Recon Score

An outfit for work, but look at my cute skirt! I found it at Plato's Closet yesterday and it was super cute, but sadly too big for me. However, I decided to bring it home and try to make it smaller and it worked! It now hits at my natural waist (my favorite rise for skirts) and the hem is right at my knees--work appropriate! Today is a cold, misty, gray day, so I went with it and paired my black and gray neutrals, with bright tights as a nod towards the "summer" season.





Skirt: Express Via Plato's Closet, reconned by me
Blazer: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Shirt: Tricot Jolie via Plato's Closet
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Shoes: Merona (Gift)

Sunny Day in a Rainy Place

Today was a day off and I knew I wanted to wear high heels. After trying on three different skirt combos, I decided that today was a jeans day.



Jeans: Martin & Osa via Goodwill
Shoes: Mossimo via Plato's Closet
Scarf: Present
Shirt: Merona via Goodwill

Fringe for all?

I've been thinking about getting bangs for ages and I think I've finally decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Since I have wavy, thin hair I can't do the blunt-cut thick bangs that I am in love with, so I think I am going to go more for a side swept look. I'm pretty sure they will drive me crazy being in my eyes all the time, but it'll be a new experience, right? :) This is what I'm thinking (Click on the pictures to be sent to the original websites. Some of the pictures I can't remember where I got them from--if you want credit just let me know!)

Fields of Flowers

A day off=actual summer clothing!



Dress: H&M via Plato's Closet
Belt: Chico's via Goodwill
Sweater: Express via Goodwill Outlet
Shoes: Curfew via Goodwill

Vintage For Work

This is a repeat outfit for me, but I don't think I've posted it here yet...if I have, well then you REALLY know I like it! Again with the leggings--I've wanted a pair for ages, ever since my last ones bit it, and I'm very happy I finally coughed up the 6$ for a pair. I've been wearing them all the time (as you can see)!



Dress: Self-made from a vintage 50s pattern
Cardi: Express via Goodwill Outlet
Leggings: Target
Shoes: Unknown brand from France

Is it still summer if I don't see the sun?

Despite the fact that I work indoors, under fluorescent lights, in controlled temperatures all day, I am still dressing for the sunny weather outside. Today I made this green dress work-appropriate (it has a fairly deep V-neck as well as no sleeves) by layering a cute button-down floral shirt over it. I love this shirt--it's slightly too short for my tastes by itself with jeans, but the peplum-like detail at the hip, the cute little buttons, the mandarin-like collar, all sealed the deal. I added a thin belt for a bit of interest and tossed on my black leggings to compensate for the amped-up AC at work.

Packing Review

I just got back from my trip to FLORIDA yay! It was a ton of fun, but that's not the point of this blog, is it? Alright, let's go over what I packed and what worked. Even though I have been traveling extensively over the past four years, I still am not a master packer.







































































































Champion Tennis Shoes (free, from an end-0f-the-year donation pile)
Sandals: From Goodwill
Bikini: Roxy via Ross
Sunglasses: Juicy Couture via Garage Sale (2$ woot!)
White Shirt: Express via Goodwill Outlet
Grey Shirt: H&M via Goodwill Outlet
Shorts: Abercrombie via Plato's Closet
Dress: F21

Plus my traveling clothes:
Dress: F21 plus a slip I sewed in myself because honestly, why would they sell a dress that is completely transparent? (The slip didn't actually peek out the bottom in real life, this is before it was sewed in place)
Leggings: Target
Scarf: Present


What worked:
Two pairs of shoes. Walking for twelve hours a day will result in hurt feet, no matter how comfy the shoes started out being, so having two pairs to switch between was genius. I packed one pair of tennis shoes that I do wear with shorts and skirts, and one pair of sandals, and I was good to go.

One bikini. Hot weather? Always bring a bikini, even if there are no plans to go in the water (plans always arise!)

Sunglasses! I lived in these.

Shorts. I wore them so much, even under my short dress.

The amount of clothing was just about perfect (although if I hadn't brought so much white stuff/ill fitting clothing, it would have been just a tad too much).



What did not work as well:
One white dress. That is cotton. It wrinkled, got dirty, and because it's F21, the straps ended up busting off. Actually, white clothes in general--my white shirt also got very dirty, plus the light color ended up being sheer when it (inevitably) got wet at the water rides in the theme parks.

Bringing clothing I either have never worn or have not worn in ages. Yes, here in Big City it has been rainy and gloomy, so I jumped at the chance to bust out all the warm-weather clothing that has been languishing in my closet for the past year. I even brought some items that I have never worn. BAD IDEA! This resulted in straps that were too long, straps that easily broke, elastic that pinched, and necklines that were MUCH lower than I had remembered. Please. Don't be dumb like me.

Bringing short dresses but not anything appropriate the wear under them. Next time, spankies, or bicycle shorts, or something!

I *did* ask for hot weather...

On a recent three day trip for a wedding, I just wore variations of the same outfit--my striped breezy shorts (so much cooler than jean shorts, which tend to trap heat--as cute as they can be!) and a loose fitting shirt. Definitely abandoning the waistline for this trip, as well as for my upcoming week-long trip which will be even hotter and more humid, but the different silhouette is fun to play with. I *did* find that these cotton-type non-stretch shirts tend to wrinkle like crazy, but I will take wrinkles and comfort any day.



Shirt: Gap (clearance, can you believe it?)
Shorts: AE via (you guessed it) Plato's Closet
Shoes: Goodwill






















Shirt: Banana Republic Outlet
Shorts: Remixed, check!
Bag: Aldo, free via a dumpster (honestly, lol)
Shoes: Goodwill

Summer Loving of Sundresses!

A sunny day off! For me, this spelled out a sundress I haven't worn since last summer, no jewelry, and not-my-comfiest shoes (but they're so cute! Brown with white polka dots and a peeptoe!).


Dress: Unknown brand, via Goodwill
Shoes: Gap via Plato's Closet (on super clearance, too. I don't know why they were left behind with the ratty flip flops and tacky high heels, but I snatched them up right away!)

Waistline? What waistline?

Today was the first truly warm day in a long time, so as soon as I got home from work I threw on this dress and eschewed my normal belting-at-the-waist routine for very casual and comfy look.

Dress: H&M via Plato's Closet
Shoes: Unknown from France

Black as Night

A day off from work that required slouchy clothing, not heels and pearls. The weather was cloudy, drizzly and gray, and I decided to go with it instead of fighting for cheerful--besides, I miss my predominantly black (or charcoal gray) outfits of earlier this last winter (the same outfits that prompted a wardrobe makeover after I realized that almost every day practically everything I wore was either black or dark denim).



Sweater Top: Tricot Jolie via Plato's Closet
Sweater Wrap: Chico's (actually from the store, not via another second hand! *gasp* Although it was super on sale, definitely not full price. AND it was completely worth it. This is the sort of item that I was talking about when I wanted to increase quality of the clothing in my closet.)
Jeans: AE via Plato's
Boots: Steve Madden from Nordstroms (again, quality is worth it!)

Cleaning Shop

The fuzzy peach sweater I posted about all of three posts ago? I returned it. Cute, I liked the look, but after further review the pastel tones of the peach just weren't doing it for me. Plus, so specific! To only be able to pair it with skirts that rested at the natural waist in colored that coordinated with pastel peach? I'm not sure what I was thinking. However, my other purchases are still much loved--the houndstooth jacket was a bit touch and go, but it's a neutral and I do love my blazers, even as much as I've been favoring cardigans recently, and it just fits so well! Plus--warm.

Now I've started planning for my upcoming trip to FLORIDA! It's going to be hot, which I am very much looking forward to after the dreary disappointment of a summer that we've been having lately. I'm thinking shorts, breezy shirts, a few dresses, maybe a skirt, plus some fun accessories and my trusty sneakers (not the prettiest, but comfy for walking around all day!). This will be the first time I've packed for a trip to someplace hot--usually I am traveling in the winter and my packing includes various thermals, underarmour (which I put on at the beginning of the trip and rarely take off for the duration of the trip), fleece jackets, gloves, hats, and a coat. Usually I am wearing most of my items of clothing at the same time, but even so my pack can get heavy. This time I'm imagining my 'to pack' pile to be teeny tiny! (excited!)

I also realized that it's been awhile since I've done a goal countup, so let's see how I've been doing...
Exercise: I've been biking to work every morning, which is an hour bike ride, and have been either biking back or catching a ride back. That plus I'm still running around at work and I've been doing alright.
Vitamins: err...well, I'm doing ok. I'd say I take them maybe twice a week, but I really need to up that to five times a week. I need my nutrients!

Cleaning in High Heels? How 50s Housewife of me...

Not working=high heels (even though all I'm doing today is cleaning house and cooking!)




Sweater: The Limited via Plato's Closet
Dress: H&M via Plato's Closet
Tights: Target
Boots: Faded Glory via Goodwill
Belt: Target

Goal Recap

I also wanted to recap how I've been doing at filling the 'holes' in my closet as I described in a previous post. Here is what I was looking for:

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).

Alright...

Nice shirts for work: Have definitely bulked up that area. I am still keeping an eye out, because, hey, shopping for shirts is easy and fun, but this is no longer a desperate need anymore. The ones I want to keep an eye out for are more casual--nice, but not formal. Definitely no collared shirts, because I do have a few of those and am guessing I won't be wearing them as much, given the laid-back atmosphere of the school.

Comfy shoes: No sandals yet, but I don't think we're really going to get a summer this year (you might think I'm joking, but...no. It's been raining or cloudy almost every day so far, and I honestly doubt it'll get nice for any long period of time for the remainder of the summer).
I do have several pairs of high heels, of varying comfortableness, but I'm thinking that flats are really going to be the way to go for school (sob).
I bought one pair of comfy flats (still breaking them in as they are still a bit stiff across the top, but they are SO CUSHY!) and will be on the lookout for one more in a neutral as my 'unknown brand from France' shoes are starting to fall apart (starts bawling) (although I suppose after heavy wear for three years they've definitely had their money's worth).
As for another pair of boots--I still would love a cognac-colored pair of flat boots and might try to snag a pair in the back-to-school sales, but Mr. P might just guilt me out of it with all the money I've been spending (let's face it, a nice pair of boots is probably going to run upwards of 80-100$, even on sale, and I doubt Mr. P will swallow that now).

Tights: CHECK. I have scored big time from Plato's Closet and have nicely rounded out my tights wardrobe. I obviously will still be keeping an eye out for Hue tights on sale (Nordstrom's Rack sometimes gets them in for insanely cheap prices) but let's consider this one a big DONE.

Belts (non-elastic, professional looking): Somewhat check. I have the cognac-colored one from Target that I am in love with (I think it is the only belt I have bought full-price and it was SO WORTH IT), and I bought a skinny brown leather one with antiqued-gold studs (it is pretty cool) from the Goodwill, but I would like to have a dark brown thicker belt to go at the natural waist. I will be on the watch for that, but overall I feel that this category is pretty well done.

Non-black blazer: Haha, yup. Just did it. Done.

Grown-up Jewelry: Hardly touched this one. I have so much jewelry that I usually don't even look at the jewelry section of any store I go to, but almost all of my jewelry is practically the same (pendent on a silver chain, of varying lengths). I did buy a pretty cuff bracelet at Plato's, but that's the only bit of jewelry I've bought. I would love to get a statement necklace in a neutral, something a bit more than a thin chain or a thin string of beads. Also, I would love a statement cocktail ring (something cute, not tacky or obviously cheap).


Sum up: The only things I really should be looking for now are more casual (but still nice) shirts, a neutral-colored pair of comfy flats, perhaps a pair of flat cognac-colored boots, a dark brown belt that rests at the waist, a statement necklace and perhaps a cocktail ring.

To add on to my original list, I still want to keep on the lookout for cardigans. I have a variety of sweaters, blazers and coats, but given my propensity to always be cold and almost always be wearing a sweater of some form or another, I think this would be a good place to bulk up.

Plus, of course, I will be making those three skirts.

So really, I've done fairly well for myself. I am almost all done with my school shopping list, and I'll be taking a little break to re-coup and let Mr. P get back to a sense of normality with my shopping. Plus, there are always bills to pay!

Everyone Has A Stodgy Professor on the Inside

This is the last big item that I bought in my shopping spree--a houndstooth suit jacket. It called out to the stodgy old professor in me, crying out 'if you are a teacher, you MUST take me home.' The only thing it is missing is elbow patches, but I assume that those must be earned by countless hours grading papers with my elbows on a desk, slowly wearing through the chocolate brown and cream checked fabric. It is a neutral-on-neutral pattern in atypical-for-me neutral colors (i.e. not black or gray, my go-to neutrals of choice), but my only concern is the very structured feel to the jacket. Here I paired it with blue cords and a black sweater, but I think it would also look good with any of the three skirts I will be making. The unstructured black or light-neutral skirts will hopefully counterbalance the uber-structure of the jacket, while the pencil skirt will (I'm guessing) compliment the structure but tone down the formality of the blazer.

One thing I love--it is not black. I own three (!!!) black blazers, as well as a few other black blazer-type jackets, and this will be a refreshing change.





Blazer: American Eagle Outfitters via Plato's Closet
Sweater: (also from this shopping trip) Tricot Joli via Plato's Closet
Pants: The Merlot via Plato's Closet
Shoes: Unknown from France

(umm...yeah, the staff at Plato's definitely know me by name. I might have a problem...)