Length and Volume

A couple of weeks ago, lovely Reader Friend Laurie, asked me how I wear my beloved dress and skirts without flashing my underthings.

A flashing waiting to happen...

The answer is that I don’t.  I just make sure they’re cute underthings.

I kid.  I kid.  The real answer is length and volume.  Well, length and volume and bloomers.  I don't wear tight skirts very often and I don't wear short skirts without leggings.  And I always wear bloomers.  

Bloomers, pettipants, bike shorts, foundation garments, whatever you want to call them, I don’t leave home without them.  In order to wear a pair under nearly every dress or skirt, I have them in a variety of color, lengths and fabrications.  Let's take a look, shall we?

DKNY Smoothies

Image via Bare Necessities

I absolutely adore DKNY smoothies (available at Bare Necessities and other retailers).  They come in multiple colors, are high enough in the waist to avoid what Sal calls Segmented Worm Syndrome, go low enough on the leg to avoid thigh rub, and have just the right amount of stretch so they help suck you in without making you feel like you want to die.

I have a pair in cobalt:

Between the Smoothies and the length of this skirt, it would have taken one heck of a windstorm for me to flash anyone.  Pleats are especially great because they provide volume without bulk; especially with flat pleats like those above.

In black:

This skirt is a bit shorter, so the Smoothies were definitely welcome here.  And again, the skirt is pleated so when I am riding my bike, I have more coverage, but without the bulk.

In gray:

Seriously, I cannot extol the virtues of flat pleats enough; they're just great for providing volume but still staying sleek.

And in nude:

This skirt doesn't have any pleats to give it any extra volume and there is no way I'd wear it without my Smoothies underneath.

Bloomers

Image via Amazon

I call them bloomers because that's more fun to say (although pettipants is pretty fun) and you can find vintage ones on Etsy or new ones on Amazon.  Bloomers are great for those days when you don't need, or want, to be sucked in.  And for those days you're wearing a jersey/knit fabric.  They come in a variety of lengths and colors and discourage your skirt from clinging to your thighs.

Because they come in a variety of lengths and colors, I have to have them in a variety of lengths and colors, including long, red vintage:

Hot pink vintage:

And brand new nude:

All of these dresses and skirt are prone to clinging to my thighs and the bloomers help alleviate that. 

So, remember, Reader Friends, the shorter you go, the greater the volume of the skirt should be to avoid scarring innocent school children for life as you ride by.  Pleats are the best for adding volume without adding bulk.  And bloomers are still relevant.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Far away ...

                                                                                           CLICK TO SEE MORE
   And i`m back! ;) Last ten days i had this view, sun, sea and pebbles ...  Couldn`t ask for more!
New post will be up tomorrow, and i will tell you everything about my vacation!
I will try to answer on every email soon as possible, and if i missed some of your questions through the comments, don`t hesitate to ask again (fashionandstylev@gmail.com) so i can reply to you!

Happy Monday, i really miss you!

The Fallen

As I said yesterday, I estimate that I got rid of over 40 items of clothes from my closet during my Nosh Shopping Expedition.  I don't have photos of all of the pieces because some were never worn, much less photographed.  However, what follows is a retrospective of most of those pieces (and of my hairstyles (Bonus!!)).  Let's get started, shall we?


Ta Ta, Tops

Cream tunic - fits weird around the hips.

Thrifted blazer - gave me bunchy shoulders.

Tan thrifted vest - too small, but I'm looking to replace it.

Jason Wu for Target tunic - I don't like the fit around the arms.

Target blouse - this (non) color is not flattering on me.

Vintage, handmade gingham blouse - sadly too small.

Mustard Tulle cardigan - the shape just doesn't work.

Bye Bye, Bottoms

Thrifted Jones New York Skirt - horrible for bike riding

Thrifted black pencil - oy, those pleats ruined my figure (it's the pleats, not the cake).

Banana Republic pants - sooooo very pedestrian

Black pleated skirt - I have several & this had a drop waist and size issues.

New York & Co shorts - fine, I admit it, they're too tight.

Navy polka dot pleated skirt - I have another & this has a drop waist.

Vintage polka dot skirt - I like the pleated polka dot skirt I kept better.

Vintage Jantzen skirt - this was hard for me, but really, this skirt is too small.

White pleated skirt - dropped waist, again, so I kept a different one.

Ann Taylor pencil skirt - a duplicate purple pencil; I kept the other one.

Gray Target skinnies - have since been replaced with Gap skinnies

Farewell, Frocks

Walmart Dress - I love the color, but it's cheap, clingy jersey.  Not good.

Vintage Dress - I tried to love it without success.

Sayonara, Shoes

Thrifted loafers - I'm just not a loafer kind of girl

Red wedges - cute but the heel strap slips off when I walk.

Thrifted cream flats - I struggle with light-colored shoes & never wear these.

Of course, these were only my summer clothes, so I'll probably have to venture back into the Land of Nosh Opping sometime this fall or winter as well.  But, I'll whine about that when it happens.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday!

Gracey

The Expedition's End

Yesterday, Maurice the Mule and I left The Land of Nosh Opping, where we'd embarked on a sometimes grueling but ultimately effective two-month expedition.  During the expedition, I got rid of (donated, gave away, consigned or sold) at least 40 items from my closet.

I used a Nosh Opping Expedition Log to track what I wore while in The Giant's Closet region of Nosh Opping.

This is the Clothes page of the log:

The log contains what I wore and the date(s) I wore it as well as the decision to "Keep" or "Toss" and some notes.  I used the log because 1. I'm a nerd and 2. it was a good way to keep track of those items I wore but didn't photograph (weekends, etc.).  As you can see, I did a fairly good job making it through my closet by only wearing items once.  There were some things that I did repeat within the two months, but it was interesting to see what those items were.  For example, it's not shown in this shot, but I wore the same pair of jeans every weekend for the two months; maybe I should have gotten rid of more jeans...

The Shoes page:

On the Shoes page, you can see I was far less successful in wearing everything once.  But, that wasn't really the challenge.  I do have quite a few pairs of shoes, but my shoe collection is not unmanageable so although I only got rid of two pairs I'm comfortable with that.  Unsurprisingly, I wear my nude Banana Republic platforms and my Corso Como espadrille wedges the most.  I also wore my Lovely People sandals and my gray Target flats a lot as both are go-to weekend shoes for me.


And, the Accessories page:

I have to admit that I didn't do the greatest job keeping up my accessories page.  I didn't intend to get rid of any of my accessories so I didn't track them as closely.  Although I have quite a few pairs of earrings and bracelets I don't wear often, if I drag them out once a year for a night out, I feel justified in keeping them.  I may have to re-think that at some point, but for right now, I'm okay.

I'll post photos of what clothes, and shoes, didn't make the cut tonight or tomorrow.

Until then, here's one last shot of Maurice the Mule:

Happy Saturday, All!

Gracey

Silk is Totally Professional

I am basically wearing shorts and a tee shirt at work:

But, it’s okay, because the tee is silk and silk is totally professional.  I paired the super professional silk tee (one of the six or so I thrifted) with patterned shorts (Target) and added a polka dot belt (Nordstrom Rack), Seychelles mini-wedges and a bib necklace (c/o Maurice’s).

Why did I wear shorts and a tee to work?  Because it’s getting stupid hot here in Oregon.   Today is supposed to be 91 and it’s supposed to hit 100 this weekend.  I know that is nothing to those of you who’ve been dealing with rolling heat waves all summer, but it doesn’t usually get that hot here.

Luckily, I like the heat so I’ll be spending this afternoon and evening at another 80s concert.  And tomorrow, I will return to my beloved thrift stores to pillage and plunderdo some shopping.  I need to find a dress for a wedding next Friday.  I think it’s in a field?  Or a barn?  Or a barn in a field?  I’m not exactly sure where it is, but I’m pretty sure I need something new to attend.

Have a wonderful weekend, Dearest Reader Friends!

Gracey

Saving the Best for Last

I’m not sure this is absolutely the best vintage dress I have in my closet, but it’s definitely top three:

Unlike Tuesday’s dress that I tried to love, but just couldn’t, I have no problems loving this dress.  In fact, I think it may be pert near perfect.  I love the strange little print (no idea what it is), the colors, the jaunty little lady tie and the length.  Most of all though, I love the fit.  I don’t think this dress could be any more flattering even if it whispered “hey baby, lookin’ good” every three steps.

Seriously, it’s even good from the side:

I paired the dress (vintage Anthony Richards, thrifted) with a braided, cognac belt (thrifted) and cognac espadrille wedges (Corso Como via Piperlime).  I had originally thought to pair this dress with red accessories but then I ousted my red wedges and got a little stumped.  But, I think like it just as well, if not better, with the cognac accessories; the red might have been a little too matchy-matchy.

Whether or not this is the best vintage dress in my closet may be up for debate, but it is definitely the last that I needed to wear before Maurice and I would be allowed to board the ship home from Nosh Opping.  This weekend, I’ll post a wrap up of what got ousted during the expedition; I actually got rid of a surprising amount of clothes.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

What Would Coco Wear?

I have no idea.  I realized when I signed up for Adrienne & Jill’s Chanel Inspired Challenge that I really didn’t know that much about Chanel.  I’m afraid I haven’t studied the history of fashion much (or at all) and I have only vague, half-formed ideas about what “Chanel-inspired” might mean.

And I think most of those ideas come from pop culture and a movie I saw where Audrey Tautou played Chanel.  From that movie, I learned that Coco liked pants:

 And striped shirts:

From pop culture, mostly this outfit from The Devil Wears Prada, I learned that today* Chanel means layered necklaces:

I took that very, very meager store of knowledge and came up with this:

I paired my black trousers (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom) with a striped shirt (Old Navy), a layered necklace (v. old) and pointy toe pumps (thrifted).   Yes, yes, I know; they should have chosen me instead of Audrey for that role.

To see more interpretations of Chanel-inspired style,visit Jill at Everything Just So.

And have a Happy Wednesday!

Gracey

* Okay, not even today; that movie came out in 2006.