Why blog about how awesome Maine is when you can rant instead?

Sorry I've been out of the picture for so long, everyone!
I definitely let blogging inertia get the better of me, to the point that I've done so many cool things in Maine that I should blog about, that the backlog is absolutely paralyzing. So I'm just going to ignore all the stuff I should be writing aboutand say in short that Maine is awesome, the food and outdoor opportunities are amazing, and I've been taking full advantage of them. This summer was temperate and beautiful and with the exception of a few gross cold rainy days (like today) this fall has also been gorgeous so far. Whew! Glad to have that out of the way!

Now I'm going to blog about something that has been weighing heavily on my mind. Sweatpants. You see, I don't own any. And on gross, rainy days like today, it's proving to be a problem. I own tons of hooded sweatshirts and fleeces, but aside from a pair of oversized trackpants from New Zealand (courtesy of the husband, who is objecting to the title "Dr. Hubby") and a pair of fleece pants (also slightly too big) I got on super sale at the North Face Outlet in Freeport (how can I pass up anything North Face for $20?)- I have nothing to keep my bottom half warm.

I was looking online for sweatpants and I realized exactly why I don't have sweatpants. They are ridiculous nowdays. The most striking example of this is, of course, the Victoria Secret Pink line of sweatpants. For $42 you can wrap your butt in $2 worth of jersey fleece, decorated with enough hearts to make cupid say "That's a bit much." There's also an $80 dollar option for all you One Percenters who'd like to add $5 worth of sequins to one of your legs.
I thought that this was the height of misplaced vanity until I realized that Abercrombie and Fitch have an entire page devoted to detailing the 6 different fits of women's sweatpants that they offer. I'm sorry, "super skinny" sweatpants aren't sweatpants- they're really ugly leggings that you can't wear with anything b/c they've got a freaking drawstring messing up the line at the waist. And for a mere $40 to $70 (depending on cut), they can be yours. They don't even look warm.

Look, I'm basically giving up by even shopping online for sweatpants. My google search history makes me look fat right now. I don't care how flattering you try to make an inherently unflattering style of pants- I'm still not ever going to wear them in public. And chances are, if I'm in sweatpants I'm also going to be under a blanket and therefore not worried about how my butt looks- I just want it to be warm! I just want plain grey or black pants that don't have any writing on them, don't cost an arm and a leg, have an elastic waist and banded legs, and keep me reasonably warm. I've resigned myself to the fact that they'll make me look like my grandmother. I'm okay with that.

I considered ordering a pair of Cabela's sweatpants. The logo is fairly non-annoying, the brand loyalty would appeal to the husband and at $30 they're comparitively a steal- but I really want some truly hideous old fashioned banded sweatpants. If I'm going to give up, I'm going to do it with flair! (More practically, I'm ruining the hems on all of my pants b/c they're too long- curse my shortness!)

And then it occurred to me that the problem was that I just hadn't sunk low enough to find the perfect pair of sweatpants. So I googled "Walmart" and there they are- exactly what I'm looking for. A 2 pack of boys XL Hanes Sweatpants for $9. I seriously think I'm going to have to make a trip out to South Portland to get them this weekend.

Do you like the fancy pants sweatpants, or are you, like myself, a sweatpants purist?

Vanity

It just hit me that since I'm going to New York for my 30th birthday, I need to figure out what on earth I'm going to wear!
I always feel very intimidated when I pack for Europe because I don't want to look too much like a touristy American and I feel a similar sense of intimidation regarding NYC. I definitely don't want to look like a bumpkin!
We're going to be there for 2 nights/3 days in mid-August. What should I wear? I'm thinking casual-ish dresses with sandals would be comfortable during the day and not to hot and then maybe a couple of nicer dresses with heels for dinner...

Any advice?

Thriftiness

Inspired in part by Grace, I went by a used clothing store (Glue on Oak) in search of a steal or two. I think in general the stock is more 70's polyester/costumey- but I was pleased to find that everything in the store is currently 50% off.
My favorite thing to buy at thrift stores and used clothing stores is jeans. In general, I'm never completely happy with the jeans I own and am always on the lookout for the perfect pair. I've found that a good way to get designer jeans on the cheap is to look at used clothing stores. I think they have more name brand jeans than Salvation Army type stores do these days because people know they can sell them. The other benefit of shopping for second hand jeans is that they're perfectly worn in!
On this particular shopping trip, I found a pair of DKNY jeans for $16. Sweet! Less sweet was the logo in cursive on the back pocket, surrounded by tiny rhinestones. Personally, I don't like my jeans to scream "Hey! Look directly at my right butt cheek!"
Fortunately, I know from experience (I'm looking at you, Michael Kors. Put down the bedazzler and walk slowly away.) that it's not all that difficult to remove rhinestones and logos that aren't embroidered from your jeans. Rhinestones tend to pop right off if you use your fingernails and I had good luck shaving the logo off of these jeans with a knife blade. (Mine was pretty dull so I didn't have to worry about cutting myself- if you're going to try this at home, use a cutting board!) Sometimes when I do this, I can see a little bit of an indentation where the rhinestones and logo were, but a couple runs through the washer take care of it. Of course, I didn't think to take a picture of the jeans until I was done so you'll have to take my word for it. Sorry!
As I was scraping her name off the butt of my new jeans today, I wondered who would be more dismayed by my anti-brand attitude- Donna Karan or the 6th grade version of myself who would have killed for a pair of brand name jeans (specifically, Girbaud, since it was the early 90's)?

Do you buy used clothing? If so, what are your fix it up tricks?

A bit of a rant

I watched this video on the Today Show website this morning. I clicked on the article (entitles "Is it your clothes that are making you look fat?") because I do sometimes feel like the cut of my clothes aren't the most flattering (not "fattening" necessarily, but just unflattering, if that makes sense.) I thought "Hey, maybe I'll pick up some tips for a more flattering silhouette."
No such luck.
I'll save you the time of watching the video (although I'll admit that watching Hoda and Kathy Lee huffing away on a treadmill during the segment was kind of amusing) and say that all they did was tell you to wear a good bra, spanx, tights, and a jersey dress that cinches in at the rib cage.
Rocket science? No.
Something I've never heard of before? Also No.
Comfortable? Heck No.
Worth taking time to write a whole damn book on the wearing of layers and layers of spandex under ones clothes? NO.

(They also dressed a lady in a leaopard print dress and a gold chain necklace and called it "work appropriate" which I find a little baffling.)

Does anyone else hate fashion advice that basically boils down to "Suffer or you're not doing it right?"

Tis the Season

Today is my office's Christmas party. We're having a fancy 4 course luncheon at a nice restaurant. Of course, I decided to wear something festive! This is a ruffly red plaid button down paired with a pencil skirt, heels, and a skinny black belt. It looked better tucked in with a wide black belt around the waist but there is no way I'm tucking my shirt in on a day I'm going to be eating a big meal! Excuse the low quality bathroom cell phone shot, but hopefully it captures the Christmas-y nature of my outfit!

Shelly's Christmas Gift Guide (Part 2)

I'm sure you all were waiting with baited breath for my gift suggestions for the gentleman in your life. (And if not, just leave me and my delusions of grandeur in peace.)

I really love shopping for guys. I think menswear is classic and appealing and timeless in a way that women's clothing is not (as an aside, I probably can't pull off these lady's wingtips, can I?) and there are so many neat gadgets marketed towards men! (On a related note, I gave up playing with girls toys when I was a little kid b/c my brother's toys were way more fun.) So overall, coming up with this half of my gift guide has been a lot of fun! (And right after I typed this paragraph, my friend Bonnie, who is apparently a mind reader, sent me a link to a great blog- Tomboy Style. Now I seriously want the wingtips!)

First I'd suggest you check out the new L.L. Bean Signature Collection and the new Land's End Canvas collection b/c I think they've done a good job of making these with an eye to a younger consumer. The styling is more current, and the fits are more tailored- but I think that they both have a lot of casual but classic appeal.

For dressier clothing, I'd check out Brooks Brothers and J. Press (home of the Chuck Bass scarf). J Peterman has some cool stuff if you don't mind the uncertainly of ordering something from an illustration (excuse me while I go drool over the lambskin flight jacket).

For a sportsman's kind of look- I'd go to Kevin's or Orvis.

And of course, there's always Jcrew. I've been really loving their men's shoes lately.

I'm also loving the ties and bowties from Southern Proper.

I've had good success giving men bags as gifts as well. Messenger bags, weekend bags, and shooting bags always come in handy.

As far as gizmos go, I'm always amused by ThinkGeek. I think that whiskey stones, fire starter knives, samuri sword umbrella, moleskin notebooks, a portable hammock, and a coffee cup power inverter, are all cool gifts. The entire site is worth pouring over and I think that they have a lot of stuff that's great for kids as well. I'll keep it brief, but their kitchen gadgets section alone is a thing of joy- who doesn't want a zombie head cookie jar, science themed cookie cutters, a brass knuckles corkscrew (true story I almost bought a clutch with brass knuckles as a handle at the thrift store last week!), a build your own crazy drinking straw kit, a pi ice-cube tray (okay maybe that's just me...), an egg cuber, or a pirate toast maker?

For entertainment, I like to give boxed sets of movies and TV shows as gifts. Star Wars always seems to be appreciated. (As a bonus, here's a really funny video on Talking to your Kids about Star Wars that my darling fiance sent to me last night.)

I'll wrap this up with some outdoorsy gift ideas. I shop for the hunters and fishermen in my life at Cabela's (Pretty much the only thing that makes my dad happier than a gift card from Home Depot is one from Cabela's). Sigg water bottles are great, useful gifts that come in a lot of cool colors. It's always a good idea to check out the deals on things like camping gear at Overstock.com. (Right now, there's a pretty good deal on cast iron skillets, for example.) I also think this telescope is really cool. (I think this would be a good gift for a guy with kids- my dad bought me and my brother a telescope for Christmas one year and we all looked at the stars together for years after that!) And if you live somewhere that actually has a winter- snowshoes could be a pretty cool gift as well!

Sewing Party!!

My friends and I have been completely inspired by the blog New Dress A Day, and decided to get together, take a trip to the thrift store, alter whatever we found, and wear it out! I think the results were really great!
My dress ended up needing the least TLC of anyone's, but I also tailored my friend Stephanie's dress down from a size 18 to a 6, so I definitely did my part today. I've made a few mosaics to show our before and after pictures. Overall, I will say that altering a dress is way easier than sewing a dress from a pattern, and I will be scouring thrift stores for more alterable finds in the future because this was entirely too much fun!!

My dress didn't need much work- but the bell sleeves had to go!

I did all the sewing for Steph's dress- we took it from an 18 to a 6!
Sarah T. chose a blue skirt that fit perfectly and paired it with an Eli Tahari shirt that needed some help. She removed the sleeves and gave it a new collar!Sarah L. found a very long striped taffeta skirt- it was adorable once she made it a mini!

We all also found several additional items at the thrift store that we loved and brought home. Have you ever found something amazing at a thrift store?

Dusting Off My Sewing Machine

The good thing about my general wardrobe dissatisfaction is that I've been using my sewing machine a lot more to alter my clothes that just aren't quite right. When Grace posted a tutorial on how to alter your pants- I knew that I would have to give it a try!
I had a pair of light khaki corduroy pants that fit great at the waist, but belled out below the knee in a decidedly dated way (I think I've had them since college). I also wasn't worried about ruining that pair of pants because I have lots of corduroy pants. (So comfy!) They were the perfect pant to try to alter.
You should definitely check out Grace's tutorial if you want to try this at home because I think she explains it a lot better than I do, but here is what I did to alter my pants.
First I used a pair of skinnier pants as a template and traced them on the inside of the pants I was altering, using a pencil (if you want to do things properly, you should iron and pin them. I tend to take shortcuts when I sew which is probably why I'm not really all that good at it!)

My Template

Next I sewed along that line. I flipped them inside out, checked the fit, then went back and made a few more adjustments inside (it was hard to get the fit just perfect b/c I only needed to take the pants in up to the knee- the thighs were already fitted and the transition from stitching to no stitching was a little awkward).

Gotta Fix This

Then I did the same thing on the other leg.

Right= before, Left= after

Finally, I cut off the insides where I'd sewn the pants, ironed them into a new seam and stitched that down along the cuff. I went from bell bottoms to matchstick cords!
Thanks for the great tutorial, Grace!

Eat Your Heart Out, JCrew!

In other news, I went to the mall after work today and got four sweaters (I can't find the link for one- a hot pink v-neck merino sweater from Banana Republic that I somehow got for $12 because I win at life... oh and the third sweater I linked is in black and was marked down for much lower than the one that's linked- shopping in stores is paying off!) and a dress (for $15!), so I feel like my wardrobe has become at least a bit more versatile!

Cleaning Out My Closet

Last week, we finally took our winter clothes out of storage. Fortunately, we haven't taken our summer clothes back to our storage building b/c New Orleans had a record high temperature of 88 degrees yesterday. So unfair. But anyway, I took advantage of having all of my clothes in one place and cleaned out my closet and bagged up a bunch of clothes for Goodwill. Apparently, I'd already done this with my winter clothes because I didn't end up culling many of them- but I had a lot of summer clothes that just don't make the cut anymore. It's a great feeling to be organized, at least temporarily!
I've been feeling really dissatisfied with my wardrobe lately, and although I think part of that is due to being at the end of a season (I'm sick of my summer time clothes and looking cute in transitional weather is always a little challenging) but I also think that the proportions of my wardrobe are out of whack.
What I mean by that is that a disproportionately large percentage of my clothes falls into a "casual/weekend wear" category (And by that I don't mean stylish going out clothes, unfortunately. I mean jeans and t-shirts.), while a disproportionately small percentage of my clothes could be classified as "work clothes" even though I spend more time at work than I do being seen on the weekends. (I think that I have an appropriate percentage of lounge wear/PJ's/ workout clothes and dressy dresses at least.)
I've been feeling like my work clothes are especially boring and frumpy and I'm starting to think that I legitimately need to at least get some more work tops. I really like the way dressy knit tops fit me, especially if they have a band at the waist, but I don't have very many of them. Button downs don't fit me very well compared to knit tops and I really just need to give up the pipe dream of having a fitted shirt that doesn't gap where it buttons up.
The catch is that it's really easy to buy a knit top and decide it's more suited to jeans than dress pants and relegate it to the t-shirt drawer. The other catch is that practical knit tops aren't exactly thrilling.
My dress pants aren't anything to write home about but they are comfortable and they fit. Also, I'm pretty discouraged about the state of dress pants in general after trying on the horrendous ones at the Gap last week. It wasn't pretty.
Also, I am seriously not allowed to buy any more Jcrew or Banana Republic casual T-shirts b/c I have a zillion of them.
And yes, I am a completely boring dresser. Does anyone want to be my personal shopper?

Any tips on how to spice up my wardrobe? I need all the help I can get!

I Tried on All the Skinny Jeans at the Gap So You Don't Have To

Okay, unless you are my butt twin, you probably still have to. But last night I had some time to kill before I picked my darling fiance up from the airport, so I braved the Esplanade Mall and went to the Gap. I've been wanting some work pants that have a slimmer leg than my current ancient slacks, so I went intending to try on the True Straight Pant. Unfortunately, it didn't look good on me at all. The leg wasn't much thinner than my current pants and it was too big in the waist-but I could tell that if I sized down, they'd be too small.

However, when I walked into the store, the salesperson told me that all of their jeans were 40% off that day. I did the logical thing and proceeded to try on every pair of skinny jeans in my size in the store. Then, since they were skinny jeans, I repeated the process with the size above mine. :)

(Does anyone else think it's total crap, by the way, that a given size in pants at the same store is too big in dress pants and too small in jeans?)

Actually, I've found that getting skinny jeans a size larger than my normal size consistently works well for me across brands. I have a very poorly defined waist and I've found that if jeans fit my rear and legs, they dig into my waist and create the dreaded "muffin top." (I also have a total complex about pants even making a line at my waist that you can see through an untucked shirt- I'm crazy, I know. And I never tuck in my shirts b/c it just emphasizes my total lack of a waist.) But anyway, I've found that if I size up on normal pants, the legs and rear are way too baggy once the waist fits comfortably. However, skinny jeans are tight enough that when they fit my waist, they still look good on my rear and legs.

The Gap currently has four options for skinny jeans: The Real Straight, The Always Skinny, The Forever Skinny, and The Leggings Jean. (They also offer the leggings jean with stirrups, but jeans with stirrups are an abomination and must be shunned.)

First I tried on the Forever Skinny and really liked it. It's comfortable, very skinny through the legs, but looked good and wasn't too tight through the stomach area. The rise is described as midrise- they were the highest rise of any of the jeans I tried on. (That being said- I'm happy to report that low rise does not mean what it meant a few years ago. None of the pants I tried on were as low as my hip bones, although this may be an artifact of my going up a size in all the jeans I tried.) I initially thought that these would be the jeans I ended up buying. The denim was nice and stretchy, kind of thin, but not so thin that I think they'll wear out too fast. They were very tight through the leg, which doesn't bother me, but my other skinny jeans (from Guess and Banana Republic, by way of Buffalo Exchange) have significantly more leg room than any of the skinny jeans in the 1969 line.

Next I tried on the real straight jeans. These were the most jeans like- they had the thickest denim and the widest leg (although it wasn't wide very wide). These didn't pinch my waist but seemed to have too much room in the front, if that makes sense. The pocket area was oddly bulky, which is something I've noticed about Gap Jeans in the past. These were the only ones I tried that had that problem though- but they were my least favorites of all the jeans I tried on.

Going from one extreme to the next, I tried the legging jeans (sans stirrup) next. The fit was fine but the legs were impossibly tight and I think I looked a little silly in them. Also, the fabric, while stretchy and very very comfortable, was really thin. I don't think that these would be durable, and ultimately, I already own black and grey leggings and don't see a need to own denim colored ones as well. I've seen these in a context that looks really great, but they just weren't for me.

Finally I tried on the always skinny jeans. These were very similar to the forever skinny jeans in terms of material and leg tightness but they had a lower rise. I was surprised to find that the lower rise actually looked a little better on me and I ended up getting these jeans. I kind of debated between getting them in regular or ankle length b/c the ankle length was really cute, whereas the regular was slightly long on me. However, if they shrink vertically at all, the ankle would look weird and the regular would fit, so I went with the regular. I'm planning to wear them shoved inside my awesome tall boots for the next few months anyway, and if I decide they are too long, I know a good place to get them hemmed.

The price of my jeans worked out really well too. They were 40% off and I had an additional take $10 off coupon, so all in all I got a pair of jeans for $34. Score!
This shopping trip really illustrated to me why it's a good idea to go to a store rather than just buy things online. I think I've blogged about this before but if I order something online and don't like it, I usually just keep it and try to make it work. However, in addition to the 1 pair of dress pants and 9 pairs of jeans I tried on, I also tried on 1 jacket and 5 shirts. I left with one pair of jeans that I really like, but had I been shopping online I wouldn't have bought pants (I know better) but I probably would have ended up with 3 or 4 mediocre shirts. I really hate going to malls and shopping in person, but I think that in a lot of cases, it's worth it.

Do you like to shop online or in person? Would you rather buy tops or pants? (I love tops but buying pants is like pulling teeth for me.)

Busy Bee

I'm never this productive, but tonight I've gone to the gym and lifted weights, roasted a chicken (for dinners later this week), made kale and white beans (dinner tonight plus lunch this week), washed a load of laundry, washed the dishes, and altered a skirt and a dress that I've had forever that were too big. I'm so proud of myself! I still have to iron some clothes for tomorrow and would like to read a bit more of The Secret History, but I just had to blog about everything I've accomplished.
I've really been inspired to rework some items of clothing that were less than stellar lately thanks to the blog New Dress A Day. She gets an outrageous item from the thrift store for $1 or less and makes something adorable to wear out of it every day. Amazing!
I'm not a great seamstress by any means, but I am able to alter my clothes and make things like curtains, bags, and pillowcases when the mood strikes me. (I've made a grand total of 3 dresses and a shirt as well, but that was a number of years ago.) I feel kind of bad about letting my sewing skills stagnate. The hardest step for me is actually getting my sewing machine out and setting it up. It's really hard for me to overcome my own inertia but when I do, I'm always proud of myself. And I think it's a good idea to repair or alter something I have rather than buy new clothes all the time.
So with that in mind, I've dyed a gray knit dress purple to make it look less like a nightgown, removed the waistband from a shrunken dress and worn it belted as a top, adjusted the waist of a lovely Orla Kiely skirt that was too big, and adjusted the torso of a sleeveless black knit dress that was too long. And now I'm really excited to wear them!

Have you done anything you're proud of lately?

Details

I love the shirt I'm wearing today. It's a pink button down with green, white and navy stripes and a white collar. But the reason I love it is for the tiny embroidered skull and crossbones on left cuff. It makes me feel secretly awesome.

Birthday Recap Part III: Portland

Thank you, dear readers, for hanging in there while I took my sweet time writing up this recap. I've spent the weekend prepping the house for my darling fiance's return (because of course, I didn't get around to any of the cleaning I'd planned to do while he was gone. I seem to have spent all my extra time watching episodes of Community on Hulu. Oops!)
Anyway, he's back now (so happy!) and has reminded me that I need to finish my recap, so here it is!
On Tuesday, my darling fiance had to work during the morning, so I woke up early and walked from his dorm in the West End of Portland down to the Old Port District and enjoyed a chocolate croissant and a cafe au lait in a little coffee shop called Morning in Paris. Once the shops in Old Port opened up, I did a little shopping and enjoyed a green veggie juice from the California Juice Bar. (It really hit the spot after the previous night's bacon fries!) I quickly discovered that Portland has a Lululemon!!! I'm so jealous since we don't have one in New Orleans! I have a few pairs of pants and a top from Lululemon that my darling fiance has given me, but I've actually never been to one myself. I immediately hit the sales rack and picked up an adorable running skirt. It looks a lot like the one I linked, but is a lighter shade of blue and has grey trim on the back. It's really cute and I've worn it comfortably on two long runs. I love it! I also picked up a purple headband. Happy Birthday to me!

My darling fiance got done with his work obligations and met me for lunch. We went to J's Oyster house and split a seafood plate (it had two raw oysters and two huge raw scallops, along with some crab meat, steamed shrimp, and steamed lobster claws) and a bucket of steamed clams. It was delicious.

Scallops are yummy!

Afterward, we walked around for a while and he bought me a birthday present- a Butter by Nadia dress. It's an infinity style dress which means that it has long bands on the top that can be wrapped a ton of different ways. Mine is dark purple, incredibly flattering, and wonderfully comfortable. I love it! After that, we walked back to the dorms so that I could take a nap. Once I was rested, we walked all the way to the other side of Portland to see the East End, Munjoy Hill, and the Portland Observatory.

Wearing my dress and enjoying the sunset at the East End

The View from East End
Portland Observatory

We ended our night with panini's and more french fries at Duckfat. I've eaten at Duckfat both times I've visted Portland and it is one of my favorite places. This time, I got the special panini with roast pork, sauerkraut, spicy mustard and cheese- along with duckfat fries with garlic aoli for dipping. So good!

A "Yaycation" indeed!

Finally, we walked back home and enjoyed some wine we'd picked up at the Cellardoor winery on Sunday. I also figured out that I'd walked a total of 9 miles that day!

I had an amazing birthday trip and I'm really glad I got a chance to visit Maine again. It's definitely one of my favorite places to vacation! Of course, I'd love to go back because there is still so much I haven't done!

What's your ideal birthday? Where do you like to spend your vacations?

Saturday clothes

Aside from my standard lounge wear of the same yoga pants and tank top that I wore for a little while yesterday afternoon and Thursday evening, today I wore my black bikini swim suit, with a cover up consisting of a black knit skirt and a tank top (all from Old Navy) with my black flip flops. I also wore a pair of khaki shorts from J Crew and a green cotton top that I've had for a long time (it was the one I had planned to wear on Wed. night but didn't) along with brown flip flops from Payless. I don't have any pictures of anything I wore today. Oops!
So in one week, I wore 13 items of clothing (if you ignore loung wear, sports wear, and swim wear) and 23 items if you count everything except for underwear, socks, and PJ's. This does seem like a lot to me, especially since I do re-wear lounge wear and work pants. On the other hand, It has been a very social week- going out to dinner on Wed. and swimming today added 4 items of clothing that I'd otherwise not wear. But on the other hand, I may have used more workout clothes had I not had book club on Mon. and dinner on Wed.- so maybe it balances out.
On the plus side, I think my new Keen's are starting to get broken in (knock on wood). I'm wearing them around the house right now and my feet don't hurt!

How many items of clothes do you think you wear in an average week? Do you think you could wear only 6 items of clothes for a month?

Friday Clothes

Today I got to go to Lafayette for a work trip, so I was in full dork gear. My darling fiance thinks my office polo makes me look like I work at Best Buy. I'm wearing a polo shirt (over a tank top because I think the polo is a little short), khaki pants with patch cargo pockets and my Keen hiking shoes. Note the oil rig shaped fountain in the background of the restaurant where I ate lunch. Reflections: a) short torso-ed shirts make me look like square shaped. b) I wear these same pants and shoes when I go hiking!
I am going to a friend's birthday party this evening and I will definitely be changing clothes. I will probably wear a black knit dress- so that is 4 items of clothing for today.

Thurday Clothes

I actually didn't end up wearing jeans and a top last night. I wore a long linen dress because it was really hot outside! Here's a picture of the dress (another hand me down from Steph) taken in Ft. Lauderdale a couple years ago (because anything is better than another "work bathroom" shot).

Today I'm wearing a blue print trapeze dress from American Eagle with camel colored flats. Here's a picture of it that I dug up from facebook.As far as the rest of the evening goes, I'll end up wearing a tank and running shorts to work out in, then yoga pants and a different tank for lounge wear.
Reflections: a) I love the bow on my dress.
b) It's something that my mom would disparage as "making me look pregnant" but I don't care. I love loose flowy clothes and I think that this dress works b/c the fabric is knit, which means it doesn't stick straight out from the sides of my body like a stiffer fabric would. Also, it has a bow! And pockets!
c) My short hair was so cute!

So this brings my total thus far this week up to 14 different items of clothing by the end of the day. If you leave off workout and lounge clothes- I'll have worn 7. I think that so far it's been interesting for me to keep track of what I wear. I think I do a good job of reusing my work pants and after work clothes (yesterday's lounge wear is generally at least part of today's workout wear) but I think I could do a better job of choosing shirts that wrinkle less (I wear more knit tops in the winter- it's just too hot for that in the summer and a lot of them are long sleeved) and of choosing clothes that go from day to evening.

Wednesday Clothes

Today I'm wearing the black pants from yesterday (don't judge me), a black and white short sleeved button down from Anne Taylor, and black Keen mary janes. I also brought, but didn't need, an electric blue cardigan from Alloy.
I'm going to dinner with friends this evening and plan to wear jeans, a dark green cotton shirt, and black flats.
Reflections: a) Again with the wrinkles- I promise I ironed this shirt! I'm starting to think that it's because I slouch.
b) There was a chance that I was going to have to travel to a testing lab for work today, so I'm wearing the epitome of my "nice, appropriate, but square" work look. Had I known the trip would be postponed, I probably would have worn a knit dress with the cardi and just gone to dinner in that.
c) I bought my new Keen's from Piperlime b/c they were on sale and I really want some black walking shoes. I'm also very happy with a pair of brown Keen hiking sneakers I own. This pair, though has thus far been disappointing. The arch support is wonderful, but they rub the back of my heels and blister me if I don't wear them with socks. I got them stretched at the cobbler and am wearing them with socks today and I think they are a little better, but it's always hard to tell if you are breaking something in when the initial hour or so of wearing them makes your heels hurt. I think they're better and I am persevering, but it's been a frustrating process because the last pair gave me no trouble at all! I'm hoping to wear them on a walking intensive trip I'm taking in a couple weeks, but I'm feeling a little pessimistic.


So far this week, excluding underwear and PJ's- I will have worn 12 different items of clothing by the end of the day. If you leave off workout and lounge clothes- I'll have worn 7.

Tuesday Clothes

Today I'm wearing an outfit that I've posted before (on my post regarding packing for a work trip).
It's a teal knit top from Banana Republic, black slacks from Old Navy (they may have been charcoal in the previous post, but they're the same pant in a different color), and black pointy-toe flats from target.
Reflections: a) I love this top but almost never wore it in the past b/c it was dry clean only. Then I accidentally washed it and it was fine- so now I wear it all the time. It's fitted enough to be flattering, but the band at the waist prevents me from having a weird line where my shirt lays on top of my pants (a pet peeve of mine).
b) I wear my black and charcoal dress pants from Old Navy constantly. They fit well, are comfortable, and appropriate. However, I always feel dorky when I wear dress pants anywhere after work. I think I'd ideally like some pants with narrower legs to transition from work to play a bit better.
c) I love my flats but I wish they had more padding. They're good for work but not for walking around.
For the rest of the day, I'll be wearing a tank top and running shorts to work out in after work, then a different tank top and yoga pants in the space between my post workout shower and bedtime. The workout tank will be the one I wore around the house on Sunday, and the yoga pants will be from Sunday as well.

Six

I am really intrigued by the 6 Items or Less Challenge that is sweeping the internet. I know for a fact that I couldn't do it (especially since my first thought is that everyone doing it has way better taste than I do- and more versatile accessories), but it got me thinking about what I wear in a week. So, because I'm interested, I think I'll try noting everything I wear this week (or for however long this holds my fickle interest.)
Today I have book club after work, so I made an effort to look cute. I tend to hate going straight to social functions after work b/c I feel very "square" and I'm trying to do a better job of anticipating what I'll be happy wearing out after I clock out for the day- it saves time, and prevents me from going home and madly trying on everything in my closet when I should be walking the dogs.
I'm wearing a black pencil skirt (which I've had for years and was a hand me down from my friend Heather), a fuchsia button down tuxedo style shirt that I got last year from Old Navy- the sleeves are rolled up and it is un-tucked b/c nothing looks good tucked in on me, a black camisole under the shirt, and peep toe pumps (recent hand me downs from my friend Stephanie).
Reflections: a) I love button-downs in theory, but often have trouble finding ones that fit my small frame but don't gap when I button them over my chest. Hence, the camisole.
b) Even when I starch the heck out of them, I run the risk of looking wrinkled halfway through the day. Does this happen to anyone but me?
c) I almost never wear high heels to work because flats are much more comfy. The pencil skirt looks great with heels though.
Yesterday I wore a blue patterned dress and pink and cork platform shoes (both hand me downs from Stephanie- I really love giving clothes I'm getting rid of to people I know, and fortunately for me, I have friends who do as well!) to a baby shower for a friend, then lounged around in yoga pants and a tank top (both from Old Navy) for the rest of the day.

Reflections: a) I love dresses like this, designed with a band around the ribs and a slightly A-line skirt below. They are very comfortable and flattering, but I hate dealing with a side zipper going over the two place where the dress is pieced together. I'm always in danger of pinching myself with the zipper and my arm hurts trying to contort myself to zip it all the way up.
b) I live in workout clothes when I'm at home.

Dressy

So the other day I was goofing off online and I did something I rarely ever do. I went to Ebay. Furthermore, not only did I look at Ebay, I bid on a dress. It was a Betsey Johnson dress and the highest bid was $15. I thought "What the heck" and bid $15.50, thinking that there was no way I'd actually win the dress. (I'd misread the dress as having 24 hours rather than 24 minutes left for bidding, which explains why I would think this.)
So I won the dress, and with shipping it came out to like $23. I kind of had buyers remorse about the whole thing because spontaneously spending money isn't the best of habits, and I generally don't like the way things I order online fit.
Well. The dress came in yesterday and it fits like it was made for me. It's also this really nice light weight silk that feels wonderful for summer. But the best part is that I looked at the price tag (It's an unworn dress with price tags still attached) and saw that the dress was originally $370!
I'm not sure why I was able to get the dress so cheaply- I went back and looked at the other Betsey Johnson dresses on the seller's site and they go for closer to $100, so I guess it was just a fluke. I do think it's not really the style I associate with Betsey Johnson so maybe that partially explains it.
Regardless, I really like my new dress. The fit is comfortable and flattering and I'm a sucker for a flutter sleeve. And I had to take a picture to show mom so I thought I might as well blog about it. :)