such great heights

I bought these shoes on a DSW trip with C, when I raved about how sexy and yet comfortable they were. I think since then I have worn them...once. For about two hours. Why? The truth is, I do not know how to walk in this high of heels. I thought that owning these shoes I adore would force me to practice. Nope. They languished on the floor of my closet day after day as I headed off to teach in my sensible flats or low-heeled boots.

My general philosophy of clothing ownership is that if I haven't worn something in more than a year I don't need it (exceptions sometimes granted for fancy dress clothes), which means that as a person who has been moving every September for the past few years I've been good about getting rid of unworn stuff. And as I know prepare to either pack or sell or give away everything I own, I have to decide: should they stay or go?

After wearing this outfit, I'm leaning towards stay.

I cannot even describe how tall and glamorous and posh I felt in this outfit. I felt like a model. Seriously. Look, I even did my best Tyra Banks broken-down-doll pose.

On the other hand, I had to trade these shoes for flipflops just to walk to and from my car, so these shoes are definitely not coming overseas where I will be taking public transportation everywhere. I just don't think I can give them up. They make me so happy!

Do any of you have clothes you feel this way about?

Tank top: TJMaxx

Skirt: TJMaxx

Belt: hand-me-down

Shoes: ciao bella via DSW

Bracelet: gift from my sis

And I'm back

Whew! After a slight mix-up with the plane tickets, J. and I ended up in Wisconsin until late Monday night...which made preparing for my Tuesday morning class a huge scramble! I was relying on tried-and-true repeat outfits while I was trying to catch up from being gone.

Here's what I wore to the wedding:

Dress: Banana Republic outlet

Shoes: TJMaxx

Corsage: gift from the bride

Earrings: JCPenny's

Afterwards I swapped my heels for flats so J. and I could walk around downtown Madison - a fun place to spend a weekend, I must say.

It was beyond hot and humid (the Midwest in June, natch) so I was living in shorts and tank-tops. Humidity zaps the creativity right out of me.

Tank top: TJMaxx

Shorts: Columbia, ancient

Sandals: Nine West outlet

Hope everyone else had a good weekend/week!

cropped

I like my cropped pants a lot better with heels. I felt tall and posh!

This outfit features pretty much all the things I like about myself - blue for my eyes, a boat neck for my clavicle, skinny pants for my legs, and strappy shoes for my feet. This outfit, I think I can say, was inspired by Dress Your Best! :)

Shirt: thrifted, Banana Republic
Pants: GAP, shortened by me
Shoes: Bandolino via TJMaxx
Earrings: gift
Ring: Alaska state fair

escapee!

Today's outfit is a slight reworking of this outfit - easy, comfy, with a splash of bright green to keep me cheerful.

I switched to a shorter cardigan to show off more of the color of the top, and grabbed my new gray and black scarf to pick up the gray of the shoes.

Also, my nutty cat has been escaping out the back door when I come out to take my pics - today I caught him on film! Silly beast.

Here's a cuteoverload-style en-HANCE!

Shirt: TJMaxx

Cardigan: Costco

Belt: TJMaxx

Jeans: GAP

Shoes: Also outlet

Scarf: gift from mom

Earrings: hand-me-down from mom

footless wonder

Ahhhhh these pants are eating my foot!

No, not really.

I'm sure you all are very relieved.

I'm starting to get to that point of winter where I'm a weensy bit bored with the colors of my winter clothes. I was tidying up my bureau the other day and this pretty teal top caught my eye. I tried to winterize it with some good solid basics and a matching scarf.

I have to say that I am still not sold on these pants. They are just so...wide. What do you all think? Keep or donate?

Sweater: kersh essentials via Costco

Teal top: street vendor in Thailand

Pants: BR outlet

Shoes: Aldo outlet

Belt: Target
Scarf: TJMaxx
Ring and earrings: Alaska state fair

some kinds of help

Today I wanted to remix my Christmas dress for the office, so I added a button-down shirt and oxford-style heels.

I liked the button down with the ruffles, but I think the gray shoes with gray tights was a tad much gray. What do you all think?

As you may have noticed, I had a considerable amount of help with my photos tonight.

Thanks, cat.

Dress: Target

White button-down: TJMaxx

Tights: Burlington

Shoes: Aldo outlet

Earrings: borrowed from mom

Ring: Burlington

pants?

These are the black pants I thought were too big, rescued from my consignment pile. It turns out they're not actually the wrong size, just a really wide-legged cut.

They're such nice fabric and so exactly what I want in every other respect that I am going to hang on to them for now and see if I can make the wide-leg-ness work (I think it's going to require fitted tops). Which means no more pants-shopping! Wooo!

Plus I like how they look with these shoes.

Pants: Banana Republic outlet
Sweater: H & M
Belt: TJMaxx
Shoes: Aldo outlet
Earrings: Aldo outlet

Christmas Eve camel!

I hope everyone had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday! I've been bumming around in jeans and comfy old sweaters for a few days, baking and eating and opening presents and eating and walking in the snow and...eating. But I did get all dressed up for Christmas Eve services at my church.

The day after I got home, my mom and I headed out to Target (one of the forgotten perks of being at home - my mom loves to take her daughters shopping!) and I found this beautiful green sweater dress on the sale rack. Hooray! Super warm and cozy, and I felt so pretty with this ruffle and the ladylike tie at the waist. Thanks Mom!

Yes, I am wearing red and green. If you can't dress like an elf on Christmas Eve, when can you?

My church has huge wheely camels for the nativity play. I thought they were magical when I was a kid, and frankly, I still think they're pretty awesome.

Merry Christmas!

Dress: Target
Tights: Hue via TJMaxx
Shoes: Fred Meyer's
Earrings and necklace: borrowed from mom

What I would have worn on Saturday...

...if I had been feeling 100%. As you know, I've been recovering from pneumonia, and I foolishly worked on Saturday (also, my birthday!). While working went okay (sigh...no dresses sold that day), I was dog tired when I got home around 4. So, instead of throwing on that new dress I told you about, I put on pajamas and slipped into bed for a three hour nap. By the time I woke up, I was still kind of tired, and it was evening, and all I wanted to do was order Chinese food and then go back to bed. So, that's exactly what happened. A couple friends dropped by for a very low-key evening, and then I went to bed. It was nice, but not new-dress worthy.

So, as a treat to you, and to myself, I put my dress on the next day and took some pictures! My computer has been rejecting the pictures from my camera, so I took a few better shots than the ones shown here but the computer just doesn't want to upload them. After being annoyed for a few hours, I just gave up. I blame the rejection on the fact that I have two five-minute videos of the Keene, New Hampshire TubaChristmas celebration that my brother was involved in (they have them in 200 places throughout the world...so fun, I highly recommend!). Videos, my camera, and my computer do not mix well for some reason.

Anyway, blah blah long story, this is totally what I would have worn on Saturday if I'd had my way. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of today's outfit, but maybe I'll throw it back on tomorrow, take some pics, and post them up on Friday (because I like my outfit today!).

Here it is (apologies for the poor lighting and messy room):What it is: a black and white dress with a black bow in the back. It makes me look a little preggers from the side, but I just love what the top does for the bosom and shoulders. I don't know, I just really like it. I think it will be a versatile piece in my clothing collection.

The skirt is very full:

So, that's fun and twirly. I don't particularly enjoy these tights with the dress, but in a perfect world I'd have some fun-colored ones (like purple! or green!) sans design.

Shoes:
Jewelery:


I like that it's black and white...you can add anything to it! I feel like a ruffly cardigan would look sweet with it. I also look forward to the day I put a long-sleeved something underneath it, to make it more winter-friendly (now that it's finally snowing!).

Dress: four stars via Salvation Army
Salmon undershirt: Jockey outlet
Tights: Lane Bryant
B/W shoes: Payless
Jewlery: Lia Sophia (they're both blue, but it's hard to tell).

something new

Spent the whole weekend in my pjs writing a term paper, so it's a relief to be dressed again! It's also finally turned into proper winter here and I couldn't be happier. I love frost, and red cheeks, and hot chocolate, and lovely white SNOW.

As both a belt devotee and a lover of scarves, I have been wanting to try the belted scarf look (done prettily at academichic, among many others).

I absolutely loved this outfit. I felt tall, elegant, grown-up, stylish, and just plain pretty. I got several compliments on the scarf and the overall look. I will definitely be doing some more belted scarf experiments soon!
I originally put on black boots but really wanted to show off these tights, especially paired with the rich blue of the scarf. These ancient Mary Janes are the most comfortable dress shoes I've ever owned, hands down.

Two more days of classes to go...

Scarf: gift from mom
Black v-neck sweater: hand-me-down from aunt, Max Studio
Skirt: j.crew outlet
tights: Hue via TJMaxx
Shoes: Fred Meyer's
Belt: TJMaxx
Earrings: Burlington?

No fear: B's day 2: the vest

Oh this vest. It does such good things for my upper body. And yet, it's so hard to put it on and not feel like A) an extra from the cast of Blossom or B) a wannabe hipster. So it's been pretty much sitting in my closet ever since I bought it.

Well, no more! After much experimenting (and a great deal of patience from the roommate of awesome), I came up with this combo.

I felt super cute! I think the button-down and pencil skirt make it professional, but the puffed sleeves and bright tights keep it girly and fun. And boy, do purple legs ever get a lot of attention.

Plus, I forgot how awesomely comfortable these shoes are.

And I love, love the detailing on this vest.

I count this as another no fear win!

Blouse: ancient - maybe Sears?

Vest: TJMaxx

Skirt: GAP outlet

Tights: TJMaxx

Shoes: Fred Meyer's

Earrings: street vendor on Cape Cod

Watch: Target

c: no fear challenge, day 1

UPDATE: In an ode to academichic's "grellow," I decided to go to work in this, which brought me a lot of joy. I simply added a yellow sweater and some gray tights and called it a work day! I was accused of being "nunnish" by my 17-year-old brother, but who cares what he says, anyway?





Okay, new week, new challenge!

I like this challenge because the possibilities are nearly limitless (probably because there are a lot of under-used items hiding in my closet).

Because I will be working today, I figure I can't go wrong with this skirt/shirt combination. I know it LOOKS boring, but believe you me, I haven't worn this skirt in over five years. Why? Because for a long time I thought it made me look really, really, heinously fat. Reasons? I'm short. Like, under 5'2". As a result, most skirts that hit below the knee make me look shorter. I also have a really hard time figuring out what kind of shirt goes with a skirt when the dimensions of my body are such that button-ups are practically impossible and anything else just looks weird and lumpy.

All that said...I don't think this looks that bad. It's just a skirt and a shirt (I WISH I had some cute maroon tights to go with it...that would have been adorable) and some black shoes, but it's definitely a scary outfit for me. I'm sure the skirt is happy to be out of the shadows once more.

And can I say...good gracious, I love these shoes. They are pinup shoes (in my opinion), and that makes me so incredibly happy.


Shirt: Torrid
Gray Skirt: Old Navy (I think from like '00. Maybe '01)
Black Velvety Heels: Charlotte Russe (also a few [4? 5?] years old)
Pearly Headband: Who knows? Under the sink.

my other sexy librarian shoes

I found these gray oxford-y heels last year doing some outlet shopping with my sister and stepmother, and fell in love. They rock my world. But I think they look odd without tights, so I was impatiently waiting for it to be cold enough to wear them.

Sorry for the terrible outfit picture - just focus on the shoes.

In other news, now that C. is back, it's time for another challenge! I'm thinking something along the lines of "ohhoneyno's "no fear" challenge. I'll post details this weekend - all our lovely readers are invited to play along!

Turtleneck sweater: H & M

Black dress, worn as skirt: j.crew outlet

Belt: TJMaxx

Tights: street vendor in Russia

Shoes: Aldo outlet

Earrings: boutique in California

Bracelet: street vendor in Hong Kong

double trouble

Today, I accompanied one of my friends to try on wedding dresses at the nearest large bridal shop - which happens to be the one where C. works! We had a great time helping our friend and eating a delicious lunch, then strolling around by the river before I headed back to campus to teach my evening class.

I tried some tone-on-tone orange layering for a sunny fall day, and C. kept it simple and classy with this beautiful scarf.

Across the street from the bridal shop is a DSW (I swear I did not know this when I volunteered for the trip!) and I picked up some great fall boots as well as these awesomely high heels.

They are so librarian sexy I can barely stand it. And thanks to the wide heel and padding, they are surprisingly comfortable. Shoe happiness!

Thanks for the great afternoon, C.! You make everything way more fun.


On B.:
Button-down shirt: The Limited via TJMaxx
Orange t-shirt: Forever 21
Belt: thrifted at Goodwill
Skirt: Levi's via Sears
Tights: CK via TJMaxx
Shoes: Ciao Bella via DSW
Earrings: street vendor in St. Petersburg
Watch: Target
Bracelet: gift from my sister

On C.:
Black shirt:
Jeans:
Awesome green scarf:
Boots: