Stripes, Tights & Blazers

This is a summer dress.  It's not terribly thick, it is sleeveless with a racer back and it is so short it's practically un escandalo:

However, I attempted to make it fall appropriate by layering the dress (LOFT, similar) over tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) with boots (Born "Mabel") and a blazer (J. Crew, swapped, similar).  I also added studded bracelets (Nordstrom, exact) and a neon necklace.

I'm trying to get better about transitioning summer clothes to fall and winter with layers.  I layer a lot but I tend to pack up items I consider "summery" once fall comes and I don't see them again until the following spring.  On one hand, it's kind of nice because I'm always surprised at what I have stored in the garage.  On the other hand, I think my two-seasons-and-two-seasons-only approach to my clothes has resulted in my over-purchasing.  And that's the outcome I'm trying to fight with better cross-seasonal layering.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Do you switch your clothes out for the season or do you have items that work across the seasons?

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

From Swans to Stripes

On Saturday night, I attended the Pacific Northwest Bloggers Holiday Party in Portland.  I was nervous and had no idea what to wear.  I ended up in this:

Franco Sarto "Leticia" - image via Nordstrom

Why?  Well, I figured nothing says “holiday” like swans (except, you know, maybe Santa, holly, elves or whatever) and nothing says “blogger” like a blazer with pushed up sleeves, so I wore a black blazer (Gap), with the sleeves pushed up, over my swan print dress (eShakti ).  I then remembered that bloggers also enjoy pattern mixing, so I added sheer polka dot tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) to the look and finished it up with Mary Jane pumps (Franco Sarto “Leticia” via Nordstrom).

And I think the look was well-received.  There were so many bloggers there that I didn’t actually even meet them all, but I believe my swans put those I did talk to at ease, because we chatted like old friends.  The lesson here?  Never under estimate the power of a swan dress, folks.

For today, I’ve gone from swans to stripes:

But, I kept the pattern mixing because I like to maintain my blogger street cred, even while at my day job.

Today’s mix comes from the striped ¾-sleeve tee (Target) and plaid scarf (DIY’d).  I also wore a red, button-front skirt (vintage, Goodwill) and gray, suede boots (Circa Joan & David via Piperlime).  I thought I’d give suede a shot as it wasn’t supposed to rain today; it started to rain as I took my pictures.  I love Oregon weather.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

Happy Halloween

I didn't dress up for Halloween.  In fact, this is what I wore:

MIA "Roam," Image via Piperlime

I know it’s not very Halloween-y, being neither sexy (my sexy Bert and Ernie costume is at the cleaners) nor scary.  Well, not scary as long as you’re not chromophobic.  If you are, you’re probably terrified of my bright cobalt dress (Target).  Of course, if you’re chromophobic, you probably don’t read my blog.  But, in case you are and you do, maybe as a form of immersion therapy or something, I did tone the look down a bit with the blazer (J. Crew, swapped), the tights (Target), the scarf (c/o FRAAS) and the boots (MIA “Roam” via Piperlime).  Let it never be said that I’m not looking out for my chromophobic peeps.

Happy Wednesday, All.  And, yes, Happy Halloween.

Gracey

P.S. Chromophobia is a fear of bright colors.

Inspired By: A Scarf and a Broken Elbow

The colors in today’s outfit were inspired by the colors in today’s scarf:

The pieces in today’s outfit were inspired by my broken elbow:

Please to allow me to explain.  Today I wore a plum-colored sweater dress (Target) layered over leggings (Ross) and under a caramel blazer (J Crew, swapped).  I added riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom), cameo and garnet earrings and, of course, the scarf (Target).  Color-wise, the scarf, while it contains no plum, contains colors that compliment plum, such as caramel, camel, black and rust.  Broken-elbow-wise, the sweater dress and leggings pulled on easily and the blazer, being a bit over-sized, is easier to wrestle myself into that a more fitted blazer.

In other news, I hooked my own bra this morning.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Easter Egg Dressing

I’m dressed like an Easter egg today.  Just in case you all didn’t get enough of it on Sunday:

Actually, I didn’t intentionally dress like an Easter egg, but EBEW and Target conspired against me.   I knew I was going to wear this blazer for the Everybody, Everywear Pastels Challenge, but I didn’t know what I was going to wear with it.  Enter Target.  What started out as a harmless trip to buy Q-tips and a birthday present resulted in my seeing this dress, squealing with joy, pondering the hi-lo hem, deciding to get it anyway and wearing it with this blazer.

So, you see, it’s not my fault I’m dressed like an Easter egg.  I just love this dress (Target) and this blazer (vintage, thrifted) and I happen to love them together, so I wore them together.  I also wore platform sandals (MRKT via DSW), a thin belt (Gap) and a tassel pendant (Old Navy).

Allergic to eggs?  You can (probably) see less egg-like pastel-wearing at Everybody, Everywear.  Probably.  I mean, it’s doubtful anyone else dressed like an egg, but you should go check it out just to be sure.

And have a Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Captain Casual

Today is my Friday so I’m in total Captain Casual mode today:

In lieu of a cape, I’m wearing this blazer.  What’s that?  You don’t think a blazer is casual?  Well, this one is; it’s made of sweatshirt material.  How’s that for a disguise?  Nice, right? 

I paired the blazer (J. Crew Outlet) with a cream and gold striped tunic (Banana Republic) and skinny jeans (Macys), which I tucked into riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom).  I added a scarf (Target), forgot earrings and there you have it, Captain Casual.

Happy Thursday, All!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

Gracey

Pattern and Texture

This is an outfit that I wish had photographed a little bit better because it gets its interest not from color, but from pattern and texture:

Really, the only color I’m wearing is the rose-colored skirt (thrifted and taken up).  Otherwise, the outfit is just shades of black, gray and cream.  But, there are stripes on the sweater-blazer (Halogen via Nordstrom) and polka dots on the tights (Target).  And there are different textures with the skirt, the blazer, the lace top (Limited) and the leather boots (Gap).  I think all of the different textures, along with the mix of patterns, make the outfit deceptively complex.  At the same time though, it’s a pretty easy outfit, which is nice for a Monday.

Again, it’s one that I really liked and I just wish the photographs showed it better.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

P.S. For you Walking Dead watchers, I think The Violet Reaction’s comment in my last post is absolutely correct.  Then again, I haven’t seen last night’s show yet…

Gracey Wears Green

And so does everybody else, everywhere else.  Because, today is the Everybody, Everywear Green Challenge.

To be honest, I wasn’t terribly excited about this challenge.  I don’t wear a lot of green.  I think it’s a pretty color, but it just doesn’t do much for me.  But, I didn’t want to skip this month, especially since I skipped last month, so green it is:

This skirt (thrifted) is one of the few, non-olive-green pieces of clothing I own.  I paired it with a goldenrod bow blouse (Gap) because whereas some people won’t put yellow near their face, I prefer it to green near mine.  I added a navy blazer (vintage, thrifted), skinny belt (Gap), mustard tights and riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom).  And there you have it; Gracey wears green.

To see how other bloggers wore their green, pop by Everybody, Everywear and take a peek.

And have a Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Eclectic Jungle

Folks?  I think this might be one of my favorite outfits ever.  Ever:

I mean, sure, it’s a lot, but I think that’s part of what I like about it.  Well, that and the fact that it includes a lot of my favorite pieces.  Take the blouse, for example; it’s kitschy and it makes me ridiculously happy.  The skirt, in spite of it’s tricky length, is also one of my favorites.  And the blazer, which is new to my closet, was love at first sight.  It looks like polka dots in these photos, but they're actually diamonds:

And wearing these pieces all together?  I’m not sure it could get any better.  I especially like that I was able to winterize the blouse (vintage, thrifted) and this skirt (vintage, thrifted) with the addition of the blazer (vintage 80s Ann Taylor, thrifted).  I wore both the blouse and the skirt quite a few times last summer, but they’re very lightweight.  Adding the blazer and the tights (Spanx) definitely made them comfortable for winter.  And I added oxblood pumps (Naya “Jada” via Nordstrom), just because.

I also added my vintage lion earrings even though we all know lions don’t live in the jungle (they live in the Serengeti):

And some bangles:

Oh, and my owl belt snuck in there too, but I forgot to get a picture.

All in all, I’m not sure that this should work and I’m not even sure it did work, but I know I love it.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Old Fashioned

My friend, Kathy, said I look old fashioned today.  I suppose it was inevitable that someone would make that comment.  After all, the majority of this outfit is vintage:

The floral dress is vintage from an antique mall in Albany, OR.  The blazer is vintage Montgomery Ward from my thrifting trip with Kelsey (Hi, Kelsey!).  And the cameo bracelet is vintage from an antique mall in Nashville, TN.  I also added my vintage lion-head earrings, olive tights (Hue) and tasseled booties (Seychelles via Nordstrom).

I know the idea is to try to modernize vintage items, but I just didn’t care to today.  Besides which, I rather like today’s outfit.  In spite of the fact that it’s all matchy-matchy and muted tones, in addition to being old fashioned, it still feels like me.  More than likely that's due to my adherence to this silhouette - my thighs and I like it best.

Or, maybe, I’m just old fashioned.  (Probably not though).

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

Hot Pink to Keep Me Warm

It’s still freezing here in Oregon today.  I had to be extra careful riding in and extra bundled up for warmth.  This, of course, meant more layers.  But, unlike yesterday’s layers, today’s layers are not lacking for color:

Nope, today I went with hot pink to keep me warm.  Okay, yes, it’s probably not the color.  It’s probably the fact that this dress (thrifted) is vintage and is appropriately acrylic.  Acrylic, like many unnatural fibers, will often keep you warmer than you want to be.  But, not today; today I needed to be very warm and this dress did the trick. 

Especially layered under a wool-blend striped blazer (Halogen via Nordstrom) and over a silk slip and tights.  I added black boots (Vince Camuto “Fantastic” via Nordstrom), silver and turquoise earrings and a wide, black belt.  Because I am envious of the wide-belt-wearing skills of Chelsea from Bright Side Dweller.

Color or fabrication, this hot pink dress totally kept me warm.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Another Day, Another Day Dress

I rock a lot of polka dots.  I also rock a lot of dresses.  Although I am firmly on Team Skirt, dresses are just so easy.  And some days a girl just has to take the easy route.  Today was one of those days:

I actually had another outfit planned but I changed my mind this morning because I’m fickle and it’s going to rain (trust me, it totally makes sense).  This meant that I needed something quick and easy drying.  Enter the day dress.  Today’s dress (vintage Karin Stevens, thrifted) is fairly summery, so I wanted to winterize it and toughen it up a bit.   To that end, I paired it with black accessories like a black blazer (Gap), a studded belt, black tights (Spanx) and black booties (Nine West “Peekaboo” via Piperlime).

Remember, it’s not lazy, it’s easy.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Of Tangerines and Traffic Cones and Shameless Self-Promotion

I was very excited to wear this tangerine-colored skirt today.  Even if it did photograph a little more traffic cone than tangerine:

I still like it.  Mostly because it makes my booty look awesome:

That’s right, I am engaging in some shameless self-promotion of my booty.  If I can’t do it here, among friends, where can I do it?  Okay, yes, I also do it in front of the mirror, but that’s just not as fun.

Want to know what is fun?  My awesome, booty enhancing tangerine/traffic cone skirt.  Made all the more awesome because it’s vintage and I thrifted it for a dollar.  I paired the skirt with a grey and black striped blazer (Halogen via Nordstrom), a black blouse (Nordstrom), black tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) and black wedge booties (Nine West “Peekaboo” via Piperlime).

And yes, slapping some bright orange across my hindquarters is also out of my comfort zone, but I’ve had this skirt for months now and haven’t worn it.  I needed to and figured another day in the discomfort zone wouldn’t kill me.  Also, it’s so fun with stripes!

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

The Discomfort Zone

It’s not often that I leave my comfort zone to traipse around in my discomfort zone.  But, today I did:

Yes, people, that is a sweater dress.  With bold horizontal stripes.  Just writing the words makes me think, no, never, I couldn’t possibly.  And yet, I did.  And how I did it was to add pieces that are well within my comfort zone:

Although I think it’s good to sometimes take risks in my personal style, I don’t like to take too many because I don’t like to be uncomfortable in my clothes.  I don’t like them to pinch or bind, but I also don’t like to be mentally uncomfortable.  I don’t want to have to worry about what angle someone is viewing me from or whether the cake I ate yesterday is going to start pregnancy rumors.

So, yes, this dress (Old Navy) is a bit more body-conscious than I’d usually go for, but I made sure I bought an XL so it’s not super tight.  I added the blazer (Gap) and my security blanket burnt orange scarf (Nordstrom) to disguise the cake baby.  And I wore faux-lace up boots (Kenneth Cole Reaction) because I’m tall and maxi dresses are a little less maxi on me so used the opportunity to show the boots.  And security blanket aside, I do feel quite visibile in this dress, so I've linked up to Visible Monday over at Not Dead Yet Style.

But, enough about me.  What about you, Dear Readers?  Do you have any tricks for trips to the discomfort zone?

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Blue and Berry and Blueberry

I feel a little like Violet Beauregarde today, albeit without the need to be juiced and without the blue skin.  Although, cold as it’s been in the mornings biking to work I’m a little surprised I haven’t turned a delicate, frosty blue.  But, we’re not here for the weather (freezing), we’re here for the clothes (blue, berry and blueberry):

Really though, outside the orange scarf, I think young Miss Beauregarde would totally be on board with this outfit with it’s shades of blue, berry and blueberry.  I paired my blue dress (Eddie Bauer, thrifted) with a blueberry wool blazer (vintage, thrifted) and berry ribbed tights (Hue via Macys).  I added a cognac belt (thrifted), lace-up booties (Nine West via TJ Maxx) and because it orange goes with everything, a cashmere scarf (Nordstrom).

And because my dress, my blazer and my belt are thrifted and today is Thursday and Thursday’s are for Thrifters, I’ve linked up to Spunky Chateau’s Thursday’s are for Thrifters Link Party.  Stop by and join the fun!

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey