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

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

True Blue

No, not the Madonna song*, the pants:

I have been looking for some summery skinnies as most of my skinnies are dark colors and/or corduroy.  I have a coral pair but wanted a pair in the blue/green family.  Unfortunately, all I could find were pastel colors.  I say unfortunately because my thighs hate pastel skinnies, and, to be honest, I don’t love them all that much either.  Happily, I was able to find these lovely true blue skinnies at JC Penney the other day:

And the color is perfect.  It’s summery without being pastel.  It pairs well with my favorite neutral, gray.  And it looks great with neon:

*Okay, fine, the Madonna song too:

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

jcp “Sophie” Perfect Skinnies 

jcp Slub Sweatshirt 

Coconuts “Casey” flat (also available in neon yellow)

** 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.

 

Proper Deployment

Sometimes I covet things not because they are solidly in my style wheelhouse, but rather because I wish they were in my style wheelhouse because they look so cool and chic on everyone else and I'd like to grow up to be cool and chic someday too.  Things like anoraks. 

I love how they look on other women, adding just the right bit of casual chic to an outfit. But, the thing is, they don't work like that on me. I seem to have some sort of anti-cool anorak-disorder (AC/AD, not to be confused with AC/DC, whom I adore) that keeps me from being able to wear them properly. 

But, today, I think perhaps I've finally mastered proper deployment of the anorak:

I mean, it looks kind of cool and almost chic paired with my black and gray stripes (Target) and colorful skirt (Plato's Closet), right?  And it does work with the boots (thrifted via Goodwill) and bright scarf (gifted by the very chic and cool, Ana), doesn't it? 

Honestly, I think this is as close to proper anorak deployment as I'm ever going to get, so I'm going to go ahead and check it off.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Clothes, Clever Title, Descriptive Words

I am exhausted today, folks.  Ex-haus-ted.  For reals.  And therefore, although I wore clothes, I pretty much have nothing to say about them.  But, here they are anyway:

And here are some descriptive words about them: I wore this outfit today; it was warm and bike-friendly.  I chose a gray sweater (Old Navy) and orange tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) to pick up the colors in the skirt (vintage, thrifted).  I like this skirt a lot.  It’s wool and plaid and pleated, so that’s fun.  I also wore a belt (thrifted), riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom) and a vintage moss agate necklace (via Lil’ Gypsy Vintage).  This outfit makes sense.

Now, let’s talk about why I’m so tired.  I stayed up late, late, late last night finishing Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Have any of you read that book?  What did you think?  I think the premise was great, but even with the unusual plot, it felt a little cliché to me at times.  But, that could just be because I watch too much television.  Or, not enough…  I don’t know.  I don’t feel like I’m articulating my thoughts well enough (I am exhausted after all), but, what it comes down to, I didn’t always believe Amy’s character.  It seemed a little too contrived and manipulative on the part of the author.

Anyway, if you’ve read it, I’d love to hear what you thought.  And if you haven’t read it, I definitely recommend it and then we can discuss.  

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Le Sportif

This outfit feels kind of sporty to me, what with it’s combination of rugby stripes, plaid and lace-up shoes:

Could I, in fact, play sports in this?  Hell no.  Unless, of course, “hobbled running” or “falling over” are sports, then I’d be a world champion for sure.

I like to think I’d also be a world champion at pattern mixing; I love the plaid skirt (vintage via Goodwill) paired with the striped sweater (Gap via Goodwill).  I also added a thrifted belt, Nine West booties (TJ Maxx) and burgundy tights (Hue).  It wasn’t actually cold enough for tights today, but I hadn’t shaved my legs (it’s winter, people, and I’m single) and I needed someplace to tuck my sweater.

Honestly, I don’t know how other bloggers tuck their sweaters and manage to remain so svelte.  Without the tights I looked like I was smuggling sausages in my undies.  I’m still a bit lumpy with the tights, but those could be Gracey-lumps, not sweater-lumps, so who knows?

Do any of you have any advice for tucking sweaters without looking like a smoked meats smuggler?  Or is it just foolhardy to try?

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Gracey Wins Again

I don’t wear this sweater dress/tunic/thingy very often because it’s quite difficult for me to style.  But, this morning, I thought if a shar pei can look cute covered in loose folds, so can I:

Okay, so maybe that's not the best logic I’ve ever applied to an outfit, but I kind of feel like this works.  Probably because I also wore a turtleneck and they make everything better.  In addition to the sweater thing (???) and the turtleneck (Gap), I also wore a knit pencil skirt (Elementz via Macy’s) and herringbone tights (Hue).  I finished the look with a belt (thrifted), cuffed boots (Gap) and a fringe necklace (Jessica Simpson via Macys).

In all honesty, I think it’s probably the belt that saved this look, not the turtleneck; although I think we can all agree that the turtleneck played a strong supporting role.  The problem is that no matter how carefully I arrange the folds of this sweater, it has a tendency to accentuate my tummy.  By belting it with a contrasting belt at the smallest part of my waist (also known as my ribs), I fool the eye into thinking my waist is smaller than it is.  Yeah, take that, foolish eyes; Gracey wins again! Muah ha ha ha ha.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop The Look

Similar sweaterdress

Similar pencil skirt (I looked for my actual skirt, which I got just last weekend on clearance at Macy's, but couldn't find it online.  They had a lot left in the store though.)

Similar herringbone tights

Similar cuffed boots

Similar necklace

Similar turtleneck

 

 

** 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.