have the perfect ensemble for an important meeting, interviewing job candidates, etc. The jacket also looks nice with navy pants, but the skirt really dresses it up.

Furry head lower right.

Underneath I wore my gray t-shirt with the silver bugle beads, which is a little unexpected and more comfortable than a blouse or dressy tee. I wore swingy rhinestone earrings. Here are some closeups.

Tulips? Maybe?

But the BEST part of the day was receiving a glorious souvenir of my boss' trip to the Mediterranean. She brought me a gorgeous silk scarf from Spain. 

It is made of two panels of silk, hand-stitched together with thousands of running stitches. These threads run off to the ends to make a self fringe. I've seen this kind of stitching called kantha, and it is used on textiles of all kinds. Wikipedia says it is done in Bengal. One side of the scarf has dancing ladies and paisleys, and the other side has blocks and tiny dingbats.

Hello! Orange!

 

NEW Challenge - Green Eyelet Skirt

It isn't brand new, as I bought it on eBay, but it is new to me. I became convinced I needed a green eyelet skirt after I saw the dreamy Talbot's pencil skirt version (bright avocado!), as well as the kiwi J. Crew eyelet skirt for 2012. The Talbot's skirt sold out at full price, and the J. Crew version is long gone in my size. I went a'lookin' (suddenly I am one of the Country Bears) on eBay and found this skirt, which was cute and cheap and lined in white cotton.

I can't remember the brand - none I recognized - but it's way cute, yes? Cheap and cheerful, as they say. The scarf is from Ann Taylor Loft and the white sweater is J. Jill.

If it were a pencil skirt, then I could tuck in a button-front white or chambray shirt, which was my original desire, but this assortment is just fine. When it gets a bit cooler, I can wear a denim jacket and boots with it. today I wore silver flats that conceal my unpainted toes. Gotta give them a breather once in a while!

Pencil skirts nag my conscience a bit, because, seriously, NOTHING is easier to sew. No pleats, no gathers, no tailoring details other than a back pleat, a basic zipper, not even a set-in waistband if you find the right pattern (and believe me, I always do). They require very little yardage, and cotton eyelet is really cheap (and easy to sew). Finding the right shade of green would be a minor challenge, and, oh, taking my sewing machine out of my storage unit and into the shop for a tuneup.  

NEW Challenge - A Necklace Story!

An outfit develops from unexpected starting points. 

"I want to wear the pretty red bra." 

Um, OK then, you'd better wear a red top if you don't want to look low-rent. 

"And I have to wear pants because I need new razor cartridges." 

Fine, you haven't worn those beige linen pants in a while.

"But I promised to wear my new things one by one and nothing so far is new!"

Oh for Heaven's sake, wear the Talbot's necklace, that will look snappy with the red top.

Makes pleasant clicking noises and weighs nothing.

"Did you know there is a matching bracelet on sale at the store?"

Shut up and go to work.