Spring Rainfall

My biking outfit! It was rather chilly, with a possibility of rain, so I went for layers. I used my new cross-body bag so my hands would be free, and fun tights for my pop of color.

Dress: self-made from a vintage 50s pattern
Belt: Target
Sweater: unknown brand, someone was throwing it out at the end of the school year at my uni
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Scarf: self-made
Coat: Jenifer (from France)
Bag: Aldo, found (literally) in a dumpster at the end of the school year
Shoes: unknown brand, France

Work work work

Work has pretty much taken over my life at this point...HOWEVER, with the dress code, I have been cultivating my 'professional-cute-yet-hip-and-appropriate-for-high-end-retail' LOOK! Here is what I am wearing today.


Shirt: Loft via Plato's Closet
Cami: F21
Sweater (omg I love this sweater): Limited via Goodwill (and in new condition, too! Just got this one last week)
Pants: Unknown, have had them since HS
Shoes: Champion via someone was throwing them out at the end of this last school year, and they are in awesome condition!

Hopefully I will be more on it with updating--my schedule is still super wonky, but I am getting into the swing of things. Work is fun, but very hectic!

Now, let's look at my goals:
Vitamins: check! yay.
Exercise: haven't been running in ages, but have done some random hiking, rock-climbing, and at work I am literally running around or speed walking for almost all of my 8hr shifts. I would say I am doing ok.


My shopping has been great so far, haven't spent too much money (although I am *this close* to placing another order at Fyrinnae...it's so hard when it's only 20$ for an amazing haul of goodness! I don't want to lie, I'll probably place my order later tonight. I don't really need any of it--but do I really need most of the stuff I buy?--but it would make me exceedingly happy. Plus, I'm finally ordering some every day wearable colors! Taupe eyeshadows! Neutral lipstain! Oh, plus some eyeshadows that are orange, chartreuse and...oh yes...more orange. BUT mostly everyday wearable! :] ) I am mostly waiting for my first payday, in 5 days (countdown? noooo...lol). I plan to buy a few bras (which I really do need to do soon), and to keep trawling the thrift shops for my list of teacher clothing.

!!!

I just won a prize from the No-Shop Challenge over at 365 Fashion Rehab! I am SO EXCITED! Vintage Coach purse, HERE I COME!!! *ahem* Yes, Plummy is super stoked about this. I would also like to apologize for the recent sparsity of posts--I just got an awesome retail job, but it is full-time with a weird schedule, in addition to another part-time job I am working, plus meetings for my teaching job and out-of-town guests. It's been hectic, to say the least. BUT but but BUT I am very very excited about this bag--Yay! Participating in the No-Shopwas a lot of fun and very enlightening, and while I am still on a super-slim shopping budget (until my first paycheck at least, when all hell may let loose) I definitely have a clearer idea of what I like, what looks good on me, and what I actually need in my wardrobe (with need, of course, being 'lust for' and 'want,' as I really don't need anything).

Yay!

Opposites Attract?

This is an example of how the exact same outfit can work for the summer (on the left, with bare legs and flats) and for the winter (on the right, with my new kickass tights and heels). This skirt is pushing shortness for school, so I would never wear it with bare legs and heels in a school setting. However, with the darkness of the tights, the fun heels add a nice pop! Outerwear is the only other thing to change between these two outfits. This shirt is a new one I got in my recent shopping trip--it is Ann Taylor Loft from Plato's Closet, and while on first glance it appeared to be an old lady shirt, on second I was liking it, and after trying it on with my wardrobe I *love* it! The background is creme (neutral!), and the dominant colors in the pattern are cranberry and teal (my primary and secondary colors in my wardrobe). It goes with so many things in my closet.
Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft via Plato's Closet
Skirt: Nordstrom via St. Vincent Thrift
Gray Shoes: Unknown brand, from La Halle de Chaussures in France
Tan Shoes: Covington via Goodwill
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet (new)

Leopard Awesomeness

I am re-posting part of this from my reply on the 365 Fashion Rehab thread. My shopping day!

I was very proud of myself for shopping with a plan! Instead of just looking around and buying whatever caught my eye, I had a list of both articles of clothing to look for and color stories to stick to. You can look at my blog for the in-depth description, but I went through my closet and counted up how much I had of everything--that was a shock, lol. Then did editing, then listed what I need for the work year (since summer clothing was not needed at ALL, lol), and last of all picked my color story (bright coral and cranberry, with plentiful neutrals and accents of turquoise).

Today I ended up buying 2 dresses, 2 shirts and 1 pair of tights from Plato's Closet, 1 pair of awesome flats from Naturalizer, and 2 shirts from Banana Republic Outlet (and man, are their prices good!). AND they all are teacher-appropriate and fall within my color range, woohoo! Total damage: about 70$, thanks to amazing sales and a small gift card I had stashed away (which thankfully survived my 6 weeks of No-Buy--at one point I had almost convinced myself that spending a gift card wasn't spending 'real' money and therefore wasn't shopping. Thankfully, that delusional state didn't last).

Now, I'm also going to do something I haven't done before--look at the pieces I just bought in the context of my wardrobe and decide if they function with what I already have, above and beyond how they look on me (it's like a revelation, lol).

AND upon further review, I decided to return BOTH dresses. Cute, but didn't follow fit in nicely with my other pieces of clothing. More money to buy more tights! lol...

Here's an outfit post for when I am teaching. You might recognize the skirt as a dress I have previously worn on this blog. I was concerned that it might be a bit short for work, but when I sit down it doesn't get shorter, so I think it's ok, especially worn with (my new awesomely-awesome) flats.






Dress: Goodwill
Shirt: H&M via Goodwill
Belt: Target
Sweater: Express via Goodwill Outlet
Shoes: Love them! Super comfy. Naturalizers (on sale!!!)

Oh So Excited

I am so excited to go shopping tomorrow...on one hand, I feel that it is rather sad that I am so excited. On the other hand, I've spent six weeks with no shopping, and I love shopping! It's definitely more about the thrill of the chase than the final items, which is one reason why I think I love thrift shopping so much. The chase is so much longer, but the rewards can be so great! Tomorrow I am grabbing those Hue tights I found on sale, plus going to some outlet stores with my mum that I haven't been to before--including Banana Republic Outlet, Gap Outlet, Ann Taylor Outlet (although sadly not Ann Taylor Loft Outlet), and Nordstrom's Rack. I have made my list, know what I am searching for, and have an insanely small budget to go along with it all. Yay!

List-o-mania

As promised, an inventory of my closet:

Pants: 7 total
--Jeans: 3
--Cords: 1
--Cargo: 1
--Slacks: 2
Shorts: 3
Sweatshirts: 2
Coats: 5
Blazers: 3 (all black)
Long sleeved work-appropriate shirts: 9
Casual long-sleeved shirts: 5
Work-appropriate skirts: 4
Casual skirts: 10
Sweaters/Cardigans: 9 total
--Shrugs: 2
--Casual-only: 3
--Work appropriate: 4 (only one of which is long-sleeved and any amount of warm)
Casual short sleeved shirts: 31 total
--T shirts: 5
--Tanks: 8 (in my defense, I just got 5 for free from a trash bin)
--Camis/Layering shirts: 9
--Other: 7
Work-appropriate short-sleeved shirts: 9
Work-appropriate dresses: 8
Casual dresses: 13 total
--Can be worn as a tunic for work (with a sweater): 3
--Can be worn as a skirt for work: 1
--Neither, just casual-wear: 9
Formal dresses: 3
High heels: 7
Flats: 9
Boots: 4
Swimsuits: 2

Hmm...seems a lot more than I realized, looking at my closet. I think it's because many of the things I own have qualifiers attached (this can only be worn with a sweater on top because it exposes too much, these shoes are falling apart and can only be worn on very casual days, etc) so I feel like I have less. For example, look at my sweaters/cardigans number: 9. That seems like more cardigans than I should need. However, 2 of those are shrugs that I rarely wear (what's the point? They look wintery, with their color, but don't give any warmth and you can't wear anything over them!), one is a cropped knit thin thing that is from AE, falling apart but I wear it because I don't have anything better, one is a long vest (no warmth!), one is too child-ish for work...and then we are left with 3, one of which has 3/4 sleeves and is very light (although pretty), one is very sporty (not work appropriate, but I love it and wear it all the time) and the other is standard gray knit (which I just got for free from the trash!).

I'm sensing a purge coming on to eliminate these problems...Especially in tanks. I do not wear tanks very often, I got 5 from a trash bin (no joke), and I do not need this many.

Alright, holes in my wardrobe. Definitely warm sweaters. I am a sweater girl, I am almost always cold, and while I love my zip-up dearly, it shouldn't come with me to work unless it is a casual field-trip day. I really need more than one thin gray sweater. I definitely want to look for neutrals in all my clothing, neutrals that ARE NOT BLACK because I just have black and a whole lot of color (better than earlier this year, when I JUST had black).

Another hole: work appropriate skirts. 5? And they are all colors, too--rusty orange, purple plaid, BRIGHT purple (don't know what to pair it with!), hunter green (looks very severe, it's my fall-back interview skirt), and cranberry. Neutrals again! Plus, they are pencil skirts (except one, which is an A-line), so I will keep an eye out for fuller skirts that will allow for a greater range of motion during teaching.

I definitely want to keep my eye out for: nice shirts for work, comfy comfy shoes (sandals, high heels, flats, maybe some more awesome boots), tights (hopefully will be covered as per my previous post, but always good to look for!), belts (non-elastic! professional-looking), maybe some non-black blazers, and grown-up jewelry (least emphasized).

Well...at least I shoot for high goals. :) Plus, I have all summer to look through thrift shops for these items!

The grass just might be greener...

Hi everyone! *crickets chirp* Sorry I've been away--I just moved across the state to Big City, am getting settled and am ironing out my summer job (by ironing out, I really mean finding it from scratch completely). It's interesting seeing all the different opportunities out there--I have two prospectives that would both be fun, but we'll see if either of them want to hire me. :) But anyways, with all that hullabaloo, posts have been few and far in between (and outfit pics will be sparser). Good news--the weather is beautiful here in Big City, much better than the dreary winter weather we were getting over in College Town. That means skirts, short sleeved shirts, and--dare I say it--bare legs!

My fashion rehab is almost over (only one more day!) and I am very excited. I still won't be able to spend much money, due to many large recent expenses that Mr. P and I are still recovering from, but I have my eye on a few things. The most exciting is--HUE TIGHTS FOR SUPER CHEAP! And by super cheap, I mean 6$ as compared to 12$. Plummy is very excited. That is Saturday's mission and hopefully they will not be all sold out. (And in fun colors, too!)

One of my upcoming projects (one of many) is to take inventory of all the pieces of clothing that I have. In packing and unpacking, I discovered that 1. I have way too many summer dresses and items of summer clothing. I am not allowed to buy any more. 2. Most of my skirts and dresses are too short for work, even some that I thought were work-appropriate. 3. I really don't own very many nice shirts at all!

However, I have recent renewed faith in second-hand shopping, and will be trawling the many, many thrift shops in Big City to look for work-appropriate, high-quality items. If my spirit is suitably crushed by the time August rolls around, I'll go shopping full-price...but shopping second-hand is so much fun! All those treasures, waiting to be discovered.

Shirt: Banana Republic via Goodwill Outlet
Scarf: Gift
Belt: From the tanneries in Fez
Skirt: Selfmade
Tights: F21
Boots: Goodwill

Simple, but I enjoy it. You can't really see the coral-colored necklace I am wearing in the picture, but it really does pop in real life.

My awesome shoes sold out at Zappos. My heart is crying...I will *definitely* be on the hunt for something similar after the No-Buy is over. 10 more days!

Shirt: AE sweater via Goodwill Outlet
Dress: Ross
Tights: F21
Shoes: Steve Madden
Necklace: Goodwill


Goal Count Up:
Exercise: Yesterday walked a TON. Today=Finals day.
Vitamins: Yummy yummy.

Lessons in Proportions

Ok, so this definitely isn't my most flattering look. However, I am posting it here to figure out why it is not the best look for me. I think it is because one of my favorite features of myself is my small waist, and here the sweater stops at the bottom of my ribcage, not my smallest area, and then the dress hangs straight down, giving the illusion of a thicker waist. The proportions also seem off--I'm thinking a longer sweater, belted, would have been a better choice. However, I do love the gray tights--I have worn brown before, but it always ends up looking too matchy-matchy.






Sweater: AE via Goodwill Outlet
Dress: Unknown via Goodwill
Tights: F21
Shoes: Merona
Camisole: F21

Vintage Yummy

Excuse my pink slippers! This is what I wore a few weeks ago when we still had warm, springtime weather (as opposed to the rain/hail/snow mess we've been having). I enjoy this dress, it combines my love for 50s silhouettes with the safari spring trend I've been seeing.

Dress: Selfmade from a vintage 50s pattern
Earrings: Gift


Goal Count Up:
Exercise: Ran 1 mile. Wanted to run more, but had a killer side cramp. Anyone have any idea how to stop those? I'm breathing slowly, so that's not the problem...
Vitamins: Yesterday

Belted

This is my first time wearing a belt at my natural waist, while still wearing shorts/pants that set a lower waistline. I wasn't sure if I would like the 'double waist' effect but it turns out that I do--it gives more definition and adds something extra. I also enjoy the tights + shorts combo--not many people are doing it here at State University, but I think it's something that's fun and a bit different.

Finals week coming up, which means dressing extra nice for extra confidence. I'm anticipating blazers, skirts, and heels. Almost done with school--so hard to focus on studying!


Buttondown Shirt: F21 via Goodwill Outlet
Undershirt: Old Navy
Shorts: Self cutoff, AE
Tights: Target
Belt: From Morocco
Shoes: Merona

I do love my neutrals...

Confession: Although I love this shirt, I just donated it to the Goodwill--it's super cute, but slightly too small for me and always ALWAYS rides up, which I hate. I love the color combo of white and light gray though, and the stripes were a welcome pattern in my closet of solids. I'll be keeping my eye out for something reminiscent of this that actually fits once I am shopping again.


Shirt: Goodwill Outlet (so really, with me re-donation, it's like a catch and release program for clothing! lol)
Vest: F21
Pants: AE via Plato's Closet
Shoes: Unknown from France



Goal Count Up:
Exercise: Weekend, plus weekend before finals, so I am off the hook
Vitamins: Check

No Buying Allowed!

This morning I went to a bi-annual garage sale that is hosted by my University. I always go with one of my friends, and I wasn't about to let this year be an exception because I'm on a No-Buy! We got there, I helped said friend look for shelving units and tables (weirdly, none to be had), and I naturally gravitated towards the clothing. I actually did find two things that I enjoyed--a short sleeved gray sweater and a leopard-print sweater--but I stopped, thought to myself 'do I love these enough to fail my No Buy?' and ultimately the answer was 'I don't even love these enough to want to incorporate them into my work wardrobe.' So, I placed them back in their bins with no regret and continued on my merry way. I think the main effect the No-Buy has had on me is just to re-evaluate what I actually want to incorporate into my wardrobe--what is worth it to be included in my precious closet space.

Outfit of the day (well, of awhile ago)

Blazer: Marc for Marc Jacobs, via Nordstrom Rack--quite a bit, compared to what I normally would pay (this cost 60$), but then I realized--I physically could not make this for 60$, with just the cost of materials, not even including time. Plus, it's super cute and awesome for interviews!
Belt: Unknown brand, from Plato's Closet
Dress: Selfmade
Tights: F21
Boots: Steve Madden