MarketPlace: Handwork of India

The other day I was contacted by a company called MarketPlace: Handwork of India with the offer to review one of their products.  I had never heard of this company so I did a little research and they’re pretty amazing.  They are a nonprofit Alternative Trade and Development Organization that works with 480 women artisans around Mumbai, India, to produce clothing and home décor items showcasing authentic techniques such as hand batik, ikat and hand embroidery.

The women work in supportive, non-exploitative work environments in the form of 14 cooperatives around Mumbai, which the women organize and manage.  And, addition to the much needed employment, MarketPlace works in conjunction with another nonprofit organization in Mumbai, SHARE, to provide social programs to the artisans.  And the women in turn use their own social program, Social Action, to get involved in their communities, tackling everything from garbage collection to domestic abuse.  

So, yeah, pretty amazing.

And so are the items they produce.  Like the Majuli Tunic:

Here is a close-up of the hand printed pattern and the hand embroidery at the yoke:

I don’t wear a lot of purple, but I love the dusty plum of the tunic.  And I love that the embroidery inspired me to pair the tunic with a mustard scarf:

Really, what's not to love about a company that empowers women and inspires the wearing of mustard?!  That's right, nothing.

To share in the love and learn more about MarketPlace: Handwork of India, please visit them here.

And have a Happy Wednesday, 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

 

 

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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

Tangerine Love

I may have mentioned once or twice; okay, okay, several times, how excited I am that Pantone named Tangerine Tango as it's color of the year.  I know it's generally considered more of a summer color, but I think it works well for cooler weather as well and I set out to prove that point yesterday:

In my humble opinion; point proven.  I like the tangerine sweater (Gap) with the gray A-line skirt (Banana Republic) and the plum tights (Hue).  And the wrinkles; I'm totally owning those bad boys.  In addition to unplanned (but still loved) wrinkles, I also wore a tassel pendant (Old Navy), a studded belt (Michael Michael Kors via Nordstrom) and riding boots (Born Crown "Sosie" via Nordstrom). 

What do you think, Reader Friends?  Does tangerine work for winter?

Gracey

Sucking It Up

My sinus infection and I tried very, very hard not to come to work today.  And we would have succeeded too, if not for those meddling kids.  Well, those kids, and the 8-hour conference call I had scheduled.  So, I sucked it up and put on some clothes:

Sans scarf

As I was going to be trapped in my cubicle all day, I dressed purely for comfort.  I layered a cowl-neck sweater-dress thing-y (Kersh, v. old) over a dolman-sleeved tunic (Gap) and leggings (Macys, v. old).  I added a pop of turquoise with a bracelet (vintage via Lil’ Gypsy), black wedge booties (Nine West “Peekaboo” via Piperlime) and an infinity scarf (Steve Madden via Macys).

Happy Thursday, All!  Please forgive the wrinkles.

Gracey

A Little More Robust

I like this outfit, but I think it could have benefited from a bigger bow:

I mean, look at that wee little bow.  It has so much going for it; it’s a lovely plum shade, it has polka dots and it adds some interest to an otherwise rather staid outfit.  But, I don’t think it adds enough interest.  I think if it were just a little more full, a little more robust, a little more hide-your-women-and-children-THE-BOW-is-in-the-house, that it’d be better.  It’s not bad, it could just be better.

Other than the bow being a little on the twee side, I really do like this outfit.  I layered the the plum polka dot blouse (Old Navy) under a silver-gray tunic (Target).  I added black flared jeans (Banana Republic Heritage), black wedge booties (Nine West “Peekaboo” via Piperlime) and a couple of turquoise bracelets (vintage, Ray's Ragtime and gifted) to add a little more interest.

As I was typing this post, I had an idea that might help give my bow a little more oomph.  I'll recreate this outfit in a couple of weeks with that added piece and we'll see how it works!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

Plum Pop

Although I was tempted to channel my inner Captain Casual again today, I wanted to wear my Karina Dresses dress one more time before the giveaway* closes.  I almost went with all black, but decided instead to do a pop of plum:

I paired my black dress (courtesy of Karina Dresses) with a black blazer (Gap Tall), plum tights and black wedge booties (Nine West “Peekaboo” via Piperlime).  And I added a brass and crystal necklace (Special Portland) to add some interest up top.  The plum tights, of course, add interest to the bottom of the outfit.

I have to say that, although I do love brightly colored tights, I think my plum tights have proven to be the most versatile.  They add color on days where I don’t necessarily want to add COLOR but want a little something.  If you’re still on the fence about colored tights, try plum, burgundy, rust or olive – they’re easier to incorporate into a neutral wardrobe than bright tights.

*What’s this?  You didn’t know I was hosting a giveaway?  Well, I am.  Karina Dresses was kind enough to provide me with this lovely dress and are going to provide one of my fabulous readers with a lovely dress of their own.  Interested?  You can enter, and find a discount code for $30.00 off, here.  But hurry; the giveaway closes tomorrow night at midnight, PST.

And, that’s it for me this week.  I have the rest of the week and next Monday and Tuesday off.  I’ll be working on a project, catching up on my mending, finally putting my clothes away and hiking in Eastern Oregon.  I’ll try to take pictures of the interesting stuff.

I hope everyone has a fabulous New Year!

Gracey

Rust, Plum and Wrinkles

Do you all remember all the way back to last Friday when I mentioned that my office doesn’t have a dress code but that I still try to keep my casual outfits for Fridays?  Well, the key word there is try.  Some days a girl just wants to wear jeans.  Today was such a day:

As it turns out, today was also one of those days when a girl just didn’t want to iron.  The result?  Rust, plum and wrinkles. 

Curious how to achieve this look on your own?  Pair a clean-but-wrinkled plum and rust polka dot tee (Gap) with wide-leg jeans (Gap) and a clean-but-wrinkled cardigan (Old Navy).  Add cognac booties (Nine West via TJ Maxx), a rust colored scarf (Nordstrom) and coral and Peruvian jade earrings (Crafty Wonderland purchase).  And there you have it; rust, plum and wrinkles.  Easy peasy.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  I’ll see you all tomorrow with less wrinkles and more hair-brushing (probably).

Gracey

Fall Floral – Remixed

As I said before, I think this skirt is just perfect for fall.  And as its still fall for another month, I thought I’d get another wearing in:

Once again, I’m unable to resist the lure of the burgundy and plum flowers on this skirt when deciding what to pair it with.  This time I paired the skirt (thrifted) with burgundy tights (Hue) and plum polka dot bow blouse (Old Navy) layered under a black sweater (Hinge via Nordstrom).  I added my trusty riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom) and vintage carnelian earrings (Lil’ Gypsy Vintage).

Here is a close up of the earrings:

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  In spite of my snow-fears, we didn’t run into any in the pass and only encountered a little bit while cutting the Christmas trees.  I do have some photos from my trip; I’ll try to get those posted this weekend.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey