Monster Boobs

I’m afraid that this top:

Makes my chestal region look like the chestal region of Roz, from Monsters, Inc.: 

Image via disney.wikia.com

 I know I should steer clear of clothing that makes any part of my anatomy look as though they belong to a saggy-chested monster, but I just can’t quit this sweater.  It’s warm, I think the draped aspect is cool (in spite of what it does to the girls) and I like the color.

I also like how it looks in today’s outfit:

I think the moss green of the top works well with the neutral layers and with the shiny layers of the necklaces.  

 

I guess what I’m saying is, monster boobs be damned, folks, I like this sweater, and I’m going to keep wearing it.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Get the Look

Chevron Necklace

Lonna & Lilly Tassel Pendant

Marc by Marc Jacobs watch

Similar draped sweater

Vince Camuto Midi Tube Skirt

Spanx Tight End Tights

Born Crown Boots

 

Dress Like A Wasp's Nest

I feel like a cocoon today.  Or a wasp's nest, what with all my gray, lumpy layers:

Which isn't to say I don't like this outfit.  I actually really do.  It's cozy as hell and it's as comfortable as pajamas. And it's successful deployment of a maxi dress in cooler weather, which is something I've struggled with in the past.

What it's not, is figure-flattering.  I know as a blogger I'm supposed to be demonstrating how to dress in the most flattering way (Right?  Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing here?), but I just can't do it.  You want to wear something that swallows your shape?  Go for it.  Dress like a wasp's nest, if you want.  I totally support that.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings # 5: The Blind Assassin

Damn it, I just realized I completely missed the opportunity to dress like an assassin.  And, alternatively a peach woman, a lizard man or a mute slave girl; man, this was a great book.  Instead, I'm wearing an outfit based on what the narrator and her sister wore before the narrator married rich and was outfitted in silks and furs and silk-lined furs (and probably fur-lined silks):

This look is an amalgamation of an outfit that plays a pretty prevalent role and of a pond that also gets a lot of mention in the book.  The outfit in the book is a modestly cut velvet dress with a white collar. The pond has lily pads, statuary and, in my mind, swans.  So, of course, I layered my jeweled Peter Pan-collar sweater over my swan print dress:

Basically this outfit is meant to represent pre-wedded-Iris (the narrator), as the pond was at her ancestral home (she was given a rock garden at her new one) and she wore the dress prior to her marriage but never after.  Also, before she married money, she came from a family that used to be wealthy but had fallen on hard times; for me, the jeweled collar on this sweater represents a little money, but not much:

Again, if you haven't read The Blind Assassin, I strongly recommend it.

And now it's your turn; please to add your link below!

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  And thanks, as always, for playing along!

Gracey

Eye of the Tiger, Foot of the Leopard

Is there a rule about mixing your big cats?  I mean, if I'm wearing a tiger tee can I pair it with a leopard shoe? Or is this look a fashion faux pas?

 

Hah!  I'm just kidding; this outfit is clearly a great idea.  I say the more big cats the better!  I figure if I'm going to be a cat lady, I may as well be a big cat lady.

Really though, I love this combination of the tiger tee (Bobeau via Nordstrom) with the tweedy blazer (thrifted vintage, similar) and the ankle zip skinnies (Banana Republic).  And I think the leopard flats (Nine West, similar) and tiered chevron necklace (Hive & Honey via Piperlime) are the perfect finishing touches.

I mean, could I have used a bracelet?  Sure, but I'm still pretty darned happy with it as is:

 Also, lest you think when I say "eye of the tiger" I am referring to Katy Perry, let me disabuse you of that notion right here and now.  Below is what I'm referring to when I say "eye of the tiger," you young whippersnappers:

Yes, that song is amazing, thank you for noticing.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

SIA: The Woman And Her Chair

This is the painting Salazar, of 14 Shades of Grey, chose for today's SIA Challenge:

Cecelia Beaux "After the Meeting"

And this is what I wore:

Yes, that's right, I am dressed as both the woman and her chair.

When I first saw this painting on 14 Shades of Grey, I was immediately drawn to the mix of the floral on the chair and the stripes on the woman.  I also love the the rich warm tones of the painting and wanted to incorporate all of those things into my outfit.

The result is a mix of stripes (Target shirt, Vince Camuto skirt), floral (handmade vintage coat-dress-thingy) and leopard (Nine West):

Yes, I know there is no leopard in the painting, but I'm pretty sure that woman sitting on that chair would have some leopard in her life.  She's seems like a bit of a bad-ass like that.

For more inspired looks, pop by Salazar's and take a gander!

And have a Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Oooh, I almost forgot.  I'm linking up to Visible Monday over at Not Dead Yet Style because I felt highly visible in this mix of prints and awesomeness.

Shiny Casual Friday

I don't wear a lot of hats.  I have, what I believe, is an oddly shaped head with a large circumference and a bit of a point on top.  I am basically a phrenologists dream.  But, when I was contacted about trying a winter hat from the Dorfman Pacific Scala Collezione line, I thought I'd give it a shot.

And you guys?  I'm so glad I did; this hat is adorable:

It's boiled wool, so it's warm, but not itchy and it seems to fit my round, pointy head quite well.  As you can see, I chose charcoal, but this particular hat, the Cadet, comes in several colors, including black, burgundy, olive and camel:

I paired the hat with an embellished sweatshirt (LOFT), cuffed jeans (Lucky) and leopard flats (Nine West, similar) to recreate a look I found on Pinterest.  Here is the Pinspiration look:

Image via Pinterest

And here is my look:

Pretty darned close, I'd say.

Even if it's not, I finally did a look I pinned, so I get to link up to H&K Style Journey for their Pinned It and Did It series.  Yay me!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

A Reprieve

We're having a reprieve from the rain for a few days and it is delightful.  It's still pretty cold in the mornings but the afternoons have been glorious.  So I took the opportunity to shed some layers:

I know, it's not a very fall-like palette but I actually really liked the skirt (Old Navy) with the gray sweater (JC Penney).  But the boots (Enzo Angolini via Nordstrom, similar), the boots are totally fall-like.  An effect I probably ruined with my pink and blue necklace (via Etsy shop, Nest of the Bluebird) and neon pink studs (Kate Spade New York).

Still, I'm sure I'll be back to fall colors once Oregon gets back to fall weather.

Happy Friday, All.  And have a lovely weekend!

Gracey

How I Wear My: Neon

Today on the "How I Wear My" series (hosted by Jill and Adrienne) we're showing how we wear our neon.  With the exception of this neon dress, I tend to wear my neon in small doses like in today's look:

I paired my neon yellow sandals (Tommy Hilfiger via Piperlime) with a gray dress (thrifted).  I added a thrifted belt, a turquoise and lime scarf (Echo via Nordstrom) and lime studs (gifted (thanks, Megan Mae!)).

For more neon looks, please visit Jill at Everything Just So.

But, while you're still here, what about you, Reader Friends?  Do you wear neon?  If so, how do you wear your neon?

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Citron and Gray

Citron and gray is one of those color combinations I really love:

And of course, citron and gray with turquoise is even better:

Blouse: Old Navy (similar, plus available)  Skirt: Gap  Sandals: Ella Moss (similar)  Belt: Old Navy (similar)

In other news, I continue to be thrilled by the presence of pockets in my clothes:

Thrilled, y'all.

Happy Wednesday, Reader Friends!

Gracey

Cobalt Midi

I know for some, the inclination in summer is to wear as little clothing as possible.  And, as the temperatures climb into the 90s here in Oregon, I definitely understand.  And others swear that maxis are good, especially for air conditioning and I understand that too.

But, personally, I’ve found myself drawn to full, swooshy midi-skirts, like this cobalt one:

 

Skirt: Thrifted vintage   Tee: Gap   Sandals: White Mountain via Macys

 

I think it’s the swooshy-ness (shut up, Microsoft, it is too a word) of the skirt that makes it so lovely for summer:

 

Or, it could be the pockets:

 

Because pockets are a gosh darned delight all year long. 

Whether it’s the swooshy-ness or the pockets or something else, I don’t know.  What I do know is that I love a good midi-skirt for the summer months.

What about you, Reader Friends?  What length are your summer hemlines?

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

The Yellow

I really liked this outfit and I think it's the yellow:

Dress: Thrifted (similar)   Scarf: Nordstrom (similar)   Sandals: Ella Moss via Piperlime (similar color)   Cuff: Street vendor (similar)

It's one of those things that may not make sense originally, but I think it works.  I mean, I love yellow with gray and with turquoise so adding a bit to an outfit that's predominately gray and turquoise really does make sense.  Also, my friend Ferge hates the yellow (it confuses her) so I'm pretty sure it was the right choice.

That's right, folks.  There's a tip for getting dressed in the morning: wear what your friends hate.

Happy  Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

Embrace the Gray

Oregon, being Oregon, only has summery weather approximately every fourth or fifth day.  Saturday was gorgeous, Sunday it rained like hell, yesterday was overcast and today is more of the same.  With some more rain thrown in because Oregon is ridiculous.  I don't have the strength to fight it, so I've decided to embrace the gray:

Literally.  I hugged each and every one of these pieces before I put them on.  The pieces being a gray sweater skirt (Macy's) with a gray sweater (JC Penney) and dark gray boots (Gap).  Yep, just gray on gray on gray.  But, I think the print on the skirt keeps it from being too dull.

Also, this sweater looks like a crop top on me.  It think it's a combination of my giant size and the fact that I shrunk it in the wash:

Thank goodness this skirt can be hiked up to make up for the possibly disastrous lack of sweater.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Short Pants, Tall Shoes

I'm really feeling this combination of loose, short pants, preferably printed and high-waisted, paired with a shorter top and tall shoes:

I might need to tweak the pieces a bit, but I feel like this is a silhouette I'll be wearing a lot this summer.  I guess it could use a bit more definition at the waist, but I don't know that I really want it.  I am trying to figure out how to wear looser pieces.  And even though this isn't quite right, I think it's the direction I want to go.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Sea Foam, Not Mint

Last year I railed against gross, institutional mint green as a trending color.  This year I still just can't with mint green.  But, I can with sea foam.  And I did, with this necklace (Onyx Phoenix necklace, via BaubleBar):

Yes, that's sea foam, not mint.  How can I tell?  Because mint is gross and this isn't.  Really though, sea foam has more blue to it than mint; it's like a greenish aqua.  Although, maybe this is just aqua...

Oh, well, whether sea foam or aqua, I wore it today:

And I wore it with coral ankle-zip skinnies (Gap), a gray sweater (Nordstrom) and silver and gray flats (Target, v. old).

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:
Exact BaubleBar* necklace (waitlisted)
Similar coral skinnies
Similar gray sweater
Similar two-tone flats

*If you're not already a BaubleBar member, you can use this invite link here.

** 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.

Stiff Weirdness

You see this sweater?

I love this sweater like no one’s business.  But, I’ll be damned if I can figure out how to wear it.  It’s just sort of stiff and a weird length and possibly too big.  But, it’s also multi-textured hearts and that makes me love it in spite of it’s stiff weirdness.  Sadly, love doesn’t turn one into a styling genius, so this happened:

I mean, I guess it’s not terrible.  But, it’s not right either.  I think the proportions are just too off.  Not off in that cool way that jostles the eye but still allows it to continue it’s journey along the lines of the outfit.  No, off in the bad way where your eye basically gets slapped in the face and you have to look away to prevent further damage.

Bam!  Like a slap to your eye face.

So, obviously, I need some help.  How would you style this sweater, Dearest Reader Friends? 

Thank you in advance.  And Happy Tuesday!

Gracey