tifi

Gotta love payless for that. Check out my new shoes…

Perfect way to incorporate two trends I love, but would probably never wear on my body: bold color, and patent. And these are really cute in person, I swear.

In case you didn’t know, whenever Girlie sees an outfit or accessories she likes, she says “That’s so fashion!” Over the past year or so, I really feel like I’ve come into my own fashion wise (I think I say that every year, but hey, fashion evolves, right?). I really know what I like, what looks good, and what is comfortable but stylish to me. Best of all, all of my purchases have been inexpensive as I think I have a shopping gene that prevents me from buying things full price. So, here’s my little list of “must haves”, the things that get worn often and that I never feel self conscious, silly, or frumpy in:

Dark denim pencil skirt -This skirt is so versatile and I treat it the same as jeans. I can wear it very casually with flat sandals, or do a cute wedge or heeled sandal to kick it up a notch.

Oversized, but not sloppy cardigan - Just bought a grey one on clearance and have already worn it lots!

Black v-neck sweater-I resisted buying sweaters for years and years. A part of me always thinks of a sweater as this big bulky uncomfortable thing that you just want to take off, but it’s not like that at all. My sweater possesses the three “S”. It’s simple, stylish, and sophisticated.

Trainers-The best pairs are stylish, yet uber comfortable. I’ve had luck with those by Privo and Michelle K. These are perfect for pick up, drop off, park days with the kids, and anything where I’ll have to stand or walk a lot.

3/4 sleeve raglan tops - I just realized that I’ve been buying the same style of shirt from the Gap over, and over, and over for years now! These cover my arms, the good ones have a nice length, and they’re supersoft.

Black tank top - prevents me from showing an obscene amount of cleavage when paired with another top or dress, and it’s good on it’s own.

Dark denim bootcut jeans - OK, I’ve actually been wearing these for 10+ years, but have recently (2 years ago) stopped wearing Gap jeans in favor of Levis 525s and don’t laugh, a pair called “secretly slender” jeans from JCP. I stopped wearing Gap jeans b/c I just find that they stretch out way too much. I don’t wear a belt, so I need jeans that can stay up without me constantly having to pull at the waist. Plus, $70 for Gap jeans? Who the hell does Gap think they are with these prices, exactly?

Dresses - Still the most comfortable and easy thing for me to wear, I recently picked up what I think is *the most* comfortable dress from the Gap outlet. For $30, I bought two.

This photo is classic “me”. I’m wearing one of the above mentioned outlet dresses in navy, a black tank underneath, a bright necklace, b/c I need to have color somewhere, over the top “of course they’re fake!” studs, and sunglasses (always bought super cheap b/c they have to be replaced often) b/c I’m trying to not have a ton of wrinkles around my eyes!

Items I’m thinking of adding to my wardrobe:

“Skinny” jeans - The problem here is that I really don’t like the way the hem falls (they look better on, I swear). I like to have jeans practically dragging on the floor, and the cut of skinny jeans makes my foot feel all exposed in a weird way. Plus, I would probably never wear boots over jeans, and I rarely wear ballet flats.

A wide belt - I’m having a hard time finding one I like that doesn’t just make me bulge in the wrong places. Any ideas?

“Tory Burch” ballet flats - These are just everywhere now. I mean, one day I was dropping Girlie off and there was a kindergartener with a fly bright green patent pair on! What say you?

So my brother got me these boots for Christmas. They arrived last night. They are amazingly comfortable being Rockports and all, but a little snug in the foot. They’re not too small, maybe a little narrow. I have oddly shaped feet with my toes being way wider than my heels which earned me the nickname “triangle feet” back in my ballet days, lol. I’m trying to decide if I should keep them and hope they’ll stretch out with wearing and be a bit more comfortable, or send them back. Mind you, they were less than a third of the regular cost and are no longer on sale and Amazon doesn’t do exchanges (do they?).

Here’s an excellent little interview with Dame Vivienne Westwood that I’ve seen linked around the blogosphere.

My favorite quote:

“There’s this idea that somehow you’ve got to keep changing things, and as often as possible. Maybe if people just decided not to buy anything for a while, they’d get a chance to think about what they wanted; what they really liked.”

This is so true. I rarely shop anymore, but I find that when I think about what I want/need or go to a store, I am much more able to hone in on things that are just my style. I don’t have a lot of clothes, nor do I want to. I find it much easier this way. I love that I wear most everything in my closet all the time and really like all of it, too.

I’ve been on the lookout for some cute flats to wear with jeans this fall, and I’m all about graphic prints right now. So imagine my delight when I came across this ebay seller with some of the most adorable shoes! These are my favorite pairs:

So, if I had actually won megamillions on Friday, the first time I played lotto ever, these would’ve been among my first fashion purchases. Forget the trends, I tend to go for the classics, sometimes with a twist:

DVF
I’m going to have to agree with Erica B here. DVF has been in the business long enough to know what works for a woman, and her classic wrap dress never goes out of style. In my daily life, I wear similarly styled dresses in bold prints, with ruching to camoflauge my “problem area”. This ginko print reminds me of all the ginko trees I would see all the time at my beloved BBG.

Kors by Michael Kors
I bought a pair of flat-ish knee boots last year, but instead of buying what I really wanted, I got some cheap ones. I rarely wear them. The quality shows and it’s embarrassing! I’m a person who advocates wearing well made shoes since feet can’t be replaced. I love the zipper detail on these though no one would see them b/c I am definitely not a jean tucker and never wear boots with skirts either anymore. Basically, I’m a bore!

Balenciaga Le Dix
I know it was an “it” bag a few years ago, but I still love it. It’s classic enough, I think, to wear every day, but the tassels give it a little bit of rock star edge. Love it.

Miu Miu
Oh, how I love a beautiful coat. An adorable peacoat was one of the first purchases I made when I started working eons ago. I still have the coat, it’s a shame it doesn’t fit anymore…

Now, the heels, I’m conflicted about. On the one hand, I feel that every woman should have at least one fabulous pair, but at the same time, what if they don’t work for your lifestyle? I wear heels maybe once a year, they just don’t work for trips to Target and hanging on the soccer field. But having a few pairs in my closet to pull out occasionally and see Girlie play dress up with? Fabulous! I think these kitten heeled D’orsay pumps would work as they combine two of my favorite styles of shoes!

I was forced to go to the maul today to shop for a bathing suit. I shop online before going to a store (does anyone else do that?) and so thought I found the perfect suit on oldnavy.com. It was a one piece halterneck that looked like it would hold in splooge and prevent the dreaded muffin top I was sure to get by wearing a tankini!

I ran into (ok, semi arranged to stalk) Teresa at the mall and as we passed by Steve and Barry’s, I saw a huge poster for SJP’s new clothing line. We went in to check it out and I have three things to say: cute, cute, cute! Most of the clothing was stuff that actual adults could wear and there were even pieces that wouldn’t just look good on skinny chicks! My favorite items were an adorable green tee with shoulder detailing for 8 bucks and a nautical inspired bag with rope handles and tons of cargo pockets. I left the shirt (I’m trying to do the dress thing only this summer) and took the bag. For $10, I couldn’t leave it as cargo pocket canvas bags are pretty much my favorite style. Like my salsa said, I’m going to try not to think about the sweatshop factor, and enjoy my new purchase.

Next, it was off to Old Navy where the one pieces were slim pickins’. I picked up one of the last two black halternecks and made some snarky comment about all the metallic gold ones hanging on the rack. I tried convincing Teresa that even though she wore the look in 1995 just like I did, she could definitely still rock a babydoll dress…and even wear leggings (she hates leggings) with it! That was a no go, so I took me and my pouty self to the dressing room. I tried on the suit and then stifled a scream when I saw myself in it! For one thing, the cleavage factor was ridiculous! I mean, chances are, if a woman wears a size large, teeny tiny cups are not gonna cut it and neither is the shoelace posing as neckstrap. The back was also odd, the elastic wasn’t wide enough to hold it up. Funny the things one starts to notice when one sews!

If it was up to my daughter, I would’ve come home with a bikini (bless her sparkly little heart, she thinks her mommy can wear a bikini!), but unfortunately, they don’t come is size post partum two and a half years later with a touch of cellulite. Reesie suggested we go to Sears and check out the Land’s End selection. I protested at first saying that the suits there would be too frumpy mom (as if I’m not one!) but we were only a few steps away, so what the heck. So, we went in and asked at the counter. No more Land’s End at Sears! Wow, is this how infrequently I shop? Whole sections of stores dissappear…and I don’t know about it? I’m kind of proud of that then, truth be told. The cashier did tell us that they had bathing suits in the junior’s department though. Hah, maybe she thought I was shopping for my kid…sister (I hope), but I haven’t fit anything in the junior’s department since I was a junior, lol.

OK, not really, but isn’t this dress cute? Pretend my shirring isn’t crooked and it’s not safety pinned in the back, lol. I couldn’t wait for DD to wear it, so she did today. We got a few compliments on it too, which was surprising b/c that’s never happened before. I used Erin’s tutorial which was super easy to follow. I plan on making one or two more of these since I got some apparel fabric to make clothing for her really cheap a few months back. I might make one for her best friend too, if I ever figure out how to shirr in a straight line. D’oh.

And in order to take pictures of her, I had to promise to take pictures of Lamby who she’s had since she was born.

Since I started sewing, I find that one question tends to pop up in conversation that didn’t before. “Hey, that’s a cute *itemofchoice*! Did you make it?” 99% of the time someone asks, the answer is no. Take this skirt. It looks like something I would’ve made, what with the ricrac and weird pleats and all. But I actually bought it on clearance at Tarjay over the weekend. I took the kids with me on my Saturday morning Target run, and boy, it is so much fun going into a fitting room with them. Anyway, new skirt, gonna wear it soon, yay. Excuse the flash in this pic, ugh. Couldn’t get it to photograph well otherwise since someone broke my tripod last year! Also, I’m not really wearing it, I’m holding it around my waist, hehe.

I am really into the whole cottage/vintage/semi flea market-y style right now and have been wanting some embroidered pillows with crochet edging for a while now. I also read this blog which features different embroidery stitches and how to do them and so I kinda filed that away as a “to do” project. Her latest tutorial was so cute, I just had to try it right away…

I used some of my floral print Japanese linen. DD loved this pincushion and said she wanted it as a pillow for her dolls. I might make a couple today and surprise her after school with doll pillows and blankets.