How It Works

My sister looked at today’s outfit and said “I don’t get it”:

I said, “What is there to get?  They’re both plaid.”

She responded with, “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

I responded by laughing really loudly and saying “That’s exactly how it works.”

The thing is, I honestly do think this outfit makes perfect sense.  I’ve had the skirt for a while but the sweater vest is a recent thrifted acquisition.  But, when I tried the vest on, my immediate* thought was that I would wear it with this skirt.  

For me, a plaid with a plaid is nothing but good, especially when the other rules of pattern mixing are followed; these pieces have a similar scale and they share a predominant color.

Vest: thrifted vintage   Skirt: thrifted vintage  Tights: Spanx  Belt: Gap, similar  Shoes: Naya "Jada", similar

Okay, so I guess both pieces being plaid isn’t what makes these pieces work together, but I still maintain that they do work.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

*Okay, that’s not entirely true.  My actual immediate thought when trying this vest on was “holy side-boob!” as it’s open basically to the waist.  But, my second thought was to pair it with this skirt.  I swear.

Day 8: Stripes and Floral

I think it’s safe to say that my striped Vince Camuto skirt is the MVP of this challenge as I wore it yet again for Day 8:

Well, co-MVP.  I’ve actually worn my Rieker shoes the absolute most during the Perfect 10 Remix Challenge and am wearing them again today:

I can’t help it.  The skirt and the shoes are the some of the most comfortable pieces of clothing in my entire wardrobe much less in this little mini-wardrobe.

In addition to my much-loved skirt (Nordstrom, plus available here) and apparently-favorite shoes (thrifted, exact), I also wore (finally!) my cropped floral jacket (vintage, thrifted).  It’s still too warm to really layer, so I just buttoned the jacket and wore it as a blouse.  I also added a belt (thrifted, similar), for a peplum effect, a chunky gold bracelet and red drop earrings (similar here).

My sister and Ferge didn’t like this outfit at all, stating that it was too much, but I, predictably, loved the combination of the busy floral and the bold stripes.  

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings #1: Auntie Mame

Hello, hello, hello!  Welcome to my first ever Literary Stylings post and Link Party.  Today, I am posting an outfit inspired by the book, Auntie Mame, by Patrick Dennis.

I can't remember how old I was when I first saw the movie, Auntie Mame, but I absolutely adored it, and Mame, from the very beginning.  I actually didn't even know that it was a book until a few weeks ago when I was wandering through my favorite used book store and stumbled upon a copy.  The book turned out to be as much of a delight as the movie was and I fell in love with Mame all over again.

Today's outfit is inspired by a scene early on in the book where the narrator first meets his Auntie Mame.  In the scene, Mame is well into her "Asian influence" period so she's dressed in a full kimono to host a fabulous soiree.  Here is my look:

For this outfit, I layered a kimono-esque thingamajig (I think vintage & I think from the sticky thrift store) over a micro-pleated dress (Goodwill) .  I finished the look with Seychelles "Mum" sandals, some layered necklaces and a vintage rhinestone bracelet:

Mame would, of course, have worn diamonds, but I'm channeling after-the-crash-Mame.

I look skeptical but I was quite excited to be swanning about in this.

I really, really liked this look.  I felt tall and fabulous, but still well within my comfort zone.  Mame was a great believer in authenticity so I think she'd appreciate that my look, while inspired by her, is still very much me.

And now, over to you all.  I can't wait to see what everyone wears!



Not a blogger?  I'd love to see your literature-inspired photos on the Fashion for Giants Facebook Page!

Thank you to everyone who was able to participate; I know it was very short notice.  If you didn't get a chance to join in this time around, you can read more about the Literary Stylings Challenge here and hopefully we'll see you on Tuesday, August 6th!

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

The Devolution of Style

So, June has been a rough month for me.  Work has been atrocious; I'm not sleeping well, I'm not blogging well and I haven't visited other blogs in ages.  Also, I've started dressing like this:

I know, I know, it's boring.  There is no raucous color, no vintage pieces and I practically match.  But, it's also easy and I really need easy right now.  Easy like jeans (Wit and Wisdom via Nordstrom) and a tee (Gap) with flats (Nine West via Piperlime) and a cardigan (Ann Taylor, thrifted).  Besides, this outfit isn't just easy, it makes me feel physically capable.  And I realized that when I feel more physically capable, I feel more mentally capable.

In this outfit I felt like I could not only run from zombies (although not the World War Z zombies; apparently their zombies are fast as hell.  Which, boo.) but I that could deliver a roundhouse kick straight to a spreadsheet's dome. 

I may not be battling zombies (yet; we all know it's coming) but I am battling some serious spreadsheets and dressing like this makes me feel like I have a better chance at winning.

Don't worry, I haven't completely given up.  I did add a lovely Megan Mae button flower because it looks great with leopard and doesn't detract from zombie/spreadsheet fighting:

And, in my mind, that's the mark of a truly great accessory; if you can still fight the undead while wearing it, it's a keeper.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Triangulated

It's rare that I wear an outfit completely devoid of color, but today's is.  And it's actually one of my favorites:

Vintage, thrifted dress, thrifted Old Navy shoes & Target cuff

I love the cut of the dress and the clever little triangle print.  And I like that I can wear houndstooth with it because houndstooth makes everything better.

Also making the world a better place?  Pockets:

Man, I love me some pockets.

Happy Wednesday, All!

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.

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

Sure It’s Boxy, But It’s Plaid

And that is, apparently, reason enough for me, because, yeah, this dress is boxy.  But, it is also plaid:

And here at Fashion for Giants, we'll take plaid in any shape.

Yes, I could have worn a belt, but I didn’t.  I actually like the cut of this dress.  And the colors of the plaid are fun.  So, I may look like a box, but I look like a fun box.  So, no, no belt.   Just a vintage plaid dress (handmade via Goodwill) layered over a blue-striped blouse (Gap), blue tights (DKNY via Nordstrom) and riding boots (Born Crown via Nordstrom).

Oh, and I also wore my new carnelian Friendship Bracelet that the lovely people at RedEnvelope sent to me:

It also comes in iolite and aqua chalcedony, but, let’s be honest, I was never going to choose any color but orange.  And not just because it goes so well with plaid; as we all know, orange goes with everything so that’s a non-issue.  No, I just think the luminescent quality of carnelian orange is so pretty. Really though, I would have been happy with any of the colors or several other pieces from RedEnvelope; they have some lovely, lovely items.

Speaking of lovely, I thrifted a new coat on Saturday:

Which is also a bit boxy, isn't it?  Maybe boxy is my new thing?  I don't know, but I guess it's possible.  Again though, boxy or not, I love this coat; I love the color and the weight is perfect for spring.  Also, the bracelet sleeves show off my Red Envelope bracelet perfectly, so everybody wins.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

Tulips and Diamonds

The other day on You Look Fab, Angie posited that the popularity of prints and patterns was on the wane and asked if the “pattern party” were over for us.  I said that I thought so, that I was buying fewer prints lately.  But, I realized that I’m just buying fewer clothes in general (an unhappy side effect of my Nosh Opping Expedition) and that I still love prints as much as ever.

What made me come to that realization?  This outfit:

I think that if I were over prints, I’d have just paired a plain black blazer with this tulip print dress (handmade, thrifted via Better Bargains aka The Sticky Thrift Store).  But, instead, I paired my tulips with a vintage, diamond print blazer (Anne Klein via Salvation Army) because, given the option, I’m almost always going to choose to mix prints over pairing a print and a solid.  I did add some solid tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) and booties (Nine West “Darsy) though.  And I added my Eye of Sauron belt (vintage via Goodwill) because, well, what else would one wear with tulips and diamonds?  

So, yes, it appears that I am still firmly Team Prints and Patterns.  But, what about you, Reader Friends?  Are you over prints or still on board?  Or, were you never on board?

Happy Tuesday, All!

Oh, yeah, even though today is Tuesday, I wore this yesterday and felt quite visible so I’m linking up to Patti’s Visible Mondayover at Not Dead Yet Style.  Better late than never, right?

Gracey

Basic Blue and an Animal Print Shoe

Mostly because I like rhyming:

And pattern mixing.  Which I guess means this look isn’t really basicblue: 

But, honestly, in spite of the mixed print blouse (Banana Republic) paired with the polka dot blazer (Pendleton “Country Sophisticates, thrifted) and the animal print shoes (80%20 via Piperlime) this feels like a very basic outfit to me.  I mean, it's just jeans (Banana Republic), blouse and blazer, but it doesn't feel boring.  

Thank goodness for pattern-mixing.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Arbitrary Neon

Arbitrary Neon is going to be the name of the band I start after Neon Peach goes up in flames because the bass guitarist thinks she should be a solo artist.  It also describes my accessories today:

Although you can’t see it very well, I am wearing a neon necklace.  This neon necklace: 

Long Epoxy Link Necklace -image via Target.com

Why?  Because it made sense this morning and who am I to ignore morning inspiration.  (Also, Morning Inspiration is going to be the name of my 70s soft rock cover band).  In addition to the arbitrary neon necklace (Target), I also wore dark leopard skinnies (Old Navy Rock Star), a sheer, printed blouse (Liberty Love via Nordstrom Rack), an oversized blazer (gifted J. Crew; thanks Alex!) & boots (MIA “Roam” via Piperlime). 

Full disclosure, I love this outfit.  I love the weird color combination (tobacco, blue & fuchsia?), the pattern mixing (of course) and the arbitrary neon necklace.  It’s randomly cohesive, which is totally my thing.  As of right now.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Neon Target necklace

Similar blouse

Old Navy RockStar Skinnies

MIA “Roam” boots

I couldn't find a similar blazer, but I'd suggest thrifting something; thrift stores are full of oversized blazers.

** 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.