White, Olive and YELLOW

Sometimes clothes are just clothes, you know? There is no compelling tale about yesterday's outfit. My Athleta skirt may look dark brown in the photo, but it is a dark olive green. I'm wearing a white ribbon yarn sweater from J. Jill (over a white tank), and those great yellow Miz Mooz sandals. The sweater is very airy, so is a good choice for a warm but not stifling day. 

I love being so tall.

Nine West watch (Amazon) and yellow quartz ring (eBay).

Shell and wood bead necklace (Kohl's)

Cheerful feet!

Even on a "just clothes" day, it's satisfying to take pleasure in the accessories. Tomorrow I get my hair cut, which will also be a happy thing. I also have the semi-annual Rotary dinner for new officers (I am one) and am mulling over what to wear to that. *sigh* Sometimes I think men have it so easy with suits. And then I think of my shoes and feel that men's sartorial lives are sad and empty.

 

Black and White, Artist Style

This is my homage to Picasso, or perhaps Van Gogh, out in the hot Tuscan fields in loose, cool linen. I need a straw hat and some paints. 

Jones New York trousers, Loft scarf, Talbot's peasant top. I liked this top so much that I also bought it in black crossdyed linen, so I can reverse this outfit with white jeans. I have on red earrings, a red shell ring and red Born flats to keep from being monochromatic. The scarf is perfect in my air-conditioned office.


I don't normally wear all-over-loose-and-flowy. I tend to be fitted in at least one third of my look, whether it is skirt, pants, top. Even fitted boots qualify. On a hot, sticky day, however, you just want as little material as possible touching you.


Which leads me to another thought and a link to a great post. Chicago Tribune writer Amy Guth contributed a post on Dressing Room Choices at Already Pretty, a blog (and lovely human) whom you know I revere in every way. I'll summarize, but I hope you'll also read her full post.

When you try on clothes at the store, turn your back to the mirror. 

Think about how you feel, how the fabric moves, how the color and details appear from your perspective. THEN turn around and catch a glimpse of your reflection. NEVER watch yourself getting dressed. This is my own caveat because it is one long opportunity to flinch and criticize. 

In my Skokie house, I could circle around through the kitchen, dining room and living room (not as far as it sounds - it was a little house) and "surprise" my reflection in the full length mirror on the bathroom door. In this way I saw myself moving, not static, and all at once.  In the condo I don't have the same runway approach, but I still try to get the outfit on the move, then compare my view to what the camera sees. Huh. I kind of miss that tour of the house on my way to the mirror. 




 

Truly Purple and Peach

This sweater always photographs as a royal blue, when it is in fact purple. REALLY purple. If you like it, buy it now, it is only $24 at Talbots online. I also own it in green. Underneath it I have this lovely new top that my sister-in-law sent me for my birthday. It's from the Lauren Conrad line at Kohl's.

I had seen someone online wearing purple over peach and it looked so sharp - I'm afraid I'm not quite capturing it here. The top is great, though, a mix of knit and chiffon "petals" with a baby cap sleeve.

White linen pants and (invisible) beige Earthies.

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!