Ah, Indian Summer

Today it got up to 79 degrees. Everybody went out to lunch to celebrate the lovely weather, with the trees burning brightly all around us, mums glowing in every garden bed, a softly angled sun beaming down at us.

And of course, this morning we stared at our closets looking for warm-weather but still Fall-ish clothes. I wore black stretchy pants, a champagne silk tunic, my plastic "tortoise-shell" necklace, and leopard calf-hair flats.

No coat, no socks!

Tomorrow it will be warm, but rainy. And then it is supposed to drop to the 30s. These balmy moments are even finer because of their brevity.

Raspberry and Black

I have great affection for this rayon blouse. It's at least twenty years old, chock full of pretty embroidered details and ruffles, purchased from J. Jill when the brand was much better quality, and for years it was my go-to outfit for parties. This and a pair of jeans and boots and I was all set:

Darren, Ben and me at D's 50th birthday.

It seems immortal, perhaps because I only wear it a few times a year. The skirt is a super-flattering Talbot's double-knit pencil skirt.

Here's an over-exposed detail of the sleeve. Pretty.

And I'm wearing my Lia Sophia cross.

Third Strike for the Military Jacket

Sigh. I'm just not feeling it, as the kids say. I like the concept, the color, just not the execution. I'm going to put this jacket in the coat closet, and wear it as a light jacket on weekends. Maybe a sage green fitted cardigan would work better?

What I was aiming for is the tough/girly combination look, which I like so well on others. Here's Sally in the best example ever, but I can't love it on me, despite having tried virtually every arrangement seen on Sally. Which I hope is the sincerest form of flattery, and not stalking.  

And Another Thing I Want . . .

I have a short-sleeved leopard print chiffon tee that I made a couple of years ago and wear fairly often. It fits under jackets, even sweaters, and is light enough to wear in summer. It is machine-washable and has a flattering draped neckline that elevates it slightly. It has to be tucked in because the hem is kind of ragged, and that is why I have been looking for something to fill the same role in my closet.

But NO DICE. Everything either is cotton (too stiff or bulky), or has long sleeves, or has a weird collar, or is too expensive, or has a mystery animal print. There's a lot of snakeskin out there this year, people. So I'm adding that to my list of wardrobe goals for 2012, now amended to: 
  
1.  Casual, hooded, short-ish, warm coat   $100

2.  Brown-ish handbag  $45 and real leather!

3.  Beige ankle boots   $105

4.  Red short boots

5.  White lace tee

6.  Leopard-print top 

7.  Leather gloves with Thinsulate lining

If you see the leopard-print top somewhere on your shopping adventures, let me know! 

Is this list closed for 2012? I'm not sure. I've been looking at lots of tall brown boots. I had a pair of Markon riding boots that laced up the back, and I finally weeded them this year. They were at least 15 years old. They're definitely not a need, but, well, they'd be COOL. I actually tried a fabulous pair on at Lord and Taylor, but they ran a little narrow for comfort. BCBGeneration Janiss, seen from the back:

$200 at Amazon and various retail stores

Seriously, those were fantastic-looking boots. But for that price, they should also be fantastically comfortable.

Olive and Gold

I didn't actually wear these BCBGeneration booties with this outfit (I wore the Kenneth Cole moto boots), but they had arrived when I got home and I thought they'd look cute with the bronze-y Athleta corduroy skirt.

I think they work. I have on olive tights, my tweed jacket, and an olive Talbot's tee underneath. Man, I wish I had bought that tee in every color they offered. I did at least buy it in green and brown.  Here's a closeup of the bootie.

See, they're suede in front and a distressed crackly gold leather in the back. Business up front, party in the back, baby! I have a terrible weakness for gold shoes, but they're hard to find in a style that looks modern. I'm very pleased with these.

Love Your Body Day 2012

Today, I will leave it to others to speak to how powerful and important it is to love your body. I support that for others, but I'm self-involved enough as it is. I appreciate that I'm well-proportioned, that I am very healthy, that I have "good" hair. That works for me.

What I am very grateful for is getting comfortable with my body. I can look at it or think about it without much emotional baggage. (That is my latest favorite book title, Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim by Lisa Scottoline.) Getting older has been a large part of that; not only learning to dress my body but also learning to see the big picture of health and happiness. Nearly a year of photographing myself has also broken down a lot of layers of, well, shame isn't too strong a word. I hope I can explain this feeling.

I walk out the door having put a lot of thought into how I look in the aggregate sense; shopping carefully, weeding my closet, evaluating on a daily basis how everything looks through the camera lens. I get a regular haircut, I wear makeup, I exercise a bit, I try to smile more, I stand up straight (Mom would be proud). Not dissimilar to doing all the digging and raking and weeding and planting in your garden, and then sitting on your deck with a cold beer and enjoying the fragrant breeze.

But in the daily sense, I try not think too much about how I look. I trust that months of thoughtful clothing choices will do the heavy lifting, and good habits will also help out (see; posture and smiling), and then I stop wondering if anyone else is evaluating me.

That was impossible for me as a teenager. I thought everyone was watching and judging me. I doubt I would have believed anyone who told me differently. Maybe my peers were, but they were doubtless judging themselves much more harshly.

So that's my tiny nugget of wisdom. Do the prep work and then relax and enjoy the moment. You look just fine*.

* Thanks, Lyds!

Black and Blue and White

Obvious, easy and sharp. I get a lot of mileage out of this Talbot's cardigan, don't I? I'm wearing drapey black crepe pants, a white button-front shirt and the workhorse sweater, all from Talbot's, and heeled ankle boots from Anne Klein.

i tried to get a shot of my fluffy chiffon pin, but did so while I was wearing it (badly) and then didn't want to take the time taking it off, shooting it, and then putting it back on. It has a fussy clasp.

Try not to be blinded by my collar.

 Next time I'll wear a black and white scarf that I bought a while ago - polka dots!