Literary Stylings # 3: Valeria's Last Stand

As I mentioned before, one of the mere three books I read last month was a weird-and-not-in-the-good-way book called Valeria's Last Stand, by author Marc Fitten:

I guess it was supposed to be a comedy, but I don't see how making every single character in the town hateful was funny.  I don't know, maybe I missed the point.  Has anyone else read this book?  If you haven't, I don't recommend it, but if you have, can you explain it to me, using small words, please, in the comments?

Enough about the book though.  Well, maybe a bit more.  There is a lot of talk of produce in the book as the titular character, Valeria, grows the best produce in town and constantly reminds everyone of the fact (seriously, she is horrible).  There is also a lot of talk about color, the color of the fruits and vegetables, especially peppers and turnips, but also of the crockery made by the local potter.

Well, when I saw this dress in Goodwill a couple of weeks ago, the colors instantly reminded me of the colors in the book:

And the chaotic print reminded me of the muddy, chaotic prose of the book:

Happily for me, crazy, chaotic print on a dress makes me much happier that crazy, chaotic writing.  Seriously, that book made me feel like this:

Pretty sure that was the look on my face the entire time I was reading it.

But, it did inspire me to buy this awesome dress, which I paired with a braided belt (also via Goodwill) and ankle strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime) and a chunky necklace:

I chose this particular necklace because the large beads are actually clay, you know, like a potter uses and there is a potter in the book.  Also, it's pepper-colored and peppers play a large role in the book so I wore it.

Because, even though the book was terrible, it really did inspire this entire look.

And now, it's your turn.  You can link your literature-inspired looks below: 

 

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Fully On Board

I love pleats and I love peach and coral together so obviously I'm fully on board with this look:

I also love pairing my lace necklace with more lace.  So, once again, 100% on board:

And finally, I love remembering to link to up Visible Monday's over at Not Dead Yet Style.  Done and done.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Amazing, Fabulous, Perfect

I received this amazing, fabulous, perfect skirt as a gift from the amazing, fabulous, perfect Dawn at Suitcase Vignettes and, more recently, the Etsy shop, Tea Stained Lace:

It is one of the coolest vintage pieces I've ever seen, much less had the pleasure to own and I can't thank Dawn enough for sending it my way.

Here is a close up of the print on the skirt:

I have no idea what is being portrayed on this skirt, but I love the dark and moody colors and the little bits of red.  

Little bits of red that I picked up with my shiny red belt:

Seriously.  Love.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Hot Pink Camp & A Mocha Midi

I don't know that I would have thought to pair this hot pink camp shirt with this mocha midi skirt if they hadn't been on the same migratory path through my closet.  But, they were and I liked the way they looked grazing on the plains together so here they are:

Blouse, skirt & belt: thrifted vintage, Hive & Honey flats via Piperlime

I also added black accessories, including my vintage sweater clip pins:

One day I'll probably wear this piece to hold a sweater together.  Probably.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

How I Wear My Floral: With Stripes & A Little Shine

Today I am participating in the How I Wear My: Floral Challenge with Everything Just So and The Rich Life (on a Budget).

So, how do I wear my floral?  With stripes, a toucan and a bit of bling:

I started my look with my colorful floral skirt.  Which in turn started as a double-breasted, thrifted dress;  I hacked off the bodice to "make" it a skirt.  I then added a striped 3/4-sleeve tee (J Crew Factory Store) and ankle strap flats (Hive and Honey via Piperlime).  I finished off the look with a vintage toucan pin (gifted) and a vintage rhinestone bracelet.  Because sometimes a girl just wants a little shine:

And a tropical bird brooch.  Of course.

To see how others wear their floral, please to visit Jill (at Everything Just So) and Adrienne (The Rich Life (on a Budget)).

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look
Similar floral skirt
Similar striped shirt
Similar ankle-strap flats (round toe or almond toe)
Similar vintage brooch

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

SIA: Coral and Cobalt

I have been on a roll this month.  I participated for the first time in Two Birds’ Inspiration Monday earlier this month.  And now I’m participating in Style Imitating Art.  I’m rather proud of myself.  But, enough about me.  Let's talk about art and style.

Here is the art:

Image from David Weisner's "Flotsam"

And here is my style:

I love the combination of coral (salmon? carp?) with the bright blue so I paired my coral polka dot blouse (handmade vintage) with my cobalt midi skirt (vintage via Goodwill).  I also added some pops of black (I heard it's the latest trend) with my belt (via Goodwill), necklace (Old Navy) & ankle strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime).  

Yep, you guessed it: POCKETS!!!!

I’d like to thank Jess of Animated Cardigan for hosting; you can see the other participants on her site. 

And I’d like to give a shout out to my boobs for distorting some of the dots into goldfish-like shapes; I appreciate your help with this challenge, Ladies.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

P.S. This is an illustration from the book, Flotsam, by David Wiesner.  His books are amazing and if you haven’t read them, I strongly suggest you do, even if you think you might be too old for picture books.

Black, White and Brown

I know the combination of black, white and brown doesn't seem very springlike, but I think this outfit is actually almost summery even:

I love a  stripe pretty much any time of year, but they definitely say summer to me.  And black and white is classic.  I paired today's black and white striped tee (Old Navy) with a full, brown skirt (vintage, thrifted via Goodwill).  I also added a wide black belt (JC Penney) and my ankle strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime).

See?  Practically summery:

Just like our weather.  It's been gorgeous here all week and it looks like it will continue through the weekend.  So excited!

Happy Friday, All!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Gracey

The World’s Tallest Third Grader

Today I am dressed like the world’s tallest third grader:

I didn’t do it on purpose (I like to think I’d never infantilize myself on purpose).  It’s just that the shirt (vintage via Goodwill) and pants (Target) happened to be next to each other on my laundry chair (the chair that holds the overflow of clean laundry from my laundry basket) so I threw them on this morning. 

But I like it.  Yes, I would have worn this as a third grader but I’m not embarrassed to be wearing it now.  It’s bright and happy and cozy and involves my favorite pants, ankle-strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime) and a neon necklace (Target).  

 

I tell you what, Friends; third graders might be on to something.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Exact Target cords

Similar plaid shirt (plus, standard)

Ankle strap flats

Neon yellow necklace

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Horse Belt!

I am wearing a horse belt:

And that’s pretty much all I have to say about today’s outfit.  HORSE.  BELT.  Does the rest really matter, people?  I think not.  Okay, fine.  For those of you who somehow manage not to be distracted by a horse belt (!), which, I’m not going to lie, is a little concerning; I’ll provide the outfit details. 

 

Today, I paired The Horse Belt (vintage, Plucky Maiden’s Junk Fest) with a  terra cotta dress (Target), black, waterfall cardigan (Old Navy), turquoise bracelet (gifted) and the same shoes I wore yesterday (Hive and Honey via Piperlime).

What’s that?  You wish I’d taken a close up of the horse belt so you can see it in all its leather-worked, hand-painted glory?  Well, then, today is your lucky day:

I love this thing so much that I actually paid a whole $20.00 for it.  I know, I know, that seems like a lot, but I figure I’m going to wear it in a lot of equestrian (and non-equestrian) themed outfits this fall and winter so the cost per wear should be pretty low.  Also, it’s a horse belt!

And it’s Friday!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

P. S. Cinturón de Caballo! (That's horse belt in Spanish.  You are welcome).

Bird is the Word

I’m actually surprised it took me as long as it did to put this outfit together:

I mean, really, what goes better together than birds and feathers?  Nothing, right?  Right.  So, yes, today I paired birds and feathers:

My dress (vintage, thrifted) provides the feather-print in this combo and the birds come from my ridiculously awesome scarf:

Those crazy birds.  What are they doing?!  I don't know, but I do know that I love this scarf and that I love it paired with this dress.  In addition to the birds and the feathers, I also wore a red belt (thrifted), ankle-strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime) and a cuff (thrifted).

Because everything but the shoes is thrifted, I’m linked up to Callie’s Thrifter Thursday Link Party.  Are you a thrifty blogger?  If so, come by Coffee and Cardigans and join the fun.

And have a fabulous Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Oh, the hair.  I forgot.  I got my hair colored yesterday and my stylist also blew it out to better see the color.  As you may have noticed, I never wear my hair straight and don’t think I’ll keep this up for long (seriously, if it’s still straight tomorrow, it’ll be a Festivus Miracle).  It just doesn’t feel like me.  Happily though, my outfit feels 100% me, so I was able to smile through the pain.